I am led to believe that I am puzzling people who are wondering what we are doing with the house.
The simple fact of the matter is that we are still learning, still studying, still working out what ought to be done with it - first in terms of its overall stabilization and then in terms of a future use. We've been all over the country looking at other structures of similar age and function. We've studied the house. We've peeled back some of the later accretions like linoleum and particle board on the floors and lauan paneling on the walls. We have experimented with different treatments and then we experiment some more. And we're learning a lot.
So for the moment, the priority is two-fold: 1) Don't mess it up and 2) don't let it fall down.
Historic preservation recognizes four distinct approaches to projects like this: preservation, rehabilitation, restoration, or reconstruction. You can learn more about what these mean at:
https://savingplaces.org/stories/preservation-tips-tools-secretary-interiors-standards-explained
Currently, we are using the Rehabilitation treatment standards for the house.
So what's it going to be?
Well, we don't know precisely. For the moment its a great muse, a thought project, and an opportunity to get our hands on a house that was built when Andrew Jackson was president.
Folks will say we should make it a bed and breakfast but we don't want to run a b&b.
Folks will say we should make it a museum but that's a project for a larger group, preferably a non-profit organization, and, perhaps, a future owner of the house.
So why's it taking so long?
Funny thing is that life and work gets often in the way of doing what we want to do. Health challenges, raising kids, work, and more sure does get in the way of having fun, even if having fun involves rehabbing an old house.
<<Furrowed brow and confused look >>>
We really love history. And we're really excited about history. And we think there is much to be learned from history. And we want to share that love of history with others. And we wound up with a really cool old house.