Another 1970’s mystery

Since we’re on the subject of the 1970’s, let’s delve into another mystery that has flummoxed me for a while.

When you turn into the neighborhood at The House of Goodwill, there is a sign that says “Pine View Subdivision.”  When the TVA built Pine Lake in 1964, part of the land around it was reserved for forest (yay!) and part of it was sold as lots to home builders.

The Pine View Subdivision consists of a lot of homes built in the 1970s.  And many of the homes haven’t changed too much.  They are more or less variations of ranch houses, not the massive estates one sees now commonly built on lakes.  (Although there are at least a few of those.)

And most of the houses have (at least) an acre of land, which is nice.

So maybe the houses weren’t built to be “lake houses” per say – but it’s almost like they’re just a bunch of houses that happen to have a lake in the backyard.

I mean, I know it was the 1970's, and the thinking was different, but wouldn’t you imagine that someone, somewhere along the line would say, “Hey, maybe a big window overlooking the lake would be nice?”

I’ve seen a lot of lake homes from this era (in other places too) that were clearly meant to face the street, with a couple of tiny windows in the back.  Because the road is a nicer view?

To be fair, The House of Goodwill has almost a wall of windows facing the water in the basement, which are really cool.  It’s the most light-filled part of the house.  And the main room above has sliding glass doors with a nice view to the lake, but the master bedroom just has one window, and there’s absolutely no where you could put a bed and be able to see out it.  (I want to lie in bed and see the water!)

I think if I was designing a house on a lake, my question would be, “how many water-facing windows will fit in this house?”

The House of Goodwill is not super close to the water, and the one back deck is pretty small.  It has the cool “beach house” down by the water, but nowhere really designed to sit and enjoy the waterfront.

We’ll start with the dock, and hopefully add to it in the future.

Welcome to The House of Goodwill, a house that happens to be on a lake!