I would definitely make the house I'm living in a home. You need to be happy where you are. Wishing for something that may come someday is like saying your life, until you move, is non existent. You can give your house character and warmth with paint and decor.

Before we decided to build our dream home we pretty much thought we'd be staying in our current house forever. I decorated it to the best of my ability and turned a frog into a prince. Our little house has been comfortable and attractive for the last 18 years (until Katrina came along). For the last 5 years that we've been building the new house we haven't spent any money on this one for decor. We'll remodel when we are ready to sell.

What is so wrong with your house?

I've always wanted to live in a Southern Plantation, but there is no chance of that happening so I'm decorating my new house like it is my plantation!!

Most people don't move into there idea of the home they have in there head first. I say make it yours. Decorate it and make changes that you don't like. You need to live, if you wait, it may never happen.

What is it that you dislike?

I completely agree with Brutuses. All any of us really have is right here, right now -- there's no assurance of tomorrow and "things to come" that are better. It's always been very important for me to "bloom where I'm planted" as far as my home goes. My very first home was a little concrete house in the Philippines. It wasn't at all what I would have selected, but circumstances put me there, and I never even considered not turning it into "home, sweet home" for the duration that I was going to be there. To this day, I still have such fond memories of the little green checked curtains that I sewed by hand for the kitchen windows, and all of the many hours I arranged and rearranged what few possessions I had in order to make that little place something that I felt I'd created. It ended up making me feel very proud, very satisfied.

I do know what you mean about longing for a house that has a certain character that you find appealing, but I think it's very important to focus on what you do like about your current home, and find ways to bring even more beauty into your everyday life.

What don't you love about your house? Some things are more easily changed than others. We bought a really ugly ranch house 16 years ago, but the location fit what we wanted and I knew the house was plain enough to change any way we wanted. It's unrecognizable now, we've added a 2nd floor and resided it. I love it now, because we've made it look old, which was what I always wanted. BUT, we've probably spent more $$ doing this than was practical. And, we're still working on it, which is tiresome. It's a trade off. I don't regret it tho -- even if it's money you won't get back in resale, you've created something you love to live in.

If it's a style that definitely can't be changed, and it'll never be what you want, you can make inexpensive improvements that go a long way. A really nice home is not always the result of a lot of $$ spent. Meanwhile, if moving is a realistic option, there's nothing wrong with keeping your eyes open.

We move often so I completely understand both sides.

We "live in the moment with an eye to the future". It is kind of our motto. Although we can be quite impulsive, everything works out for the best as long as we are moving forward.

That said, you should consider using your current house as a testing ground to perfect your ideas. Figure out exactly what you like and work out some kinks so you won't make the same mistakes in YOUR future house. (I call my dream house MY house)

If that only can mean figuring out the perfect shade of green for your future sun porch or finding a set of candlesticks for that dreamy fireplace you have in your mind's eye, so be it. Always move forward to your dream.

I understand because I don't love my house. I have made some improvements on it in the last few years and I like it much better, though. I think you would be happier if you tried to make it more like you want.

You can add character to your home. Crown molding, wood floors, moldings around doors and windows, paint, lighting can all add loads of character without spending a lot of money.

Aw, your thoughts have really helped. Looking at the realty sites unnerves me. The way housing prices have dropped (and interest rates stayed low) has made me think, we should have WAITED . . .we could have spent less money yet had more of the kind of house I'd like.

What don't I like about my house? Well, it's those little details that are missing that seem to come naturally in old homes (mine is from '59). The long windows, the molding everywhere, hardwood throughout (we only have hardwood downstairs), things like that. Someday we'll have $ to put those things in, but at that point, maybe it would be better to move.

But, you are all right. I shouldn't plan for someday, I should enjoy what we have now, and just fix the things I can. And paint chips, you are so right about this being a "test house." I didn't even know what made a house have character before (I just knew it when I saw it), but now I dissect everything, so I'll be better prepared if/when we move to know exactly what I want.

I can so relate to this topic. There have been many a night I've laid in bed over the past three years and asked myself why in the world we bought this house. I LOVED my old little house we used to live in but it was my house before I was married and my husband felt we needed to buy an "our" house. We have spent a lot of money and time trying to make this house home and for the most part have done a good job. However, I can understand the "something is missing" feeling. I sometimes wonder if we are just putting perfume on a pig and regarless of what we do to this place it will stink. I also believe that you shouldn't sit around and wait for your dream house that may never come and you have to do the best with what you have at the time and make it a home you are happy to come home too. I remember reading what someone wrote a while back about one of their big regrets being that their now grown children never lived in a completed house - some project was always going on. That has stuck with me like you wouldn't believe and now we are fast and furious trying to make this house a finished home so my 15 month old will have warm memories of where she spent her early childhood.

I don't agree that we must make the best of what we already have, unless circumstances are such that we have no choice. If you can sell your house and find another that you like better, why not do it? It's just a house. If you can't, then I can see the other side of the question.

Last year, we sold our house only six months after moving in. It was so wrong for us, for so many reasons. We were about to spend the next several years of our lives and a great deal of money doing projects on it that would make it livable but still not solve the real problem, that I could not stand living there.

My husband thought I was crazy, but reluctantly agreed to put that house on the market. Somehow we found the house we live in now and a buyer for the old one on the very same day, and closed both on the same day three weeks later. The house was never even listed, our agent just made some calls and we had a buyer. We were so lucky. We love our new house and think it's perfect for us.

So yes, you can always change houses if you know that you have the ability to find a better one, that you feel is more worth putting effort into. Either way is good. It's just a decision you have to make, based on the market, your needs and desires, and how much money, time and effort you want to spend. That's all it is.

nmladybug: your comment about putting perfume on a pig is exactly my fear. It's hard for me to imagine that the PO lived here THIRTY years without making some of the improvements I envision, you know? Esp. because one of the owners was a talented woodworker. Why not put in some molding around the front door or windows? And how can one live for THIRTY years with a tile (looks like a drop ceiling but it isn't) ceiling in the upstairs bedrooms? How? (BTW, totally OT, but I have a 15 mo, too! She is sleeping next to me on my bed as I type . . .)

wooderlander: your situation sounds so great! However, for us, I don't think it would be so easy. For one, moving would require my DD to switch schools, most likely. She is going to be skipping a grade (going from Kindergarten to 2nd), so I think that would already be a big enough change for her. Also, my DH likes this house. He would see no reason to move. Any other house in our price range would offer us probably less sq footage, but more character . . .DH would pick the sq. footage any day.

Anele, it sounds like you like the same things I do. I like the wide moldings and nice windows and wood floors you see in older homes. Our 1968 house had ugly carpet over plywood, slider windows, fake paneling on the walls and acoustical tiles on the ceilings. If that's the main problem (cosmetic) you can make major changes yourself.

I bought a compound miter saw, ripped the clamshell moldings off all the doors, and made new ones from 1x4s. Traditional and easy to do. Each one took about 3 hours once I figured out what I was doing. We did replace windows, little by little, some of them by ourselves. I bought a sawzall and sawed holes into the house and learned how to install windows from a Fine Homebuilding article. I had a few cabinetmaking skills, and decided I could learn this level of carpentry. If you or your husband is moderately handy and have the nerve, a lot of this stuff isn't that hard. As we were able to afford it, we replaced carpet with wood floors. These 3 things, windows, moldings, and floors make a huge difference. The whole nature of the house changes.

egganddart-- YES, that is exactly what I love. We have the fake wood paneling upstairs in the hallway and one bedroom. I've been told that Cape Cods in the 50s/60s were built with the upstairs unfinished . . .so my view is that you basically get a basement quality 2nd floor that way, and the PO never bothered to fix it up much.

Did you redo the ceiling yourself? How about the fake paneling? I am inspired by your cabinetmaking skills! My DH is somewhat handy, so I think he could do these things once we have more time and money.

And I agree with your three things. Those are major factors in changing a house!

Anele --

First, stay off those realtor sites! They'll break your heart.

Second, post some photos of your new house and let us help!

For example: Fake paneling looks great painted. A cheap fix!

Maybe someday you'll have the perfect house. (Can you hear us all laughing? There's no such thing!)

Work with what you have. This is how you will learn to become a great decorator for your NEXT house!

I've learned that you get more of what you focus on ("what you dwell on increases"), so find something good on which to focus! If you keep looking for things you don't like about your home, you're going to keep finding them.....

Find something, anything, that you can appreciate about where you are right now and build on that. Keep out the negative thoughts on your house and over time you'll find more things to appreciate, etc. You are where you are and it's up to you to "bloom where you're planted"--or not--by how you decide to think about it. ......and you're not helping by looking at the realty sites.

You could make it your intention to create such a lovely home that you'll miss it when you do leave it some day.

A pig might stink (though as a Razorback I take offense to that--LOL) and even with perfume, it still might not smell so great......but it will smell different! So think of your house as a diamond in the rough, and it's up to you to uncover the hidden potential.

Good luck.
Tracey

"It's always been very important for me to "bloom where I'm planted" as far as my home goes."
Aunjen, this is very inspiring!

Anele,
You started a philosophical discussion.

I think the answers in this thread are helping me with the choices I have to make in aur new home (to be built)

Very good help/answers. Thanks you all!!!

anele - I think what you have is probably a good house that you can make what you want it to be. You may live in one of those homes you covet now only to find that you will have just as many projects as the moldings may be damaged or painted so many times over that it is caked on and not a good paint job etc. so you would have to strip it and ...

You also may not get the same good schools with moving etc. I think going for the location/schools/neighborhood is just as important and if just internal things such as moldings and wood floors they are easily changed and you get to pick what you want!!

See what I'm getting at. The grass is always greener on the other side, until you start making the changes you envison for your own house, then you might think otherwise.

BTW trim is not that expensive and you can do it one room at a time as money allows.

Here are some photo's to inspire you. My DH recenty renovated my neighbor's kitchen and living room. Now tell me, does this look like the same house?

Remember, paint is the easiest and least expensive way to update your house. I till have cheap fake paneling on one wall that was original to the house. We've painted it over the years and it makes a nice accent wall.

I wish there was so way I could post photo's of my current house's before and after photo's. I didn't have a digital back then and I don't have a scanner. We lived on 1970's brown shag carpet, grease on all the walls, a kitchen that looked almost as bad as my neighbors, a bath that had never been updated and the house was built in the 70's. I'm talking dirty, ugly house!!! It took us a few years to update the entire inside and out, but when we were finished it didn't look like the same house.

Don't despair, small changes can have a big impact.

Before

After

I feel the same way as the OP but with a different type of house.

We moved from a beautiful house in an inexpensive area. Our back yard was a forest preserve and after seven years our landscaping was completed and gorgeous. The neighbors would always walk by and say we had the prettiest yard in the area.

The inside decorating was finally finished, also. We only had one high ceiling and could do most of the house ourselves.

DH got a promotion and had to spend more time at the office. With traffic around the Chicago burbs, he was spending over three hours a day commuting. At our age it was starting to take its toll on us so reluctantly we started looking for a place that was closer to his work.

We decided to build and unfortunately, we bought at the top of the market. This area is twice as expensive as where we lived before. The house is too big and has too many high ceilings IMO. It's also more of a cookie-cutter. The back yard is so open that I'm going to put a fence up Friday even though we're not fence people. I miss all my beautiful birds I used to have (orioles, rose-breasted grossbeaks etc).

I am still getting the real estate updates daily (I know, Mclarke but it's like watching a train wreck and not being able to look away). I see custom houses that are going for $75,000 less than we paid for this one with the yards already done and much better quality. I feel that every cent we put into this is like trying to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. Draperies alone for all these 18 ft ceilings are going to cost a fortune and we still have to finish the fireplace (just paid for the box and enough tile to bring it up to code). Two of the upstairs bedroom windows had 1/2 in of ice on the inside glass last winter that lasted all day. The builder's site manager suggested a space heater, LOL.

Then, a few months after we moved, my Dad was diagnosed with dementia and I've been spending half my time running back to the city we used to live in to look after his situation.

So in a nutshell...no, I don't love my house.

I am really big into "location". Do you love the location? Are you in a school system you like? If so there are certainly lots you could do to a cape to give it character.

Parma,
Your letter made me sad. I know how you feel about loving the last house that you lived in and needing to move for work reasons - then being displeased with what you have. I think it stirs up so many emotions. We have been in and are sort of in that boat now. Our house is too big and was supposed to be maintenance free for the most part, and it has not been. It has been so time consuming with so many unfinished projects. I don't have the time that I used to, to work on things. However, others come to my house and love it. I think to myself "if you only knew..." I also look at real estate from time to time. But I try to remember all of the things RIGHT about where we live now, and I look fondly on the places we used to live. When I really think about it, there are many things I didn't like about other homes we lived in. Those are things that are easily forgotten. I just loved bits and pieces about them all, and wish I could put my favorite things about all of them into one house. It all comes down to it's just a house. Just a material item that it in my life at this time. I won't always live here but the neighborhood is great for my children. No house is perfect. I love what another poster said about not wanting to raise her children in a house where nothing was ever completed. I think that's what I'm doing right now. So I'm really going to try to change that. I'm sorry to hear about your father. When we have loved one's with health problems it adds so much stress. And that will be your priority right now. I hope that things get better for you. Also - plant trees, the birds will come.

Our last house was our first house and we didn't do a single thing to it. We painted over the horrible pink that was everywhere the week we moved in and then nothing for 5 years. Then when we went to sell it we put $2k into a home stager and let her do whatever she wanted. We cleared almost $100k in the sale to put towards our next house. Instead of putting money into the house to fix it up or make it nicer, we put double and triple payments on our mortgage to pay it down as fast as we could. Even thought our friends had nicer homes than us, we kept telling ourselves to look at the bigger pictures. This was just an interim house so there was really no point on buying new furniture when it might not go in our next house, or updating anything. We just did the bare minimum for the past five years and focused on the next house and here we are... in our next house! I'm not sure if that's depressing, ha ha, but I'm just answering the question from my point of view! We didn't love the house, we didn't try to make it homey (the kids put their loving 'touches' on it though, ha ha... they're 1 and 3 so their touches involve a lot of mess), we just paid it down and focussed on the bigger picture.

Our house is a 1971 CA ranch style and is our last house since we are going to retire soon. We bought it for the land (2.5 acres) and its location up in the mountains and the neighborhood. We fell in love with that part. You can change a house but you can change very little about the area or the land. You can't get ocean or valley views, which we have, if they are not already there. And it was what we could afford at the time.

We have been working on our 'sow's ear' for 22 years. It has taken us that long because all the projects have been DIY. It is what my DH likes to do for fun. And he is a perfectionist and a hardworker so projects get done quickly and are done very well. Better then all the jobs we ever had done by "professionals" in the past.

We have remodeled the bathrooms and finally the kitchen 2 years ago. Tore out the 1970's full wall brick fireplace, put in skylights and opened the place up. We have ripped out the carpet and put in hardwood floors and new solid wood 6 panel hardwood interior doors. Also new Anderson multi-paned look windows and trim and new mahogany front door with beveled glass. Plus put in a new style porch and railing out front and re-did the back. And built a gazebo out in the field plus extensive landscaping. It will never be the home of my dreams, which is either a Victorian or a Craftsman style, but it looks so much better. I don't think the previous owners would recognize it! And it suits our style better now. (But I still love to look at Victorian houses and dream. LOL)
Clare

Thanks joanie38, I didn't mean to highjack the thread and didn't post on it yesterday for that reason.

Sometimes I actually enjoy planning for the house but with spring here, no tulips or trees....just get a little depressed.

Anele, if you're in an area you like, that's half the battle right there. It's amazing what a little paint and other small touches can do to a home. You say your DH is a handy. That is great! I'm sure he can do some molding work and change a floor or two. I grew up in one of those old cape cods. I see really neat things done to the upstairs in mags. The sloped ceilings (if you have them) can be so full of character.

Have some fun with it and it will reward you.

Anele, we did do the ceilings ourselves. It would be really amusing now to see how pathetic we were at first and how long it took us to put up those first few pieces of drywall. There's a ton of info online about doing these things. For instance, we found out about making a T-bar out of two 2x4s to hold up the drywall to the ceiling while you lift the other end.

We ripped off the paneling the day we moved in. Then we lived with the unbelievably ugly brown glue-swizzled old drywall that was underneath it for months until we finished putting up new drywall. It was on every wall of the 1600 square foot house! This house was so ugly, in that late 60s way, even the bathrooms had brown carpet on the floors!

Cape cods are really great houses. They're cozy and have personality. (Good bones, as they say.) If you like your neighborhood, I'm sure you can gradually improve the interior to the point where you do love it. We've made such drastic changes in the appearance of ours that I really do love it now. Part of that comes from doing the work yourself too. Don't lose heart.

There is much I want to respond to but my battery is going to die soon . . .

Thank you, everyone, for really helping me think this through. There are so many wise words and inspiring stories here! (Love pics, brutuses! Your DH is so talented!)

I made a list of everything I wanted to change about the house. There are some big projects (what I've mentioned before), and while they add up fa$t, MOST of what really bothers me is just decorating. So, I'd have to do that in any house, inc. one with character.

egganddart49, I am so glad to hear about your successes. Very inspiring!

Parma, your other house sounds beautiful, and I could see how you'd miss it terribly. But, it also sounds like you really didn't have a choice with the situation with your DH's work. I'm so sorry about your dad!

Well it's all been said here, and very well. So i'll just add one thing ...

Flowers. A bouquet of flowers on the kitchen table. I consider it part of my grocery bill to get those silly $3.00 bouquets at the market, and i add stuff from the yard to flesh them out.

Sometimes i splurge on a grander boquet, especially in winter.

It's sort of a "look over here" trick to have flowers on a table. Everything looks fresher somehow, even when it's not. The angles can be all wrong, the tiles chipped, the "things to do" list a mile long ...

But those flowers are gorgeous! :)

Been there, done that.

My advice is to do small, inexpensive touches that you like to your house to help make it nicer for you. Do NOT put a ton of money into upgrades into it (unless your neighbors all have similar touches). We made that mistake with our last house. I did not like it, but it was home. We put a lot of money into it to make it the nicest on the block, but I still disliked the neighborhood. In the end, we ended up moving. You can't change the neighborhood, but you can change the house. Determine if it's the house itself you don't like or the entire neighborhood. Don't overupgrade.

Interesting thread - My 2 cents, based on our experience is to keep the house well-maintained and continue to do small projects that will enhance your enjoyment of the home while you are in it, and will also add value to the house if/when you sell it.

We lived for 20 yrs. in our starter home ranch (stayed for good schools, kid friendly neighborhood, etc.)and it would have been foolhardy to overspend on making it too upscale for the neighborhood. But we did keep everything clean, fresh and updated. Our kids' memories of the home they grew up in are of a place that reflected our tastes and values, though it was far from grand. Keeping it spiffed up and updated really paid off when we sold it. Though it was near and about the same size and style of many of the neighboring homes, the small things we did and the care we took keeping it up made it stand out.

I realize the market has changed from 6 years ago when we sold, but we paid our neighbor a courtesy call to tell her we were planning to move and she had someone in mind who had always admired the house who ended up buying it before there was even a sign in the yard.

Two of the four houses we've owned were built in 1911 and had wide moldings, pine and hardwood floors, big windows and paneled doors. We did extensive restoration in one and heavy cosmetic work in the other (plus a new kitchen). We did most of the work ourselves.

I love old houses but I will never buy another one. The maintenance costs are just too high. We had to put off tons of fun decorating projects because we had to replace furnaces, water heaters, windows, exterior doors, roofs, gutters, and more. We had constant weatherstripping issues. We had to repoint some of the original stone foundation with custom-mixed mortar. We had to have lead paint scraped from the exterior of one house before it could be repainted (this with a 6-year-old in the house).

The other two houses were built in the 40s and 50s and needed far less maintenance than the older houses. Someday I'd love to live in a brand new house that is built really well, but that will probably never happen because I love the location we're in now and there is no available land here. Maybe if we win the lottery we'll demolish and rebuild on our lot. That would be a trip!

One thing I've decided through decorating various homes, but still waiting for my forever house, is that there is little point trying to make your current home something it's not.

I, too, love old houses with glorious mouldings and built in china cabinets, etc, etc. But I don't live in a house like that right now. Yes, I can add a fancy paneled door and crown moulding to my 1947 bungalow, but that is not going to make it look like a 1908 Victorian! KWIM.

Instead, I embraced, reluctantly at first, and then with more enthusiasm, the true nature of the house.

Saving the real spending for the forever house, I have picked up a few second hand pieces that look great in this house, like mid-century modern teak coffee tables, etc.

I've come to really appreciate the mid-century style of house and it doesn't look like it's wearing a costume. LOL.

I've used this same approach in other places we've lived in.

This helps you see the house's positives, rather than always focusing on its faults (i.e. the way it differs stylistically from your dream house).

Along the way, I've learned a lot about different decorating styles.

kailleanm, yes I agree . . .I will not try to make this house what it isn't. However, I think if I put up moldings, it will give the house a finished look. A house with no trim just looks unfinished, IMO.

However, here is what I've decided. This CANNOT be my "forever" house, no matter how I fix it. Why? Because of the noise in our backyard. We have a lovely yard with so much potential, but it is just too noisy from a nearby road. In front of our house, you can't hear it . . .but once I venture to the back, it is loud most days. It wasn't loud at all the day we looked at it, but I guess that was the seller's luck. I had the false assumption (moving from the city) that the suburbs were quiet, so I didn't even consider noise/distance from roads and such when we looked. One of the things I loved about it was that it was SO quiet. I've learned so much since buying this house!

So, I am going to fix it in ways that I can afford that make it pleasing and all, but not in any way that will break the bank. Within about 4-5 years, we'll be in a much better position to afford a better house.

I kept hoping I could get used to the noise (esp. because it isn't bad every day), but it just gets more and more annoying to me. It is fine when we are inside, but outside can be really loud. It is so surprising to me that some of my neighbors who are much wealthier than we would actually choose to build here, given the noise.

Absolutely can I relate to this topic. I live in a 70's split-foyer, split-entry, bi-level, whatever you want to call it. In looking for information on how to update or decorate these houses, etc, I have found entire threads devoted only to people's intense dislike of these homes. The thing is, by buying this house, I got in a celebrated school district (I have no kids but I enjoy living in an area where if the kids graffiti your garage, the graffiti is spelled correctly), with an acre of land, with a creek in the backyard.

It is about 2000sf, and into that amount was squished 5 bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms, a kitchen, a living room, a family room, and a laundry room. The bedrooms are TINY. Which I know people hate nowadays.

What we've done, is, instead of adding on, we have tried to reconfigure. We turned one of the bedrooms into a dressing room, and turned our master closet, the windowless half bath and the windowless full bath (these were miniscule, as anyone familair with these houses knows) into one big walkthrough bathroom. Our master bedroom is still small, but we don't need dressers since we have a nice big dressing room adjoined now.

We replaced the nasty hollowcore doors with frosted glass doors, which helps add light, and makes rooms feel a bit more spacious.

We are updating the kitchen and adding more windows, plus putting in a banquette for dining.

We added more closet space to the bedrooms on the garden level (sounds much nicer to say that than basement level).

We are switching the huge laundry room and teeny full bath so that the bathroom is the big room and the laundry is smaller. Which also enabled us to seperate our family room into an area where we could view the fireplace, and another where we could watch TV by the walkout doors.

These are all changes for our enjoyment. I have no idea if we will recoup any money when we sell, especially since we took out a bedroom and lost a half bath.

Nothing can really be done about the outside. I mean, it's a split entry...Me and DH call these "house volcanoes, like the earth is trying to push a house out and hasn't quite made it yet. LOL

I am loving our house now, because it's where I live with my darling genius of a husband and I have a huge yard to garden in and to let my three precious dogs run around. I know many people think my home style is ugly, that it's generally despised and realtors hate selling them because nobody wants to look at them...but I live in a wonderful area surrounded by homes that are worth much more than mine. I get to enjoy the very same benefits they do, but I pay A LOT less for the privelege of this excellent area, all I have to do is live in a house voclano:-)

Joanna

The house I live in now is a house I NEVER would have picked. It was a package deal with my husband. I HATE it with a passion. It's a poorly built late 70's mass-produced suburban nightmare. 4 bedrooms, 2 baths, living room, dining room, family room and kitchen in 1500 sqft. It's a rabbit warren of tiny rooms off long, dark halls. No trim anywhere. Cottage cheese on ceilings and walls. Hideous fireplace. Lousy floorplan for entertaining which I dearly love.

We're working on getting it into a semblance of a decent house but it is going to take a LOT of work. Even then, it will still be just barely livable to me. I don' even like the location.

We don't have much choice but to live with it the best that we can due to economics and family situation.

The phrase silk purse...sow's ear is a constant refrain. We'll be here for the next 5-10 years so I HAVE to do something. But then again I don't want to do too much as I want OUT as soon as we can realistically do so.

pbrisjar...I love how you describe your house as "a rabbit warren of tiny rooms off long, dark halls". Sounds like my house when we first bought it.

Were the builders in the 70's afraid of light? Afraid of space? I think so!

Joanna

We moved into a 1940s colonial in a pretty, leafy neighborhood in a wonderful school district. The house has decent, solid bones, but the location was really the deciding factor for us. I've raised my two young children for three years now here, and while I don't love the tiny avocado green kitchen with linoleum flooring, the complete lack of openness between the family room and kitchen, and the practically nonoperable plumbing in one of the two upstairs bathroom, the other things that are good about the house are enough to make me want to stay. I love our big backyard, our hardwood floors, and our built-in bookcases.

Sometimes when my 4 yr old and 2 yr old and clamoring at my legs while I'm cooking dinner I dream of moving to a new house with one of those open great rooms. but the new houses in the area are way out of our budget, and I don't like many of the new houses anyways, so we'll just stay put and make do with what we have. We do little improvements here and there, and we hope to have enough to do a major maekover later. I do get anxious sometimes looking at what else is out there on the real estate listings, but everyday life is enough to keep me grounded. I think if you are fortunate to have enough of a budget to move into what you want, then go for it, but if not, then by no means do you let it get you down. home is where the heart is. Sorry for the long-winded response.

If your house has a style of its own, it's best to play up what you can, rather than try to clothe it as if it were something else. But I don't agree that you CAN'T make a house radically different. Our house was so plain, it had no "bones" at all, which is probably next best to having good bones! So it was very changeable. It genuinely does look like an older house, which it isn't.

I never used to think you could do anything with raised ranches, but I have a friend who made hers so nice I've changed my mind. She didn't reconfigure rooms, but they changed the windows to be double hung with real wood muntins (her husband makes windows and doors for a living), and generally decorated it so nicely it looks beautiful.

Tradewind, your house sounds great! You did such creative things with it.