Dear kids. Just so you know, we are living in our little house mainly because of one feature Mummy will never part with.
The window in our front door.
Yes, we have a teal green laminate kitchen (and yes, Mummy hates it). Yes, we have cork floor in the kitchen too, and in the bathrooms. Yes, there is crayon and texta on the walls (thanks to your boundless creativity).
Yes, our loos have crappy plastic cisterns. Those plaster cracks in the lounge room are getting bigger, the back fence is close to falling down, and the carport is sagging on one side.
It sounds like we need to find a new house, does it?
Ah. But hang on, kids. No new house would have our special front window.
Before you were born, Mummy & Daddy looked at our house when it was for sale. The front yard was so overgrown, the estate agent took us around to the back door to let us in. “No-one uses the front door – you can’t get in past the palm tree!” he laughed. At this point, we weren’t very impressed.
But we took a look inside. It was a sunny afternoon that day, and as I walked up the hall, I noticed different colours being reflected on the floor. I looked up and saw a beautiful leadlight window in the front door. The sun was shining through it – there were so many wonderful colours. And the detail! I could make out trees, a path, a house in that one window.
Mummy thought it was the most beautiful window she’d ever seen.
And that’s when Mummy instinctively knew, this was meant to be our place.
(Teal green kitchen aside.)
‘Cause eventually, we’ll get a new kitchen. We can get new loos. The plaster on the wall can be fixed.
But this kind of window? It tells a story, and it represents the people who built our house 88 years ago.
You can’t buy that anywhere.
On sunny days, sometimes I see one of you look up at the window and marvel at the different colours…just like I did, five years ago now.
And I’m reminded again that, despite all its flaws, our little home was meant to be.
Love, Mumma x
(Readers…what’s your favourite bit of home?)
melbourne mumma 
what a GORGEOUS post ❤
Thanks Shellie 🙂
I love that window!! Our house more than likely could have been knocked down and started all over again, but because our last name isn’t Packer, we had to renovate.
My favourite room now is where I’m writing this from. It used to be our laundry, now it’s a study nook/area. Straight out of Ikea, it allows me to not work from the dining room table anymore.
Beautiful house and I like the teal green. x
I like the process of a slow renovation…ok it can be painful…but there’s something also cathartic about it. An IKEA nook, sounds good, would love to see a pic! Just did some damage at IKEA this morning 🙂 Thank you for stopping by!! 🙂
i love the feeling of walking into someone’s home and feel the warmth in the room …i value the essence of “home” . i’ve been to houses where its a townhouse with new featured walls, with widescreen TV, and marble top kitchen …but you feel cold and uncomfortable ….its simply just a new House! the first time i visited my cousin’s house , outside was dried grass , a really old house , but once you walked into her home, it felt so right …everythign has its place in this small house, and when you look at the photo frames of her smiling with her little family . you cant help but feel happy for her that she has found her happiness!
… you have turned the house into a home despite all its flaws.
i love the saying , Money can build a house but it takes love to build a home !
🙂
I know what you mean..we used to live in a new townhouse before this house (had a kitchen with granite benchtops, unlike current kitchen) but it was void of personality. Our place is pretty rickety but I love lighting candles in the evening, has a homeliness about it 🙂
That’s a lovely story and you’ve really made the entrance to your home beautiful.
Frances
Thank you Frances!
You should definitely take the door with you if you ever do move!
It’s depressing to realise I don’t really have anything I love in this house. It’s a rental and it doesn’t feel like a home at all. I can’t wait to have a house with little special spots like your window.
I think our houses have a lot in common! And us too! We can both see the potential from some small things and ignore some terrible choices from past owners (most of the time, anyway).
I love your front door.
And I love your weatherboards.
Thanks Megan! Those weatherboards are the very small section of boards we had to replace due to dry rot. So they are our ”best looking” ones! 🙂