Heh. I apologize for the picture orientation. These are all cellphone shots.

Beautiful transformation so far! Love that you are saving this beautiful old home. Great work :)

Lovely transformation! The slideshow was wonderful! Always like to see pic of progress!

Beautiful transformation! Thanks for sharing so many before and after pics!

21st Century Tile: Thank you! Honestly, part of the reason I put the slideshow together was to give it to our "carpenter," Matt Garman, of Garman Construction in Bellefonte, PA. We did this first phase of the project without a general contractor (I know, I know, but we got lucky and things worked out tremendously well, and I credit the small-town honesty of the people we worked with). Matt was originally hired as the carpenter, but when things got too difficult with doing this from three hours away, he stepped up and did a LOT of coordination with other companies (plumbers, electricians, HVAC, roofing/siding, building supplies). He's been fantastic, and he's a great guy as well.
BUT HE DOESN'T HAVE A WEBSITE! So we're putting together this stuff to get him started. He's getting this slideshow, the individual pictures, and a glowing reference on a thumbdrive for Christmas (along with a bonus). He earned it. Hell, that stairwell and foyer alone were worth it! He's going to be the official contractor for the next phase, too. We learned THAT lesson!

I love that you are working with an old house instead of just tearing it down and starting anew. The upstairs bedrooms are amazing, and I love the built-in book cases over the beds. I saw a little dog (corgi?) who is obviously supervising all of the work being done and doing a great job at it. What's really nice is that you have this video history. What a lot of work you've done. You should be very proud. I hope to see frequent updates, and I'll be interested to see how you landscape it, too.

ilovecomputers: there are actually TWO Corgis supervising the process. The one in the slideshow LOVES running down that long stairwell!
I've been taking books up to the house to fill in those shelves, glad you noticed. Each one is a different genre: Science Fiction; Military History; Environment; English/American Literature. There's going to be a full library in the first room off the foyer, and built-in bookshelves in the family room and kitchen (cookbooks!). Before I became a full-time writer, I was a librarian, so everything's going to be proper. Might even set up a lending system...
Landscaping the front is probably going to start in the spring; the formerly enclosed space under the porch is going to need work, and we're not nuts about the huge shrubbery along there. It's also difficult to get a lawnmower in that triangle, so I'm thinking about some kind of groundcover and a stone pathway. But we're going to get professional assistance on that.

The hard work is paying off!

You have done a superior job of updating the space without compromising it's historical value and have highlighted the home's architectural character. The use of space in the attic is particularly impressive! Best of luck with the rest of your project!

?? It's a single family home on Main Street in a small town. Not a townhouse.

Opps sorry. I misread the heading lol.

Beautiful!

Gorgeous!

Love, love, love how you brought this old house back to its former glory without making it look old and dated.

@candasemwade, How is that? By choosing completely bland colors and painting over all of the expensive wood work?

You've done an amazing job. I LOVE old homes with lots of charm !!!

That's an ambitious project you're tackling with stunning results so far! I love it all and I'm especially fond of the mustard color in the foyer. Good luck with the rest of the renovation!

@tony montana, no need to be an ass. I happen to love what they did with the house.

Tony, one man's "bland" is another man's "soothing." We did deliberately choose neutral tones in the bedrooms.
But I'd argue on the stairwell color; the harvest gold is not bland, it's a nice, dense color that pulls everything together quite well: the wood, the bright white trim (more on that in a second), and the light fixtures, particularly the overhead light in the foyer.
The slate/blue siding may be something you've seen plenty of, but it's quite a standout in this town. We're in a historical district, and while it's a small town and they do allow vinyl siding (out of pragmatism) there were some restrictions on color choices. We eventually reached an understanding under the principle of "standing out, not sticking out."
About that white-painted trim: maybe bland, but we have evidence going back at least 70 years that white was the color used for the trim, so we decided to stick with it. It is a particularly brilliant white, for what that's worth.
And the "painting over all the expensive wood work"? You must have missed the attic, which is all locally-grown and milled hemlock, and it's only received a light coat of polyurethane. It's gleaming with the character of the wood, and keeps the room bright.
Cheers, enjoy your day!

I didn't know there was a video. I think overall in general this house was done pretty good. But to modern for my liking. I would have never known this was a historical home. There is a historical district just a few blocks from me. There you need to produce pictures or drawings for everything your gonna do to a historic house. Then it needs to get approved by a historic preservation committee in order for you to get a special permit. Here are some examples of them a few blocks from where I live.

Tony Montana...I don't know what to say. I just did a Google image search on these two homes you say are "a few blocks from where I live." They're distinctive homes, so it was pretty easy; anyone could do it, I just didn't think to until today.
The first is the Hackley House, in Muskegon, Michigan. The second is one of the historic homes on High Street (it's 511 High St.)...in Peoria, Illinois. They are "true historic homes," but I'd love to know where it is you live that's "a few blocks" from both of them.

You know what they say, you can't always believe what you see on the internet. Or you just searched wrong. I assure you these are both close by. I'm very busy with a project right now. If I remember, I'll take phone pics and post them.

Teacher always said, 'Show your work.' Here's those two houses. Kind of interesting for me: the Peoria house is on what used to be called 'High Wines Road,' where the Peoria whiskey distillers all lived, which is why the district is crowded with beautiful old homes like this.
I look forward to seeing your pictures.

The house in Peoria, via Google maps.

The house in Muskegon, via Google Maps.

love the transition from the orange to white, and into the colorful rug. gorgeous!

Beautiful job saving the home.

My question is what will you do as you age in place with all those stairs, etc?

Excellent improvements. Very impressive

Such lovely improvements and updates while maintaining the character of the home. I just love, love, love the bunk space attic! Can't wait to see updated photos including the finished wrap around porch. Nice work, you two!

Lookin good!

Oh my word, did you ever take on a challenge! Bet you've given the neighbors plenty to buzz over. Looks good...congrats to you AND to Matt!