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!

This is not your grandma’s lake house!! oh, wait….yes it is

I have always loved a place that felt like a time warp.  You know, the places you walk into that feel like they haven’t changed in 20, 30 or 50 years?

Maybe it’s because I love history.  Maybe this is why I love antiques?  I don’t know.  I just know I’m drawn to things that feel like they’re from another time.

I loved The House of Goodwill at first sight on the internet.  And when we entered to see it for the first time – while it was still for sale – the first thing I noticed when I walked in the door was a portrait of a girl with a Mary Lou Retton haircut.

(My son does not believe me every time he wears black socks that are calf height with shorts – not all trends deserve to be remembered.)  

But that is not the point.  Apparently this is a portrait of the girl who grew up in The House of Goodwill, and she’s probably just a bit older than me.

I don’t think much changed over the years at the house.  I daresay the wallpaper hanging in the foyer is probably what got hung after the house was built in 1974.

It’s time for just a bit of an update.

The dark, dark black walnut stain - that was so prolific in the 70’s – covering all the molding and all the doors has to change.  It just makes the house feel oppressive.

So dark!  And this wallpaper is not doing the hallway any favors.

But overall, I want to honor the 1970’s style of the house.  I think a lot of people, had they bought this house – would remove some of the 70’s features.  And if this were to be my permanent home, I might be tempted to as well.

Let’s start with the very creative stone columns at the entrance.  As I’ve mentioned previously, I have really mixed feelings on these.  On the one hand, they are extremely groovy, and they’re certainly memorable!  This is not a house you’ll look at and forget, and it’s not just another generic suburban build.

Stone columns, if you were a guy I don't know if we'd break up or get married...

On the other hand, they really block the entrance, and kind of seem unwelcoming.  I feel like if they were removed, the house would feel a lot more open and friendlier.  (On the plus side, all the locals in town know exactly what house I'm talking about when I tell them we bought the one with the stone columns.)

I remember riding by a house when I was a kid with my great aunt, someone who seemed to never have an unkind word for anybody.  The house we were passing had numerous tchotchkes and lawn statues and pieces of cars strewn everywhere around it.  “Too many ideas,” was all she said, and kept driving.  I think sometimes that just sums things up.

At the end of the day, I feel like the columns are part of the 70’s style of the house, and they should stay.

It’s like that with the decorative spindles that separate the living room/kitchen, and the bedroom/bathroom.  Is there anything more 70’s than spindle room dividers?  Looking from the kitchen into the living room, they really block the view.

I feel like we're missing some swinging doors and a saloon sign.

But again, they are definitely part of the zeitgeist of this house.

The style of this house from its stone exterior to its narrow windows is unavoidable, so if we’re not doing a gigantic renovation (and we’re definitely NOT), why not celebrate its grooviness?

And, last but not least, the house has an intercom system where you can choose the radio station in the kitchen, and access it in other rooms of the house.  Remember those?  They were the height of technology at the time.  

Choose the station in the kitchen, and listen to it in the bedroom.  Oh, the convenience!

I remember moving into the house I grew up in in the early 1980s.  That house had an intercom system just like this one, but maybe a little less fancy.  And just like this one, the one in the house I grew up in only partially worked.

It was like a walkie-talkie built into a wall.  As kids, we played with it till it broke.  (I’m in the kitchen!  And I can talk to someone in a bedroom!)

The doorbell part of The House of Goodwill’s intercom system is broken.  But I did manage to almost tune in to a static-y am radio station in the kitchen, and listen to it as I brushed my teeth in the bathroom before bed.

I’ve got no plans to remove it.  Again, if we’re not going to totally renovate, let’s enjoy it!  It almost seems like an old phonograph or one of those non-working ovens that you see built into brick walls sometimes in 1960’s homes.  (Why have I never encountered a functional one?)

To quote Greg Brady, I think the house is “really far out in a happening kind of way,” columns, spindles and all!

A bit of bathroom art?

With no time to post, I'll just share another great Goodwill find:

A catsterpiece, for sure.

Can you believe someone gave this away?

I contemplated buying this for a few moments, with the idea of creating a wall of bathroom "art" in the downstairs bath, with some decor akin to this.  Unfortunately, I did not buy it, and truthfully, I kind of regret it.

I mean, I still laugh when I see it.

For some reason I keep finding excellent cat-themed "art," and my dogs do not approve.  They have requested representation of their own.  I'll keep you posted.

It's a beautiful summer morning!

Right now I'm at my home-house, waiting to get back to The House of Goodwill to start painting.  I'm ready to get to work!  While I'm waiting, I thought I'd share a few photos from the yard this morning.

There was quiet, a gentle breeze, and it's not too hot yet - it was a perfect summer morning!

Impatiens in a concrete basket planter from craigslist, I stained it dark brown.

It makes a great backrest for a kitty.

The honeysuckle is in bloom, and this corner of the yard smells heavenly!

The irises are done, but the lilies are in bloom.  

I dug up a few of these bulbs two years ago when I was in New York, and they've multiplied quickly.  Could I have bought the same lilies here?  Sure.  But I love to look and them and know they came from a place that I love. 

These orange lilies are all over the state of New York in the summer.  The same way my irises remind me of my friends who shared them with me, these lilies remind me of home.

Oh, one other great thing about these lilies - they are a perennial that blooms 2x a year!

(And I didn't even mention that they were free...)

Just one thing missing here....where's the water?

Wizard ate Washington

There are many reasons I love buying things that don’t cost a lot.  Here’s one of them: when something breaks (and things inevitably break, or fall apart, or get left out in the rain), it hurts just slightly less when you’ve paid $5 for it, as opposed to $50.

(Though to be honest, I still hate it when things break.  I get attached to things, cheap or not.  It’s never been the value of things that make them valuable to me.)

My son KNOWS it makes me crazy when he’ll lose something and say, “Oh well, who cares?  You got it for free anyway.”  Getting it for free was not the point!  We need to be responsible!  (Do I sound like your mom too?)

I found this great puzzle a couple of years ago at Goodwill for $3.  (These sell for much more on ebay.)

After we adopted a fifteen-year-old boy from Colombia, I wanted him to learn the United States, so I made him do this puzzle every day for a while.  (I’m not going to lie – the west takes me just a little bit longer.  I needed the puzzle too.)

Have you noticed anything missing?  When I bought it, the puzzle had all 50 states.

Until somehow my puppy, Wizard, got a hold of it.

He ate the state of Washington, and I still haven’t forgiven him.  It’s a very good thing he’s cute.  (Fortunately I was able to catch him before he made it to Oregon.)

Oh well, who cares, right?  It was a good thing it only cost $3.

I just can’t not, part 2

What happens when you’re at a thrift store and find something “special” that you know you’ll probably never find again?  (And it’s cheap!)  

You buy it, of course.

I found this when I was combing through a closet, searching for - really, things like this - anything I'm not currently using that I might want or need to use in The House of Goodwill.

A calendar from my birth year with some random cats who are apparently celebrating the bicentennial of our country.

While for some reason it hasn’t yet found a home in my current house, I’m thinking this might be perfect for The House of Goodwill.  It’s from the 70’s, and – although not purchased at Goodwill – it does kind of scream Goodwill, I think.

A house has to have a sense of humor, right?

I just can’t not

I realized the other day that this is the first time in my life I’ve attempted to put together a house starting with nothing.

Beginning with when I first got married, I always had some “stuff” I brought along to use in whatever apartment or house I was moving into.  At first, it was from the house I grew up in, and my college apartment.  When we got married, my husband had his own apartment furniture (which mostly consisted of things from the house he grew up in).

As we slowly expanded, the stuff we acquired usually came from garage sales, family hand-me-downs and Wal-Mart-quality stores.

I guess in a way not much has changed.  Except for the Wal-Mart part.  I’m very happy to report my “manufactured wood” furniture days are behind me.

Now when we receive family hand-me-downs or buy something used, it’s something antique or special.

It is AMAZING the difference between antique furniture and modern, even from high end modern stores.  Antiques are made from REAL wood.  There wasn’t anything else to use.

But back to furnishing a house from scratch – there are a million choices to make when you’re beginning with absolutely nothing.  And I’ve been thinking about how to paint it for a while.

My first inclination was to paint it all white.  After all, the house is very, very dark without much natural light, and the current dark paint colors make it feel kind of cave-like.

I was also thinking that as a rental property, to have just one color – white – would make it much easier for future touch ups.

But I’m just not a white wall person.  I just can’t not throw some color in somewhere.

Colors make me happy.  And colors help tie all the elements in a room together.

Of the last ten houses I’ve visited, almost every one was gray.  Gray , gray, gray.  I know it’s the color of the moment, but it reminds me of a dreary sky.  I think gray is the new beige.  I need color!

So after visiting the paint store, here is the plan, subject to change:

These colors make me want to pull out my roller skates 😄

I’d like to do a palette of green, orange & blue or teal.  To honor the 70’s vibe of the house.

I’m not sure if I’d ever use orange in my house/home or not, but since this is an “occasional” home, why not?  I’m going to try to stick to the lightest, barely-there shades for the walls, because the house needs to lighten up.

My husband pointed out what the house really needs to make it airy and lighter – skylights.  But they’re definitely not in the budget at the moment.

Coming soon – some paint before and afters!