Inside Levittown

Levittown, formerly Island Trees, is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the Town of Hempstead in Nassau County, New York on Long Island. It is located half way between the villages of Hempstead and Farmingdale. As of the 2010 census, the CDP had a total population of 51,881, making it the most populated CDP in Nassau County and the second most populated CDP on Long Island, behind only Brentwood.

Levittown gets its name from its builder, the firm of Levitt & Sons, Inc. founded by Abraham Levitt on August 2, 1929, which built the district as a planned community for returning World War II veterans between 1947 and 1951^..   Sons William and Alfred served as the company’s president and chief architect and planner, respectively. Levittown was the first truly mass-produced suburb and is widely regarded as the archetype for postwar suburbs throughout the country. William Levitt, who assumed control of Levitt & Sons in 1954, is considered the father of modern suburbia in the United States. (Wikipedia, 2019)

I began this piece with the brief history of Levvitown because it fits nicely with the underlying theme of my blog today.  These homes were built similarly.  It was the virtual cookie-cutter home and each one on the street looked the same.

In all the hubbub about political differences between the parties and finger pointing at those who “differ” from ourselves, either by viewpoint, behavior or circumstance, underneath we are all the same. 

Think about the homes that you have been in during the course of your life, either to live or visit. Perhaps you have never been in Levittown NY, but you will understand the reference shortly.  At any time, in any two homes you were in – did you ever find that the inside was exactly the same as another home you had been in before?  Even a model home; similar, yes.  But exactly the same?  I doubt it.  Every one of us has a unique way of looking at things.  Every one of us differ in what we find attractive.  We may like the same things as another, but not every single thing. 

To me, this illustrates a very important point.  We all see things slightly differently.  And because we each see things in our own way, our opinions will differ.  Now, I can share with you something that I did in my home to fix up a certain room and you may think, “I never considered that – but I like it.”  Other times, you may walk away and wonder, “What was she thinking doing that or painting it that color?”  Well, I was thinking it was pretty.

There are also differences in the means of the people that lived in Levittown.  One family may have paid cash for their home and live there quite comfortably; take vacations once a year and enjoy life.  The people right next door may have had to take a mortgage where both parents in the home needed to work to meet the payment.  They are living in exactly the same home, but life inside is very different.

We all have a unique lens that we view the world and what’s in it.  With interior design, we can discuss differences calmly because at the end of the day, I can respect your choices “for you” and you can respect my choices “for me.”  It’s only when we begin to enter conversation about political topics and things that affect us all that we become emotional and, in some cases, overzealous.

I think we should try to imagine ourselves in Levittown where we all begin with the same slate to decorate as we see beautiful and listen to each other’s ideas, calmly.  And we need to take those who are affluent as well as those who are impoverished and get them to Levittown in their minds.  Your big fancy house or your cot in a shelter – doesn’t matter.  You are as much a person as the next and you need to treat your life like the model of Levittown.  How are you going to fix up your home – or your life?  Let’s open ourselves up to the possibility of looking at life through another’s eyes so that we may better understand the needs of our neighbors. Remember, the outside of the house is just a house.  The inside is the home.

Love thy neighbor ❤

The Roaring Ellie

Wikipedia, retrieved from the world wide web on March 14, 2019 from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Levittown,_New_York