Slowly But Surely She Begins to Shine

So far 2020 can be summed up in two words:  Crazy times.  January we rushed to complete everything we needed to get our Certificate of Occupancy to move into the farm.  Our finances were finally dwindling to the point that we had to accept where we were in the beautification of Penny process, and finish the rest while we live here.  In early February I spent every waking hour packing and painting - getting our old house ready to put on the market.  I was so tired by the middle of the month that I couldn't articulate a full thought.  The house went on the market February 19th and received multiple offers.  It's officially set to close April 17th.  The end of February through the second week of March I became an expert at driving at 24' box truck.  Bill's rigging experience helped immensely as the two of us moved our belongings by ourselves.  Today, Bill continues knocking out projects daily, while my job is emptying boxes and adding the touches that make a house a home.  We've got a long way yet to go, but here's more of our progress...

Bill and I didn't want box vanities, so I spent 2018 looking for old chest of drawers that spoke to me,  Two of the ones we chose had hideous pink marble tops.  Bill built new tops for them out of wood we reclaimed from Penny's old walls.  The spare/guest bathroom we decided to keep simple with white bowl and bronze fixtures to match the gorgeous old pulls on the drawers.  The mirror we had over our foyer table at our old house but decided that it really fit here... as you'll see later we didn't have a shortage of antique mirrors.

I should mention here that the drawers have all been cut for the plumbing.  It's a detail that the average person doesn't think about.  Most just think "cut a hole for the bowl and we're done"...  Plumbing goes down about the depth of two drawers.  He made two small drawers from each large one with a space hollowed out in between for the fixture.  The storage area in the spare bathroom vanity isn't a whole lot, but with the kids coming and going, it's just the two of us and only really needs to hold toilet paper.

For both of our master bathroom vanities we chose Mexican Talavera  pottery sinks that we bought online at La Fuente Imports (www.lafuente.com).  Took a minute to get both but we love the look.  We also chose two chests that had mirrors attached.  Bill's (above) has plenty of storage below for larger bathroom items (iron, cleaners, etc), and mine has plenty of drawers for everything a woman might need in toiletries.  The only thing I think I want to add to my area is a lighted magnified mirror on a swivel arm...

If I'm going to show the vanities, I guess I should show you the before and current look of the master bathroom.  We still have a bit more to do ~ bead board, crown molding and the window... but it's beginning to look like we dreamed it would and more.  From an adjoining bedroom to a master bathroom... the hardwood floors were carefully removed and used to replace the damage flooring in the kitchen.  Grey tiles found on clearance at Lowes were used on the floor.  See the "Tale of Three Mantles" blog to learn more about the hearth tile and mantle.  Pictures have been hung and the antique gas stove is in the corner with little lights in the firebox to provide ambiance through the mica windows.

On the other side of the room we removed the two closets.  Opened up the wall on the right to the master bedroom closet/electrical box and made the area for the shower.  An antique chandelier (similar to the chandelier that used to hang in the living room but the previous owner took with her), hangs above my dream claw-foot tub.  Once the windows are done, we will hang a large stained glass window in front of the bathroom window, and change the temporary curtain for something more appropriate.

Are you ready for the living room progress?  This here makes me sooo happy.  I get a cup of coffee and sit in my new old favorite chair (that gets refurbished in July)... between the fireplace, the wall of mirrors, the wall trim, and the trunk with mica lamp... I'm as happy as a pig wallowing in muck.  This is everything that makes us just sit back, relax and smile with pride in everything we've accomplished.

There's more, but I need to move more boxes before I take pictures that are blog worthy.  Perhaps I'll do a blog on the victory garden we're currently planting.  What's happening today in the world is so bloody terrifying.  It makes both of us grateful that we moved to the country.  I fear for us, for our family and for our friends around the world.  Please be safe.... social distance yourself from others.  My thoughts and prayers are with everyone reading this blog.  Stay safe.  God bless you all.