The Character of an Old Home…133 Year Old Shiplap
The Morrow House is the oldest home we have ever owned, and the charm and beauty of a historic home is like a gift that keeps on giving. The details and craftsmanship in the house are like a thousand little treasures that make it similar to a piece of art that can be studied and appreciated over time. If you and I were walking through the house, I could take you room by room and point out elements of the home’s original structure that you wouldn’t find in a home built today…and that’s what makes it so very charming. Over time on this blog I hope to show you special spots around the house that make it unique and give you a bit of a feel of its history.
One of my favorite spots to share about in our home is the dining room. We have a long and narrow dining room that you enter as you walk in the front door. At first glance you can immediately notice the shiplap that lines the walls…but when you look closer there is more of a story to tell. Shiplap in 1886 and shiplap in 2019 are two very different things. If you run down to Lowes and grab shiplap off the shelves it is smooth, perfectly cut, and lines up nicely with your walls. The shiplap on the walls of our dining room is rough, and when you look closely you can see that it all has a similar pattern on it from the saw that it was run through over 100 years ago.
The builder who completed the remodel of The Morrow House explained to me that in 1886 the lumber mill would be set up right on the property when projects were being built. The saw blade, on what I imagine was a very hot Texas day, left distinct markings on the wood that lines our walls. No two boards are exactly the same but the markings left behind on the wood let you know they were all milled by the same blade. When you stand close and look down the length of the wall you can see the hard work of a man long gone…but his legacy lasts to this day. That is what I love…that someone’s hard work 133 years ago still serves a purpose today. The men who cut that wood could never imagine the world we live in…cell phones, internet, electric cars…but their work still matters, it lives in the legacy of our home.
Not all of our shiplap is unique to the original build of the house, but whenever possible the attempt to preserve the old was a priority which I completely appreciate and am grateful for. It gives a whole new meaning to the old phrase “if these walls could talk.”
