Our houses have a personality of their own. Where we grew up and where we currently live says a lot about who we are as people.
This is especially true if you’ve lived in old houses. You know where the creaky floorboards are and which step on the back deck is loose. You know which room gets the coldest in the winter and where all the good hiding places are.
Any place we live can play an important role in our story. However, it’s easy to take these old properties for granted and forget how they changed our lives. You may have spent so much time with endless maintenance or dealing with an abandoned property that you can’t even see the joy in the place anymore.
Just remember that you may miss this home once it’s gone.
If you’re thinking of selling your old property, here’s some inspiration to take with you before the final sale.
Preserve Instead of Destroy
Many people hold onto old properties, even if no one has lived in them for years. Perhaps you are someone who owns an old house, but maybe you’re hesitant to have it demolished because of all the memories attached to it.
Although it’s abandoned, there’s a chance that preserving your property would give you a much-needed dose of inspiration.
Southern cities are home to numerous vacant houses. Many of them are even plantation homes or have a Southern Gothic style. Abandoned houses in Charlotte, NC, could be sold to good home buyers to be preserved rather than demolished.
Rather than giving a house up to be destroyed, homeowners could sell their abandoned houses to be refurbished. This way, you preserve a source of inspiration rather than lose it.
Seek Family History
It’s never a bad idea to reflect on the place you’ve lived in and try to recall what you may have forgotten.
Think of your current house. Think of one room. There might be hundreds of memories attached to that one room. What about where you grew up? You might recall Christmases, birthdays, sleepovers, even fights that happened over the years.
Ask some family members who remember your childhood home’s little details if that house is your focus. Where did that scratch on the wooden floor come from again? What year was it when the squirrel got in the house, and everyone went around chasing it?
Good sources of inspiration could be stashed away in the long-forgotten memories of your house. This could be an opportunity to learn more about your family history before it’s gone.
Do Your Research
How much do you really know about where you hang your hat?
We might live somewhere for years, sometimes our whole lives, and never really know the history behind the place. Even if the house you might live in now is relatively new, have you ever thought about the history behind, say, your grandparents’ house? Some things to consider researching might be:
- When it was built
- Who owned it first
- How many people have lived there
You never know what information you’ll scrape up about your own property, or someone else’s just by doing some research. It’s okay to be a little nosey when you’re looking for some juicy details!
Conclusion
This house is your story. It’s where you spend most of your time, and it’s where a lot of your life happens, whether you realize it or not.
If you’ve never given it a shot, try creating something with your house in mind. Either where you live now or where you grew up — there’s something special there to pull inspiration from. Think of a memory or a story, and see where it takes you.
Finding something fresh or new as inspiration can be tricky and, at times, quite frustrating, especially if the house brings some pain. But sometimes the best source of light is closer than you think.
When you need a fresh dose of inspiration, take another trip through this old home!
Photo by Scott Webb on Unsplash
