Sep 26, 2010

The Patton House...Dwell Version....Part 2

Continued from The Patton House...Dwell Version....Part 1.

So, aside from the talking, the house moved right along. Matt did it all himself with the help of one other guy and some specialty subs. If you have ever built a house you know that this is no small thing. In Colorado it is especially difficult because of weather constraints. Concrete won't set below a certain temperature. Two feet of snow will put a hurting on your radiant heat plumbed slab. Mud season could push some people over the edge. The monsoon season is.....well, it's monsoon season. Even the word is ominous. Look at it..... monsoon.

But it all came together, and we moved into our 3,000 square ft. ode to modern design. (in mud season, of course) Everything about it was creative, but the MOST creative thing about it was the financing. We had built a half million dollar house on, drumroll please, on a credit card. At something like 1% interest. That was back in the day of free money. We had enough frequent flyer miles to take the whole family around the world six times. We could visit 'the voice' in Sao Palo. We converted it to a mortgage and settled in.

Sort of.

The views were amazing.
 

The sunsets were surreal. That's mystical Mesa Verde in the distance.


The staircase was a work of glue-lam art with a thirty foot drop to the basement. Has anyone seen Della?


And where are the boys? Up? Down? They have their own 'floor' now. But it's way too far away. I can't hear them breathing at night. And, excuse me, but where is the cleaning crew? And the landscaping crew? Oh wait. That's me.

"And, hey, where is my husband?" I'll ask 'the voice'. He might know.

"It'll take him every spare moment for years to tame this beast of a parcel." he said. "Have you noticed the rocks, the trees, the fences, the pasture, the driveway, the mud? The tub surround and the basement entry and the decks and and the stair rails and the trim and the tile and the concrete island and the closet systems and the drawer inserts and....

 I guess we would do this on the weekends after both having to work all week to pay for it all. It was totally doable. It really was. If our hearts had been in it, it was totally doable. But that is not where my heart was or is.

I don't overly give a hoot about my home. I do love to 'decorate' but my style is quirky and I had just as soon decorate a tent. Maybe it's the vagabond in me. I have always been drawn to the gypsy wagon.

from here
Long story short. A delightful couple from Atlanta moved to Colorado to be near their kids. They loved our house and bought it. And they did something outrageous and I know she was hearing 'a voice'. Not my guy, her guy. She turned our cantilevered, clean lined, modern home into a vintage, shabby chic, funky, country retreat. And I love it. Because 'the voice' is with her.

Not me.

We've built two homes and remodeled countless. I will not do it again. Someone else has built my future home, just as I have built theirs. I will be happy with their nooks and crannies, their floorplans, and their tile choices. We live in a rental in Durango right now. It's wonderful. I love the location and the neighbors and it's spectacular setting. I love the boulder by the back door that is twice as big as the house. The house itself is nothing special, but it is cozy and it has absolutely nothing to say to me. We spend our weekends doing whatever we want. Today Matt is hiking up Mt. Sneffels with his dad and I am taking the kids to Mancos to the hot air balloon festival.

We might just go and see Jama and Hardy, the delightful couple who bought the house, and watch it from their back deck.

It's the best view in the valley, after all.

And I can say 'hi' to him.

2 comments:

6512 and growing said...

Ivey - hello!
I've read thru your blog a little, good to find another blogging Mama in this beautiful town. And I've heard great things about you and your school through my CCS friends.
I hope public school continues to go well for your kiddos. We're hiding out at Montessori school for another year and then hoping for an awesome home school co-op to materialize.

Jamie Jo said...

I love your two part post. Again, you're hysterical!