Now, my question is...how have others incorporated existing additions into an older home remodel? Did you just tear everything out (or down) that was newer? Or did you try to incorporate the different elements into the remodel? I'd like to try to recognize the different stages that make up the 'story' of the farmhouse, but still keep with an overall theme. You start by getting a structural analysis of the current house. Can the older elements be saved? Because if it turns out that the addition done in the past is not structurally sound, why incorporate that element? And even if they can be saved, does it make fiscal sense to do so? Just because something was build in the past, does not mean the workmanship is better than what you would have today. My brother has a house that was build in the 1920's. There were some tough times in the 1920's. When he opens up his walls he finds all kinds of things - any type of lumber was used because they used what they could find. And insulation is nothing like what is available today. Unless you know that the finest workmanship of the time was used, you have to be prepared for anything. Then, you consider the other systems that go in the house and how those will impact the structure you are trying to save. How will new electric, plumbing, HVAC, etc. be tied into the old systems. What about insulation? Can these updates be incorporated without damaging the structural elements that you are trying to save? If you need all new plumbing, electrical, and HVAC, does that mean you are demoing down to the studs? If that is the case, and you need a new roof and siding, then what is the value in staying with the footprint of the old house? Financially, does it make more sense to completely demo the building and start from scratch? I am not saying that this is the case for your house, but without having a complete structural analysis plus an analysis the of electrical, plumbing, HVAC, etc. you cannot determine whether it even makes sense to save the house. Once those questions are answered, then you move on to design. At this point you ask if house layouts from the past work with the life you are living today. Some people don't have a problem living in layouts from the past, while others prefer open floor plans, wide doors, walk-in closets, larger laundry rooms, larger kitchens, heck larger rooms in general. And then there are the materials that go into building a house that looks like it is from an earlier timeframe. Are they still available today, at what cost, and are newer designs better? Changes in building systems/materials have usually been made for a reason. You have posted pictures of the 1920's sunroom windows that you like. When I look at them, I see single glazed multi paned windows that are very energy inefficient and a pain to keep clean. Different strokes for different folks, you probably wouldn't care for my house. You also have to figure out how much the current footprint of the house is limiting your ability to design the house of your dreams. If you are completely renovating a house, you are going to end up with a custom home. To me, a custom home means it is customized for the people who are living there. Being unnecessarily constrained by what was, is, imo, not the way to get to a custom dream home. If you don't feel constrained by the current house, than you don't have a problem. But since you have been at this for quite some time and haven't been able to finalize your design, it doesn't sound like the process is making a lot of progress. I suggest getting a complete analysis of the current house, then taking that information along with all your inspiration photos and ideas to an architect that specializes in old house renovations and getting a professional's opinion on how best to get to the goal of a dream home.

CMarlin--I've been reading through this thread, wondering if he meant the 1860's maybe? We recently sold a 1920's house and moved into a 1950's one--and consider NEITHer of those 'old' (we live in an area where it's not uncommon to see homes that date back to the 1700's, even occasionally the 1600's). OP--Fix anything that's truly broken--leaking pipes, for example, dripping faucets. CLEAN CLEAN CLEAN! If YOU want the chandeliers, then take them down and put up something else, otherwise, leave them. Don't spend money you don't have to--you're unlikely to get it back. As to staging--make the rooms look as comfortable, but uncluttered as possible. But not if that means spending money for furniture you won't need later. I do think, the one place it makes sense to spend a few $$$ is for window treatments--but don't go overboard. Go to a place like Marburn Curtains and pick up some inexpensive, but decent looking things. Other inexpensive things you might consider--a fresh coat of paint doesn't cost much and can make a room look much cleaner. If you're in the mood and have wallpaper? It might be worth removing it and painting. In all honesty, the house we sold recently had been listed twice. In between those listings, we did strip and paint the only 2 rooms with wall paper. Don't know if it 'sold' the house, but the first time around, we had little interest. Second time around, we had a younger, more enthusiastic agent (and those newly painted walls) and it sold in under 6 weeks. But again, it's not worth putting a lot of dollars into getting the house ready to sell--most people want a blank slate that they can personalize to their own tastes. You just have to offer them a home where they can see the potential possibilities. You are in a bit of a tricky area--a 60's house isn't old enough to be a classic, but it's not new enough to be new. But you only need to find the one right buyer who falls in love with it. Hoping you'll find them sooner rather than later.

I had the popcorn tested just to be sure. $20. I first tried scraping a small bath ceiling but I didn't like the finish after scraping. It seemed that it was going to take a lot of work to make it perfectly smooth and even. The next attempt I scraped off all the cottage cheesey lumps but didn't scrape completely back to drywall. This left a very lightly textured 'orange peel' look which goes perfectly with the textured walls throughthe rest of the house. A coat of paint and it was finished! At first I was a little heavy handed with the scraper in places but a small can of spray-on orange peel texture from HD quickly fixed any bald spots. It only took a few minutes practice to be consistent with the amount of popcorn I removed. Much less work than trying to get the ceilings smooth, no repairs required, and we are very happy with the results.

It's probably a safe assumption that there will be lead in the lower layers given the age of the house, I think---not even sure I'd bother to test it. (They do test for free here, though---I wouldn't be surprised if Portland does too.) Lead was in virtually all enamel/cabinet/trim paint before the late 60s. But you can still sand with the sponges---that's what they're designed for, in part. When they're wet, they'll contain the dust so that it's not all over the place; a mask will also help to make sure you're not breathing it, and then afterwards you wet mop to get up any bits of dust on the floor. We did the whole lead testing and education bit with our county last year, and it was super helpful. One of the more important things I learned was that while lead is icky stuff, it's largely a concern if it's eaten or inhaled in quantities, so you can do a lot to prevent that and to let older kids know to avoid chipping paint and wash hands after touching it. It's also less of a concern if it's a one-time project than if it's ongoing chipping, like with a window where someone's painted the sash so every time it opens or closes, fine dust comes down. Projects can be more easily secured so toddlers and pets are away from the work. The really important thing they drilled into us was that the surface of the paint needs to be intact---you don't need to remove lead paint, but you do need to have it covered with a good layer of new paint on top. It's worse to take some of it off and open up lower layers to chipping/flaking than just to leave them alone and paint over with good quality paint, unless you have the resources (time, energy and/or money!) to strip down to the bare wood. In your case, I'd only touch it enough to get it into paintable shape. The biggest problem we had was our dog---lead paint chips apparently smell/taste sweet, which is what attracts babies too. So we would constantly catch him snuffling in an area where work was going on, trying to find the chips. Finally just gave up on that and shut him out of the room all together till we were done!