Pioneer House in Review

I thought it would be an eye-opener to have a quick review of all the work that has been done over the last three years! Most of the "before" photos are from October 2011 and are compared with finished work this past year.

Exterior North side set up for a little picnic.

Kitchen before...

and after.  Hmm...where would you rather cook?

Looking into the parlor from the dining room....

The parlor almost looks the same!

This was the one and only bathroom and we kept it more or less in the same place downstairs...

but made it into a Jack and Jill bath opening into the pantry and the downstairs bedroom.

The stairs before...

and after with a railing.

This is the upstairs hallway with the chimney still in place to the left.

Same shot....three years later and no chimney!

This was Thurston's room...

now made into the second upstairs bathroom

Isabelle's room....

and now...this one turned out especially lovely.

The playroom...

and after.  This room is large enough for two twin beds.

And a couple exterior shots of our latest family reunion...

Thank you all for turning out and for following our Adventures in Restoration!

Stair Railing

We have finally gotten around to install the stair railing.  All the years of people living in this house and never a railing to be had.

Lots of detail work required for this project, and many coats of paint on those troublesome spindles and the two end newels.  Above photo is of the newels and top rail and bottom shoe rail.

Here Albert is spacing the spindles.

Here is the bottom shoe rail with one fillet installed on the left side.  Each rail, top and bottom, had to have these added for a proper finished look.

Neeka approves.

 

Plumbing and the New Kitchen Door

Just a couple photos today, this one of the upstairs bathroom at the top of the stairs.  Nice and shiny but I may regret all that white!

And we have hung the permanent kitchen door. I  painted it the accent color of the house, same as the the dining room door onto the deck.   

The Beginning of the End

As the saying goes, the plumber is the first to arrive and the last to go.  We have reached the stage of asking the plumber back to install the fixtures.  Here Albert is cutting out the Formica for the installation of the kitchen sink.

Just a little taste of how much sawdust is incurred during a house renovation!

And of course there has to be a "little problem" at every stage.  This is where the dishwasher is to be placed and secured to the inner walls of its cubbyhole.  Blocking needed to be installed for the screws to have a place to go besides just the thin walls of the cabinet.

This is the upstairs bathroom sink and refurbished cabinet in the room that used to be Thurston's.  

Up-close shot of the sink which we purchased second-hand and the nice new faucets. Tomorrow the plumber will return to finish up with the rest of the fixtures. ( no photos of the toilets, yet!)

Our Blue Star finds its home.

With the tile being completed in the kitchen, it is time to move in our range with the help of this appliance "sled".  

This appliance mover acts like a hover-craft, using compressed air to inflate the two rectangular pieces which have been slid under the stove.

Turn it on, and they inflate and are able to lift up to 800 pounds with ease.  No scratching the floor or hurting
the back!

Deflate the pads and slide them back out and you are done.

Our Blue Star Range.

Kitchen Tile

Tom has returned to put in the kitchen backsplash now that the cabinets and formica have been installed.

We chose a simple small subway tile in off white which complements the soft green counter top and the dark walnut cabinets.

The sink will be placed here to the right of the dishwasher and beneath my farmhouse style tiles I found in an antique store years ago.

Appropriate, don't you think!

Albert and my brother Paul resting after moving in the kitchen stove, clawfoot tub, and refrigerator.  Thanks again for the extra muscle, Paul!

While the appliances were being moved in, I finished up painting the exterior door to the North.  The porch post does not look so out of place now that the door matches it in color.

And a shot of some of the foundation plantings we have placed, here on the South side.