That is a fantastic house--I can't see why you would hesitate, unless you plan on changing a lot of those great features! I'd wager the rot in the soffits is a relatively easy fix, and the 'rafters' are also easy as they are most likely decorative bracketing. The only thing I would do to the interior is make the kitchen more period with proper craftsman cabinets. You will likely want a newer, more efficient furnace; are you sure there are no upstairs heat registers? Cold air returns are separate (my house has two, a huge one in the dining room, and smaller in the downstairs hall). The 1890s house I missed out on, had no heating ducts to the upstairs, only grilles set into the floors to allow the heat from its downstairs vents to rise. When I had seen the house in early December, it was nice and warm--it had one of those 'octopus' furnaces too. Wish I could afford to move to Seattle!

Good luck with the move. I can see why you are excited. If you are going to be seeing the previous owners, I would ask about what is under the tile floor or any other questions that you will need to know when you start to do things. They might be able to save you hours of guessing and wondering. I look forward to seeing larger photos. Get your digital camera batteries charged before Friday.

A chair (or two) with an ottoman and a table would be great, especially if you are sometimes able to work while sitting in a chair with your coffee, tea (wine) on the table next to you. Is there any way to turn the desk so your back is not to the door and windows? That would bother me. It seems the shape of the desk fits the the way you have it but I wonder if you could turn and float it? If that worked then you also would be able to sit at the desk and talk with someone else in the new chair....I do see you don't have clients but I know my DH comes into my office and we chat. I don't work from home but bring work home and he sometimes comes in while I am finishing stuff up.

Debra, if this is your first home and you have a typical first time home buyers budget there is going to be a lot of compromise. Most of us don't get everything we want in our first home, and sometimes we never own our "dream home". The important thing is that being able to buy your first home puts you in the game. Try to find a home that is in a decent neighborhood that has good bones and won't need a ton of updates to be comfortable. The kitchen may have wood cabinets and you may prefer white, but more important - are there enough cabinets to hold your dishes and are they in decent shape. You can live with wood, but you can't live with cabinets that are falling off the walls or have shelves that bow in the middle. Making sure the home has been maintained and the roof, HVAC, plumbing, foundation, windows and doors are in good shape is important. You can improve the colors and make things pretty, but as long as it functions well that can come in time. Find your home, move in, live there for a year, figure out how your budget is working with the added expense of home ownership. Keep a journal of the things that work and don't work for how you live. Plan a renovation budget and tackle the biggest pain points first. This is a marathon and you have many years to accomplish you goals.