Itinerantdaughter's Blog

My husband, who is the only regular (maybe the only one, regularly or not, full-stop) reader of this blog, is going to kill me for this post, but: I’ve been thinking a lot about ruin porn recently. As a theoretical long-time reader would know if they existed, I am now and have always been a big fan of ruin porn, basically pictures of abandoned and/or dilapidated houses. But a curious thing has happened to me recently, in that I’ve noticed that while I love looking at housing that are falling apart, I cannot tolerate signs of wear and tear on my own house. Back in the day, I used to watch Grey Gardens and feel like I too could wander through the halls of a decaying mansion and be eccentric and glamorous. So why when my own paint peels do I feel disheveled in a stupid ugly way, rather than a stylish one?

Below, a few recent ruin porn items I found in the wild, that I’ve used to try to help me tap back into the joy of looking at decay.

One of the “self-professed” oldest houses in Brooklyn goes on the market, via Brownstoner.

From a New York Times obituary of the famous milliner and indigo dye textile artist, Leigh Magar. “For a time, the couple lived in a vine-covered former candy shop at the back of a property in the historic district. During their tenure, it was all bohemian funk and decay — a Southern gothic artist’s atelier — with plaster flaking off the walls and exposed lath, battered antiques and statuary, vintage appliances and found artwork.”

And my absolute personal favorite, a T Magazine feature about a British estate near London that was built in 1690 and is now falling apart in a way that has proven to be catnip for photographers and creative types. “Today, the house feels even more like a place apart, at once ancient and separated from time — though not immune to its ravages. The eastern facade is covered with vines, and the lawns are unmown, with only a small herd of dairy goats keeping the grass in check. The swimming pool is submerged in a layer of algae, the greenhouse has all but collapsed and several rooms have been closed up or designated as storage space.”