Reviving Style

Vintage Table Linens...or...send me to Betty Ford - I admit, I'm addicted.

2011-07-14T22:24:00.000-04:00

My Mom came to visit me this past week and oh my goodness, did we get ourselves into Trouble. And yes, it deserves a capital T. For starters, I found a new addiction: handmade, gloriously whimsical, and completely unnecessary vintage table linens. But, I'm ahead of myself.

My Mom (my best friend) has thrown off the anchors, and is starting out on a new endeavor - which you'll hear about directly from her in her new blog, soon to be created. This new endeavor has brought her into the world of vintage textiles and fabrics...so when she found out that one of the best East Coast vintage textile shows was to occur in Sturbridge, MA, we schemed a week together.

The vintage textile show was this past Monday, the day before the start of the infamous summer Brimfield "Antique" Shows (more soon on that!). Sturbridge is about an hour east of the Pioneer Valley, so we planned an early departure so that we could arrive at the start of the show. After a drive through the small towns that make up most of Western and Central Massachusetts, we arrived at the Host Hotel in Sturbridge where on the front door was a prominent "No photographing or sketching permitted" sign. Apparently, devious types had been visiting, sketching and photographing, and then creating reproductions to be sold to unsuspecting consumers at top dollar. Too bad for the bloggers of the world.

We paid our $10 dollars and passed through the door, sans cameras. In the first booth we wandered into, we found the most amazing placemat and napkin sets, likely from the 1940s and 50s. I found a set that I immediately fell in love with, but thought - "No, we shouldn't buy the first things we see." So we proceeded to meander through the booths. Vintage clothing racks lined each booth, Bakelite jewelry abounded, vintage buttons, lace, fabric and hats took over any available space. Honestly, it was a bit overwhelming. The vintage clothing was difficult to see because so many pieces were crammed on each rack. The '50s cocktail dresses looked a little sad with their crinoline squished up against cotton day dresses from the '30s- '40s. (Hint to vendors - organize your merchandise by era.)

Despite the sheer volume of stuff (some great, some okay, and some JUNK), it was so much fun to look and admire. We spent hours going through the booths, but at lunch we both decided that we should focus on the things we really wanted. I kept coming back to the fact that I had NEVER forgotten some pink elephant cocktail napkins that had been used during the wedding shower weekend for a dear friend of mine. I thought, "Well...hell. Here I am at a vintage textile show. Maybe I can find some neat cocktail napkins." I also kept coming back to the amazing placemat and napkin set that we had seen at 8:00 AM in the first booth. Over sandwiches, we decided on a plan: 1) Go to that first booth and see what hasn't sold. 2) Go back to the one place we saw an assortment of cocktail napkins.

Upon return, we found that the two sets we had fallen in love with were still there. Hooray! And so, we made some purchases. Perhaps my Mom will blog about her purchase, so I'll give you a peak at the one she so generously made for me (thanks, Mom!):


Love the sailboats! Can you see the cloud detail in the upper left corner? The edges are amazing too.

Here's some detail of the sailboats - complete with little people to man the sails! Apparently the pink color of the sails is desirable in vintage linens.

Here you can see the fish detail and the gorgeous edge stitching.

Can't you just see these used for a summer lunch? Why aren't things made like this anymore!? The extra special part of this story is that the seller of these linens bought them at an estate sale in Pennsylvania and she discovered that the previous owner lived in the same area I grew up in! She was a baroness. With exquisite taste.

After we made these fun purchases, we made a beeline for the vintage cocktail napkin ladies and spent about 30 minutes devouring their collection (and book on the subject!) My Mom and I couldn't resist buying 3 sets - one of which we will share by sending back and forth whenever either of us needs to host a baby shower (each cocktail napkin was appliqued with a pink elephant balancing a pink/blue/white ball!). The other 2 sets have started my collection. And yes, I have a marine problem:

The shape of each napkin is perfect for folding and handing to a guest with their custom cocktail - mojito anyone?

The detail of these fish is so impressive - check out that tiny delicate stitching.

And because I love navy. And I wanted to keep with my marine problem: fish. Each was handmade in Portugal.

The result of this vintage shopping spree? Parties at my house are going to go swimmingly. Hah.

Did I find my aesthetic?

2011-06-18T17:26:00.000-04:00

I've tried for years to nail down my interior aesthetic. I know what I like for exteriors and need no help there - in fact, I wish I didn't have such a defined taste in that realm. But interiors!? I can't figure it out. I love prints, I love vintage/antique, I love industrial, I love natural fibers, I love color, I love traditional, I respect modern. Ugh - if I pursued all that...we'd have one garish looking house.

I've tried to take style quizzes on various websites. I've tried to nail down the colors that I'm most drawn to. But everything I try leaves me in the same place: a persistent state of indecision without ability to move forward with anything interior. I also have a difficult time buying furniture or decorative items, because I have a fear that anything I buy will look out of style in 2 years max. And so: our house is spartan. And the furniture that we do have...is looking a little ragged.

But, in the June 2011 issue of House Beautiful, I turned to page 84 and almost felt something clicking into place. The next 8 pages revealed a home that I would love to visit...or LIVE IN. The gorgeous spread is called "Simplify It" and the genius design is by husband/wife team Jesse Carrier & Mara Miller. After reading a bit...I realized that they actually designed Anna Wintour's house. Wow. And the fact that she actually promotes their work...and had them design the lobby of the Vogue office? Amazing.

So anyway, the house - called Dove Meadow - is a 19th-century farmhouse in upstate New York. The furniture is all vintage or antique (probably muy expensivo) and they manage to use color, prints and natural fibers in this cohesive, unpretentious, clean, earthy way. I love this house. Also...they are innovative: The curtains in the office are my favorite - "handkerchief-style curtains" affixed with two simple hooks (LOVE):

Source: carrierandcompany.com via Susanna on Pinterest

And I'm absolutely using the same idea for kitchen bar stools, but we'll do navy blue instead of red:

Source: carrierandcompany.com via Susanna on Pinterest

Anyway - check out the whole spread on the Carrier and Company website...or take a look at House Beautiful. I think my plan is to rip out the pages of House Beautiful and carry them around in my journal so that when I'm out at flea markets and 'antique' shops - I can be reminded of how all the things I love CAN actually work together. This house is exactly what I want to achieve in our house...now I just have to do it.

Taking it outside

2011-06-18T15:58:00.001-04:00

This spring was the first spring in our new house. We moved in on March 1st with plenty of snow blanketing everything. Almost through April we were snowshoeing in the back woods, enjoying the white quiet of our woodsy, rural life with Porter bounding through 3 ft of snow. Since we found the house in January, we weren't quite sure what we'd discover under the snow. As much as I love snowshoeing, I was excited to see what would appear. And I haven't been disappointed. Spring brought us a goshen stone patio in the backyard, beautiful stonework walls, a belgium block lined driveway and some pretty little flower beds.

Since the house had been vacant for 2 years, the flowerbeds (or shall I say weed-beds) needed some TLC. We weren't quite sure what we had, but knew for certain that we had some ornamental grasses and boxwood bushes (one of which got nailed pretty badly by the plow guy). I also knew that I had a lot of mulching and weeding to do. As a kid, I used to help my parents in the yard just about every weekend during growing season. I weeded, mulched, watered and whatever else they needed. During those years as I crawled through their gorgeous gardens, I think I absorbed a lot of information about gardening, or at least I hope I did. One lesson that I definitely learned: mulch works. It helps keep weeds at bay, it helps lock in moisture so your flowers don't get too thirsty between showers, and it just makes everything look nice.

So in early May I set out to tame the wildness of our neglected flower beds with weeding and mulching. I snapped a few pictures for your viewing pleasure:

Here's a little post-weeding comparison: without mulch vs. with mulch. Check out that sorry excuse for a plant -he's not digging the sun that he gets in that spot and needs to be replaced with something more sun-tolerant. I'm thinking hydrangea.

Here's the front flower bed in May. The grasses back there don't get enough sun and will need to be moved. The middle boxwood is the one that had the run-in with a plow. It seems to be bouncing back a bit.

Love these low walls that we have. Our hostas are big and beautiful now - the landscaper or whoever put them in got placement right for those. They love the shadey, protected spot between our front porch and the enclosed breezeway.

Again...love those walls. Ornamental grasses are looking better now as compared to this photo as well.

I've ALWAYS wanted to have hanging fuschia baskets...and now I do! Our front porch is perfectly shadey. We got these beauties at Stuart's Nursery in Turners Falls, MA, but inspiration was delivered by Riverside in Waterville, ME.

And here's the view of our backyard mountain in May! The mountain's trees have leafed out...and it looks lush and lovely.

Here's the bed in the back, next to the sunroom. It's going to be a great perennial bed once I get my act together and plant a few more things. I've already added some lupine, daisies, and bee balm. My zinnia seedlings are starting to sprout too (I should have put those in earlier!)

And while I've been working on the flower beds, Jon's been tackling our lawn (or more accurately, our expanse of weeds). It's going to take years to get our lawn to be at least 50% grass. And that's Jon's department - I just supply the cold beer when he comes in from outside frustrated that his grass seed isn't growing...or after a downpour has washed all of his seed away.

Despite the lawn problems, our back patio is just lovely. The mosquitoes this year were a bit of a pain, but now...our afternoons out there are amazing. Margarita or beer + patio + great view + great company = heaven. Check it out (and please don't judge our patio furniture - there's a plan in the works):

Happy Saturday! I hope you're outside in your yard...enjoying a lazy afternoon.

I love my dog.

2011-02-25T12:40:00.004-05:00

Why write a post to my dog? Because sometimes when I'm driving and he looks at me in the rearview mirror, I am overcome with love. Because his audible yawns in the morning provide the most gentle alarm clock a girl could have. Because he gets 'helicopter' tail when he's at his happiest. Because he is a rumpled mess of fur and dreadlocks, but he thinks he looks great. Because he hates the rain and stepping in puddles, but LOVES to get toweled off. Because he is lying on the floor next to me even though we have multiple rooms where he could be. Because he gets so excited when my husband comes home that he wags his tail uncontrollably knocking things off every surface. Because he loves me so much that I find my discarded socks, bras, t-shirts and pajamas in his bed. Because he still has the capacity to surprise me, even though he is so predictable. Because he gives kisses on command. Because he sits at the vet office and doesn't freak out when an errant bulldog tries to bite him. Because his paws smell like popcorn. Because he thinks squeaking toys are the most amazing thing a person could give him. Because he somehow knows to be gentle with babies and old people. Because he loves my dad and my brother, even though men make him a little nervous. Because his bark is big enough, his stature imposing enough to be our alarm system/theft prevention device. Because he tries to sit on my lap, even though he is 103 pounds. Because he never allows me to feel lonely.

Porter has been the single best addition to our lives since our wedding on 10/14/06. Even on a day like today (rain on top of snow forming slushy puddles the size of swimming pools) he makes me get outside to walk and breathe fresh air. His uncompromising desire to smell every little rock makes me pause to observe the world around me. Despite the plethora of furballs, the chewed shoes from puppyhood, the responsibility of owning him, I am so grateful for his life, his quirks, his funny personality.

Porter, we love you so much. I just wanted to let you know. I hope we tell you enough.

The day we adopted our little "Bumpers"


I spent every morning of his first 4 weeks at our house holding a bully stick for him to chew.

His first bed.

Snuggles with Mom.

Porter helps Jon with tile removal during our first home renovation.

17 weeks old.

Fall in the Pioneer Valley, our new home.

Porter loves the snow.

Our 2010 Christmas Photo

Showing off his Capt'n Hook whiskers. Porter love to snuggle. And so does Jon.

Looking rather regal with the Holyoke Range behind him.

See...there's this thing I haven't mentioned.

2011-02-19T13:17:00.001-05:00

So back, oh, one month and three days ago Jon and I put an offer down on a house. For normal people, putting an offer down on a house is something they discuss and share widely...asking for advice, approval, whatever. Jon and I were convinced that we would jinx the process if we started talking about it, so we kept it to ourselves and our families.

The past weeks have been chaotic, fun, exciting, busy, and intense. And the whole process will culminate, hopefully, on March 1st with a successful closing! Yah...normal people don't really go from not looking for a house to buy and then buying one within 1.5 months. We, if you haven't already figured out, are not normal. The opportunity was just too good. The house was just too dreamy. This house will be our 5th residence and 3rd owned home in just 4.5 years of marriage!

The house is so completely different from our past homes: It's new...as in, brand new, never been lived in. It's a GREEN house...as in, efficient, geothermal heating/cooling system, super insulated, thoughtfully situated on the land to maximize natural sunlight, and built of as many sustainable and reclaimed materials as possible. And it's out in the country (more like mountains), as in, rural.

I think it's as close to a perfect blend of Jon's taste and my taste as a house could get. It's a new, eco-friendly house with character and good architectural details. My dream is to throw some photovoltaic panels on the south facing roof and get off the grid. Here's a sampling of the new abode. More photos once it is legally and officially ours:

Here's the front of the house. Love that porch and the awesome stonework stairs! I'm thinking of painting the doors red.

Best room in the house. The south facing sunroom w/ double sided fireplace.

The sunroom is on the other side of the fireplace. This "great room" is open to the kitchen and will be an open dining area and living area.

And here's the icing on the cake: the view from the back of the house. Rural, yet only 6 miles to Jon's job and 15 to mine.

Baby Shower!

2011-01-22T09:34:00.000-05:00

This post is incredibly overdue, but better late than never - eh? At least it will be finished before my friend's baby arrives!

For Ruth's baby shower, my friend Beth and I got to work on some cute theme-focused favors for the guests to take home. Everyone loves a party when they receive gifts too! You'll remember that we had a "sweet pea" theme for the invites...so what better than a little homemade sweet pea to take home?

I found this adorable blog post with plans for DIY felt sweet pea ornaments. Due to lack of time, the realization that the only felt balls I could find were in Australia, and a few other factors...my friend Beth and I had to make a few changes to the design. I think ours came out pretty cute anyway! Instead of felt balls, we used wooden beads.

The shower was so fun...and I believe it achieved its purpose: our dear friend Ruth was showered with love and support. We are so fortunate to be surrounded with a sisterhood of such strong and wise women. We are also lucky to have our friend Cathy's "barn"...which has become the go-to party space!

A few more details for your viewing pleasure:

Our friend Beth brought line and clothes pins to hang up some of the gifts. Easy and quick decoration!

Kate brought these amazing deserts.

Adorable...and all gone by the end of the party!

Instead of silly games, we asked that every guest write a favorite piece of advice for the new mom on a card. We put the advice cards in a basket...and as Ruth picked out the advice cards...she would read the advice out loud for everyone to hear before opening that guest's gift. It made the gift opening really interactive...and we all learned a lot!

Some of the food and drink that we made for the party. My contribution: non alcoholic punch and alcoholic white sangria (thanks Martha Stewart!).

DIY Baby Shower Invitations

2010-10-27T17:15:00.002-04:00

Paper turns me on. I think it all started when I was about 10 years old and my parents sent my brother and me to Colonial Camp at the Peter Wentz Farmstead. The farmstead was built and established in the mid- to late- eighteenth century outside of Philadelphia. It served as headquarters to George Washington in the fall of 1777 and now the site (farmstead and 90 surrounding acres) has been restored and furnished to reflect its appearance at the time of the Revolutionary War. Every summer they have a camp where campers learn trades and activities of the Colonial Period. During camp my brother and I made 3 legged milking stools, dipped candle sticks, pressed flowers, weaved ticking tape, painted theorems (that are now framed and hanging in my kitchen!) AND made paper from cotton pulp among other activities.

In my childhood diary I still have pieces of the paper that I made at camp. It's highly texturized and blended with lavender from the Peter Wentz kitchen garden. I'm pretty sure I was hooked right away.

I spend stupid amounts of money on paper, unique letterpress cards (especially anything from Saturn Press in Swan's Island, Maine), and nice pens. My own stationary is navy blue with a white monogram and the envelopes are lined in kelly green. It makes me happy to think of people receiving my thank you notes...navy blue envelopes must be eye catching amongst the bills and catalogs, right?

So when it came time to create baby shower invitations for my dear friend Ruth...I couldn't just go out and buy pre-made or printable invitations. Here's the catch...I'm temporarily unemployed...and not exactly flush with cash at the moment. So, I needed a DIY invitation on the cheap.

First, the theme: We don't know if Ruth is having a boy or a girl so I needed a color/theme that was gender neutral. Ruth's favorite color is green and before she was even pregnant, had a fascination with peapods. Perfect...that was easy!

Second, card stock: I went down to my favorite store in Northampton, essentials, and found bundles of 4" x 6" white card stock. The paper is texturized, which makes it feel more expensive than it was. I got 4 bundles of 10 cards for $12.00, because I needed to make 36 invitations. I figured I would need at least one test invitation and a few mess-ups in my printer.

Third, design: Recently, I watched "The September Issue," in which Vogue-chief Anna Wintour says, "Less is more." I agree! I wanted a simple, straight-forward design that wasn't too cutesy. Ruth has fabulous taste...and doesn't buy into consumerism one bit, so I figured she would appreciate a simple design as well. Here's what I came up with (personal info has been deleted/altered). All 36 invitations were printed on my cheapo HP printer that came free with my MacBook 4 years ago:

Fourth, envelopes: I like to make my own envelopes. I figure it's eco-friendly and unique. Several years ago Santa brought me these awesome envelope templates from Paper Source and ever since I've been making envelopes out of old maps, old Patagonia catalogs, used wrapping paper, old New Yorkers, and anything else flat that I can find. I wanted an envelope that would grab attention, reflect Ruth's eco-friendly interests, and be beautiful. I stopped in at an art supply store and found some gorgeous paper (you'll notice it from my header) that matched the green I used on her invitations. I also used the same peapod design for my address labels. Here's the end result (with personal info altered):

And that, my friends, is one of the ways I have kept busy during funemployment. I love projects.

Find: Anthology Magazine

2010-10-16T10:19:00.001-04:00

I'm a fairly faithful reader of Anh Minh's blog and just yesterday, when I decided to dive back into this blogging life, I found her new project: Anthology Magazine. The tag is "Living with substance and style." Now why didn't I think of that? I clicked through the preview and fell in love. For possibly the first time in my life, I am ahead of the curve (or at least I think I am). This magazine is brand new and if you order soon, you'll get the first issue (Fall 2010). For just $38, you'll receive 4 issues per year and from the looks of their preview...it will be $38 well spent.

I used to say that I had one foot in a hiking boot and the other in a stiletto. These days (could it have been 2 years in Maine?) I appear to be drifting away from the stilettos, but I still crave style and art in my every day life. Mostly, I want to live with purpose and yet be effortlessly surrounded by beautiful things. It seems Anthology Magazine is bridging the gap. The idea of a quarterly magazine is also enticing - with the New Yorker, Martha Stewart, Real Simple, Lonny, House Beautiful, and a plethora of short stories and novels...I don't think I can fit another monthly magazine into my reading life. I just ordered my subscription and I'm eager for Fall 2010 to arrive in our mailbox...I expect great things!

Blood, Sweat and Tears

2010-10-15T12:00:00.001-04:00

This is long overdue. After living in our house for 1 year and 2 months and putting countless hours of work (and dollars) into the big, lovely Greek Revival, we decided to move. My husband received a job offer, nearly out of the blue, that we couldn't refuse. We both loved our home, our town, and the state of Maine, but I'm of the opinion that one must go where the opportunity presents itself (especially when young). We've been married for 4 years and have lived in 4 different houses, two of which we've owned. That's some math.

In a strange stroke of premonition, I actually folded up and saved all of our moving boxes and packing materials in our attic. So back in July and August, Jon and I set to the task of finishing our major renovation projects, packing most of our belongings, finding a new place to live in the Amherst area, and putting our house on the market.

The months of July and August were stressful and challenging, but September and October have been close to perfection. Our house is still on the market...so look for future posts of updates on the windows and finished front hall. Between moving, finishing projects, and finishing my job at Colby...I had zero time or energy to post anything.

Through the blood, sweat and tears of renovating and then quickly leaving our beautiful home, we've learned some valuable lessons. I want to record these lessons...in case I need reminders in the future:

1. In a home purchase, buy what you need now (or maybe what you need now with logical space for an addition if necessary). Don't over-obsess about planning for the future. Case in point: two people who each work 60+ hours/week do not need a 4 bedroom home. This was all part of planning for our sometime-in-the-future children, but we decided to move before we even thought about having children!

2. Small is better. So, I learned an expensive lesson by buying a big house. I learned that I like small cozy houses (with plenty of storage space for hiding the mess)...plus...my furnishing budget is on a smaller scale.

3. For us, a twenty minute commute is max. A long commute on the way to work is okay, but at the end of a long day...I JUST WANT TO GET HOME.

There may be other lessons that I've learned, but those are the most glaring at the moment. And perhaps you're wondering what I'm going to do with this little, unread blog? Well...I've thought a lot about just giving it up, but I think I'll keep it going for a little while. I like that I can look back on our little crazy life and feel grateful for how far we've come. And as soon as our big, lovely Greek Revival sells...I'm sure we'll be anxious to buy another home that needs a little reviving. But in the meantime, I'll focus on fun projects and fun escapes. No promises for any regularity...but I'll do my best. Thanks for reading. Oh...and if you have a friend who wants to buy a beautiful house in Gardiner, Maine that has been loved and loved and loved, here's our listing.

Good riddance blue floral.

2010-06-22T00:13:00.001-04:00

The most efficient man in the world has managed to eliminate every square inch of wallpaper in our house in less than a year. Our one year anniversary of owning our home is on June 24th and yes...we have successfully achieved our goal of stripping all the wallpaper. The front hall was the most daunting of all the rooms: 2 floors of dark greenish-blue floral wallpaper in very hard-to-reach places. Good riddance!

The first strip is gone.

Yuck.

And of course, the paper was doing a great job of hiding the cracking, crumbling, disintegrating plaster walls. Rule #1 of renovating an old house: One project always leads to at least 5 new projects.

Looks better already.

First round of wall repair. Can't wait to scrub those stairs.

5.25.1950 to 5.25.2010

2010-06-01T15:09:00.000-04:00

My Mom had a big birthday last week and to celebrate she threw a luncheon for all of her friends. I flew home to Pennsylvania on a surprise visit to help with the preparations...and to take part in the festivities.

Happy Birthday Mom! It's going to be a great year. You certainly know how to throw a party!

I took a few photos of the pre-party set-ups:

Here's the bar table for mimosas, iced tea, and Pelligrino

And here's the sideboard with plates, linen napkins, and silverware

My Mom has a beautiful collection of vintage linens - these are from my grandmother, Mimi.

On the invitations, my Mom requested NO GIFTS. But...I thought this was such a kind gesture: one of her guests sent flowers the day before her party so they could be on display and enjoyed by many at the party.

Here's the dining room table before the food was put out. My Mom arranged the flowers...she is one talented lady.

Detail of the table cloth - again, this is a vintage heirloom from Mimi.

She ordered Petite Fours from our local bakery. Delicious and cute!

Here is a close-up shot of the party favors. My Mom made 31 of these chicken potholders for her guests. Aren't they adorable? Each one was a different combination of fabrics.

She displayed her party favors on the center hall staircase. Martha Stewart would be proud.

Serena & Lily

2010-05-12T10:35:00.001-04:00

Usually I hate mailing lists. I'm actually one of those people who spends hours on the phone trying to get people to stop mailing me stuff: charity mailings, credit card offers, mortgage invitations, etc. But, somehow my name/address has been added to a jackpot mailing list from home design heaven. After a long day at work writing annual reports and planning fall programming, I arrived home to a beautiful catalog from Serena & Lily.

This company is fantastic. I want to be Serena or Lily. Preferably Lily, because I like that name better. But I digress.

They sell some furniture, fabric, rugs, paint, and baby stuff. Their designs are colorful, chic, and just a bit eclectic. Their rugs are on the high end of affordable for my budget...but still in that range. Yay! And their baby stuff. Oh goodness. It actually makes me want to get pregnant or adopt just to buy things! Ha! (Mom...don't faint...I'm just joking.)

Here's a look from their design studio. This is the perfect tool for someone like me!

From Serena & Lily

And if we ever have a child...the nursery of my dreams would be outfitted in the Dylan collection. Boy or girl...the elephants are just so cute.

And check out their Bazaar - fun, one of a kind objects pictured in their catalog for purchase.

So...thank you to the genius data entry specialist who added me to this mailing list. And Serena & Lily, you will have a new customer as soon as I receive another paycheck.

Auction fun

2010-05-11T11:06:00.000-04:00

Antiques are an obsession. And it's really too bad that my wallet can't support this obsession. So...I go to auctions in my current home state, Maine, where prices (on antiques and other things) tend to be a bit lower than say, Massachusetts, Connecticut or Pennsylvania. Last fall I went to an auction near Farmington, Maine for the sole purpose of a Maine painted bed that I saw pictured in an auction flyer.

I dragged my dear friend Kate along with me. The two of us sat teeth-chattering under a tent in the cold fall rain surrounded by a lovely assortment of Mainers. I hinted to the auctioneer that I was there for one thing...and one thing alone: the painted bed. He agreed to auction it off relatively early. Wink, wink.

So before the auction started, I inspected the bed; it hadn't been amended to a normal modern bed size (twin, full, queen, king) and looked to me to be almost full size. It had holes in the rails for the roping (as do most New England antique beds). The rusty red paint looked original. The headboard had original 'decoration' with black paint on top of the red paint. It was in pretty great condition. I loved it and decided I could go up to $250. What's funny is that you probably can't even buy a bed at Wal-Mart for $250...

The auction started and a few things were lined up, selling for relatively low prices. My adrenaline started pumping when I saw my bed disassembled and carried to the front of the tent. After a few bad jokes, the auctioneer started it at...$25. No...I am not joking...twenty-five dollars.

So I bid. Then another person bid at $35. I brought it to $45. And...then...the other person stopped. The auctioneer called $55 multiple times...trying to entice the second bidder. The second bidder didn't bite. The auctioneer paused...eyeing the second bidder once more, then lifted his gavel..."SOLD. $45 dollars to bidder number 61." That was me!

Yep, I bought my Maine painted bed for $45.00 last October. And I just got around to roping it up.

Here it is assembled, but not roped. The white board below it is called a bunky-board. I had this made at Portland Mattress Makers. My original plan was to have the bunky-board sit level with the rails on-top of L-brackets and then sit a full-size mattress on-top of the rails and the bunky board. I found a problem: modern mattresses are too high and will hide the headboard. So...I'm going to have a custom mattress made. Then I will lower the bunky board below the rails (on longer L brackets) and then sit the custom mattress inside the rails. Cha-ching. So much for my $45.00 bed. Custom mattress will be expensive. So...in the meantime, I decided to rope it up, place the bunky-board on top of the ropes (so that the mattress doesn't sag) and put my futton mattress on-top.

This is what it looks like from underneath. Roped, with the bunky-board resting ontop of the ropes.

Here it is assembled, roped, and fitted with our full-size futon mattress.

And here's the side view. This futon mattress is actually very comfortable with a featherbed on top. You can see some of the 'decoration' on the headboard.

Working for the Weekend

2010-04-30T11:31:00.000-04:00

It's 10:53 a.m. as I start to write this blog and I'm counting the minutes before I'm able to leave my desk for the last time this week. When you squeeze all the things you want to do plus all the life maintenance activities into 2 days/week, it's easy to plan too much!

To do:

1. Strip at least 1 more window frame (likely to take 4 hours).
2. Vacuum a week's worth of Porter fur from kitchen, dining room, bedroom, and tv room (30 minutes).
3. Attend Colby Men's Lacrosse game vs. Bates tonight (3 hours + with travel time). Go Mules!
4. Attend Seize the Mic Karaoke Contest at the Waterville Opera House on Saturday night (4 hours + with travel time).
5. Attend excellent auction in Gardiner (most of Saturday!)
6. Walk on the Kennebec River Rail Trail with my friend, Beth.
7. Possibly drive somewhere in New England on Sunday for the Colby Men's Lacrosse NESCAC Tournament Game (lots of hours).
8. Walk Porter multiple times (3 hours).
9. Read the May issue of House Beautiful magazine (1 hour +)
10. Create a mood board (a la Young House Love) for my living room.
11. Clean up our study.
12. Cook a yummy spring Sunday dinner with fiddleheads and fresh seafood.
13. Squeeze in a margarita or two!

14. FurMINATE Porter (see the photo from last summer....excuse the moving mess.) I'm trying to teach him how to vacuum.

Enjoy your weekend!

Back to curtains...

2010-04-29T14:43:00.000-04:00

You are probably picking up on a trend here: I have lots of ideas...and lots of desires...and no implementation. I keep telling myself if I only I didn't have to work...maybe I'd have time for all the things I want to do. Ohh...such is the life of a modern working lady.

So, our bedroom has been complete (other than all the things I wish I could buy to put in it) since, well, late-October. And we haven't had curtains this whole time! It was okay during the winter when it was dark for most of the time here in Maine- I'd just turn out the lights in the room to hide from the neighbors, but now that day light savings time is in effect...and summer is nipping at my heels, I really need to do something about our curtains!

We just have too much to do around the house- it's almost debilitating. Do I go outside and pull weeds? Stay inside and strip paint? Stay inside and strip wall paper? Paint? Vacuum dog hair? Clean dishes? Shop online for new light fixtures? Scour catalogs for more things I can't afford? Or do I sew curtains?

I told you I needed to quit my job.

I got a bunch of samples from Calico Corners and narrowed my search down to one specific print, but I'm still deciding on color. I think I'm veering away from brown. I think I like the light, slate blue color better. It's softer and more relaxing - good for a bedroom. The fabric is 55% linen and 45% rayon so it has a lovely drape. I can just imagine my completed curtains billowing in the cool summer breeze. Hah. Oh yeah- and these are the only new windows in our house. We added these during our major bedroom renovation:

Window Reburbish

2010-04-28T10:45:00.000-04:00

The windows in our home are original, and if I may say, quite remarkable; we have floor to ceiling, triple-hung windows on the first floor and large double-hung windows on the second floor. Most visitors compliment the windows...and I have to admit that the windows were a major selling point for me. Of course, I didn't really examine the windows on our 2 visits pre-purchase. Original, antique windows dating to the mid-1800s are a good thing if you care about preserving the historic aesthetic of a house from 1840, but a bad thing if you dislike drafts in the middle of January in Maine. Our antique windows are also to blame for my sudden Tourette's syndrome-like symptoms every time an oil bill arrives.

Jon and I discussed replacing our windows, but after some research, I discovered that the cost would be prohibitive (even with those well-publicized tax credits). I didn't want to replace the original windows with vinyl, fake-paned, windows, because 1: we couldn't afford it, 2: I felt like the aesthetic of the house would be compromised (see basically any other Greek Revival in our town and you will understand), and 3: vinyl has serious environmental implications. If we were to replace our windows, I would want true, separated pane windows made of wood. Well...those type of windows are seriously expensive and not in budget. So I continued my research and found a community of people in Maine seriously dedicated to antique windows...hooray!

On John Leeke's Historic HomeWorks webpage, I found a subsite called, Save Maine Windows. And on that page, I found comments from Mike LeChance from Maine Historic Windows. He was definitely speaking my language, so I called him up and had him come over for an estimate.

We decided to focus on our second floor windows, which were in worse shape than the downstairs windows. Actually...the downstairs floor-to-ceiling windows are all painted shut, which has preserved them pretty well. The upstairs windows are plagued with many serious problems: broken sash cords, chipping paint, some rot, broken panes, and general mal-treatment. Not to mention that each window had been painted upwards of 10 times...possibly more.

When considering replacing our windows with new wood, separated pane windows I figured out that each window (on the second floor) would be between $700 and $1000 (that figure might still be conservative). Mike showed me an example of his work...which was spectacular - the man is truly an artisan - and then told me that each window would be around $300. Sold.

Mike has 5 of the 10 second floor windows right now. Here are the pictures pre-refurbish:

This is our bathroom window- notice that it doesn't close!

In this shot, you see the two running channels that the windows (should) slide up and down within. The running channels should never be painted. Ours however have been painted, and painted, and painted again. Even the pulley systems have been painted. There are supposed to be sash cords, or ropes that run on the pulleys, connected to weights behind the running channels that make it easy to open and close the windows.

Here's a broken sash cord. Notice that it was also painted at some point...why!? Every single sash cord on the second floor is broken meaning that we have to jam pieces of wood between the window sill and the window to keep it open. This is slightly treachorous- I nearly lost a finger or two last summer when putting the windows up or down.

The paint is chipping badly on most of our windows. I'm not sure if you can tell how many coats of paint are on this window...tons.

Here's a broken pane. There are many more like this. You can also notice the terrible putty job that was last done (most likely be an amateur).

Again...bad putty job. Chipping paint.

To save a little money, I am stripping the paint from the running channels, pulleys, and parting strips myself. This task is not fun...at all. I am actually using a wallpaper steamer on the paint- which is more effective than nasty chemical stripper- not to mention more environmentally friendly, and safer to my personal health. Because I have no idea how old some of the original layers of paint might be, I'm treating the process with serious caution: I use a respirator and vacuum the paint 'skin' and flakes with a shop vac that is lined with a HEPA quality lining bag and filter. Ordinarily one might use a heat gun to strip the paint...but a heat gun in an old wood house is a serious fire hazard. The steam makes the paint bubble and lift from the wood so that I can skim it off (with some elbow grease), but without a fire hazard and without nasty chemical residue from a stripping agent. Thanks go out to Mike LeChance for teaching me this method! When the first 5 windows come back...I'll post pictures. Stay tuned.

Rug fetish?

2010-04-26T23:39:00.000-04:00

It seems I'm obsessed. My last post was way back in February. It is now April and I'm STILL talking about rugs. Unfortunately, I haven't actually purchased anything. I've mentioned Porter...our 110 lb Bernese Mountain Dog. He can't be trusted with anything valuable under-paw, which has paralyzed me from buying anything at all for our floors.

So the other day I was looking through the Williams Sonoma catalog dreaming of new fritatta pans (yes...fritatta pans) and I saw a rug with blue and white stripes. Now, I love blue and white anything...but stripes!? Stripes are the best! I flipped the pages with ferocity to...

(Nautical Stripe Outdoor Rug from Williams Sonoma)

this amazing Nautical Stripe Outdoor Rug. "Outdoor" basically means that it's made of polypropylene and to clean, you simply wash it off with a hose (or take it to a car wash - genius advice from my friend Alice at Henbogle ). A mold resistant, washable, and durable rug may be perfect for most peoples' outside deck or patio, but I think it's perfect for the INSIDE of my house. Porter's claws and occasional barf won't ruin this rug- oh no he won't!

The front hall seems to be taking the brunt of the beating from Porter's daily travels. As is evidenced by the scratched floor boards, he must spend his entire day sauntering back and forth from his lair (our living room) to the front door where he probably terrorizes the mail lady, the Jehovah's Witnesses, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, H.S. Football Boosters, and anyone else who dares to walk up to our house. So, I think I will buy this rug in the 3 x 9 size and put it in our front hall. We will strip the (AWFUL) wallpaper from the walls this summer and paint the hall yellow...and of course nothing goes better with yellow than blue and white!

I think I may actually purchase something. Williams Sonoma...you are back in my good graces. Check out the excellent prices on this rug! Nautical Stripe Outdoor Rug from Williams Sonoma.

More on rugs.

2010-02-09T22:00:00.000-05:00

Okay...I am a little (make that very) slow on the uptake. I'm sure a few people reading this will say..."Um, hello. Where have you been?" I don't know where I've been, but now I'm found. And found is two words, one designer:

Madeline Weinrib

While searching for carpets to take the place of my MISSING WSHome rug, I stumbled into Madeline Weinrib's website. And then spent the entire morning dreaming and trying to convince stores that sell her stuff to sell to me and ship. Yes...living in Central Maine has its drawbacks. Also, I found an article about how Madeline Weinrib actually sued WSHome for copyright infringement. I agree Madeline!

So check it out:

(from Meredith Weinrib site)

(from Williams Sonoma Home)

Anyway, onto more positive things. I may have changed my mind about a rug for the dining room anyway. Look at this one:

(from Meredith Weinrib)

The inspiration for the color change comes from my Mottahedeh Sacred Bird and Butterfly China:

(from Mottahedeh.com)

Plus, I'm still very definite about navy and white for the living room. Because the dining room and living room are connected via two beautiful pocket doors, I need to consider that the colors in each room work together. I adore navy and orange together. Jon is not sold...so I still have work to do. Also...I can't find prices for the Madeline Weinrib rugs anywhere! In the process of trying to find prices/someone to sell me these rugs, I found this adorable store/interior design company in San Francisco: Lotus Bleu Some of their interior design does what I wish I could do - blend modern patterns with traditional and antique furniture.

Why do I have to live so far from cute shops!?

I am mad at Williams Sonoma Home. Very very mad.

2010-02-04T15:58:00.001-05:00

Okay...I haven't posted in a while. A VERY LONG WHILE. Mostly the renovations were on hold because of our overly busy lives. Sob, sob.

Well, because I wasn't getting busy with a hammer...I decided to get busy with my credit card. I started scouring the web (let's face it...I live in Central Maine and online shopping is pretty much all I have) for deals. And I found what I believe to be the deal of the century from Williams Sonoma Home.

The WS Home stuff is way higher quality than Pottery Barn or West Elm and thus...more expensive. I stumbled onto their sale section a little after Christmas...and there...I found the most beautiful HAND NEEDLE POINTED RUG in a herringbone design for $199.00. Originally it was nearly $3000.00.

It crossed my mind at the time that it was probably mistakenly priced at $199.00 and should have been $1,999.00...but I didn't wait. I got out my card and purchased it in 9 seconds flat.

So...then I wait. It says it will ship in 3 days. I start monitoring the lovely UPS tracking device. All it says is:

Location	Date	Local Time	Description
MEMPHIS, TN, US	01/11/2010	2:53 P.M.	ARRIVAL SCAN
OLIVE BRANCH, MS, US	01/11/2010	11:49 A.M.	DEPARTURE SCAN
	01/11/2010	11:05 A.M.	ORIGIN SCAN
US	01/11/2010	9:43 P.M.	BILLING INFORMATION RECEIVED

So I wait. I think...wow...it must take so long because it's so large. And then I got tired of waiting. I called yesterday. And Williams Sonoma Home gave me the biggest load of bullsh*t I've ever heard:

"Ma'am, our records show that the rug was delivered to your house, was denied and then sent back to our distribution facility in Tennessee, where we resold it."

I proceed to calmly say that it was never delivered to our house, there was no record of any UPS person coming to our house (you know UPS leaves those notices when they can't drop off something and then after three tries you have 2 weeks to pick it up at their facility), and that I want my rug.

"I'm sorry, Ma'am. We don't have anymore rugs. We sold out."

Then I get slightly agitated, "I don't understand. The rug was never at my house. I wanted the rug. My husband wanted the rug. It wasn't delivered."

"I'm sorry Ma'am. There's nothing I can do. You should call UPS. They certainly shouldn't be conducting business that way."

So...I hang up annoyed out of my mind and call UPS. I speak to the UPS agent and give them my tracking number and they tell me that the rug was never delivered to my house. The rug never left Tennessee.

Now...UPS has never failed me. They are amazing. Why would they lie to me? There's no reason...they get paid no matter what. But WS Home? Clearly...I purchased that rug for less than they were willing to sell it for and somebody figured it out.

Well...they messed with the wrong customer. I'm pissed. And the last time I posted something about a company...they FOUND it on my blog and commented. So WS Home, I have one thing to say: I would like that beautiful herringbone needle pointed rug in my dining room. I am willing to pay more for it. Seriously. I just want it underfoot in my diningroom. I'll forget all about your dishonest customer service representative. Thanks.

22 Windows Without Curtains

2009-11-07T10:10:00.002-05:00

When Jon and I moved in to our new house at the end of June, we were struck by the design choices of the previous owners - and not in a good way. They were lovely people so I'll be polite. As I've noted before, the wall paper covering every room was likely put up in 1982. Clashing florals: hot pink in the dining room, white and pink in the kitchen, dark green in the center hall, and tan plaid in the study. To compliment the floral wall paper, the previous owners put up lace curtains in the living room, sheer (and not silk sheer, I'm talking straight polyester) panels of a greenish tint in the dining room, green sheers in the pink bedroom, more polyester lace in another bedroom, and brown canvas panels in the study.

The previous owners left their window treatments behind, which was a very nice gesture. And because I knew I wouldn't get around to sewing new curtains for quite a while, I decided to leave them up even though I wasn't so keen on the appearance.

Well, I couldn't take it anymore. At the beginning of October when Jon was away I just went a little nuts. I took everything down in a rampage. I called Jon like an ashamed little kid, "Jon. I have something to tell you."

"What? Are you okay?" I could tell he was worried.

"I took down all the window treatments. I couldn't stand it anymore."

"Well, what are we going to do? Just have no curtains?"

"I'm telling you...it looks WAAAAY better."

"Fine."

Click.

It was a little more cordial than that, but it does look waaay better. But now I need to select fabric and at least try to get started on curtains. I have a long, dark, cold Maine winter ahead of me which will provide lots of time for sewing.

When I was growing up, there was a Calico Corners within 15 minutes of my house. Actually, pretty much anything you needed or wanted was within 15 minutes of my house, so I'm spoiled. Central Maine is a different story. Thank goodness for the internerd.

You'll remember that we painted our bedroom a light blue/turquoise color. I'm still questioning that decision a little, but I'm hoping to fix it with my curtains. I need to dress up the room a bit and to do that, I want to add a dark brown element. Here are some of the initial swatches I've ordered from Calico Corners. I WELCOME input:

The first one is called Blossom (in Chocolate) and it is made of 95% cotton, 5% linen. The second one is called Scramble (in Chocolate) and it is made of 55% linen, 45% rayon.

Here are some tips on drapery fabric (all credit to my Mom, an incredible seamstress): Always get a swatch of the fabric before you buy all that you need. You can't tell "drape" from an image in a catalog or online. The "drape" of the fabric is key. How well does it look hanging- does it fall naturally or look stiff? Just imagine a curtain blowing in the wind: one that billows slightly will drape naturally, but one that moves in one big piece won't drape as naturally. In my limited experience, I love the way linen blends drape. I aim for natural fabrics (linen, cotton, silk), but those are usually more expensive. Just stay far, far away from polyester. I mean it.

Soon, I'll post how to make a gorgeous curtain that's actually pretty easy. It's a historic design that I learned from my Mom, but it fits perfectly in a modern home meaning that it's totally functional yet lovely and unique.

Let me know which fabric you like better!

Don't look in the attic!

2009-11-05T21:27:00.000-05:00

Our housewarming party was last Friday and I have to say I am proud of the way everything turned out. Jon and I were discussing that this party was the first party we've thrown as true 'adults.' Hmm. I don't know how we decided that we are now adults, but there it is. I've felt it coming for a while now...but china, wine glasses, baked brie. They are all pointing in a direction. And that direction begins with an A.

Other than the disturbing realization that now we're adults, we also realized that there's nothing like a housewarming party to make homeowners productive. In the two weeks before our party we stripped the rest of the wallpaper in our kitchen, re-plastered the walls in our dining room and kitchen, primed and painted the dining room, painted the trim in our new bedroom, unpacked all of our books, rearranged our 'study' and cleaned about 8 times. Plaster dust is my new number one enemy. Yes, it's even worse than Porter fur. But the combination is downright awful.

To be honest, we made the amazing discovery that our neighbor is a plaster and dry wall professional. He is fantastic. His work is perfect. And our walls are beautiful. Slum no more!

So after all of the work and cleaning, my parents came up to Maine and helped me prepare for the party. Who knew there was such a thing as colored leaf doilies to put on your serving plates under cheese and the like? That would be my Mom, aka as Karen "Martha Stewart" Helm. And we searched all over Central Maine for these puppies. No where to be found. So my Mom bought them on her return home to PA and sent them to me for the party. And yes, I used them. I placed them under my 'made from scratch' pumpkin cupcakes. Are you barfing yet? No? Just wait.

We also purchased a burnt orange hemstitch runner and a white linen hemstitch table cloth from Williams-Sonoma. Not only does the burnt orange match my Sacred Bird and Butterfly China from Mottahedah, but it goes perfectly with the harvest theme of our party. I know you're sick now. (As a side note, I think runners give one the option of making a seasonal table, without having to buy a completely different color tablecloth. If you have a good basic white table cloth, pretty much any color runner will go perfectly with it. Next on my list: navy for summer! Yes, I'm already planning our next party!)

The funny thing about all of this is that I truly had fun getting the house ready for our party. I loved it. And instead of describing it and making myself sick, maybe I should just put some photos up.

Here's the caveat about the photos...my camera was out of batteries, so we had to use an iPhone. Not the greatest, but they'll give you the idea:

We put luminaries on either side of our front walk to welcome guests to our house.

Here's one of our two pumpkins.

When guests came in, we brought them right to the bar- of course!

We also had a 1/4 keg of Gritty's Halloween Ale

We moved the furniture in our TV room to accommodate more people. There are my fab UO chairs!

This is an antique table that belonged to my Grandmother, Mimi. On top, I covered it with an Irish linen runner, a bowl with floating beeswax candles (thanks Mom and Dad), multicolored maize, gords, mini-pumpkins, and paper leaves. I also used this table for a bowl of roasted pumpkin seeds, almonds, and candy corn!

And here's the table. Jon took this picture before I put all the food out. It looked pretty spectacular with all the food. Ugh...I wish we had better photos.

Another shot...sort of.

Before our party, I mapped out an all day workplan (complete with time limits on each activity). I made sure to get everything done on time and in order and that made for a great party, with relatively little stress. It was A TON of work, but not stressful. And I think our guests enjoyed themselves too! Can't wait for the next one!

House Warming Party!

2009-10-20T23:34:00.006-04:00

After working INSANE hours for weeks (evidenced by the time of this post) and never seeing Jon except in the photographs on my blog, we decided to add a fun element to our lives by hosting a house warming party.

Now...we may seem crazy. The house is currently half covered in plastic sheeting (I mean the inside) to protect everything from the dust of our renovations. And we are NOWHERE close to being finished. I mean...it will be years. But, we're going to keep it low key and fun. At least, I'm trying to despite the ugly perfectionist in me that's fighting to come out and take over.

So, first came the invitations:
Lately, I've been loving the mail. We had our 3 year anniversary last week and I got a bunch of cards (and all my magazines arrived too) and it reminded me how much I love the U.S. Postal Service. Receiving a letter feels like Christmas. I just love them. So...I decided to send real invitations using the actual postal service for our party. I couldn't afford anything fancy, but I wanted to get creative.

Several weeks ago, I stumbled on this cute antique shop in Hallowell (4 miles from my house) which had an amazing selection of old postcards. I bought up the whole stack of Maine themed postcards (20 for $1 to $2 a piece = total of $30.00) and sent them as invitations. I could have gotten much more creative with the envelope, but my insane job limits my time/creativity way more than I'd prefer. I tried to match the card to each recipient's interests or personality. Here is a sampling of the invitiations:

Upper left: "Greetings from Maine" Upper right: "Deer in Maine" Lower left: "A River Road in Maine" Lower right: "A Maine Potato Farm""Nut cracker in Maine""Surf Scene on Maine Coast""The Gardiner-Randolph Bridge" (I wish it still looked like this!)

"Lunch time in Maine" (sent to two of my favorite Maine parents)

(I forgot to add the time of our party to this invitation...luckily...I only did that once!)

So now that the invites are out, the RSVPs are rolling in. I think we'll have about 30 people. The next thing I need to worry about is food. Anyone have good hors d'ouevres ideas/recipes? Please comment and help me out!

Susanna's Strategies for a Successful Paint Job

2009-10-15T23:06:00.006-04:00

Sure...there are tips all over the web for a good paint job, but I have some others that I've learned the hard way...and are absolutely NECESSARY for success. I hope they help you the next time you have to paint.

1. Never ever underestimate the power of primer (I suggest High Hiding Primer- Valspar is the brand I used on this job, and I was impressed).

2. If you are painting drywall for the first time, ABSOLUTELY 100% make sure you have all the drywall dust off the walls. I learned this the hard way. If you paint on top of the dust - even just a little - painters tape will take off all your hard work...because the dust prevents the primer from sticking to the dry wall. I guess I thought I could cheat...

3. Listen to music and specifically songs that tell stories (I think these are ballads?). Such as anything Neil Young, Johnny Cash, Ray LaMontagne, Band of Horses, Neil Simon, Emmie Lou Harris, Loretta Lynn, and throw in some Dixie Chicks to pick up the pace. I sincerely think Maine and its plethora of country radio is getting to me. Really, just listen to whatever you can zone out to and enjoy. I found myself lost in the stories that I was listening to while painting. When do we ever get 4-8 hours to do something mindless and listen to music? It definitely made the process more enjoyable!

4. Always paint with a wet edge. What does this mean? Instead of painting the whole room, and then painting the edges, break up your room into different sections- mainly wall by wall. Paint the center part of the wall with a roller and then while it's still wet, do the edges. When you move to the next wall, wrap the edge paint brush in a wet paper towel to keep it from drying out too much before you need it again. This will make sure you don't see ridges between the rolled center and the brushed edge.

5. A good roller and a good paint brush are definitely worth the money. I ALWAYS choose the Purdy brand.

Okay, so those are my tips. I really debated whether or not to put these photos up. We choose a blue color for the walls in our bedroom. It's a FreshAire Choice brand of paint- ecofriendly and no VOCs. I figure I'll be sleeping *hopefully* 8 hours per night in this room so I certainly don't want to be breathing paint offgas for years to come! The color we choose is called Summer Dragonfly. You can see it in the Waterscape Palette on the FreshAire Choice website.

On the website, you'll probably say: wow, how soothing. Perfect for a bedroom. And that's what I think. However...the color as it appears in these photographs is totally different from the color as it appears in reality. You'll just have to trust me! We also finished the ceiling since I took these photos. Holy hell was that long and neck-breaking. 2 coats of primer...but only one 1 coat of high gloss Glacial Tint! We still have to prime and paint the wood work. See the cool design on the woodwork- we matched it to the rest of the woodwork in our house.

Oh yes, those prison windows have been replaced since the photo was taken too. Thank goodness.

Here you can see a bit of the hell that was the floor. It looks so much better now...pictures soon!

Floors = pain

2009-10-11T10:31:00.004-04:00

When we tore up that gross red carpet in the back bedroom we found old wide plank floors underneath. They appeared to be in great condition except for one small problem: they were covered in layers and layers of paint. The paint was likely very old (i.e. lead?) and two tone. The middle of the floor was gold in color and the outside was dark brown. I was VERY concerned about sanding: if the paint contained lead, sanding would make the lead airborne...which is the worst way to be exposed. I figured we already exposed ourselves to some pretty terrible toxins during demolition...no matter how careful we were. So we got some paint stripper...a biodegradable variety...and tried that. The layer of brown paint wiped off with a paper towel, but the stripper didn't even disturb the gold or approximately 30 layers underneath the gold.

So what to do?

When we lived in our Carriage House in Providence, the previous owners had painted the exposed beams. We had to scrape the beams to uncover the gorgeous wood underneath and Jon still had the scraper we used, so he tried it on the floors. Success.

However...exposing a few beams is one thing. Scraping an entire floor is a whole other nightmare. Jon actually sweat through his shorts. I've never seen that before. I understand sweating through a shirt...but shorts? And the whole time he was doing this he had to wear a respirator...which made it a doubly awful task. Try breathing heavily into a respirator...

So then we rented a commercial grade, EPA approved sander. Awesome, right? Well...remember that our house is over 100 years old. The floorboards aren't necessarily level. In fact most of them are bowed one way or the other. So putting a big belt sander on top, will only really work on part of the board. Ugh. But at least it helped a little.

All in all we estimate that the whole process took Jon about F-O-R-T-Y hours. I felt so bad. Sincerely awful.

In the process, we found a layer of old newspaper under the paint in one corner. Weird right? Why would they have put paint down and then painted on top? Who knows...but we did get to scrap up a few pieces that are even readable. Take a look:

Beadboard on the ceiling!

2009-09-05T10:59:00.003-04:00

My vision is sllllowly coming together. Originally I thought I wanted the beadboard to be horizontal on the ceiling. I figured that the horizontal lines would draw your eye lengthwise making the room seem longer. Well...we encountered that old house CHARM again. It seems that there is about a 4 inch change from one side of the room to the other, so the horizontal beadboard would have made the slope look very obvious. So, we decided to go vertical with our beadboard. In the end I don't think the direction mattered too much...the beadboard looks amazing. I'm soo excited to see it completely finished!

Now that I've updated the blog...I'm off to go paint for the rest of the day. Wish me luck!