The recent renovation of the 1874 Second Empire brick and brownstone Hewitt Mansion in Philadelphia was so thorough and impeccable that it’s practically a work of art. It’s now on the market for a little under $6 million. It had spent the past 40 years as a five-unit apartment building before Lily Properties “rescued” it [...]
Welcome to Hooked on Fridays, a blog party I host at the end of every week to celebrate the things that make us happy. This week–and every week–I’m hooked on old houses. Every time I run across a photo of a great old house like this Victorian from Georgia, my heart skips a beat. I [...]
Diane Keaton has put her Spanish Colonial Revival-style, Beverly Hills mansion on the market for about $11.9 million. It reminded me of the beautiful photos published in Architectural Digest of her home last year. It was built in 1927 by architect Ralph Flewelling and has 7 bedrooms and 9 baths. Keaton purchased it only 2 [...]
See this old house? It used to be a charmer, but it’s had a bad run of luck and is in desperate need of rescue. It’s on the market for only $149,900, but it needs some TLC. It looks to me like it has been stripped of much of its character over the years, and [...]
Over at Lookiloos, I read the story of this beautiful 1879 Italianate Victorian home in San Jose that was rescued and renovated by a man named Manuel Lima. What I found really inspiring was how he set out to improve the neighborhood it’s in, too. “A house doesn’t make it without a neighborhood,” he said. [...]
This English Arts & Crafts-style home was built in 1895 in Cincinnati, Ohio. It was renovated a few years ago by the late architect Terry Brown, who created the unusual “Mushroom House” that I showed you yesterday, so of course there wouldn’t be anything “ordinary” about it! Here’s what it looked like when a few [...]
I spend a lot of time searching the real estate listings and see an awful lot of boring houses, a lot of ugly houses, and more cookie-cutter McMansions than you can shake a stick at. So when I run across a truly unique and beautiful property like this, it’s like the heavens open up and [...]
Welcome to this week’s Hooked on Fridays blog party. Here’s what I’m hooked on today–this charming Craftsman Bungalow that I spotted over at Lookiloos. They always have the best house tours on their site. I love everything about it, from the front porch to the pergola in back. The entire home was lovingly renovated. There [...]
When I come across an old house like this 100-year old white cottage in Missouri, I can’t help but see its potential. It might not seem like it at first, but look closely–there are some great bones here. A big front porch. A charming entry. Ten-foot ceilings. Original doors and woodwork. It just needs some [...]
I just love old Craftsman homes like this. What surprised me most about this particular one is how the homeowners updated it. As you’ll see when you peek inside, all of the original dark wood has been painted over. Even the hardwood floors are so light that they’re practically white. They’ve given an old house [...]
