This house is in Spokane. Our main computer, with interior shots had an emergency exit last Friday, (day after first posting). If I remember I'll post some interior pictures when that computer is back in our office. This house was fairly untouched when we purchased it. One family, and in particular one member of that family lived here for 83 years, She pretty much left it the way it was originally built, inside and out. The wiring, plumbing, and heating system were all 100 years old. Our insurance company insisted we replace these major $$$ystems so it may be ten years before we can afford to repair and paint the outside. We also refinished the fir floors and pinned and replastered all the ceilings and walls. It is now comfortable inside. We are working slowly on remaining interior renovation.

I've removed rusted latches like that from a 1920s house, so they would be as close to original as you can get.

For the shiny brass, to tone down the shine and minimize expense, you could try Rub 'n' Buff which comes in a range of colors, inc antique brass. I'm not sure how it holds up under something like doorknobs that are handled regularly, but it might be worth a try. What do the doors themselves look like? What color are they? I think if you already have more contemporary and transitional hardware in place that it negates any effort to be more of a purist with the new addition. I would probably be most interested in introducing some more unity with the new choices, so if that means more black, but on levers, or all door knobs, I think that would work. We have Weiser's matte black Aspen levers which aren't overly fussy or traditional, and I like them. I would have preferred Emtek or Baldwin but it wasn't in the budget and we're limited to what we get reasonably priced in Canada, sigh. http://www.weiserlock.com/en/Products/ProductSeries/WelcomeHome/Aspen.aspx I hate to say it, but I think I probably need some sort of list or a schematic drawing of the house with the various additions, and the hardware for each addition noted, to keep all of this straight, and that's after several big mugs of coffee already lol.

Overall impression: It's a decent house. Specifics I'd consider: - It doesn't seem to be a Colonial -- more like a Southern Porch house. A Colonial is more likely to have a small stoop over the front door rather than a house-wide porch. The good news is that a stoop is going to to considerably less expensive than a wide front porch, and you're unlikely to ever USE the front porch anyway. Examples of Colonials with a stoop: - Your foyer is large ... I'd lose the bump-out. You have plenty of space for people to enter /stand by the stairs as they take off their coats. - Your downstairs circulation looks good. - Your rooms are large. I live in a 1970s ranch, and my rooms are roughly the same. The positive is that they're comfortable for a growing family. The negative is that you need lots of furniture, and making a change (painting a room or changing the carpet) is expensive. I'm looking forward to downsizing, but my kids are out of the house. - You have three eating spaces here: dining room, kitchen island, breakfast room. Probably a space outside too. Is this in keeping with your lifestyle? Do you really need all these eating areas, or have you just put them in because "it's what nice houses have"? - Same question about the gathering-spaces on the first floor ... you have a large living room AND a large family room AND an office. How do you anticipate using each of these spaces? For most families, a "happy medium" is a large space where a group can gather coupled with a smaller space that can be closed off for visual /acoustical privacy. This combination allows the family to be together AND it allows for one person to separate to work, read a book, watch a ballgame alone, listen to music, etc. You seem to have two large spaces and one very small "away room". - This is a small thing, but you don't want those short wing-walls dividing the breakfast room from the family room. They'll just be in the way. You can differentiate the spaces at the ceiling. - The office/bedroom is a great size for an office ... not so great to ALSO accommodate your arthritic guest. Note, too, that your guest will have to walk out of the room /around a closet to reach the bathroom ... at the very least, move the closet towards the front of the house to position the guest closet to the bathroom. How deep is that pantry closet? It's probably 18-24", whereas a shower needs to be at least 30" deep. - What I would do with these three public gathering spaces: Make the living room into a living room /office /bedroom /divide it off with doors on both sides /use it as the "away space". Keep the family room "as is". Lose the current office /bedroom ... and, instead, use that space for a larger bathroom /mudroom /definitely keep the pantry. - Consider built-ins on each side of the fireplace ... you need storage in the family room. - No, no, no to the winder steps ... these pie shaped steps are dangerous. Instead, go with a solid, square landing. - Consider your backyard access. You have one door, which will be hard to reach because the breakfast table will sit smack-dab in front of it. - The mudroom is small but adequate ... though, being in the the middle of the house, it will be a dark /uninviting welcome home. - What size is the garage? Most people here will say that 24x24 is a good size. Straighten out the family room and the garage so the roofline and the side wall will be simple /economical. Upstairs ... - I like that you have the laundry positioned near the bedrooms. So many saved steps. - The kids' bedrooms are fairly large, but their closets are minimal. - All of the bedrooms should have windows on the sides ... natural light from two directions improves every room. - The poor kid in Bedroom 3 will hear the washer /dryer going thump-thump-thump and the shower running. Ideally you'd place closets between the kids' bedrooms as a sound barrier. Note that the kid in Bedroom 3 will knock the bedroom door against the closet door /will ruin both doors. - Divided bathrooms don't really work out so well. With two bedrooms, I'm assuming you have two kids ... two can certainly share one bathroom. I'd lose the duplicate sinks ... drawer storage near the sink is vastly superior to multiple sinks. - Why such a large master bedroom? - Double doors leading into bedrooms don't work out so well. Consider that you need two hands to open the doors ... and consider where your light switches will be (hint, behind the door).