Marni Jameson: Homeowners want the best of both worlds

IT'S THE CURLY-hair-straight-hair dilemma all over. You have one, and want the other. Those who live in new homes covet the character and charm of old ones. Those living in old homes long for the modern amenities new ones offer.

Having lived in houses ranging in age from so new the glue's not dry to older than the light bulb, I get the paradox.

I want soul and all-new appliances with a homeowner's warranty. I want mature landscape and a big gourmet kitchen with a hot-spot island. I want patina that comes with history and surround sound. I want a claw-foot bathtub with jets. I want deep wooden window sills with handsome panes and uber-tight energy efficiency. I want a great front porch and an attached garage.

As usual, I want it all. Apparently, so do a lot of us, and today's home builders are on to us.

A recent Wall Street Journal article reported on the trend of residential designers offering up a new old house: "a sanely proportioned residence that's historically accurate on the outside, but conceived for the needs of modern Americans on the inside."

Think Snow White's cottage with walk-in closets. Huzzah!

"Several residential architects today, and even some production home builders, are building good-looking new houses that look old," said Amy Albert, editor of Custom Home magazine.

One of those firms is Saussy Burbank of North Carolina.

"We've tried to capture the look of older homes, and put that on a modern floor plan," said partner Jim Burbank.

"So it's like beauty with benefits," I said.

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Marni Jameson: Homeowners want the best of both worlds