Monday, July 27, 2009 Our Old House - Part 1
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Tom and I were both born and raised in Illinois and this is the first home we bought together. We lived here from 1995-2001. This is in a popular historic neighborhood in Peoria, Illinois not far from Bradley University. We were transferred to North Carolina and had to sell in February — not a good thing - we expected a long wait, but we got lucky — it sold in 10 days. A couple who appeared to be newlyweds — and also doctors worked right down the road at the one of the big hospitals — a perfect location for them.
We loved this home the minute we walked in and although it had some really dated rooms the potential was incredible. Yesterday I found out it is back on the market and there were some pictures !!
Although our budget was limited back then, we did accomplish some renovations and the doctors did even more so I thought it would be fun to do a “before” and “after” post. I have several before pictures, however they are BD (before digital) so the quality is quite poor on some but I think they are good enough to tell the story - so here goes.
The top picture was taken in 1999 shortly after we replaced the flagstone and added a paver front walkway. The following Spring we added a small perennial bed to that corner area above the flagstone and I planted several tulips and hyacinths in front of the stone… something lots of folks did in that area. We also planted a Japanese Maple on the right side of the porch - which looks pretty tiny in that picture.
Here’s how the front looks today. You can sort of see the small perennial bed and there are the Tulips!
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My favorite time of year is Fall and in this neighborhood it looked glorious. These front trees were maples and the leaves would turn a beautiful yellow orange. Some other homes had huge symmetrical Red Maples. They were simply stunning in the Fall.
The home now has a new roof, but otherwise looks the same — just needs a good power wash… it needed it when we lived there too — lol. Heck until we moved to Florida I never knew people washed houses.
;)
Having a backyard like this is a luxury in this area. Another picture from 1999. We hired a landscaper to help us with this backyard. He planted the 3 white pines at the back and a Serviceberry in the round cutout. We desperately wanted to get rid of the big cement slab. The lady we bought it from told us it use to be a pond and they filled it in. The designer suggested we keep it — he thought it fit with the character of the house and since it would be very costly to remove — it stayed.
We added our own perennials around the perimeter of the yard — edged in brick pavers. Lots of blackeyed susans, daiseys, tall grasses, hydrangeas, autumn joy, day lilies.. Oh how I wish I had a picture of it in bloom - it was quite pretty. I would fill the funky oval area with annuals in the summer and tulips bloomed there in the Spring.
We had a redwood glider that would set in front of that white post which was just a decorative thing. My attempt at adding architecture. rolling eyes It had a little door on it — big enough for some small garden tools. ;)
Another picture taken in 1999. This is a good shot to show all the room additions. The home was built in 1916 and the additons were completed in the late 20s.
The bottom right was the L-shaped family room. Above it was a 3 season room they called a sleeping porch — it had fabulous big sliding windows on 4 sides. We used it for a 2nd family room and spent most of time there in the Fall. It was just heavenly.
The grass looks a little funny - huh? We thought it was dying, but found out the back half was Zoysia Grass which goes dormant in the winter.
Below is the only picture the realtor has posted of the backyard. sigh I sure would like to see more of it. I’m surprised the white pines are not bigger.
Tomorrow we’ll take a look indoors.
Reader Comments (5)
Gee Lucy what was it like to discover the house was for sale again? Probably bittersweet I would imagine.
We sold our house two years ago to full time in the RV ... we hadn't been back to MA in that time but just left there today after spending two weeks there. I was very reluctant to go by the old house (I had owned it for 30 years and raised my two boys in that house) ~ but old neighbors invited us over so we went ..... it was wonderful to see it. I always thought I had lovely gardens and a nice looking yard, but boy what the new owner has done with that yard ... it looks terrific. He is a single guy so I was really shocked. All my gardens are gone - many of my perennials were ones from my Mom's gardens (she is also gone) so that part was a bit dicey for me but all in all it looked great. Unfortunately the new owner wasn't home - I would love to have seen what he'd done inside! Can't wait to see more of YOUR former house .... you have me in suspense!
I am loving this entry about your former home. It's so much fun to look back to where you came from. Can't wait to see more photos!
Lucy, I love your old house! It has so much character. I've never seen a curved roofline like that over the windows. Looking forward to seeing more. I think I've told you already, but my mother worked for Caterpillar in Salem, VA and visited the Peoria plant a few times.
Are those called eyebrow windows?
Tracey -- I'm glad the new owner kept up the gardens --- probably a good sign he took care of the inside. Maybe you'll get to see that someday. I'd be sneaking in a camera...and someone to distract him. he he. kidding of course.
Wasn't sure anyone would really read these posts Pat -- I decided to do them largely for Tom and I.... print them out and keep for later reference -- so I'm glad someone else enjoys them.
I wish the old photos were better and I had more -- I don't have any of the basement that we had just finished remodeling ... I can't believe we never took any. Part of it was dedicated to my sewing and an entire room for the exercise equipment. It was a full basement and we just renovated the front part... just such a huge area -- wish I had that space today.
Tks Ali -- I do remember you saying your mother worked for Cat.... great company. Yep-- Tracey they are called eyebrow windows.