The basement — clean foundation for 2009 December 29, 2008

The old furnace…. a classic. I wish I could have kept it down there for historical purposes. Oh well.

They don’t make furnaces like this anymore.

The old furnace, stripped of its protective asbestos. Side view.

Dirt pile two, AFTER someone took about 3/4ths of it.

Some of the furnace after they smashed it up.

The old furnace, stripped of its protective asbestos. Seen from behind.

Le junque.

Oof. So much junk! Empty ebay boxes tossed in the basement, the better to be ignored forever…

The old coal chutes

After: So clean!

Walking the plank to check on the tank

After: Organized paint and tools

My basement has been really gross and somewhat creepy for a long  time. When I first moved in, I thought it was a dirt floor, but then (much to my chagrin) found out it was actually mostly a concrete floor that was eroding with dirt seeping up from below that had formed a layer on everything. Gross.

A few years ago, I paid a mason a large sum of money to fix several areas of concern in the basement and the exterior, and to support some sagging joists with lolly columns. As a result of his work, I wound up with two enormous piles of dirt (and junk — broken bricks, asbestos chunks — iron pipes) sitting in my basement.

I hated to go down there, and I hated even opening the door because dust just flew up and got on everything. Over the past thirty days (or so), however, everything has changed — I have a new furnace, and the old one has been removed (a bit of a historic curiosity lost, oh well). The dirt piles are gone (the dirt that is about half the floor is still there), and the JUNK is gone — thanks to some great local guys. 

Everything that I’m keeping (paint, hardware, old trim and moulding, doors, and a big pile of bricks) is organized and clean. I have a gang plank to the oil tank, and feel like I can enter the new year with a nice tidy foundation. 

I’d like to come up with the funds to find a solution to the floor (down with dirt!), but in the meantime, it’s as good as it can be for what is under my control.

So that puts an end to cleaning up and de-junking for 2008. Everything that happens in 2009 will be renovations! Happy new year!

Little tiny project December 17, 2008

We’re having a snowy icy day today, and my plan is to paint the ceiling in the craft room, but I’m hanging around waiting for Gooch to come or call and tell me if he’s still coming to clean out the rocks and dirt and junk from my basement or if he’ll wait for a drier day. 

So in the meantime, I tackled a little tiny project I’d had in mind for a while. My house was once owned by the same family that owned the house to the right of mine (in a big row of rowhouses), and they put in an interior door between the two. On the other house, this has long been covered over with plaster and their room looks like a regular room. In my house, it was just left as a boarded-up door. The trim around this door is unlike any other trim in the house, and my guess is that it was done in the 1930s or ’40s, but I’m not sure. 

Anyway, I got eight of these coathooks at Ocean State Job Lots (one of my favorite stores). They were $1.00 each. The screws that came with them were too long, though (must have some sort of heavy duty backer board on the other side of the wall), so yesterday I finally went to the hardware store (while getting that paint….) and got the right size. 

So now guests can hang up their coats instead of having to toss them over the banister. 

I think I’d like to find some fabric to hook up on tension rods to cover the door. Or maybe when the basement is cleaned out, I’ll see if I can find a door that fits in the frame and have the narrowest closet in the world!

Before: Door to nowhere

After: Coat rack for at least sixteen coats

Close up of hook (only $1.00 each!)

Mattoon Street on the White House Christmas Tree December 15, 2008

Our little street is featured on the White House Christmas Tree this year!  Senator Richie Neal’s office commissioned Susan Tilton Pecora to design a Christmas ornament to represent our neck of the woods (Massachusetts: 2nd district) on the White House Tree. Cool!

I think the houses look like #50 and #52… if it weren’t for the red coat, I’d guess it was Joseph shoveling…and is that Sarah and Esme walking down the street….?

 

Mattoon St. Christmas Ornament on White House Tree

Future bathroom (de-junkified) December 15, 2008

I have one full bathroom in my house. And a bathroom it is. No shower. When I first moved in, I thought some riches would fall from the sky and I would renovate my bathrooms and build a shower. Seven years later, I have happily discovered the luxury of a daily bath (in what has become known as the “think tank”), and no riches have yet fallen from the sky.

A room that I have always envisioned as a bathroom (up on the fourth floor in the guest suite), had managed to become filled with junk. Lots of large boxes — empty and full, and old papers, cards, student records. Junk. So this past weekend, I waded through it all and emptied the room. Got rid of tons of empty boxes and packing materials (from stuff I’d bought on ebay) through Freecycle; brought a huge box of things to Savers (where sadly much of it probably originated…); put together heaps of recylcing (they’re going to hate me, and I doubt they’ll take it all in one week); have one box of sensitive documents to be shredded; and put together some possible e-bay items to sell.

And now with the room cleared out (except for a selection of the fire extinguisher collection and a couple of storm windows), I think it frees up the psychic energy for the room to become the bathroom (with a shower) that it yearns to be. 

C’mon money, fall from the sky!

Junk in the room and from the room in the hallway.

Cleaned out (save for some storms and screens and unusable ladder)

C’mon bathroom!

See, the hallway is clear, too!

Courtyard December 2, 2008

Just found these photos of the back courtyard in late Spring — what a difference from today’s chilly December weather. Brrr.

The Master Bedroom December 2, 2008

This was my August project this year (2008). I bought the vintage VanLuit wall murals on ebay in Jan. 2008 (paid around $2,100 total, they ought to have cost about $5,000 per set — I have three sets — score!). The pattern is “Printemps” and it’s a handblocked mural. It was printed in 1969 (the year I was born). I think the paper and I both look pretty darn good for 40. 

I did all the work on my own, with the exception of the fireplace repair. I’m not thrilled with the way the rosette turned out (on the ceiling), but I hated the colors I had painted it, and frankly I was over the whole thing so I just painted it white and called it a day. 

I still need carpet (gray or sage), and am sorely tempted to charge it, so the room will be done, but I’m holding off.

I also neglected to paint the two closets (linens and walk-in clothing closet), so I should probably do that pre-carpet, in which case it wouldn’t happen until Spring/Summer 2009.

Anyway, I think it looks fabulous, and really enjoying doing stuff like this all on my own. 

Before: Shaker meeting house.

Before: The horror of white.. Even the dog is shaking her head.

During: Ceiling and trim done, no paper up yet. So white, the walls!

During: Paperhanging 101.

During: wallpaper’s up. Door’s not painted.

During: Knew the room wanted to be yellow!

During: The art of hanging paper on walls that aren’t plumb.

During: Wanted to paint this, but hated the colors I chose.

After: Ceiling newly painted.

After: I love this wallpaper…

After: niche and nook

After: Now I just need drapes…

Living Room — After December 2, 2008

And here it is — ta da! The living room (completed Summer 2007) all painted, the doors all stained, the art work re-hung, and the mirrors in place. It’s so nice at Christmas there!

Living room — wood work saga December 1, 2008

Boy this took FOREVER. And I’m not really done. I have ignored the pocket doors between the dining room and living room. Was thinking of doing them this Christmas (2008), but was reminded of serious fume issues with closed windows. Not a good idea while trying to conserve oil…. oh well, Spring 2009 may make that happen.

 

One of the delights of doing these was discovering the charming tassel-like brass keyhole covers/escutcheons under all that paint.

Living Room — during December 1, 2008

Ahhhh… the fun of painting with your best friend! This was Summer 2006, and we were working on this while Italy was playing in (and winning) the world cup. We tuned in to the radio to listen, but soccer is so boring on the radio (not that it’s not boring on tv, too — I watch it once every four years, just for the world cup. I’ve been doing so ever since I lived in London and got caught up in the Cameroon team’s longshot story.) Anyhoo…. we painted gold on the ceiling, kept some white (but a better, richer, white) for the trim, and painted a lovely deep red on the walls.

Living Room — Before December 1, 2008

The horror of white! Almost everything in my house was painted white when I moved in. The living room was a prime example. Ceiling? White. Molding? White. Walls? White. Trim? White. Baseboards? White. Wooden doors? White. Window frames? White.

Put on your shades when you look at these photos!