Forgot to add that our floor will be the old beat-up wood floor original to the house (it's hiding under the vinyl) and we hope to do honed marble on the perimeter (or a white quartz material if we run into budget problems) and something darker on the island- we're hoping to find a remnant of soapstone or go with a honed virginia mist.

Your house is gorgeous! When was it built? I think your kitchen is going to be just beautiful. This will be a fun one to watch.

Well, I hope it isn't a disaster b/c it definitely has a ton of potential. I trust my KD, though, and she's been really in tune to what we want.

The tax records say it was built before 1900.. the records don't go back before that. The previous owners did some snooping and think it was built between 1870 and 1890. It's in fantastic shape though (central air, central heat, mostly new windows, very functional bathrooms, etc). It was also 200K less than the neighboring houses (probably b/c it is 1700 square feet instead of 4000 ;o)

We're really excited about the project. The kitchen is the biggest room in the house, so it will be like a whole-house renovation for us.

Oh, sounds wonderful!! Got a floor plan you can post? I love old houses and it sounds like someone already spent a ton of money upgrading the modern conveniences.

Love the house, and your space has great potential. Where are you located?

danielle,
wow!! thanks for sharing the pics - your house is great.

Your inspiration photo is so cool. where did you find that? I love the circle window and all the plates on the wall. You've got great taste.

WOW Danielle...you know how much I LOVE old houses :) You are in such a beautiful area. I love all the grounds around your home. What great views you will have with no uppers. Are you going to open more wall space for windows? Was that why the chimney came out? I am drooling. Can hardly wait ! c

ccombs-- the KD is finishing up the drawings (she does the floor plans, elevations, and 3-d drawings by hand), so once I have them, i'll post them.

morton -- we're in maryland

mamadadapaige-- I wish we could do a circle window, but, alas!, on our budget it will be impossible-- I love that kitchen, though & the entire house was really cool. It was a converted schoolhouse in upstate New York. I think I found it the sunset magazine site-- I'll post the link if I can. It was a really fun space. You would love it-- lots of colors and fun fabrics (can't remember if there was wall paper or not).

Danielle,

Congratulations on such a nice house! Interesting mix of cabinet styles, craftsmen and early-period american, will make the kitchen look like it has evolved over the life of the house. Aren't tax records frustrating!!

Just looking at your pictures, I think the house was a post-railroad I-house with original end chimneys. You must live in a colder climate. Not all I-houses had chimneys on both ends, and the earliest had chimneys on the outside of the house. In the south, the chimney was in the middle.

The original two-story house was two rooms wide, one room deep. The house had several additions. A kitchen was added in the small shed roof addition, (and later moved to the right side?). The rear two-story may be original or it may be an addition. The windows are similar in shape and size to the original house, but they sit lower on the outside wall than the front windows. If it is an addition, the stairs were reconfigured when the larger 2-story rear addition (and perhaps the right side addition) were built. The craftsmen front porch may be original if the house was built in the very early 1900s. The back porch looks like a recent addition.

Judy

Cotehele-- thanks for that great information. It's been interesting trying to figure out details about our house. The porch is a more recent addition-- I think it was built in the 40's. Our neighbor (who passed away last week) bought 5 acres of land from one of the farmers who owned it and then divided up the parcels for his kids. He built the back porch (I think at that point the farmer was deceased and his wife was living there alone). We're thinking the rear two story is an addition, given how much the floor slopes down into my son's room.. the inspector thought it was an addition as well. The inspector also said that the gable on the front is typical of Marlyand farmhouses.. in fact, it's called a "Maryland gable" around here.

Trailrunner,
We are really looking forward to it as well-- I neglected to mention that we are shifting the door 15 inches to the right. That will allow for a refrigerator and pantry on the left wall, while giving us a 36" walkway. The right wall currently has one window which will be moved up to accomodate counterspace and cabinets underneath. We are making a window of a similar (hopefully the same!) size about 30" to the right of it. That new window will be where the sink will be. I'm excited about another window since that will allow me to watch for the school bus in the afternoon... and, of course, we'll have more light. &, yes, it was a chimney that came out. There were two outlets for it... one in the kitchen and one in my son's room, so the contractor surmised that it was used for some type of heating device. Thankfully it was not tied in to any floor joists, so it was rather easy to take it out (I mentioned in another post a few weeks ago, that the contractor ended up charging us way less than his original bid-- very unusual.

Danielle, I love your house and it's siting. (I gather you bought it recently?) It's charming the way it is, and also has great potential if you want to make any changes. (Have you seen Martha Stewart's book New Old House? The house was white with black shutters like yours, but in run down condition. After a complete remodeling, the details of which make up the book, the exterior had bright teal shutters, the landscaping was beautiful... you can imagine!)

The kitchen is going to be great. I'm glad you're going to keep the beat-up old floors underneath the vinyl. Besides the kitchen are you going to work on other rooms? I can't wait to see more, I love remodeling old houses! (We remodeled a not-old house and now it looks old. It's been a lot of fun, but loooong, since we've been doing most of it ourselves. 16 years and still not there!)

It also looks like you've got a great, wide-open spot for a big vegetable garden and a small orchard!

What a wonderful house...I wish they had homes like that in my neighborhood. Look forward to all your progress!
Vic

egganddart,
here's the other living area on the first floor. We use a trunk as our coffee table-- it belonged to my husband's grandparents. It was the only item (aside from a suitcase) that my husband brought with him when he moved to the US in 2000 (it was full of sweaters and books). We will keep the grandfather clock (wedding gift to my parents when they got married) and the baker's rack (my dad picked it up-- I use it for cooling off my bread & for books.. dual purpose).

We are in dire need of a new sofa.. this one was my parents'. they bought it in 1974. We are waiting for the kids to get a bit older since they still enjoy standing on furniture-- I'm assuming the phase will pass and we can safely invest in some new furniture for that room.

{{!gwi}}

{{!gwi}}

Looks like it's going to be very homey! I feel a little bad when I think of the condition our house has been in while our kids were growing up. Now that our daughter is a senior in HS, we're finally getting to the kitchen. When she comes home from college it'll be to a nicer house than she ever lived in. But spending time with them was always the priority, so a lot of good family memories were in the spare, unfinished house! A little OT, but something about your pictures brought up that bittersweet thought.

danielle00 - love your house and the plans for your kitchen. I love your yard and the views. What a great place to raise your kids! Peace & quiet and able to see stars at night....my kind of place. If we ever get going on our build, we'll have a similar setting. I can't wait to see your finished kitchen!

cotehele- WOW! It was wonderful all the info you had about the type of house danielle has!

danielle, I love your house too! Your kids are adorable; please keep posting. I can't wait to see the progress in your kitchen.

thanks, lyno & neesie.

the KD and GC got together today (first time both of them were in my space together). The GC had some good suggestions regarding our funky soffit situation, so he is going to be able to echo the arch leading into the kitchen over the baking center (between the wall oven and fridge) and on the far wall over the range.

I also gave the KD the deposit for my cabinets.. the order is going in today!

Danielle

Danielle, I thought that looked like Maryland. I am in Howard country. I'd guess that your house is in Carroll county?

What a lovely home! I love your mixing of cabinet styles, it will look great! Your wood floors look gorgeous. Looking forward to seeing your progress.

thanks mairin

and, Morton5, we're actually in howard county as well-- if i took a picture facing the street, you'd see some normal houses.. our lot is 1 acre. We bought it in Aug (just in time for school.. we were refugees from PG County ;o)

Danielle, aren't you lucky to find a house with history in Howard. Once the hub bub of the holidays is past, we'll have to organize another Maryland get-together.

What a wonderful house. You are so lucky to have all that land! Are you a gardener? (I've already filled up my quarter-acre so I am envious)

I can't wait to see some progress pics of your kitchen. It sounds like you are starting soon (My reno is scheduled for next month). I am still undecided about the beadboard I posted about. My GC says he has piles of it in his workshop though ...

I'm in Carroll, right on the Howard Co. border. (I hope there will be another Maryland get-together)

A Maryland gathering would be great!! Maybe after the holidays.