Against the Wind

So, Nate and I have a fantasy...

...Nate likes to dress up as a police officer and I am a young maiden who breaks the law...

Uh, wait...wrong fantasy! :) (That was Nate's idea!)

OK, here's the real fantasy:

We've always wanted to buy an old house and restore it - well, more accurately, supervise in the restoration to make it look like we have envisioned it should. We saw a few houses this summer and fell in love with their character, their history, and their architectural integrity. We have spent many hours talking about changes we would make, how we would update them, yet still retain their charm, and basically, have just visualized ourselves as the homeowner of a beautiful character home.

This year we are renting the upper level of an 82 year old brick home. And, as I have written about before, even though I felt a bit "duped" in the advertising of the place, I actually really like most parts of it. It has it's charming quirks, great character, and is growing on me. For example, this wall of windows - quite lovely, lots of light, the perfect place to read a book, watch a movie, cuddle up with the girls, etc.

Apparently, it is also the perfect place to freeze your you know what off! As I write this in our 82 year old rental, I can feel a cold breeze creeping in from those windows behind me, the heat has been running fairly non stop for the last 3 hours, I have 3 layers on my feet, a blanket, and my hands constantly feel like ice. Now, that, is the reality of an old house. Granted, it is a rental - there are upgrades that could be done to make it more energy efficient, but, alas, we are not the homeowners. All we can do is deal with it and try to make the best of the long winter - which truly hasn't even started yet. Ugh!

I have a good friend (Hi Marla!) who always says, "I will never regret paying for a utility bill." Meaning, she will pay to be comfortable in summer and winter and not complain. Well, I think even she might feel differently if she were paying the gas bill on this place this winter! I will regret that one. :) Unfortunately, the whole idea of "heat rises" is turning out to be a bit of a farce - we were hoping that our downstairs neighbor would be footing most of the bill - so far, not the case.

So, on the advice of some friends I decided to put some of that plastic stuff over the windows. You know the kind that you used when you were in college housing - yeah, that stuff. :) I had forgotten what a pain that stuff is to work with! (Not to mention, it's not cheap anymore!) Also, my style has changed quite a bit since college - the whole shiny plastic look doesn't quite fit in with my decor - curtains would be great, but again, not worth it while renting. Oh well - if I can live with the pink bathroom I guess I can live with this. Here is how they turned out (in the dining room - another frigid room with "character" windows).

I'm hoping that it was worth the time and money (not to mention the numerous exclamations of frustration overheard by my children - mainly because the house is so old and the windows are random sizes so the sheet of plastic barely fits! And, if you have to move it ever so slightly then you find out the "new coat of paint" promised by the landlord did NOT actually happen because you are stuck with old peeled off paint on the part that is supposed to stick to your sill!!).

So, Nate and I have had to modify our fantasy a bit. We are now debating building a new, green, energy efficient house, but just make it look old. If that doesn't work, then we still want an old house, but realize that making it energy efficient will be the first thing on our list - the gourmet kitchen and updated bathrooms may have to wait. If that still doesn't work than I guess we let that fantasy die and become the police officer and young maiden... just kidding! :)

Has anyone used the plastic wrap in while? Does it work? Any other suggestions about how to make an old house a bit more energy efficient?