" trunk room" I am assuming ( we all know how that works ) that the farmers who lived here were not rich. Would they still have had a trunk room? A new basement was put under at some point. Probably in the 1950's. The newspapers we found under the old sink base were 1950 and that's what makes me think the porch to kitchen was Dec., 1950 or thereabouts. I really have no idea but it's a nice basement. I've wondered where the old basement doors might have been. I can't tell anything from the existing basement. There would have been steps somewhere?? No evidence of cement steps. I don't see anywhere that would make sense for an outside entrance BUT the house is not at all like original. There's been a breezeway and double garage added. The septic is under the breezeway and will have to be replaced this year. There is not one scrap of complete original woodwork left. I have to think it wasn't very fancy. Taking out a built in cabinet (not old) and taking off two layers of paneling and a few layers of genuine old wallpaper showed the patched windows/doors. I have found three 4 panel doors in the machine shed and one 1950's kitchen door with glass in the top. It's just a regular nothing special plain door. It's back in the kitchen doorway now. The layers of paint matched and the hinges matched so it had to have lived there once. There are no doorways that match the size of the 4 panels I found. The outside is sided in aluminum siding. Not new. As I said, there is not one shred of character left in this old house. I can't remember exactly where the road in front used to be. The interstate went through in 1975 cutting through at a diagonal. That's when the farm was sold and this acreage survived. It was "this close" to being bulldozed. None of the maps I own show the house in relation to the road as it was. I know I traveled that road on occasion but I was young and things like that didn't impress me. I'm trying to find surviving relatives but I likely won't. The people before me lived here 30 years; from around 1978 to probably 2002. I am sure they were responsible for one of the two layers of paneling. I think it was they who refaced the kitchen cupboards. I know where their son is and I am going to try to contact him to return some photos I found during this last facelift. He was a child so I don't know what he will remember. I am hoping he has a photo album. The people before them are long dead and I have no idea if/where any relatives would be. I've asked around about the history or other living people who would know but get no where. Everyone is dead or moved away. I think the first family that I know about/knew were not very neighborly??? I think the husband was a "dirty old man". Maybe that's why no one knows what the inside of the house was like? I think they would have been the ones to do the kitchen. I knew them in the '60's so it's likely they lived here in 1950. The cement apron beside the barn is etched 1950. There must have been some money during that time. The barn foundation is still visible. Also two other small foundation outlines. I think a milkhouse for one. I don't know what the other would be. I'd like to find pictures of everything. Probably not possible. There are still usable outbuildings and those have always been kept up. I was only curious, I will stay here until I die no matter what. I assumed (again) that familes of that era had lots of kids and I didn't think a house of two bedrooms was sufficient.

Don't worry about trying to match the paint to a photo. It truly isn't relevant to your house, which will have different lighting conditions, etc. Add to that monitor differences plus this photo looks totally overexposed and somewhat pinkish to me. Whites are the toughest! I ended up with a "leftover 150.00 worth of paint because I changed my mind to something imperceptibly different to most people, so I know how hard it is. Get samples or the giant paint chips and hold them up to the walls after the primer is on if you can. They may look totally different on different walls. I have one wall where the color looks incredibly different from top to bottom, even. Good luck! (And take your time if you can. I must have had paint chips of 100 off-whites that looked good in the store. Some were immediately too pink or too yellow when I took them to the house.)

Just redefine your terms and adjust your "farmhouse" design inspirations to include wood tones. If you are only watching Joanna Gaines that's all youre going to see- and want. However, there are plenty of other takes on "contemporary farmhouse" out there. I honestly am not getting why browns/beiges/greiges are ok for painted surfaces, but not the same color in a wood stain. Yellow-golds, grays and whites are classic .... would fit quite nicely with your ca. 1980s gold toned wood. Re above statements that white trim will never go out of style.... well ya, some truth to that but the drab colorless interiors, the monotone white on white will. Mark my words, people in the not too distant future will be cursing the latex paint that soaked into the pores of their brick and caused it to spall, wondering "what were they thinking." Lets not forget that there was a time when people thought that a popcorn ceiling and metallic blobs of paint sponged onto every conceivable surface was a good idea!

Simple is better. There are too many colors going on. I would paint all the siding the same color with white trim around the windows reserving a bright color for the front door. Once that's done I would remove all the old landscaping and put in new. The bones are there, they just need to be brought together into a cohesive package. If you're interested in seeing some virtual makeovers of your house check out my website, Creative Visual Concepts.