Editor's note: This is the first of a two-part series showcasing two homes built in Vinton more than a century apart.

VINTON - The proud Queen Anne beauty was built in 1901, right on the cusp of the Victorian/Edwardian eras, by John Beatty, farmer, president of a Shellsburg bank, and land speculator. With its five bedrooms and carriage house, it graciously accommodated the thriving businessman and his family.

Fast forward 101 years, through seven owners, to 2002. Ray and Carol Knoff were living in a 1968 split level in Cedar Rapids but were restless. They liked traditional 'high style” and they wanted something with 'character.”

One Sunday they spotted the Queen Anne house (a subtype of Victorian) on the cover of The Gazette's realty tabloid. Ray suggested attending the open house. They pulled up outside and Carol said, 'I'm not going in. If the inside is anything like the outside, I'll want it!”

But they entered from the back and the first room Carol saw was the dining room, resplendent in elaborate glory: A leaded beveled glass window sparkled like a Tiffany diamond. The wood floor had an inlaid diamond border of maple/mahogany/oak. Beautiful raspberry-colored wallpaper adorned the walls.

'Can we sign the papers now?” Carol asked.

She wasn't kidding.

'We are quick,” says Carol. 'We don't think about things. We see it, we like it, we buy it.”

They first saw the house on a Sunday. By the following Saturday Ray Knoff (pronounced kuh-noff), now 60, and Carol, now 55, were the new owners.

The vintage house had bewitched them: From its three-story turret topped with the conical 'witch's hat,” to its fish scale shingles, to its five colors and slate roof, it had stolen their hearts. To say nothing of the 12 rooms inside: The quaint parlor, the library, the music room, the formal dining room, the five bedrooms. There were the details, too, a plethora of leaded and beveled window glass, the intricate inlaid borders surrounding the wood floors, the rolled rim bathtub.

'Every room has character,” says the ever enthusiastic Carol. 'It could be a window seat, crown molding, leaded glass or curved windows, French doors – none are plain square rooms. They're just loaded with character.”

So they went from a 1,300 square-foot ranch in Cedar Rapids to a three-story Queen Anne marvel of about 4,500 square feet in Vinton.

The house had a series of owners, one of whom turned it into a duplex. It eventually became dilapidated and sold for $19,000. Later, it was changed back to single family.

'One fairly recent owner had done things to a pretty good standard, but they did it in the ‘90s, so the house needed refreshing,” Ray says of the previous owner who put $250,000 to $300,000 into the home.

They bought the house for $280,000 and have invested $130,000 in it – and that was with a substantial cost savings because of their own labor. If it were all hired or purchased, it could easily balloon to $180,000 or more.

'It looked good but we've done nothing but work, work, work since we moved in,” says Carol, a retired graphic artist and expert seamstress.

It was fortunate too that Ray is an electrical/systems engineer at Rockwell Collins with a penchant for perfection and meticulousness.

They started deep in the homes bowels, paying close attention to its infrastructure, and then worked to a flourish, Carol sewing stunning window treatments. Antique and reproduction furniture and objets d'art - oil paintings, sculptures and silk creations - decorate the house.

Major projects they undertook included replacing the slate roof (after the infamous Vinton windstorm of 2011) and the gutters; painting, exterior and interior; replacing the two furnaces and central air systems and the water heater; redoing the kitchen and the master bath; Ray's creating 12 new curved Plexiglass storm windows for the bow and turret windows plus six storm/screen doors; replacing the broad front steps and finding ball finials; restoring the façade's oval window, and then adding a wine room in the basement, a terrace outside, and an in-ground irrigation system.

They insist on only quality products and workmanship.

'We don't like to do things twice,” says Carol.

The single most expensive thing they did was the 'slate” roof at $50,000; but that amount included the house, carriage house and newer garage. The synthetic slate roof - which is hurricane- and fire-rated - is custom-colored from a company in Kansas City.

'The house is our joy. We feel it's a good investment.”

Today the house is the Queen of A Avenue, radiating its splendor indoors and out. Its hues are a primary color of grayish-brown on the body; a secondary light and dark teal; pearl white trim, and a burgundy accent.

They bought materials, furniture and art from multiple sources including eBay, online auctions, estate sales, antique shops and consignment stores. Some handsome antique replicas even came from Sam's Club. And, says Carol, 'We go to Menards, Lowe's and Home Depot a lot.”

While some items were originally too expensive, they were able to get clearance, close-out and discontinued items, even including plumbing and electrical fixtures. They worked a deal for a breathtaking Venetian glass chandelier when visiting Venice. It's in a guest bedroom with a handsome bed from a Georgia mansion.

Their handyman, is a wizard, loving old houses and creating tremendous craftsmanship under Ray's careful specifications.

Although beautiful and authentic to the period, the house is not a museum piece. Carol opens it to neighborhood children, who often come for games of hide-and-seek and – 'Hotel!” Here the children each take a room and have Carol play concierge. She happily obliges, ending their 'stay” with invisible tea from a vintage tea set.

'Our goal is that the house will be here in another 100 years. Everything we do is to make sure it lasts 50- to 100 years.”