Article Presented by:
Catherine Wilson
Do you ever wonder where the neighborhoods went that held the picket fences, window boxes brimming with flowers, uniquely designed houses, sidewalks, canopied streets shaded with 100 year old oak trees, front porches, swings and homes placed close enough so that neighbors can be neighbors?
In our fast paced, electronic, motorized world a simpler way of live is one that many desire. Often times, our worlds are so hectic shuffling from here to there, responding to this e-mail or that voice mail that we don't even know what we are missing. Americans are spending more time in their cars, taking their work with them on vacation and even opting not to go on vacation. We don't make the time to sit down, relax and soul search. However, we are a very visual generation and know what we like instantaneously when we see it. Everyone reacts to memories of a simpler day and time. Memories of our childhood, running from house to house, and our parents, visiting over the fence or on a collective front porch, sends a rush of calmness and serenity through our bodies.
You can see snapshots of this vision in various and sundry neighborhoods across America. Many of these neighborhoods are in old, established areas in small towns or nestled within thriving metropolitan areas. The character of these neighborhoods is apparent in the varied architecture of the homes as well as diversity of people with common goals of community and connectedness.
However, occasionally peppered across America you will find new construction neighborhoods that capture the essence of a lifestyle that people desperately need in this fast paced world that we live in. The homes look like they have been there for years. The architecture is varied and unique. There are sidewalks that lead not only to the neighbors but to the park, a restaurant, the neighborhood school and a store. After school, in the evenings and on the weekends the front porches are filled with people. At a glance it is hard to know who actually lives where because it is one big happy family. The lawns are lush, the window boxes are cared for and the hanging baskets are full and flowing.
These neighborhoods don't just happen. These neighborhoods are dreamed up and painstakingly brought to fruition by contractors and developers that care. These neighborhoods are orchestrated down to the last curb appeal detail to lure like-minded individuals to buy... to be a part of more than just a real estate investment...even more than the purchase of a home. If the contractors and developers do their jobs well, with pure reasons in mind, the money will come. In fact, these are typically the same developers and contractors in which the houses are sold prior to them even breaking ground. They have a reputation for quality construction but more importantly for perpetuating the American dream at a deeper level. They are the developers and contractors that are clear about the goal of creating homes and neighborhoods with souls...the details of the brick and mortar follow naturally.
Our homes should be havens and respites from the busyness of everyday life. Our homes and neighborhoods are where we need to get rejuvenated to face the next day. They should be extensions of who we are as well as who we want to become. Of course, it matters what type of people and families inhabit these homes but ideals, attitudes and good values are contagious. It has been said "if you build it...they will come". "They" are the people looking for a taste of a simpler day, a Norman Rockwell type-setting, a taste of the Leave it to Beaver life.
The challenge is on for all residential contractors and developers to dig deep within themselves to do more than build houses but embrace the growth of a dream that all families have...much like the growth of the array of colorful flowers filling the window boxes on each home!
About the Author:
Article is written by Catherine Wilson, Interior Designer and owner of Mind Your Manors, Inc. makers of No Rot window boxes and planters. Visit http://www.windowboxesetc.com to learn more about Mind Your Manors, Inc. window boxes and planters.
