Hello everyone, thrilled to find these forums. My husband and I are both originally from the east coast, so new to bungalow styles.

We have a couple of mysteries I was hoping you might have some insight into. Please don't be fooled by my forum name, I'm a college professor who specializes in British history from 1400-1700, so I'm pretty useless with this house!

Here's the little we know about our new house: It was built in 1920 (I have not confirmed the year with independent research) but does not have a fireplace. We -think- we know where a tiny wood stove would have been but it would have been in the corner of the living room right at the door way to the first floor hall. That is directly behind the chimney. Could it have been in the dinning room on the other side of the archway that divides the two? The spaces would seem way too small to heat the house and my in laws heat entirely with wood heat in West Virginia, their stove is huge.

My second question is that there is a largish empty space on the second floor that is opposite the upstairs hall. As you come to the stop of the stairs, the nook is to the left, the hall is to the right. All this is open, with a railing around the stairwell opening. The nook dead ends at the back of one of the bedrooms and the small attic access trapdoor is in the ceiling. What would have normally been in this space? A little seating area for the family? I have no idea what to do with it and as the sound from the TV comes right up the stairs my original plan to put my computer up there hasn't worked out very well.

The house was a rental for the students (I have a 60 yard walking commute to my school) so was in miserable repair when it went back to owner-resident 2 owners before us.

Thanks so much, I am sure we will have tons more questions as we get the place cleaned up and to our liking.