Rehabbing A European Colonial Revival- Part Two

When I ran my little survey
several of you said you liked the 
pictures of the rehabbing we did 
on the homes we lived in.

This is another area of the house we rehabbed

in the Hysterical Historical District.

You can see the front porch and foyer here

If you remember the front looked like this after we painted.

I am not sure what happened to two of my

photo albums so I am reduced to using the few

free-floating pictures that I did not put in an album.

So- these pictures are sketchy, at best.

After you step through the vestibule

there is a center entry hall.

As you can see it was in pretty sad shape.

You will notice if you look into the back entry

that we moved the door to the far right side.

That is because the porch was hanging away from the house

and open on both sides.

I used the radiators as opportunities to decorate

for the Season.

Formal living room is to the right.

Dining room is to the left.

Notice the GREY drop leaf desk?

Was I ahead of my time, or what?

This was 15 years ago! lol

I am not sure WHAT is in the back hall

propped up on slats.

Some project I was working on....

More pictures coming as I get them scanned in.

Meanwhile,

Happy Friday!

I am spending the day alone-Whoo Hoooo~

Making A Powder Room In A Closet

Several years ago we owned a home in

Door County, Wisconsin

Door County is called the

Maine of the Midwest.

It is gorgeous.

If you click the link above you will

see how beautiful it is.

Anyway,

We found a house that had been sitting vacant

for several years.

The house was stone and in very good shape

but was dysfunctional in some ways.

It desperately needed a powder room

that would service the main living part of the house.

There was a closet that opened off the back hall.

The closet was 3-1/2 feet by 5 feet.

By putting in a pocket door we were able to 

install a functional bathroom.

Now this was BEFORE I knew ANYTHING about

taking pictures (like I do now) THAT was a joke-

So, the pictures were taken with the dreaded FLASH

and the decor, by today's standards, is dated,

but it was great at the time.

I used a poster, cut the hands out 

and applied it to the wall

next to the ceiling.

I then took paint and started 

highlighting and shadowing

the applied piece.

Everyone thought it was hand-painted on the wall.

The walls were lightly marbelized.

I was able to put a small sink in there.

I used a glass shelf to keep things "light".

You can work a bathroom in just about anywhere

if you can get to the plumbing from 

the basement below.

That was the bonus to having an unfinished basement in this house.

The great thing about this house was 

that the lot went down to the channel

between Lake Michigan and the Bay.

We were able to divide the lot into

three sections.

We sold the house with one acre

and sold another acre off and

still own one lot.

Why no one had figured it out before

we did is beyond me....

but that is what happens when you are 

constantly "looking".

LOL-

It's a disease!

I will show you more pictures of this

property in the future

if you are liking these rehab posts.

Let me know~

Ummm...getting close to 700 followers!
You know what THAT means!
A GIVE-AWAY.
Hmmmm...what to give you!
I was thinking of a framed
8x10 of MyHero IN BED!

I'm just having a hard time deciding 
which picture I like best!
okay-that might not be the
REAL GIVE AWAY

LOOK AT THIS HOUSE My Daughter Found!

I was gone all day yesterday.

I drove South about 100 miles to look at

THIS HOUSE 

with my daughter.

I won't post the address yet 

or tell you just where it is

but it is in their scope.

It needs work.

Quite a lot of work...

 WHERE do you find walls that are this thick?

You find it in a house that was built in the 1860's!

This is a kitchen window with original sill.

There are lots of original features 

but the bathrooms have been updated beautifully.

There's a nice big living room

To the left you can see the front door with transom.

Front side porch off the kitchen

Back side porch & pergola off the kitchen

Kitchen is a gut job-plain & simple.

Except the original brick floor and wall would stay.

That's a small pantry on the far right.

So....This MIGHT be the home for two little boys

and a brand new baby girl to grow up in.

It MIGHT be their forever home.

Can't you see those little guys scrambling around 

the barn that sits behind the house?

IF they get the house I found a 

WONDERFUL HOUSEWARMING GIFT

for them.

A MOOOOVE IN Present.

A MOOOOOVING statue for their front yard.

Shhhhhhhh.....I want it to be a total surprise!

I have some sweet little girls here

for the weekend so I will visit

as I can today!

Fixing The Front Of A Historical House

As most of you know

that have been following me

for a while we have moved

MANY (is it 15?) times in

the years we have been married.

I have REDONE/REHABBED 

most of those homes.

My favorite house -

besides  the one we are in now-

 was the house in the historical section

of Astor Park in Green Bay, WI.

I LOVED this house.

I thought we would be there forever.

Sadly, it was not to be-

a neighbor walked across the street

one day and made my husband an 

offer he could not refuse.

Thirty days later we moved out.

(Now, remember, back then I

was not blogging.  I took

pictures only to have for our files)

When we moved...the 

front looked like this.

There is a porch swing on the left

where we spent every morning 

drinking coffee.

Here is what it looked like when we

moved in.

When we bought it

the ceiling of the porch

was painted dark navy blue

and there was a cranberry front door.

The first thing I did outside was paint

the ceiling white.

It made the inside much brighter.

The porch floor was painted one of the 

colors off the historical colors list.

Inside there was a vestibule and

a foyer behind it.

The vestibule was missing its door

and the built in bench had been removed.

How I wish I had taken better pictures.

The front sidelights had already

been replaced at this point.

After:

We replaced the bench,

the missing glass between foyer

and vestibule.

We also replaced the front door which

was not original to the house and

replaced the inner door with the one

 that had been moved from its place 

and used as the front door.

Oh----this is the home I miss the most!

---sigh---

Later this week

I will give you a peek at the side/back yard.

You won't believe your eyes.

-Bet you can't believe this either-

I do-

You know why?

Because it was on the INTERNET...

and, as we all know, everything

we see on the internet is true!

Have a great day!