I grew up in a very old home that was owned by an attorney, Mr. Hamilton. When my parents bought the house, it was full of his old law books. I have these books today, and I’m married to a lawyer so its fitting to be on our bookshelves. But the strange thing is I loved the old books even when i was a little girl. I loved old houses back then. I guess I was a strange little girl back then because I loved the old leather books, the moldings, wood floors, and paid attention to details even when I was small. We moved to “the city” when I was 3…and when I say city, I mean from the country to a town of about 5k at that time. Now my hometown may have 2500…times have changed.

My husband and I live in Oklahoma City. He lived in an older historic district in the city, but it didn’t have the larger lots with the homes standing on the lots. Don’t get me wrong, he lived in a charming area, they were bungalows and I was just trying to find something larger and I didn’t like sharing a driveway with the neighbors at his old location.

We lived in his home for 6 months, I put a for sale by owner sign in the yard and sold the house 2 weeks later. It was then off to find “THE HOME”. Well, we couldn’t find “THE HOME” but we had to get out of our current home due to the new owners so we…”settled”…we ended up living in the home we “settled” for at that time for 12 years! That’s when we fell in love with Heritage Hills. I loved our home, and it was featured in one of the Oklahoma City magazines one month, so it was indeed beautiful and we made it home.

One day while running in the neighborhood for a few months, I spotted it…THE HOUSE..it was a carbon copy of one I had seen and admired in England and I knew someday I HAD TO HAVE THIS HOUSE…I had admired this home for literally 12 years…rumors were flying about this house that had been empty for so long would soon come on the market…we put ours on the market so we could prepare to purchase THE YELLOW house (yes it was a bright yellow so we called it the yellow house)…we had 3 offers, really good ones on our home but we didn’t take them because the YELLOW house wasn’t for sale yet…rumors galore on when the house would be for sale even from Realtors, but when in fact all of these were not true..nobody knew…..then the day came…the sign went up FOR SALE! I called the Realtor and said..I WANT TO BUY THE YELLOW HOUSE…she told me she didn’t even have the key yet..I told her it didn’t matter, and we would take it…I’m not kidding. It was her lucky day.

My husband knew this day would come. He was so tired of hearing me talk about the house, drive by the house..he just wanted me to shut up so if it took buying the house, so be it..the chatter would be over.

We met the Realtor the next morning, we signed the contract, it was indeed her lucky day. She had several others lined up to show the home so she had to show it..but most walked away..they couldn’t even walk thru the door due to its condition. …it had been neglected for years…floors were rotten, the dining room ceiling had fallen in one area due to a leaky roof, the kitchen was SO tiny..it was a sad sight and the staircase railing was scratched to death by cats…but I didn’t care..I wanted it…I knew what it had been and what it could be again. I loved its “bones”. I had done research on this house for months learning about the 2 previous owners and especially about the person that built the house. You can view the photos on my website under the “design services” area.

You see, there’s something about a neighborhood that’s historic….there’s a sense of family, a sense of unity that is different than new neighborhoods, and we have SIDEWALKS WITH TREES…its a REAL NEIGHBORHOOD! Its not a batch of land that someone has purchased to make money off lots to make houses look alike…its history..each home here was built by pioneers in Oklahoma History.

Our neighborhood has historical preservation rules and guidelines. This means a house can’t be torn down and a new one built..you can’t just “add on” to your home..you can’t have cars parked and piled on the street, you can’t have metal storage buildings in the back…if it wasn’t the way it was in years past, its not allowed to be that way now…its a protection to preserved the beauty of our city. There’s a historic preservation board…its full of elected neighbors placed on the board to make sure the area is bound to all details regarding the Historic Preservation of Oklahoma City rules. Other neighborhoods in our city allow older homes to be destroyed and new ones rebuilt..I dislike this. Simply because many of the homes are older in the areas. I’m not saying they all should stay, trust me I see lots out there that need to be torn down, but many today that are being demolished are truly lovely homes that just need some face-lifts!

We aren’t done with our renovation, we are taking a break, but after 1.5 years, we’ve come a long way of preserving this home. Its history and heritage is what I love about this home. I love taking walks every morning in our tree lined neighborhood, riding my bike in the evenings, walking to friends homes and sitting on their FRONT porch for a cocktail. Front porches were the source of entertainment in years gone past…its preserved in my neighborhood. Our neighborhood knows each other. We are an extended family. Everyone knows everyone, and we are there for each other. Good times and bad. We can take a walk and end up sitting on someones front steps visiting. We love our neighborhood.

Don’t get me wrong, I love new houses, but you can’t build history now like it was built long ago..no matter how hard one tries. Even the wood used today isn’t as good as the wood from years past. Construction isn’t the same. Nothing is “handmade”. Older homes have character, history and a warmth that nobody can explain unless they understand what true history is in our area. These homes were standing during the dust bowl. The history of what surrounds them is the history of our state. Suburbs are great for those who want that lifestyle, but I’m an antique dealer, a traveler of England, and love all things authentic and this is where my heart is…its in HERITAGE HILLS.

Visit our annual home tour …every year our neighborhood opens up its doors to the public by featuring a few homes for the public to understand what our neighborhood is all about. The Overholser mansion is a great place to visit (and its across from my home). The homes on this years tour are lovely examples of the historic preservation that indeed makes our city and neighborhood beautiful. We must never forget the past and those of us living in historic homes live in the past everyday.
Visit www.heritagehills.org for more information. Its September 26 and 27th.

Come enjoy the tour….you’ll be glad you did and you’ll have a sense of understanding why we live where we live…and you’ll see why we love it so much.