The “real” and original Mr. Blandings, author Eric Hodgins, built his dream house in Connecticut in 1939. The cost overruns in its construction, comically portrayed in the book and the film Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House, eventually (and sadly) put a damper on Hodgins’ own dream. He was forced to sell the property in 1945. After writing his best-selling book about the experience and then selling the movie rights, he attempted to buy back the Dream House, but to no avail. Nearly 70 years later, his dream house still stands in Connecticut, having passed down through a series of other owners, including Anne Edwards and Stephen Citron, who talked about their life in the Blandings house back in 1992 in The New Your Times.
Our dream house, too, has passed through a number of owners in its 96 years of existence. Unlike poor Mr. Hodgins, the couple who built our house back in 1917 enjoyed over 40 years in their dream home. There were some transient owners who followed them before another couple took up its stewardship for another 30 years. And now, Mr. and Mr. Blandings have moved in.
