This past weekend, my family and I gathered in Nebraska and celebrated an important event–the 100th birthday of my grandparent’s home. The house has been a part of our family for generations. My great grandparents first lived there in 1918 after Grandpa Wallace retired from farming; however, retirement did not suit Grandpa Wallace , so he and Grandma Ada moved back to the countryside to farm. He never sold the house in town, instead letting my great aunt Irma live there. She occupied the house until her death at the ripe age of 97. Irma willed the house to my grandparents, who proceeded to sell their farmhouse and move into the “big city”. I say “big city” with a grain of salt, because the town has a population of approximately 1,000 residents, so it can hardly be called “big” by Seattle standards. But to my grandparents, who had lived in the country for most of their lives, moving to town was a major change. They carefully remodeled the house, bringing in modern amenities, while still keeping the vintage charm.
The house is rather large. It has a basement, a main floor, an upstairs, and an attic. When you first enter through the garage, there is a long, narrow hallway.
My grandparent’s bedroom is down the hall and to the left. We call it the “blue” room because of it’s beautiful blue hue. My grandma loves themed rooms. Almost every room has a dedicated color palette.
Across from the bedroom, there is a large formal dining room.
Further down the hall, an antique church bench offers a comfortable seat. It is right next to the music room, and is the perfect place to relax and listen to my grandmother play her organ.
In fact, she doesn’t just own one organ–she has two! She also has a piano and accordion. It is fitting because both Irma and my grandma were piano teachers.
There is a staircase right outside of the music room, which leads to the upstairs rooms. The upstairs has three bedrooms and a bathroom, which are connected by a long hallway. Always the nostalgic woman, my grandmother turned the hallway into a timeline of sorts. It is a photo wall that chronicles the lives of my father and his two brothers from early childhood to present day.
The three bedrooms sit on the far side of the hallway. The largest bedroom is on the left. It is the “red” room, so called because of it’s red accessories.
Whenever we visit, my sister, Sara, always claims the red room. It is her favorite.
While I think the red room is perfectly lovely, I tend to gravitate towards the sweet, “yellow” room that is next door.
There is also a “green” themed bedroom upstairs. My sister, Joy, absolutely loves, loves, loves that room. She always stays in it during her visits.
At the other end of the hallway, there is a colorful, wallpapered bathroom If you couldn’t tell, my grandma has a penchant for wallpaper, which is interesting since wallpaper is making a major comeback in all of the trendy decor websites. I like to think that she is ahead of the style curve.
Well that is all I have to share. I hope you enjoyed this special house tour. Unfortunately, photos can only capture so much of the home’s unique character.
This house has held 100 years of happy memories, and I can only hope the future holds 100 more years of memories.