Cooking It Up

Wini’s room was the first to be completed, but the Southern House has 8 more rooms to go!  (THAT’S EIGHT!!)

In the middle of painting our neighbor’s house.  Mike began work on completing our kitchen.  Although fully functioning, it lacked paint on the walls, counter tops, and shelving.  There were several debates on what should grace our countertops.  The challenge lied in our desire to maintain simplicity and continue farmhouse decor.  What would it be? Granite? Tile?  We pondered the usual suspects.  But it was Mike’s creative inspiration that led us to choose steel.  Yes, you read that correctly, steel countertops.  Mike bought several sheets of 12 gauge steel.

Much like granite, Mike had to measure and cut each sheet to match each section of countertops.  For the bullnose, Mike purchased decorate stamped steel and welded it onto the edges of each custom piece of countertop.  The finished result was stunning, and it looks as if they had been there nearly as long as the house was built!

Paint was added to the cabinets and walls, finishing off with white trim.   Instead of adding big cabinets above the counters, we opted to continue the simple, open type of storage.  Cedar planks, found inside the house when bought by Mike, were sanded and poly’d with black steel decorative brackets to hold them in place.  These two shelves now hold our plates, and drinking glasses.

Those same brackets were also placed under the bar for extra support.

Matching the same cedar wood as the shelves, Mike made a “trap door” in the kitchen, farmhouse style, on the ceiling.  While the door is absolutely adorable, it serves to allow access to the upstairs plumbing should anything need replacement.

As a barn find, an antique farmhouse table was added to accommodate our growing number of little people, with beautiful mismatched chairs that suite the era of simplicity.

Sometimes, I find myself taking advantage of the how far this precious room has journeyed.  Here’s a quick reminder for myself and those following this adventure..

Here are a few links to previous blogs about our sweet kitchen: Coming Together,   Floors,    and   BeCase We Can.

Our adorable little kitchen isn’t quite finished, but that appears to be the beauty.  As laughter and love, food and dance-offs happen, being finished doesn’t quite seem as important.

New Member; New Life

*hands over eyes* Nearly a year has come and gone, and I have not kept up with blogging about our beautiful historic home.  As life gets more into routine, I want to continue updating and logging our journey at the Southern House.  So, here goes….

With the addition of completing some rooms, we’ve also added to our growing home.   On June 2, 2016, our family welcome our sweet Wini as the first daughter among the three boys.

Mike worked relentlessly for months leading up to Wini’s coming to ensure HER room would be complete and ready for her arrival.  He worked until past midnight most evenings and still managed to care for his pregnant wife, and three boys, and work a day job!  (I’m still waiting for him to break out the cape and fly!)

Here are some before shots and during:

Years (and years) ago, Mrs. Betsy informed us that the Southern House was split into two levels, and upstairs and downstairs, with each floor having it’s own bedroom, dining room, kitchen, and bathroom.  Wini’s room was once the upstairs kitchen at some point, and I believe we counted a bazillion tacks in that beautiful hardwood floor.  And Mike pulled EVERY. SINGLE. ONE.  Luckily, most all woodworking was complete and Mike proceeded to prime and paint every square inch.  A soft cream yellow was chosen, with bright white ceiling and trim.  The built-ins (see here for blog) were also painted the trim paint white, and the floors were dramatically finished off with “Kettle Black.”  We spent hours decorating, arranging, and dreaming of the beautiful daughter who would soon be calling the room her own.

Life was, is, and will be super busy, but welcomingly beautiful as we continue building our home and our family at the Southern House

Moving On UP!!

Literally and figuratively!!!  Life is rolling right along at the Southern House.  As promised, here is an update on the newest edition – the attic aka the closet.

Carpenter, artist, creator extraordinaire barely skims the surface to what my man can do.  With the looming fact that the Southern House had no closets in the bedrooms… (Yes, I said no closets.  Not even one!)  Mike went UP! The high pitch roofing allowed for more than adequate storage space, so why not closet space too?  So the staircase was created (several months ago) winding up the wall in our master bedroom to the attic, crafted ever so meticulously to match the original staircase of the house.   A hole was cut in the ceiling to begin the construction for the closet to come.

From salvaged large plank tongue and groove boards, the floor was laid (also several months ago).  AND a tiny window was installed.

Walls and ceiling were built, sheetrock was hung, storage shelves built, racks were hand-made from iron piping then painted, and canned lighting was installed.  A small door was even designed for entry to rest of the attic for more storage.

The walls were painted, the floor was painted, the racks were installed, the shelving was painted, and everything was moved from hangers in the bedrooms to our beautiful new  walk-in attic closet!

Life is amazing; moving up and forward every day at the Southern House.  Work has begun on “the baby room” (she is due in June) and a blog will soon follow with details, and pictures.

 

 

LIGHTS, Power, ACTION!

Literally! The past few days have been completely dedicated to ensuring every room in the Southern House is well lit. Crunching down and working harder to complete the restoration process that began years ago currently includes working late hours, most of which are at night, after working full time jobs. Mike recognized immediately that adequate lighting was a necessity, and one that should not be skimped. At his suggestion, guidance and implementation, nearly every room has canned lighting.

Upstairs canned lighting could be installed through the attic, which was a fairly easy task. Regular cans were bought, positioned and finished within days. The front bedroom is rather large, so four cans were perfect. The master bedroom, with it’s grand fireplace and elegant bay windows, is appropriately lighted with four cans also. The last bedroom, and the smallest, only holds two cans warmly giving the room a cozy feeling. The bathroom has one can and then a handmade (by Mike of course) vanity light that looks incredibly steampunk vintage. (Don’t worry – pictures later!) Finally, the hallway/stairwell/balcony has four cans with two situated over the balcony, while the other two light up the stairway from down below.

Downstairs posed a challenge to install canned lighting. Considering the Southern House was built in the 1900s, the space between the ceiling and the second story presented a lot smaller than modern housing. But Mike has a solution for every problem faced. We purchased, and installed shallow canned lighting. The kitchen, dining room, and sitting/living room now have four recessed canned lighting. The downstairs hallway has a iron chandelier, and the bathroom will have custom steampunk vintage lighting to match the second story bathroom.

Now that the entire house has lights, the power is on, we can take action. Actions that move the Southern House into the beautiful home it desires to be and will become in coming months.