Our Houseiversary
One Year In: What We’ve Learned from Our 105-Year-Old House
THIS OLD GEORGIAN
A renovation diary from our 1920 home.
One year ago today, we pulled into the driveway of our 105-year-old house with a moving truck, a toddler, a dog, and far more confidence than experience.
Somehow, it’s already been a year.
We closed on the house in early June 2025, and I hadn’t actually seen it in person until after we owned it. My husband flew from Chicago to tour it before we submitted our offer, but when we were finally handed the keys, it was the first time we walked through it together. Equal parts excitement and, “What have we gotten ourselves into?”
Closing Day and the first time I saw the house in person
Fortunately, we both saw the same thing: potential.
We looked around at the worn floors, the original millwork, and rooms that desperately needed updating. Somehow, we could already picture our family here.
This house has seen us become a family of four, survive endless home projects, welcome a new baby, navigate toddler tantrums, and slowly build a new life back in Columbus. Looking back, I can’t believe how much living we’ve packed into twelve short months.
Built in 1920, the home was designed by the architect who built it for his own family. We even have the original blueprints, which feels like holding a little piece of its history. Another family lovingly updated the home in the 1980s, and now it’s our turn to become the next chapter in its story.
The original floor plan, built in 1920
We had just five weeks between closing and moving day, and we packed every minute of them with projects.
We tore out carpeting that had covered the original hardwood floors throughout the second and third floors and had the floors refinished. We fenced in the backyard, installed a motorized driveway gate, raised the banister and replaced the balusters to make the stairs safe for little climbers, replaced the garage doors, removed the heavy black security grilles from the windows, and restored the original windows so they could finally open again after decades.
The main stairs the day we moved in
Redid the floors, painted the trim, and added a lot of life
And honestly? That’s just scratching the surface.
The funny thing about owning an old house is that every project uncovers three more. You celebrate finishing one room only to discover another list waiting for you. It’s humbling, exciting, exhausting, and somehow still incredibly rewarding.
Since late last year, we’ve been working with an architect to design an addition that feels like it has always belonged here. The plan includes expanding the kitchen, adding the breakfast nook we’ve always dreamed of, creating a mudroom our family desperately needs, building a true primary suite, relocating the laundry upstairs, and updating every bathroom along the way.
Next month we go before the city’s Architectural Review Board for approval, and for the first time, it feels like we’re standing on the edge of making this dream a reality.
We’ve hired our contractor. We’ve hired our interior designer. Decisions that lived on Pinterest boards for months are finally becoming drawings, selections, and construction schedules.
Listing image of the living room
What the living room like today
It’s exciting.
It’s also terrifying.
One year ago, we fell in love with what this house could become.
A year later, we’ve already watched it become something we never could have imagined.
And somehow, the biggest chapter hasn’t even started yet.
If all goes according to plan, demolition begins soon.
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One more thing...
As this renovation gets underway, I’m creating a dedicated collection here on Held Together for all things home.
I’ll be sharing the behind-the-scenes of renovating our 105-year-old house—from floor plans and design decisions to budget realities, unexpected surprises, and the little details that make an old house feel loved again.
If you’ve ever dreamed about renovating an older home (or just enjoy following along), I hope you’ll come along for the ride.
I have a feeling things are about to get interesting.
Charlotte the day we moved into the house.