Back in the early 90s we bought a nearly 100 year old house, that had been owned by a couple who had lived there for decades, raised a family, and loved the oldness of the house, and never made any changes. That's what we loved about it.

As they aged, the houses maintenance suffered, and after she died, he smoked cigars in the house. When we sprayed TSP on the wallpaper to peel it off, the nicotine dripped down the walls. We repapered or painted every room, fixed cracks in the plaster, restored all the old stained woodwork, completely reconfigured the landscaping, installed a cast-iron, wood-burning stove, and lots more, doing it ALL ourselves. When we bought it, it was the Addams Family house, and easily the ugliest house/yard on the street. When we were done, it was a museum piece, and stood out as the most beautiful house on the street. We sold it for more than any house had ever sold for on our street, by a long ways. The neighbors appreciated the increase in their house values, but were sorry we were leaving.

I sold the house myself, without a real estate agent, and I was shocked at how many people asked why we never changed the windows from the original wood panes with the wavy, bubbly glass, to new modern windows. Clearly, they weren't the right buyers for this house. We needed someone who would appreciate the houses AGE.

I finally found a buyer in a young guy who worked in his dad's iron fabrication business, building iron gates and fences for old properties, so he appreciated the antique quality of our house. He brought his fiancee to see it, and she loved it, too. Then he asked if he could show it to his mother-in-law, who couldn't believe the stories of how nice the house was, and was sure the kids were being ripped off.

She showed up openly skeptical, but we just let the kids show her around their future house, and when she came back to us, she had completely flipped. She said it was obvious how much love we had put into the house, with such quality materials, and she was sure we were going to miss it.

And we have missed it. Easily the best house I've ever lived in. Not the fanciest, but the coziest.