Whoa, if you get a degree in industrial arts you get to acquire carpentry textbooks along the way?!? Sweet! Kim, I've always enjoyed/appreciated your contributions; given the wisdom of trial and error that was behind them, I see why they stood out. My mom got us a couple of the Reader's Digest fixit books (have to run downstairs, one of them might be the very one you have); I like the way they are encyclopedic and detailed. I know Jane Powell but not the Small Houses books (do you mean The Not So Big stuff by Susanka, or the Small House anthologies from Fine Homebuilding?) Thanks for mentioning books; I think I might start a reference book thread for this forum. Hey Casey, THANKS for taking the bait. And you are NOT a bloody genius, you are an old house DEITY for crying out loud! Would you please start your own show on youtube? Or maybe just a house tour? Even Petch house has youtube videos. Or, do you already have a project blog and everyone knows about it but me? Actually for someone with a degree in historic preservation, I am impressed with how low-key your posts come across; they read more like an old friend who's "been there" and wants to pass along lessons learned along the way, it's really very nice and encouraging. But if you ever want to browbeat me feel free; I would take it as a compliment. To be honest if I post about something I'm thinking of doing to my house, and you don't opine, I figure one of two things is going on: 1) you're not on the forum; or 2) you're politely disapproving. Most of the time I assume it's 2 because you seem to be pretty consistent around here. But I just want to say, and I hope I speak for many, that I love love love your posts, especially when I'm searching on a problem I'm trying to solve and something from you pops up! (PS I finally got around to using that general finishes gel varnish you recommended and it was fantastic, thank you; I will post photos to the woodworking forum sometime before the next census.) Oh, and I love the way you "aged" the color tones in the new pine beadboard in your kitchen; reminds me of the pine in my grandmother's kitchen. When I was really little I used to look at the gleaming pores and think it was the closest wood could get to 24K gold.

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.

Thanks ladies, for the help and the compliments on hubby. It's funny, he doesn't think he's attractive, but society seems to think so. And it's funny when I have a modeling gig, and they ask if he wants to come along. :) Umm, thanks, LOL. We've decided that we're painting the ceiling also. Hubby says "yay". :) I ordered that blendmate tool to help blend the colors on the bullnose corners. We close in 26 more days!

I wanted to take the time to give a few more facts and try to understand a coupe of comments (since I know nothing about this subject, obviously). Our house is from 1930 but we are told the basement was built prior to that and the homesteader (we are in rural Oklahoma) built and lived in the basement, then built all the outbuildings, and then the house was built on top in 1930. (The original settler was apparently quite short, hence the barely over six foot ceiling height in the basement). Basements are not typical for our area. Our architect said that the only people who build basements in this area now are people from the northeast who believe every house is supposed to have a basement. We have not yet discussed with our architect the idea of putting the house on the old house site so we'll be getting his input as well, of course. As a general matter, footings don't have to go very deep here so crawl spaces are significantly cheaper (and preferred by us probably because it is what we are used to). However, as many of you have pointed out, the basement is already built (sort of) in this case. This house was probably originally about 800-900 sf with some very poorly-planned additions added, so the basement is quite small and not at all the shape or size of our new design (nor would we want to design around the existing basement stairs). Our thoughts of crawl space versus basement have based on personal preference, not cost factor (though costs matters of course). I've assumed this would result in a somewhat higher cost and consider it worth it but you all are making me wonder. Once we start talking to builders, I'll be interested in what they have to say. Based on the feedback on this board, I'm trying to picture how it would work to put our new (three times the size and totally different shaped) house on top of an existing basement (which would never be used though I suppose the hot water heater could go down there). @Verbo, we are in fact designing a story and a half house that has a stick frame roof that would allow for a future full second story later if we want (unlikely). @MaryAnne, we have a large barn and plenty of outbuildings, so storage is a non-issue during construction. @dan1888, yes, vapor barriers are a must for us! You all have given us a lot to think about. I'm going to contact our architect this week and see what he says. He might be a hard no on putting the new house on the existing home site. I'm grateful for the people on this board (though I'm not sure even I am thick-skinned enough to post our actual floor plans for feedback).