Reflections on Color

Every time we paint a house we always have at least one dissenter-usually more. Someone always seems to think that whatever we do is going to look terrible. Once the house is done though, those same people are usually floored with how great it looks. People really need to have more faith in historic color palettes, and in our vision.

On that note, we'd like to unveil the finished painted exterior.

Porch-Tastic

David set the columns on the porch today in the back. It's so great. Now the back porch will look as good, if not better than the front.

Spring Break

Charlie and Lady are vacationing and lounging in the sun and shade. They are very excited that Spring is here.

Hooray for Painters!

The painters started today by power washing and scraping the outside of the house. Tomorrow they will do some more scraping and start painting. We're to the point now where everything is going to really start coming together to show the final product, which is very exciting.

Best Friends

Charlie and Lady love their rides out to the house and back. They are inseperable!

Energy Savings Tax Credits

Don't mind if we do. We are loading the house up with insulation every chance we get.

Various Stuff

Just some miscellaneous update photos. Nothing really specific.

Tennessee Friends Front Door

Also know as the back door....the back porch is well under construction, and the art-glass door is in. Also featured are two stained glass windows that we imported from England. They came out of a house from the late 1800's, and just needed minor reglazing, and sanding of the frames. Amazing.

Dozer Operator for Hire

Joel interviewed and hired a dozer operator who will come in a few weeks and knock down all the brush and debris--including a half fallen down outbuilding we uncovered under some brush and the original outhouse which still stands on the property. The marked trees will be staying, everything else is going to go to clear the way for the new patio in the back of the house.

Here we are now going to the South Side

Windows and siding make everything fresh and clean. Everything is historically accurate in detail from the bevel of the siding to the sizes of the windows. We've just made the house much more fire-proof, and 1000 times better insulated.

Take Me Home Country Roads

We've made a victory over the weeds that had overtaken the flagstone path from the road to the house. 4 months ago you couldn't even tell that this sidewalk existed. Now it's back almost to it's 1926 glory. We were told that before the road was widened there was a circle drive at the end of this sidewalk lined with live oaks, but the state claimed imminent domain some time ago, and took that part of the property for the road. It's a sad, but true story, and we're just glad we weren't there to see it happen.

A Ceiling That isn't Peeling

The new front porch ceiling is installed, and ready for paint.

It's all in the details

The crown and chair-rail have been replaced around the fronch porch soffit. These photos are hard to see, but once paint it up, it will look spectacular.

La Fonda Ortiz Resort Gold

We FINALLY, after many tests, and attempts found the paint color for the exterior of the house. The body will be La Fonda Ortiz Resort Gold, and the trim will be bright white.

Oops - Wrong Picture

Hmm..those were actually a couple of super sweet MTGRR Rescue pups. Here's the Colonnade.

The Collonade is Set

French doors are out--colonnade is in. It looks GREAT. It opens up the two rooms, and again, will help with furniture placement once the house is done.

Vote No On Rot

The North side of the house is now completely re-sided, and all the rot is gone. It is starting to come together!

Re-directing a closet

The upstairs bathroom was silly. It had two large closets--one for linens and one for clothes. On the flipside, one of the upstairs bedrooms adjoining the bathroom had no closet, so it wasn't technically a bedroom. Where there are problems, there are answers. We just closed the closet off on the bathroom side, and opened it on the bedroom side, so now the closets are where they need to be. The pass-through effect seen in one of these photos no longer exists, as the bathroom side is now closed off.

Laundry

Small update - there's a new laundry hookup. Worth noting, but not ground breaking.

Chim-Chiminey, Chim Chim Cheroo

There are no more Chimney's exposed going up the walls in the bedrooms, so now it will be much easier to place furniture. There was just not any way to put a bed in the upstairs bedrooms before unless they were blocking a window, and that won't work.

I Love Pocket Doors

..and it seems everyone else does too. Anyone that stops by to visit comments on how great the pocket doors look. There will be a 9 light pocket door to the laundry room from the hall and kitchen, and a solid pocket door to the half bath.

Exquisite Art

The fireplace hearths are soon to be sent with vintage hand made Majolica tile. The cinnamon colored tile is a relief tile called "Midsummer Nights Dream", and features a tryptych pattern of Pan, Tatiana, and Fairies. It is a gorgeous set. The others are floral tube-lined Majolica. I am so excited to see the fireplaces done. They will be show-pieces.

Shrubs

The first of the landscaping is starting to go in, even though the outside still has a LONG way to go....