One of my favorite shows when I was growing up was “The Andy Griffith Show.” I’d watch those black and white reruns on TV after school and fantasize about living in Mayberry.
There’s a small town in Ohio called Terrace Park that is just about as close to Mayberry as you can get, white picket fences and all. A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to take a walking tour of five of the houses there, and it was so much fun!
It’s a very tightly knit community where everyone cares a lot about preserving the history of the homes there. They have an active Historical Society that sponsored the tour.
Here are some of the houses we passed during the tour to give you a feel for the town, which has a wide range of styles. Some of the homes are newer but were built to blend in with the old:
A newer home built to blend in with its older neighbors.
This house was tucked between two old homes and I noticed the plaque on the front door that says: “Circa 1987:”
This week I’ll be giving you an inside tour of some of the houses from the tour. These aren’t “designer homes” or million-dollar mansions. They are real houses, with real people living in them, which I actually found to be more interesting.
Not only that, but since most of them date back to the early 1900s–or even 1800s–there’s a real sense of history when you look at them.
Take this charming yellow house, for instance, which was on the tour:
It was built in the early 1900s by George H. Eveland, whose lumber business was then next door.
I liked this piece of furniture they had right off the front hall:
The kitchen had been remodeled with a barrel-vaulted ceiling:
The family room off the kitchen:
The homeowner had some beautiful collections like the pieces shown in this hutch:
The back of the house with side porch:
Come back tomorrow to see a house built in 1860 before the rest of the village of Terrace Park even existed. The owners have decorated in a bright and colorful style that’s a lot of fun. You won’t want to miss it!
Save the Date! It’s almost time for another HOOKED ON HOUSE TOURS Blog Party! Mark your calendars because on Friday, October 24, we’re going on one big Fantasy Open House tour all around the blogosphere! If you’re a blogger and want to participate, start thinking about the kind of house tour you’d like to take us on. You can show us yours, a friend’s, a celebrity’s, or one that’s on the market in your town that you like. It’s up to you! (Relive the Summer “Hooked on House Tours” Blog Party here.)
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these houses just make my heart happy (LOVE the Circa 1987!).
You are speaking my language. I love those old homes!
Very pretty houses! I can’t wait to see the insides! I find more decorating inspiration from homes like these since real people live in them…easier to relate to!
Oh they are gorgeous – you’re so lucky to be able to go and view them! That first pale lemon one has my heart though. I dream about having a house like that, even the trees outside it are perfect. One of my favourite websites for imaginary home shopping is http://www.tradewindsrealty.com/ they have very similar homes but in Novia Scotia which are beautiful and affordable. For some reason my husband is refusing to move there so I can have an old sea captains house
These are my absolute favorite kinds of houses! I love that no two are alike, and I like to imagine what the family was like that first lived in the house. Love the history attached with these homes.
Wow, these are so gorgeous. It’s nice to know homes like these still exist, not just tract homes! I especially love the first one.
Jumping up and down with GLEE over these homes!!
Oh, yes, another HOOKED ON HOUSES home tour!! Can’t wait!!! Do you have a NEW button for it, so I can post it in my side-bar?
~Blessings,
Jan
Jan, a new button is coming! I hope to have it for you guys soon! -Julia
Beautiful! It’s an open house after my own heart. I love these neighborhoods.
Love that house and the style of the homeowners. How fun that they let you take pictures on the tour. We are never allowed and then you go home with visions in your head and then…poof..they are gone! Maybe it is just advanced middle age!
Janet
Gorgeous homes! I would prefer one of these homes to a mansion. They are much more cozier and complete with an Obama sign.
LOVE the houses. I live in an old house too. Once you go old you would never go new again! Have a great day.
I just love houses with history.
Andy Griffith was one of my very favorite shows, too.
I love all these photos – especially the house with all of the windows. So pretty!
What a beautiful yellow house! I love that it’s a place where real people live. It’s much easier to appreciate, I think. I’m looking forward to the rest.
Thank you for sharing these. That 1987 house did a good job of working with the neighborhood aesthetic. I’m excited for the next post!
What a lovely tour Julia! I love the feel of the neighborhood and that yellow home is certainly charming. I like the feel and all the pretty collections. Thank you for sharing and I’ll be back tomorrow, this is fun!
Blessings – Debbie
All those houses are in the same town? Wow! What architecture eye candy, Julia! I can’t wait to see more. And of course, I’ll play in the next Hooked On Houses tour. I’ve gotta start looking to see what I can come up with.
Love it! I love seeing others’ homes! My favourite is house number three. I love the style, and would buy that in a sec…if it was for sale…and if I could afford it!!
Thanks Julia!
I am dying! I LOVE those houses. I want one so badly–they’re perfect. I wonder how much the one for sale is going for? I’m impressed at how classic the one built in 1987 still looks, since they built it to blend into the neighborhood and gave it classic colors. If only every builder throughout the ages did that. It would eliminate a LOT of annoying refurbishing (like painting), right?
These are lovely, I’d much rather live in one of these than any of the Home-A-Rama houses any day. I’ll take #743 to go, please. And the two-tone one below it is the same style as my old house and now you are making me miss it…. except for the raking of leaves, which I would be doing at this time of year, so never mind.
OMG…how am I going to pull something together for your blog party?! Not sure I can top the tents.
As you know, I *LOVE* the old houses! I’m salivating over every one in this post, and especially like the white one with the wrought iron fence. Please, oh pretty please, take me inside?
Thankyou for the pictures Julia, I just love these style of homes.
Wonderful tour, Julia. Each of these homes are beautiful!
You’ve gotta love the BIG porches!
I love these!! They are so pretty. I do prefer the new home that looks old though. It seems it would be cheaper then all the renovations. Where are they located, I could drive by next time I”m in Cincy.
Love the tours. great houses so much characters. mishelle
I love the exterior of this home! LOVE old homes! Love visiting your site! I need to get busy painting my neighborhood… your tour will be here before you know it!
I grew up in 743!! How much fun to go back and revisit. Many of these homes were on my street, Park Avenue! Thanks!
So many references to things I love here! The Andy Griffith Show, front porches and small towns in Ohio (I live in one!) “The Ladies of the Club,” could well be living in these houses.
I agree with Angela that sometimes we get better decorating ideas from real home interiors than from magazines. Real living rooms have TVs to deal with!
Just found your website and love it! I live right outside of Terrace Park and it is a beautiful community; however, the homes there are quite expensive – most $500K and up. No deals to be had. I looked at a VERY small one that in another community would go for about $179K – in Terrace Park it was $289K.
I grew up there and it is a perfect place for families. It is beautiful and real. We never locked our doors and we all rode our bikes to school and walked to church. Everyone looked out for everyone else’s children and we knew everyone in the “Park”. There were actually white squirrels in the big tree in front of our house. The people were genuine and those of us who were lucky enough to live there, were fortunate to start life in such an honest and caring place!
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