It was time to put down roots. We needed a quiet place to write, drink tea on sunny afternoons and wreak havoc on the Internet. We knew exactly what we wanted, a brick house with tons of space. There had to be a large, level lawn with no trees and it had to be far from the hustle and bustle of any major thoroughfare.

So much for what we thought we wanted. While looking for a “normal” house, we found this one quite by accident and our emotions overcame any notion of practicality. How could you expect us to be rational when faced with European styling, a 30-foot cathedral ceiling, a formal dining room and old-fashioned wood floors? So instead of poets in a charming ranch house, we became the eccentrics on the hill.