Hard to say without a photo and also whether the "reno" is to look somewhat primitive or sophisticated. Assuming the former, I'd say rough stones for a threshold.

(Incidentally, dw is from Portland, JA and I have mortgages on property there.)

I hope there's a lot of whitewashed stucco! And you're not creating your dream home in the middle of, say, Minnesota.

Worthy, thank you. No pictures yet as we just have a concrete block bunker at the moment and I doubt I could figure out how to post a picture even if I had one. We are in central coastal Florida and the exterior will indeed be what the builder is calling "old world" stucco painted white. The general idea is that the original owner was a merchant who rose is the world to afford a bigger house and added on rather than building new. Thus we have the "old old" wing of the house with the kitchen, great room and 2 upstairs bedrooms connected by the foyer to the "merchant's addition" that now has the master bedroom and office. This has not been researched for historical accuracy but is sort of a take off on the idea of how the Pennsylvania farmhouse grew with the income and family size of the farmer. Also, when we decided to build I was determined not to plunk another Italianate villa on the landscape. I hope I'm not committing an atrocity against an island style home but this is what the architect came up with.

Agree with "worthy"... hard to say what's appropriate without more info on the conditions, type of stone, etc. I would suggest that any transition from stone (or tile) to wood should preferably be made "flush", sans raised threshold (ie "tripping hazard"). Since the dissimilar materials will certainly move differently, use a pliable sealer at the joint between the two.

And, hey, BRAVO, BRAVO to your wonderful-sounding architectural ideas for the "additive-looking" home. Indeed, the typical old house grew in this manner, as owners and needs evolved over time, or the owner became more affluent. What you describe is atypically charming, compared to the phony-Med monstrosities commonly "designed" and constructed new these days.

Best wishes and good luck!

Mason

Here is a link that might be useful: Ask Mason

I think your idea of a wide wooden threshold for the transition, that will fit under the door that separates the two rooms is right on target. I've seen such arrangements and they look very good to me. It is also a good deal less expensive and complicated than the alternative you are considering, stone or concrete. Since this threshold (some call it a "saddle") will raise the floor a bit, you might have to have the bottoms of the door cut and, since both areas are heated/aircontitioned, you should make sure that there is enough space so that the air between the rooms can circulate some. The challenge will be to find a carpenter or floor specialist who can do it right.

Good luck

Something like this?

I think it makes perfect sense. Especially since, traditionally, transitions between rooms in older homes are handled the same way:

I'm excited for you, and I love your concept.

We're doing something a little similar - building a new house to look like an older home that has a "story" and has developed over time through multiple additions. Some of this is the design of the house and some in little touches on the interior to suggest that one part was added to another in the past. (Things like floor transitions, cased openings, ceiling changes, etc)

I think you should go the full width of the wall in one slab of stone (1' x 5'), expensive but the look will be well worth it. Stone exterior steps were common in that era.

I hope in the over 10 years since the OP asked about this it got resolved... ;-)