My house is for sale!

So I went house hunting again today. Not that I'm ready to purchase--I just want to see what's out there. I know I have really have gotten out of touch with reality. I was getting excited when I would see a condo or townhome that was less than $350k. $350k is a lot of money! I mean... seriously. C'mon. That kind of cash would buy a Barbie Dreamhouse in a lot of cities.

I did some searching on the MLS and found that a house that I loved as a kid is for sale. The home is in Kirkwood, MO, and it's in a neighborhood were some of the lots take up an entire block. The lots have massive old trees (which would be a pain in the fall, I know), but it's just so pretty. This home was built in 1880. It's called the 'House of the Seven Gables'...how cool is that that it has a name... and is a mere $2,200,000. I say 'mere' because here in CA you would nice home on a small lot for that price, not a historical landmark. Here's a pic:


That brings me to another point. The fact that this house is a historical landmark is not a good thing. That means that you can't make any modifications without consent from the historical society. There go my plans for the plasma TVs and hot tub. I can see from the photos that the home is kept in a very Victorian era decor. Definitely not my style. So, knowing that I probably won't live in this house, my next plan would be to buy one of the smaller, less grandiose homes in the neighborhood and knock it down and build my own modern ginormous Victorian home. I've noticed through the years that more and more of the old homes in that area are being knocked down or thoroughly renovated. People have protested to keep the historic homes as-is. I can see their point, but seriously, who wants to live in a home with nineteenth century decor?? You can see the other pics here.