5 FOOT BEADED WAINSCOTING

     As soon as the floor had been tiled we were able to install the beaded wainscoting in the master bathroom.   It is a tongue and groove board we installed at 5 feet all around the bathroom.

A small board is attached to the wall at a level 5 foot height all around the room.

Individual boards are cut to size and have adhesive applied to the back

Using the nail gun, Michael attaches each board.

Michael fits the last 2 boards in the corner

A bullnose trim piece is attached to the top and the corner is complete

Opposite wall with cutouts around outlets and cabinet

Upon completion, I was offered an assistant carpenter job by the contractor working on the addition.  Thanks but no thanks.  My Hawthorne house is a labor of love.

WARMS MY HEART

    Understandably, a project such as this restoration is not for most people.  The fact that I began blogging the journey is due to my niece and my son telling me how easy it is to do. Had you asked me 2 years ago what I thought about blogs in general I would have poo-pooed them, but today I sing another tune.  Much of my family is out of town and cannot see our project first hand on any regular basis so they keep up via my blog entries. 


    A pleasant bonus of journaling the restoration has been all the lovely and encouraging comments I have received from several of my readers.  Particularly special are the comments liking me to my paternal grandfather who passed away 22 years ago.  You see, while I always adored my grandfather, I never saw that we had a single thing in common.


"You are so your grandfather."


Your Grandfather's "favorite pastime in Richmond was going to Caravati's.  Mr. Caravati was living at the time."


Warms my heart.

I miss you Granddaddy!

AMAZING TALENT

Cabinet from Caravati's

   
    Check out this facebook link.  Our kitchen cabinets are being installed and our cabinetmaker Roy is doing a fantastic job.  He has incorporated an early 1900 kitchen cabinet from a home on Three Chopt Rd. that we got from Caravati's  and 4 old corbels I picked up at Paul's Place, both local antique and salvage shops.  In addition, Roy has used the last bit of bead board, original to the house and leftover from building the stair well wall, to line the back of the book shelf area on the kitchen island.

Original bead board recycled as backing for bookshelves in kitchen island

Corbels shelved at Paul's Place

My kitchen is going to be so beautiful I am eager to begin enjoying it all the time.

*  Roy, if you are reading this, look at the shamrock corbels on the shelf next to the ones you put in my island!  Are they calling out "HOFFERT,  TAKE ME HOME!" ?

THERE'S SOMETHING ABOUT CARLIE

    What is it about me that is incapable of throwing out what appears to be trash to so many people?

  Through the course of this project here are just a FEW items I have been unable to let go the way of the dumpster.....

This old broken wagon has seen better days  (Perhaps it can be a pop of color in the garden?)

WHY would I save a woodpecker skeleton?  Michael has not had his "Nature Shelf" for  over 10 years

Thoughts on what to do with 4 dozen old liquor bottles?

Dilapidated carriage house windows have already found a new purpose 

Original bead board ceiling gets a second chance at life in my art studio

Even rusty hardware has some value to me

This little charmer is currently undergoing a transformation

Old corbels are making a statement in my new kitchen

The newest junk acquisition will be put to use in a year or 2 

Some misc. and damaged trim becomes a birthday gift  

240 plus cedar nubs need a home and a purpose

Stayed tuned in for photos of re-purposing these and more 'UNDISCARDABLES'  (Yes, I realize that is not a real word but neither is 'FAIRYTOON' .)

THE CABINETS ARE COMING! THE CABINETS ARE COMING!

Watch, my readers, and you shall see

The beautiful cabinets that are coming to me,

On the fourth of June, in 2012:

Arriving at Hawthorne both drawers and shelves

Cabinets galore for my family.

Ok, admittedly it's a weak attempt at linking to a Longfellow poem.   I am simply excited about my new kitchen cabinets.

Roy arrives with the new cabinets

The antique cabinet salvaged from an old home on Three Chopt Rd. also arrives

This is the man who will transform my kitchen (how about his Celtic logo...I like it)

The plans were drawn up by Leon Reynolds of Reynolds Architectural Woodwork

LANDSCAPING BEGINS

    Landscaping this yard is a bit like the house restoration in that it is a task that will consist of numerous stages.  Stages one and two really took place when we sited the garage, built the brick retaining wall and  removed trees and stumps.  All of those jobs were beyond my proficiency so were hired out.

The folks that cleared my backyard of bamboo roots and graded were these guys......

   Jason is the owner and I think you will be pleased with his prompt response, accommodating manner, and quality of work.  He has provided me with a blank canvas (made up of 50/50 topsoil/manure) upon which I can now "paint" my back yard.  

A blank canvas as seen from the 2nd story deck

DUMPSTER DIVING

    As I sit here this afternoon typing this blog update, my dear husband is dumpster diving on my behalf.  Now that is love!

A little history...
    The house next door, which has been vacant for so very long, finally sold last month.  The new owner is "flipping" the house and lots of treasures are being discarded. 

The house next door

    When I went by my Hawthorne house this morning to drop off some tools, I noticed that original windows with old glass and large louvered shutters were being thrown in the dumpster.  Seeing the shutters in the dumpster pained me... thinking that the contractor was destroying the character of the old home next door.  At the same time, to see the shutters in the dumpster gave me a bit of a thrill.  You see, I have been admiring the original shutters and hardware on the neighboring house and have been looking for 2 shutters to grace the front of my own house.   Had I not been on my way to work in high heels and all white I would have made the climb to save the coveted treasure.  Instead, knowing that my husband was going to be working this afternoon at Hawthorne, I called him to ask if he would take the plunge.

Wallace took a dive a month ago to rescue some original trim 

     Plunge he did!

I just got a phonecall from Wallace saying he rescued the shutters AND 5 of the old windows!  

"Do you want more?" he inquired.  Surely he knew the answer would be "Yes, please!"

Windows with old glass and amazing brass hardware

So readers, time to weigh in with an opinion... 

Choice A : the shutter on the left (a paneled shutter) 

or

Choise B:  the shutter on the right (louvered shutter rescued from the dumpster)

Whatcha think?

(Click on the comments button below or email me to make your opinion known.)

WHAT'S THE POINT?

    I learned something new this morning.  As we worked to repair the porch steps, we discovered some loose and missing bricks in the piers .  What I learned was how to mix mortar and how to tuck point bricks.  Kinda fun.

Mixing mortar

Mortar on the cleaned brick

Mortar side of brick to be added

Place brick and move slowly to level

Re-pointed brick prior to cleaning face

Attempt to match the old points on the original pier

Certainly I need more practice, but it's good to know I may have some level of skill when it comes time to repair the old brick fish pond or constructing a brick patio (both tasks I have put on my 

TO DO list for the future).

AS THE COPPER TURNS...

The copper flashing has already taken on this beautiful verdigris in some areas.  The process has been inadvertently  accelerated by sections of the flashing being covered with plastic as protection during painting the exterior trim.