This week H&H is pulled East by the irresistable magnetism of the Hamptons, NYC's summer playground. The writers all seem to be happily camped out on the East End hunting up stories that they can then comfortably email into their boss. We won't argue with this logic as we are currently blogging at a friend's house in Montauk after having been in the surf at 6:30am. It feels like playing hookey, but when else but in August are you going to do it?
Top Stories
- On Long Island, Tiny Pieces of Paradise: We *heart* small. This time the bug is in the Hamptons and the buzz is all about how small some folks beach homes are (but not all the prices).
- The New Old House:PGreen rips into those yups with a lot of cash who want to buy an "old" looking house that has absolutely nothing out of place inside. This is the opposite of the plastic surgery market, no?
- A Journey of Reclamation Reaches a Peak in Spain: Check out interior design entrepeneurship in Spain. Debra Berger renovates houses in Spain and then sells them for a fine living.
- Help! Mosquitoes are Sending My Weekend Guests Fleeing Back to Manhattan: Mosquito netting and West Nile Virus tips from Mitchell Owens...
That article about the trend for "new old houses" made me feel a bit sad. On the one hand, I'm happy that people are valuing a look and feel of detailed construction in new builds, rather than builder-boring new houses common in subdivisions.
But then I think about how people described in the article who want to skip over, eradicate or ignore the true older homes, who find their accumulated history dirty, smelly or too much work. The dirtiness, smelliness and amount of work associated with older homes can be (and often is) true the basement of our 1930s house, not all that old considering, is prone to damp smells, for example but it seems to ignore completely an appreciation or enjoyment for what has come before.
It sort of seems like it depends on your relationship to the house (in my case NUMEROUS houses) you grew up in. And then there's a HUGE number of little sub-relationships about it that factor in.
Both sets of grandparents lived in houses that were built in the 1930's, and those 2 houses were the only ones that were constant through my childhood, so I have kind of a fondness for houses that are at least KIND of old. But really, those houses were only 30 or 40 years old when I was growing up. Now houses built when I was growing up are that old.
My, the NYT is slow... the "neo-traditional house" has been the baby of the New Urbanist movement for over a decade. See, e.g., Seaside and Celebration in Florida. Looks "old" and "traditional" -- arranged in 1920s-style suburban settings -- has a modern floor plan and all the modern conveniences.
I remember looking at neo-traditional style condos in St. Paul, Minnesota, in 1998. Level floors, modern wiring, and move-in ready condition *did* have some temptations.