Home Sweet Home: Our Unusual Tale

Okay, okay-- here it is:
So... long story. I live in a Freemason's Lodge... An actively used one. My hubby and I are the caretakers of the entire building, which is about the size of a small courthouse or a LARGE mansion. It is 100 years old and still very true to it's origins-- at least, all the Mason stuff is. Our apartment is on the top floor, up the servant's staircase, and I like to call us the "mice in the attic". Our apartment itself is very average. Old, kinda worn, but with great features like hardwood floors and 12 foot ceilings. Too, the Masons are very allowing with us, so we have painted nearly all the rooms and redone the hardwood floors in a dark walnut.
We've lived here since we got married, nearly 4 years ago, so it has, of course, gotten more crowded and cluttery than I'd like. But being a photographer, I am skilled at showing the "best side" of things, so the photos I'm including are pretty good at masking most of the current areas of shame.
I have loved living here-- the neighborhood is incredible, the rent can't be beat ($0), and it's been the best starter home for our lives together. But I DREAM of the day I can have a home of my very own, with a garden and a yard.... and the excuse to finaly buy a REAL couch and entertainment center (living three floors up, what's the point of buying them now? So we still have my college furniture. Our fabulous bed, my craft hutch, and Noah's crib are really the only cool pieces we own. )

Anyhoo, without further ado, I'll start with the Lodge, then finish with our lil' apartment.

Front door


side door (our main entrance) (I'm preggy here. I kinda miss being preggy.)
*photo by Kate Benson


main lobby (Joe's wearing the Southerland kilt, his birthday gift last year. He doesn't NORMALLY wander the Lodge like this. Or DOES he??)
*photo by Kate Benson


The second floor bannister (Joe again.)


The second floor staircase


The entrance to the library/parlour


In the library/parlour


Our humble little servant's staircase


Our dingy introduction to our home... Kinda sad-looking. )


Our small but cheerful kitchen

Kitchen details...


Living room pt.1 (kitchen in background)


Living room part 2 (three coats of red paint. Yeah, it sucked, but the results are always worth it in my opinion.)


Living room part 3 (bedroom peeking from the background)


Living room part 4


bedroom (used to be the living room, but we made the dining room into the LR, the LR into our bedroom, and the only REAL bedroom into the baby's room. It works. Are you lost yet?)
*photo by Kate Benson


Detail shot of Noah's room


Another detail shot of Noah's room

and the clutter is.... in the unshown hallway outside the apt., the two storage rooms, the hidden part of our bedroom, and the hidden part of Noah's room. I'm working on it. Questions, anyone?

(entry originally posted on Babycenter, then pasted here on my blog. 7/27/08)

(...then postponed and RE-pasted today. So now the clutter I just mentioned is significantly better. And I like being at home again these days.)