Pretty Valences

Artys is a little more than halfway through with her window treatment installation as she popped in on Friday to hang a few more just in time for the holiday weekend and the arrival of our weekend guests.  Here they are!

kitchen

formal parlor

guest bedroom

other guest bedroom

We have had almost a week now to get the feel of the house and create new living patterns and rhythms.  So far so good!  The dogs seem very happy with their new home, and we couldn't be more pleased with the way our indoor and outdoor spaces have come together!  Still lots to do to call it done, but summer is here and we plan to combine work with fun for the next few months...beginning with boat rides with friends.  On Saturday we had a maiden voyage on our yet to be named vessel.  A fun day on Lake Delta with Guylene and Elemer!

We are (almost) all moved IN!!!

The word whirlwind comes to mind when I think back on this week, but it was most definitely a happy hurricane!  We started out with a partial install of my window treatments by the very talented Artys McNamara and her husband who work so efficiently together as a team that it is a joy to watch.  We got the 2 upstairs bedrooms in as well as the downstairs bathroom and the dining room.

My Mom and Dad came for our first official proper sit down dinner which consisted of a salad, chowder, and cheesecake.  Fun!

Although I don't have a picture of my friend Karen doing the actual work because I had to scoot out, the end result of her alteration of my stained glass window hangings are stunning.  She is quite the welder amongst her many other talents!!

Our friends Kerry and Jim came over to help us hang paintings mid week.  They bought the farmhouse and barn down the road from us and are no strangers to all hard work that it takes to restore an old beauty.

I will post again tomorrow as there is so much more to show and tell:)  Happy Memorial Day weekend to all!

Weary Bones....

We have been so busy these past several days with moving furniture, unpacking boxes, and deep cleaning nooks and crannies that we have gone beyond exhaustion to feeling like zombies!  Everything is coming together so perfectly, though, that joy and excitement win out over tiredness.  Rather than launch into a detailed description of all that has transpired I will tell the tale through photos.  Get ready to be wowed!

2 types of drawer and cupboard pulls

spice rack (in alpha order no less!)

dining room table and chairs fit perfectly!

recreated den waiting for artwork to be hung

The Kiss

family photograph collection

downstairs shower curtain

library taking shape

pink bedroom

Long Journey Home

I contacted our friend Phil yesterday morning to see if we could schedule a time for the cast iron stove which he has been storing for us to be delivered to the house because we finally have the room and the space ready for it.  His response was how about today?!!  Right around noon the stove that sat in Lyn Wardwell's childhood bedroom was set back into it's rightful place.  Joel and I still have to unpack the box with the decorative finials and such, but I wanted to share this exciting news and give credit to the 2 strong gentlemen who carried it upstairs...all 260 pounds!!  And a huge thank you again to Lyn who gifted the stove to us all the way from California.

Hot dog!

I christened my new gas stove today by cooking lunch for Tom and Joel who both were busy painting, yet again.  In tandem they got guest room #1 done which is huge because in less than 2 weeks we will be having overnight housemates.  Guylene and Elemer will be coming down for the Memorial Day holiday!

Not only did I cook but I cleaned.  When we were done with our meal I washed the pan and the dishes in my new (tada!) sink.  I think my faucet is pretty cool...

I made several trips to the house today with boxes of wrapped glassware and artwork.  All got neatly put into place by early evening then we called it a night.  Just wanted to show how nicely our china cabinet fits into the dining room...very pleased!

Chugging Along at a Brisk Pace!

Although I can only post a few progress pictures today, so much more is happening behind the scenes that my head is spinning.  Tom Amidon has returned to Rome for a few more weeks and is helping Joel paint molding and move furniture.  I am continually staying one step ahead of the guys by washing down the walls and mopping the floors so that when the pieces are placed their areas are sparkling clean:)  Mark, our electrician, is doing his final rounds through the house both inside and out to make sure all the outlets are working and all the light fixtures are set.  Steve is almost done with the interior moldings and will soon be going from back to front, down to up, making sure that all the little fine details like thresholds and toe moldings are complete.  Then it is back outside to finish the trim work on the house and complete the garage.  

One of our major moves this week has been to get Joel's office all set up.  The furniture is in and most of the pictures are hung.  Here is one photo.  I will post more as we continue to finalize the room.  Three things of note...Mom and Dad gave Joel the beautiful blue file cabinet, Paige gave her Dad the handsome bicycle lamp, and Mitch and Karen gave us the cute bicycle clock!

Remember how Pam and I prepped the Den mantle last week by sanding it then applying a coat of primer?  Well, this week I got the first coats of finish paint on, but asked Joel to complete the project as I got close to the walls and hearth.  I guess neither of us trust my brush skills...

I think the finished look is a good one!  I propose a challenge.  Who can guess what I might be doing with the vintage crock to the left of the fireplace?  It is staying in this room but not where it currently resides.  For those few people I have told, stay hush and see if anyone comes up with the right answer:)

After a very long and exhausting (apparently for all of us!) day earlier this week our little family relaxed in the Rustic Room and enjoyed dusk fall over the lake.  At least 2 out of 3 like their new doggie blankets!

Today!

Joel and I worked from 7 am till 5 pm today and boy did we accomplish a lot!  The pictures will tell the story....

In addition to the pretty accents I mopped and cleaned the entire downstairs and washed all the windows inside and out...Joel cleaned out the garage and continued to prime and paint his office.  Tomorrow is yet another work day.  All good.  All fun!

A Little of This and a Little of That

This week has consisted of painting, (always painting!) closet door building, washing windows and walls, and moving stuff in.  Take a peek at our progress:

Steve made use of some of the beautiful red/rosewood that Joel's father gave us well over a year ago to make these stunning closet doors.  The upper picture is of my laundry room and the second shot is of the little closet in the master bedroom.  He mirrored the barn door style that he designed for the downstairs bathroom slider.  I love them!  When we got talking about door knobs and such I excitedly told Steve that I already had a line on some cute clothespin pulls for the laundry doors and he replied "of course you do!"

My friend Pam joined me yesterday armed with her bag of painting tools and brushes and we got to work stripping, sanding, and priming the Den fireplace mantle.  We both used power sanders and stirred up a bunch of dust, but in the end we the job got done and had lots of fun doing it together!

Check out the end result of yesterday's labor.  Over the weekend our goal is to get the paint back on.  I have a 2 tone theme in mind.  Stay tuned....

At the end of every day when Joel gets home from work we load up the back of my car with some furniture and get it up to the house and in place.  Seems kind of random I know, but rather than one big move, this bit by bit system works for me:)  Before we move the items in I have a chance to swab down the walls then sweep and mop the floors.  Oh, and I do the windows inside and out.  Between full service cleaning and my new skills of sanding and painting, I see job opportunities in my future!  Here a just a few of my room vignettes...more to come over the weekend.

formal parlor

Rustic Room dining area with "Dinner for Two" print

Yes, that is a television!!

 

No Words...

Painting and Paintings

It didn't matter much to us that it rained all this past weekend because we were consumed with scraping, priming, and painting the mantle in the formal parlor as well as priming and painting the molding.  3 coats of covering takes quite a long time!  Joel and I work well together as a team, though, so the hours just flew by:)  He scraped the layers of old paint off the mantle piece so I could prime and then paint it.  Kind of hard to tell in the picture of him but static cling caused all the paint flakes to stick to his face and arms!  In my photo note the new (spot on color-wise) ceiling light and the very cool "docking station" that Steve fashioned to the wall so that the mantle just sits atop it rather than having to nail it into the surface.

Speaking of new lights, we have finished installing all of the interior fixtures...just have the outdoors to get up.  Check out the downstairs front hallway, upstairs middle hallway, and bedroom #1.

Wait a second.  I fibbed.  We did get one exterior light up.  It is the smallest of the 3 stars that will hang over our outdoor eating area.

At the end of the weekend we decided to tackle a somewhat easier task...hanging artwork...specifically 2 of the many paintings we have by that famous artist, Tom Amidon!

He has already agreed to paint a smaller canvas for us that will complete the set and hang in the lower left hand side of the wall.

Something very exciting was delivered to the house today, but you will have to wait until tomorrow to find out what😉  Oh, and my dad stopped in this morning to help me put together my dual fuel gas stove.  Mission accomplished!

Things are moving along so fast now that I may be posting nearly every day so keep checking in for updates!