These rosettes were a huge selling point for us on this house. Such character. The original ones are still trimming the windows on the second floor but these are brand new. Even the belly casing has been made to look like the original though.

During the whole renovation, our goal has been to preserve the character and the history of the home but update it for functionality and beauty. These built ins are a microcosm of the entire renovation. A nod to the past with the freshness of the future. And this is only phase three!

It’s the same blue we are using in the half bath and we are so in love with it. It’s such a beautiful matte navy blue. Almost looks like chalkboard paint. It’s gorgeous and adds so much depth to the built ins.

Stay tuned tomorrow for phase three!

Remember the gaping hole?

Well last weekend, Dad brought over the three base units that will house a total of six deep drawers.

And then this weekend came the top units that will have three to four shelves in each. In they came, three giant boxes at a time.

I should mention now that we are just so incredibly lucky to have my Dad helping us. Not only through this entire renovation, but especially at this stage of the game. Dad is an exceptionally talented carpenter but in particular when it comes to these finishing details. These built ins will be so well made and look original to the house with gorgeous trim and those rosettes found throughout the house at the top. It’s a crucial part of the entire renovation.

I know how hard Dad has worked on these and we so so so appreciate all his efforts. This truly is ’The House that Rene Built.’ Thank you Dad.

But today, I wanted to share some great updates to our home’s exterior.

Try to ignore our deteriorating front steps but we’ve decided not to do any “touch ups” on those and simply wait until next year when we can overhaul the whole thing. What we have done is…

An adorable envelope mailbox.

New house numbers.

A welcoming mat.

Solar generated LED lights on the front steps.

And a monogrammed door knocker.

It’s not big changes but it’s just part of making this home ours and reflecting our style. It certainly helps that yesterday was such a gorgeous fall day. Check out that bright beautiful orange tree! Fall at it’s finest!

The mudroom has been our storage area for several weeks now. There’s a whole lotta paint back there, ladders, a trash can- random stuff. It’s easy to forget it at the back of the house but with it’s adjacent half bath taking shape, we couldn’t neglect this muddy buddy any longer.

Break out the Revere Pewter! Since you can clearly see this back room from the kitchen and dining rooms, we had to go with the same neutral from the rest of the first floor. It’s a great color and looks fantastic with the angled ceiling. The lovely linoleum below is all that’s left of the old floors. We’ll put down dark slate soon.

I’m completely in love with the ceiling fan for this room. Since it’s such an industrial space, we went with this double head metallic fan. The blades spin within the small heads while the entire fan oscillates. It will be perfect positioned just above my treadmill.

We’ll complete painting, trimming, and tiling this space soon (I hope!) and probably not do much with cabinetry for a while. But eventually we will line the walls with closets and hooks and cubbies, oh my! The perfect space to come out of the cold or enjoy a morning run overlooking the… nasty old pool. Oh yeah, that needs to go too!

OK, it’s not a chess piece but I have affectionately named our newel our chess piece. This work of art is original to the house. It all of the sudden came alive this past weekend when we were doing some painting and some bright white trim paint made it really pop!

This is one of my favorite parts of our house. It’s just so unique and special. Can’t wait to show you the final grand staircase!

]]> http://whereweareblog.com/2013/10/15/checkmate/feed/ 0 julierswanson DSC_0031 DSC_0030 DSC_0029 http://whereweareblog.com/2013/10/08/and-speaking-of-the-third-floor/ http://whereweareblog.com/2013/10/08/and-speaking-of-the-third-floor/#comments Tue, 08 Oct 2013 12:00:48 +0000 http://whereweareblog.com/?p=1925 ]]> The third floor has just two rooms. Jared’s office and the guestroom. The guestroom had become a bit of a catch all for boxes I haven’t gotten to unpacking and things I didn’t know what to do with yet. A catch all that is, until we had a guest! 

Jared’s brother came up to Boston two weeks ago and asked to stay with us. Of course we were glad to see him but it was a bit of a scramble getting the room in order. Not sure if you’ve figured this out by now- but I hate to do anything half way. I have trouble settling for less than perfection. But in a pinch, we needed a guestroom.

So I didn’t get to set the dresser up or clean up all the boxes but at least there was a bed and curtains! Check out our progress below. More guestroom tweaking to come!

It all started months ago when we began caulking all the gaps in the walls and ceiling boards and updating the electrical. Last week, I caulked the remainder of the gaps and got to work on painting. The walls were done in the same Snowfall White as the other third floor room, the trim is the same white pearl finish as the rest of the house, and the floor was done in a simple black.

Once all the painting was done, it was just a matter of getting all the furniture upstairs and unpacking a lot of boxes. I spent a couple of really late nights getting everything organized but it was so worth it to see Jared’s face when he walked in the space. 

This low wall was completely transformed with our IKEA bookshelves turned on their side.

And the black floors look super sleek but still old and full of character.

After almost a full year of moving and renovating and working from the sofa on a laptop, I know Jared is pleased to have his office and will enjoy this space for years to come. 

The excitement of moving into our house hasn’t worn off but we’re settled enough to move forward with more projects. And that next project is our half bath on the first floor.

Remember this?

It didn’t take long for us to rip down that drop ceiling but there was little progress after that. Although I couldn’t stop myself from peeling off that faux stained glass pretty early on. But it really wasn’t until last month that all fixtures came out and the entire space was gutted.

With new plaster on the ceiling and upper walls, the tiny space felt so much better. We hung new wainscoting and re-positioned the light and sink.

The wainscoting will be painted the same white pearl finish as the rest of our house but the upper space on the walls will be painted a lovely navy color. We’re using Benjamin Moore’s Newburyport Blue.

Jared got to put his new tiling skills to work again with this white porcelain penny tile. Even though this bathroom and adjacent mudroom were editions to the house at some point, we’re trying to maintain the look of our 1890s home and I think this penny tile definitely says classic. And while the room looks vintage, it’s hiding one decadent modern convenience. Radiant heating in the floor will keep this small space toasty though many New England winters!

We had intended to use the old toilet and a pedestal sink that was a cheap Craigslist find but they had unfortunately taken quite the beating during our six-month renovation and we ended up going back to Ferguson Bath showroom for a new pedestal sink and toilet.

Stay tuned for more updates! Progress happens quick in a small space!

]]> http://whereweareblog.com/2013/10/03/half-bath-progress/feed/ 0 julierswanson Before DSC_0062 DSC_0061 DSC_0060 DSC_0059 http://whereweareblog.com/2013/09/17/our-house-tour/ http://whereweareblog.com/2013/09/17/our-house-tour/#comments Tue, 17 Sep 2013 12:00:35 +0000 http://whereweareblog.com/?p=1726 ]]> You can always check the status of our house by clicking on the House Tour page above. For now, let’s take a look at these before and current photos because it’s pretty stunning- if we do say so ourselves!

Living Room looking into Dining Room

Living Room

Dining Room Back Wall

Dining Room looking into Kitchen

Kitchen

More Kitchen

Master Bedroom

Master Bedroom Closet