HouseStories: If Our House Would Talk
A New York Times article today focuses on Seattle's "shrine to defiance," the home of the late Edith Macefield, who refused to sell her bungalow to developers. She lived there until her death in 2008 at the age of 86. The house stands today -- though not for much longer, apparently -- hemmed in on three sides by tall commercial buildings.
Comparisons to the cartoon house in the movie Up are understandable, but I couldn't help but think of the Virginia Lee Burton book called "The Little House," in which another diminuitive home withstands the ravages of development. Eventually it escapes the noise and pollution of the city raging around it (albeit not by the balloon method in Up). The house is trucked out to a daisy-filled field in the country. Set out to pasture.
Nothing pastoral about San Francisco at the moment. Everywhere you walk (or drive), progress is marching. Cranes. Gaping holes in the earth. Hard hats. Steel road plates. The reverse warning beeps of construction vehicles filling the air like birdsong.
I live in a circa 1907 abode not unlike Ms. Macefield's home. A 1,400 square-foot cottage with no garage on a huge RH-3 lot (ripe for development). We're just two blocks from the infamous Zuckerburg project. And right across the street from us is a modest 1,800 square-foot Victorian whose new owners are proposing to enlarge it into a 7,000 square-foot masterpiece.
But there's something very comforting about letting a house just be as it is. Our little old lady has only one bathroom. Her yard isn't landscaped. There's no central heating. The kitchen is super funky -- with a beat-up wood floor, painted cabinets from a demo'd Victorian, 1950s drainboard sink, vintage but functional O'Keeffe and Merritt range. No dishwasher. No disposal.
We aren't hankering to give her a makeover. No painting her all white inside like an Apple store. No front door that locks via an app. No Sonos. Or security cameras. Or Nest thermostats. Thank you very much.
Our venerable lady is simple. She isn't at all "smart." But she's wise. More than 100 years old. If only she would talk, I'd sit quietly and listen.
Cynthia Cummins is a Top Producer and Partner at McGuire. For info on SF real estate visit http://CynthiaCummins.com. This article was re-posted at McGuire.com.
