By Crescent Seward

On my ninth birthday I received an oddly mature, mid-century architecture coloring book full of 1960s homes and their intricate landscaping. (This was in the late 1980s well before adult coloring books became all the rage.) I poured over those pages with my colored pencils and imagined what it would be like to live in each one, play in those various backyards – and became thankful for my own sprawling front porch – which hosted many nights of capturing fireflies and laughing with my little brother.

Like most Americans approaching the Thanksgiving holiday, I’m reminded of what I’m thankful for and thought back to those simple days of childhood. While my nine-year-old self thought a big front porch to play on was pretty important, today I value a few other things in a home (walk-in closets, anyone?). I started thinking about how many different types of homes there are and how far we’ve come in architecture and technology. From drafty Victorians, electricity and indoor plumbing, tract housing, double-wide trailers, McMansions and quaint Craftsmans, to the future of smart homes – we actually have a lot for which to be thankful.

We’ve also been changing and evolving our homes well before 1989. Here are a few things I’m sure you’re thankful for, in no particular order:

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