I think I'm in love...

It has been a while, but I need somewhere to process my thoughts right now...I think I'm in love.

With a house. 💗

I've been looking for my "forever house" for a while now - at least five or six years, seriously.  My husband and I have lived in our current house for over twenty years, since we watched it being built.  And that's the whole problem: it's a new house.  (Well, technically, I guess it's not really new anymore, but my point is, it's not old.)

I have ALWAYS wanted to live in an old house.  I love old houses.  I love historic architecture, antiques, vintage things, really anything with a past and a history.  And as much as I've enjoyed where I've lived, I'm ready to move on; I've been ready for a while.

While I LOVE The House of Goodwill (love, love, love it) - it's merely a vintage house (built in 1974).  It's not really old enough.  I have always wanted to live in an OLD house.  And as I'm getting old myself, I better find one soon.

The problem is, so many people have moved to Tennessee, that the real estate market has shot way up.  So everything I'm interested in - an old project house on more land - has pretty much already been bought by a developer, so it seems.  And lots of them were converted into "new" old houses (yuck!) or else they are just way too expensive.  And our next move will be big, so I'm not ready to commit to another house unless it's THE house. 

So anyway, the big news is: I've found a house.  I just haven't seen it yet in person.

That's because it's not in Tennessee, a state I never thought I'd leave.  While I've loved living in Tennessee (in particular the zero state income tax and low property taxes), the area we're in has changed a lot since we first arrived.  And not for the better, in my opinion.  More people, more traffic, more crowds...it just was never my dream to live in a busy suburb.  I'm more of a small town girl.

Because I love real estate, and looking at old houses, I was randomly surfing a real estate site that lists only historic properties, and I was looking at Pennsylvania, a state I've lived in before.  And that was where I saw it.  THE house.  I could not believe the listing, and as soon as I saw it, I started researching the area.

I could go on and on.  But would you like to see it?  This house has everything!  All the old house features I've always dreamed about, and more!  Here we go!

Yes, it really is 9500 square feet.  Quite possibly way too big.  The size is definitely not the appeal.  But this house is just so beautiful.  This house in Nashville would be multi-millions of dollars.  The price is a steal!  It was built in 1912 as a wedding gift for Grace Johnson, the daughter of an oil baron.

I love the stone and all the old windows.  The mansion is considered to be an "eclectic" style.

Here is the living room with a beautiful built-in window seat and built-in bookcases.  This house has sixteen fireplaces!  I wonder if any of them work?

Ok, so this is the library, built with imported pink marble from Spain.  On the opposite wall of the stairs is a fireplace.  Finally, a house that could fit all my books!

Here we have the second floor sunroom (there are four solariums in the house) or sleeping porch.  Can you imagine sitting in here during a cozy rain shower or snow storm?

This is the first floor sunroom, or breakfast room.  Not only could this house fit all my books, but all my plants too! 🌹

This is another of the home's solariums, I posted this one because it has a picture of - get this - the elevator!  (Currently not functioning I was told, but a solvable problem!)

I love this photo because it shows off the beautiful woodwork, which is all through the house.

Here's a photo of the outdoor pergola.  The outside of the house has just as much beautiful detail as the inside.

Here is the two-story carriage house (fits nine cars) with apartment on top.  The structure to the left is the greenhouse (in need of new glass).  The carriage house needs to be finished inside, so I was told.

Here's another photo of the outside.  Even the clay tile roof is beautiful!

I've seen more than one hundred photos of this house online, but those are some highlights.  I've studied the history, searched out the town, talked to the realtor, learned everything I could about this property and place.  All that's left now is to see it, and that should be two weeks from now.  I can't wait!  We'll see if the "good on paper" house lives up to real life dreams fulfilled.

What else to know?  The house is on 1.3 acres on a street with many other beautiful historic homes.  Not the acres I was hoping to find in my next property, but the house is so beyond anything I've ever imagined that I think I could live with 1.3 acres.  I think it would be enough to contain my garden (I've got big dreams), and the four indoor solariums and greenhouse to redo would enable me to enjoy all my plants year-round.

The yard also has a pond and creek, and there's an outdoor fountain in one of the covered porches.  The master bedroom has it's own balcony and did I mention the heated indoor swimming pool in the basement?

This could be a house I would move for.  A house so amazing I would toss aside all my assumptions about the future to change course and live there.  It's not the size.  (It might be too much.)  It's the details.  It's the stained glass windows, the woodwork, the stone, the greenhouse, the history.

The downsides?  We'd be leaving a state with no income tax for a state with.  Also with high property taxes.  Not to mention that the cost of utilities in this house is sky high.  Oh, and back to winter six months a year!  There's one other big downside - no one online seems to have anything positive to say about New Castle, PA, where the house is located.  Hence the price.  

Looking at New Castle online, it's a town full of incredibly big, beautiful historic homes for low, low prices.  I'm looking forward to seeing it live.

And then I'll know.