For the Love of Old Houses

I am in the process of writing a book on historic interiors. Part of this endeavor includes interviewing the owners of old houses and taking pictures of the interior of their home. As a result I am getting the opportunity to see some wonderful homes where the interior has not been mutilated or if it was, it has been lovingly restored.
One of the questions I ask when I am interviewing is "Why this house? What was there about this house that made you choose it?". Last week I was in Calgary doing two of these interviews. I'd like to share their responses with you.

One said he saw his house for the first time when dropping off his date at her home. He saw this house (located across the street from hers) and he was in awe. It was a bricked Frank Lloyd Wright styled Prairie house with a wrap around veranda. The next day he drove back to the house and boldly knocked on the door to speak to the owner. He was graciously invited in for a ten minute tour and left with an arrangement that he could return for a better tour which he did. Over the years he kept in touch with the owner and when the owner decided to sell she called him first. He bought it on the spot.

The second person I interviewed explained to me that, at the age of fourteen he had a brain tumor that required weekly visits to his doctor. His mother would drive him to his appointments and each time they would pass by this very large English Tudor / Arts and Crafts house. From the very beginning he loved this house and each time he told his mother "Some day I am going to own that house". As he grew older he followed the trials and tribulations of the house. Twice it came on the market but due to lack of funds and bad timing was unable to buy it. One day he was asked to help a colleague do an appraisal on a home. (He was a real estate agent by this time). When he was told the address he realized it was "his" house and without any thought he said "I'll buy it".

Both owners found the home of their dreams by focusing on what they wanted. The book and movie "The Secret" would say that their thoughts created their eventual physical reality.

In another interview, the owners' last words were "We didn't find our house - it found us".