Fake is the new Real

My latest heartache: all that is fake and phony. I know my emotions are held captive by idealistic sentiments all too often. And I know that this will only cause me grief, as is the case so often when grand ideas eclipse more humble realities. History is not on my side in this. Whenever I have expressed emotionally driven opinions in the past, I have been convicted by my own hypocrisy shortly therafter. For example, the issue at hand: Real vs. Fake. It is time to make decisions about the building materials of our home, and my innermost being is crying out for the hardy, solid materials of the past: stone, wood, iron. It just seems right. If we are going to build, let's build something authentic and true. And yet, and yet--I am the girl who has dyed her hair, and worn makeup, for 10 years. Not exactly 'au naturel.' But, perversely, my soul still yearns for that which is.

I suspect that this particular yearning is common to all. The yearning for the past. For structures that seem to have sprung up from the earth itself. The Welsh countryside: Stone cottages with thatched roofs. Moss clinging to weather-beaten rock. Blackened, creaking wood. Solid and heavy; ancient and lasting. And the smell. . . of earthy things.But, of course, we are not in 16th century Europe. We are in Canada. Different time. Different place. And two things now dictate and define the creation of every space: time and money. I read an article that speaks to the first of these factors: Going with Faux.

In interviews with architects and home builders around the country, I learned that homeowners care a great deal about appearances but not necessarily about authenticity. For the most part, this lack of purist fervor is driven by maintenance concerns, not price. The faux materials can cost the same or more than the traditional materials they replace, but they require little or no attention. Some can be left unattended for at least the 20 or 30 years that the owners might live there. By contrast, natural materials weather as they are exposed to the elements. Depending on the climate and the material, most natural materials require some to a lot of care, but most people are so time-crunched, they are unwilling to spend even a single weekend a year working on their houses. They want the exterior to take care of itself. If that means faux materials, so be it. All the architects and builders I spoke with said they use synthetic materials with mixed feelings. Up close, most lack the subtleties and nuances of the real thing...

If a yearly stain and seal is what it would take to equip our home with wood doors, I would do it happily-- ok, maybe not happily. But I would still do it. However, time is but the first of two barriers. Money, money, money. . . Apparently wood, stone and iron are no longer accessible to the average builder. It's all a bit sad. The industry has reached a point where earth-produced materials are for the elite, and synthetic, factory produced look-alikes are for the rest of us.

So, follow along with me as I provide a naked illustration of necessary compromise. Instead of the traditional tudor style home, built with stucco and wood slats, we will be using LP Panel Siding. Instead of old carriageway doors of wood and wrought iron, we will put in a North Hatley door made of light-weight composite material, (a.k.a. plastic or steel). And instead of a stone facade, we will use Cultured Stone. There we have it. Officially exposed. Fakes. Fakes without the pocketbooks to be otherwise.

Sigh. I have once again found my way at the end of another ranty-ramble, feeling drained, and a bit guilty for indulging my ultimatly unimportant bouts of inner angst. But through it, I inevitably get smacked with Perspective. Thus, making the whole drawn-out exercise worthwhile. For I must always bring my ramblings home: to where God is. And the Holy perspective is this: Life is about more than stone and wood. It's about blood. There is a bigger story to tell. And we are to tell it in our homes to our children. Let it echo off the walls, be they made of stone or stucco. . . Or, perhaps, an engineered material attempting to simulate them.