Bucking The Trend On Long Island, NY

[Olson185]

My early childhood was spent living in a 1890's folk Victorian farmhouse (razed in 1976), just like this one: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/395894623465722395/

Then we lived in this 1901 "gabled foursquare" (back when it looked much nicer).
https://gyazo.com/02d9052df79c253c563b46660bb1370f
Some say it's not a foursquare because of the roof; I say it's the interior arrangement that defines a foursquare; besides, "gabled foursquare" describes it best.

I don't own an old home now. I live on Long Island (LI), NY; there aren't a whole lot of old homes (especially on 0.5+ acre lots....under $1 million) from which to chose.

The house we bought 7.5 yrs. ago was originally a 20'x20', circa 1941 Cape home, on 9.5 acres, and consisted of a 10'x20' kitchen and a 10'x20' living room/bedroom. A year or two later a single story 15'x25' addition allowed for two bedrooms and a bathroom (we have an idea where the formerly necessary outhouse might have been). In the late 1960's, 9.0 acres were sold to a housing developer. In 1996, an ill-thought-out, ill-constructed mini-McMansion-like 725 sq. ft. addition (with 25' vaulted ceilings) was tacked-on to the rear; giving the home a muddled 1,500 sq.ft.

When we found it we were looking for the least improved fixer-upper in a nice area that could be transformed into something akin to an old home in aesthetics, design, and function. We started the project in 2011. I think the interior will be finished by the end of 2018 and the exterior finished by 2019.

I worked Summers, during my teen years and early 20's, on a crew that desecrated old single-family homes by turning them into apartments for absentee landlords. Then I "saw the light" and have spent periods of my adulthood helping to (interpretively) restore old homes (like Nicole Curtis of HGTV's "Rehab Addict" does). I also have helped in the faithful restoration of a few mid-19th C. structures (my part mostly concerning decoratively painted ceilings). Our current home is just the second project in which I was in charge and did a substantial amount of work on my own (but I'm older so it's going slower).

Architectural design is more of hobby than an occupation now (I won't design what most people on LI want) but I consult, from time to time, on "practical" renovations (just to help people get something that looks less like a McMansion). My "real" occupation concerns writing/editing and political economics.

I met my wife 13 yrs. ago via Match.com; while I was living in Rochester, NY and she on LI (but originally from Argentina). Our 11th wedding anniversary is later this month. For our honeymoon we backpacked Western Europe (via Eurail) and also visited her mother's family in Calabria, Italy. I mention this because I *still* can't believe she agreed to do it. I'm not surprised she ended up really enjoying it.

featured-pets-beau-and-lulu.jpg

In December 2015 we adopted two senior dogs ("Lulu" an 11 yr. old black Glen of Imaal terrier mix & "Beau" a 13 yr. old Golden Lab mix) from a rescue shelter (their previous owner died). Beau had advanced renal failure when we adopted him. We learned to give him his twice daily 500mL subcutaneous fluids and hand-fed him prescription diet dog food (he hated) flavoured-up with approved home-cooked vegetables). He died this past December. Lulu (his step-sister...they were raised together) acts half her 13 yrs. of age and is doing well (though, we can tell, she misses Beau, too).

I don't do electricity (it finds a path to me well enough without my help) and I'm weak in regards to replicating traditional paints, varnishes, and plaster/mortar. My strengths are structural framing, architectural investigations, determining how things were and should be (based on numerous past experiences "being bad to old homes"), and fixing muddlings.

When it comes to my attitude about old homes and their owners, I tend to follow the tenets of the Old House Journal Magazine. (I'd list 'em but it's late, I'm tar'd, and I jist ain't goin' ta bahth'r right now.)

[Lily left the valley]

Welcome, and nice to see you officially setting up stoop on this subforum, as it were.

Your home is actually older than the youngest I've seen posted here. ('72--easy to recall for me because it's the year of my birth) Even yours has passed the 75 year mark and that's nothing to sneeze at either. If I make it that long myself, I'll be quite content.

As you've probably noticed, folks here looooove pictures. So please feel free to share yours, and don't sell your home short just because she's not as old as many here. We're almost closed on a '35 bungalow, and although she may like to consider herself eighty-two years young, she'll always be an oldie but goodie to me.

[Wackyshack]

Welcome on board!!!

[TexasRed]

Welcome to the neighborhood Olson We look forward to hearing more about your home and ...of course, seeing pictures! IMO, It's not always the age of the house that really matters, it's the preservation mindset of the owner.

Your pups are adorable. Praises to you for adopting senior pets, they so often get passed over. Sorry to hear of Beau's passing. Despite the pain of losing him, the happy times you shared will forever be in your heart.

Congratulations on your upcoming anniversary!

[Olson185]

Thank you for the "Welcomes".

I've come to hesitate calling attention to my current home, on Old House forums, because of its nature. Unfortunately, there are no dedicated "New Old House" forums, or section of a Old House forum, where people like my wife and I can gather without being "corrected" by Old House owners. Besides, there seems to be so few nicely done New Old Houses, that would qualify as anything other than an ill-informed, modern version of an "old" house, to keep such a forum active.

I feel bad for people who proudly share their 1990's "victorian", only to see something which has almost no relationship to what Victorian homes looked like. Depending on where one draws the line on authenticity, one could think the same on our home (local building and zoning codes forced us to make changes that detracted from what was intended; as did our budget).

From my point of view, I saved a parcel of land from being developed into a McMansion or remain some muddled version of what passes for a traditional home here on Long Island. If there's any recognition that I did more than that, well, that's "bonus points".

[Olson185]

If anyone is interested: Our New Old House

[Neighmond]

It sure is a pretty home! You made it look right comfy in its nest. Give your puppy dogs snoot petting from iowa!

[Lily left the valley]

If anyone is interested: Our New Old House

I found lots of interesting bits and informaton in your blog, thank you for sharing that.

I'm still baffled by the height restrictions. From the photos, it doesn't seem like you'd be blocking a neighbor's view. I'm very glad you dug up your earlier concept drawings, and talked about that issue because a lot more made sense to me as to why you did what you did, given your overall knowledge base. My sympathies over what had to be let go.

Usually when I hear about height issues, it's about porch railing heights, and how the newer "safety conscious" requirements mess with the proportions of the ground level overall, especially in regards to the lowest line of the windows. This is the first time I've heard of a municipality wanting to keep anything shorter. The end result is a world of difference, and not entirely due to lost decorative details like the oriels.

I've been trying to think of perhaps some sort of storm related reason for them wanting that, given what happened to many homes during Hurricane Sandy. Yet I can't seem to think of anything that would be related, although I am not even a casual learner of structural issues regarding height, really.

The one thing that still sticks in my mind a bit is about the staircase placement. One thing that really irked me about the Carpenter Gothic we walked away from for other reasons is not only did it have the just inside the entry stair, but the only full bath was downstairs, and I wasn't thrilled at the idea of waltzing up and down the stairs in my bathrobe. Especially because the home was right across the street from City Hall. It was one of the reasons I was so desperate to find the ghost print of the old back stairs that had likely been removed when the mid century addition was built. I didn't find the ghost before we walked, but I was pretty sure if I'd had a a bit more time in a certain section, I'd find what I was looking for, as the placement was perfect for such.

I can totally understand, given what you did with your home, why even many average preservation minded folks would have gone bananas, and your reticence to share in a forum such as this given your past experiences.

JRC started a thread I think you might find of interest: Old house lovers vs. the world. We've talked quite a bit there about commercialism driving remuddles, but I can't recall off hand anyone bringing up the "all architects like modern style nowadays" notion you wrote about, and how that helps drive certain aspects of the market too. I think it would be a good point to bring up in the discussion.

I just re-read it a bit, as it's been quiet for a spell. We do trash talk a lot about open concepts in that thread.

[Gothichome]

Olson, may I commend you on your efforts to create a modern Queen Anne. On browsing you blog, you seem to have thought of every thing, realy like your study on the tower and the projection of the shadow it would cast in the different seasons. If I had an issue with modern Victorians I think it would be in the building codes. They force you conform to every other home. Like the loss of your extra hight, there was no reason is see that it would be condemned by the folks in the building department, it does take away from the Victorian proportions that original Victorians would have had. Another code compromise I noticed is the railing height. To meet code it becomes a bit too noticeable in the over all scheme. In my view it's these little things that detract from that quirkiness that I love in period Victorians. I look forward to the interior progress.

[Olson185]

... like your study on the tower and the projection of the shadow it would cast in the different seasons. If I had an issue with modern Victorians I think it would be in the building codes.

...Another code compromise I noticed is the railing height. To meet code it becomes a bit too noticeable in the over all scheme. In my view it's these little things that detract from that quirkiness that I love in period Victorians.

Actually, the plotting of the sun, through various seasons, was for planning the location of windows and interior doorways so that the rising and setting sun would provide natural light to its maximum extent. One of the arguments people make for open-floor plans is the natural lighting. I wanted to show that it could be provided despite having distinct rooms.

Most building codes require one to change the height of a railing, on an older home, if it is removed or significantly rebuilt during the course of restoration. This has become an issue for many restoration projects. In some areas, homeowners are also required to install a railing, from the porch to sidewalk, where none had previously existed. So, eventually, all old homes, subject to such a code, will lose that "quirkiness" unless they opt for a bar that brings the railing to a code-compliant height. We considered using a bar and chose not to use it....at least for now. I'm hoping the railing height won't be so noticeable once the "house jewelry" is applied.