My house is 1905 four-square; unfortunately it wasn't proactively maintained so it needed tons of work. On the other hand it wasn't "updated" or mucked up by previous owners, so there is little to un-do. I think our house was always loved. We've been here for three years, and here's a short list of what I love:

1. Quartersawn heart pine floors throughout with not a single knot (even the attic is floored in heart pine!)
2. Wavy original glass in all the windows
3. Beautiful palladian window in our stairwell to the second floor
4. High ceilings and lots of light
5. Double-drainboard apron front kitchen sink and clawfoot bathtub -- both in good shape
6. Big walk-in pantry and built-in kitchen cabinet
7. Worn-down stair treads from 100+ years of use
8. Amazing roof lines in our attic from hip dormers on three sides -- and none of it is obscured by ugly insulation (yet! this is a project for this winter)
9. Mature trees and well-established gardens that give us tons of privacy

10. Deep front porch with two comfortable rockers, perfect for a cold beer on a Friday night (hey, TODAY is Friday!!).

Years ago I rented an apartment in a beautiful old victorian and my landlord (who lived downstairs) predicted that I would never live in new construction again. I have a strong feeling that he was right...

1. it's on the Santa Fe trail
2. 2 fireplaces--one with built in bookcases on either side with beveled glass doors and 12 paned windows above
3. cedar and oak floors
4. high ceilings
5. early light fixtures in LR & DR
6. long windows
7. old stone garage and outbuilding
8. plaster and stucco interior walls largely intact
9. lots of eclectic old hardware

10. built in china cabinet and butler's pantry

My house is a 1928 Tudor revival that we have been rehabbing:

1. Original oak floors with chestnut ribbon inlay in all rooms
2. Sunroom off of livingroom with 7 full size windows - 6 over 6 pane
3. Original light fixture in foyer that has a flame shaped globe in the center surrounded by three candelabra lights
4. Orange peel textured original plaster that has maker's mark insignia scattered throughout
5. Front porch that is laid with original flagstone and original wrought iron railings - great spot for eating my breakfast on a Saturday morning
6. Full walk up attic with a real set of stairs and more headroom than most rooms in a regular house (soon to be turned into a studio)
7. All original closets lined with cedar including the huge walk in closet in the attic designed for storage
8. Two and a half baths with all original fixtures and tilework
9. Stucco with clinker brick accents on the exterior

10. Deep fireplace with original green marble hearth and surround
11. I couldn't help but put an 11th! All original trim and crown molding woodwork, but alas it has been painted over the years...still happy to have all of the detail, though

My soon-to-be old house is an 1890 brick rowhouse. I love:

1. grand, high-ceiling'd and elegant front and rear parlor
2. woodwork in the parlors and dining area
3. proportions of all the rooms (except bathrooms)
4. mature garden
5. wisteria arbor
6. 1922 Magic Chef range in the kitchen
7. restored wood floors which the current owners lifted and re-laid to lessen the dips, creaks and groans
8. original tin ceiling in the big bedrooms
9. dry basement (dry because the laid-stone foundation was mortared and pointed by the owners' sons as a summer job)

10. no remuddling!

1830's Federal Style House
1) Only five families have ever lived in the house.

2)Floating staircase.

3)Four working fireplaces.

4) Five sets of French doors.

5)4000 plus square feet.

6) Mature trees. Walk pass the ones along the drive and you can almost see and hear the old carriages pass by.

7)It's history.

8)Semi circular flagstone patio with thick slabs of flagstone chiseled by hand with a thigh high stone wall.

9)Cypress exterior.

10)Some of the original gas lights have been wired for electricity.

They all sound wonderful! Our house is a 1910 Craftsman.

1. 12 original light fixtures downstairs, including a gas light, and all the original doorknobs.

2. Stained glass in a window, in the living room bookcases, and in a floor to ceiling dining room breakfront.

3. Wavy old glass in almost all the windows.

4. All the wood is here, and there's lots of it.

5. Old 5' clawfoot tub and pedestal sink in the master bath.

6. Oak and pine floors downstairs, maple upstairs.

7. Highly detailed exterior.

8. Knowing the history of the house, and meeting the descendents of the family who lived here from 1921-1958.

9. The house just has a good feeling to it. "Good vibrations"?

10. Beauty, character, and charm.

We haven't moved into our 1900 "New Englander" yet but here are my early choices:

1) lovely L-shaped front and side porch, just begging for rocking chairs
2) original front door with gaudy-as-heck hardware ;-)
3) bay window in living room (even though the windows themselves are replaced with white vinyl, ick)
4) huge windows
5) wide heart-pine floors throughout the downstairs and we are hoping upstairs too
6) high ceilings (9' is very high when you've been living with 7'6"! but not so high as to make heating a nightmare)
7) so much decorating potential that fits my stylistic tastes perfectly!
8) small lot, not much mowing and landscaping to deal with
9) well-established neighborhood (I think the newest house is from the 1940s?) with loads of mature trees

10. it's already been remuddled so we can only make it better, and the systems are all new so we can mostly concentrate on the pretty stuff ;-)

In our 1918 bungalow, we love

We have an 1890 Bungalow in a registered historic district. We have been in it for 5 years. It has always been taken care of but we still had lots of plans and finished the last of them by doing the masterbath and kitchen in December.

1) location in an area where every house is lovingly restored , like returning to another time just by walking outside.

2) all original heartpine floors and woodwork, although all the woodwork has been painted.

3) almost all original wavy glass and all the big windows are original.

4) beautiful front door and stained glass
5) 12 ft ceilings with large well-proprotioned rooms throughout
6) builtin china cabinet in diningroom with wavy glass
7) big deep front porch
8) original glass doorknobs almost all doors
9) french doors in center hallway w/ wavy glass

10. noone remuddled to the point that we couldn't fix it easily

We have been s-l-o-w-l-y retoring our 1936 home for the past 15 years. It had only 2 previous owners, and, except for a kitchen remodel, has not been remuddled through the years. Wonderful house, with a great historic neighborhood near the Gulf of Mexico.

1. many, many big windows
2. art deco hardware
3. archways
4. original wood floors
5. built in china cabinet
6. plaster walls
7. 10 foot ceilings
8. 2x6 construction of heart pine(busted lots of drill bits!)
9. interior french doors on sunroom

10. attic with high ceilings

1923 Colonial revival here. We are 3rd owner, DH grew up in the house we bought it from his Dad.

Many in our neighborhood bought the homes they grew up in!
all but 2 windows are original with wavy glass( and we replaced them to match as closely as possible)
mullioned front door and sidelights with wavy glass; original brass doorknob and plate around it.
original french doors flanking the fireplace( more wavy glass)
Original 5" wide molding with crown molding on the lintels
relatively high ceilings 8' 1/2 feet
quartersawn heartpine upstairs and in kitchen
original oak floors with double walnut inlay ribbons around perimeter in dining room and living room
original glass door knobs
all original mahogany doors
original swinging door into kitchen

Nothing like an old home in an old neighborhood! Sue

I love my old house - it is not fancy. it is a wonderful old farmhouse right in the city, but it's ours and we love it.

1)I love the thought it has been standing here since 1862!

2)It was the first house on the block... here before the church that been standing for 100 years
3)I love the story of the home, 3 generations born and lived here from 1862 until 1972 ( i researched back to the land purchase in 1860, and the family history)
4)I love the things it hides - pretty sparkle wallpaper behing PO's ugly paneling, Remains of once wonderful woodwork, like wainscotting (sp?),trim work and the solid 6 panel doors. - i try to imagine what it looked like before PO got a hold of it :-(
5) 9ft ceilings
6) the front porch
7) my neighborhood,- my mom grew up 6 houses away, my dad 2 blocks away, and when they married moved around the corner...my entire families lives have taken place in this little section of Wisconsin.

there is one thing i will never know, but would love to find out someday....how this place looked before the total remodel in 1975 - when all the plaster was covered w/ paneling, and all the floors covered with carpet. ;(

sorry
8) the large trees

9) the old summer kitchen that is now my laundry room

10)the large yard

I've been in my 'new' home for nine months now, and wouldn't trade it at all. It's from between 1920 and 1930, and even though there's a lot of work to be done, there's treasure abounds..

10. The genuine hardwood flooring in every room. The kitchen has tiles over the lovely floor, but I'll see about removing those...
    9. Except for the newer front door and back door, all theinterior doors are the originals. Each door has a crystal-cut glass (assumeably) knob, the locks are still in tact even though I need to buy a key for them, and every one has the original brass faceplate and hinge and pins.
    8. The very deep and extremely heavy enamel-coated cast iron tub. No, it's not a clawfoot, but it's still nice. :)
    7. That of all the crappy remodeling things done to the house, someone had enough insight to install ceiling fans in all the rooms. The house has NO insulation, none of the windows open and gets very, very hot here in summer...
    6. Mr. Kent, the spookie that still resides here and likes to play little pranks on us when he's bored. The Kents were the first renters of this house before my neighbor's mother bought it. He's harmless, but he does do some interesting things lol
    5. The mysterious crumbling shack in front of where I park the car. It's got two little rooms with floors and one wide space that's still dirt, but too narror for a car (even a Model T). The smaller one has lots of shelves, and the longer one is, well, empty. There's an old trunk key and remnants of really ugly wallpaper. Both doors have the skeleton lock and a white porcelain doorknob.
    4. The two great pecan trees in the front yard, the many rosebushes, the blueberry bush, the tigerlilies and night-blooming jasmines... I'm going to help and revamp all the lovely plants, but I can't wait for pecan pie this fall!
    3. The abundance of cabinets... They go up to the ceiling. //_o Even on a chair I can't reach them, but if nothing else there's room to put stuff.
    2. The lovely brick fireplace that was once the centerpiece of my livingroom. It's been painted white and brown ( //_X) and the terracotta hearthstone needs to be replaced, but it's absolutely lovely.
    1. The MAGNIFICENT upright piano dating back to 1915 that's been in the house since it was new and has remained here ever since. I've got someone coming in this week to tell me how much restoration it needs, but I fully intend to save this piece of history.

Hi Bulldinkie - fun thread! All these houses sound beautiful.

My house is an 1850 farmhouse.

1. It's not fancy. (Neither am I.)
2. Wide-board hemlock walls, part of the original double-plank construction.
3. Native stone fireplace, even though it's not old.
4. Old stone ice house.
5. Old stone walls.
6. Hand-hewn timbers for posts and (exposed) beams.
7. Porch overlooking flowers and fruit trees.
8. Massive old King and Russet apple trees.
9. Big old barn

10. Feeling of timelessness that pervades the property.