Why?

You might be wondering why someone (me) might want to bother buying a house and gutting it. If I don't like anything in the house, why not buy a house I like? The answer is that this place is situated on a kickass lot. The trees - hickory, oak, maples, elms, buckeyes, evergreens -are so tall it makes you dizzy looking up at the tops of them. The gardens are full of shade-loving plants: hostas, ferns, rhododendrons, azaleas. I can't wait to see what comes up in the spring. There is hardly any grass to mow; just beds and beds of perennials surrounded by a big thick hedge that looks like hemlock. Here is a picture of my new back yard: Sitting outside on the deck is so relaxing it is like being off in some remote vacation spot.

Can't wait to get my bird feeders set up and see who comes to visit.

Back On the Inside

The other reason I wanted this house is that it is very well-built and sturdy. The construction seems to have been above average, especially for that era when cost-cutting and use of cheap materials began to be wide-spread. The windows are all custom made, and every room has huge windows facing out into the back yard. It is built into a slope and the rear windows are facing the south, so it is very energy-efficient, despite the ginormous windows. Here is an example:

This much window space or more

is in every single room,

and every room looks out at this view.

I knew I wanted this house the first time

I went inside. It just took a while to get my

husband to agree. He has really good taste when

it comes to decor and style, picking out colors, etc., but

he has absolutely no interest in being Mr. Fix-It,

doesn't want any power tools, and has never ever

puttered about in the garage a day in his life. He spends all his time working. He (we) founded a biotech start-up about 9 years ago, and it consumes the major portion of every day. To paraphrase Leonard Cohen, he's just paying his rent everyday in the Tower of Science. I am a molecular biologist, too - in fact, we met in graduate school - but I have broken free of my chains and no longer do research. So I am the one who has time, not mention interest, in this Big Project. Consequently, he agreed to buy the house if I would do so with no expectation that he is going to do any of the renovation work. If I can't do it, I will find someone who can. He is willing to pay for the work as long as it fits into the budget. Heheheheh. So we bought it.

Let the demolition begin!