If You Were a House, Are You a Ranch or Colonial?
By Bill Primavera
The Home Guru
Who among us has not been tempted at one time or another to take one of those personality tests that grace the pages of our magazines, tabloids and web servers? They’re hard to resist, aren’t they?
Some are surprising in sizing up who we are. I was astounded just the other day with the accuracy of a test given on the website www.colorquiz.com. Through a simple sequence of choosing colors in the order in which they appeal to you, a convincing analysis of your personality type results. Try it yourself.
Of course, some are pure nonsense. There are personality tests that match us to breeds of dogs, cars, or demonstrate which of the four female characters from “Sex and the City” we most closely approximate. And, very recently, one appeared on the AOL homepage as a link to the HGTV website, Front Door, that claims to match your personality to the style house it would best occupy. Well, that’s one that the Home Guru should explore, right?
I sped through a series of 10 multiple choice options to know whether I’m living in the house that resonates with my psyche. Some of the questions were straightforward and others ridiculous. The first asked what kind of entrée I would feature at my next dinner party, but I don’t cook. The next asked what I do to treat a stomach ache, but I never get them. The third question asked which artist I prefer, but it featured some modern exponents I never heard of.
When I was asked to identify my favorite color (red), it wasn’t among the choices. And, when asked which movie star my friends would say I’m most like, the only two male options were Keanu Reeves (I wish!) and John Goodman (in the looks department alone, I hope not!), so I was forced to channel Grace Kelly!
For the hell of it, I took the test twice. The first time, I was a Spanish Colonial, which doesn’t even exist in my region, and I hate the style. The second time, I was a Ranch (“solid as a Ranch,” the results said). The styles were all off, as were the descriptions of my personality.
My wife took the test and she was classified as a Victorian, which is far from her style preference, but she felt that the description of her personality type was accurate. If the results held true, how could I as a Ranch be living happily with a Victorian under the same Colonial roof?
Absurdity aside, I would urge readers to take the test (http://www.frontdoor.com/5IEK9I) because, once you click through the ten basic questions, the analysis page features an index for comprehensive descriptions of all the major residential architectural styles, including: Art Deco, Arts and Crafts, Cape Cod, Colonial, Contemporary, Farmhouse, Federal, French Provincial, Greek Revival, Italianate, Modern, Neoclassical, Prairie, Pueblo Revival, Ranch, Spanish Colonial, Tudor Revival and Victorian. Interestingly enough, it excludes the Raised Ranch and Split-Level, two of the leading styles among older homes in many of our communities in Westchester and Putnam. Are they not considered worthy enough architecturally to pass muster on the list?
None of us really needs a psychological test to know which house style attracts us. I have this personal theory about where our residential style preferences are born. I believe it’s all based on where we’ve grown up or where we want to go.
I’m working with a young couple about to buy their first home. He grew up in a raised ranch and she, a split. While they both say they are open to any style, she always favors the splits and he, always the ranches.
Another woman said that she can’t look at any houses that don’t feature the bedrooms on the second floor. “I can’t sleep on the same level where I cook!” she said. I asked if she grew up in a two-level house, and of course she had.
Although I was born in a row home in South Philadelphia, the kind with white marble steps, I was most influenced by the style of architecture I found in Williamsburg, Virginia, where I went to college. I thought that it reflected a genteel lifestyle and I wanted to live that way. So, for all the years since, I’ve been a Colonial.
You might think that those of us who as job seekers have been subjected to extensive personality testing would have had our fill of such tests, but no. We all seem to want validation of information about ourselves that we already know, or think we do, even if only to defy it.
I remember that when I first joined Coldwell Banker some years ago, I was asked to take a rather extensive personality test on line. When the results were sent to the corporate office, I was told by the managing broker at that time that I didn’t have the kind of personality profile of most realtors, but rather of someone who should be working in the arts. Instead of shrinking, I said, “That’s great! I’ll be an alternative kind of realtor!” So, I selected the slogan, “Real Estate as a Fine Art,” and since then, have enjoyed every minute of forming relationships with clients who want to sell and buy homes.
Now that my wife and I are seeking to transition to a smaller living space, I’m not quite sure what style it will be housed in, but soon I’ll visit that tea room I’ve heard about, consult my tea leaves, and let you know.
Bill Primavera is a licensed Realtor® (PrimaveraHomes.com), affiliated with Coldwell Banker, and a marketing practitioner (PrimaveraPR.com). Anyone considering selling or buying a home can reach him directly at 914-522-2076.