On Saturday I woke-up in the grumps.
"Look," said Chup whose very definition of ENEMY is Wife in Bad Mood "what do we need to do to get you happy?"
"Hmmm." Good question. I thought about it.
Why was I in a bad mood in the first place? It was embarrassing. The day before I had done the Utah Valley Parade of Homes with my mother and her VIP pass. Only, I couldn't stand the first house because I wanted it to be a "restoration project" of a 1930s cape cod style home, instead it was a "remodeled" glorified bachelor pad. The second house was so terrifyingly tasteless and gaudy that I almost used the copper "bowl sink" to desert my distaste.
Why don't people get it?
I tried to explain this to Chup.
"You know when you see a movie that has awesome possibilities, a great script, loads of money but the actors ruin it with their mediocrity?" Chup nodded.
"That is how I see these homes. It's like everyone wants to have a craftsman home because it's so trendy right now, but they don't get craftsman. You can't have French Country Craftsman. Building homes is art, not money. And even if you want to have the biggest, most overwhelming house in the whole city it doesn't mean that I want to take a tour of it."
Before I could go on, Chup interrupted to ask me again.
"What do we need to do for you?"
Exhausted, I mentally posted a white flag.
"I need a fish taco."
Chup loaded me in the car and drove forty minutes north to Sugarhouse where I had not just a fish taco, but a Rubio's signature fish taco . . . my favorite.
After finishing off the last of a corn tortilla, Chup asked me how I felt.
"Better, only, can you take me on a drive so that I can see original houses? You know, wipe away all bitterness."
We drove up and down the bungalows of Sugarhouse, the original craftsman of Millcreek and over to the spectacular homes of Yale and Harvard. We spent the whole day researching and plotting. Going to open houses and comparing prices. Looking at neighborhoods where kids were actually outside playing on front lawns instead of holed up in some ridiculous "home theater". It was a trillion times more domestic than that lousy Parade of F-ing Homes.
I was feeling so refreshed that I asked Chup to drive me past the Energy Solutions Arena so I could see the pre-game going ons. However, as we drove by there were only a few people milling around . I took the opportunity anyway to yell out my car window, "Go Jazz! Go Jazz! Go Jazz!" to which nobody cared.
After some silence in our car I sheepishly asked Chup if he wished I hadn't done that.
"Do you wish that someone would've cared?" he asked me back.
I was laughing too hard to respond at the time.
But today I say this:
Dear Chup,
I could never wish for more caring in my life. You do it plenty.
Thanks for the fish taco. And the bungalows.
with all my heart,
c jane
May 29, 2007
The Original Craftsman
Liked this post?
Please donate!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
.JPG)
39 comments:
You just made my day. I was all boo-hooing to myself yesterday and Sunday about not having gone to do the PoH, and now, because I trust your judgement, I'm glad I didn't go.
Happy day to you.
I don't like the Parade of Homes. What exactly does a VIP pass get you? Fresh blue booties?
I so love this post dear Courtney for so many reasons.. I really do LOVE the original craftsman and really really dislike the 10,000 square foot homes filled with Tai Pan accessories that are displayed in the parade of homes. The parade of homes homes have been the same the past 10 years. We made it through one home this year and called it good. I think I'm happier in my 1950's Edgemont Remodeler home than most theater, pool, video arcade owning home owners I know.. (not that I know many.) Plus, I love Rubios. :)
Oh I am with you on the Utah homes!!! LAME! I do love craftsman style homes, but that's because I'm from Oregon and the homes there are more along the lines of the smaller bungalow, with gorgeous trees all around! I am so over Utah and all the predictable homes...Give us a little charm and character! It's enough to put anyone in a bad mood!! I'm with Haley, the one time I went to Tai Pan I just felt like I needed to run outta there...it's as though all the Utah designers threw up in there! Okay that's a little harsh...maybe not...it's pretty bad! In fact just typing this comment has stirred 'bad mood' feelings about this subject! Thank goodness for fish tacos and drives with loving husbands to get us out of this funk!!
My hubby painted one of the homes in the POH, you know the huge one in the Birkshires with the massive theater room. As I was walking through the home I thought that although it had a lot to offer it was the type of home that wouldn't be conducive to family unity. Every member in a family could be in a different part of the home and not have to talk to each other and I thought how sad that was.
I'm not a world traveler like you are and maybe my tastes are on the simple side but I came home and looked around and thought "I like my home better!"
I've never had a fish taco, are they good?
I have to laugh, because I too (after only 2 homes)went home from the parade of homes pissed off. When is it EVER going to look different, when is it going to change up a bit? It's either French Country OR gaudy-who-knows-what-the-hell-they-
were-thinking... like for instance, the Tuscany red furniture with all things Tai Pan, horrible, inconvenient floor plans, bathrooms that make you feel and look like you're in a cave, walls that have a resemblance of smoke damage, kitchens, laundry rooms and kids bedrooms that are way too small for all the excess space they have in their 10,000 square foot homes, etc.... oh, but they have their gargantuon homes theaters and that's all that matters, phew. The thing that gets me, is that almost all of these homes are designed by men, and 95% of men only shit, shower, and shave in their homes. So the wife/mother/caregiver gets to mill around in their not-so-user-friendly home... it's quite lovely, quite.
I'm personally offended by people who think they need a humongous home. I'm not sure what the appropriate people:square feet ratio is, but it's definitely not 4:10,000. Some of these people need to be donating all of this money they apparently have to Habitat for Humanity or some other worthy cause. I just don't get why you would want that much space -- is it just for bragging rights?
p.s. I love my little, old house, warts and all.
I couldn't agree more about the parade of homes, horribly hiddeous! If you need some craftsman therapy you could come and visit ours (but do please come with tips for improvement).
My true purpose in logging on here is to tell you of a dream I had night before last. In the dream Target had caught on to cjane potential and was now advertising marquee-style cjane's latest Target purchases so that the fans could follow suit. Not a bad idea, eh?
Well, I hope I don't get boos over cyber space, but I like going to the Parade of Homes. Yes, I think it's ridiculous that there are such huge houses out there. But I like going and getting ideas for my house. I think that's the purpose. There was a really cool one in Lindon and one in Highland that I liked. They were WAY over the top but I liked the way they were decorated. Most of all, I think I like it because it's something that Lee and I both enjoying doing together.
There is a Rubios in Sugarhouse? Why was I not warned? I heart the fish tacos.
RUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUBIOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!! (I miss you and your Fish Taco goodness.)
"Parade of F-ing Homes" had me laughing so hard. I heart you!
I love the snooty school-named streets, too. My mission president and his wife live up there, and when I would frequent their house, I would also take a tour of the area.
In a word, I think PofH homes lack uniqueness. Those behemoth homes full of generic kitch make a home feel awfully much like a shrine to uselessness. In my opinion, the things that make a home lovely are elementray school art projects magnet-ed to the fridge, travel souvenirs, homemade decorations and hand-painted furniture--touches that make the house fit its residents like a "just right" pair of jeans.
CJane, I live in a brick bungalow in Millcreek. hooray. I whole heartedly agree. Instead of a beautiful, enormous home, we have a beautiful enormous TREE in our front yard, perfect for climbing, lounging and daydreaming, with a ladder propped next to it for easy entry and exit for the kids. It's a slice of heaven.
Did you happen to notice the "McMansions" around here? People are buying the property, tearing it down and then using every square inch of space for a monster home with NO yard. I realize that everyone has choices, blah-blah-blah but it will be a sad day for me if one of my neighbors decides to build a McMansion and block my perfect view of Mt. Olympus. grrrrrr. It is a hot topic around these parts.
I like the "shit, shower, and shave" comment. Also, the "1950's Edgemont Remodeler" one. Does a 1970's Edgemont Remodeler work as well? Also, I don't know what a craftsman home is. Does a craftsman home mean turning your home into a cabin-y thing? Because that's all the rage.
You got yourself a good man, there. And now, you got me feeling sorry for myself that my dad sold the family manse on Windsor street in Salt Lake. That's perpendicular to Harvard, Yale, and Princeton.
We loved that house, and the neighborhood is what will ever remain in my mind the epitome of a true neighborhood. It's amazing how beautiful 1,000 square feet can be, and how ugly 10,000 can be. Especially when 1,000 comes with 2,000 of yard, and 10,000 comes with 10 of yard.
My parents' home was the 1987 Parade of Home winner. And the inside is all cabin-y, so I don't think cabin-y equals craftsman.
I love driving down Harvard and Yale aves in Sugarhouse. I love my little neighborhood now -they say Marmalade District is the hottest "new" "old" neighborhood to live in Salt Lake. All the Sugarhouse yuppies can now go cry in their frappucino. But I do miss driving by Hobbitville every time I want to go to Maggie Moo's for some ice cream.
I have never been to the parade of homes, but I do miss the days of original homes. I happen to live in quite the cookie cutter type home and wish to live in something original and old. I refuse to build a home ever again! I am glad there are others who share my distaste in these manufactured 'craftsman' type homes.
I need to try a fish taco at this place. Will you tell me where it is? I love fish tacos!
Also, Chup, you are a stud.
You know how I feel about The Parade of Homes: WRETCHED.
You know about me and The Not So Big House.
Is a little architectural integrity too much to ask for?
I guess the collective unconscious strikes again: I just posted some new homes on MCM UT.
If I have to look at another 'Tuscan' (which is ANYTHING BUT) or French Country Shite of a house, I will go on a hunger strike (or eat a million buckets of ice cream, whatever is more objectionable.)
Power to the people; not Ivory Homes.
i know someone who makes better fish tacos than Rubio's.
you probably drove right past my sis-in-law's house in Sugarhouse. such a cool real craftsman-style fixed-up by her and her hubby house has she that it will soon be featured on hgtv.
that's right. hgtv. :)
When we had to build our own house (and I mean build, like me with a power saw and nail gun, and me & the hub up late with pencils and graph paper re-designeing spaces) on a very tight budget (2300sf finished for just under 100K), I took lots of inspiration from the pretty old houses I lived in as a student in Provo. Fluted moldings and rosettes, wood floors, big pantry. But i went with the more modern great room approach for the front room. All in all, it turned out to be fresh and contemporay with a certain coziness people can't quite put their finger on. Viva la bungalow! PS: cjane, seriously, if I still ived next door to Georgia, you and me, we'd be hanging' out and making fish taco runs! My Sandy eggo background makes Rubio's close to my heart!
Didn't anyone go to the blue house in Lindon? It wasn't like any of the others. It was beautiful inside and out. (except the basement. It had a stupid Jungle theme.) Also, there was a really beautiful remodel on a ranch in Highland. Yes, they were too big for any one family, but they were beautiful and they were worth the $10 for the ticket.
I like to go to the Parade of Homes because it reminds me of things that I DON'T want. I am almost positive that any house of mine will never be in a Parade of Homes because people expect homes to be an artistic reflection of something or trendy and not painfully practical. I am too practical to have a washer and dryer on every level of the house. I am too lazy to have two tubs and a shower in one bathroom.
But, to each their own, so good for those people for building their dream homes, if that's what they are.
i love the sugarhouse homes.
i don't love fish tacos.
PofH made me bitchy, so I quit going. Ivory Homes, C&A, and all the other cram-a-house-the-size-of-a-church-onto-a-piece-of-land-the-size-of-a-postage-stamp jerks threatening to invade my piece of heaven makes me bitchy-er.
Rubio's is kind of gross. Sorry, but it is.
this subject is very near and dear to me: we built a house three years ago in draper, and SINCE then, i'm still searching for my soul. i think i left it back in my sugarhouse bungalow-- where the front walk was crumbling and there were holes in the hardwoods and my little family slept sooo cozy snug in a mere two bedrooms.
and now i'm going to go lay in my big empty rooms and cry...
Brooke, go read The Not So Big House and you'll understand why you feel the way you do. It's what the book is all about. It might change your life.
I have always hated home shows. A bunch of style-less impersonal and unique devoid boxes.
Now off to the left is the family room, everything has been purchased from Pottery Barn. Pottery Barn is crap by the way. I used to work at Down East Home part time. Only buy that crap if it is at the tent sale and is like 90% off.
Who enjoys a house that is too predictable? Not I. Give me a house full of stories. That's what I like. I got this clock when I was in Germany, I found this end table in a dumpster, I inherited this washstand from my great grandmother, like those frames? 25 cents a piece at an estate sale, oh, that couch? you should have seen it before I recovered it.
Give me quirky and unpredictable.
I have oft times wanted to host my own home show - filled to the brim with fun flea market/dumpster dive turned masterpiece homes that are functional and lived in and loved.
I declare that cjane should head up a Parade of her own. People submit photos of their funky cool homes no matter their size, cjane and commitee review and accept or deny and have a grand tour. Make it a progressive dinner-ish thing with appetizers and treats at each house. Have people put index cards all over the house telling the stories behind the found objects in their homes. Have before and after photographs of rooms and furniture pieces and yards.
Can you tell I have thought about this before? If I was still in Utah there would be no stopping me.
I don't have the network out here in Maryland yet. Give me some time.
Phew. I went off huh?
If what is being said is true about a home reflecting the personality of it's owner, then maybe these over-compensated, ginormous homes with no character and status decorating do reflect the personality of their owners. ??
I bought a 1956 ranch 15 yrs ago from the people who built it and I love it and could never live in a new home. When I used to go to the PoH I would come home with a smile on my face, that I don't live in any of those homes. I feel all cozy and nesty when I come into my character filled "little" home. Cottage Living is my fav magazine.
cJane maybe your bad mood was caused by something in the cosmos? I was out-of-whack-a-bit myself that day. I blamed it on hormones though. Somethings got to be blamed, it's sure not my fault. ;-)
Also, even if a new home is done tastefully and is beautiful, I think it will be even more beautiful in 50 to 100 yrs after some "living and loving" has taken place there.
I live in NYC, in an 500 sq. ft. apartment built in 1895. The inside of the walls, I'm sure, are filled with mice, we have a terrible super, and crack-dealers on our stoop - and I love it! The idea of looking for and buying a new "faux" customized house, sounds awful. I like old, I like character, I like rough edges, I like history. Parade of Homes? No, it's more a Parade of fake wealth, and shoddy craftsmanship. Let's see if any of those homes are standing in 100 yrs.
MMMMMMMMMMMMMHHHHHHHHHHH! Fish Tacos! I miss 'em.
I went with Lucky Red Hen one year. We got really irritated because one of the homeowners was not letting us use a camera in the home because she was afraid that a homeless person would kidnap her kids and make them play harp and dress in pioneer clothes all around Lindon or something. Yet they displayed pictures of the family everywhere. Because it was not like people would KNOW where they lived and how to get in and where the bedrooms were.
We just wanted to take a picture of the cute cannister they had their laundry detergent in. But they made us want to kidnap their kid just for spite.
And I would love my home to look like Pottery Barn if it meant that it would be clean and matching and I would not have to expend a single bit of effort in making it look that way. It doesn't even have to be Pottery Barn. Any barn that wants to clean it up is fine.
And I have a cookie cutter house. Because it was cheaper than paying for the equity on an older house that had cork on the walls and a second wing that had been cobbled together by someone's brother who came over as a day laborer for the day.
There, Calamity Jane, you know my secrets.
i went to the PoH, and everything was crap. One house made me feel like I was the smallest person in the world since they made me take off my 5" shoes so that I was then only 5' tall, and I said outloud to my friend "Who the crap thinks people are all gargantuans" and I turned around to face the designer who was a woman of approximately 6'3" stature. It was an ideally twisted situation.
Anyway, i want a really well designed Tuscan home, but decided against building one here because they essentially use crap materials, and as you know, I found an amazing loft renovation project in downtown that is using green technologies. I fell in love. Plus, I think when I retire, I will move to actual Tuscany for my home so it won't be faux at all. It will have the ceiling crumbling down around me and no air conditioning and i will ADORE it and you can flock to visit me.
Much love and kisses! (and good thing I don't post as tiffany since someone else keeps ripping off my name ;))
Lovely post... all of it.
Nice meeting you at lunch yesterday.
Chup gets a gold star. I love all those old sugarhouse homes. I know a lady who took a blue print of her grandmother's bungalow and had it built about 10 years ago. You do a double take when you drive by. She says that she did it because her best memories are from Grandma's. It's lovely. New but real and not gaudy or ostentacious at all.
One of the reasons I read your blog is that I like to fantasize about your lifestyle. How would it be to be able to drop everything and run, WITH HUBBY, to buy whatever I'm craving at the moment? How would it be???? Would I ever stay cranky for long?
I need you to come to my house and save it from languishing in "copy everyone else" squalor. Help me, Courtney!
I know the amazonian tall designer that designed the soaring home for the (also) gargantuan family that built it. It was built for their height and their specifications. I can't bash them for that, they're family.
I; however, choose to live in a far less....shall we say excessive dwelling and I appreciate authentic, original architecture. I happen to adore Frank Lloyd Wright. And what I really want a tour of is one of the homes he designed.
Post a Comment