When you were kids, what houses did you dream of growing up in, Pandas? Did Tony Stark's mansion with its futuristic gadgets and sleek design seem like the perfect place to live? Or did the Pink Palace Apartment from Coraline look way more to your taste? If you've always been a fan of old houses, this list might be just for you.
We searched the Internet for the most fascinating finds that people discovered in their old houses. Contrary to popular belief, it's not just ghosts and ghouls that reside in houses built in centuries past. Sometimes, new owners might find authentic pieces of history!
Bored Panda reached out to a couple revitalizing a 1912 home in Indianapolis to chat about the magic of old houses. Owners Matthew Bridges, who's an antique collector and owner of Father Wolf Antiques, and his partner Jessi kindly agreed to tell us more about the restoration process and what their 1912 house would say if its walls could talk. Read our conversation below!
More info: 1912 On Wallace | Father Wolf Antiques | Instagram
- Read More: From Lost Diaries To Hidden Passages, Here Are 50 Astonishing Finds Within Old Homes (New Pics)
#1 Before It Was Torn Down, My Wife Preserved A Section Of Her Late Grandmother's 100+ Year-Old House, And Framed All The Layers Of Wallpaper
Image credits: ZippoS
#2 Just Bought Our First Home (1909) And Found This Under The Carpet
Image credits: l33zy4r33zy
#3 136 Year Old Note Found On A Shingle When My Parents Renovated Their House
Text: “I was discharged from work on this house by McBride the Bulldog for being drunk only once, when he is drunk all the time. Carpenter Smith, Plymouth March 27, 1888”
Image credits: GlitteringWeird3670
#4 Window Lottery
I've been doing some restoration and playing lots of wall chicken and window lottery. I didn't have a lot of hope for the bricked over windows.
Image credits: forgetfuljones79
#5 Removed An Old Nasty Drop Ceiling From A Home Built In 1840 And Found This Hiding Above
Image credits: Michellehas2ls
#6 Collection Of Reference Seeds Found In My Grandad’s Attic
Image credits: HungryBanana07
#7 Buying A 140 Year Old Home, Contents Included. I’ve Found 7 Of These Trunks So Far
Image credits: JLearie
#8 Dinosaur Bone Found In The Basement Of My Friend’s 15th Century House In North-Eastern France
Image credits: what_to_be
#9 Cleaning Surprise. Love When My Century Home Rewards Me For Giving Her A Deep Clean… Found This Underneath A Radiator Today
Image credits: meripalko
#10 Our New To Us House Has A Secret Panic Room That Wasn't Included In The Listing! Built In 1978 And I Love This Place!
Image credits: gundam2017
#11 I Found This Old Lightbulb In My Grandparents’ House Finished In 1902 And It Still Works
Image credits: gap343
#12 Renovating My 1850s Farmhouse And Found A Surprise
I’m an electrician and carpenter so I was updating the knob and tube when I found some original trim behind one of the device boxes.
SECRET CLOSET! Unfortunately the most valuable thing found is the extra storage space. Still a win for today!
Image credits: Jakeria77
#13 Victorian Wallpaper, Found In A Broom Closet, 1880s/1890s House, Kensington Market, Toronto
Image credits: A_G_Wynne
#14 Photo Found In The Walls Of Our 1912 Build. Then vs. Now
Image credits: badsneakers
#15 My Great Grandmother Kept A News Paper Of When America Landed On The Moon. Just Found It Today
Image credits: captaincook-
#16 Engagement Ring Found In My Grandparents Safe
I’m not sure how old it is, but it was a cool find. My grandparents moved into a nursing home and assisted living. Going through their stuff before we auction the house and items. Ignore the nails, I didn’t have much time to redo them.
Image credits: RIPMYPOOPCHUTE
#17 Wall Lottery!
Image credits: Woobediewoopwoop
#18 Circa 1792 - Before And After Fireplace Reno
Image credits: bat007007
#19 Antique Games We Found In The Attic Today. They All Look To Be Around 1920’s
Found these in the attic today while getting some renovations done. Some have all the game pieces, so may still be in a bag/box that I have to finish going through. No idea of value, happy to learn anything about them that you all may know.
Image credits: Flimsy_Situation_506
#20 Found Old Crystal Glasses In The Attic Of My New Old House
Image credits: duckduckpass
#21 Decent Floor Lottery. Appalachian Log Home Built In 1864. We Found This Old Linoleum Under Carpet And On Top Of The Original Wide Plank Floors
Image credits: bearpondholler
#22 Hello, Just Bought A House Built In 1900. The Fireplace Was Boarded Up And Upon Removing The Board This Is What We Found. Anyone Have Any Ideas Or Info? Would Love To Find Some History Out Or Maybe How Much This Is Even Worth
Image credits: jgriffi13
#23 Anyone Know Where It Looks Like These Originate From? In My Friends Very Old Mansion. The Previous Traveled Around And Collected These From Diff Countries
Image credits: cheesethechameleon
#24 Found This Old Watch In My Grandma's Attic. It Looks Pretty Special, Anyone Able To Identify It?
I've found very similar looking watches online around the 1920's. There are two markings, one seems to read 156 and the other maybe E 791.
Image credits: Gehii
#25 Does Anyone Have Any Idea What This Tiny Door That Leads To The Outside Would Be Used For (House Built In 1950)
tectuma
Could be for leprechauns or gnomes... I still would not leave any food out.
Same-Gear-4978
Not sure if milk doors were still a thing in the 50s, but potentially that?
sugar-magnolia
it leads to John Malkovichs brain
Image credits: Equal_Comedian9222
#26 Won The Ceiling Lottery
This is the feature I’m most excited about in my new home! It’s a little damaged in the corners because of the radiator pipe but overall it’s so much better than the drop ceiling. Sadly I did lose the flooring lotto - the planks (under plywood, under vinyl, under carpet) are too thin to serve as an actual floor.
Image credits: icekink
#27 The Ceilings On My House From The 1890's
Image credits: Drive7hru
#28 Jewellery Found Inside A Wall In A Victorian House
Image credits: Tomato_Tomat0
#29 Heavy Metal Cone With Some Sort Of Measuring Markings On It, Has Threads On The Inside
Found while cleaning out an old house. It looks like it was maybe buried based on the state of the bottom half. It is entirely metal. I didn’t get a picture of the threads but they seem to start where it’s not rusted/decayed.
nitro479
Looks like an artillery shell detonator. Set it down gently and notify the authorities. Cue the EOD bot.
Image credits: IGN_Aizawaa
#30 Pre Great Depression Columbia Grafonola, Supposedly 1 Of 2 In The World, Sister Might Be In The White House
I recently uncovered an antique Columbia grafonola in my late grandmother's garage. The item was originally owned by my great-great grandfather Jacob E. Pierce. He used to be a wealthy newspaper owner in Huntsville, Alabama before the Great Depression and owned the locally infamous wedding cake mansion. The item stands at about 3 ft. tall and features textured floral designs, a vinyl rack, a built-in speaker/horn, and elaborately carved wooden legs, two of which have broken off. During the economic crisis, my great aunt took the grafonola. Upon her death, my grandma ended up with it in the late 90s and brought it down to Florida. Now that my grandmother has passed, I now have it. These are the facts as I know them, what I don't know is, if it really is 1 of 2 in the world and if it's sister was ever in the White House, it's only hearsay passed down from my grandma, to my uncle, to me. From the research I've done, I've come up empty handed. I can't find an archive detailing all of the antiques in the White House. That being said, I can't find any other grafonolas of the same model. If nothing else, that means it's either pretty rare or a really nice commission. Is the family legend true? What should I do about this antique given its less than pristine condition?
Image credits: ContactFlyer25
#31 Found Some Jars Of Coins In A Stone Wall In My Basement
Found these coins in a Michigan basement (stone wall), when I was remodeling my 1890’s farmhouse. The newest coins are from 1941. I counted 174 brand new 50 cent coins. Next day I went back to digging and another Jar popped out of the wall. This one had 10, $5 gold coins, 2, $2 1/2 coins, and one $1 coin. My pictures aren’t the best, and I might send some of better ones off for grading. Any idea what they are worth? (eBay prices are all over the place)
Image credits: devildog762
#32 Bought A House And Found A Vintage Safe In The Garage. Locked, No Key
Image credits: Supertracto
#33 Bought A House And Found A Bag In The Loft With Photo Albums Hidden Inside. Digitised Everything (The Oldest Dated Item Is From The 1870s) - A Rather Interesting Glimpse Into An Unknown Family Over The Years. Spot The Cat, Dogs, Morris Dancer, Proud Labourer, Chickens And Badass Clothing
Image credits: Mfombe
#34 Found Hand Painted Folk Art On Stairs When I Removed Carpet
I removed the old carpet and 8 gazillion staples and nails. Every other riser has hand painted PA Dutch folk art. I'm going to see if I can get down to nice wood on the treads and touch up the painted risers. This is in my old restored Barn outside Philadelphia. It was built in the 1740s and converted into a house some time in the 1940s. There are at least 4 layers of paint on the treads. But the steps are really beat up. If I can't get down to good bare wood, I may paint them again. I tried citrus strip, you can see areas on the bottom two steps. Took a lot to get to that, not ideal. I ordered a craftsman IR paint remover. Just waiting for it to ship. I'm the meantime I am using carbide scraper on the stringers and will paint those up with a matching ivory color. The folk art isn't really my style, but it's beautiful and someone really took a lot of time and care to paint it. I feel I owe it to the house to try to restore it and put it on display. It will be the first thing you see when you walk into my house. Am I crazy? Do you like it? Any advice on the approach if I'm not heading in the right direction? If I have to paint the treads, thoughts on color? I'll also paint ( or maybe wallpaper) the walls. I welcome design thoughts on that too.
Image credits: StrangePresent7430
#35 Crying Caulk/Plaster Girl Here With News
Crying happy tears today because:
WE WON THE FLOOR LOTTERY! Pulled up the ugly, cracked tile in the bathroom and found the original hex tile in great condition underneath 😭😭😭. I’m ecstatic!
Image credits: DenverLilly
#36 My 1921 House Never Ceases To Surprise Me. I Found This Painting While Finally Cleaning Out The Attic To Re-Insulate It
Notable other attic finds from previous owners: some lovely mountain dew green carpet, a shotgun bullet press, and a functioning 10" CRT.
Image credits: templeofdank
#37 Nerve Gas Grenade At The Family Cottage (Circa 1920). Details In The Comments
Our family’s 1920 cottage has had this extinguisher on the wall for decades. According to some Googling: “In 1900, the Red Comet fire extinguisher was a glass sphere filled with CTC, or Carbon tetrachloride. Early Red Comets used salt-water, but CTC was more effective. Firefighters hurled the Red Comet at the base of a fire to extinguish the flames. Carbon tetrachloride was suitable for liquid and electrical fires and the extinguishers were fitted to motor vehicles. Carbon tetrachloride extinguishers were withdrawn in the 1950s because of the chemical's toxicity. Exposure to high concentrations caused damage the nervous system and internal organs. Additionally, when used on a fire, the heat converted CTC to phosgene gas, formerly used as a chemical weapon.” At least there’s no asbestos in the place…
Image credits: S7RIP3YG00S3
#38 Old Glass Water Jug Full Of Pennies I Found At My Grandparents House
Image credits: zhmorrow13
#39 Found A Dry Sink In My 1807 Home. We Just Got This House. As I Was Cleaning Out The Bottom Cabinet I Realized There Is A Sink Under That Strangely Shaped Cover On Top
Image credits: greatbigredog
#40 Found Some Victorian Transferware Tiles Hidden Behind Several Layers Of Paint On An Old Fireplace (Scotland)
I would love to know the part number of these without taking them off and looking on the rear side. My Google lens results aren’t returning the correct type although I am getting a rough indication of date. Also, I think it would be wonderful to have a transfer wear sub on Reddit if anybody fancies setting one up. I can imagine these tiles can be very addictive to collectors .
Image credits: samcornwell
#41 Found A Box In The Rafters In The Garage… Thought I Found A Safe, But I Ended Up With Even Better. Now I Have To Get A Player For These. I’m Dying To See What’s On Them
Image credits: Downtown-Growth-8766
#42 Wallpaper Piece My Wife Kept From Our 1890s Farmhouse Remodel
Image credits: Wooden-Cancel-6838
#43 This Set Of Ball And Claws Found In The Attic Of A 19th Century Pagan Farmstead In Vermont
Image credits: rawdaddykrawdaddy
#44 Love The Wall We Found In Our 1892 Norwegian Farm House
Image credits: SiljeM91
#45 Was Replacing My Vanity And Found This Gem Behind The Wall
Image credits: jacove
#46 My House Has Portraits In The Crawl Space From The Original Owners In 1960 That Have Never Been Moved
Image credits: 11-110011
#47 I Just Found A Wall Of Whiskey Bottles From 1914-15
Image credits: fork_yeah
#48 An Opening In The Bottom Floor Of An 1850s Home In Charleston, Sc
- You Might Also Like: 40 Witty And Funny Cartoons About Science, Literature, Pop Culture, And Many Other Things By John Atkinson (New Pics)
Image credits: bikematt7109
