La versión en español está después de la versión en inglés.
Our house in San Diego was a California crafstman, Spanish-style built in 1924 as a two-bedroom, 1-1/2 bath home, and was owned by the same family until 1992. It had coved ceilings, original hardwood floors, and gumwood detailing. Over the years they added a large master bedroom and ensuite bathroom, built a guest cottage/rental in the backyard, and took very good care of the place for nearly 70 years.
The new owners, a pair of lesbian friends, refinished the floors and made some minor improvements, maintaining the house in exceptional condition. They then found loves and decided to sell the house. Having sold our house in Connecticut at a loss less than three years earlier, we were considering buying a house again, but weren’t sure. To get a feel for things, we decided to go to open houses one Sunday. The first house we visited was this one. It looked small and simple from the outside, but we were overwhelmed once we walked in the door.
A few months later, after getting our finances together, we decided to buy something but didn’t expect this to still be available. It was. And that was it for us. Nothing else compared. The landscaping was a disaster and the guest cottage was rented and a mess. So we moved the tenant out and got to work.
We added a deck and installed a 2- or 3-person spa. We learned that three people would need to be tiny or the water would overflow. So when we bought our house in San Francisco, we installed a 6-person spa.
After redoing the rental unit and turning it into a charming garden cottage, we used one bedroom in the main house as a den while the other bedroom had a sofa bed, in case we had more company. We updated the kitchen but didn’t remove anything original, except the sink (and one small wall unit that was useless). The Wedgewood stove was from 1949 and it was our favorite ever. The long central hall had the original telephone nook with a fold-out seat. We bought a retro-look phone for the space.
We broke our backs hauling in soil and gravel and created a low-water oasis in the back garden. We then tore out the lawn and ratty hedge in front and did the same (no gravel). We had a lot of company, as always, and the guest cottage changed our lives.
I must admit I seriously miss that house. But oh the adventures we’ve had since then. When we bought the house, after phoning San Geraldo’s mother, we phoned mine. SG said, “We bought a really old, old, old, old house!” “How old is it?” she asked. “It was built in 1927!” “Oh, as old, old, old, old, old as I am!” I then corrected him and told her it was much, much, much, much older, having been built in 1924.“Oh,” she said. “Now that’s old!”
Nuestra casa en San Diego era una casa californiana de estilo español, construida en 1924 con dos dormitorios y un baño y medio, y perteneció a la misma familia hasta 1992. Tenía techos abovedados, suelos de madera originales y detalles de eucalipto. Con el paso de los años, añadieron un amplio dormitorio principal con baño en suite, construyeron una casa de huéspedes/alquiler en el patio trasero y cuidaron muy bien la casa durante casi 70 años.
Las nuevas dueñas, unas amigas lesbianas, restauraron los suelos e hicieron algunas pequeñas mejoras, manteniendo la casa en un estado excepcional. Luego encontraron el amor y decidieron venderla. Tras haber vendido nuestra casa en Connecticut con pérdidas menos de tres años antes, estábamos considerando comprar otra casa de nuevo, pero no estábamos seguros. Para familiarizarnos, decidimos ir a jornadas de puertas abiertas un domingo. La primera casa que visitamos fue esta. Parecía pequeña y sencilla desde fuera, pero nos quedamos abrumadas al entrar.
Unos meses después, tras ordenar nuestras finanzas, decidimos comprar algo, pero no esperábamos que siguiera disponible. Lo estaba. Y eso fue todo para nosotros. Nada se comparaba. El jardín era un desastre y la casa de invitados estaba alquilada y hecha un desastre. Así que desalojamos al inquilino y nos pusimos manos a la obra.
Añadimos una terraza y construimos un spa para dos o tres personas. Aprendimos que para tres personas tendríamos que ser pequeños o el agua se desbordaría. Así que cuando compramos nuestra casa en San Francisco, instalamos un spa para seis personas.
Después de remodelar la unidad de alquiler y convertirla en una encantadora casa de campo con jardín, usamos una habitación de la casa principal como estudio, mientras que la otra tenía un sofá cama, por si teníamos más visitas. Modernizamos la cocina, pero no quitamos nada original, excepto el fregadero. La estufa Wedgewood era de 1949 y era nuestra favorita. El largo pasillo central tenía el rincón original del teléfono con un asiento plegable. Compramos un teléfono de estilo retro para ese espacio.
Nos partimos la espalda acarreando tierra y grava y creamos un oasis de agua baja en el jardín trasero. Luego arrancamos el césped y el seto descuidado de delante e hicimos lo mismo (sin grava). Tuvimos mucha compañía, como siempre, y la casa de invitados nos cambió la vida.
Debo admitir que echo muchísimo de menos esa casa. Pero ¡ay, cuántas aventuras hemos vivido desde entonces! Cuando compramos la casa, después de llamar a la madre de San Geraldo, llamamos a la mía. SG dijo: “¡Compramos una casa viejísima!”. “¿Cuántos años tiene?”, preguntó. “¡Se construyó en 1927!”. “¡Oh, tan viejísima como yo!”. Entonces lo corregí y le dije que era muchísimo más antigua, construida en 1924. “¡Ah!”, dijo. “¡Eso sí que es viejo!”.
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A warm and inviting place. If you could move that to where you are today.
David:
That would be amazing.
What a find! Love the ‘features’ /mission/arts and crafts influences.
Jim:
I loved houses of that style. Had we stayed longer we would have done a more interesting paint job outside.
Just gorgeous, including all that landscaping work you did. And the phone nook! What a treasure!
Debra:
The landscaping was so satisfying. We even rented a 2-person gas-powered augur to drill holes in the hard pan to plant giant timber bamboo. What a job. And it was paradise when we were done.
Definitely easy to be nostalgic for that place
My wife’s first house was a little sardine can of a place. Virtually everything about it was cheap, small, and boring.
When we moved to our current house, there wasn’t much love lost. Even the dog was happy af 😂
Adam
NEKORANDOM.COM
Adam:
We lived in one or two places we were happy to say good-bye, too. But, mostly, we had some really wonderful homes.
Right up my alley. I had a house in Sacramento from the 1930s that had the phone alcove but a DROP-DOWN SEAT!!! Fabulous!
Bob:
We loved that drop-down seat. But, of course, we would never let anyone sit on it.
Great place!
David:
We had some great homes, but this was our favorite, I think.
Wow, that looks like an amazing house. I can see why you miss it. But as you said, think of all the adventures you’ve had since then! I see your tree fern. And it’s great that you kept so many of the old appliances and fittings.
Steve:
We had a matching tree fern on the other side of the cottage door. They were above door height by the time we moved. Until looking at these photos yesterday, I didn’t appreciate how much I missed that place.
Love the house, Scoot. Makes me miss San Diego even though we haven’t lived there in 32 years. Sigh.
For a minute I was wondering who the awesome hottie in the tub was. Then I recognized that gorgeous smile. Once again, sigh. I thought my coveting days were finally over, but no! Hugs to you both.
Deedles:
And we haven’t lived there in 27 years. I can’t believe it’s been that long. I also like to think of us living in San Diego at the same time. Yeah, there’s that awesome hottie again.
It may have been old, but you made it look “new”.
Kirk:
It was such a comfortable home.
What a place! The phone nook (with the little seat made for anyone who weighs 90 pounds or less), the wall of photos, the beautiful glass-base lamp, your wonderful furniture choices, the amazing floors and woodwork, the inviting yard… wowzer! Thanks for sharing this all with us, Mitchell 🙂
Judy C:
Yes, the phone nook seat! No one was every allowed to sit on it. The opposite wall in the hallway was also filled with family photos, with breaks for several doors. We picked up that glass-base lamp for $5 at a neighborhood yard sale! I wish I had better quality photos. The floors and woodwork were much lighter and richer in color.
From the first picture (!) to the last, I am swooning. That is a dream house although I would want it near the coast in Florida. It would not be out of place there. I love how you two respected and kept the original features and fixtures and made them shine with love and care and very hard work. Yes! The Wedgewood! And that bathroom. The arched shower entrance. Be still my heart. I do love an archway.
The whole place from inside to out is a testament to your talents and ability to work together to create a home where there is obviously so much love.
Thank you for sharing.
Ms. Moon, Another Former Wedgewood Owner
Ms. Moon:
I truly loved that house. Had we stayed we would have done a lot more, like replacing the garage so it could support a roof deck which would have given us views of San Diego harbor. That original bathroom was wonderful with gorgeous water lily tiles. The master bath was ugly 1950s vintage. We’d probably like it now.
What a beautiful home you guys had in San Diego! I especially liked your kitchen and the Spanish influence on the house’s exterior — now I know why you & SG were drawn to Spain, the “original”, LOL!
Tundra Bunny:
I was in southern Spain for the first time on business in early 2006. I told SG it looked and felt just like San Diego.
Every photo made me drool. EVERY photo 🙂 Thanks for sharing.
Your home was my California dream. I never got the all the pieces together in one space while I was there, but it is so nice to see this. Olivia
Olivia:
I can’t believe we owned that house. I’m drooling now, too!
Looks like a lovely home – but merely one amongst many, where you two are concerned! Jx
Jon:
Oh, SO many!
What a marvelous house! I can see why you still miss it. My favorite thing is the telephone nook. The first home I bought had one (no fold out seat, though) and I loved that feature.
Kelly:
SG’s grandparents built their house in South Dakota in 1932 and it had a stand-up phone nook. Of course, we would never risk sitting on ours anyway. It was designed for someone my grandmother’s size (maybe 4’10” and weighing nothing).
Beautiful! You’ve show snippets of this house before, but this collection of photos helps to bring it all together.
sorry… “shown.”
Walt the Fourth:
It was nice to simply do a major photo dump. However, I noticed I missed the master bedroom and some other views!
I could never put that much work into a home and not stay. Your better than I. That place was like an oasis! I enjoy traveling and then coming home. And as you know I HATE moving. I’ve only done it 4 times. Two places felt like home. I have a friend that moves just about every four or five years and even he admits a place never feels like home, but more a crash pad. I told him he needs to change jobs.
Mistress Borghese:
We put much more work and money into our Connecticut home. It’s what we do! Just another great experience. We’ve moved on average every 2 to 4 years, I think, which is why we make places home as quickly as possible.
There’s always a house you miss more than most
Mine was my Sheffield home , I should have never left it
finlaygray:
Looking at the San Diego house and remembering how secure we were there, I can at times feel like we never should have left it. “I chose and my world was shaken. So what. The choice may have been mistaken. The choosing was not. You have to move on.”
once upon a time I had an old house with a old tub on white stubby legs. Oh how I miss both.
Urspo:
My first apartment in Boston had a claw foot bathtub. So elegant.
What a great house. I especially like the phone nook with the old rotary dial phone.
Love,
Janie
Janie:
Isn’t that great. That was a push-botton modern reproduction.
My feed is bringing me posts days late. This one is great. What a cool house, too bad to leave it. There are so many wonderful features. I keep finding more. Boud.
Boud:
As much as we loved it, it was easy to move on. I miss it more now than I did in the years after the move.
Oh my gosh, what a beautiful house! I can see why you loved it so.