I understand perfectly what you mean. There are houses out there that should be preserved as an example due to their exeptional workmanship but in your case, I would hold the attitude that the folks that built the house, built it to live in, not preserve it as a time capsule. My house is almost the reverse, the ouside is nothing special, but the inside has several beautiful craftsman details. In my case, I like the style AND it is a well preserved house, so I am keeping to craftsman style while we build a half 2nd story. Which means I spent a little more on wider trim (but it still does not exactly match), went to the trouble of finding old doors that were similar to the current ones downstairs, and our stairs and flooring are going to be oak. Other than that, it is my decorating style that is holding on to the age, not the house itself. Hope this helps.

Our house is exactly what you are talking about!!!

It is an 1850's farmhouse. Built likley by the farmers themselves... who would likley have put all their money and effort into the farm. Not the house! And we know for a fact that things were drastically changed over the last 50 years (as in an indoor kitchen, moved the bedrooms from the main floor area etc.)

The things we are more concerned about is treatment of an old house (preventing damage by doing something we want that the house physically woulnd't be able to), relating with others over the joys of old electicity, plumbing and just 'weird' building philosophies used in the house!

Aside, we are trying to renovate our house to be timeless... since it is a farmhouse, we will likley live here forever. We want to renovate it for our likes and needs... but we are trying to keep some elements (plank wood floors, wide mouldings etc)

Our house is an 1870 tenant/farmhouse and was not an architectural marvel. It was sturdily built, but plain. Folks that lived here for almost 50 years (1946-93) added lots of built-in cabinets and pine wainscotting. They also increased its size to 1500 sq. ft. by adding on a new living room and two bedrooms above (actually built it themselves). Unfortunately, they were also responsible for some poor and unattractive repairs to the house. I remedied these poor repairs, but chose to keep their "colonial" modifications because they actually improved the livability of the house even though they weren't to my taste. I continue to add elements that enhance its simple and plain beauty. The changes I've made match my own style and interests (arts & crafts, simple and clean lines), yet they are close enough in quality and design to marry well with original features and the modifications that have been made to the house over its lifetime. There is a cohesive look to the house even though it has evolved to suit the needs of various occupants. Yes, "timeless" is the look we also are working toward.

Tina

There are a few threads in the Kitchens forum -- "Farmhouse kitchens", maybe -- that might be helpful. We're just finishing up an almost-total rebuild of our 1920s Craftsman (which had a 70s remuddle and conversion into three units; there was nothing good left) and had the same issues.

There's a lot you can do without making your house into a Arts & Crafts temple. We put in period-style mouldings but used paint-grade rather than the oak or old-growth redwood as you see in our 'hood; put in oak floors throughout, did a kitchen with Shaker-style, inset cabinetry but skipped the exposed hinges; wooden counter on the kitchen island; used some period-style light fixtures (from Rejuvenation); have a few actual 1920s touches here and there (pretty chandelier bought on eBay, old mailbox) and so on. We use our same old furniture, though, and the bathrooms are definitely modern!

We picked up French doors and a couple of sidelightsat a salvage yard; installed them as room transitions. Those --and the period-style kitchen and other cabinetry-- are the things that most people comment on: "Oh, those are original!"

Well, not to this house, but yeah, they're original. There's literally nothing original except some of the studs. LOL. I did want to have a few "old things" since almost everything in the house is new, but we figure *we* live here now. It's not a museum, and it has to be comfortable for us now.

We have been making this same decision over and over in our 1890's Victorian Eclectic. What I've found to be the overlying factor is cost vs. house value. Details cost money, and even could we afford a great level of interior detail, our neighborhood wouldn't allow us to recoup the cost in resale. We've been very judicious in where we add trim and what quality of trim we've added.

We have been lucky enough to come across a historic preservation specialist who is just getting started and is charging reasonable fees to build his portfolio. He's very knowledgeable about the history of the area and what houses here are "supposed" to look like. Through him we've come to understand also that a mish-mash of styles and lack of ornamentation in several parts of the house actually IS the house's style and is very common to the area. That in itself has historic value, and that value is slightly different than the "high Victorian" homes you see in other parts of town. Houses are first and foremost meant to be lived in and how they reflect the owner's philosophies is always valid (although not always appealing to everyone else, particularly things like sparkle cottage cheese ceilings).

We've decided to finish the additions on to the house in a style historically accurate for the addition's time period, not the period of the original house. The kitchen, bath, and laundry room were all additions, and I have no wish to live in the Victorian era with those! They were added in the 1940's, so we're doing them in a sort of low-key bungalow/farmhouse style which matches the main house well enough but is still comfortable and has "modern conveniences." Well, I went a little silly in the laundry room doing an "art deco" style, but I figured I do my laundry here so I need SOMETHING fun...

I like what rainerdog says. Not all houses were built as temples to architectural marvel. Just like today, average people had average budgets and although they may have yearned for the most stylish and fashionable, they had to make decisions as to what they valued most. Most often, what makes an old house a fantastic house is the character created by the lives and history that has come before you got there. True preservation is an effort to retain and pay tribute to that -- not to make a museum or a competition to impress friends. The most important features of any house are its level of comfort, its convenience and economic lasting. Upgrading and making modern some features that save resources or energy makes sense, as long as the original character isn't destroyed. A house can be butchered by over doing where inappropriate just as badly as tearing things out that shouldn't go.

hi there, we bought a 1917 victorian house that built by a doctor. allthough we love sooo many things about it and the desighn, like my double doors between the living room and parlour, and the high baseboards, their are things that i personally dont like, like the fact that all the trim in the house was dark brown, so i did the big faux paux and painted them white, (i can hear the gasping from here) not to mention the fact that i have 4 young (under the age of 8) kids and hardwood floors are awful so we are putting in laminate. we had to completely gut the kitchen and we went with oak cabinets. all though we have put crown molding in the living room (and what is now the dining room once the parlour) we have put geourgous ceiling fans in with a disk that matches the crown molding on the cieling. i believe in mixing modern with the natural old beauty of these houses, but you have to live in it and do what you feel is good for your family. i love to read what people are doing with their houses thats for sure,
nadine

I THINK IF you think its worth it structually etc and you have the money to do yes.We bought this 1700 farmhouse.it was great as far as sturdy,stronge brick.40 acres.We decided to stay here so we completely restored it.alot of time,work,money but glad we did .I had a new home before this and im so glad we did this now I love it.

Thanks everybody for your responses. On this one, I am glad to know that I am not alone.

Some decisions were easy, like the wide white painted widow and door trim, maintaining 6 over 1 double hung windows or adding wood flooring that runs continuously though the front parlor (entry), kitchen and dinette. But it is the kitchen cabinetry and style that really does me in. We have been debating between painted cabinets vs- cherry cabinets. The door style would be a simple shaker with minimal trim and detailing. I have been leaning towards a simplified Victorian style. The kitchen, dinette and living room are all open to each other. The style of the kitchen is one of the few places that can really set the character for the entire home. Our side door, which we use regularly, opens directly facing into the kitchen, so the aesthetics become even more important.

These are my two inspiration photos. I feel that if we do the cherry, it will make the space feel darker and the floor would have to be a very light tone. Where as, the white paint contrasts with the floor better and permits the floor to be any range of tones.

I think both of the kitchen photos are very nice. I always wanted an old house but didn't realize until after we bought ours that there is so much controversy about how to renovate/restore/remodel an old house. We are trying to restore ours as much as we can, but money is definitely a factor unless you have millions. The first things we had to do were completely rewire the house, replace the plumbing, replace all ductwork, and install two new HVAC systems. I thought safety, sanitation, and air conditioning (live in South Carolina) were the most important things since we plan to live in the house!

We are trying to restore some things as well such as refinishing the heart pine floors. Most of the woodwork is in good shape, and I prefer it painted white. I think it gives the house a brighter, happier feel. My decorating style is eclectic (heavy on cottage and somewhat formal as well). I love Victorian architecture but can't stand all the dark, dark rooms buried in fabric. That's depressing to me. If you like it, great. But I think each of us has to decorate our home in a way that makes us happy.

We hope to get a clawfoot tub for one bathroom. (All the great old bathroom fixtures had been removed by the PO and replaced with lovely acrylic.) However, the other bathrooms will be nice, modern bathrooms. When we can renovate the kitchen, it will be "modern" as well---not as in contemporary but very up-to-date.

The kitchens in the photos are both lovely. Neither is dark like so many are choosing to do today (dark cabinets, dark granite, dark floor). Better2boutside, I hope you will be happy with whatever you choose.

One of the first things I noticed when I looked at those 2 pictures was the wall color in the second, which made me realize that what could help you decide on cabinets may be just the "other" colors you want in the room. The white cabinets give wall color a pop and everything goes with white, the cherry ones are a little trickier, but if you already have a color in mind, they might turn out absolutely gorgeous.

I was pleased to see this thread as this is a dilema we found ourselves in when we purchased our old farmhouse in 2004.

The house was built in 1909 by an English Immigrant whose occupation on the ship's passenger list is shown as "gardner". He arrived in the US in 1903 and didn't bring his wife and two children over until he had built the first part of this house (1909). He built the huge barn before he built any portion of the house and as the years passed, he added on to this house.

His daughter and her husband inherited the house and continued to farm the 40 acres until the husband passed in 1969; the house then belonged to his widow (the daughter of the builder) whose ill health caused her to sell the forty acres cutting out only 1/2 an acre of land surrounding the house. Her only son (in his 60's at that time) inherited it in 1987 but died two years later and the house, which he had mortgaged to begin to repair it, was taken by the mortgage holder............who just happened to be a first cousin!

That first cousin spent 11 years living in and repairing the house - adding the central heat and air, updating the wiring, and replacing the view of the stars in the upstairs with a new tin roof and putting in the first "real" kitchen the house had known, turned the original add on bathroom into the laundry room (all the bathroom fixtures still remain minus the tub/shower and toilet) and adding on a room to the side for a new updated bathroom.

So how does all this relate to this thread? Because our PO's didn't do a restoration of this old farmhouse, they did a repair and update. It retains a lot of its primitive beauty nad its original footprint but much of its age is undetectable due to the very 90's kitchen and bathrooms that were installed during those 11 years. Termites had destroyed most of the flooring (only the dining room retains it original heart pine flooring and that floor was put in in the 40's) and the trim of the house and the walls were redone with modern sheetrock and mud, only the doors remained in good condition although most are missing their knobs.

We faced a decision when we purchased it in 2004 - to continue to repair the house or to strip it out and restore it? If we chose to "restore" it, what were we actually restoring since nothing remained of the trim or downstairs floors and there had been no kitchen? We quickly realized that we would be replicating a "period" and not our home's history because this was in fact, a simple farmhouse from its humble beginnings in 1909 through the repairing process in the 90's.

We spent some time touring other old farmhouses of the area and of the same era to determine what to do with this old house. Based upon those other farmhouses, some still remaining in the families of the cr. 1800 farmers, we made our decision.

In the end, we chose to replace plywood and carpeting with pine floors where ever it was needed downstairs and to restore the pine flooring upstairs.

The original trim throughout the house had been replaced in the 90's with inexpensive but size accurate trim and had been painted; we chose to repaint it rather than strip it....the rooms are smallish and stained wood trim would have "closed" them in further (the trim was as I said inexpensive and not beautiful enough to warrant a clear finish imo).

We have painted the walls with "historic colors" and used techniques to age their appearance and further updated the wiring and insulating materials etc and are slowly bringing in period furnishings.

We have worked on one project or room per year with the living room and upstairs rooms completed. This years project is the original bathroom turned laundry room that extends off the mud room.

Our bathrooms will eventually be redone with reproduction claw foot tubs and pedestal sinks but the kitchen remains a big issue for us...we still live in the 90's kitchen with its 90's style natural oak cabinetry ....it looks like any galley kitchen you'd see in a 90's built home......what to do with it?

I love the second photograph in your message - that is similar to what I'd love to do in our old farmhouse - white beadboard cabinetry, an antique stove, a hidden refriderator etc. Other old farmhouses in our area had those features in their kitchens and we believe that had circumstances allowed our original owners to put in a real kitchen, they would have used those features as well.

If I had $30,000 dollars to re-do this kitchen, I would knock out the back wall and extend it into a large square configuration with a farmhouse table in the center of it all - however, again, all the other farmhouses around here of the same size and era seem to have had the galley kitchen appearance just as ours does........it appears these busy farmers all added a narrow room the width of the rear of the house and called it "the kitchen" sometime in the 1930's.

It would be lovely if we all had the wonderful Victorian or Arts and Crafts homes but a simple farmhouse is where I call home and I'm pleased as punch to be so blessed!

dainaadele- You picked up on one of the things I really like about doing the white painted cabinets, the flexibility of detailing with other colors. It is probably just me, but I feel that with cherry cabinetry and wood floors, to do the walls in colors of cream to yellow would be about the standard choices. I would be concerned to do anything with red/rosy tones would be too overwhelming and to do green accents may make the space too dark.

I brought home door samples for my DH to see. He was very adamant that he did not like the painted finishes. He continued on that the wood will be far more forgiving to use over time, and that cherry would also not show the dirt as much. I am happy that he agreed to install (2) windows into our now windowless kitchen and sacrifice the (2) 36" wall cabinets, so I will consider it a negotiation for now and move on.

lorimcleodwilke -- To me, the story of an ordinary home filled with ordinary people is very interesting. Thanks for sharing the history of your house. Good luck with your continued work!

Tina