Happy New Year, Friends!
This week I’ve been spending a lot of time reflecting over the past 12 months, reviewing what worked and what didn’t.
I checked my stats and this is what I learned: Hooked on Houses got nearly 15 million page views in 2016. I was surprised there were that many, especially since I wasn’t blogging as much as usual.
I’m always curious about which posts got the most attention because it tells me what you’re interested in and the kinds of stories I should probably be sharing more of. It’s also fun for me to revisit the posts I’ve written to see which ones I personally enjoyed the most. Take a look!
The Most Popular Posts of 2016
Behind the Scenes of “Fixer Upper”
How to Hang (Fake) Shiplap
25 Things You Didn’t Know About the Sets on “Friends”
10 Things You Wanted to Know About “Fixer Upper”
Is “Love It or List It” Fake?
My personal favorites rarely crack the top 10, so I thought I’d list the ones I enjoyed researching and writing the most in a blatant attempt to send more traffic their way (ha).
My Personal Faves of the Year:
I Couldn’t Resist This Vintage Dollhouse
Jennie Logan’s Enchanted Victorian
Bette Davis’s Beloved Butternut Farm
5 Novels That Feature Unforgettable Houses
A Blogger’s Fixed-Up Farmhouse For Sale
A Replica of the House from “Mr. Blandings”
This month marks my 9th anniversary of blogging. Wow.
When I started this site in January of 2008 it was because I couldn’t find any information about the TV and Movie Houses I loved or the Celebrity Houses I wanted to see. There was very little online about houses at the time, so I decided to write about them myself. I never dreamed where my weekend hobby would take me!
Thanks to all of you who have spent time with me here in this space since then. I appreciate every single one of you but am especially grateful to those who sent me insider info, links, and hot tips that helped me write many of these posts. You’re the best! 🙂
Happy New Year Julia! You always do a wonderful job with all your posts, and I know all too well how much work that is. So thank you for always providing such quality content for your readers here. I LOVED the “country farmhouse for sale,” and Rebecca was my absolute favorite book growing up! I need to reread it. I have also never watched any Gilmore Girls (hanging head in shame here) because I have little time for television, but it is one of my new years goals to watch it all (especially since my daughter keeps telling me I have too.)
Thanks, Kelly! I was late to the “Gilmore Girls” party, too. I had so many readers telling me I had to see it that I finally broke down and watched it a few years ago and got totally hooked. Hope you have a chance to check it out! 🙂
That farmhouse in Indiana was so gorgeous and idyllic I can see why it was a favorite. Always love when you show the movie houses as well. Your blog is a nice escape!
Thanks, Gail! With everything going on in the world today, I’m glad this is a nice place to escape to now and then. 🙂
I love your blog! I sincerely hope you can keep it up…forever!! :o) I love to see houses that used in movies, especially Jenny Logan’s house from the Two Worlds of Jenny Logan (a long-time favorite movie) and the farmhouse from Miracles from Heaven. I’ve always been fascinated by movie/tv show house.
I love to see all the beautiful homes for sale across the US. I will never be able to buy one but it’s fun to look. HGTV continues to dominate my life, much to my husband’s despair. He groans every time I find something I like and ask him to build it or remodel it. Being a civil engineer, he can do just about anything I ask…but will he? Hmmm…that’s the question! So, I turn to your blog to look over everything I can find. You never fail to disappoint me.
I love to see celebrity homes, too…Tom Selleck? Scott Bakula? Have never seen those on the site, tho.
Thanks again for all your hard work!!!
Yay, another Jennie Logan fan! I don’t meet many people who remember it. I’d love to see Tom Selleck’s house, too. I always picture him living in one like the house he had in “Her Alibi.” I featured it years ago and just watched it again over the holiday break.
I can’t believe the Dickey house didn’t get much love. It’s so charming and pretty!
I thought so, too! 🙂
The woman Joanna on that show Fixer-Upper is addicted to shiplap. It’s comical. And her husband Chip is such a goofball. Is this what Americans are calling entertainment these days? Oh well, I guess it beats CNN spouting fearful news stories or hooking audiences on anger like FOX news does. Television is either idiotic or blood pressure raising. This is why I don’t have one.
Yes, she got the whole world hooked on shiplap!
I work “behind the scenes” in the blogging industry as a virtual assistant, and don’t mistake what’s popular in web search engines for what’s most popular among your loyal readers — those of us who’ve been here for years. I read every post and love them all. It’s good that you cover a variety of topics and styles! Keep doing what you do at a pace you’re comfortable with. The search engine heavy hitters will keep your blog trafficked while you’re not around, but I know there are plenty of us (6K who read through Feedly alone) who love it when a new post pops up — even if it’s about a big yellow gothic overlooking the Hudson and not the latest gossip from HGTV. 🙂
That’s a good point, Katie! The second list of popular posts (the ones that I wrote this year) are the stories that my daily readers liked the most. Loved your comment — thanks! 🙂
Happy New Year Julia!
I am thrilled to be included as one of YOUR favorites of 2016! What a honor. My Old Country House still is still waiting for that perfect family and we have taken it of the market for the winter months…the kids home from college and a lot of “sofa time” has taking place!!! I love every minute of our messy life!
I wish you the best of the best for the New Year and I will let you know when we go back on the market…
xo
You can find out more here: https://www.instagram.com/myoldcountryhouse/
Great to hear from you, Lesli! I can’t believe no one has snapped your house up yet. Thanks for the update — I’ll be following along on IG! 🙂
Julia, your blog was one of the very first blogs I discovered back in the day, and I was hooked! You were hooked on houses and I was hooked on, “Hooked on Houses.” 🙂 Still enjoy it so much and appreciate all the time and effort you put into each and every post. Here’s to a fabulous 2017, my friend!
XXX
Susan
Thanks, Susan! Same to you! 🙂
Your favorites are my favorites too, especially the dollhouse piece, the post about Bette Davis, the Mr. Blandings story (watched that movie again over the holidays – so funny), the Gilmore Girls post, and the one about Christmas in Connecticut. Any time you write about old houses and/or movies, I’m happy! 🙂
Happy New Year!
I’m so glad you enjoyed those, too, Melissa — thanks! Happy New Year! 🙂
Hi, I’m not understanding the distinction between the first two lists for 2016. I understand the third one is a list of your 2016 personal favorites, but the first two both say Most popular 2016 post/posts published.
What’s the distinction?
Also, is it typical to have so many post sourced from HGTV?
Thanks,
Karen
Sorry for the confusion, Karen. I explained it in the copy but that was probably easy to miss. The first list has the posts that got the most hits last year, regardless of when they were published (some are several years old). The second list included ONLY posts I actually wrote last year, which means they were the ones most popular with my regular, daily readers. HGTV is always a hot topic, but was especially popular in 2016! 🙂
Hi Julia,
Thanks for clarification! You did explain – I just failed to understand.
Yes, I find the post on HGTV shows interesting, too. Although, my favorite post of 2016 was the “Mr. Blandings.”
I often post on my Pinterest page, pictures of your posts about filmset houses as well as other of your home pics and consistently find that I get the most “Likes” on the movie-set homes.
Love your blog! Keep up the great work!
Karen
I loved the post about novels that feature fabulous houses. Between your post and the many additional novels recommended in the comments, I compiled a reading list that kept me busy and happy for quite a while. Thanks to all; I feel like it was a virtual book club.
There are few things I like to do more than reading and talking about books, so I love hearing that you enjoyed that discussion, too. Thanks, Kim! 🙂
Happy New Year Julia – it was from your blog that I realized that ever since I was a kid, I have been hooked on houses….I didn’t think that was a “thing”…glad I am part of such fun company. I love your blog!
Thanks, Jeanne! Always nice to hear from you! 🙂
Good golly we love your blog! Great job, Julia!
Gee whiz, I appreciate that, Brandy! Ha. 🙂
I felt so sorry for that lonely, old Victorian that I clicked on it five times :). I look forward to all of your posts, they are always interesting and entertaining. I especially love featured homes with historical, literary or movie ties (subtly working in my favorite HOH features).
Happy New Year, Julia!
Too funny! I’m glad she’s getting a little love in the new year. I always feel sorry for the houses that get ignored. 🙂
Thanks, Nanne!
The least popular post ..first time I have seen that one !
Hi Julia!
If it makes you feel any better, your least popular post was one of my favorites. I remember reading it and thinking what I wouldn’t give to live there. And then I mentally went through all the pictures again and decorated with all my belongings just to see if I could make it work!! 🙂 It’s a great pasttime so thanks for sharing… this and all your wonderful finds!
Happy New Year!
It does make me feel better to know it got a little love, Bethany! Thanks! 🙂
I am not a huge huge fan of “TV Houses” or the celebrity houses, so your list of favorites was more like mine. By the way, there are some house plans with dates ranging anywhere from the 18th cent up to the 1950s house plans on archive.org, I have quite a few titles downloaded. Plans as in blueprints and glossy booklet/ads from Sears mail order Craftsman’s. There are also interior design books too, with color photos etc so if you need some for reference, have at it at the archive.org, they are a treasure trove (would be useful too in getting ideas for your darling dollhouse). We girls in my family had a very old dollhouse we played with, it was from the early 1900s, and came complete with the furniture and kitchen appliances: Furniture, and kitchen appliances were all made of lead. The kitchen sink fascinated me as it had two thin legs to support the front, and it leaned against the kitchen’s wall in the back. A sink, with legs. I envy very much your 1940s dollhouse. Good buy! If I were ever lucky or blessed enough to get a real 1940s house, you could not pay me enough money to modernize it. I owned one in Utah 10 years ago, it was so original it came with knob and tube wiring. Anyway- Some day all the wall-tear-down people will rue the day they tore up their old houses and all the original oldies will be listed for a mint.
cheers God bless you Julia
I have the Playsteel dollhouse shown, just like yours. And if anyone is interested, I will part with it for $50, although its value is more like $125.
HGTV programming is so weak that I can’t even watch it any more. It’s all the same cookie cutter ideas that are past their sell by date. Big box stuff for lemmings. Now do you want to know what I really think? 😉
Love the “unloved” yellow house. It’s charming. Hope it found good owners.
Thanks for a great year of posts. It’s always a pleasure to see your blog in my inbox.
Hope you have a nice 2017.
I, too, enjoyed your Vintage Dollhouse post. It brought back memories to this child of the 50’s and to the one my sisters and I played with. Now a retired realtor, I have to say homes are still one of my passions and I love getting your blog. But I was most taken by your post where you mentioned wanting an Easy Bake Oven. My father was a toy designer at Kenner back when it was on Sycamore Street in downtown Cincinnati and he was one of the inventors of the Oven. My sisters and I got to test out a lot of toys but baking cakes under a lightbulb was one of our favorite jobs!
No kidding?! Wow! That is so cool. I’m jealous that you got to test it out, Pam! 🙂
I just finished the Gaines’ book and it was really eye-opening to the hard work they’ve done to get where they are today. And once again proves that being true to yourself is the way to go! I love your blog and just want to thank you for the work you do to share this with us. I hope 2017 is a much better year health-wise for you! (I also appreciate when you mention news from Ohio because that’s my home state and I’ve been in eastern PA for 22 years now.)
I agree, Bethany — I was blown away by some of their stories in that book and was inspired by all the various businesses Chip especially has tried over the years. I didn’t expect it to be as inspiring as it was!
Love the whole blog, the “Mr Blandings” article though is a favorite. Also saw the movie over the last couple of months. Still hilarious & not much of an exaggeration. Just survived 25 days renovation back in fall. Straight, no days off. Arghh. Cary Grant not hard on the eyes either.