Friday, November 6, 2009

House Love

Offering, 15 x 10", for sale on Etsy.

I love houses. I am obsessed with them. Always have been and probably always will be.

As a child, I used to draw layouts of houses. If I were somewhere and did not have a pencil or paper, I would find another way to do layouts. If I found a bag full of clothespins, a can full of pick-up-sticks, or a boxful of crayons, I would use them to create walls, windows, and doors.

I've always loved stories of haunted houses. Souls that refuse to leave their homes have always fascinated me. I love houses full of life and I love abandoned ones also. Forget new ones. For me, the older the better.

Houses are vessels for our lives. They hold the good and the bad. They fill up with love, anger, birth, and death. We've all read stories of the houses of widowed women that are completely filled with garbage and newspapers. Tragically, we read about houses that are repositories of bodies and bones. Most of us work to fill up our homes with happiness.

My house quilts all seem to have a little bit of darkness in them. I think that is true of all of our houses. No matter how cheerful I work to make my little house quilts, they never turn out as happy as I wish. My subconscious wins in the end.

I would love to know about my readers' houses. What is your favorite, or, if you wish, least favorite house memory?

7 comments:

Chris said...

I love houses, too. When I drive around, I look at all of the houses and imagine living in the ones I like. Or I imagine rescuing the ones that seem neglected. My favorite houses used to be victorians, but now I'm completely in love with Pennsylvania stone farmhouses.

Chris said...

PS, my last name used to be "House." It was a pretty cool name, but it was my ex-husband's name, and I had to ditch it.

Marty Mason said...

Hi, Kim...glad you asked...Ditto Chris, yes, I too love houses. And as we cruise the neighborhoods, I find myself looking at the number of colors on houses - what color is the house, the shutters, the door, the roof, and even the fence. Personal opinion of course, but a house needs at least four colors. And when they don't, I mentally paint in more!! Am I mental or what?

lori vliegen said...

i've lived in SO many houses....as an air force brat we moved a lot, and since i'm married to a man in the hospitality business....well, i've lived in a lot of houses! i always try to make each one a "home", though, so i'm an expert wall painter! more than anything else, i love CLEAN houses, and right now mine is anything but that!! :))

ArtPropelled said...

Great post, Kim. My favourite house was an old rambling farmhouse in the Drakensberg. Its outstanding feature was a huge verander, the length of the house, where everyone congrigated to drink in the view of beautiful farmlands and mountains. I have a lump in my throat thinking about it.

M said...

Hi Kim,
I finally took a day and got all my notes to self about updating my following and blog list and here I am. Thanks for all the comments you've left on my blog. I was excited to see your topic because I am a house fanatic. I even buy books of house designs when I'm not even planning a new home. I can imagine them in 3D and then decide how I would decorate them. I've been doing this imaginary house possession since I was a teenager. I also love to talk to friends about their homes and design. Many years ago I completed a diploma in interior decorating - just because.

Whenever I dream, if there is a house in it, it will always be my first little 1000 square feet home with avocado green carpet and flocked gold wallpaper. I can't explain that.

Kim Hambric said...

Wow, it is wonderful to know that I'm not they only house-obsessed person out there.

I would love to have more free time just to sketch out house plans.

I am also on a personal mission to get inside every house in my neighborhood one way or another.

Thanks for sharing!