Continuing The Tour- 1875 Victorian

Okay, where were we? Oh yes! We were just about to go upstairs. Here we go!


Check out the detail on these banisters! They look hand-carved. Do you see the fluer-de-leis? Hopefully I spelled that right!

Darn blurry camera! Once you reach the top of the stairs you can go right to the front two bedrooms...............

Or left to the upstairs bath or straight to the back bedroom..................

Let's go left first.

Wow. Double sinks and a huge vanity. Me likey. Now, we were told that this used to be the servants quarters way back when and the downstairs 1/2 bath is directly below this. That is why we are assuming the downstairs bath was originally the secondary staircase.

The bathroom is a great size. Unfortunately it doesn't "go" with the house. That could all be changed though!

Next up is the back bedroom. I love the pitched ceilings in here and the little door.

You see Marc rubbing his head? Uh huh. He is literally getting a headache. I am assuming it had something to do with the size of the house and all of the things I said I would want to do. If he weren't holding Cali I am sure his other hand would be on his wallet!!

Isn't this the cutest little door? It leads to the roof over the back room downstairs. It used to be a roof deck but the railing is no longer there. So no going out there today!

Next up is the front room where the turret is! You walk into a main section....

And then off to your left is the turret section- again- rounded!

This room is fit for a princess! Or two Princesses I should say! I could see our girls sharing this room with no problem.

Now we go across the hall to the third bedroom which is also at the front of the house....

I love the window area. I can see a small window seat there- perfect for reading books and daydreaming! What did you find Kyle?

Oh my! This is fantastic! A little hallway off the back of the room leads you to a doorway and another small room (probably 6x8) where these beautiful built-ins are.............

The storage in this house amazes me!

Now, what's behind that door to our right??

A staircase to the attic! By now my husband is on overload and says "It just KEEPS GOING!" He knows he would be very busy in this house.

Another 932 square feet of unfinished possibilities!! Eeeek! Is that a ghost?!?!?

Phew! Just Bella and my crappy camera again!

We are ready to go back downstairs now. Let's look at some of the detail as we head back down.

The trim in this home is fantastic. I know you probably can't tell the scale in these pictures but it is impressive.............

The stair railing and banisters make my heart skip a beat. They make Marc's almost stop completely because they are so low!!

The door knobs themselves are a work of art...........

I don't know if you can see this but there is more carving on this piece as well....

The front door is so beautiful. Is is solid, thick, and so so very heavy!

Now we are outside again. Here you see the back of the house. The little door off to your left is the one in the back bedroom. The two windows go into the bathroom.............

There are a couple of things about this lot that concern me- but are by no means deal breakers. First- the view from the front of the house.................

It is facing the town center. Business. Car lot, Post Office, Bank, McDonald's and a gas station...

The house does sit on a hill above this stuff but.............hmmm.

But what's more is.......... You see this cute little garage? It has a large room attached that would be perfect for my small daycare I would like to have.

No. The garage isn't the problem. It's what is behind the garage. Behind the lot. You see that little grey spot thru the clearing in the trees? About an inch to the left of the downspout?

No? Well, let's walk around the neighbors house for a better view.............

Yeah. It's a cemetery. You can't even see it when the leaves are on the trees. In fact, I didn't even know it was there until the neighbor told us. It is a historic cemetery with graves dating back to 1804. It is well cared for and highly watched. But still. Would that bother you to have a cemetery in your back yard? It creeps Marc out. Me- just a little. Not to sound terrible or disrespectful, but you would have quiet neighbors.

So, there you have the house. It is dreamy. I want it. I want it bad! I can see all of the potential. To be quite honest the house is in great shape. Especially considering the age. Marc and I were both amazed at how little the house had been changed in the last 134 years. This house has obviously seen many caring families over the years.

The village that this house is in is in the country compared to where we live now. You often have to follow tractors and combines on the main road that leads you to this charming historic town. The drive is a big concern for Marc- and for me honestly. It is a half hour from his job which means AT LEAST an hour in the winter because of the roads. It would be 35-40 minutes from our doctors in good weather. It is going to take some serious consideration before making any sort of decision. I do, after all, have to be realistic.

Tomorrow I will take you on a drive through this cute little village so you can see even more of why I am so in love with this place.

Until then...

~Heather:)

32 Rocks

Yesterday was my birthday. I turned 32. Although I almost forgot it was my birthday it turned out pretty good. Marc called me from work and asked "What do you want to do for your birthday?"
"Well, remember that little town we drove through last Saturday?" Me
"Yes." Marc
"I want to go back and go through that house!" Me
"Seriously?" Marc
"Seriously." Me
"That is what you want to do for your birthday? You want to break into a house?" Marc
"Uh huh." Me
"Okay- it's your day!" Marc

Now we weren't really breaking in. I called our Realtor. It's just an inside joke. Kind of. So, after Marc got off of work we loaded the kids in the car and took a drive. When we arrived my heart starting racing so fast I thought it was going to come out of my chest. She was even more remarkable than she was the first time we saw her.


This 1875 Victorian sits proudly up on a small hill overlooking the town center. Just to give you an idea just how massive this Grand 'Ol Gal is- in the picture below in the far right you will see our van. This house is crazy big! All three stories of her.

Okay, let's go back around to the front again. Isn't she stunning?!?!

Unfortunately, as you can see, the windows have been replaced. Good for efficiency- bad for character. I'm wondering if any of the original windows has stain glass? Hmmmm

Well, let's go up on the porch, shall we?

The warm sun is low in the sky. The rays are shining through the trees and casting a thousand tiny crystals across the face of the house. There is a scent of Jasmine in the air and you can hear the birds chirping in the trees.

Let's ring the doorbell...........

Hmmm...no answer. Well, we'll just go on in anyway..........

And I thought my heart was racing fast before! I walked in and saw this foyer and my chest literally hurt, tears filled my eyes...........I was in disbelief. I have wanted an old home since I was probably 12 years old. Whenever I saw it in my dreams, this is the foyer I saw.

You can go straight through a wide hallway to the kitchen. Turn right into the living room...

Or turn left into a small living room/parlor............

We'll go left first.......

A fireplace. The wall clear around the fireplace showed signs of heavy plaster patching. I am wondering if there was some ornate mantle there at one time.

The window on the front of the house is new, but the one on the side is original.....

The house has fantastic natural light in every. single. room.

Now, let's go back into the foyer and check out the living room now. Are you ready for this?....

Rounded baseboards equals..............

ROUNDED ROOM!!!!!!!!!!!!! This picture does not do it justice. The sun was so bright and I was having such a hard time with my camera. The ceilings in this house are 10 feet high- 1st and 2nd floor. The windows are massive and there are lots of them. Makes taking pictures difficult.

And what is this I see???

Oh Yes! My friends.................we have pocket doors!!! 4 on the first floor and they all work perfectly.................other than being IN-CRED-IBLY heavy.

And yet another fireplace with a weird little mantle. Very pretty just the same.

It has these cute little grates in it...............

And all the accessories..............

Next up is the dining room............

Now you know I HAD to find a loose corner and yank up the carpet to see what was underneath! The floors appear to be in good shape!

Get a load of those baseboards! Kyle looks teeny in this picture.

To put this into perspective I put my foot up in front of the baseboards. Yes, I sat on the floor of a foreclosed home. In all of it's 1970's brown sculptured carpeting glory. Gross, I know. I took one for the team........I sacraficed for my blog. It had to be done. I wear a size 8 to 8 1/2. When I got home I measured..............10 inch baseboards!

But that isn't the best part.............

OH! The window seat surrounded by built-in china cabinets on either side! They fit flush with the wall because of the bump-out on the side of the house. Can I tell you how many times my heart stopped and how many times I squealed while going through this house!?!?!?

Now, behind the kitchen is this very strange half bath. An old stairway perhaps??

And then we have the very modest but still extremely adorable kitchen......

With bead board on the walls.............

Cabinets that were built-in and painted a cute blue and white.........

Original window above the sink allows a lot of light! Off the kitchen is another pass through room that takes you to the bathroom, dining room.............

And this very large room in the rear of the house.............

It has several huge picture windows, double french doors, and this fun window leading into the mud room..............

The kids entertained themselves here for quite awhile playing McDonald's Drive-thru!!

The mud room/laundry room isn't anything spectacular but it is spectacular to have a first floor laundry room in a house this age...............

It could be a fun little space to decorate. Black and white checkerboard floor, pale yellow walls...

Headed back into the kitchen from the mud room- a dutch door! How AHHH-DORABLE is that??

Next we go upstairs.............

But you will have to wait until next time. Sorry. This house is just too big to tour it all in one post! Tomorrow we will go upstairs. And Friday I think we should take a drive through this historic little town. I will even tell you about the famous people who have lived here and a little more history on the Village. Does that sound good? Go charge your cameras..............there's lots to see! As for me, I have to try again to reach the Historical Society............I want to know who built this Gorgeous Gal!

Until Tomorrow!

~Heather:)