I’d rather work more and get all the benefits than work less and live in modest accommodations. To each their own

Typically the detail is also present on the inside and hell I do spend a lot of time outside in the garden. (Tho mostly looking at my vegetables and the like.)

The same is true for your own appearance. I think the original motivation for much of the intricate housing as well as intricate body sculpturing/make up/clothes is status assertion. But as I grow older, and especially for houses where the old owners have long gone, I begin to appreciate the aesthetics and dedication put into it. In some sense, motivations aside, it's a gift to the world.

I get a lot of pleasure out of the building, it is an estate built before the city around it sprung up in this area, and we have a lot of foot-traffic. Many people take pictures, both because of the unique architecture and because I have a cat that sleeps on a dangerous-looking ledge (his favorite place, no idea why) which makes for a very interesting scene.

Sure, you don't look at the outside when you are inside. But I love walking up to it, I love playing with my kids out front, and something about owning and living in what is an extremely beautiful home has a positive effect on my mood and attitude.

Over the last decade we have spent probably $150,000 on various maintenance, but when we do them we don't cheap-out, and we try our best to ensure the improvements will last a very long time.

Definitely not for everyone, but I hope people continue to maintain the beautiful old buildings, it makes cities so nice to live in. We are not the only old estate around here and most of them are also lovingly maintained, so there is still interest.