And hence begins another project. I just can't seem to have enough. Today my husband and I became first time homeowners. And no, we did not buy your typical starter home. Our starter home is a 2,300 square foot 239 year old two and a half story house on 1.14 acres with a garage and two sheds. We like to be different.
We have friends and family spread out all over the country, as well as in other countries, so this blog is our way to spread our progress, setbacks, discoveries and (hopefully) finished results along the way. I also hope that it helps other historic home owners when researching and restoring their own houses.
We are both trained in house design and construction, but of course, there's only so much you can learn in school and in an office... so we are anything but experts. But it does help to have a little bit of a background when tearing down walls.
So here goes everything... Wish us luck!
I am enjoying reading your blog here. I found it googling house restoration because I hope to close on a colonial built in 1800 this month and I am trying to keep myself convinced that restoration is possible. (It needs soooo much work) I might blog about it too because I'd appreciate and comments, suggestions/input because I have no training in house design and construction, just memories of my parents who did the interior of their home themselves (and I helped). I wondered if your home is a historic home on the national or state registry? I wondered if you had any experiences with those agencies.
ReplyDeleteHi Karen,
ReplyDeleteSo glad you're enjoying my blog! Feel free to ask any questions you'd like... I'd be happy to help!
Good luck with your house! I'd love to see a picture!
Our house isn't on any registry, which we are thrilled about. The good thing about being on a registry is that there are opportunities for grants and loans to fix up the house, however, every little thing you do to the house has to be scrutinized and approved by a committee first. They are obviously there for good reasons (so the original look and feel of the house aren't changed significantly and/or ruined), but it can be tough and frustrating at times. Since our house isn't on a registry or even in an official historical district, we don't have any personal experiences with this... just internet and town research when we were buying another house (deal ended up falling through for other reasons).