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Love your home with all its unique 'flaws'

"I love my home!" These are four words that are not often heard from homeowners. Frequently what is heard are things like: "I wish my house were larger," "My closets are not large enough" or "I need a man-cave."

Most homeowners are always finding things that can be improved or that are needed to make their dwelling the perfect home, which is great for all involved in the home-renovation business.

These comments are mostly generated by a sense of dissatisfaction by our society, and the sense that even homes are disposable. How often do we see homes torn down that were more than fine, for the sake of rebuilding something larger or for new owners to put their own mark on their corner of the world?

It's a real shame when properties are erased from a neighborhood, as their presence - whether an architectural masterpiece or not - becomes part of the historical fabric of an area as years pass by. Don't get me wrong, I'm not against progress and I am all for the renewal of an area when a new structure or architectural style is introduced for the sake of variety and visual interest. But the real danger is to deplete an area from its history and sense of itself bit by bit.

Many believe that historic preservation is synonymous with stagnation, but that is not exactly so. Communities that have preservation ordinances, do so to protect the existing architecture and urban fabric from dilution or destruction, which is what makes these historical neighborhoods so coveted. These ordinances, in most communities, allow for adding and modifications to a home as needed, but within guidelines to ensure the integrity of the neighborhood.

The stronger wind blows for interiors. It is not unusual for an architect or interior designer to get requests to completely gut an entire structure, and redo every nook and cranny of a house. While many do respect the exterior architecture as worthy of historic preservation, they seem to go blind about the interiors, just taking into consideration what suits them for what they believe is appropriate or necessary.

The problem is that interiors are not protected, in most instances, by any ordinances. There is great peril and a loss of value every time this occurs. Invariably homes need to have services updated and damaged materials repaired or replaced, but that is one thing, and another is the desire to make everything perfect or new.

Just imagine if every building, whether home, museum or any significant structure, took the same approach. Well, there wouldn't be any historical spaces or places to educate oneself about interiors. There are ways to rejuvenate an existing structure without the need to start with a tabula rasa - a clean slate.

Understanding what your home needs and what your wants are can be two very different things. The interior architecture and layout of a home or building reveal to future generations of how spaces were used. Your interiors are almost an etiquette book or - here is a doozer - an encyclopedia of life as it was.

Learn to love your homes and respect the unique features with all their wrinkles.

• Joseph Pubillones is the owner of Joseph Pubillones Interiors, an award-winning interior design firm based in Palm Beach, Florida.

© 2016, Creators Syndicate

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