The Living Room

 

When we bought our house in November 2018 the living room had peeling wallpaper and smoke stains; the fireplace was surrounded by painted brick and had no mantel; the hardwood floors had carpet tack strips all around the edges and were stained and unloved; and there were so many openings in the room I don't know how furniture was ever arranged. But there were "hand hewn" beams on the ceiling and the room was large and well lit.

As part of the first remodel, we removed the stereo equipment cupboard and closed the opening to the right of the fireplace which went to the dining room. We turned the dining room into an office and made a closet where that opening was. Later Handyman made new, taller double paned windows for the living room, and we lived with it like this for another 4 years.

Then in February of 2024, we finally started the living room remodel

and this is how it looks now.

First Handyman had to fix the plaster on the ceiling and walls, and add lights and plugs. Then he refinished the hardwood floors. In May he built a new mantel, and installed a new hearth and new bricks around the fireplace opening. Then came the cabinets on either side of the fireplace.

By the middle of June, new moldings were being installed all around the ceiling. This detail helped incorporate the "hand hewn" beams into the whole design. These moldings were a very time consuming project, but look great and add a lot of old world charm.

On July 16th we spray painted all the moldings and trim. Handyman said it was faster and you can't brush water base paint anyway, but what a LOT of masking was required!

Then we moved on to building these floor to ceiling cabinets. We had these in our previous house and loved them. These huge cabinets hide all that stuff you only use once a year. (And dishes, lots of dishes. I seem to have a little problem there.) The paneled doors look almost like a paneled wall, and there is even a hidden doorway to the bedroom hall.

When we got ready to remodel this room we gave most of the furniture away; some on Facebook marketplace, and some to our daughter, so you might wonder where we got all this furniture. Most of it was squirreled away in other rooms, but we found the few pieces we needed on Facebook marketplace and at consignment shops. We also bought one new thing: a carpet from Grandin Road.

 

Most of the decorative items we've owned for ages. And that's what I really like about this room; it showcases our history. The blue velvet chairs by the window have been in the family over 100 years as well as the Vienna clock and ship's clock. Next to the ship picture we bought in Essex, Massachusetts is a David bust from Rome, a ceramic horse from China, an old brass lock from San Quentin Prison, and a barometer from an old sailboat. Every surface holds a memory of a special time or place.

 
Glass Floats                Horn Cup from Scotland             Brass Ship's Clock                        Souvenirs

It is so nice to come into this room in the evening, prop one's feet up on the coffee table, and relax Back Amongst the Oaks.

Porch Roof

We've had this lovely brick stoop at our back door for almost 2 years now, but it has no handrail and the door gets soaked every time it rains.

So we decided to add a roof.

This is what this part of the house looked like when we bought it 6 years ago. Horrors!

This is how that area looked after the big kitchen remodel; all new windows, siding, and doors, but still no porch.

I figured we could flatten the pitch just a bit to make it come out even with the fascia board of the "family room" which is lower than the rest of the house, so on October 21st, we did some figuring and ran to Home Depot for lumber.

Then we had to manufacture a little beam because we couldn't find a 4x6x14'. It's probably stronger that a 4x6 with that piece of 1/2" plywood between the 2x6s. By Wednesday we had the beam and posts installed and started on the rafters and roof sheathing and by Halloween the railings were done.

Then came the priming and painting...

And Voila! We now have a porch roof that looks like it's always been there.

New Shed

 

After 70 years it was time to say "Goodbye" to Jill's playhouse, so in November 2023, Handyman finally tore it down. It was a cute little thing with a sink and electric lights and a dutch door, but it was never meant to house garden tools and it was always a mess.

We tore it down because we built a new shed! It's got full size doors, so we don't bang our heads going into it; it's much larger; and it's on a proper foundation so the floor won't rot.

The final part of the project was a fence to screen the service yard. Most people don't even realize the service yard exists because it's a long skinny triangle between the Habitat Garden and the back yard, but you can see it in the photo above. It's where we hide all that junk that most people hide behind their garage: garbage bins, garden carts, ladders, extra lumber, and the compost heap. I've also got a "potting shed" back there. It's actually a 12'x12' metal screened canopy thing that my sister gave me.

There's also a trellis over the gate and that still needs a vine. I'm transitioning to California native plants in my garden, so I'm thinking Lonicera hispidula, pink honeysuckle. 

It's hard to believe we are coming up on 6 years at this house. So many huge projects have been done and this shed is just one of them, but it's very satisfying to finally have a clean, organized space for garden tools and rarely used items.