That's not a house silly. That's a porch!

American Patriotic Mission Style. A derivative of Doggie Style. Colder climates.

How does naming a style help to restore a house?  go to sears, or whoever did the vinyl siding, and ask them to fix the soffit.  they know what they're doing. 

use modern plumbing fixures.  don't use plumbing or mechanical equipment from 1920.  there have been advances.  it's not worth staying authentic.  you can purchase plumbing fixtures from home depot; get the one you think looks cool.  if given the choice between a $200 faucet and a $20 faucet, get the $200 one.  seriously.  that's not a joke.

if climbing on your steep pitched roof, don't fall off.

if you have any other, more specific questions, like if you think there is a wood floor beneath the carpet in the second floor bedroom, i'll do my best to make assumptions.  otherwise, i think this pretty much sums up what you need to know.

Countrified American bungalow type builder home, especially if the bedrooms have some slope in the ceilings which clips them from having a flat ceiling throughout.

+1 on fixing the soffit at the eaves on the sides.  It really looks like the decking/siding underneath doesn't extend as far as it should.  It even looks like it's worn or decayed.

The only thing I find odd is that there are 2 center windows upstairs.  Well, the way they were centered more so than anything else.  That has to be the 2 bedrooms and that almost implies a sloped ceiling in the bedrooms.

Fix that soffit, though.

I actually like this home.

Reminds me of my neighborhood growing up - very real.

Thanks, Med. and Observant!

Observant, those 2 top windows are in one of the bedrooms - the 2nd bedroom is on the back of the house and has the same window setup. And you're correct, both bedrooms have the clipped/sloped ceilings - they're only flat in the center of the rooms.

I'm considering forgoing the enclosed soffit all together and leaving the rafter tails exposed but am not sure that it fits the style of the home.

As for the other commenters: why do you think I asked for a professional (or maybe in some cases), quasi-professional opinion?  Certainly not so I can get a bunch of snarky, asshat comments.  If you don't care for the topic, why waste your time commenting just to be a dick.  I'm 23 years old, just bought my first home and would like to bring it back to some semblance of  cohesiveness on the exterior.

I can assure you, Curtkram, that I know to use modern plumbing, etc. Seriously, what is so miserable about your life that you feel the need to be so condescending? Maybe instead of spending time here you might consider therapy.  Did you really think I should call Sears to try and repair at least 30 year old crap vinyl siding? Wood floors? Trust that not everyone is as dense as you and has some provocation to rip up carpet and 3 layers of linoleum to get back to the original wood floors.  Maybe you'll come and waterproof the chimney for me - careful on the roof. Get over yourself.

lol.  nice comment. 

where do you think vinyl siding comes from if not sears?  if you want the soffit to be fixed, it's the siding people that will fix it.  if you want to call a general contractor, they're probably just going to call sears and take a cut anyway.  that might not be entirely true, but pretty close.  you can remove the siding if you want and go back to whatever was original.  there is a fair chance is still under there.  replace the vinyl with steel siding if you want.  a lot of options there, but i doubt that's what your plan was.  unless you're replacing all of your exterior facade, calling sears is honestly and sincerely how you fix your soffit.  the people at sears who install soffits know far more about soffit installation on a house with vinyl siding than anyone on this forum.

if you leave your rafter ends open like you're suggesting, you still want someone who knows what they're doing to keep the attic space vented.  i would tell you who that person is, who has the vinyl soffit and trim pieces that match your siding, but you won't like the answer.  i would advise against climbing a ladder with a hammer and some plywood thinking you're going to do it right.

for your chimney, my advice would be to call people who waterproof chimneys, much like calling people who install soffits on houses with vinyl siding is best when you want to fix a soffit on a house with vinyl siding.

also, there are people who think there is some sort of charm in old plumbing fixtures.  i'm just saying, if you're "restoring" the house to it's original "style," update the stuff that needs updated.

if you want a real professional opinion, pay a professional.

and no amount of therapy is going to fix all of the stuff wrong with me.

just to add a bit of speculative history to your house, the original owner probably didn't hire an architect and pay them a bunch to design a custom home, just the same as you're not hiring an architect and paying them a bunch for a custom home.  there is a pretty good chance they picked up a sears catalog, ordered a house, and had it shipped by rail.  'sears' is not condescending.  'sears' is where houses came from in the 20s.

Curtkram,

I was joking about calling Sears.  My point was why would I call Sears to get another crap-looking exterior to replace the current crap exterior?

My intent is to try to start piecing together what the home should/could look like judging by the bones of it.  I'm obviously not a  professional but have a pretty good sense of aesthetic. I was just hoping for a nudge in the right direction.

I realize that this forum is comprised of professionals and noticed that a few homeowners have braved to ask about their homes and got some decent replies.  I guess since you're not required to respond, and are offended when asked a simple opinion without compensation, why bother to spend so much time typing out a nasty response when you have the right to ignore the question to begin with? I wasn't expecting one of you to spec it out and turn over drawings.

When I do really get to the point of reforming the house I will retain an architect/designer so I don't end up making too many transgressions when shelling out the cash. My thought process is to start resourcing the proper finishes so as to get an idea of costs.

Maybe we can start a therapy thread here? (smile)

Thanks, Curtkram - I think that Sears 'Winona' home is lovely!  If only I had that porch and the 'bump out' on the side.  I do have those windows though...

you're not asking for a whole new exterior, you're asking about the specific piece of the exterior that covers the soffit.  i'm saying that's a sears product.  i'm also saying the sears installer is going to do a better job than you if you were thinking of doing it yourself. 

edited to add:  zoom in on that house at the particular soffit detail you're asking about.  looks like they left the rafters exposed, as you're inclined to do.  i didn't find an exact match of your house, but then i got distracted by work.

this is not even close to me being nasty.  in fact, this was me being pretty sincere.  i only come across as an asshole because i'm kind of an asshole.

lol. Remember, we are our own worst critic.

I DO want a want an entirely new exterior - siding, roof, shutters (preferably operable or operable looking), removing the aluminum wrap from the roof brackets/braces, new windows (but keeping the current style). AND I really don't want to replace the soffit enclosure if it's feasible.

Also, please understand that I have nothing but the utmost respect for the architecture field... I have (had) a couple of notables in my family: Henry John Klutho and Viktor Klutho.  If only I thought I had what it takes...

Who needs to hire an architect when you have all kinds of suckers providing ideas just for asking in the internet.

Congrats on the purchase of you home, especially at such a young age.Your relative Henry John Klutho created some fine buildings in Florida heavily inspired by the prairie school.

I see your house as being somewhat of a cottage style with some cape cod mixed in...pretty much no style in general, just your typical 20's house that was advertised in many catalogs of the period. Good luck with your renovations, I'm sure it will be a good experience for you.