Just Listed: A “Little House” With a Big Addition in Perkasie
Bucks County is famous for its farmhouses and barns. What sets this farmhouse and barn apart from the others is: They're both part of a working farm still.
473 Hill Rd., Perkasie, Pa. 18944 | Bright MLS images via RE/MAX Centre Realtors
People fall in love with Bucks County’s historic farmhouses and old barns. They restore, and often expand, the farmhouses, and they often turn the barns into either grand party spaces or spectacular houses themselves.
In so doing, they preserve open space but often jettison the rural past.
The owners of Holland Hill Farm in Perkasie, on the other hand, kept it.
Aerial view of farmhouse; the original farmhouse is at the right rear
This 19-acre farmstead dates to sometime in the 19th century. Exactly when, neither the owner nor the real estate agent marketing this house for sale have disclosed, for the one date mentioned in both the listing and the property data sheet is 1950.
That’s the year the original farmhouse at Holland Hill — “the little house,” as it is known — got a big addition tacked onto it.
Wraparound front porch
The new addition completely envelops the original such that its original entrance has vanished. And since the addition maintains the style and character of the original, it’s very hard to tell which part is which.
The two rooms that we are sure comprised the “little house” are the living room on the main floor and the sitting room directly above it.
Living room
The living room still boasts its original beamed ceiling and cooking-hearth fireplace with beehive oven.
Sitting room
And you can see the exposed brickwork in the sitting room upstairs. The knotty pine battenboard walls may be original as well.
The newer rest of the house, however, maintains the early American rustic feel of the “little house,” only with more modern accouterments.
Family room
The sunken family room, for instance, has a barn door accenting one end and a Franklin stove providing winter warmth at the other.
Dining room
Kitchen
The dining room and kitchen likewise keep the early American vibe going. The dining room has a beamed ceiling and knotty pine paneling while the kitchen has more elegant cabinetry. The kitchen even has a tight spiral box staircase like the one leading from the living room to the sitting room.
Master bedroom
Like most of the rest of this house, the kitchen doesn’t have the latest and greatest of everything, but what it does have is in great condition. You can just move right in and enjoy everything from the deck off the master bedroom to the pool with jetted spa out back if you like.
Backyard, pool and jetted spa
Or, if you like, you could pour a little money into this house to bring its kitchen and bathrooms into the 2010s.
Barn
As for the barn, it too is in good shape, though it could use fresh paint and some minor repairs. it’s the working heart of the working farm. You’ll also find a large chicken coop on the premises that could be adapted to house other animals.
Currently, a tenant works the farm for an annual rent of $500 under a “gentlemen’s agreement” ground lease. I’d encourage you to keep the arrangement going if you buy this house for sale. It’d be a shame if we lost a little more of Bucks County’s past for no good reason.
THE FINE PRINT
BEDS: 5
BATHS: 3
SQUARE FEET: 2,946
SALE PRICE: $574,900
473 Hill Rd., Perkasie, Pa. 18944 [Robert Gordon | RE/MAX Centre Realtors]
