I grew up and live during the summers in a small town in SE Minnesota.  The main city I do shopping in is Rochester.  It’s a good size city with lots of parks, schools, shopping areas, restaurants, and is home to the Mayo Clinic, so it is definitely a good place to live.  I don’t know where I will end up after graduating college, but I wouldn’t be surprised if I moved to Rochester.  Because of this, I have subscribed to an MLS email listing of houses under $200,000 for a couple years now.  I feel dorky admitting that, but I love houses.  What do you expect from me?!

Lately, I have come across a couple that have made my heart rate speed up and a little squeal to escape from my mouth.  I am obsessed with old houses, so when a search comes up with one in my imaginary price range, I get really excited!  Maybe I will be able to own my dream home right away!  Most of the searches come up with split level homes and older ranches that do appeal to me for the most part, but there is something about those old American Four Square and Dutch Colonials with their crown molding and/or hardwood floors that do something to me.

My imaginary house hunting requirements are:

• A yard larger than .15 acres
• At least 3 bedrooms (so there is room to grow and not have to move right away)
• Preferably 2 or more bathrooms
• Can’t be too perfect – I want to do a little work on it
• Enough square feet so that the bedrooms aren’t completely tiny
• Preferably dark stained or white trim and cabinets
• Preferably wood floors in most rooms

Let me show you two of the houses that fit the requirements and make my heart go pitter-patter.

The first one is a beautiful Dutch Colonial with 3 bedrooms and 3 baths that sits on just .15 acres (which is a let down).

Check out some of the interior shots – look at the character in this home!

I spy a window seat and a built-in bookcase.

For more shots of the house, head over here.

The main letdowns are the yard…

…and the basement.  It doesn’t match the rest of the house at all, but at least it is finished.

The best part, though, is that it is listed at $179,900, so it fits into my imaginary budget.  Yay me!

Okay, now on to the one that I have literally been having wonderful dreams about lately and have even stalked on Google Maps (I hope all my dignity is not being lost in this post).

It’s a gorgeous yellow American Four Square home with 3 bedrooms and 2 baths that sits on a nice lot of .23 acres.

Now, the inside has great potential but just needs a tiny bit of work.  For more pictures, head over here.

Are those dark stained pocket doors?  Are they trying to give me a heart attack?

The kitchen is less than ideal (the ceiling, outdated cabinets), but with some elbow grease and some cash it could at least be painted and the ceiling possible sheet rocked until I could afford (with my imaginary money, of course) to update the whole thing.  It’s quite large, though, and potential is key in my imaginary house hunts.

I definitely can’t complain with gorgeous wood floors in the bedrooms!

And the yard is a perfect size (this is only part of it).  But something has really imaginarily sold me on this house.  I am a HUGE fan of third story attics.  Well…

Here is one just waiting for me to finish and turn into a craft room!  Yay!  And it’s listed at $169,900!  Please excuse me while I go sign the imaginary contract and get handed the imaginary keys….

Okay, so am I crazy or what?  Please tell me you do this on occasion as well.  I hope that the practice-makes-perfect saying applies here. If so, real estate agents are going to love me when it comes time to buy my first house because I know exactly what is out there and how much of a house I can afford in the area (as well as in the Twin Cities – where I do other imaginary house hunts).  Do you have any house crushes on homes in your area that you could see yourself living in?

We have no time to waste!

Interesting – I wonder what they use the now closed up carport for.  Maybe an outdoor sitting area? My dream house – look at the drama and detail around the windows on the third floor! This photo should give you an idea of how massive the average home on this street is.

I just adore yellow houses, so I couldn’t leave this one out.  Love the dental molding!

Sorry for the horrible picture.  I had to show this one off with the keyhole windows on the top and the Mediterranean colors.  So unique in Minnesota!

Although this house looks dated with the awnings, I think with a tiny bit of work it could look like a not-so-quaint but extremely adorable cottage.  I love how toe stone makes its way up the walls.

The two photos above are the same house.  It was one of my favorites.  This one is not quite as grand as the others, but looks so livable and has great details.  I am not overly fond of the colors, but think it probably looks spectacular inside (at least I dream it does).

This is my favorite house of the day.  I find them all beautiful, but today this one stuck out as my favorite.  It has that cottage feel I love and looks like it belongs in a Christmas painting.  The mixture of stone, stucco, and the green wood and bay window makes it very unique and intricate.  I love the front door!  I could definitely move into this house today if I had the chance – it’s gorgeous.

Once you drive far enough down Summit Avenue and reach the largest houses, like the James J. Hill house, you cannot miss the Cathedral of Saint Paul (pictured below).

There are many other ornate places of worship along Summit Ave. which I will let you wonder about because they really are worth seeing in person.

That concludes this installment of the Summit Ave. tour.  Every time I drive or walk around, I find a new house to gawk at, so I cannot promise this will be the last Summit Ave. tour.  I also hope to do some more neighborhood tours in the future because they are fun and a great way to show off a state I love so dearly.

Which was your favorite this time?  Do you prefer the stone houses or the stucco/siding houses?

This post is a part of an inspired blog party at The Inspired Room.

Before the previous winter (in other words before October 2009), I went out and photographed the beautiful Summit Avenue in St. Paul.  I just gave you a taste of the amazing beauty that can be found on this street, so I am back in the new year to give you a better understanding of what Summit Avenue is all about.  If you are looking for a few solid miles of gorgeous house after gorgeous house, then you’ve come to the right place.  Since I took so many pictures, I have narrowed them into two groups: stone houses and other.  Because Summit Ave. is full of incredibly expensive historic homes, it’s not wonder that majority of them are made of stone, so we will start with this first dominating group.  Don’t worry, just because all of the following homes are made of stone doesn’t mean they don’t differ in many ways.  You will find many different styles in the following images.

I apologize in advance for the sometimes blurry or wonky photos – I am still learning to take decent photos while in the car (don’t worry I wasn’t the one driving).

This house seems to be in the process of a renovation, by the look so of the giant dumpster in front.  It sure is spectacular on the outside!

This building is not currently being used as a home, but as a professional building for some sort of “American Institute” which it says above the portico.

For sale!  My birthday is coming up in early June – anyone want to buy me this house?

This one is beautifully haunting – great for a Halloween bash but certainly grand and gorgeous during the rest of the year.

As a blue lover, I really appreciate the fun balance of the stern masculine brick contrasted with the quirky blue windows.

This house perfectly balances the deep red brick with the crisp white details.  I am in awe!

Can you imagine living in one of these townhomes?  Look at the image below for a someone better look. I cannot capture the full beauty of these rowhouses through pictures – they are just so dark and mysterious but fantastically beautiful at the same time.  I would love to live in one!  Pick me!

Ahhh…the details of historic homes!  I will never be able to fully grasp all the meticulous detail that went into each and every house back when houses were so much harder to build than they are today.  Because I can barely keep my eyes off of these houses (and I hope they have the same wonderful effect on you), I will post the second half later this week, giving us all time to unglue our eyes from the screen for a few hours before starting the process all over again. I hope you enjoyed the stone houses on one of my favorite streets in Minnesota!

Which one is your favorite?  What details would you like to use on your own home or a home in the future?

I had to show this one even though it’s a little blurry. It just looks so cozy and charming. I think this would make the perfect starter home (but I also think that about most of these houses). I’m just a sucker for this kind of thing.

My jaw almost hits the floor whenever I see this one. I know it’s nothing special, really. There are plenty of little craftsman bungalows in this country, but they’ve done such a nice job fixing it up that it stands out against all the stone beige houses surrounding it. The red door really puts the icing on the cake for me, too.

I adore stone on a house, but wish they would’ve done something to add more color besides just the two red plants. It wouldn’t take much to make this one a talk of the neighborhood, though.

I thought this one was rather interesting with the columns and the tiny rounded windows peeping out of the roof. I can’t really tell if I like it or not, but it does make me stop and look at it.

I’m so upset I didn’t get a better shot of this house. do you see the stonework along the bottom? Isn’t it fabulous? I’ve never seen that before. I adore the stonework around the doorway too and the detailing above the windows. Even the roof is gorgeous, and definitely not the type of roofing you usually see in Minnesota.

A lot of houses had the pretty stone detailing around the door. What struck me with this house was the doorway to the backyard on the left side. First of all, I love arched doorways, and secondly, this door makes me imagine a perfectly weeded secret garden in the backyard. I wonder if anyone actually uses it…

I also love the window and door detailing on this house. Swoon.

What really drew me into this neighborhood was the cozy atmosphere. I realized one of the features many of the coziest-looking houses had was the chimney climbing up the front. It’s one thing to have a fireplace in the house, but to have it obvious on the outside that there is a fireplace is even better, especially in a state with such horrible winters. A fireplace is essential!

That’s the end of this week’s tour. Do you have a favorite from this bunch? Any similarities between these houses and your own?

I showed more of the smaller houses in this neighborhood yesterday. Like this one.

I love smaller houses, but thought it was only fair to show the big kahunas too.

I am infatuated with the lower level basement. I can’t believe it’s the most functional garage because you would most likely have to carry groceries upstairs and stuff like that, but considering most houses in this neighborhood and all of the Twin Cities have detached garages in their backyards, this might actually give them a lot more yard space and would help beat the cold in the winter. Running from the detached garage to the house probably is not very fun in the harsh Minnesota winters. Plus, the nice patio it adds on the front is a nice feature. I’d live in this house!

That’s one high-pitched roof. I wonder what the ceilings look like on the second floor or if there is a finished attic space. I didn’t see the side to see what the roof looked like from that angle.

I love all the intricate brickwork on this house, but I find it a little too much with the Tudor beams on the right side. What do you think?

I love long one-story houses. They look so quaint but spacious at the same time. They aren’t always as pretty as two-stories, but they definitely have their benefits.

Sorry about the bad shot, the car was moving too fast!

These homes with the huge front yards were facing the Mississippi River. What a nice view to have.

I love a nice colonial home, but when stone like this is added I become green with envy! Well not really, considering I don’t even own a home, I can’t really envy someone else’s. I do love it though. It has so much character.

I love the look of all the doors on the first floor, but can’t say I would feel very safe with them.

Then in the middle of all these spectacular homes you have this. I’m not saying that it’s not spectacular, I’m not one to judge this type of house because I frankly don’t like them, but it really does say something about the eclectic grouping of homes in this area.

And now I want to preface the next house by saying that it is probably my dream home. There are a few missing aspects, but overall it fits almost every requirement.

Isn’t it gorgeous? I bet the interior is very bright and happy just like the outside! It has dormers, a balcony, a front patio, pale blue stucco, two chimneys, nice shaped windows, a flower box (which wasn’t even in my list of things I wanted), nice molding details, and tons of windows in each room (and that’s just on the front). I didn’t get a carport, ivy, a bay window (that I can see), or a tower, but this house is perfect in my eyes. I can’t even imagine how much it would cost to buy this house, but just knowing one version of my dream house is out there and that I found it very shortly after creating my perfect list for my dream home, it gives me confidence that many other versions are out there, too!

Well that concludes the two-part tour of the Highland neighborhood. Do you have a favorite from this half? Is there any particular neighborhood in the Twin Cities you know of and would like to see pictures of? I would love to take requests. I also would love to see tours of neighborhoods in your home towns, so please share if you would like to participate. Thanks for joining me!