Craftsman Vs. Victorian

Tom came to this state 10 weeks before Naomi and I did, so he walked through this house before I did and then bought it. He was able to send me a video beforehand, and although this house wasn't quite what I'd been dreaming about, I told him to go ahead and buy it if he thought it was the right thing to do.

Well, when I first stepped inside this house, I was a little disappointed... It had looked bigger on the video and it didn't have the Victorian feeling I'd been wanting, being a Victoria Magazine junkie, myself. During our first years here, I tried decorating it in Victorian style, but always, the heavy Craftsman window and door trim overwhelmed the lace and trinkets of my Victoriana collection. It felt as though a Craftsman vs. Victorian war was going on.

It's very uncomfortable living in the middle of a war.

So one day I decided to submit to the Craftsman tones of this house and I let go of my old Victorian junk, er, lace and doo-dads, and began studying the whole Craftsman movement which happened in the early 1900's and was meant to be a reprieve from all the cluttered years of the Victorian era of decorating. We haunted the scratch-and-dent room of our local furniture store and were able, over a couple years, to buy some Craftsman furniture for a fraction of its original price (otherwise, forget it... At full price, it's ridiculous). We felt blessed to find so many great deals.

And over time a miracle happened. A new peace arose between our furnishings and all that window and door Craftsman trim. Harmony reigned from corner to corner. And the more I give into, yes, even submit to the fact that this is a Craftsman Bungalow and not a Queen Anne Victorian, the more peaceful each room appears and feels. Amazingly, now I even prefer the straight lines and uncluttered look of the Craftsman style over the curves and clutter of Victoriana. Our home is now a place of repose and rest, due in large part to our giving it the furnishings it was created to have.

Due in large part, to my submitting to the truth that there are some things you cannot change, so you must change yourself, instead.