In a pandemic, there’s no place BUT home. Do you still like your place?
We asked readers whether they’re happy with their homes or confinement has them contemplating a major remodel or move.
With schools, gyms, and nonessential workplaces shut down to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus, most of us have been spending a lot more quality time in and around our homes the past few weeks. They’ve become our full-time offices, our happy hour bars, our classrooms and playgrounds. Modest backyards are forced to fulfill our need for nature. Our kitchens are doing double or triple duty, playing host to three meals a day for everyone in the household.
And as with any intensifying relationship, the more time you spend in one another’s company, the more you may come to appreciate each other’s quirks… or grow irritated by them. We asked readers whether they’re happy with their homes and past design choices, perhaps grateful for a recent addition, or if confinement has them contemplating a major remodel or move in the near future.
“I’m still in love with my house, but have realized we have way too much stuff,’’ said Jen Osterhout, who blogs at EverydayOldHouse.com. “Toys we don’t use, clothes we don’t wear, unused kitchen gadgets and gizmos collecting dust, old magazines and paperwork lying around.’’ She’s eagerly awaiting the day donation centers reopen.
A more surprising realization, Osterhout added, is how much she loves her neighborhood north of Boston. She’s started developing friendships with neighbors who, before the outbreak, were really just acquaintances. “We smile and wave to each other, stop and talk from our backyards while practicing social distancing, text each other for much-needed support and comic relief,’’ Osterhout said. “This virus has brought our neighborhood together and solidified a sense of community that I believe will continue even after we return to our ‘normal’ lives.’’
As a result, Osterhout and her husband are now rethinking their plans — which had been to purchase a larger home farther outside the city in a few years to accommodate their growing family. “Perhaps undergoing the ‘dreaded’ addition process is worth the price of staying in our neighborhood,’’ she said.
Lexington resident Morra Aarons-Mele also professed a newfound appreciation for her location and community. “Our access to walking trails and nature has never been so valuable,’’ she said. Neighbors, meanwhile, have stayed connected by organizing social-distancing happy hours in a nearby cul-de-sac. And her backyard, where she tends to nine hens and a greenhouse, has provided a welcome refuge — plus a daily supply of fresh eggs.
So Aarons-Mele, who founded Women Online and hosts the Anxious Achiever podcast, has decided to stay put rather than move, and to remodel her mid-century home instead — which she said is in desperate need of an update. “We’d been looking at plans before but dragging our feet,’’ she said. “If I emerge from this with any money or business, a renovation has to happen, stat.’’
Some housebound homeowners aren’t waiting for the pros. Architect Leslie Saul and her husband are using this time to tackle smaller, long-delayed DIY projects and repairs around their Arlington home. “I’m enjoying my ‘new’ light in a guest bath that I should have installed when I bought [the fixture] five years ago,’’ Saul said. She also got around to installing an artsy door knob she discovered sitting in an old box in the basement.
Saul is also embracing her home’s spacious geography, following the morning sun from the dining room to an enclosed porch at midday, and then soaking up afternoon rays on the second floor. As she migrates through the house, she delights in the varied character of each space. “No all-white rooms for me,’’ she said. “I appreciate the change of vibe while I’m in solitary confinement.’’ She’s also second-guessing the idea of downsizing. “I thought that the house was too big for us as empty nesters, but boy, do I appreciate the extra space now!’’ she said.
With a much fuller nest, Ruth DiGiovanni of Taunton can relate. “Being home with a family of five made me realize how grateful I am for two full bathrooms,’’ DiGiovanni said. “It’s also made me realize how badly we need a bigger kitchen. There’s not enough room for three weeks of groceries.’’
Even before the pandemic struck, DiGiovanni and her husband had talked about expanding the kitchen. But their real long-term dream isn’t just a new and bigger kitchen — it’s a home near the ocean in Rhode Island. “We came to the conclusion that if we were to make that kind of investment, it would be better spent on a larger home with a larger yard,’’ she said.
A small kitchen, however, is still preferable to none at all — particularly when you’re stuck at home 24/7.
Danvers homeowners Mike and Holly Irgens had been planning a major remodel of their 1877 Colonial ever since they bought the place eight years ago. In December, their contractor poured the foundation for an addition that would create a larger living room, new bathroom, and deck. The plan was to start the addition first and then break through the exterior wall to connect the new space to the kitchen — which was also slated for a complete overhaul. “It was March 10th when they broke through and demoed our kitchen,’’ Holly said. “And of course, that was the week … everything changed.’’
They had anticipated the challenge of living without a kitchen for a couple of months; they hadn’t planned on being at home 100 percent of that time. “My parents live 10 minutes away, so the plan was to spend a lot of time over there, to have dinner with them or do takeout some nights at our house,’’ Mike said. “[But] we didn’t want to put my parents at any risk.’’
While it means a good portion of their house is totally off-limits, the Irgens are grateful their contractor, Chet Dembowski & Son, has gone through great lengths to continue construction with social distancing precautions in place. When Governor Charlie Baker announced the closure of nonessential businesses on March 23, Holly said Dembowski scrambled to secure the blueboard and other supplies he would need to finish the project.
Mike, who works in human resources at Massachusetts General Hospital, said they consider themselves lucky given everything else going on in the world. But working and schooling from home without a functional kitchen and with tools whirring loudly in the background certainly amplifies the usual stay-at-home inconveniences. Holly, who owns a marketing firm and cofounded Dorchester Brewing Co., has taken to working in the bathroom, where she can sit down at the vanity in relative quiet. “I did actually take a Zoom call, just with my partners at the brewery,’’ she said. “They were like: ‘Where are you? Are you in the bathroom?’’’
Screen-time rules for their two children have gone out the window, Mike added. And aside from home-cooked meals his parents deliver a few times a week, dinners often consist of prepackaged foods they can microwave in their chaotic dining room home base. While they usually try to feed their kids organic foods and plenty of vegetables, Mike said, “Now it’s like, ‘Who wants some Chef Boyardee?’ ’’
Ironically, Mike said, when everything is over — once the pandemic threat has lifted and the home renovation they’ve been planning for so many years is finally complete — his dream is simply to get out of the house. “We’ll have a brand-new kitchen, but I just want to get a baby sitter for the kids and go out to dinner.’’
Jon Gorey blogs about homes at HouseandHammer.com. Send comments to [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at @jongorey. Subscribe to our free real estate newsletter at pages.email.bostonglobe.com/AddressSignUp.
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