30 People Who Own “Century Homes” Share What They Look Like And Their Most Interesting Discoveries In This Online Group
Have you ever pictured yourself living in a beautiful, time-honored house? Looking up its mysterious past, wondering about people who lived there, imagining scenarios that took place right there in the living room? If the answer is yes, there’s a perfect place on the internet that might let you vicariously live out your fantasies of owning a property that's shrouded in secrets.
Enter the subreddit called 'Century Homes', where history fans who value buildings that have reached or exceeded 100 years of age have a place to showcase these wonders. "We enjoy sharing stories and seeking advice to help us be great stewards of our historic homes," the moderators write in the description.
From breathtaking architecture to pleasantly surprising interior details, members of this online community invite us to admire the facades and take a walk inside their dwellings. We at Bored Panda have collected some of the most stunning and captivating pictures for you to appreciate, so continue scrolling and upvote your favorite ones!
Psst! If you’re interested in even more buildings that have withstood the test of time, check out our earlier post on the most interesting historical places spotted around the world.
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Undoing Years Of Paint
My Homage To The Wallpapers We’ve Removed
Moved Into Our New Home This Week. Built In 1878
Estimates on square footage vary between 7 and 10k. My family and my sister's family bought it together so all 3 generations could be under one roof
The 'Century Homes' online community has been around for quite some time now. Created in 2011, this wholesome and helpful corner of Reddit has already amassed over 114K members at the time of writing.
The page has found the secret to success on the platform because it has become the perfect place for history and architecture lovers to ask for advice, share their insights, and have meaningful discussions about their passion — century-old homes. Many of the posts there provide clever and extremely useful renovation tips accompanied by stunning pictures of Victorian houses and intriguing objects left by the previous owners. Once you look at these images, it’s hardly surprising why the subreddit keeps on growing.
We Bought Our First Home, Built Around 1920, And Have Been Slowly Doing Some Work. But I Definitely Would Never Change Our Original Entryway Tile
Was Sorting Through Some Old Brick That Was Left Over From Our 1890’s Townhouse, And Came Across This
San Francisco Victorian Home
Buying a historic home can be a thrilling experience, and the moderators of the subreddit are open to hearing stories and tips from the owners who want to embrace the character of their beautifully crafted dwelling. While they ask to keep the posts related to century homes, they also understand that many systems found in buildings that are more than 100 years old may be found in newer homes as well. "For instance, if you have Hydronic Heat in your 50-year-old house — it is ok to post a question here," they wrote.
Another rule on the subreddit asks users to refrain from sharing excessive sales or self-promotion posts. However, you’re welcome to mention your blog/vlog as you work through renovations on your historic residence, "but MODs have the right to ask you to limit posts or have a cooldown time between posts."
Moreover, the subreddit has some great resources for those who are in the market, have just purchased, or are already living in a historic home. From contacts for replacement windows to contractors that specialize in century homes, be sure to check out their page if you need some guidance.
Just Closed On This 1920 Craftsman (?). In Great Shape. Just Needs Some Paint And Floor Refinishing Before Moving In
Spotted This Door Hardware On An 1880 Home For Sale In Ontario, Canada
Even though I'm a huge fan of form following function, I can't help but adore these lovely details on something most people will never see. Life is hard; make your environment beautiful.
1896 Queen Anne. My Dream House We Bought In 2016!
This looks like a cozy little fairytale house... the snow makes it look so snug and warm.
While not everyone has the means to become a steward of a century-old home, that shouldn’t stop you from sharing your love for historic architecture with this online community. Maybe you stumbled upon a charming building while house hunting. Perhaps you know a gorgeous time-honored structure right there in your area. Both the moderators and the members of this online community enjoy admiring old homes from every corner of the world, so everyone is welcome to share their findings with the group.
We Found Some Cat Paw Prints In The Original Concrete In Our 116 Year Old Home
This Is Our House In Regional Victoria (Australia). We Are Slowly Restoring It To Its Former Glory
Moved In 2 Months Ago. Decorated The Reception Hall In Our 1908 Home
For those exploring the possibility of buying a house, there is nothing more enticing than the chance to own a piece of history. After all, time-honored buildings can provide us with a tangible link with the past. And as you’re scrolling through this list, you’ll notice just how mesmerizing they look both outside and inside. You'll also probably realize how important it is to make them functional for future generations and save them before the bulldozer comes knocking.
Then And Now Of Our New (To Us) Home. Built In The 1870s, Scotland
Saw This Sign In An Old House Today And Figured You Folks May Get A Kick Out Of It
1925 Eastern Shore Farmhouse: Finally Tore Up Last Owner’s Kitchen Tile, And Look What We Found
We restored original wood floors throughout the house prior 10 years back, but this floor (and it’s condition) was a very welcome surprise.
If you wish to pursue living in one of these beauties, it might be daunting to know that restoring your little slice of history is far from a small undertaking. Dealing with old structures and building materials requires extra care and knowledge because old houses can sometimes be full of surprises. However, when a renovation is done right, all worries quickly fade away when you’re left with a dreamy home.
Our 1885 Door That Needed Desperate Love. We’re Blown Away By The Finished Result!
Woodwork And Lighting In Our 1896 Tudor-Ish
Pink Grey Victorian House
Scott Sidler, owner of a historic restoration company and founder of The Craftsman Blog suggested taking the "house sandwich" approach to remodeling. "Start with the roof and make sure it’s not leaking, and after that, focus on the foundation to make sure it’s solid," Sidler told Apartment Therapy.
"It may be out of level, but as long as it isn’t continuing to settle, you’re good. Then focus on everything in between." That involves taking care of siding, windows, doors, and the interior. "After the envelope of the house is in good shape then you can move to the inside and take your time with remodels since you’ve got a protective shell," Sidler added.
Before And After. Why Would Anyone Paint These!?
These are really pretty. I especially like the details on the hinge pins. You must have taken layers and layers and layers of paint off... good job!
One Of The Most Gosh Dang Beautiful Homes In The Area
My 1450's House
Moreover, remember that purchasing and living in an old house is a commitment. "If you’re going to buy a historic house because you love the old wavy glass windows and the spirit of the floors, you must understand that you’re not going to be able to have some of the creature comforts that come with 21st century living," interior designer and architect Steven Gambrel told Curbed.
"I would do anything on earth to maintain that wavy glass in the windows, even if it means having a drafty room," Gambrel said. "I would just put on another sweater. But, if you’re not that person, then that’s not the right house for you."
Closing In A Month! 1932 Tudor, First Time Home Owners. Lots Of Work To Be Done But We’re So Excited!
The Staircase In My Parents 1890 Queen Anne Victorian Home (Illinois)
Every time I see these big staircases, I'm reminded of Home Alone. Growing up in FL, we never really saw old homes like this, most everything was newer construction. When I moved to PA, there were gorgeous Victorians and Queen Anne's everywhere! Perfect spot for a Brady Bunch-style picture!
1500’s Fireplace Surround In My 1640’s Cottage
Our House Was Built In 1844 And Is On Our County's Underground Railroad Map. The Original Owners Were Abolitionists And Held Regular Meetings Here. The Tale From The Historical Society Is That This Capped Off Tunnel In The Basement Was For Escape. It Currently Goes Back 10-12 Feet
The original owners were abolitionists and held regular meetings here. The tale from the historical society is that this capped off tunnel in the basement was for escape. It currently goes back 10-12 feet.
This is great! How lucky you are to have this piece of history in your home. I would love to know where the tunnel came out... is the house near a river?
Mexia, TX
This Beautiful Home Was Restored In Brush Park, Detroit MI
The little accents on the roof! And the bay window in the front! This seriously looks just like a home you'd build in The Sims. The brickwork is lovely.
Found A Suitcase In A Wall, This Is The Contents
Strange to be in a wall. I would have been worried if they were all different sizes... :-/ Different women. Unless the person had a penchant for foot size.... so many creepy thoughts.
We Bought A Ridiculous And Amazing House From 1891
I don't find anything about it ridiculous, not even the colors. I'm a sucker for bright colors and have always been particularly attracted to the "cotton candy" colors; but, as keeping with my preferred taste, I'd keep the blue paint and replace the pink with white. That's again just my taste, either way, very nice house :)
If You Want To Move To Southern Illinois For Only $235,000 This 1899 Beauty Could Be Yours!
The View Straight Through
Stripped The Paint From The Hardware On My First Of Four Doors. I Believe They’re Original To Our 1912 House
Our New-To-Us 1912 Foursquare Has Hundreds Of Old Books In The Attic
C1600s House We Moved Into Has An Old Fashioned Bread Oven Built Into Fire Place (Kent, UK)
Spadena House - Witch’s House In Beverly Hills
Plate Warmer Rediator In Our 1888 Home
Recently Moved In This 1917 Craftsman. Definitely Our Dream Home
Gable Front And Wing Folk House, New Jersey. The House Was Built In 1853, Shortly After Completion Of The Jersey Central Railroad. We Are So Fortunate To Call It Home!
Our Gate Lodge - 1790, Scotland
I would love to see early photos of this, and the estate it served. How great to live in history!
When You Pull Up Nasty Carpet And Find The Original 1941 Hardwood
Found While Insulating My Attic
What's The Name For This Art Nouveau Hallway Feature At The Ceiling?
This is a fretwork panel. Corbels are brackets that support weight, and this is purely decorative. Here is a link for some fretwork styles https://www.heritagedecorativetimber.com.au/timber-fretwork-frieze-panels/
1900 Little House By The Creek
The Front Door In Our 1928 Cottage
So Happy To Hang Out On This 1909 Four Square’s Porch
Hamilton On Has Some True Masterpieces. Yes, It's A Private Home
I Saw Someone Throw An Old Door Mostly Covered In Cardboard Into The Landfill Pit. I Spotted A Bit Of Colored Glass Poking Out From Under The Cardboard So I Rescued It. Couldn't Be More Excited After The Reveal. Anyone Have Any Insight?
Floorboards In Our 1727 House. (Banana For Scale)
If this is in America, having floor boards this thick, meant the original owner was an individual with a high status and connections to the King of England. Floor Boards couldn't be made from such big trees, as they were considered the Kings property and reserved for shipbuilding. This is VERY COOL!!!
My Big Blue Victorian House - Queen Anne Style
Doing Some Painting And Carpet Removal In Our 1920s Dutch Colonial When We Realized These Stained Glass Windows Were Underneath The Wood Paneling
Check Out This Floor!!!
We Just Moved Into A 400-Year-Old Home. Excited To Be The Steward Of This Wonderful Place, And Learn How Best To Take Care Of Her
My And My Fiancé Just Closed On An 1898 Brick Beauty!
My Great Grandparents 1890s Farmhouse. It's Nothing Terribly Special But It's Been In Our Family For Almost 8 Generations And I Absolutely Love It! (As A Side Note, Most Of The Ivy Was Taken Care Of!)
Speaking Of Fretwork, The Arch In My (Slightly Funky) 1880 Folk Victorian
Under Contract On An 1896 Victorian In Illinois!
Just Closed On My First Home - A 1920 Bungalow. Not Sure If This Fireplace Is Original To The House, But I’m In Love With It
Before And After For Those Who Like Stripping Paint
My Friend Wanted To Buy An Underground Wine Cellar And It Came With Two Old One-Room Houses (17th And 18th Centuries)
We Had A Tintype Photographer Shoot The House Today
My Beautiful Home. Built In 1863 By A Civil War Doctor, Then Becoming A Train Station After His Death
It's so big! I'd love to get the view from inside that room at the very top.
Our Water-Access 1925 Fishing Camp In Remote Canada
I Just Love The Dining Room Of Our New 1904 Victorian!
It May Not Be Original To The House, But It's One Heck Of A Place For A Coffee
Wow, I could imagine sitting out there in the mornings and smoking my cigarette with my coffee, maybe painting and knitting while I people watch in the street below...
1903 Satin Birch Breakfront Stripped & Refinished
With my hobby being woodworking. I prefer the woods natural colors an grain patterns. Wonderful job bringing back to original.
What’s The Weirdest Thing You’ve Found In A Crawl Space? I’ll Go First:
My Mom’s 1920’s Apartment In The South Of France. I’m Obsessed With The He Shutters And Stone Ladies On The Facade
Interior Shots Of Our New (To Us) 1878ish Queen Anne Home With Three Family Units From The Same Family Pooling Resources
Paid ~550k USD. 3 kitchens, 7.5 bath, 9 bed. 2.5 hr drive to Toronto.
We Are Hesitant To Make An Offer On This 1887 House
It's beautiful but we are scared of the maintenance and $$$ that's such a house would need to keep it's charm. everyone around us told us it would be a money pit. What do you think? also, what style is this?
No worries, by the time you even got home from seeing it, it probably had 6 offers for well over asking.
This Was The House I Grew Up In. Built 1924 On 21 Acres Of Woods. Used To Be A Hardware Store On The Bottom Floor With Living Quarters Upstairs
My Phone Hutch And Phone. Phone Still Works
For Sale In New Carlisle, IN
Our New England Home Turned 229 Years Old Today. Built By Charles Mann, A Farmer Who Resided In This Home With His Wife Abigail And Four Children
One My Favorite Details In Our C.1860 House
Finally Finished Cleaning Up Our Old Fireplace. Took Some Time, But Well Worth It. She’s A Beaut! Got It As Clean As We Could And Decided To Go With Metal Effects Oxidizing Copper Paint
1915 Colonial
Lovely photo with the snow all around. Would've liked to see the inside, though.
Our 1920 Colonial Revival W/ Interior Shot
The Sharp House In Santa Paula, Ca. It Was Built In 1890. It’s Been Featured In A Handful Of Movies
The Kitchen, Bedrooms And Bathrooms Will Need A Full Makeover But This Week For $390k We’re Closing On This 1.5 Acre 5500 Sqft 1903 Colonial With 5 Bedrooms, A Butler’s Quarter, A Library, A Sunroom And A Fully Finished Attic With 2 Additional Unofficial Bedrooms
Wallpaper Found In My Closet - Ontario, Canada
She Just Turned 101 And Looks As Gorgeous As Ever
Skinny House In Boston, Ca 1862 - Article From 1920 Plus Current Days Views Of Front, Back, And Backyard From Roof
Stained Glass From My 1908 Foursquare
Wife And I Just Closed On This 1890 Victorian Beauty
Ooh, everything about this feels so good. Looks like it's taken in autumn, the driveway is gorgeous, the home is huge, there's a yard, big trees overhead...everything you'd want in a home!
This Is Our 1866 Danish Farmhouse. There's A Lot Of Work To Do, But This Is Our Little Slice Of Heaven!
That really resembles the house in an old photo of my grandma with her sister when she was still at home in Denmark. She came to Omaha in early 1920's and met my grandpa who also came from Denmark.
Found Behind The Stair Trim When We Did My Gut Rehab 9 Years Ago. DIT
I Love The Entryway/Foyer Staircase In Our 1926 Colonial
I've always wanted a home where I could look down into the floor below. This is very nice.
Found Some Treasures In The Wall During Renovation This Afternoon (1856 House)
First Home. The Work Begins!
The Before, In-Progress, And After On Our 1860’s Workers Cottage
I’m Under Contract For This Lovely 1920 Bungalow
Our 1845 Home - Greek Revival Double Gallery Sidehall
Just Beginning Our First Full Year In This 1910 Tudor With Matching Carriage House
Moved Into My 1890 Traditional Four Square (I Think That’s The Style) On Lake Erie This Week. Looking Forward To Maintaining It
I Can't Resist Submitting What I See As The Caboose To The Potty Train. A Four Holer! Including: Large, Medium, And Two Small With Added Step For The Young'ins
My Kitchen Floor Insulation Revealed!
Just Entered Contract On An 1890s Victorian In San Francisco Without Seeing The Attic. What Do You Think We'll Find?
Bringing My 1896 Folk Victorian Back To Life
Was Replacing My Vanity And Found This Gem Behind The Wall
About To Start Exterior, 1911, Any Ideas?
Putting In An Offer On This 1904 Greek Revival/Tudor-Y Foursquare, 1.3k Sq Ft
An Old House Requires Nonstop Maintenance And Cleaning… Saturday Mornings Are The Designated Cleaning Day
Check Out This Wallpaper I Found After I Removed One Of My Light Switch Covers
Wallpaper Found In The Dining Room Behind The Doorbell Chimes
We're Closing On This 1947 Grocery Store W/ A 2br Apt Above
Painted Lady 1820
A Collection Of 1800s Home Designs With Floor Plans From One Of My Home Library Reference Books, Published In The Mid 1880s
Found Some Nice Rocks Holding Up Our 1840s Farmhouse While Investigating Water Leaks In The Crawl Spaces
Yellow House Repainted. Now With White Portico
I think most people understand that Europe is much older.
Load More Replies...What a shame most of us will never be able to own our own home, and if things keep going the way they are we won't even be able to afford rent.
It's not going to get better that's for sure. The only way it could is if everyone went on strike and stopped the cash flow to the judges lawmakers and the 13 wealthy men that own the USA but I don't ever see that happening. Our very right to privacy is being usurped by scotus in June. Roberts wrote that he doesn't believe man or woman should have autonomy at all bc that means he won't be able to dictate what we do w them such as gay sex, oral sex, taking medication, abortions, vasectomies, birth control etc. he wants the govt to dictate that for us bc we can't be trusted w our own mind and thoughts and body. Since he's now taking our rights away only they get to say what we're allowed to do from here on out and most people think it's just woman's rights being taken. It's not. It's everyone's rights. This is all wrapped up in how we make money too.
Load More Replies...Not Tudor unless it was built at time of a Tudor monarch - the style is mock-tudor.
I think most people understand that Europe is much older.
Load More Replies...What a shame most of us will never be able to own our own home, and if things keep going the way they are we won't even be able to afford rent.
It's not going to get better that's for sure. The only way it could is if everyone went on strike and stopped the cash flow to the judges lawmakers and the 13 wealthy men that own the USA but I don't ever see that happening. Our very right to privacy is being usurped by scotus in June. Roberts wrote that he doesn't believe man or woman should have autonomy at all bc that means he won't be able to dictate what we do w them such as gay sex, oral sex, taking medication, abortions, vasectomies, birth control etc. he wants the govt to dictate that for us bc we can't be trusted w our own mind and thoughts and body. Since he's now taking our rights away only they get to say what we're allowed to do from here on out and most people think it's just woman's rights being taken. It's not. It's everyone's rights. This is all wrapped up in how we make money too.
Load More Replies...Not Tudor unless it was built at time of a Tudor monarch - the style is mock-tudor.