Well over a decade ago Trevor and I sat across a dining room table from a lovely couple, eating banana cream pie and negotiating (and I use that term lightly) the purchase of their darling house. After we shook hands on the “deal” the elderly gentleman walked away from the table and returned with the deed and a full set of architectural plans for the house, built in 1936. It was the sweetest thing. Obviously, there were a few more administrative things that needed to happen – such as, um, actually purchasing the house – before the plans and deed were truly ours, but in short order we had them in our hands. And then we had them in our storage room – for years. I never really knew what to do with them, until one day that dilemma intersected with my quandary over what to do with a large wall in our living room. I decided that displaying the architectural plans was a perfect way to preserve the history. I had enough plans for eight frames, but knew that I didn’t want to spend that much on professional framing. For six of the plans I used inexpensive Ikea frames, but had them fitted with conservation glass to protect the prints. For two of the plans that were in particularly good shape I splurged and had them professionally framed. The plans show their wrinkles and are damaged in some parts, but that’s part of their authenticity and charm. More than any other display in this house, these plans – although plain and simple from afar – generate interest and conversation among guests and really draw people in (including, still, us) to take a closer look.

Reality Check. Placing the plans in frames meant trimming them, which was a bit painful to do, but I figured that I would rather do that and have them displayed than sitting in a roll in our storage room.