The Remodel Complete Part 1

This is our new dining room.  This room used to be our living room, but when we did the renovation, we decided to switch rooms.  In old houses, often the rooms can be multi-purpose, so we took advantage of the opportunity to make the swap.  Doing so, placed our living room on the front of the house by the front door and next to the foyer, and allowed our dining room to be immediately off the hall by our kitchen. It now backs  up to our sun porch where we spend most of our time.  We also have to walk through the dining room to get to the hall that goes to the bedrooms.  We like this arrangement, and find it is working quite well, even though I had to convince my husband that he would like it better.  He does.

The books shelves from the former living room now display a collection of ironstone and yellowware.  Even though I had some of this on the shelves previously, I now use the shelves entirely for this collection.  In order to keep it from being "too" busy, I tried to put just one or two pieces per shelf.  With my cupboards having display as well, I knew it could all quickly become overwhelming and lose effect and impact.  This little sideboard is one of my favorite pieces we brought with us from Kentucky.  It is a period walnut piece, and works so well to serve or display from. 

This view is the doorway to the hall leading from the sunroom to the kitchen.  This room was painted a new deeper gold tone, one of the new Nashville series paints by Sherwin Williams.  All of the rooms got new hardwood, "Saddle" 3/4" oak by Shaw Flooring.  My husband and I put down every last piece .  Some days I worked by myself while he was at work, just to keep making headway toward completion. 

This little vignette sits on top a cherry dresser which houses my table linens.  An antique spice box with individual metal boxes each marked with names of spices, was an estate find when we first moved here in 2000.  A miniature lamp sits in front, but it is really a vaporizer.  A little pan would sit above the chimney, where medicine, like Vics, was incerted and heated up by the oil lamp.   A little miniature oil painting was done by me many years ago depicting a primitive scene of my family playing together in the front yard of my childhood home in Wisconsin.




I really love my cherry stepback cupboard.  It too, is a period piece with nice chamford doors, and has excellent storage for glasswear and dishes.  It now houses my grandmother's red and white Crown Ducal.  I remember my aunt serving Christmas breakfast on it when I was a little girl.  Her home was also decorated with primitives, which I always admired, and believe that is where I developed my love for them. 

I often use my oval ironstone platters on the bottom shelf.  I have several very large ones, but they all have great uses from grilling out to plates of cookies for sandwiches.  The red and white transferware makes a nice contrast with the gold walls, while the white ironstone stays crisp and clean looking.  I have collected ironstone for many years before the popularity of recent years. 

The little dented up silver cup was mine when I was a baby.  According to my mother, I used to beat it on my high chair tray.  I must have beat it alot, because it is dented big time!

My husband built my dining room table when we first moved into the house.  It is 8 1/2' long and made with 2  very wide plank poplar boards with biscuit board ends.  It easily sits eight people, but we can pull up more chairs and pack them in!  

This was the light fixture that was in the house when we bought it.  We took it down to move it into the new dining room, and while it was down I painted it satin black.  I had wanted to do that for a long time, but finally got the go-ahead from my hubby.  We both like it so much better. 

We bought this pewter cupboard in northern Indiana while visiting my son and daughter-in-law.  I don't have much pewter, but it still has nice rimmed shelving and bottom.

The two dining room windows look out onto the back sunporch.

One windsor high chair holds a rack of milk bottles.  This still works great for the grandchildren too.
More pictures are on their way of the new livingroom, master bedroom, kitchen and master bath.  Thanks for cominb by!

Kitchen Updates in Our Old House

 Our old house is always in need of some updates.    It has been 10 years since we moved here, and I am just getting around to some of these jobs again.  My kitchen fireplace had gotten so dingy, and the old color looked drab and worn out.  So, I bit the bullit and pulled out the paint. I took down all the decor including numerous old iron cornbread molds, antique copper skillets, and chestnut roasting pan (turned out to be a laundry basket full!), and carted them out to my antique shed for storage.  Then, after washing and recaulking, I got out my white paint and went to town.  When I was finished and the paint was dry, I set the mantle with some of my antique crockery, and filled two pots with red twig dogwood branches from my bushes.

BEFORE, WITH THE OLD BEIGE PAINT.

ANOTHER BEFORE, SHOWING WORN OUT LIMESTONE SURROUND.

AFTER, SHOWING SURROUND, MANTLE, AND REPLACED DECOR ALL WHITE.  AFTER REARRANGING MANTLE, I REPLACED HEARTH WITH JUST TWO PIECES, AN ANTIQUE GRANITEWARE CHEESE  SLICER  AND A WHITE ENAMELWARE BUNWARMER.

I MOVED THE PHONE OFF THE WALL,  TOOK DOWN SOME OTHER WALL HUNG ITEMS, AND PAINTED ALL THE TRIM ABOVE AND BELOW THE OLD BLUE MILKPAINTED BEADBOARD WAINSCOTT.

ANOTHER PUT-OFF PROJECT IS PAINTING MY CABINETS WHITE AND ADDING NEW HARDWARE.  IN THE MEAN TIME, MY ANTIQUATED RANGE HOOD (I PLAN ON REPLACING IT WITH A CUSTOM LOOK LATER) WAS NOT IN KEEPING WITH MY OTHER APPLIANCES WHICH ARE STAINLESS AND BLACK.  RUSTED ON THE INSIDE AND SCRUBBED DOWN TO BARE METAL ON THE OUTSIDE, I GAVE IT A FACELIFT.  TWO NEW COATS OF WHITE UNDERNEATH, AND AT LEAST 10 COATS OF PROFESSIONAL GRADE PAINT ON THE OUTSIDE, GAVE IT THE UPDATE I WAS LOOKING FOR.

THE DAY BEFORE I GAVE THE BEADBOARD BACKSPLASH A FRESH COAT OF WHITE.  THEN I TAPED AND PAPERED OFF ALL THE CABINETS AND STOVE TOP BEFORE PRIMING WITH METAL PRIMER SPRAY PAINT.

AFTER 10 COATS OF BLACK PROFESSIONAL GRADE APPLIANCE PAINT, I HAD THE UPDATE I WAS LOOKING FOR.

ANOTHER KITCHEN VIEW.

WE ADDED THE ANTIQUE LAMP OVER THE SINK AND UNDERCABINET LIGHTING WITH OUR ORIGINAL UPDATE. TWO YEARS AGO MY HUSBAND GAVE ME GRANITE COUNTERTOPS FOR CHRISTMAS.  THIS HAS TO BE THE YEAR TO PAINT THE CABINETS!

LATE AFTERNOON SUNSHINE ON THE SIDE OF OUR 1847 HOUSE.