18 American Foursquare Home Blogs to Follow and Be Inspired

Last Updated on March 19, 2024

Are you obsessed with American Foursquare homes like me?  I didn’t even know what an American Foursquare style house was until we bought one in 2012.  And now, fast-forward 7 years later and I have a blog section dedicated specifically to this type of architecture!

I was curious who else was as obsessed as me, so over the past few months I have been searching for other American Foursquare home bloggers. 

Who are these Foursquare bloggers?

These homeowner bloggers run the gamut in their differences – different generations, different marital status, kids/ no kids, different geographies.  But they all share one thing.  They all purchased American Foursquares and saw the house’s beautiful potential behind the decades of grime, paint, neglect and ugly trends. These bloggers love their Foursquare homes and want to share their passion with others as their restore their home and make it their own.

Blogging is time consuming process (I know from experience – this blogging this is no joke!), but these folks recognize the effort in running a website as worthwhile.  It is the perfect way to document and share their renovation progress, inspire others and connect with like-minded homeowners. 

And to date, I’ve found the blogs listed below that celebrate the highs and lows, the incredible, frustrating and rewarding process of living and renovating a vintage house.  Note that the FIRST TEN are current (i.e. actively posted within the last 6 months) while the others are older blogs.  But that doesn’t mean the ones that aren’t updated can’t provide you with ideas and tips!

Active American Foursquare Home Blogs

1. Love of House

Dylan and his partner bought this stately 1905 brick American Foursquare in Kansas City in 2013 on a whim and hit the ground running. One’s a painter, photographer and music junky and the other is a professional chef. The house is gorgeous, with 16 rooms, (including 7 bedrooms) and a butler pantry that you will make you drool!

2. Rather Square

Laura and John, artists and graphic designers are redesigning their “new-to-us” home, a 1920s American Foursquare in the Chicago area.  Their house (which includes a thorough house tour) combines unique historical features with modern and kid-friendly functionality. In addition to documenting renovating their home, they have several step-by-step gardening tutorials that will help anyone looking to improve their garden.

3. Old Town Home

Alex and Wendy are owners and insane DIYers of not one, but two fixer uppers: an 1880s row house in Old Town Alexandria, Virginia as well as a 1908 foursquare, a short drive from DC. This couple is no-nonsense and have a wealth of renovation knowledge on the blog. They have been renovating homes over 15 years, and recently featured in Old House Journal. As the video below shows, their American Foursquare was previously a hotel and has an amazing waterview.

4. My 1923 Foursquare 

Yes, “American” Foursquares are also located in Canada (which kind of just makes it a Foursquare, right?) JC located up in Cornwall, Ontario has been documenting the transformation of his Foursquare since 2011. He is one of the most, if not the most prolific bloggers on this list, with 138 posts in 2012 alone!

5. Never Finish Home

This couple in Northern Portland (NoPo Foursquare) “fell for the large lot, unpainted trim and potential” of their 1910 Foursquare. This blog will inspire the use of salvaged or second hand materials. Be sure to check out the One Room Challenge post, a biannual interior design event that motivates and challenges homeowners to focus on improving one room at a time. This competition looks like a great way to organize and inspire updates in your own home.

6. Our American Foursquare Remodel

Kristen, Greg & Ella plus a menagerie of pets downsize and take on renovation of an American Foursquare. Check out the Floor Plans sections which provide great context for their posts. Their adorable pets keep photo-bombing the pics – I love it!

Note: As of March 2024, this website is no longer active – http://ww1.americanfoursquare.us/

7. 1914 Foursquare

A long-running (10+ years!) documenting a full restoration of a Foursquare in Lakewood, OH. The restoration was recognized locally through being awarded their City and Heritage Board Preservation Award for Rehabilitation.

Note: As of March 2024, their website is no longer active https://1914foursquare.blogspot.com/

8. Living in a Fixer Upper

Kelly, Karl and their little girl are slowly restoring their own “fixer upper”, a circa 1900 Victorian Foursquare in Pennsylvania. A woman after my own heart, Kelly has a giant “to-do” list posted to keep her and husband on the same page in order to make progress towards their restoration goals.

9. American Foursquare Restoration

This blog (running for 13+ years!) is a gold-mine of information. Not only does James touch on the usual restoring his house, but also has great information on period-appropriate interior design, including repairing Arts & Crafts furniture.

10. Four Square for Two

Janie and Michael are delving into homeownership of a beautiful 1903 brick American Foursquare/ Prairie Box in Rockford, Illinois only 8 months after getting married. Follow their adventures of moving and settling to their new house affectionately called “Rubee”. Read this post to find out how she got her name. It’s a really cute story and left me wanting to name my house.

11. 3018 Griffin Avenue Restoration

Follow realtor Sean Craft as he shares a step by step account of shedding blood, sweat (and maybe some tears) during a sympathetic rehabilitation of his Foursquare using his degree in Historic Preservation and Architectural History. HIs house is located within Downtown Richmond and is registered on the National Register of Historic Places mainly due to the this neighborhood viewed as “the first streetcar suburbs in America”.

Note: As of March 2024, their website is no longer active – http://3018griffin.com/

Inactive Blogs – BUT still chock-full of inspiration

12. Portland FourSquare

A family of four working on their second and most ambitious rehab – a 1910 American Foursquare located in SE Portland, OR. Over the next 30 years, they hope to rehab this house to its former glory and provide a loose commentary on all that that entails. Lots of photos posted to enjoy their progress.

13. Chronicles of an American Foursquare

E + G fix + furnish + update + backdate + live in a 97-year-old Foursquare house. I’d say that equals fun and adventure?

14. Foursquare Insanity

Instead of downsizing, like most people her age, this 50-something wife, mom, and grandma bought a 2,600 square foot 1912 American Foursquare to renovate in Sidney, IL.

15. Our Portland Foursquare

Kelly, David and their cat Poof (short for Baroness Von Poofybottom) chronicle their renovation adventures, mishaps and triumphs in their 1911 American Foursquare in Portland, OR.

16. American Four-Square Renewal

This is a story of a girl (Nadja) and her dog and a boy (Sean) and his dog. The girl and boy fell in love (the dogs learned to get along)and they bought an old, old house together in St. Paul, MN . Ok, actually, that’s a little too simple- but you get the picture.

17. Our Foursquare House

A family of four, including a 3-year old daughter and an infant son located in small town in southeast Minnesota. They are only the third owner of this nearly 100-year old house but still having to deal with bad renovations and ugly trends.

18. Little FourSquare That Can Be…

Chuck and Desri’s adventures (and mis-adventures) of restoring a beautiful brick 1906 Foursquare in the MidWest.

19. 1907 Miller House

This one is currently inactive, but I recently communicated with the owner, Rick, who might be rejuvenating the website shortly. Check out the House Index, organized by room and project, that does into detail with lots of great pictures and marked with a big red “DONE” when completed. That must feel good to cross is off the list!

And before Rick even got to start working on the house, he needed to move it a ways to his property. Also be sure to check out the history page where he was able to trace the history of the home’s owners.

Note that of March 2024, this website is no longer active. https://www.bctelco.com~whisper/house.ht

That’s a wrap! I hope you enjoyed reading these blogs and provided some inspiration for your home.

I’ll continue to be on the look-out and expand to this list.  Please let me know if you run a blog that touches on American Foursquares or want to nominate one you follow. And let’s support our fellow American Foursquare homeowers and check in on their progress from time to time.

Curious what makes a house an American Foursquare? Want to stay up to date with the American Foursquare community? Join folks on social media (mainly Instagram via #FoursquareFriday) and subscribe to this blog.

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