Wednesday, January 26, 2011

A Touch of the Past

Mr. Ella and I decided to celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary by buying an old house. We tell our friends we are building an old house. A nice mix of the old and the new. What a perfect description of all the homes we have lived in over our marriage life. We have had 20 addresses during these years, and no we are not in the military! We started in an apartment, then to a duplex and our first leap to buy a house built in the 1920's - all in the first year... You get the idea.
We have had our share of old houses and brand new houses.
I want to invite you all to join us in our upcoming adventure as we take this home over a hundred years old and bring it back to the splendor it deserves.
The home pictured above is not it, but is the same style and period of the home we have fallen in love with.

The style we know fits the look and feel of our decorating dream is what I am calling Romantic Prairie. A combination of rustic and simplicity.

Right now it is a little more rustic than anything else, but we can see the beauty waiting to be revealed.

The front of the house will be restored to what the builder and architect have found to be the closest to what it probably looked like when it was built around 1890.


Gingerbread fretwork and a porch railing will help with the restoration of the front.

Some may call us crazy.

I know one thing for sure, it won't be boring!

There are a few more photos found at
The British Builder.com

17 comments:

  1. Crazy? Maybe, but you'll be living the dream so many of us have. How exciting!!

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  2. That is so exciting !!
    I cannot wait to see
    pictures of your journey ~

    xoxo
    Lori

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  3. Nancy, I am so super excited for you. I can't wait to see it again once it's been restored. Your vision is just so awesome as I know the house will be. Congrats to you and Mr. Ella!!

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  4. It will be so much fun to watch your progress - would love to be brave enough to do this, myself!

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  5. It's adorable! It'll be fun living vicariously through you, watching the progress.

    Wanda @ Just Vintage
    http://shopjustvintage.com/blog

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  6. Oh my goodness! I know it will be grand and I can't wait to see the progress! Love ya!

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  7. Nancy!!!! THAT IS AMAZING and you are soooo blessed. HOW FUN and EXCITING and cannot wait to see the progress.
    Thanks for sharing the wonderful news.
    Amy (Mom to the Four Sisters)

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  8. Well...if I wasn't reading you before (and I was)...I am now....this is my *passion*...I love fixing up old houses and the dreaming that goes on with it...my honey and my happiest days have been spent doing just that...happy dreaming!
    Rene'

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  9. Congratulations! It's a fantastic house and thanks for taking us along on the journey. p.s. love your blog header!

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  10. I'm excited to watch y'all on this great adventure. What a lovely old home. Being from McKinney, I'm trying to remember it, but the old brain cells just aren't what they used to be. BTW...where is that first home. It looks similar to the one my great-aunt owned.
    Debbie

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  11. Can't wait to follow along on this exciting journey - hope you'll post on your progress often!

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  12. A truly amazing old house! What an awesome adventure you and your hubby are embarking on! I am so excited that we get to come along for the ride. I will live out my dream through you for now!

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  13. What an exciting adventure to go on! Thanks for taking us along and I can't wait to see more!

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  14. Nancy,
    This news is thrilling! Since I am a regular reader, and I live in an historic home just a few blocks away from your new love, it will be so exciting to watch the transformation week by week ... month by month! What kind of time frame are you projecting at this point? I know that your vision and creativity will result in an amazing beauty! Thank you for choosing to restore more of our beautiful McKinney! It's because of the dedication and vision of folks like you that my husband and I fell in love with McKinney the first time we drove through town!
    Looking forward!
    Cindy
    Cindy Jane's Attic

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  15. How romantic! I am picturing a scene in "It's a Wonderful Life" where the guy says "that's going to be our house someday".

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  16. Wow, what a journey you've begun. The house looks wonderful! Can't wait to see more as you progress. BTW, I saw your blog mentioned on Teresa's blog about shopping in McKinney.
    marcie

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  17. Crazy...never!
    I applaud you both!
    This is going to be a fun and wild ride but so many memories will be printed on your heart!

    I would love to come and help!
    Hubby and I restored and 1856 victorian farmhouse and now we are restoring and 1872 victorian!
    Its a labor of love!

    Smiles, Dolly

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