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Renovation with respect: Our old house story

By: Shannon Lee , Contributing Writer
In: Historic Preservation

Until last year, my grandparent's home had sat vacant for almost a decade.

When my grandmother lost her battle with cancer, none of us had the desire or strength to change anything in the house. It had been entirely hers -- she had put her stamp on it from the first day of planning. My grandfather was known to say that he was just a regular boarder in his wife's house. He was joking. (Probably…)

She chose everything in the house. She insisted on big picture windows, designed the porch and flower beds, picked out the imposing front door and even waited not-so-patiently for the wood floors that would come from our own pine trees. From the paint color on the walls (a cheery yellow) to the polished pine floors to the enormous garden out back, that house was definitely her domain. Once she was gone, no one really had the heart to step up and change that.

But ten years gives the hands of time plenty of opportunity to destroy a vacant house. Seeing what was going to happen, my brother made the decision to move in.

Big changes but that same old spirit

There were already serious problems. The plumbing was too far gone to be repaired, and the wiring was a fire waiting to happen. A squirrel family (or two) had taken up residence on the back porch. Water had damaged several walls. And there were actually weeds growing up through the kitchen floor!

With the memories of our beloved grandparents firmly in the back of his mind, my brother set out to renovate in a way that would keep those memories alive but make way for an entirely new version of the home we all loved so much. With nerves of steel, he ripped down the drywall, tore up the floors, and basically gutted the entire structure.

But he kept what he could: the beautiful molding and baseboards that ran throughout the house. The hand-made kitchen cabinets our grandfather built. The stone from the original flower beds. That heavy front door, the one that had protected our family for decades.

Then he began to rebuild.

Along the way, there were plenty of emotions flying around. We're a big family, and we each have our rather strong opinions. Some weren't happy about the changes. Some were livid. Some were just happy that the house wouldn't be lost to the elements.

But even the naysayers began to come around. It happened when they saw that beautiful front door, polished to a high shine. Or when they saw the cheery yellow on the living room walls, our grandmother's signature color. Or saw the long strips of carefully restored baseboards, with all the imperfections still there. It was different…but it was also the same.

And in the end, the old house spirit shone through. It wasn't about the molding or the floors or even that painstakingly restored kitchen. It wasn't about the new back porch or the revitalized flower beds. It was about the kids running around in the yard, the sisters sharing a quiet discussion at the kitchen table, and the youngest of our brothers challenging his nephews to climb the big oak tree. It was about the memories that were wrapped up in that house, and the beautiful memories yet to be made.

Sometimes a careful restoration isn't necessary. A solid renovation can make the home last for another 100 years, and that restores the family spirit -- and that is more than enough.

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