The Soul of the House

I love historic houses. I mean, I really love historic houses. This is one of the primary reasons I ended up purchasing a home in Historic Springfield. For me, a historic home possesses an irreplaceable character that simply cannot be reliably replicated these days — not without spending an amount of money that is, well, ridiculous.

I have always said that in order to take on old-house living, and to actually love it, you have to be a bit of a romantic. These homes are famously needy when it comes to maintenance. Now, don't get me wrong. These homes, they were built to last, and with superior materials compared to what you will find today, but they really need to be loved and cared for carefully to keep them looking their best.

With this piece, I am speaking to investors. Specifically, investors who take on the renovation of a historic home with the intention of flipping it for profit. Sadly, I have watched many times over the years as investors unwittingly destroy the very fabric and character of a home. These are the very things a buyer who loves historic houses would have prized in the first place.

When I first arrived in the neighborhood in the early 2000s, having decided to purchase a home here, I toured quite a few properties. Some had been fully renovated, and I was dismayed by what I found. These homes had been "modernized" into antiseptic interiors. All of the texture associated with wood floors, robust trim, and high ceilings (lowered to accommodate upstairs plumbing) had been stripped away. Terribly sad.

Over the years, I cannot count how many times I walked past a house being renovated, saw a dumpster out front overflowing with pocket doors, original fireplace mantels, and heart pine trim, and felt my heart sink. Just a heartbreaking scene.

Investors...you will be well rewarded by doing your absolute best to preserve these historic details. Not only are you preserving history, but you are preserving the very elements a true historic home lover is likely willing to pay a premium for. One of the primary reasons I purchased my own house was that I was blown away by the 100-year-old trim throughout, trim that had never once been painted in all that time. You can feel the difference.

There is a real distinction between renovation and restoration, and a successful remodel of a historic home sensitively blends both. What does that mean in practice? It is not realistic to style a kitchen after one from the early 1900s, though I admit there is something appealing about the idea. So yes, you will likely find modern appliances, cabinets, and countertops in a thoughtful historic renovation. But that can be done with sensitivity, or without.

Not altering window placement or dimensions is one example. I wrestled with this myself. My house has a generous kitchen, but very little wall space because of large windows throughout. We adapted our cabinetry to the existing fenestration rather than the other way around. We respected the house. It turned out beautifully.

The bottom line: historic homes are worthy of protection and preservation. My house retains so much of its original character that the people who first lived there, were they to walk through that front door today, would recognize it. My family sits in the same rooms where people once absorbed news of the Titanic sinking, where dispatches from World War I trickled in, where the weight of the Depression, World War II, and the Civil Rights movement settled over ordinary lives...all the way to the present day. That is a powerful connection to the past. One worth preserving.