BTW, I’ve learned that the hardwood upstairs is oak.

As for the floors… hard to tell from the pictures, but the color variations looks a little like hickory.

You should have been with us when we went inside a house on Hawthorne that was for sale – poor house. It suffered the cheapest Home Depot renovation I’ve ever seen, and it was all crowned by a Technicolor rainbow of stains from its time as a bottom-of-the-barrel rental.

There are empty lots in Fairmount so new construction is going to happen and I’m glad these builders are making their homes look like they belong both inside and outside. I’ve seen many Fairmount homes that have been modernized on the inside and look similar to Joe’s and they look great. I’m partial to the past but it’s all up to the individual and what they want. There’s nothing wrong blending the old and new as long as it’s done tastefully.

What I think is the biggest travesty is the people that come looking to flip old Fairmount homes and make a quick buck by installing cabinets, fixtures, flooring, and other items that were on closeout at Lowe’s or somewhere else to maximize their profit. They don’t even try to incorporate any old features of the home and just destroy the character. That’s the real shame.