Yeah, the novelty of having a palm tree at all in SLC was a big deal. Though there are lots of prettier palms that would do great here. All in time. Just a bottle palm, so far. And it was pretty silly to mail them here, considering that I can get something at any nursery that is prettier, and probably cheaper than the postage. But they're my guys, and I don't have much from my old home. The windmills are cool though, and you do see them around here from time to time. They seem to do just fine with a little shade. And besides, it's a crazy story. Now, the shrinking sad fargesia rufa, that's another story. It is just not happy here, and I don't think there's any way to save it except mail it back to someone back in UT.

Unless you are matching the finger parquet, you would go ahead and install a white oak floor that matches the kitchen (and the golden retriever:-). That will allow the parquet to be the "accent" all by itself. The second suggest I have....look to have the parquet refinished. It's looking a little tired. A little old. If the parquet is thick enough for a sand/refinish, I would look at doing that at the same time. You might just find the REAL colour of the wood underneath that old solvent based finish. The kitchen hardwood looks to be in good shape. It might need a buff and coat (a little abrasion and then a coat of new finish applied to perk it up), it might not. Again, while the professionals are in, have them look at it to see if it needs attention as well. With the work that probably needs to be done, you will most likely be out of the house for a week or two anyways...might as well get EVERYTHING done all at once to save you from having to bring them back in 5 years to do the kitchen/parquet.

I'd like to say 100 years is old- a house from last turn of the century is old. But just a year span isn't really the whole definition for me. I often call a house old if it was built without indoor plumbing or electric- like an urban house from the 30's can be old, or some more rural homes into the 40's can be old. Houses built without ventilation in the walls for heating or cooling usually gets called old by me too, lol. Older homes for me usually run in between the 40's-80'sish. Has built in plumbing, electric, and ventilation in the walls. Modern kicks in late 80's-2010ish. Has plumbing, electric, ventilation in the walls. Usually has "model home" or "McMansion" sorts of vibes with built in kitchens and the start of using stone for counters. New or newer is around 10 years old- though that can vary a bit too by a few years. If it still has it's original parts and working good, that's newer. If stuff like roofs and flooring needs replacing already, that is not so new anymore.

Is your attic finished, or do you have only boards over the floor joists. Homes of this age can be balloon construction, meaning you could drop a line from the attic and it would go through to basement level. I'm not a pro, but looked into foam injected (via outside) for a mid century home and was told that if foam was used, it would fill up wall cavities, making access to future electrical work very difficult. I opted for blown in cellulose by a highly reputable company who filled all voids to avoid heat loss, and installed a sealing attic entry door with vertical sides to preclude movement of cellulose. You might want to look at some DR. ENERGY videos before deciding on best type of insulation.