I’ve mentioned it a time or two in the past. You’ve caught glimpses of it when I shared our bookshelf project with you.
However, I’ve never shared the story of our dogtrot house.
First of all, a little history …
If you’re not familiar with dogtrot architecture, it’s a style of house with a wide central breezeway that connects two enclosed halves of a house, all under one common roof.
If the house was situated correctly, the breezeway design provided for good airflow through the center of the house, a good thing in the days before electricity and air conditioning were invented.
SourceDuring hot summer days so well known in the South, it was often the coolest part of the house.
The typical dogtrot floor plan is very basic.
Rooms to the left side and right side of the house open up to the central breezeway.
As was typical way back when, one half of the house was used for bedrooms. The other side of the house was used for the dining and living areas … and maybe the kitchen.
SourceOftentimes, the kitchen was not in the main house, but located a short distance from the main house.
It achieved two goals.
It kept excess heat from woodburning stoves away from the main house (which remember, you were trying to keep cool!). Two, if there was an accident and the kitchen caught fire (which was common back then), you reduced the likelihood that the entire house would go up in flames.
Our house is located in a very historical area of East Texas, out in the country just 7 miles from the tiny town of Alto, Texas (population 1,224).
We discovered our place when Kendal, our real estate agent, emailed us a listing of a foreclosure.
An old dogtrot, originally built in 1853, sitting on 10 acres.
This is our house when we first saw it.
Notice how the ground is so parched and brown?
That was back in the drought of 2011. That’s the same year of the huge fire at Bastrop State Park.
Drought conditions are not normally the case around here.
(In fact, high average rainfall is one of the things that drove us to buying a place in East Texas in the first place.)
We average about 48 inches of rain a year, so the landscape is usually green and lush.
However, the drought scared us as much as anyone, and we installed a rain cistern to capture and use as rainwater.
Our home is located a few hundred yards or so off a farm-to-market road.
My husband and I loved the overall architecture of our 2,500 square foot house. It reminded us of an old schoolhouse.
(Ironically, we had grown so frustrated trying to find an old house in the country that we were beginning to look at land also. We had begun talking about building a new, old 50′ x 50′ house. Lo and behold, there it was in front of us.)
We didn’t know it was a dogtrot until we saw the breezeway:
One of the former owners completely enclosed the front and back of the breezeway, but it’s a dogtrot all the same.
We loved the wood plank walls and ceilings and hardwood floors.
The narrow staircase leads to very large unfinished attic space, plenty large enough for two bedrooms and a bath if we ever decide to do that.
I hope you liked seeing more of my home! 
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I read and appreciate every comment. Thank you for letting me know what you think!
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I’m linking to these parties:
Be Inspired @ Elizabeth & Co.
Saturday Sparks @ Pieced Pastimes
The Scoop @ Cedar Hill Ranch
Oh, that narrow set of stairs in the dogtrot looks fun. Thanks for sharing. It gives us a better perspective on your place.
You’re very welcome!
Your home is lovely, as is the land surrounding it! I’m going back and look at your kitchen again (for the umpteenth time!) I see something different every time I look at it. I do hope the person who invented air conditioning made a fortune!
I didn’t see the kitchen! Where?
Our kitchen reveal is right here.
Thanks so much for sharing, I love all the photos! My husband and I are planning on building a dog trot style home (hopefully in the next couple of years!) on our land in Maydelle and this gave me some good ideas!
Awesome! I’m so glad. If you need help with your building project, please do let me know. We do that, too!
I love, love, love your home. May you create many happy memories there.
Thank you so much, Briana. You’re so sweet!
Love seeing your beautiful home….. it really helps to see the whole house now to go with the smaller parts you have shown us…..thank you for sharing with us……..more please.
Glad you’re enjoying it. More is coming soon!
Your home is simply charming! A home filled with history and character! Thanks for sharing about it’s ‘dogtrot’ past. I never heard that term before and am so glad I stopped by and learned something new.
Have a Lovely Day,
Suzanne
Pieced Pastimes
PS-Would love to have you link this up to Saturday Sparks. Links are open till Friday.
Suzanne, thank you so much! I was raised in the Texas Panhandle and I’d never really heard of dogtrots either until I moved here. I’m pop on over to your blog and participate in your party. Thanks!
Your home is lovely. I didn’t know what that style of home was called. Thanks for sharing.
Smiles,
Carol
Sure! I’m glad I did. Thanks for letting me know you like my home!
I find the design very interesting and practical. I did not realize a dog trot would be so large….where they spent most of the summer? Love the plank walls. I enjoy your blog and all the true vintage you work into your home. Thank you for your love of home history and passing it along to your readers.
Yes, I agree. I have seen smaller dogtrots, but ours is wide and tall. The plank walls sold us also. I love looking at them. Thanks for being a fan and letting me know what you think!
Don’t you just love the way we southerners name our house styles…dog trots, shotguns, tidewater! lol Your home is lovely! Thanks so much for sharing at The Scoop!…hugs…Debbie
Ha! I hadn’t thought of it that way, but, yes, you are oh-so-right! Thank you so much for liking my home.
Oh my goodness, your home is gorgeous!
Thanks, Sharon! Glad you like it.
Kim,
Love your house! We live in an old house in SC, not as old as yours, but it has a center hall also for air circulation with rooms on both sides. I’m so glad I found you, going back to look at your kitchen.
Sandy
Sandy, I’m so glad to connect with you! My husband was raised in Charleston, SC. It’s such a pretty state! I could so easily live there.
Very cool! You don’t see dogtrot plan houses all that often (and most of the time they’ve been altered like your house), but I could certainly tell from the front of the house from that extra wide entrance. It sure has been transformed a lot from where it used to be but the interior is beautiful with its wide plank flush sheathing. It would be awesome to restore back to its original dogtrot form or perhaps simulate the open breezeway with windows at each end. It would make for a great dining or entertaining space!
Yes, I agree. There are multiple windows at the front and back of the breezeway, both with double doors. We are making that space into a dining room and library.
What a great house!!!! For many years I lived in a restored dogtrot, just outside of McGregor, Texas. It was my all time favorite home!!
Nowdays I live in town, in (what is for us) a GREAt house, but I still remember how much fun I had fixin’ the old place, and how proud I was when people admired it!
Thank you for a bunch of fond memories!
J
Oh my! If you have any photos of your old house, I’d love to see them!
The dog trot is my favorite style and yours is lovely. I used to live in Hawaii where the style is also popular (with more of a plantation vibe) and I have been in love with it ever since I walked in my first one. My husband and I hope to build our own some day. I have been meaning to do a blog post about this style of house and seeing your house today has inspired me. I hope you don’t mind me linking my post to your site! Thanks! — Kate
Kate,
I don’t mind a bit. I had no idea they were popular in Hawaii, but it makes sense. I never knew so many people loved dogtrots until I published that particular post. Happy to make your acquaintance!
Kim
Love seeing your house and all you have done to it!
I use to drive through Alto from Kilgore on my way to A&M!!
Marilyn, I think that’s the ONLY way people know about tiny Alto. LOL! Thank you for liking my home.
Hi Kim,
What a pleasure to see your charming home! I had never heard of dogtrot homes but being from Canada, there is really no need to beat the heat up here! lol
I love the home and it’s wood floors and walls – so warm and inviting. You long wait and search really paid off!
I’m visiting from Pieced Pastimes. Saw your house featured there and had to come visit. Have a great weekend.
Robyn,
How ironic. I was watching a documentary about Canada winters just last night! It’s so foreign to me, knowing that Canadians and Northerners still go to work in those brutal winters. Here in Texas, things shut down when the weather gets bad like that.
Thank you for loving our home. We’ve really put a lot of care and love into it.
You have a great weekend also!
Kim
*GGAAASSSPPP* I LOVE IT!! It has been a dream of mine since a child to have a dog trot home. And in about 4-5 years, I am hoping the dream comes true. We have a spot of land for one on the side of a mountain…on a small sloped pasture….the breeze is constant going up pasture to mountain, and the open dog trot would be a dream. My goal is to have full glass garage doors to inclose it on front and back during the cold spells. I just wish there was MORE resources out there for dog trots and/or a discussion board on dog trots so we all can share ideas. LOVE LOVE LOVE your dog trot!
I do hope you dream comes true. It sounds absolutely heavenly.
Thanks for stopping by, Xina.
Absolutely love it! Ours has a big hallway down the center too but it always had doors with transoms.
I love transoms and we’re considering putting in transoms to help with air flow, especially during the wintertime.
What a lovely home! We recently purchased a dogtrot home in Arkansas. I can’t wait to see more of your blog.
My husband and I bought a small center hall (dog trot enclosed) 1850’s house in middle Tennessee almost a year ago. We are renovating and seeing your house is very interesting and informative. Thank you for posting pictures and your story!
You’re very welcome, Karen! I’d love to see photos of your renovated dogtrot sometime. 🙂
Hi Kim, I’m not even sure you will see this as I’m a few years late finding it 🙂 we are currently looking at purchasing a mid 1800’s Dog Trot home and I’m searching for design ideas. We will have to renovate bathroom and kitchen but thankfully floors, bedrooms etc…are all great. Did your home have closets? This one only has one, so we are pondering creative solutions for that.mwe want to keep it as historic as possible but also make it our own. Oh…and we also live not far from Alto in Lufkin!
Oh, how exciting! I’d love to see photos of the dogtrot you’re thinking about buying. Our old dogtrot had very few closets also and only one bathroom, but we reconfigured some rooms by adding a wall here and taking out another one there, and we created more closets and one more bathroom. I blogged about what we did here: https://www.livingvintageco.com/2013/09/the-start-of-our-master-bedroom-renovation/. Anyway, thanks for dropping by and commenting and letting me know that I have another fan of vintage near us. 🙂 Please let me know if you ever need renovation help!
Kim,
I just spotted your post introducing your dog Trot house in east Texas. We looked for nearly 10 years before settling in raw land to build our dog Trot. We aren’t far from you in the Brazos Valley. We are in the process of clearing some trees to make way for our house. I look forward to exploring morning your blog for inspiration.