While we love our current little house, we have been looking for the right home for our (larger than we were originally expecting!) family for years. These photos were taken at a house we visited this week. There was quite a bit to see: from fabulous wallpaper and a phone booth under the back stairs, to a smoke house, and bamboo gone wild.
I’ll keep you posted.
p.s. there will be another giveaway this weekend!
This one had me at the ‘phone booth’!! Lovely old home–just waiting for kids and some love.
You found my dream house!
How exciting for you guys!! I hope you can get that house. It looks perfect from here!
We’ll probably never move but houses in general are one of my very favorite things. This is just the sort of house I love. Wonderful potential!
Oh Ginny, that house is beautiful. It looks like GREAT house to play hide and go seek. Best of luck in your search.
Looking for a house is both exciting and obnoxious. We were kind of looking but when we found one we liked, we knew……and we put an offer in and got it. But we also have a significantly smaller family than you and we’re living in a completely different part of the country.
I do love the house, particularly the kitchen. It kind of reminds me of the kitchen we had when I was small (metal cabinets from the 50s and the flooring). Those are so hard to find now…
Ohh I’m so excited for you!!! That looked just gorgeous. We live in an 1880 rather large Victorian, and, thought there’s always something to do, I love this house with my whole heart, and fall in love with it more each year.
I hope you find something that makes you that happy.
These places look great.
oh, my! that kitchen! that phone booth! those tiles! aack!
good luck:o)
Dear Ginny, At the risk of offending, (and loving good ol’ character homes myself), I have to say I just love the feel of your home you own right now. The cozy country charm, the family feel, and not to mention that fabulous new porch. We are fixer-uppers here and renovated our own home from scratch, really, six years ago and my question is…isn’t there a way to add on to your existing home? Those woods and trees and walks…sigh…I’m a nostalgic kinda girl, I guess. I do wish you find exactly what you need, however. Good luck!
xo Jules
No offense taken! We love the feel of our house too, but it has become a bit of a love/hate situation. We’ve discussed adding on, and it’s a possibility–but, we don’t own those trees, those woods, etc. None of that is our property here. If we want to realize some of our dreams, we need more land. So it’s not just that the house is too small….and then of course there is complicated family stuff that comes into play–things that I can’t talk about here. Bottom line, we need more space. We’re just praying that God paves the way for us. We want to be where He wants us to be– and we’re not sure where that is yet!
No matter how much you like your starter home, “cozy” gets a little strained as the family grows. It’s like having too many animals in the same cage. I know from dealing with chickens that there is an optimal square footage per hen to make them happy and healthy. Children aren’t animals but they have bodies and bodily needs. The kids don’t mind being on top of another when they are small, but as they get older they want more privacy (especially girls) and private places to think. It’s also very hard for a high school student to do algebra in a noisy pre-school setting. And if you have a husband who works at home (who occasionally needs phone conversations without kid noise in the background) that complicates things. And eventually as the aging kids start to be sensitive and notice adult things, sharing rooms and marital intimacy gets even trickier. We started with a 1,000 sqft house on a town lot with 5 kids. When I was pregnant with our 6th we moved to a larger home on 5 acres. It was the best thing that happened for our family happiness and sanity.
There is great jealousy here 🙂 be still my heart and rest! Hoping all works out for you. (One of my 5 year old twins says “oh my friends! I remember them! Is that their house? I can’t wait to go see them there” 🙂
Beautiful old house….LOVE.
That house had so much character. I’m pregnant with our 1st child and my husband and I are desperately searching for our 1st home too! We currently rent. Oh what I’d give to live farther away from the city, but my husband wouldn’t have it and I can’t blame him. He’s terrified of having a long commute that keeps him away for longer than necessary. Hopefully we find a happy middle ground. Good luck with your search!
Ooooh! That house looks great!
This is such exciting news!!! The home here looks exactly like one we considered before we bought the home we are in. I kick myself everyday for not buying it- it was so beautiful. The staircase, the heart pine floors, picture molding…. Ahhhhhh, to raise a family in such a home. Have fun and be sure to keep us posted!!! xoxo
The floors in that room with the big windows–how would you ever leave that room!?
Oh that is my kind of house! Can I move in? Love wallpaper like that too…I don’t think there would be too much I would change!
Oh my goodness! I would snap this one up in a heartbeat! The oldest house where we live is probably 60 years old and there is absolutely nothing with that sort of character. The stairs, the high ceilings, the nooks, the bookshelves – I love it!
What a wonderful staircase. I love the rug on it and the wallpaper on the wall by it. I also love that little nook with the painting or wallpaper next to it. That would be a perfect space for a kid to do homework. Wishing you luck in the hunt for a new house…whether it is that one or another. Good Luck.
that was all one house how many fire places did it have? how very cool.
I just have to say wow. It must be something living in an area that old! We’ve been living in and restoring one of the oldest in our area, a spacious 19-teens home. This one reminds me of ours, with the lack of updates. Ours was last updated in the 50’s, then we’ve spent the last 13.5 years at it, peeling wallpaper, painting, fixing plaster and lathe walls, updating knob and tube wiring. It’s all about good bones! Gorgeous.
That house is AWESOME!! I love old houses- the charm, the unique features. Just wish I had the guts to actually live in one amidst the things I’d want to change. Blessings in your search for a new home here on earth 🙂
Oh my goodness – you need to buy that house. Otherwise I might have to move down there & buy it myself! xo
Oh my goodness, that house is gorgeous! I love all the vintage wall paper, so beautiful! That looks like a place for your family, for sure!
Buy it! So we can all “live” in it too.
I could only imagine that two old spinster sisters used to live in that house and fought so much as they were cooking that they decided to add a whole other kitchen facing the original and so now you have two identical kitchens in one space. I’m going to pretend that’s the story. 😉
Wow, the house seems lovely (and large!) I hope you find something suitable. We’ve been looking for houses for more than an year and still no luck…
It’s gorgeous and you could do so much to it! I love it… If we didn’t live in Canada I would try to put an offer in before you guys did 😉
Good luck with house hunting. I’m sure you will end up exactly where you are meant to be.
We are in the midst of fixing up ours after buying it 6 months ago. I love old houses but hate fixing everyone else’s mistakes. We looked forever… when you find the right one you will know it. The hard part is not settling!
Oh what a fun house. Good luck with your house hunting.
The picture beneath the one of Lark on the stairs—my dad’s parents had that same “mural” wallpaper in their dining room! I always loved it when I was a little girl. Nothing reminds me of them more strongly than that wallpaper. 🙂
Love this cool, big ol’ house!
Wait, is that the phone booth? Oh, so awesome.
yes!
back to say… those windows to the floor!!!! the curved banister of the staircase!! two sinks and that fabulous oven? wow!!!
oh, ginny!!! you and molly (mommycoddle: http://www.mommycoddle.com/2013/01/the-long-way-home.html ) are renewing my love for old house restoration!!! such fabulous potential!! i love the first time walking through spaces like this… imagining those who were there before you and imagining yourself there…. how it would work for your family, what potential is there, what you might change. there is such history and beauty in these old spaces. this one is magnificent….!!! can’t wait to hear more (and if you don’t buy it…..!!!)
I adore old houses…I don’t adore all the work they bring, but hey… 😉 The fireplaces probably would have sold me! 😛
It really is beautiful! Hope you find the perfect home for your family!
That kitchen is the stuff dreams are made of. yum. Good luck with your search, wherever it leads!
Oh what an awesome house! I don’t think I would change a thing! Well, not much anyway. LOVE that kitchen and the pink bathroom!!
I’ve never seen back to back sinks like that! Crazy. I agree with Jenny…I could let the dishes sit even longer if I had TWO sinks. Hah. The detail in the house is really beautiful.
Those windows and that kitchen! Gosh it’s gorgeous!
Oh what a beautiful house! How fun it would be for you to make your own.
Oh my that kitchen! And those little details. Lovely!
Oh my!!! What a beauty! The things you could do there… I love it. If you guys don’t take it, I’ll have to try to convince the husband to move down to finally move to VA.
Oh I love the time and details that older homes carry in their bones.
That kitchen! With two sinks! I imagine how easy it would be to work in there with a big family. And then I see how easily we would fill 2 sinks with dishes and even more counter space to clutter, lol! Oh, life with a big family.
what a beautiful old home — i want a phone booth.
Now there’s a house with great bones. I hope it works out for you!
What a great house! I am constantly looking at real estate…but I am looking for a smaller house and more land 🙂 This one seems to have an amazing amount of character!
I LOVE the wallpaper!!!!!! When we lived in MI we bought a house with contact paper as wall paper in a bathroom that was not fun to remove. Fingers crossed and little prayers that this could be -THE- house!
That looks like a charming place – good luck in finding the right one.
I found you through PW and I have to say that I love your blog! Beautiful photos and words! Best of luck with the house hunting!!
That house looks awesome!
It looks charming! I love old houses 🙂