A House with "Character"

    We bought an old house, about 100 years old. It has "character". The outside looks great. The inside is livable but needs upgrading. It has the usual character you hear about from home shows, original wood floors and woodwork, large windows, wooden porch, and huge yard.

    Our home has original wood floors, but they need sanded and refinished. Some boards are bowed from the house shifting and require lots of love and money...future project. The home has 24 large windows. Yes they are beautiful but not energy efficient. They all need replaced. To get decent windows at $300 each...$7200 grand total...future project. The wooden porch is getting older and will need rebuilt in a few years. We would like to turn it into a wrap around to connect front porch with side porch. Both porches have roof overhangs and the rebuild will be costly...future project. Currently all the walls are plaster. I would like to eventually switch to drywall...future project. In the meantime, the walls are all painted cheery colors, paint is a cheap alternative. The kitchen needs new counter tops and refinishing. The cheap alternative is counter top paint and painting cabinets. The existing cabinets are strong and are staying. Recently our basement flooded from back up in mainline, so did neighbors, so dealing with clearing out pipes and dealing with mess. The list could go on.

    The real "character" comes from the inside. Not the inside of the home, but the person working on the home. If you can continually work on an old home, with limited funds and lots of creativity, and come out sane, then it speaks volumes about your "character". To see the hidden beauty and charm and be able to bring it out, to be patient and continue on, and to stay calm in the chaos are character traits of a true remodeler.

    These same traits serve well in all aspects of life. Mothers, spouses, friends, etc, need these traits to work well and accomplish greatness. Sometimes you wake up to a flooded basement, a sick child, or a family tragedy. Can you make it to the other side intact? Perhaps your child broke a dish while making you breakfast. Can you see the beauty in the thought behind the task or just see the brokenness? Do you have the time and strength to stick to the big things? Sometimes things in your home or life are broken beyond repair and need to be replaced. The work will be hard but if you stick through the hard parts you will have something new and beautiful and a fresh start.