I love hot showers, showers so hot they steam up the entire bathroom. When I lived in a small apartment steam would fill the entire space with its smoky moist tendrils. I blare the radio when I bathe and sing loudly (and off key) into my shampoo bottle/hair brush/balled up panties. I enjoy bath time.
Imagine my surprise when my steamy solace was interrupted by a commercial that made me want to run naked down the street to strangle the culprit behind such nonsense! M/I homes, a local new home builder in Charlotte, paid for a radio ad that completely attacked historic homes.
Did I mention I live in a historic home? Did I mention I serve on the Historic Preservation Commission? Did I mention that I am Vice Chair of that Commission, or that I am a public historian who serves a Preservation Consultant? Did I mention any of that?
I can't find a transcript of the commercial or I'd repeat it verbatim but the gist is--"old houses" are "money pits" that are "old," "dingy," and "broken." While M/I Homes' new houses are "beautiful," "new," and "money saving."
Well let me tell you something M/I Homes: I own a 111 year old bungalow complete with gleaming hardwood floors, ceramic tile bathrooms, and a terracotta hallway LAID BY HAND. It has a built-in china cabinet, chair rails, bead-board ceilings, original wooden windows, hand carved moldings, window seats complete with benches, and a front porch deep enough to throw a freaking party on! Did I mention my porch swing?
What's that? Your homes don't have any of those things? Your artisans DON'T KNOW HOW to hand carve molding? You can't find artisan quality terracotta from 1899? Well of course they don't. Your houses are thrown up in a matter of days and I highly doubt they are built to last. My "money pit" has withstood more than a century of wear and tear, more than a century of thunderstorms and hail, more than a century of the elements. And it will withstand a hundred more--because it was built to last.
My "money pit" is energy efficient and my power bill is lower in my 1800 square foot house than it was in a 800 square foot "new" apartment. My "money pit" has age old shade trees instead of stubby little saplings. My "money pit" has a black walnut tree and a huge backyard. My "money pit" isn't so close to the other houses on my street that I could spit out my window and hit the side of my neighbor's house. My "money pit" doesn't look EXACTLY THE SAME as every other "money pit" in my TREE LINED neighborhood!
Oh yeah--and my "money pit" has character. Something your cookie cutter monstrosities know not of. My "money pit" is well insulated and has more windows than your "new" and "beautiful" homes which means I can take full advantage of natural light and my power bill is pretty darn cheap year round. My "money pit" has more than a hundred years of history beneath its roof and it was built by the first man who ever owned it--he lived here for 86 years and he loved this "old" house. He loved it and he treasured it, and now I love it and I treasure it.
So, M/I Homes, you can keep your "new" and "beautiful" cookie cutter houses for your sheep. I'd choose a historic, well-built RESPLENDENT home any day of the week.
