Saturday, May 1, 2010

Putting the NEW in OLD Spanish homes

Are you an "old house person" or a "new house person"?  Most people can tell you immediately which type of home they prefer but if there is any doubt take this test and you can probably figure it out;

You are probably an Old House Person if;

1. In general, you revere things which have a past, a history and which have attained dignity through maturity having withstood the "test of time".

2. You feel a connection to objects that are still and quiet but which you sense have a power and a richness, forged in a long ago time by human hands, which can never be duplicated.

3. You feel most comfortable in a space that has been designed in accordance with the concept of  "The Golden Mean".

4.  In any home you consider you value utility when it is clever and takes advantage of  renewable resources like sunlight or thermodynamics or cross ventilation and you abhor the wastefulness of homes with no such cleverness of design.

5. You prefer a home's architectural ornamentation to be more Frank Lloyd Wright than LasVegas

6.  You feel that hairline cracks and dents and floors that creak and walls that are not always "true"  in an old home are no cause to abandon the place and are as part of the natural order of things as are wrinkles on the face of someone you love.

7.  You feel it is a privilege and an honor to carry on a tradition of caring for and loving a worthy structure born of human ingenuity, craftsmanship and knowledge of beauty.

Now, if you are a "New House Person" you:

1.  Are like an explorer, happiest when you are the first to have discovered something new that no one else has ever laid claim to.

2.  Are not willing to be forever ready to leap into "fix-it mode" and prefer your home to  be self-sufficient and not always begging for help.

3. You prefer to live in a space that is a blank slate ready for your imprint and unfettered with the baggage of the past.

4. You must have the very latest, hot off the presses technological innovations in appliances, sound systems, wi-fi, lighting and security systems.

5. You want to enjoy your home not fight with it or try to appease it or perfect it.


Now for those of you who harbor both New and Old House character traits you might find the perfect marriage in these 2 new Coral Gables listings:

                     909 Algaringo Avenue for $1,350,000.

                             and 645 Minorca for $649,000.00

Read all about them at http://www.gableshistorichomes.com/