I know this may seem a little strange to see a blog post with a whole collection of ceiling photos, but this is one of the aspects I love about our home and I wanted to document it somewhere, I felt this was the right place. Our home was built in 1927, a year before my dad was born. All these years ago it was quite fashionable for homes to have metal pressed ceilings. It makes me think about the history of our home, the people that lived here many years before us and who they were. I wonder what they thought about the ceilings?
Is there an area of your home that you particularly love, do tell us about it…
I live in an 1891 Queen Anne victorian. With turrets and 11ft ceilings and hard wood floors and lots of lovely details. I always say that old houses have a soul- the energetic memory of all who have lived here. I love living in a house that is more than wood and stone. I love a house with history.
Our house is a typical Canadian farm house, built about 80-100 years ago to replace the original log homestead that burned. I love the wood floors that slant in crazy ways…we call it our house-sized marble run (because we find balls and marbles in funny places)…some even roll out of the living room, into the kitchen, around a corner, and under the basement door…down the steps and onto my laundry pile. It’s quirky and hilarious!
Your ceilings are so pretty…what a treasure, to have original pressed-tin ceilings in such great condition!
I love old houses and living in the Northeastern U.S. we are fortunate to have houses dating back to 1700’s, still used as private residences! Although many seem to now be housing law firms… Anyway, the first house I lived in was built in 1905 and my favorite part were the glass door knobs, and a huge, thick glass sliding door that dividing the living room and dining room when you pulled it out. Also the big bathtub on the third floor with clawed feet!
We built this house ourselves (using a contractor, but doing the electrical work and the painting and roofing and several other things ourselves), and it was in the ’70s, a particularly graceless period in the US. But we put so much wood into the house, and our rooms are well proportioned – it’s the war materials that make it cozy and the memories that make it feel so solid. People like it when they come here.
My grandmother’s house in Kansas City was built by her own husband, and the things I loved about that house, built in the 1930s, are the things others have mentionedL the crystal doorknobs – the ancient Persian rugs, the lamps with crystal drops hanging from them, the tiny alcoves, the white wrought iron breakfast table with the glass top, the tiny china animals on the shelf at the top of the stairs, the curling bottom step that had a small crystal globe sitting on it – a vase for a slip of living ivy to float in.
Clawed foot tub, the mysterious stairs you could pull down and use to get into the mysterious attic, the basement with my father’s old skis in it, my grandfather’s hand carved train (it was wonderful and the work of his hands – i never got to meet him).
It’s the details – knowing that the things in the house were chosen by someone connected to you, that the house has been worn by family feet – that real love and joy and sorrow have made the wooden floors both rough and smooth, and that the light and shadow thrown in rooms and corners was the same for them, so many years ago, as it is for the children you have brought up there.
Now I’m off to feed the horses. Thank you for helping me remember these things.
Truly gorgeous. Thank you for sharing. I like the nine-paned window in our front room. It was covered with heavy drapes for years when my grandparents lived here. We bought the home after their deaths, and when I lightened up the window treatments to showcase the window, my oldest child said, “Did we get a new window?” So, it’s not quite as grand as your ceilings, but I love that window.
you are so lucky linda, your home is beautiful, and your ceilings are gorgeous.
Those celling’s and light fittings are so majestic. We built our own house and apart from the dinning room celling it’s pretty much finished. My father-in-law insisted that we have a traditional ‘pelle’ celling -thick main beam with angled planks coming off it- so we needed a carpenter for this. 7 years later we are still waiting, we have changed carpenters once already, but the new one doesn’t seem in much of a hurry either. I hope one day soon I can also’look-up’ to a lovely celling.
Thanks Emma, I hope you get your new and beautiful ceiling soon:)
Seeing lovely old homes so make me want to make my new home that we are building our own selves, look old….but maybe it is just the ‘spirit’ of the old homes that I can create…the loving and the coziness! But I love your ceilings and now I want some of them.
I have a home built in 1965. Soon after that came the craze of carpeting everything! After I bought this home and moved in 6 years ago, I soon couldn’t stand the sight of the carpet that I could not get clean. I investigated and soon pulled up that old stuff. Underneath was beautiful hardwood flooring, just waiting for someone to love it again! I had it all sanded, stained and finished and it’s beautiful! I love it. It adds a lot of character.
I love your ceilings! My parents house has all those lovely plaster rose and leaf rings around the light fittings…I know they have a special name just can’t think of it right now! I have sent and received my Valentine swap parcel (I was so lucky, Christina’s felting is amazing!) will do a post closer to valentines. Did you set up a flickr page? Jen xx
Very pretty! I used to live in a home built in 1916 and it had all sorts of interesting detail as well. Love thinking about the history of a house. What a special detail to have in a home! 🙂
Lovely!
We live in an old one room school house that was built in 1878. I love absolutely everything about it. While not all of the orginal interior remains, there is still the old fieldstone hearth and the original school steps. The interior as it was remains, with just one wall added to separate our living and sleeping area.
For us the most wonderful part has been visits from people who use to attend school here. There have not been many in the last few years, but when we first moved in 15 years ago, someone would usually stop by at least once per year. We have learned a lot about the people who went to school here and lived in the community from these visits.
Thanks so much Lori:)
Linda–Your ceilings are gorgeous!! I’m so glad that you documented them here for us, too!
My mother was a huge fan of what she called ‘pressed tin ceilings’, and as a child, I was indoctrinated to look ‘up’ whenever I was in an older building. (I still do it today!)
Thank you so much for sharing your beautiful stories here.
There is nothing more beautiful than the original craftsmanship of the old homes. Those ceilings are fantastic.
Barb,
Thank you, I love old homes.
I am sitting here drooling over your ceilings! I love all the little details that went into constructing a home years ago and really wish it wasn’t so costly to do it today.
Lately I have been obsessed with floors and redoing all mine, now I am thinking I need to do the ceilings next :)!
That is gorgeous!!!! I love older homes and the story they tell. What a fantastic neat thing to have in your home. I love the details of old homes. Homes built today don’t have the details and spirit that old homes have.
One of the things that make my home ‘mine’ are the little things we’ve changed and added over the years ourselves. Things we’ve taken out and redone to make our home unique.
Aptly named post! 🙂
That is gorgeous! Our house was built in the 80’s nothing lovely about it except granite counter tops.