Why We’re Bringing Our Home Back to its Former Glory
Recently, I was listening to one of my favorite podcasts, and in a series about cultivating truth, goodness, and beauty in a home, they discussed the impact of the current home trends on the lives of families and society as a whole. Without going into too much detail, the conclusions were made that the new open-concept, colorless homes are not conducive to the way that God created humans to be. I won’t be diving too far into this portion, but the second part of that discussion was focused on using what your home has given you to work with, rather than changing everything about it, leaving only the bones to speak of its rich history.
The Current State of Our Home
When we purchased our home, we knew that it was built in 1940, but the poor remodel was a sad attempt to dress it up as a 2020 home. Between the textured-over paneling, the all-gray-everything, and the granite-look counters and backsplash, our old-age home has been yanked to the 21st century against its will by sheer force, and no skill.
We found beautiful hardwood floors under our sad, gray LVP, the other half of a window behind a kitchen cabinet, and so many other silly things that have really just given us a great excuse to change it all.
The Problem with Trendy Updates
Some of you might be thinking that the style I’ve described is the best thing that could have been done to a house built in 1940, but you truly have to see it to understand. And if you’ve seen it done to other homes, you know what I’m talking about.
Throwing modern trends onto the walls of an old home only make it look older and in deep disrepair. Think of it in terms of clothing. If your 90-year-old grandmother tried to dress like today’s teenagers, not only would it likely be wildly inappropriate, but it would only draw more attention to her age. If she were to dress as an adult, she would probably be complimented on her class and grace.
While it is possible to update homes to styles within a certain margin of their build year, it’s pretty hard to make a house look 80 years younger than it is.
Bringing it Back to 1940
While needing to make some structural updates for functionality’s sake, we’re also doing the best we can to bring back the warmth and charm that this home once had. Our goal is to bring age-appropriate style to give our home the best look and feel for us and future owners.
- Warm tones: Between warm-toned wood floors and cozy paint colors, we’re looking to create a space that feels more relaxing than sterile. Warmth can both elevate a space and make it feel lived-in all at once.
- Natural Textures: The 40’s, like much of the 20th century were full of intricate woodwork, handmade furnishings, and wallpaper galore. We have big plans to bring all of these elements to each room in our home, accenting the house’s original identity and caring for it well.
- Functional Changes: The difficult part to this home is making it work well for current living. We do many things differently than when this home was built, and standards for water and electricity have changed as well. We have cast iron pipes under this house, and they definitely need to be changed soon, as well as the wiring throughout our home. We need a more functional place for a washer and dryer, and desperately need more storage. The fun part to all this is figuring out how to accommodate modern needs while honoring our old home.
Big Plans, and Big Hurdles
We have so many plans for making this house our own, and are so excited to get started as soon as we can. With my husband’s current disabled state, lots of big projects are put on hold for the time being. I have been able to do some painting, and will be tackling some larger projects soon, so you can look forward to lots of DIY updates in the near future.
Be sure to keep up with the day-to-day happenings on social media. I try to post my daily tasks on Instagram and Facebook, and Pinterest is a great place to find links for posts and recipes. I’ll see you over there, but
Until Next Time.
Rebekah
