In Touch With History

darien cottage 1Country Living magazine never ceases to surprise me. It is never the first magazine I pick up, however, when I do pick it up, I am never disappointed. Case in point, this month’s issue features a quaint 18th century cottage from my own hometown of Darien, CT. I definitely plan on going to scope this one out when I am back up north for Thanksgiving. darien cottage 3According to the article, the house was built around 1780 (same as my house!) in Kenyon, Rhode Island. In the early 2000’s it was rescued from demolition by a preservation minded architect. The architect did not want to see the house destroyed, so instead he disassembled the house and numbered each piece for it to be rebuilt at another site. Although this may sound a bit crazy to my non-preservationist readers out there, it is actually quite common. In these cases, the smaller and more simplified the house, the better, however, it has been done to much larger houses as well. darien cottage 5This little girl is very lucky to have everyday contact with history through the exposed timber framing in her walls and ceiling. darien cottage 4Even the bathroom in this historic cottage is charming with its terra cotta floors and 18th century painted doorway. Perhaps there is a house in your hometown you would like to save from demolition?

Happy Weekend!

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  • I loved this story, too. (Especially the ball-rolling-in-all-directions comment.) A preservationist at heart, there are few things I dislike more than seeing an old structure razed. Last week we made an offer on a 100-year-old Florida farmhouse. Most buyers would likely purchase it for the property only, but we’re hoping to save the house. For us, it would a total labor of love. Fingers crossed!