Aren't we sick of homogenized housing yet??

[Geila]

Right - it makes you smile! And a dark kitchen makes me depressed. Why shouldn't we both have what we want?

Sure, white boxy houses might be boring, but considering the many, many problems we have going on (mass shootings, racism, wealth inequality), how big of a problem is it really? And when you think about how many people are leaving everything they have and literally running for their lives around the world, and those who live in servitude, utter poverty, and endure a lifetime of back breaking labor, is an overabundance of shiplap such a big deal?

I think these trends are really most obvious in articles or websites because they have to do what is trendy. We've been house shopping recently and I haven't seen a single shiplap wall or treatment. Although I have seen several hideous slabs of cheap gray granite. Blegh.

Now, don't be mad, but I actually bought some shiplap last year. During our kitchen reno we moved cabinets and that left some unsightly walls. It's really expensive to have them retextured and I don't like wall tile with formica (which is what we put in, I actually like formica). I thought shiplap would be a good way to go but I was worried about dust collecting in the grooves and never actually put it up. We just painted over the unsightly walls with flat paint and they pretty much just blend into the background. When we sell, I'll probably use some of it. It's cheap, it's easy to do, it can be painted any color you want, and if new buyers hate it, they can just take it out. I see a lot of houses with ugly, dated tile that would be a nightmare to take out. I think shiplap kind of serves the same purpose that tile and wallpaper used to, but it's easier and cheaper to do. And probably somewhere in the middle, waste-wise. More waste than wallpaper but much less than tile. And apparently wall paper requires a totally flat wall, so that's pretty much off-limits for older houses.

As a conciliatory offering here is my version of a lovely craftsman bungalow (you'll probably hate it because everything is painted, but all the beautiful details are still intact!):

[Teacher Terry]

Painted or not that’s beautiful!

[iris lilies]

Generally speaking, the closer you stay to the original house in renovations, the better longevity for your renovation. I have seen this throughout all of the Victorian houses in my neighborhood that have been modernized over 45+ years.

I think it is important to preserve quality builds typical of their time and place. They aren’t making any more of those, they’re only making Ccheaply built structures that last 50 years instead of 300 years.

A good example of quickly dating cosmetics is our second floor. We made a modern bathroom with glass block walls for the shower and a sleek vanity. 30 years ago if we had taken a more traditional approach, that was kind of a big Yawn. But today, that yawn bathroom if it had pedestal sinks and bead board on the walls, would have been less of a time capsule than our sleek-st-the-time bathroom.
I personally like painted woodwork and I’m fortunate to live in a neighborhood where these houses had painted woodwork, for the most part. I would not paint the woodwork on the craftsman shown above.


Right now I’m struggling with accepting that my Hermann house has exterior cladding that is of the period and speaks to its origins. It is asbestos siding. I have always associated that with houses of poor people because where I’m from that is kind of the case. But in Hermann it was used a lot in the 40s. It is in good shape. It would be pure vanity to rip it off.

[catherine]

Geila, I actually love the colors they chose, and they kept the bookcases and fireplace intact, even though they painted them. I'd pick all those colors myself--my house in NJ was that same "silver sage" color, and my hallway was similar to the rust. I'd be very comfortable in that house.

You're right that in the scheme of things decor isn't that big a deal, but I think it's fun. And the way trends go in and out is very interesting. But I do agree with ANM and others that trends coming in and out quickly wind up being a waste and eco-unfriendly. When I watch HGTV and they rip out nearly brand new cabinets because they're not white, it drives me crazy. So, paint the darned things!! But that doesn't make for good TV.

[JaneV2.0]

Geila's pictures are lovely. The house I grew up in was Craftsmanlike, with a similar fireplace arrangement. I don't mind the painted woodwork, which looks wonderful there.

[herbgeek]

What a gorgeous house Geila!

[Teacher Terry]

I stripped all the woodwork and doors in our 1920 Wisconsin house but I was younger.

[iris lilies]

When I was poking around the Internet last year I ran across this video of an “airplane craftsman” house in Venice Beach. I stayed in this house with my boyfriend of the time because his brother owned it. I’d been looking on the Internet to find the address of this house because I was trying to figure out where that was back in the day. The brother used to party with one of the Beach boys who lived down the block.

Anyway, it was interesting to see the house and I didn’t know it was such an important piece of architecture when I stayed there although it was pretty cute. The kitchen was small. This current owner guy has redone the bathroom, the one where he talks about all the Victorian fixtures.


http://bulldogrealtors.com/propertie...gallery1%5D/4/

The kitchen has been redone since I was there but thank the Lord every owner has kept the flooring. My boyfriend’s brother had an old 1950s stove when we were there. My boyfriend remarked to me privately “well you know they’re fixing it up and they probably don’t have a lot of money” and I had to set him straight that this old stove thing was the top of the trend then.