With 2019 soon coming to an end, so too is Phase I of our farmhouse renovation (the remodel of the home's original footprint). Phase II will be the addition (bedroom/laundry/master closet/garage and siding). What's left to do in this phase is to install trim and bathroom fixtures, fill our propane tank and get inspections done. We're close enough to begin to get excited. I thought it would be fun to look back and see how far we've come. When you put the pictures side by side it truly is amazing what we've accomplished.
First... the hallway and closet... The ceilings had been lowered 2'. During demolition we found the original bead board ceilings above. We've kept the bead board ceilings throughout. The french doors that were in this picture have been removed and are getting ready to be put in place as the wine closet doors. This whole area is less claustrophobic... and the pantry door upgrade is fabulous. I love our stained glass door panels. Coming soon-ish in this area will be one of 4 transoms that will help define the rooms without taking away from the open flow/feel.
Speaking of claustrophobia and horrid flow... The spare (hallway) bathroom used to have a water heater and washer to the right as you walked in... in front of you was a wall. This room was a clusterfuck of dark maze tunnels, made darker by the cheap wood-like paneling. There was nothing to be salvaged... nothing to give to Restore... nothing I'd offer to my worst enemy. I really enjoyed tearing out those boards one by one. I did it with a relish. Thank God we did. The amount of rot under the washing machine and water heater made us wonder how neither had sunk into the crawl space over the years. It simply wasn't safe to put anything on let alone walk on. This whole area had to have new floor joists.
We removed the wall and the window. The bathtub/shower was placed at the back end of the room. To the left of the tub will be a small broom closet. Bill took one of the chests I brought home and rebuilt the top. A hole had been cut out and hidden by horrid pink marble. The new top is made of wood that we pulled out of this home while remodeling. We're all about upcycling/recycling. He did an AMAZING job. It's now waiting for our plumber to come over this next week to hook up toilets, vanities and other fixtures in the bathroom. Once these are installed I'll bring down our antique linen closet to hold towels for this bathroom.
Our master bathroom, formally the third bedroom, is undergoing a major transformation. What was once a scary closet in the master bedroom that held years of really out of code and unsafe jerry rigged wiring is now our master shower. I can stand facing the shower head, hold my arms out and not touch the walls. Never again will either of us bang an elbow while showering... and when we're (MUCH) older we'll have room for a bench of sorts if needed. When our plumber comes this week he'll also do the shower fixtures and, more exciting, the claw-foot tub will be officially installed. I SO CAN'T WAIT for my first soak in that gorgeous tub.
The rest of the bathroom is coming along. The original hardwood was carefully pulled up (by Bill) and moved into the kitchen to repair the kitchen floor. We chose a large slate gray tile for both the bathrooms. Since the house is small and open concept we're trying to keep the materials to a degree of uniformity. We both felt it would look less busy and patch worked by keeping some elements of our design simple.
Again, Bill is transforming old chest of drawers. This one will be mine when complete. It'll be on the wall to the left as you walk into the master bath. Bill's vanity we'll be bringing down to the farm after Christmas for him to work on. His matching Mexican talavera sink was just delivered.
After painting the entire house interior white I decided it just didn't look right in the bathroom. It's such a large room that it needed something to make it cozier. There'll be bead board along the bottom half of the walls. The mantle is one we got locally that Bill refinished with a grey wash. I brought a handful of paint samples and immediately thought we were 50 Shade's of Grey-ing our bathroom. We compared the samples to the floor... the shower tile... the claw-foot tub... and found a color we liked that worked with all of them. That uniformity really works... when you are standing in the bathroom and look out towards the kitchen you see the white walls with grey cabinets... The house is modern masculine with a bit of feminine bling throughout.
Oh and that kitchen... That train wreck of dry your clothes while reheating your food kitchen... that let's change the type hardwood but not finish the project kitchen. I'm pretty positive nothing makes Bill and I as excited about walking into this home as the transformation of this kitchen. Again, the ceilings had been dropped 2'... we demolished those and Bill carefully brought the bead-board back into the kitchen ceiling. The ugly window was replaced with a large garden window. There is so much light in this kitchen now. It's a happy place.
10' ceilings with lbl beams that are about to be wrapped with wood provided to us by the Longino's. Thanks Jeff and Holly!!! Katie and I started the aging and staining process this week. With time to help Bill after Christmas, we should be able to get these up to add to the finishing glory of this room. This week I also brought down the plate that hung in my grandparents kitchen (see the rose plate in the first picture). It's waiting in a drawer to be ceremoniously hung above the window, where it was in their home. The only thing missing in our kitchen now is our oven. I'm waiting til the last possible second because this will DEMOLISH what's left of our budget/bank account. I'm terrified to pull that trigger until I know we're moving. Being land rich and cash poor isn't a fun experience. I'm gonna have less hair and an ulcer by the time we get into that house and our current house is sold.
Bill is still at the farm this week working tirelessly on finishing the trim. The early Christmas present he received (router) is helping him make beautiful craftsman trim. It's so period appropriate. I'm loving the look. The previous owners had put crown above the trim but the clean streamlined Craftsman look is divine. Bill is happy I think so because it's less work for him to do. :)
Sometime in January or February (I've looked at my schedule and it's not looking like an easy task for January at the moment) I need to head out to California and figure out how to ship my grandfathers table. Then Bill can work on building the banquette benches to go with it for the breakfast area in the kitchen. Did I mention we are all getting excited as this first phase is drawing close to the end? Even the dogs have come to check it out. They approve of the yard but aren't sure of the paper on the floor. We've told them that is only temporary.
I need to do two shout outs... One to Cherie, who has been ever so patient with Bill coming and going... providing him a bed when he's down there... and making sure he's alive (literally), in one piece (maybe 4) and fed. She's been an amazing sister wife during these crazy 22 months. We couldn't have done this without her total support.
The second is to my hub... who has been working his ass off during this time... trying to get this labor of love done for me and the kids. He hasn't seen me enough in the past two years. We've both been pushing through, taking care of both homes, the kids, the furbabies... and our jobs. My mantra to him has been "It's a limited time. It'll be over soon"... and "How can I help?" The distance has sucked and it has been frustrating to not have the mad skills he has. I've done my best to get him help where he can use it and accept it. I'll meet you in the claw-foot tub baby when this is through. I'll bring the bourbon. I love you.
To all of you.... Happy Holidays.... May you find peace and blessings this coming year.
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.
