Memories in Our Home

Memories in Our Home:

I am very interested in how our home has transformed over the years.  What did it look like when it was first built? Who lived here? How did they decorate?  What memories do they have in our home?

Well, thanks to a folder of historic documents that came with our home I was able to get some of that information. Also, a special thank you goes out to Mr. Joe Seroogy who knows the daughter of the Ray Hein family who moved our home in the 60's.  She found these old photos and sent them to us so we could add them to our historic documents folder.  How wonderful! Thank you, thank you!

It makes me smile to think of all the memories this home has witnessed. 100 years of holidays, family get togethers, children, and grandchildren. I really wish my home could talk.  It could tell me all about the people who lived here. What would it say to me?  Maybe..."Sadie, it's really cold outside. Please add some more insulation to my attic." Or "Paint my porch already!" I imagine my home as this omniscient being who could correct me, tell me how it is supposed to be done, and then kindly tell me the history behind why things were done that way. 

For example, one of the photos below shows wallpaper in the foyer.  Was the wallpaper original to the home or added later? Looking at the same walls today I can see that someone painted right over the top of this wallpaper.  Wouldn't it be great if my home could tell me why?  Maybe they didn't like it. Maybe it was coming off but was too difficult to remove without having to also repair the old plaster.  Without knowing the "why" I just make my best guess, research, and try to do it right. Not that I'm going to remove the paint and wallpaper and repair plaster…that would be crazy!

Take a look at these photos. I have no idea who these people are, but I feel that living in this house connects us all. I wish I could meet them so I could give them a big hug and tell them how much we enjoy their home. They sure look like they had some fun here. I bet they would have a million stories to tell. 

I'm going to show you the photo and attempt to get the same photo angle of our home today.

Living Room:  The fireplace wall was chocolate brown when we moved in (see fireplace remodel post) and I wanted to bring it back to a lighter color that showed off the built in bookcase.  I just couldn't bring myself to cover up that beautiful window with lots of curtains.  I wanted to let in as much light as possible.  There was carpet in our living room in the old photo, but I love our hardwood floors!

Kitchen:  I think the kitchen was new in this old photo.  Three women doing the dishes together…I want to hear their conversation, don't you? The cabinets have been since painted white.  We are remodeling our kitchen in May so watch for an entire post on that! New cabinet doors, hardware, countertop, sink, faucet, backsplash and pulling up the vinyl and restoring the hardwood floors.

Here is the kitchen after the remodel project.

Basement Bar:  Ray Hein used to bartend at the Union Hotel here in De Pere.  We have heard that he had some great parties in this house.  The basement was finished off with this knotty pine and a bar after the house was moved. We have nicknamed the basement "The Supper Club" as it just has that feel to it when we hang out down there.  We often watch movies in the basement and Ben and his friends  have a big space to play when they come over to visit.

Foyer:  I can still see the pattern of the wallpaper behind layers of paint.  I like the paint better, but I know wallpaper was the big trend in these old homes.  Our good friend and former neighbor Rick Kolb made that foyer table for me.  I still need to paint/stain it but can't decide if I want to paint it white or stain it dark like our fireplace mantle.  Any suggestions?

Living Room/Dining Room: Dan and I have joked that we should reenact this photo.  Wouldn't that be fun?  Who wants to see Dan with glasses and blue suede shoes and me holding Maddie?  I really do love that old chair and ottoman by the way.  I lost the recliner battle with Dan.  Ugh.  Well, he works hard and deserves to watch TV in a chair of his choice.  He graciously lets me do just about anything I want with the rest of the house, so I'm grateful for that.  We also really like our bench seat in the dining room.  We put another long table up to it for the kids when we entertain.  You can see lots of curtains in the old photo.  Again, I just love the sun pouring into our home, so we just have some basic wooden blinds on the windows.  It is hard to see from these photos how tall our ceilings are.  They stretch to 9 feet.  The space is quite impressive when you walk into the foyer.

Thanks again for reading my blog.  I hope you enjoyed the then and now photos.  I would love to hear your comments!  Next I think I will spend some time blogging about the light fixtures and hardware.

Take care,

Sadie