Historic Home Ownership, A Life Changing Experience

I had the pleasure of sitting with Ryan and Annette in the living room of their stunning Robert Spurgeon designed Spanish Revival in Downtown Riverside’s historic district of North Hill. It has been just shy of 4 years since they moved from a “new build” into their first vintage home and I couldn’t wait to hear about their experience. I was curious about what they’ve learned, what projects they’ve accomplished and how moving to this property and generally speaking, this kind of property, has changed their lives. It was a pleasure to hear how much they have loved living in Downtown and that this home has been a genuine daily joy for them. They’ve gotten plugged in to the historic home community through their involvement with the Old Riverside Foundation receiving both a preservation grant and an award for respectful restoration of the home. I’ve seen them at Downtown Area Neighborhood Alliance meetings which I love because our community is only as strong as the people who contribute to making it a better place. Over these last 4 years they’ve restored wood windows and casings, painted the interior, completed roofing projects and redesigned the landscape to improve the look and feel of the home. They even hired a local artist to beautify the yard space with murals of butterflies and hummingbirds! Through these projects they’ve learned some important lessons and came to appreciate the house on a much deeper level. They’ve come to realize just how durable and strong their home is but also that it needs careful attention and maintenance. Ryan mentioned that he now understands why the sellers were so emotional during the purchase as him and Annette both have grown a strong bond with the house. Ryan added, “home is wherever your family is, however the last house we were in, though it was our home, didn’t have any character to it” and as it turns out, character is an incredibly important ingredient; an aesthetic aspect that has tangible life changing qualities. I believe that word, “character” can be explained as the lifeforce of a home, the thing that sets it apart from being an object of ownership to an independent thing that carries with it both enjoyment and responsibility. I loved when Ryan said, “the way I view it now is that we have a responsibility to the house, we’re not going to be here forever, we’re going to die someday but this house will be here after, so we’re trying to take care of it and make improvements that don’t change the integrity of the home so someday the next owner can take the ball and run with it. I didn’t think about that moving in, but now that we’ve been here I’ve realized it’s a big deal to take care of it because once this house, or historic homes in general are destroyed they will be gone forever, something new and modern will take their place.” I enjoyed hearing how living in the home has grown their interest in the history of the house as well as local history. They even mentioned how they now seek out historic hotels when planning their vacations which is great because they’ll often come back with new ideas that are fitting for their house. When they first moved to the “The Hirst House” they were most nervous about going from having three bathrooms to just one and a powder room. They figured at some point they would make modifications to fit another full bathroom but after living in the home they’ve learned to use it “the way it was always used.” and intend to keep it that way. I like this story because it goes to show that these homes can impact our lives as much as we impact theirs. While preparing my most recent listing for sale I came across family members of the original owners. Ryan and Annette got to meet them and see old pictures from the 1920’s with the original owners sitting out front. Such a fun story and a testament to how choosing a historic home can bring unique experiences to your life. This property will be on this year’s Vintage Home Tour so check out OldRiverside.org to get your tickets! You can read the full story on our website.