Drapes for winter November 22, 2009

I have been making heavy drapes for all of my doors and windows over the past few years. It gets pretty cold here in the winter, and my doors are especially drafty. When I re-did the downstairs (stripey) hallway this summer, I got a remnant of a gorgeous teal fabric ($28), and yesterday I found some lavender silk that was remaindered ($18), and dug up some liner from my fabric archives and sewed up a nice heavy drape for the front door.

Drape with liner installed.

Drape puller thingy.

Drape in daylight (look how well it blocks the sun)

Sewing the layers

Jerome inspecting the sewing machine.

Guess who is hiding behind the curtain?

Skunkie inspects the installed curtain (okay, she doesn’t care, she’s just eating)

Lining

Look at that face!

Please pass the scissors.

Such a help.

Door and window sans curtains.

I found this fabulous burnt orange fabric on ebay, but ran out of lining fabric, so I need a trip to the sewing store to complete them. These are to keep the icy winds from blowing into the kitchen. Brrr!

“Grace Flows Down” September 18, 2009

I bought this GORGEOUS painting titled “Grace Falls Down” at the Mattoon Arts Festival this year. It’s by artist Catherine Gibbs of Westfield, MA.

I saw it on her web site when she signed up for the festival and thought it was lovely then, but seeing it in person just floored me. What a wonderful painting. I love, love, love, love it and hope to be able to buy more of her paintings in the future. I like to just sit at my kitchen table and look at it.

Especially as it is getting colder and it will be a great visual comfort in the winter!

A favorite corner August 20, 2009

I’ve always loved this little corner of my house. I adore this funny little table-with-built-in-lamp (flea market find). The painting on the wall is a favorite (from an auction, probably cost $10.00), the one on the table is by my grandfather, and I’ve had it since I was a little kid. I just got it framed and think the framing shows it off very nicely. Found the shiny orange dish at Savers and got the dog statue in a box lot at the Golden Gavel. These are some of my favorite things! It makes me so happy every time I walk past this happy little corner, and even happier now with the stripey wallpaper.

Happy corner

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

Exterior view December 1, 2008

Here’s a view of the old gal from early 2008.

C’mon in! December 1, 2008

Hello world — here’s my blog all about the renovations I’m doing (and have done) to the lovely and elegant 1872 townhouse I bought on February 28, 2002. Nearly seven years ago now…

I’ve done quite a bit in that time, and have kept pretty good photos. I have a lot more to do, and have decided to make this photo/info archive about it to share with other old-home remodelers (and any other interested parties). I hope you’ll enjoy it!