After living in an old home for the past seven years, we often forgot "how the other half lives." This usually comes as we peek out from under the covers on this blustery winter nights and see the curtains swaying as the wind whips through the many crevices around our original, 130 year old windows. We bemoan about how expensive it is to make repairs on our house, how drafty it can be, what a bear it can be to clean original pine floors that desperately need to be refinished. But during these cold winter months, we also marvel at how you new construction/modern home people (and in this category we include anyone living in a house dating 1950's and later) live without one very important feature:
Radiators. Seriously, how do you live without them? We are so happy that in all the owners of this house and during the time it was apartments, the radiators were left alone. Although only two of the radiators in the house are original to our home (the house stood empty before the owners before us bought it and during that time, the radiators froze up and burst), all the radiators date to the same 1880's time frame. They are ornate and lovely and oh so functional. You'd be amazed at their versatility!
We use them for so many things...
to soften up the butter when I'm baking...
to quickly dry off the snow gear for another snowman making sessions...
and, of course, so that the cats have yet another place to take a warm nap! (She usually squeezes herself under the radiator!!!)
They also serve as awesome towel warmers in the bathroom and the tall ones are great to lean over when you have cramps or to lean against when you have a back ache.
The biggest downfall, is, of course, that we can't have air conditioning just yet (way too expensive for the method we'd need), but in the meantime, we'll enjoy our cozy, warm radiators (and ignore the drafty windows...).