This is my old house. The house is from year 1777. I have had the house since 2007 and have continuously renovated it according to the old construction method.
The house is 28 meter long 😁 so it"s is a long house.. 😁 On this picture i just got my roof Renovated. The house is located in Denmark
This is my house built in 1831 in upstate New York. I purchased the house in 1974. At that time, two elderly ladies lived in the house. There was no heating system. They stayed warm with an antique wood burning stove and a small oil burning stove. Only part of the house was heated. There was one indoor toilet and one sink with cold water only, fed from a 28’ deep hand dug well which still provides us with excellent water to this day. There was a 60 amp electrical service with just a few working receptacles (and the water pump.)
The house is constructed from saw cut field stone blocks of various sizes but laid in symmetrical pattern, left of the center hall to right. The stone was all set with no mortar but the precision in the block cuts is amazing. The blocks range in size from 18” square to 2 to 3 feet in size. The main walls are 18” thick and have a 4” space in the center which was filled with 19th century insulation (straw, corn cobs etc.) the basement walls are 36” thick at base up to 24” thick at first floor sill. The original kitchen was in the basement and the Dutch oven and fireplace still remains. All of the stone was covered with a paste of “New York Sandstone” as one Geologist called it.
All the work in the house including the heating system and electrical plus the insulation, wall resurface, painting, plumbing etc. was done by me (and my father and father-in-law in the early days) including the 1985 addition of 800+ sq. Ft. In the almost 50 years I’ve been involved with the house, I have never seen similar construction in any house.
Now the most amazing part of the story: when I first bought the house, one of my neighbors came down to introduce himself. He then told me that the house was a stop on the Underground Railroad. I remember my comment to him as I scoffed, “oh every old house is claimed to be part of the u.r. I didn’t believe it but he continued to say that there was allegedly an underground tunnel leading from the basement. Incidentally, years later, an elderly school teacher that was related to another neighbor, claimed that it was indeed part of the u.r.
In 1985 when we were digging the foundation for the addition, we found a tunnel leading from the house going toward an old stone fence about 100+ feet from the house. There had been a “bilco” style door going into the basement, long ago filled in with stone. Leading down to the door was a set of stone steps going up to ground level. There was a removable panel, still intact, on the side of the steps. Leading away from the house were two stone walls about 4 to 5 feet high and about 4’ apart. Presumably they had a ceiling over them. The tunnel had long before been filled in. If those walls could talk!
Years later, my son discovered that a well known abolitionist in this area, was the cousin of the home owners wife.
I’ll never know the real story here but most of the pieces fit.
My 1860’s home does not have an ensuite bathroom. This bathroom is nestled inbetween 2 identical master bedrooms (back then the husband & wife had separate rooms, smart people! Lol )
I have to say I absolutely love “not” having the bathroom attached to the bedroom.
I’m not sure when the trend began of the ensuite bathrooms, but keeping the bedroom separate from the noises & smells is my preference. Especially when you have opposite work schedules from your spouse. Am I alone?
Can’t afford pretty wall paper so I made a feature wall in our 100 year old home using one of my thrifted vintage botanical books of wild flowers from all over the world 🌺 📕 🌹. And just incase I didn’t like it, I’ve used a Glue stick 😂. Not everyone’s style but it brings me joy. 🇦🇺. Update - the book I used is “Wildflowers of the world, paintings by world leading British botanical artist Barbara Everard” 💐
I found this 400 year old window in our hall
My husband and I are finally moving into our 1843 stone house. The house was built by Quakers and was part of the Underground Railroad. She"s on a beautiful equestrian farm. I can"t wait to move in and start researching her history. It"s a small house with a small living room, kitchen, one bedroom, and one bathroom. And then there is the loft! I love it! I want the loft to be a refuge for anyone needing a respite from the outside world. It will have a linen hammock, a music center, a meditation area, and an area for many to gather. I welcome your ideas to make this a safe, peaceful place.
This picture shows forced prospective. The room is approx. 20"x20".
