When I started A House A Week at the end of 2020, I was in the middle of a momentous transition. I was just about to move from Long Island to San Diego and I was quitting a job I’d had for nearly five years to start a different one. I maintained the newsletter for less than a year before stopping abruptly. If I’m being honest, my interest wasn’t strong enough to sustain the newsletter at the time, largely because I felt exhausted by work and other life commitments, like taking care of a dog and not having a dishwasher.
But now, I’m no longer at that exhausting job, and even though I still don’t have a dishwasher, I do have the time to dedicate to A House A Week. Which is ideal for me, because really, writing this newsletter is how I’d like to spend my time.
A spacious Queen Anne from 1904 in Evanston, Ill.
I adore Evanston. It’s one of my favorite cities in the United States with its charming downtown and even more charming residential streets. Along these residential streets are numerous historical homes that date back over 100 years. This particular Queen Anne-style home was built in 1904 and has been totally renovated, complete with modern conveniences.
The 4,485-square-foot home is host to six bedrooms and four-and-one-half bathrooms among three stories, plus an unfinished basement. Situated on a corner lot, homeowners will appreciate a generous wraparound porch, lush landscaping, and a brick patio ideal for entertaining during the warm summer months. Hardwood flooring is found throughout the home, as well as original pocket doors. The modern kitchen is well-equipped with Miele appliances and quartz countertops, while the dining room is complemented by a butler’s pantry. The top floor of the home is occupied by the primary bedroom suite with attached walk-in closet and bathroom, plus an office, kitchenette, and work-out space. The asking price is $1.35 million, listed with Emily McClintock of Baird & Warner.
Why is it so hard to figure out the right window treatments?
When I moved into my current apartment, we had vertical window blinds à la the ’80s. I never realized just how much I hated them and how stressful I found them until I actually took the time to take them down. The track never worked quite right, leaving me frustrated every time they were closed for privacy or opened for daylight. I eventually replaced them with curtains I found at Target, and the difference was immediate and drastic — for the better! But I still felt like something wasn’t quite right.
The Target curtains were stylish, but they were a bit too short. And because they were velvet, the fabric felt heavy for the space when I was going for light and airy. So I got a light-filtering linen blend curtain (also from Target) in a longer length and hemmed them to just kiss the floor.
At this point, there were still several problems. When I first changed out the curtains, the space was actually way too bright and not private enough. Even though I have a double curtain situation, with a sheer curtain beneath the linen blend, I could still see out onto the street.
So I got roller blinds from IKEA to go on the inside of the window. In retrospect, I should have just gotten a blackout shade. But I didn’t and I fully regret it. After installing the roller blinds, I had three levels of window treatments between myself and the bare window, and it was still not private enough and way too bright.
But instead of exchanging the roller blinds for blackout shades, I went to JoAnn Fabrics and got two cuts of white cotton, thinking I could use hemming tape to line the IKEA blinds with another piece of fabric, and this would finally be the right balance between light filtration, privacy, and style. My goal here was to have a set-up in which I could control the level of light in the room while still maintaining privacy. Blackout curtains felt too extreme and immovable.
Here’s what I got.
While I have finally achieved my preferred style and level of privacy, the space is still extremely bright in the mornings, as this is an east-facing window.
No matter how many times I continue to add to this space, I cannot seem to get the window treatments just right. And since I’ve permanently added cotton fabric to the IKEA roller blinds, I cannot return them. I have purchased numerous window treatments for this god forsaken space, and I’ll be damned if I spend any more. And I definitely don’t want to keep buying products that don’t get used.
I guess this process — which has taken months — reminds me that our homes are always works in progress. I can’t help but think that there may be no such thing as “finished” home, as our needs and tastes continuously change. Even when our spaces feel complete, how long does that feeling really last? At what point can we really say, “This is my home, and there is nothing I would change”?
Maybe our homes are never complete, and maybe they don’t really need to be. But I know myself, and I know that I’ll continue trying.