Home buyers tend to fall into two categories: those who want the look and livability of an older house and those who prefer something new and low-maintenance. But what if you're looking for a house that has a little of both?

Bob Donaldson, Post-Gazette Waldfrieden, a restored stone farmhouse, in North Sewickley Township, Beaver County, was built in the 1870s. Click photo for larger image. Open house An open house will be held from 1 to 4 p.m. today at Waldfrieden, 1325 Edgewood Road, North Sewickley, Beaver County, and at 12 other interesting older properties in Western Pennsylvania. To set up a private viewing, call Louis DeSanzo of Howard Hanna at 724-272-0040. Take a virtual tour of the property at media.homestore.com/hhr99blb.htm.

The 120-year-old stone farm house that retired teachers Trudy and Paul Johnson bought 10 years ago in New Sewickley, Beaver County, offers that happy compromise.

Recently listed by Howard Hanna's Cranberry office at $490,000, this 2 1/2-story house is a delightful blend of old and new. Along with such contemporary touches as a bright color scheme, Italian tile floors and an integrated Sub Zero refrigerator, this three-bedroom property features all the charm of a late 19th-century dwelling: high ceilings, decorative fireplaces, original pine floors and interior doors that still wear a faux-finish glazing technique known as "faux bois," which gives the appearance of old, pickled wood. There's also a Williamsburg-style garden planted with more than a dozen herbs and a pair of picturesque wooden "privies."

"Everything we did, we did so it was in keeping with the character of the house," says Paul Johnson, who, like his wife, is a folk artist.

For instance, the white wooden fence that encloses the in-ground pool was modeled after a century-old fence the couple spotted on Long Island, N.Y., where they used to live, and they sided a cement-block garage built in the 1940s with traditional wooden clapboard. Similarly, when they remodeled the galley kitchen, they added cabinets that run all the way to the ceiling in the butler's pantry.

Nestled on 1.9 acres, the house was built by the S. B. Funkhouser family sometime in the 1870s from sandstone that was quarried on the property, which originally included more than 700 acres. Because the center-hall floor plan includes several porches and has an "openness" that allows air to flow between rooms, Johnson believes it was inspired by the work of Andrew Jackson Downing, an architect whose 1850 book "The Architecture of Country Houses" served as the stylebook for tens of thousands of homes throughout the eastern United States.

Bob Donaldson, Post-Gazette The current owners, Paul and Trudy Johnson, are both folk artists, and, according to Paul Johnson, "Everything we did, we did so it was in keeping with the character of the house." Click photo for larger image.

With a lovely rural setting, dotted with mature maples and large pines, previous owners named the property "Waldfrieden," German for "peaceful woodland."

Most visitors enter the house through a small side porch off the gravel driveway that the Johnsons enclosed with new Andersen casement windows and outfitted with electric heat. A new one-car garage to the right has a steeply pitched roof with Victorian fish scale shingles and wears an original door from the house.

Bold, mango-colored walls, bright-white woodwork and antique pine floors make the 21-by-16-foot family room one of the most inviting and visually arresting rooms in the house. Two large windows flood this bright, airy space with natural light; built-in book shelves with mango-colored backs allow for pretty display of collectibles and books.

A door opens onto a cozy sun porch off the side yard with a half-dozen transom windows and a white beadboard ceiling with two skylights. French doors open onto the all-white 21-by-6-foot galley kitchen and butler's pantry.

The formal dining room is just as welcoming. The glow of the honey-colored pine floors is offset by apricot walls, which the couple hand-stamped with hundreds of tiny copper-colored bumble bees. The decorative fireplace boasts a bronze lion and crown medallion and columned wood mantel. A rust-colored ceramic tile surround adds an additional splash of color. A 5-foot-wide picture window with 8-inch sills overlooks the covered front porch.

With its cream-colored walls and sheer window coverings, the slightly larger formal living room is more subdued and tastefully elegant. The decorative fireplace wears the same bronze cover plate as in the one in the dining room. The scroll-like columns supporting the mantel, however, are much grander, as is the surround, which is constructed of delicate mint-green ceramic tiles.

	Bob Donaldson, Post-Gazette Paul and Trudy Johnson by the pool and guest cottage. Click photo for larger image.

The center hall between the two rooms, which opens onto the porch, has pale-pumpkin walls and the same Italian tile floors as the kitchen. A solid oak staircase with carved string decoration leads to the second floor. A pair of framed photos of Waldfrieden taken sometime near the turn of the 20th century show the house enclosed by a simple wood fence and powered by windmill.

The second floor has three bedrooms and two full baths, as well as a large storage room under the eaves, right off the staircase. The walls in the main bath wear white beadboard paneling on the bottom and William Morris' delicate "Honeysuckle" wallpaper on top; there is also a classic pedestal sink and a walk-in shower.

The pale-pink master bedroom has a view of the front yard and a soothing private bath with cream-colored wainscoting and a celery-green ceiling. The large his-and-her closets have floral curtains instead of doors.

A second bedroom has pale green walls and a walk-in closet with a mirrored door; a third is painted pale blue. There's also a small foyer off the staircase to the third floor with a large, built-in linen closet and pale-pumpkin walls with hand-stamped stars.

While the unheated attic is now used for storage, it could easily be converted into two more bedrooms, an artists' studio or even a home office. It has windows at each end. The basement, meanwhile, has already been divided into several different rooms, including a woodworking area.

Bob Donaldson, Post-Gazette The dining room walls are apricot. Click photo for larger image.

Can't see spending all your time indoors? The country setting is just as lovely as the inside of the house. Stone steps off the front porch lead to a lower yard lined with seven ornamental Bradford pear trees and carefully landscaped with 'Autumn Joy' sedum, Montauk daisies, English lavender, hosta and yucca. There's also a Southern magnolia tree, the leaves of which the couple use to make Christmas wreaths.

The Colonial-style garden has many traditional herbs, including oregano, sage, basil, rosemary, parsley, cilantro and several different kinds of peppermint. A pair of wooden sheds connected by a pergola entwined with clematis and honeysuckle are modeled after the privies found at Colonial Williamsburg and hold gardening supplies and tools. A fountain with two lion-head spouts, inspired by a visit to Florence, Italy, stands in the center.

There's another pergola, outside the sun room, laden with wisteria that is "simply gorgeous" in the spring, say the Johnsons. A 4-foot-by-6-foot fish pond fed by four frog-shaped spouts dressed up the Pennsylvania greenstone patio; to the left, an espalier apple tree grafted with three different kinds of apples has started a slow climb up the side of the house.

A set of steps made from barn stones and brick pavers leads to a gravel driveway lined with a 4-foot-tall, 92-foot-long stone wall. Another set of steps leads to the heated, in-ground swimming pool (with a hot-water outdoor shower) and the clapboard guest cottage, built in 1996. The perfect space for an aging parent or recent college grad, this charming, all-electric structure features a kitchen with metal counters and white cabinetry, living/dining area with white clapboard walls, a separate bedroom and a full bath.

The property also has a separate composting area, a vegetable garden and raspberry and currant patches.