tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3762860554634548712.post1038271776010968279..comments2024-03-11T05:57:49.436-04:00Comments on The Heroine Addicts: Houses with CharacterSusanna Kearsleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12675951272027527098noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3762860554634548712.post-8265143786246765882010-11-12T21:06:29.969-05:002010-11-12T21:06:29.969-05:00I feel the same way about old houses too. Here in ...I feel the same way about old houses too. Here in Western Canada our houses aren't very old, but I love my 70 year old cottage I liove in. <br /><br />When I was in England in 2006, I visited a mill house at Hoxne in East Anglia which my mom's family used to own. I'm using it for the setting of a novel I'm planning - the house and mill and all the land around it has so much atmosphere.Sofiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14951872479480373202noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3762860554634548712.post-23353836509050998742010-11-01T14:32:44.738-04:002010-11-01T14:32:44.738-04:00Ah, Christina, what a brilliant post! I love the ...Ah, Christina, what a brilliant post! I love the 'feel' you can get from houses.<br /><br />I remember when we were house hunting, a few people couldn't understand why we wanted something that had seen a little life - they kept telling us about new developments and brand-new builds.<br /><br />We ended up in one nearly 300 years old. I love the uneven steps and the huge hinges, the wide staircase and the curved corners. It's such a thrill to find the well under the flags in the back yard, or the strange-shaped stone in the cellar.<br /><br />I wouldn't swap it for straight walls and double glazing, although I wish we had a bit more DIY confidence, as our poor home needs a bit of TLC!Anna Louise Luciahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13069551559749215187noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3762860554634548712.post-25309853017684231782010-10-31T01:18:31.965-04:002010-10-31T01:18:31.965-04:00Christina - all my books are about houses so far s...Christina - all my books are about houses so far so I know exactly what you mean!<br /><br />lxAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02744937536946299450noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3762860554634548712.post-56650993846912839692010-10-29T09:36:10.642-04:002010-10-29T09:36:10.642-04:00I love those descriptions, Seabrooke! And it make...I love those descriptions, Seabrooke! And it makes me feel like giving that house some TLC to bring it back to its former glory.<br /><br />I think 200 years is plenty of time for a house to be historical. (In fact, my favourite buildings are Victorian, which is only about 150 years back in time). And I saw some lovely old houses in New England when I visited there - I especially fell for one near the Maine coast. It was up on a hill and overlooked the sea in the distance and it was built completely of wood, with lots of ornate bits and little turrets. It reminded me of the Gothic house the Addams family lives in, but much brighter if you know what I mean, and it was painted a warm, welcoming yellow.Christina Courtenayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03647397808446248913noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3762860554634548712.post-42500577646451095542010-10-28T12:38:57.773-04:002010-10-28T12:38:57.773-04:00I love that about old houses and buildings. I like...I love that about old houses and buildings. I like to envision what happened in the building, the people who lived there, the ins and outs of their daily lives. It's fun to imagine laying our own present over their past like a sheet of tracing paper and comparing the two images, picturing people moving around, or the placement of furniture.<br /><br />What passes for old here in North America is still, usually, pretty young compared to many places in Europe, but the homes can still evoke a moving sense of history. The house we rent was built beside the original homestead of the region, probably approaching 200 years old. It was well-built, in its time, and undoubtedly well cared for over the years to have lasted this long. But it hasn't been lived in for many years now, and it's slowly fallen into disrepair: the long wooden beams starting to bow in the centre; the wooden floor sagging in the middle with blooms of dry rot creeping from between the boards in the damp summer months; the windows dusty and partly overgrown with grapevines that have grown so large they clamber across the wall and drape lazily across the cedars planted at the corner; the chinking falling out from the gaps between the wall's pitted logs, the dust motes hanging in the still air dancing in the narrow sunbeams.Seabrookehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09400079400485962650noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3762860554634548712.post-57271372897217334932010-10-28T12:00:57.614-04:002010-10-28T12:00:57.614-04:00Can't wait to read that novel, Chris!
Debs - ...Can't wait to read that novel, Chris!<br /><br />Debs - I totally agree! It's one of the reasons I love living in England, there's a sense of history all around you and beautiful buildings everywhere. We're very lucky indeed.Christina Courtenayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03647397808446248913noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3762860554634548712.post-26888932737184695092010-10-28T11:45:57.265-04:002010-10-28T11:45:57.265-04:00I always think you're so lucky to have so many...I always think you're so lucky to have so many interesting historical houses in England. I love it when I come over and can visit these fascinating places, they never fail to inspire my imagination.Deborah Carr (Debs)https://www.blogger.com/profile/03223653554549707595noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3762860554634548712.post-66199790646194471532010-10-28T06:16:53.949-04:002010-10-28T06:16:53.949-04:00Ooh, lovely evocative post, Christina; I hope we g...Ooh, lovely evocative post, Christina; I hope we get to read that novel. It's places more than particular houses that do it for me and I especially adore seaside towns, however I did start a novel inspired by a wonderful old house near where I used to live and I'm planning to revisit both the novel and the house.Chris Stovellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03741359642268813093noreply@blogger.com