The Funny House as Status Symbol?

My house looks funny. It is what in Alaska is known as "Owner Built", which means no professionals were ever consulted in the building of our property. This probably seems impossible to lower 48 folks, but this house was built with no permits, no codes, no nothing but a "git her done" attitude. It started as an old garage in 1936, then was made into a house in the 1950's, an addition in 1978 and lastly a dining area in 1990. The resulting creation has four different roofs, half-assed foundations (notice the plural) and plumbing secured to floor joists with shoe laces.
Nevertheless, it is a happy little place. Nestled on a glacial river with lots of privacy. We have also added wood and tile accents (mostly to hide bizarre sheetrock cracks of unknown origins) and thus most people actually call our cottage "cute".
I too like our house, and often feel happy entering the door after traveling and nestling by the wood stove. It even has a bizarre doughnut lay-out which we really enjoy and keeps everyone running in circles.
Here's the problem: society hates my house. I feel this pressure all the time. Most people I know are fairly well educated and thus have attained good paying jobs. The way "society" tells them to exhibit their hard working success is with a pretty house, at the least, a pretty big house. I know my own brother has mocked my "white trash home", heard it called a "starter house" or even worse had friends on the East Coast refer to homes nicer than mine as "shacks". Yikes!
So it stings, as I know many people feel my little crooked cottage must mean we are unsuccessful and clueless dorks. So about 5 times a year I get all self-conscious about it and start looking at nearby homes more appropriate for our means. The problem is--we always hate these "normal" houses. They have no character, privacy or lousy floor plans. What is important to us, doesn't matter to anyone else and vice versa (like I say- screw the stainless steel fridge) you'll spend the rest of your days wiping paw prints off of it....and cheap granite counter tops emit radon--fun for them!

I just can't believe that I sometimes succumb to this nagging feeling that we need a nicer home to prove to others that we are not bums. (and rebuilding this home would never pay off in our rural neighborhood). For now I am over it, but I am sure it will return...