Took a walk down our old street this morning. This was our house. The owner added a front deck and changed the garage doors and the landscaping is a little different, but otherwise it looks the same. Many good memories were made here – all three kids were born while we lived in this house.
The builder had quite few lots in the neighborhood, but was building larger houses than what we needed. We liked the houses he built, so we contacted him. We said we were interested in building a house similar to one a few doors away, built by another builder. He told us to go have him build us a house then!
We still preferred his work, so he told us to look for something square and with few hallways, as this would keep the cost down to something we could afford and would fit with his usual construction. We found a house plan in a magazine more in line with what we wanted. He made a couple of small changes and we were off! He used the plan a couple more times in the neighborhood with a change in the roofline.
As I remember, he and his wife had 6 kids – 5 girls and finally the desperately-wanted boy so he could name his business “… and Son.” I wonder if his son went into the business or if he even wanted to? He was about two at the time.
The builder’s wife selected all of the wallpaper and tile and so on in his spec houses. We didn’t care for her choices, so I was glad that we were involved from the beginning and could make our own selections – although I had many dreams involving wallpaper patterns.
The builder was finishing up a new house for his family of eight at the time he started ours. He laughed and told us, “Your house would fit in my attic!”
Several of the houses on the street look much the same. Quite a few have changed out windows and doors. One is nearly gutted to add on a second floor. No one was at work on it. Perhaps a delay because of the corona virus pandemic.
I often think I would like to downsize back to this house, but my husband doesn’t seem to agree, remembering the mid-80s bathrooms and kitchen. But who knows? Maybe they have been updated.