Bricks, etc.

Lately, I've been obsessed with bricks, old ones to be precise. And if they have old, peeling paint on them  so much the better.

I love it that our town is all about brick. The walls, the walkways, old buildings with faded, painted signs on the brick, I love it all.

Our house had three brick chimneys, all of which had to be torn down. But we saved most of the bricks and have used them as pavers here and there.

We still have three BIG pallets of saved brick. I spent hours and hours scraping mortar off those bricks.

And I'd do it again. I like to reuse old materials in new ways. The chimneys became walkways, the stone foundations became raised flowerbeds, the bead board was used to make closets in the children's rooms and in both bathrooms.

Of course, I would have liked to restore everything in this house just as it was originally, but that wasn't practical.

Compromise is a necessity that makes a renovation do-able.

You just have to decide what is really worth the extra effort to save and what needs to be replaced in order to live comfortably. (And, so the project will actually get done and your marriage will be in one piece - I speak with some experience :) )

A quote I've read somewhere says," Respecting the past while acknowledging the future."

I like that!

And I have a slight suspicion that we've built it back better than it was originally.

Maybe. 

Wow, that was quite a ramble! Sorry :)

So, anyhow, I just wanted to share these pictures of some of the cool old brick buildings I've been noticing lately.

I would like to have an interior brick wall. Maybe in a mud room.

That plan is for my someday house - my dream house that may never be a reality but that I still like to plan for in my head.

The above picture is one of the best pizza houses in town - love this place!

Good bye for now!