Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
There is wood under the trim. They painted everything and originally they covered all the hardwood with carpet. I plan to get that paint off all the trim. (its the same wood as the mantel)
I do have a basement and I did not think to look at the flooring under. Will do that next time we go.
We planned to paint the porch white and secure a railing. 14ft tumble down the steps if not.
The front is a mystery. Its a light purple fake stone plastic-y siding of some sort that was suppose to match the real grey stone on the side of the house. The front of the house has about 4 different colors. Light purple fake stone, brown siding, white accents/trim, blue accents, red door. Im not sure what is under it or why they didnt continue the siding there? Its all the way around the rest of the house.
An easy experiment to try right away is removing the sliding doors between the living and dining rooms and see if yu like the openness. Save the doors though, in case you don't.
Love your house. I bet you could make the yard a tiny garden showplace using "old" types of flowers: hollyhocks, peonies, etc.
Strange little doors give you a teensy bit of storage space (Christmas decorations? Luggage?)
I think less is more when it comes to furnishing.
There is wood under the trim. They painted everything and originally they covered all the hardwood with carpet. I plan to get that paint off all the trim. (its the same wood as the mantel)
I was curious about your plans to strip the trim so I consulted with my professional construction guy (he's awesome). He said your trim isn't the kind of hand crafted trim that would warrant that kind of intense labor. Once you get the paint stripped you'll find you have paint grade trim. Stain grade trim is expensive, if you want wood trim, but you won't have stain grade once you strip it.
The tile on the floor inside the small storage area is asbestos (9 inch tiles).
He was surprised when I told him 1920's. He would have guessed later.
Ugh painted wood work. I hate that. I would strip every inch of it. That time frame usually has beautiful old oak wood work. Your front porch needs some color but don't paint that block with anything but Thorough Coat paint. I spent two summers stripping our block with stripper and a power washers from years of paint that was the wrong kind. My husband just finished putting the pocket door back where it belonged between the bedroom and our dining room. It looks fantastic. I would restore the house as close as possible to the original finishes. Benjamin Moore has a historic collection of paints and the bedroom with the pocket door looks just stunning. Do you have the original light fixtures? The kitchen needs to be gutted and sub way tiles need to be put in place instead of the square ones. Those were what was available back then. We've been restoring our house for 20+ years now and it's been an adventure and a labor of love. Please don't turn it into a modern nightmare. These old houses need to be respected for what they are, not some one's vision of modern living.
Is it possible that the original pocket doors are still hiding in the walls, where the sliding doors are now? A lot of times, they would stop working properly, and people would just leave them in place--inside the walls--and cover the opening, because they didn't know how to fix them.
In the kitchen, there are probably wood floors under various layers of linoleum, and vinyl tile. I think it's unlikely that they would have been originally finished, (probably had linoleum since new) but probably can be finished to be very nice, after taking up additional layers.
If you'd prefer some old-house character, instead of perfect new-looking floors, you might consider screening, instead of completely re-sanding. Your floors look like they have been refinished before, and wood floors can only be sanded so many times before they have to be replaced.
I agree with others who said that your woodwork looks original. And, if it is original, it was probably not painted, when new.
The fake stone on your front porch was probably added to modernize the look of the house in the 50s or 60s. The gray on the sides is molded concrete block, and is original. There is (or was) more detail under the vinyl siding, but it's hard to say how much of the original detail is intact, after years of being covered by other layers of siding.
Here is an example of what I mean by detail under the siding: https://www.google.com/maps/@41.1010...kB8Q1oBeRQ!2e0
The house on the right still has the original wood trim exposed. (even though the siding has been changed) The house on the left was aluminum sided later, and all of the original trim (around the windows, for example) was covered, like your house. But, these two houses probably looked like twins, when new.
Last edited by JR_C; 06-08-2014 at 11:21 AM..
Reason: Clarifications
Like many have said that the floors need some TLC. Your best bet would be to hire a floor person. They can sand them & then polyurethane them. Do that BEFORE you move any furniture in. With a couple of coats of polyurethane, your floors should be good to go for many, many years.
Just from the pic, if it were my house, I would have the kitchen gutted and start from scratch. Since it is a small kitchen, you need to do some created designing to give you the maximum usable space as possible. A little hint, if you replace the cabinets, insure the new ones go all the way to the ceiling-that way you have maximum storage space. Personally, I don't like the tile on the walls & on the counters. I know some people like that and if you do, than ignore what I say.
I would also get rid of the wallpaper.
Overall, it is a cute house and it does have a lot of potential.
Cat
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
