Friday, August 31, 2012

tidbits: 8.31.12


How lovely to have a drinking fountain in the home!

I'm digging this group right now.

This dress is my ideal work dress.

Getting more and more into painting...

There's something so special about Peter Pan.




Wednesday, August 29, 2012

House Tour: The Dunton House

There is a lovely historical home for sale in Arlington Heights, Illinois.  My wonderful friend Janet took us to tour the home and to imagine the possibility of her running a bed and breakfast there.

It was clear to see the the house was stunning in its heyday.  It still has tons of character but now is in need of some serious TLC.  Not only that, but the mansion has historical value.  It's claim to fame is in 1871, the towns people of Arlington Heights (formally called Dunton) watched the Chicago Fire from the roof of the house!  The house is named for James Dunton, the son of the founder of the town.

I took a ton of pictures with my phone, so I'm sorry for for the poor photo quality.  But I love a good house tour so I had to share!







Here's Janet standing in the foyer of her "future" bed and breakfast!



I just love the little details in old houses like the light fixtures, transoms, and nook and crannies.

















The attic was huge!  Can you just imagine the adventures to be had there?









The back porch leads to a lovely back yard where you can just picture garden parties or even weddings taking place.







The backyard also features a gorgeous old barn that we concluded should be converted to an outdoor eating area.  I would love to have a relaxing glass of wine out there at the end of the day!



The back of the house.



This house features a dumbwaiter which is reason enough to purchase the house!













Here is where our imaginations really took flight.  At Janet's lovely future bed and breakfast, the basement would be transformed into the Blue Door Pub/Speakeasy.  Can you picture it?













The basement seems to go on forever - so much space!











Upstairs there is a lovely parlor and music room.  Seriously, a music room!  




















The house is has good bones and I hope you could just imagine how wonderful it could be if it was lovingly restored to its original condition.  I think neglected houses are just so sad.  It's almost as if the memories of the previous homeowners have been forgotten.  In my opinion, houses are meant to be cherished.




The right person with the right vision can bring a house back to life.  And I know Janet could do just that with this house!

 

Do you love houses as much as I do?! 

xoxo,
Al
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