On Houses
My house is a cute old woman. That sounds strange, but it’s what I think best represents my house. It’s old and creaks when it shouldn’t. It was born in 1913 and has stood the test of time, and though it’s not as formidable as it once was, it’s become more endearing with time. That’s the personality of my house. I think all houses have personalities of some sort and as soon as you walk into one you can tell what the rest of it will look like and whether it’s really a home or not.
I live in West Urbana, and I think a lot of the houses there are like that. Old, not huge but not tiny, smells like pine, or cedar, or whatever wood they’re made out of. There are other sections of Champaign-Urbana that are kinda like this, like the houses near downtown Champaign. There are the houses in West Champaign, huge mansions with glittering foyers that smack of newness. They’re preppy men in their late twenties, or that older couple who rides golf carts everywhere they go at country clubs, depending on what the feel is. Savoy has a lot of different personalities, but usually those remind me of highly organized, suburban dads.
I’m not saying any one of these is better than the other. But you can just feel the personality of someone’s house. The smell, if it’s messy or not, how big it is. It all just makes you feel one way or another. I think sometimes about what the personalities of the other two houses I’ve lived in are, but I can’t remember as well, since I’ve lived in my current house for about eleven years. I think my first house was like your favorite aunt. Kinda homey, and always fun, but this doesn’t always fit because I remember that house smelling faintly of must, which is more of an old person smell. I have very little recollection of the other house I lived in growing up. It was a townhouse while my parents were on sabbatical, and I remember it smelling like a hardware store and its brand new hardwood floors and beige carpet. It was kinda empty because we were only living there a year, so maybe it just never really developed a personality.
I don’t know if this sentiment of house personalities resonates with anyone. I think it’s something I don’t usually have to think much about, but it’s something I like to think about. Houses can change with the people in them, but I think they retain somewhat of a core about them, passing from one family to the next.
Your sentiment on how houses personalities vary across town is pretty spot-on. The part of Savoy that I live in is very much suburban white people with absolutely no ambition. Now, that's not the people that live here, but that's how the neighborhood feels because of how monotonous the physical structures are. Looks straight out of the 50s. I think Southwest Champaign has a lot of that as well too, though, just somewhat more regal. At the end of the day, though, both regions are pretty damn boring. Older neighborhoods are the only ones that seem to have any life.
ReplyDeleteBeing someone who also lives in West Urbana I agree with what you say about all the different smells of trees. My house has 20 different species of wood that makes up the house and gives it a lot of personality. I think that's what you find in this area as it's so old. Many houses in the newer parts of champaign lack personality. I liked how you related people to houses and I could see West Urbana being an eccentric old lady. Fun post!
ReplyDeleteI also think about personalities of houses (I thought it was just a weird "me" thing). It started when we were looking for the perfect house to buy, searching for probably like 5 years. My old yellow house of 7 years felt like a cute, cozy cottage in the middle of Colorado street, the backyard filled with places to explore. My new house however, seems a little personality-less. Maybe it's because i've only lived here for a couple of years, or because I don't have necessarily any important memories here. But I guess I have 1 year to ascribe a personality- something about sunsets.
ReplyDeleteI've never looked at my house like this, but now you've got me wanting to! I think that your personification of houses around the area is spot-on; sometimes it even seems like the houses personalities match those of the people inside of them. Do you think there's a reason for that? Maybe we associate the houses personality with it BECAUSE of the kind of people that are likely to buy it?
ReplyDeleteSurprisingly I don't really relate to the connection you have with your house , and how you see it has a personality. Due to the fact I spent the majority of my life living an apartment, my ideas about houses and how they represent a culture is a bit different. An apartment is a lot less "consistent" and relies a lot more on the person in it rather than the house itself. I definitely do agree with you about the various personalities the Champaign Urbana Savoy area has, a very interesting thing to think about.
ReplyDeleteI think a lot of people feel this way; I do. I like your neighborhood, and I like the feel of your house. Personally the inside of your house reminds me of the lovely American middle class paradises you saw the kids living in on 90's television shows (like Are You Afraid of the Dark?). I always envied the established Americana normalcy of those houses. The moms that lived in those kinds of houses (on TV) knew the names of their kids' friends' moms. Immigrants didn't live in those houses
ReplyDeleteA simply, candidly written post!! I enjoyed reading it
This post seemed very honest and I agree with most of your opinions on the feel of a house. I also enjoyed reading your comparisons between the different towns and what kind of houses you might find there. Overall I think this was a great topic to write about!
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