Welcome Home!

Wherever we live, the view is important.

It’s nice to see high, snow-capped mountains in the distance, or a field of wildflowers spreading out in front of us. Windows that open wide to the blue-gray ocean are wonderful.

For some, a house on the golf course is heaven. To others, tall buildings and busy streets are the preferred vista.

We all want to see something that moves us and makes us feel a part of the world. The world as we choose to see it.

I live in a house on a street near a park. On my street are young couples, singles, seniors and families. Every day I see neighbors out and about.

I like the view from my window. But I’ve lived long enough and in enough places to know it’s not just what we see when we look out that matters. What we see when we walk in the front door is more important.

These days I live in a house full of females. My daughters rule the roost and it shows.

At any given moment there is some drama over who used another’s shoes without permission or who borrowed her sister’s favorite earrings.

I spend precious time on busy mornings looking for a missing scarf or an item that is mysteriously absent from my make-up drawer. Things walk in and out of my closet while I’m not looking.

When I come back at the end of the day, there are jackets draped over chairs and the bathrooms are littered with hair dryers and flat irons. Purses and backpacks and tote bags compete for space. Everywhere there are little vignettes that perfectly illustrate who we are, that tell the tale of the family of women who live there.

Through my window I see the neighborhood. But it’s what I see inside that lets me see who I am. And where I belong.

This week in Home

When a creative couple put their heads together and dreamed up their dream home, they built it on a hillside overlooking the fields at the base of Green Bluff. Their one-of-a-kind house is our cover feature.

Once isolated to busy cities and urban lots, graffiti is becoming a neighborhood problem. In this week’s Urban Style column, Amy Klamper gives us facts and figures about the issue of “tagging.”

Each week, when we put together another Home section for The Spokesman-Review, we look for stories that let you see the view; to see clearly the people and places around you.

I like to think that each issue is a lot like your front door.

The minute you open it, you know you’re home.