The Barn

If you look closely at the floor in the barn, you will notice that it was far from level. This is to be expected of course, but the sag was more than just age, it had a bit of structural problem. 

Over the years, the center post which helps support the upstairs (including the guest quarters), had become shorter and shorter than it needed to be because of the floor sag. You can see the many shims that had been placed beneath the column over the years. 

And this explains why. There was significant rot underneath the floor. 

The former homeowner actually had this fixed for us, which was very kind of him. Our contractor Matt began by opening up the floor to expose the structural weakness. 

And this was the primary reason. As you can see, this post was crumbling into the ground. 

A new post was installed beneath the floor along with a proper footing, as well as other structural components that would allow for two cars to be parked in here. 

It was completely level after he did this. Notice that the center post is in direct contact with the floor once again. 

Here are some of the rotten beams that were replaced. 

Now the barn floor is nice and sturdy once again. This will be especially nice once the snow comes and we can get into the car without having to go outside. I've never lived in a house that offered this luxury but I have no doubt I will enjoy it immensely. 

An Old House Tour

There are several entrances to the house. At the moment, this side entrance is the primary entry we're using while completing renovations before we move in. 

It is a classic old mudroom. 

Here we are in the dining room. The sliding metal door to the left goes to an outdoor patio. 

This will be the living room, which is a wonderful larger room. 

The other side of that same room. 

We'll use the other front room for our office. 

The downstairs bathroom. 

Here's a peak down the center hall. 

I love this little door underneath the stairs. 

Here's the upstairs master bedroom. 

The other side of the master bedroom.  

Off of the master bedroom is the master bath. A second door leads to a hallway and to the other two upstairs rooms. 

I had an amazing ah-ha moment this morning regarding this bathroom - a true old house mystery! I can't wait to share it in a future post. 

Here is the larger of the other two bedrooms. 

And the smaller of the two. 

From the top of the stairs, there's a peek at the front door. 

The kitchen, looking one way... 

And the other. 

The kitchen nook. 

Off of the kitchen is a room we'll use as the family/playroom. 

It has two great big windows. 

The other windows are blocked by a very overgrown rhododendron that we'll be pruning back a bit to allow more light to enter. 

This is the utility/laundry room. 

Laundry area.

The utility room leads to another door. 

That takes you to a very special place...

A place where Grandma (my mom) and other guests will stay when visiting. Lots of work to do before that happens! 

It has two big windows, which brighten the space. 

The door to the left is the bathroom. 

There is a shower on the opposite wall. 

The door to the right goes to a dark but rather spacious area. This space thrills me as it provides extra space for nieces and nephews. I realize that this isn't the most wonderful photo to offer incoming guests but I promise, improvements will be made! 

The barn, which is located beneath the guest quarters. 

So that is our new old house. Built in 1825, it is of Federal-style architecture, with most of the historic features still in tact. For the last 25 years, it has been owned by a wonderful man and his family who used it as a summer home. 

There's plenty of work to do before we move in. We are going to update the kitchen and bathrooms and there will be a lot of paint involved (adding and subtracting). 

I'm excited to share the renovation process with you. 

A Duncan Phyfe Sofa

My Grandmother's Duncan Phyfe is about to get a makeover. I grew up with this sofa so it holds many memories, mostly of childhood. It was kept in our playroom at her house. It anchored many forts, and wind-up toys have explored its entirety. 

I had intended to have it reupholstered last year for the guest house. But between upholsterers' schedules, planning for the Country Living shoot, and other plans, we never found the time. 

It's in good shape structurally, but desperately needs new fabric. Also, I am planning all new batting and cushions, mostly due to its extended storage history in our barn. 

For the past few weeks, I have been researching local upholsterers and investigating ways in which I can revive this family heirloom while still using the greenest resources possible. This will require cotton batting, sofa cushions and upholstery fabric free of flame retardants and teflon coatings (for stain resistance). 

Well, this task has been a challenging one and I have learned a lot. There seems to be relatively few resources for sourcing these materials chemical-free. Thankfully, I did find a wonderful company that manufactures and sells everything that I think I'll need. I'll let you know how it goes. 

Catherine  

Our Bedroom and Bath

We've made some subtle changes to our bedroom recently. The biggest change has been to set up the four poster bed again. 

We kept the pelmet box which offers a whole different look when combined with the four poster bed. The alabaster lamps,which I stole from the guest house, are another small update. 

We also finally added curtains awhile ago. The painted wood curtain hardware is from Home Depot, from the same line as the curtain hardware we used in the guest house (although those were stained, not painted). The curtains are from IKEA. I found these after trying about a half dozen other options, but couldn't find just the right the shade, sheen or price. 

I also finally found a use for my Great Grandparents oriental rug. I've had it tucked away in a closet for safekeeping, but this low traffic area in front of the dresser will be a good place for it.

My Eastlake nightstand with the  marble top which used to be in the bedroom was used for the guest house bedroom. So in its place, I'm using another Eastlake table that belonged to my Great Grandparents. 

Our happy fern. 

Lastly, I realized that I've posted a lot on our bathroom but have never shot it from the opposite angle, which shows the custom cabinet we had made. 

Due to the slanted ceiling of the half story, we wanted to position the sink on the left. A local cabinet maker made this one for us and it's been great. 

The drawer under the sink is non-operational but the three drawers on the right and the cabinet beneath the sink offer great storage. 

We used reproduction glass hardware on cabinet and drawers, while the faucet comes from Pottery Barn. The mirror above sink is in antique walnut frame, which fit perfectly in that unique spot. 

Guest House: After Photos

Honestly, I feel as if I've talked your ears off on this little guest house renovation of ours so I'll keep my comments brief! 

The electric fireplace makes the kitchen feel like a whole new space. 

The heat is wonderful of course, but the coziness of sitting in front of a fireplace... there's something about a mantle and a hearth that just feels good. 

The pedestal table was an Amazon purchase. Of course, I wanted to find an antique table, but the criteria for the qualities that this antique table would have to possess made the task quite impossible... a pedestal, warm wood color, 42" diameter, affordable... This table was actually unfinished so we played around with several stain/seal products on the underside until we found the right hue.  

The IKEA arm chairs came from our house. They actually don't make them anymore, which is something I discovered when Country Living asked me to source them. 

As always, there's art in the kitchen. It's such a treat. These oil paintings are by artists Cathleen Rehfeld and Eric Jacobsen. 

The oak butcher block counters are from IKEA. The pulls and cabinet hinges transformed the original 1960s cabinet into the style of a yet older cabinet, from the 1930s. 

The logs and light show up much better in person that in this sun lit image. It's obvious that it's not a real fire, but still offers a coziness that's a wink and a nod to the real thing. 

The Louis Phillipe-style mirror is one I bought for $35. I have so many mirrors, (and I'm quoting my husband there) it's hard to believe that I can still find ones to buy. But this just seemed like the perfect mirror for over the mantle. 

Here is a close-up of the inside of the fireplace. 

Covered with an antique fireplace screen, it looks a bit more realistic. 

I still need to buy a rug for the bedroom. The rug that was featured in the Country Living shoot was borrowed from Crate and Barrel. 

The IKEA bed was the result of a panic that I had late one night (a few days before the shoot) when I realized that things weren't coming together quite as hoped (I intended on using an old wood bed, but the hue was too dark). I had shopped for upholstered beds at Ballard's months earlier but ended up passing on them because they were beyond our budget. The IKEA bed was a good compromise. 

This night stand is one I found last summer for $30. I liked it because of the warm wood tone, and knew that I was going to try to use pieces with a similar feel throughout the space. 

I didn't have two matching alabaster lamps, but I used two that are pretty similar in height. I married them with matching linen lamp shades, using appropriate hoops and spacers to make them the same height. 

The Chippendale reproduction mirror came from my mirror collection. I must have paid about twenty dollars for this one.

Here's a sneak peak inside the linen shelf closet. 

And here's the hanging closet. 

I found this plant stand for $20. It's the perfect size for the tiny little bathroom. 

We tiled the bathroom floors and created this enclosed shower years ago. I wish I had taken a picture of the original bathroom. It was horrible. When we lived in the guest house during our first several months on the property (as we completed the first wave of renovation to the main house), I wouldn't shower without wearing flip flops. It was that bad. 

For those who inquired into that gorgeous couch that was shown in the Country Living feature - it's not here anymore. It was brought in on loan from Rejuvenation as my Grandmother's antique federal couch that I intended to use wasn't going to be ready in time. In fact, it's still in storage in our barn as I haven't been able to shop for or decide on a fabric to reupholster it with. 

Technically, I have one more post to do - the exterior. But I'll take a break from this project of ours (for your sake) and perhaps take some exterior photos when the snow melts in a few weeks. 

In case you missed them, here are links to the behind the scenes details: 

Kitchen and Fireplace 

Ceiling and Floors

Windows