Bainbridge Island: Dreamy Vintage Farmhouse

If alpha male style construction turns you on and you’re in the market for a testosterone house, this place is not–I repeat–not for you. But if ethereal dreams of a rural existence capture your heart and mind, and you don’t feel the need to rip out the original kitchen to lay down fat slabs of granite and a Viking range, you’ll find plenty to enjoy about this turn-of-the-last century farmhouse. From what I can tell, the owners engaged in a remarkable labor of love, tackling big stuff to keep this place as close to the original as possible–installing footing drains to divert water around the house and keep it away from the basement, refurbishing bathrooms with fixtures, tile and windows in keeping with the era, and stripping generations of paper to expose the rough wood walls upstairs. Other off-beat features include cedar-lined closets, salvaged wood floors, one of those cool big old kitchen sinks, a fire pit, a hot tub, a tree house perched over a ravine, and an orchard with blueberries, raspberries, currants grapes, pears and plums. For those interested in preserving a piece of the past, who long for apple trees and evergreens instead of greenbelts and cul de sacs, do not–I repeat–do not miss indulging in a look-see.

(It’s even got chickens.)

3br 2ba
Last sold: 04/08/94 $225,000
1.72 acres
$879,000