Today I had the opportunity to see what our house looked like before it was renovated. No, not by getting a bulldozer along to start again, but because next door was up for sale, unmodernised.The daughter of the people who used to live there let me in to have a look around, and it was fascinating. Our house has had huge amounts of work done, like an ageing film star but to much more practical effect. What’s interesting about seeing an earlier version is that it was actually quite big even then, and a generation ago would have been regarded as perfectly suitable for a family of, say, four or five.
As the house was exactly the same as ours, rather than the mirror image of a semi-d, it was easy to see how changes had been made. The original kitchen has become our downstairs toilet and utility room, and the utility room door originally led to the back garden. On returning home, I noticed that the outline of the old larder was still there, opposite our washing machine.
Upstairs, we now know that one small bedroom was removed to provide a big landing, where we’re going to keep our books – and I’d previously said to Nick that if we were running a B&B then that’s where we’d have put in an extra room. Two other bedrooms have been knocked together for our bedroom and en suite, and again it was intriguing to see how it was done.
A young couple with children have bought the house next door, and it’ll be interesting to see what they do with it. But I feel privileged to have seen it laid out as it would have been the day the first occupants moved in, and to have gained such insight into the design of our new home as a result.
4 comments:
It's amazing to think nowadays that the next-door house was once considered fine for a family of four or five. How aspirations have changed! Now every child expects their own bedroom for net-surfing, studying etc. I remember my first childhood home, a poky semi-detached that my parents, myself and my sister didn't leave until I was 13.
Also TV-watching habits have changed - I remember we all used to watch the same set in the one living room, and even that was strictly rationed! Now every house (except ours!) seems to have loads of TV sets. Plus of course more poeple work at home now, or are expected to bring work home and you have to have somewhere to do it.
It's a sad fact that, at a time when some people don't have a home at all, those of us who can afford it will continue to buy more space. And it DOES improve quality of life.
So, as far as you are concerned you bought a 2 bedrooms + study (landing) home?
I think it would be fascinating for me to see also the original form of a house and the renovated version as such.
If you guys e-mail me a few pics from your house (if you don't mind) I will send you a few from where we live currently.
Looking for a new place (always looking, it seems) now. But unlikely to move for a while.
Jenny, I have visited your new blog previously, congrats, sorry I didn't leave a note earlier. But Added it to my blogroll finally, now that I have so much time in my hands to surf the net.
Gxoxo
Gaye - oh no, the house has a huge extension which I was too modest to mention! Will put photos on Facebook soon, as decorating is now finished.
Moving house is very stressful, though, even if it's a quite easy process like ours because we moved from smaller to larger and had to do very little to the place. Be prepared!
And thanks for the blogroll mention - visits are slowly increasing now...
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