Mirror Image

My neighborhood does not immediately scream "cookie cutter houses." Homes nestle among trees on lots of varying shapes and sizes. Exterior sidings and trims sport an array of colors and styles.

But, truth be told, there are only a few "models" here, and stepping into a neighbor's house often feels like being on the wrong side of the looking glass. I mean this quite literally since there's a 50-percent chance, at least on my street, that you'll be in house that's the mirror-image of your own.

This was the case yesterday, when we went to look at our neighbor's bathroom, searching for ideas of how to improve our own. And there, like a twin raised by another family,  was the same house with a very different treatment. The bathroom was about two feet larger, reconfigured and reshaped. And indeed it was instructive in its use of space.

But that's not what I'll remember most. Instead, it's the living room wall that wasn't removed and the paneled family room that exists because of it; it's the wallpaper in the hallway and the portrait above the couch. It's all the unique details that make their house their home.