This is what La Maison du Talley looked like in 1957.  It was bright and sunny, there was no Compton-grade chain link fence, hedges or trees.  You can see just the top of our now huge vine maple growing in the back yard. The neighbors’ homes looked neat, well cared for, and the houses share a cute little white picket fence.  Our cute little home is almost 83 years old and has changed little in that time – porch made into a mudroom, new windows, siding, some paint…  The original owners would have no issue at all in recognizing their home all these any years later.  God only knows how many children they raised in our 2-bedroom 1-bath Seattle box.  By today’s suburban standards it is a starter home that is meant for a young couple with perhaps their first child.  To be sold to the same as the infant grows into preteen or before the birth of their second bundle of joy. Our home was built in an era when an entire wardrobe would fit in a suitcase, a double bed was just right for two people to sleep in, and a middle class family had one car – maybe.  A time before mass consumerism and container ships made closet rooms, 5-car families, walls of shoes, man caves, and massive Barbie collections possible and attainable for a working family.

While I am grumpy with at least one of my neighbors, my current heating costs, the basement stairs, and some of responsibilities that accompany home ownership, I do have a genuine love for our house and yard.  What I love most about my house and all old houses are the stories that have been told, written, and lived under their roofs.  I love being a part of something greater than myself, adding to it lovingly, and having the knowledge that it will eventually pass on to another who will also add to the tale of a little old house.

We plan to live in our home for a very long time, raise some vegetables, have a couple of kids, live there, work there, relax in the yard, etc…  With that in mind we are planning a few upgrades and changes that won’t change the look and feel of the place at all – they will, in fact, enhance its appeal, sense of time and place, and functionality.

Current planned projects:
Rebuild of Basement Stairs
New heat pump installation
Garage/Mother-in-law build
Egress window in basement bedroom
Master suite in the attic
Rebuild of back stairs
Three fruit trees in the back
Half bath and kitchenette in the basement
Rewire of kitchen and main floor bathroom
Extension of front yard to sidewalk
Removal of chain-link and addition of wrought iron fence
New interior paint
Misc. cabinet and trim installation