This Old House

We have had a few requests for more pictures of the inside of our house, but before posting the photos, here's a short history...

Our neighborhood was etablished in the mid 1800s, and our house was built some time around 1880 according to the stories I have heard. It's crazy to think that I am living in a house that is older than the city where I grew up!

So, with those 125+ years of history comes a lot of "charm." Like the original baseboards and wood flooring. Beautiful they are, but there is definitely no sneaking around--the second you think you've made it, the floor will creak in such a way that it is practically screaming, "I'm tired--stop walking on me!" And, of course, I can't forget the radiators. If the water coming through the pipes gets a bubble in it or has any flow issues, it sounds like an old lady is downstairs banging on the pipes with a frying pan. It scared the @#$% out of me the first few times it happened, but now I'm used to it. Some friends told me to slip pennies underneath the feet on one end to "balance" them, and the old lady has only come back a few times since we made the adjustment.

A few additional interesting traits about old houses like ours are that over the years many, many people have made their own repairs the way they thought it should be done, and it is definitely apparent that not everyone who lived here along the way was qualified to be making the repairs. This is not as noticeable inside our house because it was renovated in the last 10 years, but the basement is a total disaster. There are so many wires and pipes running every which way that it's hard to know which ones work and which don't.

Here are some photos:

The living room complete with our new C&B couch and Ben's original artwork. ;-)















Another living room view.

















One more living room view. This one has a great view of the radiator. ;-)











Ben's favorite spot with his favorite chair.

















More chairs...I like to call it the "reading nook." ;-)

















The dining room is my next project. We need a bigger table, and I am working on convincing Ben to let go of his prized cafe table so that our guests don't have to cram themselves in when they come over. He loves cooking for large groups, but protests the idea of a bigger table. It just doesn't make sense.











Our bedroom.
















The kitchen, office, and bathroom are probably not photo-worthy, but I will try to post some photos of the basement to show you guys what a "garden apartment" in Boston looks like. I can't believe it, but in the 1970s when our neighborhood was overcrowded and was one of the most densely populated areas of the county, someone lived in our 300 sq. foot basement. There is a bathroom, a sink, and only two tiny slivers of windows. I can't imagine living down there, but people do it all the time around here. In fact, our 1000 sq. feet is considered a luxury by some of city dwellers I have met here--life in yankeeland doesn't come with much personal space. ;-)