(L to R) Circa 1900, 2001, 2005, 2006, 2006 Dan Bob Thompson Drawing
Built in 1888, our house is a Stick Style Victorian. We didn’t know that when we bought it (or for that matter very much about renovating an old home).
Back in 2000 when we were looking for a house, we weren’t sure what we were going to find. We were living in a small one bedroom apartment in Center City at the time. We needed to find a place closer to where my husband was working and thought it would be nice to find a house in an old established neighborhood in the suburbs. We spent a good bit of time looking online and having a realtor take us around. At first none of the houses seemed right, but then I found a listing for an interesting, albeit slight creepy looking, house. The outside was covered in mustard colored asbestos shingles with brown trim. It had been on the market for a year and a half (the owner was trying to sell it himself) and the price had been lowered 5 times. Our realtor wasn’t quite sure why we wanted to see the house. The inside was covered with 1970s wallpaper but the layout was original and most of the original trim was there. The house sat nice and tall. It had some good bones. It needed LOTS of work, but the price meant that we could afford to start working on it. We made an offer. After a little negotiations we agreed on a price. Then we had our house inspection and I cried. The repair list was LONG. We decided to move ahead anyway. Shortly after the house was ours. 10 1/2 years later we are still working on that list.
