My Old House {Part 1: Intro}

As I mentioned before, my husband and I are redoing a house -- to live in.  And, as I also mentioned before, it's sorta a dream come true.  When I first discovered design and architecture, I was immediately drawn to residential design...and then I discovered historical architecture and I was hooked.  My mom took me to San Antonio for my 16th birthday and we toured several homes in the King William Historic District -- which was amazing!  And seeing how their owners had lovingly (and I'm sure painstakingly) restored these precious pieces of history, I wanted mine.  There's just something about the functionality of the designs and the amazing attention to detail in everything that I love.  So, from that moment on, I wanted to restore/fix-up an old home. 

I envisioned something like this:

Or maybe this in the country:

Or this would be awesome:

But, in my wishing for an old house, I never specified a type or age.  I just wanted an "old house" to fix up and call my own.  And even though what may be considered "old" is debatable in the design world, the little house I am breathing new life into would probably be considered old.  And so, I got the old house I'd wished for.  Don't get me wrong, I'm not bitter.  It was probably a good place to start in case I ever do get my craftsman, farmhouse or plantation home.  Just not exactly what I had in mind.  Until now.  Anyhoo...

My little '50's ranch house is...well, little.  I haven't figured it yet, but I'm guessing somewhere around 1100 sq. ft.  Maybe closer to 1000.  It has a cute little kitchen, tiny dining room, large living area, two generous-sized bedrooms with very generous-sized closets for that time period and one good-sized bathroom.  That's it.

Now when I say ranch house, I don't mean that awesome mid-century design style:

If only.

No, it's a ranch house because it's a house on what was a very large working ranch.  It was built by the owner (with much input from his wife, which is probably why it has awesome closets) for his hands to live in while they worked.  It was built for function.  It didn't need a lot of extras.  And to be honest, that's one of the things that drew my husband and me to it.  After everything we've been through, we were ready to simplify.  And in doing so, we gave up a lot of luxuries that we once thought we probably could never live without:  a dishwasher, a bathtub, a room for every function.  But for us, we've discovered it's not really as bad as you might think.  It doesn't take too long to wash dishes at the end of the day, and if I want a bath, I can just use the cattle trough.  JUST KIDDING!!  I'd probably just go down to the river.  ;)

So that's my new little humble abode, in a nutshell.  And while it might not sound like much, it's home, and I love it.  I haven't decided what room I want to feature first, but look for that entry soon.  We are finally getting stuff on walls and making this our home.  And I will say this -- it probably won't be complete.  I have lots of ideas that I know I can't get done now but I can't wait to reveal the transformation.  So, please forgive my work-in-progress.

Ta ta for now...