Shade of a Beech Tree

Summer tasks wrap-up

2011-11-14T19:09:00.000-05:00

At the beginning of the summer, we made a list. We kept adding to it. And we did knock a number of items off the list.

Here's the list, crossing off the tasks that were completed:

Pull carpet off front stairs
Repaint stairs (interior)
Repaint lower half of DR
Paint front hall + upstairs hall
Refinish front hall window
~~Powerwash front walk~~
~~Put #s on front walk stairs~~
~~Fix kitchen porch - wash, paint, new stairs~~
New light in front hall and front porch
~~Paint Beechnut#2's room~~
Paint Master BR Hall
~~fix hole in downstairs Bathroom~~
Paint exterior trim
~~Prune Cherry tree~~
~~Get rid of toddler climber in the back yard~~
~~Get rid of old patio table and chairs~~
~~Call to get kitchen sink fixed~~
~~Get rid of treadmill~~
~~Get gutters on the kitchen porch~~
~~Fix gutter on back of house~~
~~Paint screened porch exterior wall~~
Paint trim of deck
get rid of old maple stump
~~Call Bartlett tree service~~
~~Motorcycle sold/plates returned~~
~~Replace playroom light switch~~
~~new outlets in Beechnut#2's room~~

Snowtober

2011-10-31T18:04:00.002-04:00

We were lucky with this early Nor'easter. Only about 4-5 inches of snow.

We didn't lose power and had very few branches down.

The Beechnuts were hoping for sledding, but settled for hanging the Halloween decorations instead.

We added a guillitone this year,

I think the decorations look extra creepy against the snow.

Tree concerns

2011-10-16T20:13:00.000-04:00

The Beech tree hasn't been looking very good this year. Our friends and neighbors have commented on its sparse appearance. We've noticed lots of dead branches. So we called an arborist. He confirmed its not doing so well.
It turns out Beech trees do not do well in a drought. And we've had a dry summer. So we started watering and they came out to prune it.

Keep your fingers crossed. It would be a shame if we killed a 200 year old beech tree in just 7 short years of owning it.

Porch progress

2011-09-14T17:42:00.001-04:00

The floor is on.

The columns are up. The landing feels huge without a railing. We're contemplating keeping it this way, it feels more welcoming and less cramped.
We still need to finish the concrete pad in front of the stairs and put the pavers back in place. We also need to add some trim to the columns to make them pretty. But its getting there!

Irene Wake-up

2011-09-01T07:40:00.000-04:00

Luckily, we were fine after Hurricane Irene. But we did decide to add a little more water protection to the porch while we had the stairs pulled up.

Jeff pulled up the old pavers, dug a trench, and he added a concrete pad to funnel some more water away from the house.

Kitchen Porch

2011-08-26T07:13:00.000-04:00

Before:

It looks fine right? But get a little closer...

Fall 2010

The decking has been coming apart on the kitchen porch for a while. The stairs were nailed in, so we're constantly pushing the nails back into the boards with our shoes. The steps are loose and the posts are showing signs of rot. Then someone pointed out that the posts weren't actually holding up the roof, the ceiling was just resting on it.

Here's the porch mid-demo.

We found the old concrete slab steps under the porch.

The plan is for new square columns to match the formal front entrance, mahagony floor and stairs, and to widen the stairs.

I also want to replace the railings with a more victorian-styled balustrades, but we'll do those at a later time. The porch is only a few inches off the ground, so the railings aren't a code requirement. The goal is to finish this before the "First Day of School" photo.

Number 14

2011-07-20T07:50:00.002-04:00

One of the things on the list was to hang the house numbers on our front porch. We went to LA in Feb and I found these numbers at Liz's Antique Hardware, which is a really fun store.

I thought it would be cool to have them on the stairs, but they were too tall, so it went above. And Jeff power-washed the moss off the front walk. 2 items checked off!

The Summer List

2011-07-18T07:53:00.001-04:00

June seemed quiet, but it was a month of planning, door shopping, family, end-of-school, and making a list. Above is a photo of the current list of things to do this summer. It has big projects and little jobs and we're trying to knock it out between trips to the beach and vacations.

I'll post pictures soon of some of the improvements, but I didn't want you to think we were doing nothing over here!

Happy Independence Day!

2011-07-04T10:16:00.002-04:00

Source: ohiobarns.com via octobermoon on Pinterest

School's in session!

2011-05-09T06:59:00.001-04:00

Got new lights for the playroom from Lamps Plus. They were on sale. They really brighten up the room, which is good since they are off-centered in the room. Some day when this room bubbles to the top of the priority list we'll move the lights, but for now they are an upgrade.

Mini Bathroom Update

2011-05-04T20:08:00.000-04:00

It started with a small crack in the ceiling in the downstairs bathroom.

So we did what anyone would do, and we make a big hole to see what was going on.

We found evidence of water dripping from a pipe.

Despite the fact that I ~~secretly~~ wanted to redo the Beechnut's bathroom, we were able to fix the leak with a new wax seal.

But since we had the toilet pried off, might as well do a little updating.

I found a nice light fixture at a going-out-of-business sale and we bought a new toilet. The vanity was existing and it'll do for now.

We painted the walls Benjamin Moore's Bridal Pink. Its a bathroom for little girls. They like pink.
We added a curved shower rod for a little extra roominess and hooks for towels or robes.

You can see the blue-gray fiberglass surround peeking out. Its just not in the budget this year to gut this bathroom, so I'm ignoring it.

The Beechnuts are excited, they love the pink bathroom. The total for the update came to just over $500, the majority being spent on the Kohler Memoirs toilet.

Bathroom Plan

2011-04-27T07:00:00.016-04:00

I think the Beechnuts are going to get a new bathroom shortly. There is some water damage showing in the room below that we need to investigate. I am looking on the bright side, thinking this is great because the bathroom is really old and decrepit, but bad because I really wanted a new front door and french doors in the living room.

We're not going to move any plumbing or walls, but we might need a new window.
Here's the plan for the items we need to purchase. I'm going to keep it simple with hexagonal tiles on the floor, white subway tiles on the tub surround, and maybe go crazy with pink paint on the walls.

Girls BA by soabt on Polyvore.com

Guest Room - Before and After

2011-04-18T06:43:00.001-04:00

This is our new Guest Room. Well, not really new but updated. The room is small, just 8 x 9 feet with a small closet.

This is what it looked like before, pasty-peach colored walls from the previous owners, super cheap curtains to just have something up.
I decided it was time to tackle this room so our guests have somewhere nice, albeit small, to stay when they visit. After all, its only been 6 years that its looked that way.
I started by buying the Pottery Barn Weston sconces (got a deal on Ebay!) to have wall-mounted light.

We painted the room C2 Haddon Hall.

We created a headboard using some MDF, spare gray fabric and nailhead trim.

Rehung some old curtains from Pottery Barn. Yes, I know they are too short, but they'll do for now.

I found the royal blue rug a home depot in the super-clearance section. Changed up some artwork (the 2 florals were a wedding gift).

And ta-da! 1 bedroom complete!

Where's that sound coming from?

2011-03-31T19:42:00.000-04:00

When we had the kitchen gutted, Jeff made sure to run speaker wire into the ceiling so we could have surround sound some day in the future when we could afford new speakers.

When I was out doing the weekly shopping, Jeff decided that day had arrived and he ran out, bought speakers, and then called to inform me he was about to drill holes in the ceiling, since he didn't remember where he had left the wire. (Really? Why would he make that call?)

I was a little nervous arriving home, I was certain it would be a disaster, but he found it on the first try!

The rectangles are the new speakers, on either end of the island

And now, we have music wherever we go. Well, at least while we're in the kitchen.

Greetings from Alaska

2011-01-21T18:34:00.000-05:00

No, I'm not really in Alaska, but it looks like it.

We've had a lot of snow. In the photo above, the snow is almost even with the kitchen porch. A porch with 3 steps up from the ground! I'm nervous about what's going to happen in our basement when this melts. But until the, the Beechnuts are enjoying the winter wonderland!

French doors, french fries, french dressing

2011-01-11T10:11:00.000-05:00

I had been thinking about french doors for a while. Specifically that I want them in my Living Room. More specifically, I want more french doors in the living room.

There is a wall with a small door between our front entry hall and the living room. Here's the pretty staircase in the front hall, albeit camouflaged with rosy carpet and butter-colored walls.

We want to stare lovingly at the pretty staircase from the comfort of the sofa, but we need to be able to close the doors to stop the draft from coming into the living room and to stop noise from traveling up the stairs to awaken sleeping children.

Our solution? Move the doorway to the middle of the wall and create pocket french doors.
Like this:

No children were harmed in the creation of this photo

It will add some architectural interest to the room, we can show off the staircase and we can catch small children who sneak down to listen to the TV after bedtime. Win-win!

Stretch Goals

2011-01-03T11:17:00.011-05:00

December we didn't advance the house projects at all. So, I thought we'd start off 2011 with a list of things I would like to do, in no particular order:

Family Room French Style Pocket Doors to Front Hall
Replace the Front Door in the Front Hall
Insulate / Air seal the Front Hall, so it's no longer 56 degrees.
Gut the room off the Dining room, so it's no longer 56 degrees and remove the Vermiculite.
Replace all the cheap trim that doesn't match and air seal.
Mechanically restore the 16 old double hung windows.
Find and seal the little leak in the basement that occurs whenever it's rainy and windy.
Paint the outside trim.
Finish the attic.
Replace the rotted sill on the garage.
Remodel the Master Bath.
Remodel the two Beachnuts bath.
Refinish the floors in the Front Hall, Living Room and Dining Room.
Replace the rug in the master area.

Who's with me!!!!!

Point the gun and shoot

2010-11-16T06:15:00.000-05:00

After all the energy audits, we came to the conclusion that blown-in insulation would be just the thing to keep us warm and toasty this winter.

Energy Tech Solutions arrived with their Infrared (IR) gun in addition to the drills and hoses for insulation.

They pointed the gun around the house to double-check their earlier estimates and found that most of our walls actually did have insulation!

zip-wall added to control dust.

There were a few empty walls - the Baby-Beechnut's room received a healthy dose of padding, as did the dining room,

holes above the slider in the dining room.

guest bathroom, the underside of all the stairwells, and they even added some to the floor in the Big-Beechnuts room, by plugging a spot in the eaves.

Adding insulation around the bay window

When they performed the blower-door test, they found the house was still drafty, but that it could be remedied by caulking all the windows.

Energy Tech Solutions did a great job at controlling the dust with zip-walls and patching all the holes they drilled. We are very happy with this work and Jeff had a blast playing with the IR gun.

In Hotter Water

2010-11-12T06:55:00.000-05:00

Although you wouldn't know it from reading this blog, there has been a flurry of activity here regarding insulation. Its that time of the year when Jeff claims 62 degrees is the real "Room Temperature" and he starts to mutter about the cool breezes coming in through the front door, all the windows and even most of the electrical sockets. Note: We did turn the heat on before November 1 this year.

We've had several meetings with different companies to have our house audited for energy consumption to identify the areas that should be insulated and how we can qualify for the rebates.

Knob and Tube Wiring

We had to have all the knob-and-tube wiring removed from our house (this photo is from someone else's house on Flickr). It still had current running through it!

We had the basement air-sealed with foam insulation injected between the foundation and the sill.

That should remove some of the drafts in the basement. By the way, this was FREE! Contact CSG to see if you can get this.

Our gas company came out to look at our boiler and told us we had too much gas coming in from the street and they turned down the flow.

Someone along the way suggested we begin to think about a new hot-water heater. Shortly after that conversation, the water wasn't as hot. Showers seemed tepid. We started to get nervous. Then it hit me. Jeff checked the temperature setting on the hot-water heater and found it was set to the lowest temperature. Problem solved! A quick adjustment and we have hot showers again!

Topped off

2010-10-23T15:26:00.000-04:00

We finished the skirted console/buffet table in the DR by adding a glass top.

I love how the DR has come together, this buffet table adds some height, lots of storage and a good-sized bar area.

Skirting the issue

2010-10-03T16:58:00.001-04:00

As part of the Dining room redecoration, we had to rethink our storage.

Shelly recommended a skirted buffet table and I loved the idea of a big area for holding a bar or even food on those big holiday gatherings.

We didn't want to build a shelving area ourselves due to extreme laziness, and you really can't beat the prices at IKEA. So we started with an Expedit. Jeff added some legs and a bigger top to make it a little more grand in size.

We were reassured by Shelly of the correct location in the room and Jeff pried off a section of chair-rail in order to attach the shelf to the wall.

I wasn't surprised that there was paint and wallpaper, but who knew the room was pink at one point? Several layers of wallpaper were also visible.

After a few false starts involving not enough yardage, I sewed a skirt for the buffet, thus concealing all the random stuff stored in the shelf.

Just wait until you see the table with new lamps and a mirror, and a glass top. I can't decide if it needs trim. Any opinions?

On the Road: Southwest Colorado

2010-09-30T06:16:00.004-04:00

My baby brother was just married in Ouray, Colorado and we had a great time visiting. I think most people were busy taking photos of the mountains, but there were other grand details that caught my eye.

I was impressed by the Victorian cottages, dripping in trim.

There were beautiful chandeliers hanging in the barn where the couple were married. They were made to look like old oil lamps and it brought a refined touch to the rustic architecture of a barn.

The Beaumont Hotel was full of interesting things. This safe at reception was painted with pretty details, I love when someone thinks to adorn a utilitarian object.

The wrought-iron supports for the ceiling fans in the cafe, I love this kind of detail.

The house had some fun trim, I love the "eyebrows" over the upper windows.

Here's the happy couple leaving the wedding, isn't the Beaumont Hotel beautiful? That staircase was so grand.

Seriously?

2010-09-07T21:16:00.000-04:00

I was looking thru the latest email from Restoration Hardware when I noticed that they were selling "Decorative rope". For $89.

Rope. For Eighty-Nine American dollars.

Apparently, one is supposed to pile this rope decoratively somewhere in their house. Sure, it would have been helpful when Hurricane Earl came to New England last weekend and we needed to tie down the patio furniture. But really? Rope for $89?

I am clearly not taking advantage of the crap lying around my house. I've been trying to be more creative lately when it comes to decorating, so I decided to let Restoration Hardware be my inspiration. I looked around and realized I have lots of things with which to decorate!

Assorted garden hoses..

Sculpture ~~Pile~~ of old ~~Nails~~ Fasteners

These would be especially interesting, old window weights with rope. A two-fer!

Then it hits me! Functional yet colorful, neatly coiled, just like RH's rope. Green extension cord! Don't you love it?

Preparing for the worst

2010-09-03T18:55:00.000-04:00

In theory, Hurricane Earl should arrive tonight. We live about 40 miles west of the coast, so I'm not expecting much more than rain and some wind. With the dry summer we've had, I'm hoping for lots of heavy rain.

But, when it rains, we often lose the power, so I decided to can a batch of tomatoes, rather than freeze them. It took a little while, but I think I have the hang of it.

This batch started out as 10 lbs of heirloom plum tomatoes from the CSA. I think next time I'll squish more tomatoes into the jar. But as a first-time try, I feel pretty good about it.

Blogger get-together

2010-08-30T05:46:00.008-04:00

The smart ladies from Hot Houses in LA came for a visit. They were very kind and ohhed-and-ahhed over our kitchen and the new screened porch. They told us stories of the fabulous houses they'd sold in LA, and we compared notes on termite treatments.
Learka and Heather happen to be good friends outside of blogging, but we spent a lot of time talking houses.

If you ever need real-estate help in LA, these are your people!

Accidental Stalker: 9 by Design edition

2010-08-23T06:49:00.001-04:00

We had a busy weekend, but it included accidentally stalking the nice family featured on "9 by Design". We were driving through western Massachusetts and I was looking at houses when I noticed the Great Barrington house that looked familiar. We made a u-turn and I said "I'm pretty sure that's one of the houses that Bob and Courtney own!" Yes, we are on a first-name basis.

This was the only photo I was able to get,

but you can see better photos here, look under the projects section.

Then, the next day, we were sitting in traffic on the West Side Highway in NYC and I was looking at the houses when Jeff and I both said "I think that other house is right near here, the view seems familiar." Sure enough, we saw this house overlooking the Hudson (the white one).

A little closer...

The facade, with the blue faux-bois boards is very fun and distinct.

We didn't set out to find these houses but it was a nice surprise during a fun weekend. Maybe I should watch less TV?

Look on the Bright Side

2010-08-11T18:35:00.001-04:00

If you've been following me on Twitter you'd know we've been making some updates to the Dining room. What? You don't follow me on Twitter? You should, I would tweet more often if I had followers!

I contacted the super-smart, ever-patient, design-saavy Shelly of Van Rozeboom Interiors to help me make some updates in the house and to phase out our college and barely-post-college decorating scheme.

She started with my living room and then we moved into the Dining Room. I'm still incorporating the changes into the living room, but the dining room is proving to have a higher instant-gratification rating among people who live in my house.

(Ignore the legos-in-progress on the table!)

We changed out the old gold-toned, plain-jane, chandelier for this sparkly number. At her suggestion, I also added 4 coats of high-gloss paint to the ceiling. I love how the ceiling seems to be glowing and the chandelier makes the room feel so lively. I'll post more pictures as the room comes together, but I couldn't wait to show off the new bright side of the dining room.

Suck it, Mother Nature!

2010-08-03T20:03:00.004-04:00

I am aware of the power of Mother Nature. We've had termites, carpenter bees, vampire bats. We've had water in the basement and watched our neighbors get flooded.

So I knew I was tempting fate when I put my tomato seedlings out before Memorial Day. Friends at work said it was a gamble. To that, I now reply: I"m not gambling! I'm winning!

I am cheerfully harvesting warm red tomatoes well before many of my friends. Score 1 point for me!

Decked. Out!

2010-07-19T20:48:00.000-04:00

Sorry that we're more than mid-month without a deck update, but July is "Birthday Month" at SOABT and we've been busy. But I do have great news.

During the day

The Deck is completed.

At dusk.

Well, completed enough that I've stopped freaking out about it.

Completed enough that we had a deck-warming party last weekend.

These last 2 photos show my favorite part, the uplighting in the eaves. It gives it a nice warm feeling, and the outdoor speakers you see in the corners are Jeff's favorite part.

The best part- I didn't get a single bug-bite during the party. That means the deck is a success!

There are still some minor things, like paint touch-up and door handles, to finish. But for now, we're on the deck, waiting for a cool summer breeze.

Old exterior

2010-06-25T07:18:00.000-04:00

When we pulled off the aluminum siding on the (new) inside of the porch we found the original wood siding.

It was painted a gray color. Its blue-ish, not battleship-y. But not too surprising, we also found this color is also on the trim in the house, under all the white paint.

The back of the plank says G.A. Thayer. Just an interesting find from the exterior of our house.

Porch Progress

2010-06-20T10:21:00.000-04:00

We are on the home stretch, albeit at a turtle's pace.

The ceiling has been painted haint-blue, specifically Sherwin-Williams Atmospheric.The fan and the lights are in. We went with a tropical-looking fan and 2 sets of track lighting (yes Dad, it is all rated for outdoor use).

The deck has been sanded and a coat of stain was applied. The stain we chose was Benjamin Moore Bison Brown. 2 of the doors are on, there are 3 total. I imagine we'll need to do another coat of paint on the doors, so we left the painters tape on for a few more days.

The outdoor light as also been installed.

Once we finish the floor, its just the screens and then time to shop for wicker furniture!

The Point

2010-06-17T07:02:00.000-04:00

We are at The Point in the project. The Point where I feel like it will never be done and even though the porch looks mostly completed, I worry that the mountain of small tasks will turn into a Sisyphean effort and we'll be here next year still making a list of things to get done.

I was at The Point during our kitchen remodel when I catwalked across the kitchen praying I didn't fall through the rotten subfloor boards when my foot went clean through a board and I almost pitched 6-month-pregnant-belly-first into the basement.

Then Jeff sent me this picture today, and I realized we are almost past The Point, and life will seem happy again and we relax on our new screened porch while the kids play outside.

This is a photo of one of the screens installed.

We're almost to the end. And not a moment too soon!

Final Lighting

2010-06-10T17:51:00.001-04:00

I finally decided to shop the "old-fashioned" way, and I went into a lighting store to see what they had. I found the winner!

This is going to be the outside light hanging above the door between the grilling porch and the screened porch. Now that we've gotten that, we can figure out what kind of lighting we need on the inside.

In the event of a poltergeist

2010-05-31T17:48:00.000-04:00

I was googling "porch ceiling blue" when I learned that its not a exact color, but the shade of blue. In the South, its referred to as "Haint Blue", as it was the blue that repelled restless spirits, aka Haints, and, coincidently, annoying mosquitos.

We decided on Sherwin-Williams' Atmospheric for the ceiling, and it looks just like I think a porch ceiling should look. Or will look. After Jeff finishes the painting.

Outdoor lighting choices

2010-05-26T19:13:00.001-04:00

Its been difficult to find outdoor lights for the new porch.

here
Since the header beams aren't that high, the light is going into the soffits and therefore has to be about 10" wide by no more than 11" high. We might get this light in a fun color.

Its hard to find the lights we want that are pendants,

I love this, but it only seems to come in a wall-mount.

I had wanted something like this acorn

but I worried about it swinging during a storm.

Then we went back to BarnlightElectric.com and realized the Laramie came in lots of fun colors.

Now we just have to pick a color!

Next up: Ceiling Fans!

Raise the roof!

2010-05-21T18:20:00.000-04:00

The walls/supports and the roof are on the new screened porch.

I am so proud of how it looks from the yard, I love the way the roof peak disappears with the hip roof design.

Now we really have to decide on the details: a fan, lighting, the screen doors. Since the main parts are up, I can start to imagine the details. More to come on the details after we figure them out.

Starting to frame the floor

2010-05-07T07:55:00.001-04:00

The floor is going in over the existing deck to save time/money on demo and to use the existing flooring to make the structure stronger. Also, it raises the floor up to be even with the floor in the house so there's less of a transition to the outside.

The flooring will be Douglas fir, tongue-and-groove, to get a tight fit so the mosquitoes can't sneak in.

The Deck. Before

2010-05-02T18:22:00.000-04:00

We have officially decided to build a screened porch on our deck.

The deck as seen from the 2nd floor window.

This is the "problem" with the deck. It has 3 levels of fun, where we'd prefer 1 to maximize the surface area. Little kids and over-served adults are often in danger of breaking an ankle if they stumble between levels without paying attention.

Our plan is to consolidate the middle layer with the diagonal layer and build a screened porch over it. This will give us some room for eating and lounging. We are working out door placement and where to put the grill.

Stay tuned for updates.

Good bye, Tree

2010-04-23T06:00:00.001-04:00

The tree-guy arrived yesterday and took down the maple from the front of our house. I'm a little sad that we had to chop down the tree, but it had been dying for years. This spring it looked especially unhealthy, with very few leaves on the branches. We were worried it would fall into the house and I was more than a little nervous about the carpenter bees that seemed to be feasting on several limbs.

And it figures, with the location of the trunk above the stone wall, there was no way a stump-grinder could get there to grind it to the ground, so now we have to figure out a way to get rid of the stump. Any ideas?

Curtain called, I answered

2010-04-21T06:00:00.000-04:00

I finally finished the curtains for the slider in the kitchen. It only took a year. Aside from the awkwardness of working with a 108" x 96" square of heavy fabric, it was generally pretty simple. I used the pleating tape from DraperySewingSupplies.com with the pins required to make a soft pleated, lined shade. The tape make it so simple, and it was pretty cheap, that it would be easy to convert rod-pocket drapes into ring and hook drapes, which look a little fancier in my opinion.

In order to spend more time outside

2010-04-16T07:00:00.003-04:00

We have a great deck. Our deck is the reason we bought the house. Jeff saw the deck online and convinced me to drive all the way from the city to see the deck.

That's our deck, in the back of the house.

The deck is great. Our backyard is ok. The bugs are terrible. Our yard is so buggy I can't bear to sit outside in the evening for more than a few minutes while I'm eaten alive by the mosquitoes. We've tried citronella and bug spray and even a mosquito magnet. But I end up with bug bites that look like chicken pox.

So we have decided to screen in the deck, instead of renovating the bathrooms. I checked Flickr for some ideas.

Jeff wants to create a room-like enclosure

while I want to make it look like we just screened in a porch.

We agree it should be painted white

And we're trying to figure out the floor and the interior

This is my favorite:

I love the traditional looking pillars and the "front-porch" look.

The inside looks nice too:

More details to come as we work through this project, which we agree should happen soon in order to really enjoy the backyard this summer.

Front doors

2010-04-13T07:00:00.001-04:00

I've been casually looking for a "new" front door for the house. I took photos of other front doors in my 'hood.

I checked the salvage yards.

I saw the Vintage Door ad in the back of magazines.

Then today, I checked Home Depot looking for cheap window shades and found this in the door section:

This could be a contender, at less than $1K, its the best deal I've seen so far.

I like the idea of a salvage door, but we already have enough problems with drafts that the smarter thing to do is get a newer air-tight door. I might have to stop into a store and see other versions of this door they have.

Bathroom planning

2010-03-25T06:01:00.002-04:00

I think its time to focus on the bathrooms in our house. I'll spare you the gory "before" details until we begin demo, but it involves blue-gray fiberglass tubs and surrounds. Starting with the Beechnuts' bathroom, we need a new toilet, tub, sink, tile, lighting... everything. I think we can keep the window, but since we're pulling up the floor, why not pull off the walls and insulate, right?

The room is small, like most bathrooms in old houses. Which means we can splurge a little on tile but need to maximize storage. Eventually there will be 2 teenage girls sharing this bathroom, so I think we'll need extra hair-dryer outlets and a large mirror. I'll have to figure out where we can put a large cabinet for beauty essentials.

Here's the basic plan/design.

New bathtub, plain white
Kohler Memoirs faucet, widespread
Kohler Memoirs toilet
Double shower curtain rod, perfect for when we have lots of guests
Chrome triple sconce
Stock Vanity painted BM Pink Ladies
White ceramic penny tiles for floor
Some type of sparkly tile accent stripe in the shower, with plain white subway tiles

I don't want to make the bathroom too girly, but I love that pink vanity since I saw it on House Beautiful. If we have to move, a few coats of paint will make the bathroom marketable.

I haven't really run the dollars on this project, so who knows if it would be affordable, but this is what I'm aiming for!

Its over. For now

2010-03-19T20:31:00.010-04:00

The crack-house went for auction this morning and we were there bright-eyed and nervous. There were 3 other individuals there, mostly house-flippers. I kept expecting to see HGTV cameras following one of them.

The bank opened the bid at triple our maximum limit. Within 1 minute, the bank took ownership of the property. We felt better about our low bid since no one else bid on the property either.

We can finally stop looking at house plans and dreaming about building a new home for the Beechnuts. Its time to knock some more things off the To-do list here at SOABT.

Its getting a little out of control

2010-03-11T07:24:00.000-05:00

We can't stop looking at house plans. Here's one that Jeff found that we really love, but I'm not sure the exterior farmhouse style fits in with our Victorian-filled street.

I love the wide front porch.

I love the open kitchen with the dining room and family room all visible. We have recently heard from friends who did not like the open floor plan in practice, but we might be able to separate the family room so the TV noise isn't overwhelming when someone is cooking.

The upper level seems fairly open and not crowded and although I dont' think we truly need 4 BRs, it would help with resale value. I like the built-ins in the hall, I envision a window seat with books underneath.

The idea takes root

2010-03-01T07:37:00.001-05:00

What started out as a little seed of an idea has us obsessed with house plans. Its hard to nail down what you want in a house if you were to build it from scratch.

The previous plan I posted had a staircase in the side/middle of the house, and it wasn't visible from the foyer. It seems a little strange to me to not have the stairs near the front of the house. All the houses I've lived in have had the stairs near the front door.

This house has the front stairs, but no garage. So, we'd just need to figure out where to put the door to a garage.

We like the stairs to the 3rd floor, for a potential rec-room/guest suite. The bathroom between the bedrooms is good for our Beechnuts. But, we'd need a garage and an easy way to have a mudroom installed to hold coats. Now that we have our giant mudroom, we can't go back to coats on the backs of the kitchen chairs!

Its been fun to imagine a new house, but I think its also time for some Spring cleaning in our current house. Just as soon as Spring arrives...

What's going on over here

2010-02-21T14:52:00.002-05:00

There hasn't been much progress at Shade of a Beech Tree. The winter is getting us down a little and we're eyeing the crack-house next door as a possible new endeavor. What if we made a low-ball offer and they accepted it? What house would be build? What should the house look like? How many rooms do we need?

We're looking at house plans, like this one from Frank Betz:

We like the 2 story entry and the Family Room off the kitchen. An attached garage would be a nice upgrade, currently we have to walk from the garage to the house, braving the elements the entire 15 steps! I also like the idea of a covered front porch, where Jeff can greet our daughters' future suitors while sitting in a rocking chair with a shotgun on his lap. You have to think ahead, you know.

Don't forget, the Library would need (yes. need!) a coffered ceiling, and we'd need nice hardwoods throughout, with a granite kitchen, and marble bathrooms.

Then, we think about the yard!

From bhg.com

We'd need an outdoor kitchen!

From bhg.com

And a place to relax and have drinks!

Then, the next thing you know, there's no way we can have this dream house we want for the budget we'd have. But dreaming about it is more interesting than watching the thermometer fall.

Dining Room inspiration

2010-02-05T06:03:00.006-05:00

We repainted the dining room and hung new curtains, but I've been itching to add some "wow factor" to the space. Here's how it looks today:

I'm thinking a new chandelier:

From Shades of Light

A coffered ceiling:

From Design*Dump . The other projects at Design*Dump are amazing too and very inspirational.

From: http://raleighcaryhomeimprovement.com

A properly-placed chair rail, with picture-frame moldings. Our current chair rail is only 30" high so our chairs leave marks on the wall.

From Artisan Specialties

Maybe a new rug.

I noticed Overstock is selling West Elm rugs, now might be the time to try a jute rug.

Sign making give-away at a Concord Carpenter Comments

2010-02-01T07:22:00.000-05:00

The Concord Carpenter is giving away the Signpro by Milescraft.

I can think of 100 uses for this, most of them include writing my name on things so people know that my items are to occupy said space, and not theirs. Or to try to teach the Beechnuts where to hang their coats and hats and where their boots go.

But shhh... don't tell Jeff, I want him to be surprised when he opens this on Valentine's day!

Mostly completed

2010-01-29T07:00:00.001-05:00

Here are the "After" photos of my closet.

I went with 1 long bar across the back of the closet and a set of 12" shelves along one wall. I splurged on a new 8' bar, rather than trying to glue 2 shorter bars together.

All of the shelving was the Lowes-brand (not Closetmaid or Rubbermaid, which they also sell) of closet organization, which was cheaper and also it was the size I needed.

The yellow/green linoleum floor drove me nuts, but it wasn't really an option at this time to pull up the linoleum since the wood underneath is unfinished. When we renovate the Master Bath, we'll remove this relic. Until then, I am looking for a rug.

My friends are probably wondering where I stored all my shoes for this photo shoot. I am in the processing of making them a nice home in the former linen closet, I'll post photos on that too.

Non-working Fireplace inspiration

2010-01-12T19:00:00.004-05:00

My sister recently moved into a new flat in London and has 2 non-working fireplaces. Here's a photo of the fireplace in her living room. Ignore the wires, she's still unpacking!

I really wish our house had a fireplace and have pondered creating a faux version, so I can't stop thinking about my sister's place. I found these photos on the interwebs for inspiration.

She could paint the inside a dark color and fill it with pillar candles. She has a cat though, so this could be a major fire hazard.

I love this visual of the books in the fireplace, although really, this will look messy in everyday life.

She can put a pretty decorative screen in front of it and use the inside for storage of video games/dvds, shoes, etc.

I like this idea of putting the TV inside the fireplace.

I actually suggested something similar to this originally, put some plants/art inside it.

I like this solution, she could pile a few real logs, drape it with white Christmas lights, and voila! instant "Fire"!

I also found a blog specializing in fireplace decorating.

Regardless of what she decides to do, I think she should paint it a charcoal gray or black to make it pop from the white walls.

Ready! Fire-Fire-Fire! ...Aim?

2010-01-05T07:00:00.008-05:00

I'm sick of being the responsible one in the family. The one that makes people eat a green vegetable. The one who says "Where are your safety goggles?" and "What are you going to do to support the house once you pry off that moldy support beam?".

So I removed everything from my closet.

This is the closet that I've been thinking about for months, nay! Years! I stared at the gross linoleum on the floor and decided to ignore that.

I did some measurements by holding out my arms.

I found the mis-tint section at Lowes. Its cold here. I went with Mediterrean Blue to feel warm and I painted.

Jeff filled the hole in the floor - the chimney from the old gas fireplace in the kitchen ran through here before it was removed. Then he said "What are you going to do about the hole in the ceiling?".

I did some prying. I found some nice old wallpaper under that metal rectangle.

I now need to make a trip to the hardware store to find something to replace that metal rectangle, the clothes will have to remain piled up in the bedroom for a few more days.

Living on the edge requires patience. Now I remember why I usually make a project plan first.

A little poetic license

2009-12-31T07:00:00.000-05:00

'Twas the night before New Years
and from the roof to the door mats
Not a creature was stirring,
we exterminated the bats!

Three cans of Great Stuff were piled in a hill,
A sign more holes in the house had been filled.

The canoe was hung from the rafters with care,
in hopes a spring thaw would soon be here.

The Beechnuts were nestled snug in their beds,
while visions of a new sandbox danced in their heads.

So I laid down my hammer and Jeff quieted the chop-saw.
There will be more to do next year,
So, Happy New Year's to All!

We wish everyone a happy, healthy, and safe new year!

One day early

2009-12-20T16:43:00.002-05:00

Winter arrived a day earlier than the calendar said it would. We spent the day sledding and drinking hot chocolate.

Happy Holidays!

May I take your coat?

2009-12-07T07:00:00.000-05:00

The mudroom is mostly finished!
Here's the before shot, to refresh your memory:

And here's the much improved, filled with conveniences, now with storage, after photos:

Jeff finished the bench this morning, and if you look closely, you will notice how out-of-level the floor is. The bench is 100% level, the floor slopes about 1.5 inches.

The walls were painted Sherwin William Shagreen and trim was painted with (leftover) Benjamin Moore Decorator's White.

The hooks came from Lowes and the cabinets are the Expedit and the bookshelves are the Besta from Ikea.

We aren't sure if we'll add another bench, or just put some spare chairs to use in the other space.
I want to add a clothes hanger for drying mittens and snowsuits, a mirror, and a key-holder, but for now, its usable and lit!

Mudroom: Ready for paint

2009-11-14T09:27:00.004-05:00

The mudroom walls have been plastered and a coat of primer applied. Ceinling was painted so we could finish the lights.

Now, for the paint. I read this article about the Best Green Paint but when we got the paint chip it seemed a little dark, so we're going with the color above it on the strip. Sherwin Williams Shagreen is the color we will be applying to the walls this weekend. Keep your fingers crossed that it works out!

Guest Room, Before

2009-11-10T07:00:00.005-05:00

Here's a "Before" photo of our tiny guest room.

I recently rotated the bed to have the head under the window and the foot toward the door, which has opened the room up. Previously the head was against the wall on the right. Its amazing how a simple thing like a 90 degree rotation of large furniture can change a room.

I want the room to look like this, minus the twin beds:

photo from Domino magazine

The room needs a headboard, new curtains and wall sconces. Little Green Notebook posted an interesting tutorial for roman shades, reusing the old metal blinds installed by the previous owners.

It also needs some new furniture. I have plans for a bedside table with outlets so guests can charge their cell phones, and a small dresser with space underneath for suitcases. I am hoping to find something existing among the stuff in our basement that can be reused.

And, a new coat of paint is obviously in order. I hope to get this room in order before Christmas, when we have family coming to visit. Once again, I learn that I don't do anything without a deadline!

Mudroom Update

2009-11-04T19:22:00.003-05:00

The wall hangers came and hung the walls. This photo is from the back of the basement, looking toward the walk-out. Jeff hooked up all the recessed lighting and did the framing and strapping before he ran out of energy and called in a pro to put up the wall board.
Now its really, really time to design the mudroom.

Autumn in New England

2009-10-30T19:24:00.003-04:00

Here's a photo of our house taken today. You can see the Copper Beech above back of the house. I have to admit, I won the battle this year and the heat was turned on about a week ago. You can see winter is on its way.

Happy Halloween!

In over your head, Part 2

2009-10-19T06:23:00.001-04:00

We met with the realtor to view the house down the street.

First Floor bathroom had a burst pipe recently and it was patched. We had to do the same thing in our house.Gross old bathrooms in desperate need of updating

Nice tall ceilings, pumpkin pine flooring, large moldings:
Reading nook with arched windows
Large windows with lots of light.

What I didn't get photos of: Extensive water damage, termite damage, leaking pipes with rust and corrosion, and the icing on the cake: a bulging leaning foundation.

So. I guess that's that. We'd be in over our heads.

How to tell when you'd be in over your head?

2009-10-13T07:00:00.000-04:00

There is a house for sale a few doors down. We've had our eye on the house because 1) we're suckers for houses that look like they need love and 2)It has lot that's double the size of ours.

This house has a lovely double tombstone door and it looks inviting enough from across the street.

But when you notice plants growing up and out the side

The sagging porches

with the bees flying from a hole in the siding

The snow fence left over from the garage/barn that imploded last winter during a heavy snowstorm

It makes you think twice.

The yard, currently overgrown and not level, has potential. I hate to say the house is a knock-down but I highly doubt there would be much worth saving, since I know there is at least 1 window that's been busted for over 3 years and its been a rental for more than 5 years.

I am waiting for a return call from the realtor, hoping a tour will push me off the fence. I'm just not sure which side of the fence I'll be happy to land on!

Come to the light...

2009-10-07T10:58:00.002-04:00

I have been searching for the perfect set of wall sconces to flank the bed in the guest room and the search was over when I saw these from 1st dibs posted on Maison21.

I wonder how you turn them on?

Be our guest, be our guest

2009-10-05T07:00:00.003-04:00

The Smallest-Guest-Room-In-The-World needs a makeover. This room has gorgeous pumpkin pine floors, which only appear in 1 other room in the house, but the room is so small I feel pangs of guilt every time I make someone stay in there. If it had a new coat of paint and some atmosphere, I wouldn't feel so badly about treating my house guests like sardines.

I looked through old Domino Magazines for inspiration.

Do you think its true that a bold color would make it feel larger? I think a dark blue like this would make people sleep better, but I'm not sure it would really feel any larger.

I love the gray upholstered headboard and the nail-head trim that is everywhere now. This blue on the wall seems cheerful too.
I love these twin beds in gray with the matching curtain, but I don't know about the Bone White paint on the walls. It just looks dingy to me.

I'll post a "before" picture as soon as I find one that isn't too hideous.

What a strapping guy!

2009-09-30T07:00:00.003-04:00

The strapping is up on the basement ceiling and the lights have been temporarily placed. Yes, we know they're upside down, we just want to make sure we have enough lights in the right areas.

Its almost time to really design the mudroom area of the basement. Time to figure out Google Sketchup...

Fancy New Heat Pipes!

2009-09-24T07:00:00.001-04:00

When adding new walls to the mudroom, we had to re-route the heat pipes to be inside new the walls. I'm sure the proximity of the heating pipes to the outside walls are part of our heat problems anyway.

To do this we used PEX piping (orange pipes in the above photo) and to avoid having to buy the 100$ crimping tool, we used SHARKBITE push fittings.

We also use the WATTS push fittings since SHARKBITE doesn't have a 45 degree.
after it was all hooked up, we fired up the boiler. Of course, the pipes didn't get hot. We needed to bleed the system first.

About 20 - 5 gallon buckets later, the air was purged from the system and the water ( and heat ) was flowing. Don't worry though, Jeff promptly shut off the heat and it will remain off until Novemeber.

Next up: Strapping the Ceiling! Will the fun ever stop?

The spoils from Brimfield

2009-09-17T07:00:00.003-04:00

Brimfield is filled with stuff. Good stuff, crappy stuff, and sometimes stuff I'm actually looking for that I'm willing to buy from someone who was really nice.

I went to Brimfield in May and scored this cabinet on my way out of J&J's field after a "Maybe just 1 more pass down this aisle".

I spoke with the man and his wife who were selling it for quite a while, and I think they gave me a good deal, and he helped me load it into the truck.

I didn't have the guts to pull an Eddie Ross and paint the whole thing. But I did like the way this looked:

So I just painted the inside with BM Decorators White in a Semi-gloss leftover from the kitchen paint job.

And moved it up to the little nook in the living room. I love the height it adds to the room, photos of which will be coming any month now.

A man's vacation home is his castle

2009-09-02T19:00:00.003-04:00

This is the Castle on Sebec Lake in Maine. When we visit our friends there, the kids love boating past it. Everyone is looking for a glimpse of either Cinderella or Malificent, and it really makes you wonder what life would be like if one were royalty.

Dogtown Commons

2009-08-25T07:00:00.002-04:00

We took advantage of the sunny weather in July to walk/picnic at Dogtown Commons near Gloucester, MA. Dogtown is an abandoned settlement on Cape Ann that dates back to the 1730s. We had a great day checking out the wisdom from Mr. Babson carved into the boulders, and I recommend reading The Last Days of Dogtown, by Anita Diamant.

Mud Room progress

2009-08-17T17:34:00.000-04:00

Jeff has been tackling this project in his spare time, and I wanted to share some of the progress as he turns the basement into a finished mudroom.

We started with the cold room, which was insulated with Icyene last spring.

Jeff then framed out this wall.

That's as far as we've gotten.

Mud Room

2009-07-29T07:00:00.001-04:00

Our house is missing a foyer. No mudroom, no coatroom, no "keep the detritus contained" room.
We are sick of tripping over the pile of shoes that accumulate, even though we have a nice shoe rack, and we determined we needed a mudroom. Looking to the walk-out (or in our case, walk-in) basement, we found a place to build a mud room.

The goals are simple:
1. Look stunning
2. While containing all our clutter

Here's where I looked for inspiration.

I like the varying heights of the shelves, good for the vertically-challenged in our house:

The retractable closeline in this photo is brilliant. Perfect for snowpants and mittens after sledding or raincoats after playing in the monsoon:

I like the upper cabinets here to keep everything out of sight. Since our basement has a low ceiling, this is out, but I can still dream...
This is pretty much what I want to end up with:
An open locker for everyone with a bench for sitting while you slip on your shoes, and an open hole for the inevitable pile of shoes. All this while looking good!
All photos from BHG.com

Summer o' Fun!

2009-07-11T07:00:00.001-04:00

We bought the Beechnuts a swingset for their upcoming birthdays, and to prepare for its delivery, we had to make a level spot in our tiny, sloping yard.

Jeff dug the trenches and used the laser-level to create a platform out of 4x4's.

I ordered the mulch and then did the research in true "Ready, Fire, Aim" fashion, and discovered some people bed their playground areas with pea gravel. Yes. Rocks. Doesn't that seem mean? Our kids are accident prone so even though we are surrounded by termites, I felt that the mulch might reduce the number of hours spent pinning down a crying child to apply neosporin and band-aids. (Sorry Dad, I went with the wood mulch.)

Swingset installed! Begin Summer o' Fun!

Baking for 1

2009-07-06T10:06:00.004-04:00

The newest Beechnut has turned 1! To celebrate, I baked a rainbow cake just for the birthday girl. I'm sure Martha Stewart would fail me on the final presentation, but all the children at the party approved of the cake!

The cake recipe came from this site, found through Tastespotting. It was pretty simple to make and the kids went nuts when they saw the inside. I also made cupcakes using the same method and they were pretty popular.

Happy Birthday, Beechnut2! We love you!

Before & After: Dining Room

2009-07-02T07:00:00.003-04:00

The kitchen remodel has caused an avalanche. A big slow avalanche that takes 12 months to make any real progress. The red paint in the Dining Room was giving me anxiety when compared with the new beige-y paint in the kitchen.

Here is the "Before" Dining Room in the least flattering photo I could find:

When I realized the Beechnuts and I had plans to be away for a few days, I bought the primer and paint for Jeff to tackle the painting in our absence. As soon as we left, Jeff stared at the paint cans, reached for the phone, and booked a painter to do the work.

The blue-gray of C2 Melodic makes the room feel much larger and airy, which is exactly the feeling I wanted. I hadn't realized how the former red paint was so overwhelming until it was gone.

We moved the map to be centered with the room, not the section of wall. Now it is centered with the chandelier and the dining room table.

The buffet came from our friend's parents who didn't want it anymore.

I unpacked some long-forgotten china and silver.

I bought the fabric for the chairs in the Pottery Barn Bettina fabric to match the curtains (bought on sale).

I think the rug should be different, but I'll live with it for now.
A painting on-loan from my sister in London gets a more prominent position in the house.

I love the pattern in the curtains and chairs, I think it makes the table that once belonged to my grandmother feel young. Well, younger!

Exactly how shady is that Beech tree?

2009-06-25T07:00:00.000-04:00

I've been trying to take a photo of the tree for which this blog is named, but its really impossible to get far enough away to capture the entire thing. These are the shots I recently took so you can see how large the trunk is. The previous owners built the deck around the tree, the photos posted 5 years ago with the real estate listing caused Jeff to fall in love with the house.
This photo was taken with my back to the far corner of the house, looking over the back yard.

This photos shows the beginning of the canopy, it extends well above our 3 story house.

This Copper Beech is one of several in our town. We have struggled to grow a lawn under it for a few years now. When I walk around town and see that other owners have given up the fight and just mulched their entire yards rather than complete with the tree, I wonder how many more years until we admit defeat also.

It won't be this year, though. I'm still hoping there is a true "shade grass" out there...

House Envy, x100

2009-06-23T07:00:00.007-04:00

I saw this website, 100 Abandoned Houses, and spent the rest of the day dreaming about the former glory in these homes.

I'm sure they would disagree, but wouldn't it be fun if one of our siblings lived next door in a mirror-image house?

This is my favorite:

On the Road: San Francisco

2009-06-17T21:01:00.005-04:00

We spent a little summer vacation in San Francisco last week, but it wasn't all fun. We spent many hours diligently researching various home improvement topics.

How to reshape the driveway:

Lombard street

Improving home security:

Alcatraz

How to add curb appeal:

And of course, what research excursion would be complete without a visit to a child-friendly winery:

Larson family winery

We had a great time in San Francisco and Sonoma and are looking forward to future trips for additional "research".

First harvest from the CSA

2009-06-08T07:00:00.000-04:00

This year we bought a share in a CSA and this is what our half of the share looks like:

As part of the share, we have to work 7 hours on the farm. I went last Sunday to do a few hours of weeding, the highlight of which was getting to ride in the back of a pickup truck from the parking lot to the fields. I haven't done that since I was a kid!

The share this week consisted of:
Baby turnips,
Radishes,
Beet Greens,
Turnip greens,
arugula,
mixed greens,
and a head of lettuce.

It will be fun to figure out what to do with all these greens... I'm sure it will involve bacon!

Everything's coming up roses

2009-06-03T18:00:00.008-04:00

After all the French drain excitement, I'm happy to report I planted some grasses and flowers that are still alive after a few weeks.

From the far end of the bed, I have:
1. Lavender. This plant has been very happy in this spot and smells lovely when it blooms. When I was in the hospital last year, the big Beechnut brought me a little bouquet of the flowers and it made my hospital room smell heavenly for the 4 days I was there recovering from the birth of the little Beechnut.
2. A tea rose, with dark pink blooms. This is new, and I pinched off the 3 blooms that blossomed to encourage root growth.
3. Miscanthus or zebra grass. This is new and I hope it will add some height and interest to the other flowers planted.
4. Climbing rose. I wanted to show that I have managed to keep this rose bush alive for 3 years going. Its rewarding me by flowering this year. It smells rosy too.
5. Lots of mint and lily of the valley. These were planted by the previous owners and I'm trying to beat back the mint. Its really only useful around the Kentucky Derby when we make mint juleps.
6. Forever Summer Hydrangea. I have hopes this will be large with big blue blossoms, but I think the flowers are a few years out.

Closeup of my climbing rose bush. I think we'll build a bigger trellis next year.

Some of the big rhodies in bloom, with my little peony plant. I think it needs more sunlight than the current location offers, maybe it'll get moved in the fall.

Lately, I've been feeling like this:

Busy like a bee!

Front Door

2009-05-12T06:44:00.001-04:00

I have been thinking a lot about a different front door. This is the current state of affairs.

Close-up on the 3-over-3 door. Notice the extra molding around the entry. Between that and the placement of the non-working door bell, I feel confident the front door was once much larger.

I think I want an elegant double tombstone door, like these pretties from my neighborhood.

I like this front porch too and the bright red color:

These people have a breeze-way entrance that caught our eye, for the kitchen entrance:

Another contrasting color on the door:

I'm not a huge fan of this colonial-style door on this house. This green house is right next door to the yellow house above.The colonial door on this house seems to work with the front porch:
I'm going to use this as an excuse to visit Brimfield and the salvage yards, this gives a little bit of focus to feeling like a kid in a candy shop at the flea markets this summer!

In the ditches

2009-05-06T19:35:00.000-04:00

While we waited for spring to be sprung, Jeff picked up the axe, long-arm lever, and shovel and dug out the side garden with the hopes of improving drainage and keeping our basement dry.

The previous owners built a flower/herb bed along the driveway. I've used this as a place to grow tomatoes since its the only part of our tiny lot that gets full sun. This year we joined a CSA, so its being turned back to a flower bed.

There are 2 problems with this garden:
1) It has no drainage so water runs right back through the fieldstones into the basement.
2) The dirt and mulch was piled up above the sill effectively creating a termite super-highway. If I put on bug-o-vision glasses, I'm certain I'd see signs proclaiming our basement to be a termites' vactionland.

So, Jeff dug a ditch 18 inches deep

and added a lot of drainage rock

and a PVC pipe wrapped in landscape netting.

He added some rocks back on top of the pipe

Pulled off the lower rows of siding.

Added some Boracare to the termite areas. There were several of these spots. Not surprising to find these spots since we already replaced the wood on the interior of this wall.

We added a rain/snow barrier that would divert the water directly into the drainage pipe.

Then went some more gravel, and a piece of trim. The trim still needs to be painted, but I'm ready to add flowers, so this is the "final" photo.

Now, its off to plan a flower garden!

Eviction notice

2009-05-04T07:00:00.000-04:00

The Bat Guys came and installed bat doors. It looks like a piece of window screen folded into a tube, and it may well be just that, but I will do anything to avoid being awakened by a bat flying around my head again. These are the opposite of a roach motel. Bats can check out but they can't come back in. The guys also sealed up the holes through which the bats were entering the house. They'll come back in 30 days to remove these doors and seal up these last few holes.

Spring has sprung

2009-05-01T19:52:00.004-04:00

Above the house on the right is the Beech tree for which the blog was named.

These are my favorite few days of the year, when everything is in bloom and has yet to become irritatingly overgrown. Have a great weekend!

I vant to suck your blood...

2009-04-27T07:00:00.001-04:00

This is not an actual bat from our house, but I think the ones we have are going to look like this, based on sound it made banging into the window screens last night.

If I were to list our house for sale tomorrow, the listing would be featured on the blog Its lovely, I'll take it.

The description would read:
Lovely in-town Victorian with many years of termite damage, possible infestation of carpenter bees. Master Bat Room has plenty of space for your colony of nocturnal bats.

Yes. Bats. We now have bats. In our bedroom. Flying around while we peacefully slept. We are not sleeping there now! We have a Bat Man coming over this afternoon to try to find the little guy who is hiding and to tell us how he managed to get into the house in the first place.

The Queen is dead

2009-04-23T07:00:00.001-04:00

While digging a ditch this past weekend (more on that later), the bigger Beechnut found this bug in the dirt.

We think its the Queen Termite. We're going to impale it on a toothpick and put her in the garden as a warning to all the other termites.

Sanborn Maps

2009-04-21T07:00:00.001-04:00

I just heard about these Sanborn maps from Jayne at The Kelly House. Founded in 1867 by D. A. Sanborn, the Sanborn Map Company was the primary American publisher of fire insurance maps for nearly 100 years. You can see if your house is listed by going to Sanborn Maps . (After you click on the Browse Maps button, you'll need to type in Sanborn for the Username and Welcome for the password.)

I found our house on the 1894 map but missing from the 1888, which makes the house a little younger than I originally thought. We were told when we bought the house that it was built in the 1870's.

The interesting thing was seeing the current footprint of the house on the map. The back "wing" of the house feels like an addition although the basement wall layout supports the idea it was an original section. Seeing this "wing" on the 1894 maps confirms it was original to the house.

I think the "1 1/2" marks on the middle and back wing mean it was a 1 story with a crawl space. They are both 2 stories now, but it feels very cobbed together. Also, it looks like there might have been a front porch in the middle-section of the house. Which is something I wish we still had.

These maps are interesting to look at since you can see the businesses that were operating at that time as well as the fact that there used to be several schools on School Street. There was a cabinet maker, a shoe repair and even the "Home for Old Ladies" within a few blocks of our house.

What's worse than termites?

2009-04-14T19:30:00.004-04:00

I was sitting quietly on the couch when I heard a buzzing. I thought it was a large horsefly. I heard it BANG into one of the french doors in the dining room before it found a path straight for my head.

I thought "Wow! That's a huge bumble bee" and I managed to trap it.

Here it is in a little container before Jeff released it back outside. Its a little blurry, but you can see how big it is compared to his hands. Its almost as long as the top section of his thumb.

Later we wondered what it was doing in our house and some google searching led us to believe that its something called a Carpenter Bee and that it was in our house because it likes to eat wood.
If I see another one of these any time soon, we might be selling the house in short order.

2009 New Years Resolution - Add-Ons

2009-04-11T19:57:00.001-04:00

My goals are a little different the then ones previously stated, more project based. Yes, I know II've lost 4 months from the timeline.

Convert "Cold Room" to a Mudroom
We have coats, shoes, boots, gloves, etc strewn about a small area at the top of the basement stairs that is driving me nuts. We insulated the "Cold Room", that's how it is labeled on the fuse box. All future home buyers check the fuse box names. That may warn you about what you are getting into. Without insulation, the room is now a steady 60 degrees; before it was a crisp 48. I think some lockers would do the trick to organize the previously mentioned coats, shoes, boots, gloves, etc, as well as control the recycle center in the basement that has a tendency to claim extra turf.
Build Beechnut #2 a bookcase
The amount of supplies needed to take a child from 6 month to potty trained age is amazing. We'll design this bookcase to hold actual books for that glorious day when there are no diapers in the house.
Patch floor between DR and LR where the Termites ate.
Those wood chomping bugs decided that eating 4 feet of support wasn't enough and managed to get some of the floor above it. The repair job in the basement made the floor less squishy, but it needs help.
Covert odd DR closet to (wet)Bar / Crystal cabinet.
If we win a big scratch-off lottery: Open up the wall between the LR and the Front stairs. Our front hall could be amazing if we did this. The front hall is currently the coldest part of the house, so any chance to insulate something, I'm in.

Happy (belated) New Year!

Home Cure Sneak-peeks

2009-04-09T06:48:00.011-04:00

Posting has been a little light as we are recovering from a vacation in LA that included a visit with these wonderful women. One of the highlights of the trip was a Star Tour of celebrity homes, well really- celebrity front gates.

I have made some small progress on filling the cabinets in the kitchen, killing 2 birds with 1 stone. Now the cabinets have stuff in them and we're closer to being totally unpacked after 4.5 years in this house. Anyone who says you should just throw out boxes you haven't opened in a year is just being a fool. I found all kinds of good things!

A blue opaque compote and lots of transferware.

This is a out of print (is that the right phrase?) pattern from the 1800's by Villeroy and Boch.
Inside of the teacup so you can see the pattern:
Dark blue water glasses that were a Christmas gift years ago:

I also tried to organize the buffet in the Dining Room in a manner that Eddie Ross would be pleased with. Obviously, I need to add fresh flowers to the vase on the right and the silver needs to be polished. Those decanters were found in box that hadn't been opened in 4 years.
This weekend is back to the Book, getting back on schedule with the home cure.

Holds 12xs its weight in liquid

2009-03-31T14:11:00.000-04:00

While I'm busy being a week behind on planning the house "vision", I thought I'd introduce the newest addition to our arsenal of useful products:

The Shamwow!

Seriously, this cloth is very helpful in cleaning spills, drying wet children, and wiping counters. Don't get suckered in by all the pop-ups on their website telling you "But wait! There's more!" and just buy the 8-pack.

Even the big Beechnut knows to say WOW! every time.

Home Cure

2009-03-19T07:00:00.002-04:00

Now that we had a hint of spring, its time to come out of hibernation and get the house back in order. I dusted off my copy of the Apartment Therapy Home Cure.

I think the house is in pretty good shape, but its time for some spring cleaning and general upkeep as well as time to tackle some small projects.

I'm focusing on 3 rooms: Kitchen, Living Room + Front Hall, and the Dining Room.

The first week's goals are: Plan a vision and a budget.

Vision:
I want the rooms to feel fun. Perhaps by painting a runner on the front hall stairs like this:

We need to dress-up the dining room, since it is now the ugly step-sister to the kitchen, by adding artwork and curtains. Maybe hang the art in a fun way like this:
Figure out what to put in the kitchen cabinets after digesting all the comments from AT. I'm thinking of just keeping it simple, like this:

I will probably do some general decluttering and sprucing-up of the living room. It might involve moving furniture around.

Budget:
What's less than $0?

Her Closet Remodel - Planning

2009-03-04T19:56:00.005-05:00

I looked often at my inspiration picture to make a plan for renovating my closet. Photo from Domino Magazine. I'm really going to miss it.
Sadly this is the reality of the space I have to work with:

It is built under the eaves of the roof, so the head clearance is pretty low. I'd love to knock out the front and right side walls and make it an open L-shaped closet. What I didn't show in the sketch is a hole in the floor and the ceiling that need to be patched from the old gas-stove chimney that was removed in the kitchen remodel.

I decided this was too small of a project for a gantt chart and a simple list would suffice.
Paint:
Paint colors for Brunettes from House Beautiful was my starting point. I like either this off-white

or this blue:

The walls of the hall will be painted Benjamin Moore's Bleeker Beige (aka light brown), so I want a pop of color to make me excited to look at my clothes.

Doors:
I want bi-fold doors to make the room seem finished. We used to have sliding mirrored doors, but we pulled those off right after moving in, since it hid 1/2 my clothes at all times. I don't want louvered doors, nicer paneled doors are what's talking to me. I'm not sure I'll find them short enough.

Hanging vs Shelving/Drawers:
I have barely used my dresser in the adjoining bedroom, since I almost always get dressed in front of the closet. I know I need some drawers for socks and unmentionables, but wanted to have most of my clothes hanging where I could see them. Maybe a cube shelf system with some baskets.

Lighting:
I desperately need bright lights in this space. Under the lights we have now, its impossible to tell navy blue from black which is an inconvenience when getting ready in the morning. Maybe a fluorescent, but with one of those daylight tubes.

I'm playing around with the design and scouring other blogs to get ideas. I'll post later once I start the actual work.

We will be warm by summer

2009-02-28T07:00:00.000-05:00

The back staircase has always been a little cold. For 4+ years, we just assumed it was due to missing insultation that was also absent everywhere else in that end of the house.

But Jeff found a hole in the coat closet where the insulation was dried up and pitiful.

This shot is looking down at the floor of the closet on the left and the stairs on the right. Notice the gap. So typical of this house.

This explains the cool breeze in the stairwell. I wish I'd kept a running tally of Great Stuff cans used this winter.

PSA: Blurb update

2009-02-11T07:00:00.001-05:00

Blurb.com is supporting Blogger once again!

Scrape ice when the sun shines

2009-02-09T07:00:00.001-05:00

The mid-winter thaw that started yesterday gave us the opportunity to scrape this much ice off the driveway:

to clear a path for this:

Life in New England. When it hits 40, bust out the mittens, boots, and the training wheels.

Something DIY-ers will find funny

2009-02-08T16:34:00.001-05:00

Crushing the list

2009-02-05T07:00:00.002-05:00

Our mortgage is refinanced. We're taking our portion of the TARP in the form of lowered interest rates. 30 year fixed at 4.365%.

1 resolution down, 5 to go.

Measure twice, cut once

2009-02-02T07:00:00.004-05:00

Although the project tracker on the sidebar says we are 100% complete with the kitchen, we still need to add the finishing touches.

We need curtains for the front windows, curtains for the slider, and I still have to figure out what to put in the upper glass cabinets. I'm a little bored of thinking about the kitchen, I just want it to be done with minimal effort on my part.

So I went to Calico Corners to just have them make curtains to get it over and done. I got to the store nice and early when it was empty, and I spent some time with the saleswoman figuring out what I wanted, I even brought my paint-chip to check the colors. She wrote everything up and I choked on the estimate. Seriously, who pays $400 for 2 pairs of sheers?? Maybe next time I shouldn't drive my Bentley to the store...

Once I recovered from the sticker shock I decided to just purchase the fabric and sew them myself. We wanted a bold fun print for the curtains and I was excited to find this pattern in my favorite shade of blue.

Anyway, here is the first part of the effort, fully-lined cafe curtains for the front windows.

I am waiting for another shipment of fabric for the slider, to which we also added sheers, ($20 each. Not $400). I'm sure our neighbors appreciate it.

We hung the curtains on rings to make it easy for the Beechnuts to pull open the curtains without taking the whole thing down. Its already cut down on some of the echo in the room.

Like most things, once I made a plan of what to do and made sure to measure twice and cut once, sewing it went pretty smoothly.

Update: Marley and Farmhouse

2009-01-26T07:00:00.001-05:00

My day, possibly my week, was made today when I checked my email and found a new comment posted to the Marley & Farmhouse entry. It appears to have been posted by the owner of the house and it gives a little more information on their history with the house and where one can find more photos.

I did a google search and found a slideshow of the house. Picture 9 shows the exterior of the house that I fell in love with while watching "Marley & Me". Look here to view the Ennis's lovely house, including the interior.

http://www.phillymag.com/farm_charm/index.html

Thank you for reading my blog, Mr. Ennis!

His closet remodel

2009-01-19T07:15:00.001-05:00

The hall between our bedroom and the master bathroom houses our closets. The ceiling in this area is low, and its has sloped walls. The closets have great square footage from the floor, but its all lost being under the eaves. I'd love to turn this into a glam dressing room, complete with shoe-display area. Something like this:

Since that would involve raising the roof, which is in no way in any budget we would ever hope to have, we have to settle for some creative thinking and being a little more strict on donating clothes that we don't need/wear/fit.

Jeff didn't have patience for planning so he jumped in. This is the before picture. The doors used to be sliding mirrored doors, which we removed shortly after we moved in so we could see the all the clothes at once. I'd like to add bi-fold doors, but Jeff doesn't agree that we need doors.

What you can't see in this photo is that the closet is about 4 feet deep, with a second hanging bar behind the first. Which enables one to hide the clothes he can't bear to part with.

Here is the after photo:

Jeff rotated the hanging bar to run along one of the walls, with a shelf above for sweaters. The other wall sports a tie rack and hooks for holding dirty jeans and hoodies.

A cube system was added to the back wall for storing t-shirts, jeans, and he might add a few baskets for socks. The raised section of floor hides the chase for the plumbing from the master bath.

Looking at these photos, we realize it would have been a good idea to paint the walls and deal with the linoleum/carpet flooring combination. But there's always another day.

Now I have to figure out what I want for my closet. Look, already a few weeks into the new year and we're already straying from the resolutions.

Blurb disappointment

2009-01-15T08:31:00.003-05:00

I just want to publicly vent for a second. When I started this blog, it was with the intention that we would document our kitchen remodel and other house projects and then on a yearly basis, I'd have all my photos and notes published into a coffee-table book. Not to sell or anything like that, just for us to have and to look through occasionally to review the progress on the house.

Imagine my dismay when I went to Blurb.com the other day to do just that and I found they no longer support Blogger.

I am hoping with enough time, Blogger support might come back, but in the meantime, I'm really disappointed by this.