Thanks for the reply. The only places we took the planks off of the walls are the walls we want removed. The kitchen and living room are quite small so the added space after the walls removal will allow a slightly longer kitchen and living room. We are definitely leaving the rest as it is very cool and unique. Here are how the walls looks after removing the plywood, wood paneling, two layers of paint and varnish from the original walls. We used a 2 part wood bleach to take some of the redness out.

Even though the house was built in 1916, it's actually a duplicate of the person's house that was built in the late 1800's after a fire destroyed it. Doubt that makes a difference in regards as the joists are still 2x12 and are spaced 2ft apart.

Unfortunately, the house has been hastily remodeled so many times, none of the original character remains. Maybe a few of the interior doors and hardware but that's it. No trim, moulding, etc. Past residence have hastily added a French door where the original windows were, heck they even changed the original location of the stairs to which we can't figure out how.

Anyways, this is kinda the look we are going for with the ceilings. We still aren't completely sold on it though and the colors aren't what we want either but it gives you a rough idea

They can be VERY structural if they are preventing racking (leaning to one side).

What did the walls and studs look like where you removed the siding? Were there diagonal braces?

No diagonal braces. Tbh, we can't figure out where load bearing walls are in this oddly built house. Something the engineer and contractor can figure out and install beams where needed. My father actually thinks that the exterior walls may be the only true load bearing walls given the cross gabled roof. Here what the house looks like on the exterior

You need to get a proper header in that french door opening.

Yea like I said, this place was so hastily remodeled, it amazing its still standing. That French door will be removed and time period windows reinstalled where they should be

Yet another "coastal farmhouse". Oh well, I'm old and crochety. I'd be care not to remove the parts of this very old house that show its age. It's not a new-build beach house. Be very cautious.

Actually, I love the "taint blue" ceiling with the white beams, but only if the house house is right near the beach. Otherwise, this is the colors one uses in a "summer" house, not a year'round one.

We aren't beachside but about 5-10 minutes away depending on traffic lights. Ultimately our goal/dream is to live here until our daughters are in college then if life permits, move up to TN or NC and rent this out. Though we live close to the beach, we enjoy the mountains and hiking/camping more than beach life.

Like I said before, the only original aspect of this house is the shell and maybe a few of the doors and hardware. These are what the walls looked like once the layers of drywall and wood paneling were removed. Even if we wanted to keep the dark old varnish look, some walls were painted or even sprayed with a popcorn like texture so there would have been no way to salvage them. I just recently began removing the drywall from the ceiling and I yet again found a popcorn like texture on the planks.

It should be possible to determine the age of the t&g - I cant tell from the photos what's what. If its original to house then you should keep it and create your own version of "coastal" instead of replicating exactly what you see out of a magazine (which is not to say you cuoldnt or shouldnt borrow colors/ inspiration from it).

Why? Because early 1900s wood was still coming from the old growth forests that once covered most of eastern north America. It is an entirely different thing than the soft splintery farmed wood of today - crappy because of the growth accelerants its given. The old growth wood, even pine and fir isvery fine grained and hard as nails. and worth $$$ as salvage so I hope if you removed any of that that it didnt end up in landfill or firewood.

If it is/was just some of that knotty pine panelling from the 50s-60s- still better quality than today, but imho removing it wouldnt be a major no-no as is removing/destroying the old growth stuff.

No all the wood that we remove will be used to repair the floors. We will be reusing as much of the original wood as we can and if we need more, we will be going to a gigantic salvage warehouse north of here to get more time period specific wood. It's all original wood shipped by train from a mill yard either in Blodgett, MS or a subsequent mill yard about an hour southwest of here. Here is a stamp that I found. After researching it, J.M Griffin had his first lumber yard in Mississippi then opened another in holopaw, FL around 1923. Funny thing is that the property appraisal site shows 1916 yet the deed to the property wasn't until 1925 so this house could've very well been built in 1925 using lumber from the holopaw location. It's been a fun adventure digging up all this info.

OMG, it's "haint blue"; taint is quite another thing altogether! lol

Taint blue means it is another color. :-)

Oh, dear!

That aside, I would be very leery of just ripping down the wood. It was a finish treatment on low class housing and a sub-plaster or better paneling treatment on middle class houses. It was technically structural in nature—but whether it is necessary in any one place really depends.