Finished Rooms

Whoo hoo!  We have some finished rooms. Almost.  As you can see in the above photo, the door leading out to the porch is not yet varnished, but who's counting?

Looking from the dining room into the parlor and library.

Parlor and library.

And below, a view out the dining room window looking at the root cellar.

 

A Little More Molding

I know it has been a while since last posting, but it is not because we have not been working.  Above photo is the crown molding in the dining room,  all finished, caulked and painted.  I think it turned out fantastic and quite formal looking.

This photo above is a bit out of color, the ceiling is a softer shade of blue, but it does show the finished doorway into the kitchen.

We have the first coat of paint in the library.  Auburn in color, the same as Ellen's bedroom wainscot.  It matches well with the gas stove.

Here we have the finished wallpaper in the parlor. Still to do in this room are the chair rail, the crown molding and the base molding.  The never-ending molding........
And yes, the doorknobs.

New Doors

We have installed the new door to the deck.  It is the same style as the old door, but thicker and with better insulated glass.  The jamb is kerfed (there is a slot made into the wood) to allow for weather stripping integral to the jamb.

An exterior shot of the door.  New trim will have to be put in, and of course the door painted.  The same blue as the house, or an accent color?

Here is a close up of the egg shaped Schlage door knob and dead bolt.  

Here is a photo of the kitchen with the new interior doors installed.  The one to the right, into the dining room, has been varnished with a satin varnish.
We saved as many of the old doors as possible, some were too beaten up to be worth our while to repair.

And still the labor intensive molding going on. And on, and on.

Reality in Renovations

Happy New Year Dear Readers!   It has been over a month since my last posting and you will find out why in the last couple photos.  Here we have installed our Lodi propane stove in the parlor.

This shot is a bit more true to the color of the walls and the stove.

Albert putting up the vent cover after painting it the proper ceiling cover.  So many little things that have to be done and they all take time!

And decisions!  Here we are looking at the walls of the formal entry.  Should the color of the wall be that of where the light switch is, or....

should it be this color?  I am leaning toward this color, less contrast and not so many colors going on.

No decisions yet though and it may come to be a completely different result!

So now you have it.... the reason for my delay in posting.  Here is Isabelle's room, torn up.  We discovered a pool of water under the window on the floor.  So after further investigation, we found water had come in somehow and soaked the insulation both upstairs and downstairs on the east side of the house.   

Some insulation was sopping wet, some not affected at all.

So all the wallboard has been torn out and all the insulation thrown away, walls exposed and trying to dry out.  We are not sure why the water came in, whether it was the fault of the windows or improper sealing of the siding outside.  We have caulked and re-caulked the siding  now but since it is winter, the temperature is not conducive to curing the caulk properly for sealing.  Hmmm.....we may just have to stay calm and carry on until spring.  We have the window representative coming out sometime, not sure when, but he/she may be able so shed light on this problem.

Light Fixtures

We have installed a few more of  the light fixtures; above is the original in Ellen's room, all cleaned up and back where it belongs.

This one we purchased at a second hand store, perfect for the parlor.

This pendant type also was found at a second hand store and is now in the main entryway.

And we all remember elementary school!  This one is in the kitchen nook.

I now have finally hung the wallpaper in the parlor......

.....just this much short!

More molding being painted, one coat primer, two coats paint.  I think we have miles to go.

Lights

Today we have had a few of the lights installed, above is the dining room lights in the tray ceilings.  This room is almost finished, just the ceiling molding needs to be put in.  Oh, and the front door will be replaced also.

Not the best shot, but it gives you a view of the door that will be replaced.

Here is the light in the pantry.

We found this very cool Chinese style table with six chairs and two leaves, perfect for the dining room I think.  It is stamped Taiwan on the bottom and Albert thinks it is all made from real rosewood.
Not the kind that is colored with shoe polish!

We have it stored at our house in the basement, along with two children's worth of stuff we are storing for them also!

Doors

Albert has begun the task of hanging the doors that were all taken off prior to sheetrocking.  The door above is in the laundry room.  Originally it was the door into the wood room upstairs, now a bathroom.   It fits in here nicely, and gives the entry a less closed in feeling.

This door is the downstairs bathroom.

A lovely glass knob, purple with age.

This door knob is in Ellen's room.

We are also in the middle of the arduous task of priming and painting all the ceiling molding needed in the dining and parlor.

Albert working on the bathroom door.