Here's my house, again

[Midwesterner]

Hi, all. I posted a few pictures of my house over on OHW, but now that I've finally figured out how to post photos here, here I am again. My house was built by my ancestors in 1878 and has been in the family ever since. Now it's my turn.

I have photos all the way back — will see if I can dig one up. My house reminds me of Gothichome's house — it seems to have the same layout and basic theory.

The house is on a bit of land in the rural Midwest, with a barn, a woods and a pond. Not much has been changed — it has the original furniture and didn't have electricity or plumbing until 1947. The basics are solid but there is a ton of stuff to do, and as fast as I do it, new things pop up. Among the projects are: I want to put the original shutters back on — they are in a pile in the barn — but that means a lot of stripping of peeling lead paint. I want to put the front porch back on; it was ripped off in 1947. I need to paint and stabilize the barn. The house interior is beginning to peel in places and needs repainting from top to bottom. Air conditioning would be good. The kitchen needs new countertops because the old tile ones are all broken and decrepit.

What I have done: had one chimney lined and rebuilt (two to go); repaired and painted the eaves, soffits, and windowsills (a huge job); ripped out a lot of tired wall-to-wall carpet; re-enameled the bathtub; replaced a lot of falling-apart lamps; plumbed and installed a washer and dryer; painted the porch floor; installed modern locks; painted the radiators; replaced the water heater; fixed the cupola on the barn; had a mason deal with a problem with the foundation. Plus the million little things that came up along the way.

I've already learned a lot from you all, and look forward to learning more and seeing all your fine old houses.

[JacquieJet]

Oh my goodness! Welcome! How lucky to have a home with such a connection to your family for generations- what a gem! I can't wait to see and hear more about it!!

[Mick_VT]

Hey Midwesterner, welcome to the District!

Beautiful house you have there!

[SkipW]

Wow, how cool would it be to have a family home that dates to 1878. Welcome and please, please, please post photos of the house and out buildings and land if you have them. I so wish I had the family home you have the fortune to inhabit for this period in it's life.

[Midwesterner]

Here are a few more pics — the pond, the house as seen from the back (it has an original wooden extension) with barn, and the staircase at Christmas. You will see that the paint has worn off the barn — that's up near the top of my enormous project list.

[Sow's Ear Mal]

Beautiful!

[Vala]

Wow what a cool home and story. Glad its still in the family! Thats a very special feeling Im sure!

[Gothichome]

Midwesterner, I remember your home. It does have a lot of things in common with our home. Take that bay away and give it a Gothic roof pitch, it could sit right beside Gothichome and look like the same duilder. That pond sure looks like a mosquito farm. The pic from the barn side looks like it could be from a country living cover.

[Midwesterner]

The pond is not too bad with mosquitoes because there are a lot of things in the pond (and in the air) that eat mosquitoes, I'm happy to say!

[Chevygirlalways]

Welcome Midwesterner, Beautiful home in the perfect setting .


Susan