Making a Home

3 years...Yes, that's how long we've been at this home renovation in this house on the corner that was white, but is now a cheerful red.  This completely insane, makes you question your will to go on, remodel of our 1921 American Four Square home.  I love it and hate it alternately, but it always feels "right" on us.  It is old, and it needs work, but there is charm and character, and feeling.  This is a shot of the house right after we moved in.

This is a few weeks ago...almost fully painted...

Our house has only had 2 other families since 1921.  It was built by a local man, whose only daughter lived in it well into her 90's.  We never got to meet her, but by all accounts, she was a wonderful woman who made her mark on our town.  We love this house, because we can feel her happy presence in the details, from the little dust corners to the perennials and rhubarb out in the garden.  We want to continue to imbue our home with the spirit of the past, while refreshing and reviving it with the life of a busy family. 

When we arrived here in NH, three years ago in March, I had not even seen the house in person.  I had seen pictures, yes, but they could not fully prepare me for the cracking plaster, the leaky ceiling, and the 1920's wallpaper that was.  I was nearly in tears as we conducted the final walk-through only one hour before the closing, but I was determined.  We would whip this place into shape with only elbow grease, paint, and old-fashioned determination.

Fast forward to March 2009: Status Check

The kitchen

Is nearly completed.  But when I say nearly, I mean, there are nearly 100 little things that still need to be done and a few big things.  There is still no island, or moldings.  Some of the lighting needs to be done.  There is a hole where the vent hood should be.  You know, just some minor stuff.

The Dining Room

Is 85% done.  It needs shelving put in around the room, some covers on the heaters, and the floor refinished.  This is the room we take pictures of at holidays and are mildly proud about.

The Living Room

Has no ceiling, some spots of drywall, and next to no lighting.  But there is a big TV and if you watch it, you hardly notice any of this.

The Girls' Rooms

Are painted, but one of them has a ceiling sort of like the one in the book Madeline, where the crack had the habit, of sometimes looking like a rabbit.  

Grandma's room

All it needs is a chair rail.  Great, the one room that no one ever sees is actually 95% done.

The Master

It is usually a mess, but when its neat, it can be a nice relaxing place to be.  The cats certainly find it so.

The Upstairs Bathroom

Bright, but nice! A 3 day marathon work of art.  Moldings still need painting.

Attic

Still an attic, but getting cleaner and clearer by the day.  If I'm not careful, I might have myself an office up there someday soon.

Gotta get to work...More to come.