This nearly 100-year-old Cedar Rapids home has its owners living in a fairy tale

Becky Lahart said she and her family — husband Joe and daughters Maya, Alanna and Josie — moved into their dream home just about two years ago.

A historic, two-story brick home on Cedar Rapids' southeast side, Lahart knew it was meant to be, not necessarily the moment she walked through the door, but as soon the Realtor mentioned they had the original architectural drawings for the home in the basement.

'I just knew I was meant to live in this house,' she said. 'It is amazing, and I fell in love with it right away. I said if someone else bought it I would cry.'

As Lahart flips through the drawings today — which she plans to frame — and walks through the house, she points out various elements of architect Charles A. Dieman's forward thinking in designing the home. 'I think the architect was really ahead of his time,' she said. 'There is so much storage and so many built-ins in this house. And there are windows where you wouldn't think there would be windows.'

The master suite illustrates Lahart's point perfectly as it includes a slim closet just inside the master bedroom door that Lahart thinks was once used for suits and hats and which she now uses to hang her dresses. Plus, there's a spacious walk in closet with original built-in shelves, cupboards and drawers also in the master bedroom. 'You just don't often see storage like this in older homes on the southeast side.'

The Laharts would know, having moved to the current home from a smaller one just a few blocks away.

'We'd been looking for a bit more space and knew that with three girls, having more bathrooms was going to be important,' she said. Their home now has two bedrooms upstairs for the girls to share, each with its own attached bathroom, making it an ideal fit for the Laharts.

They have transformed another bedroom — what Lahart thinks was the nursery at one time as it has a door off the master bedroom — into an art room, bursting with color, for the girls. A large orange sleeper sofa also makes room for visiting overnight guests. The girls' creations hang on every available wall space.

The master bathroom and bedroom — featuring a small sitting porch — are upstairs as well. 'It sounds cheesy, but I feel like Snow White living here as I listen to all the birds chirping, and I see the mother deer and her fawns that live in the side yard.'

Just outside all of the bedrooms, at the top of the wide, main staircase, you'll find a little nook, labeled as the parlor on the original drawings. With its beautiful built-in shelving, the Laharts have designated it their library.

'My daughter Josie calls this spot the bookstore,' Lahart said. 'It is one of our favorite spots, and we do actually read here, whether before nap time for the girls or me reading at night.'

Architectural details

While Lahart admits it certainly has its old home quirks — pointing out that all the wooden doors and drawers in their home are 'seasonal' as they can be tough to open during warmer months — the home has charm to spare and stunning architectural details at every turn.

The entryway has a huge curved front door, the original mosaic tile and a built-in bench that features the original upholstery. There are beveled mirrors inlaid on the closet doors in the upstairs bedrooms. There are vintage light fixtures and wall sconces in every room. There's a tiny first-floor bathroom (roughly the size of an airplane bathroom) just off the kitchen with an angled ceiling as it is tucked under the staircase. And each room on the first floor has original crown molding, added decoratively to make the rooms seem larger, even the tall ceilings.

'It's a design trick,' Lahart said. 'They look coffered because part of the ceiling is painted the same color as the wall. I think it makes the room look so much more formal too.'

Original basement

While the attic is unfinished, the basement of the home has been finished from the beginning and offers additional entertainment space. What was deemed the billiards room on the original house plans remains as such today. It also features another fireplace, also converted to gas, and full-size windows that let in plenty of light. The home shows its age when you peek in the old coal chute in the basement, which fueled the radiant heating system during the early years.

Unusual features, such as a small 'water closet' and a lovely stained glass window concealing a space that the Laharts use as a wine rack, continue to define the home's one-of-a-kind status.

Lahart said her family usually comes in through the home's back door, right off the kitchen, as the driveway sweeps across the front yard and curves around to the three-stall detached garage (which still has a slate roof) in the back. In fact, even the mail carrier delivers mail to the back of the home, using a path through the trees to the neighboring home. The home's kitchen was remodeled before the Laharts moved in, and the girls enjoy eating their breakfast and lunch at the spacious central counter.

Lahart, who went to school for interior design, has managed to add her own decorative touches to transform the house into a home. She placed a large old chalkboard that she rescued from the old farmhouse church she grew up going to, in the corner of the dining room. There's a substantial old, oak typewriter desk that belonged to Lahart's father that serves as the centerpiece in Lahart's office.

In fact, her office is one of Lahart's favorite spots. Right off the front living room, just beyond a set of bifold French doors is the solarium (yes, that's what the original house plans call it), which Lahart claimed as her office. The room features original tile floors and a fireplace (since converted to gas) that Lahart said she loves to use during colder months. She often opens the crank-out windows to let in the breeze and outside sounds while she's working.

'These windows are amazing,' she said. 'When we moved in the windows were all chalked and painted shut and the screens were up in the attic. Joe and I scraped them for an entire weekend so we could open them up. I love to have windows open, it changes the entire atmosphere. And now I can see and hear everything from this room. It's perfect. I feel so full of gratitude every day working in here,' she added. 'When it's raining, it's calming, and when it is sunny, it is just beautiful.'

The yard — which is just under an acre — is just as dreamy.

'I couldn't stop thinking about the yard,' Lahart said about first seeing the home. 'You just feel so peaceful when you pull into the driveway, no matter the season. It's like a secret garden house.'

There's a large patio right outside the back door with comfortable casual seating and a soothing fountain. There's a large old stone fireplace that now serves as their s'mores roasting fire pit. There's an impressive variety of hostas and other perennials, a large flat space the girls have dubbed their soccer field, and a quaint screened-in shed where the girls love to play. Plus, the Laharts hung a large hammock between two trees in the back.

'The girls and I lay there right after school and talk about our day,' Lahart said.

10 projects at once

Built in 1918, Lahart thinks they are perhaps the 3,000-square-foot home's fourth or fifth owners. She's already planning a 100th birthday celebration for their house next year. And while she fully admits that maintaining the home is a daunting and at times pricey endeavor, they could not be happier to be the new caretakers.

'We have 10 projects going at once,' she said. 'But this house has been around for a 100 years, and we are the ones to take care of it until the next person does. Others took care of the home for us. And we are real people living in this huge, beautiful house and sometimes that means figuring out how to live in a 100-year-old home. Not everything is perfect here,' Lahart added thoughtfully. 'But it is really close to perfect. I feel so lucky.'