Changing With the Times
Trends in home building and design have been interesting to follow lately. COVID saw some of us fleeing city dwellings for country houses that offered more work-at-home-friendly spaces. Now, as that urgency subsides, attention to sustainable building practices is growing more pronounced. In its wake come a desire and need for more eco-friendly methods and materials. At the same time, the pace of population aging is much faster than in the past. For all these reasons, we feel it’s appropriate to take a look at how some Granite Staters are making choices about where and how they live.
Janice Randall Rohlf
Editor
One couple in Amherst, whose house is featured on page 54, speaks for empty nesters everywhere when they say, “We wanted to downsize into a home that was better for the environment, with more natural light and less upkeep.” They learned from the mistakes of previous generations to anticipate single-floor living and purge accumulated belongings they no longer need. Having raised their family in a typical colonial, the homeowners haven’t looked back since moving into their “green” home with sunlight-filled living spaces all on one level, facing the wetlands.
Also empty nesters, Kreg and Danielle Jones went in a different direction when it came to the latest in a series of renovations they’ve tackled together over the years. A 19th-century schoolhouse in Weare caught the fancy of the architect and his professor wife for its historic designation and manageable size. They live here in a community that is thrilled to now see this architectural gem meticulously restored (page 64).
Builder Jay Tucker and his wife, Judi, aren’t quite ready to retire, but when they are they may move into a house that is close to where they now live but miles apart in many other ways. Like the Joneses, their experience allowed them to gut-renovate the place themselves, but it took lots of sweat equity, ingenuity and sheer optimism. The small house with a million-dollar view is being used as an Airbnb, while the Tuckers adjust to the idea of downsizing. See the story on page 74.
No two people have the same wishes or requirements for the house in which they live. And these parameters change in accordance with life’s phases. What remains constant is the priceless nature of one’s own personal comfort, or, as famous Swiss-French architect Le Corbusier once said, “The home should be the treasure chest of living.”
At the holidays, all of us at New Hampshire Home wish you happiness and good health.
