Riot and Frolic

Things I Will Miss About My House Upon Completion of Renovation

1. Dirt chutes.  Several years ago, we visited the James J. Hill mansion when my in-laws were in town (educational field trip points!).  The thing that I was most impressed by was not the ornate woodwork, the beautiful period lamps, the amazing art gallery, but the DIRT CHUTES.  You could sweep the floors and push the debris into a slot on the wall and it would fall into a garbage can in the basement.  WHAT.  Low and behold, between removing baseboards and fixing sloping floors, we have several accidental dirt chutes.  Yes, at some point, I'll have to vacuum up all the crap I'm sweeping into the basement, but for now, I might as well be Mary Theresa Mehagan.  
2. Secret entrance #1.  When we first moved in, we had a door that didn't exactly… what would you call it… oh yeah… LOCK.  It was kind of a pain in the ass to open, but with very little gusto, you could throw a shoulder into it and get in the house.  LOVELY if you forgot your keys, FRIGHTENING if you were home alone and didn't have your baseball bat handy.  
3. Secret entrance #2.  Our front door was inoperable for awhile, so if anyone knocked on my front door, I knew it was someone I didn't want to talk to.  
4. The gauntlet.  When our front door wasn't working, everyone would have a BRAVE THE GAUNTLET to get to our back door: uneven risers and treads on stairs; sloping sidewalk complete with ice patches on the side of the house; steep, un-handrailed, loosely attached staircase with no landing to the back door.  You knocked on our door?  You gained the right to enter our house.
5. Electrical scavenger hunt.  There was a hideous front closet that hid an electrical conduit in our foyer.  The G and his brother (hi) took out the closet, but the electrical conduit was bothering them.  Out came the electrical conduit… and half of the working outlets in the house.  And since the house is over 100 years old and has been updated in interesing ways, the wiring is a bit of mystery to everyone who's ever looked at it.  I can't assume that all the outlets in the living room work or that everything on the north wall works or if I plug a hair dryer in the 2nd floor bathroom it won't make the washing machine in the basement blow a fuse.  It is a fun puzzle that refuses to be solved!
6. Weather forecasting.  Some people check their phone, or listen to the radio, or even go the extra mile and step outdoors to see what the weather is like.  But by just heading downstairs in the morning, I can tell how cold and windy it is, with my ancient and drafty window casings,  missing leaded window panes, and flapping house wrap.  So convenient!  

Have you ever renovated?  What was your favorite/least favorite part?  The temporary kitchens?  The showering at the gym?  The dust everywhere?  What was the most worthwhile upgrade you made?

Two years ago: LLLL, in which I go to Anthropologie.