A House is only a Home with 'love'...

Merry Christmas to all. It is truly a great time of the year. Friends, family and fun is what is should be about. A time to reflect and give whatever you can, even if it is just your time, your prayers or your listening. These houses are neighbors or soon to be neighbors of Russell Street. The first one is a new,white birdhouse that Mom won at the last Lions Christmas Dinner as a door prize. The next picture is an existing birdhouse located in the lower right section of the back yard at Russell Street (tin roof and all). The last and most elaborate is the newest addition made of NC wood products from a craftsman in Deep Gap, NC. This was a wonderful present from my Aunt Mary. Thanks so much and it will find a special place with the rest at Russell Street. All of the houses will be closely guarded by angels. The newest angel, Victory, is stately posed behind the new birdhouse. Thanks to Feliet for the gift of "angels!"

All of these are wonderful houses and I can't wait for spring when they will be filled like Russell Street. Without love, these are just houses. A house is only a home with love!....Happy Holidays to all.

"Black and Blue!"

Last week proved true to the season with bitter cold mornings and mild days to damp wet days and cooler than normal temperatures. Tis' the season I guess. One morning, it was so interesting as I sat in the car waiting for it to dethaw. The image you see is what I saw from inside the car. The "blue ice" on the windshield made an interesting pattern and has nothing to do with the house except for a nice segway to "black and blue!" Speaking of blue, the new porch ceiling...uh hmm, enough about the porch ceiling, right, but I like it. Now on to the black. The painters began the interior painting this week of the doors. If my count is correct, there are 18 doors in the house. This has to be down from the orignial count because of all of the walls and open areas that have changed since the project began. Some are now black, one will have frosted glass, some will be stained back to the natural finish, one will swing, and some will open to new areas of the additions. I also have to mention black in the form of the new tile, while predominately white, the black trimmed accents make quite a statement period to the house. More to follow on black and blue to be sure.

When in doubt, paint it white....

It has been a week since the last post. Painters have been there all week finishing the elimination of the red roof. To date, I think there is only one small section left evidencing the former red color. The last few days of either bitter cold or downpours have halted them from the completion. But, no avail, they have been working inside. With the question of paint colors, I came to the conclusion and insured the painters, "When in doubt, paint it white!" One of the next pictures will be of a blue porch ceiling. Not a house in Charlotte, not in Winston-Salem or Charleston, but 242 N. Russell in Troy, NC. It looks great and is the perfect color of Haint Blue! Good job guys!

The rest of the activity has been centered around more crown molding, more baseboards and bead board. Mickey and the tile kings have been doing amazing work in the bath(s). White subway tile with black accent bull nose and pinstripe outline the lower master bath and stairway guest bath. The stairway guest bath is quickly becoming one of my favorite spaces because it was clearly a no nothing area before and now look at ya! A full bath with stall shower, potty, and pedestal sink with custom shelving and storage galore! This one has been fun. As for the upstairs master bath, I have selected a white over sized porcelain tile for the shower area. The powder room is going to have 1x1 honey onyx as an accent around the honey onyx vessel. I still need the furniture piece to hold the vessel. Better find something soon!

More improvements, as the new hardwood floors are quickly showing up throughout the house. First of course, they started upstairs and to date, the upstairs master bath, closet(s) are now done. The next project is the dining room, great room and downstairs master closet. Soon, we will be ready for rugs! Hmmm, wonder where those will come from?

Kitchen cabinets and bathroom vanities have been ordered and expected in seven days. Full speed ahead! The washer/dryer was delivered today to David's warehouse along with the previously delivered Sub-Zero, microwave, and dishwasher. Pics to follow soon.

By the light of the night...

I know this pic is a little dark. That is why it is so cool. After many months, years even, there are lights on at 242 N. Russell Street. It is amazing to ride by and see the stately white house lit even just a little. On the inside, the gang is working tirelessly to install the crown molding, baseboards and trim. Tile was also installed in the laundry room in anticipation of the new washer/dryer that may be coming this week-end. I met today with Mickey, the tile man and we picked out preliminary tile for all of the bathrooms except mine upstairs. Go figure as I am having issues deciding on what direction to take the massive bath upstairs. I want it to be a great space but not so much look like a huge, cold stark bathroom. There are plans for some furniture in the space to give it a nice transition from the upstairs master suite through the arched corridor, past the dual closets. It was interesting tonight with the installation of the old doors, the ones that were lucky enough to make the placement in my closet(s), were all three different colors. They looked really cool, one brown, one yellow and one orange. Someday soon, they will all be gloss black. Enjoy the spectrum while it last. Still finalizing kitchen cabinets and bathroom vanities. Also I have to come with a new front door lock with the old one seeing its better days. Enjoy the pics and more later.

More pics!

More history revealed! The Doors!

The guys at Russell Street know how much I love to hear when they make a new/old discovery. As they begin to reinstall doors, baseboards, crown molding, accent trim and corners, more history was revealed about the past and present. From day one, the guys appreciate and respect the history of the house. Each of the doors we are using are from the original house, circa 1914. They were removed with care and stored out of the line of destruction to be revisited later when needed. Every door has five panels and brass door knobs and brass rectangle plates around the knobs, circa 1974. When a plate was removed, it was discovered the old doors had large holes that worked with "skeleton keys." Those keys are long gone but the holes remained behind the brass plates. The doors are solid wood and a little thinner than todays versions. Each room will have original doors, nothing new. One of my favorites is the Butler Door that is now being used between the kitchen and the laundry room. It swings freely on a new hinge and hardware system to allow smooth transition from the laundry to the kitchen. "Handsfree!"

"The Color Purple..."

This week, being Thanksgiving, the air is filled with visitors, friends and family to celebrate the holidays. Travelers and reunions abound and I would like to take this time to say how grateful I am to know each and everyone of you and how much to mean to our lives. Paul, Ali, Bill, Marie, Ricky, JoAnne, Ben, Jennifer, Mary, the extended family miles away and last but not least, Mom and Dad, XOXOXO

Lights!

For the first time in at least a year, that I have noticed, 242 N. Russell Street was lit and actually looked like a home. The electricians were in yesterday doing some tweaking and installed lights throughout the recessed cans and it looked amazing. The light reflecting off the crisp white, freshly primed walls was so great to see. Just as amazing was the replacement of the room doors. The plans are to utilize all of the original doors throughout the house to keep that same charm and appeal. Painters were back on the roof, causing near traffic jams as passer-bys turned and rubber-necked to see the transformation from red to brown. Molding (both baseboard and crown) is set to begin today, while heating and air guys will be in to install duct work to set up the house for warmth. Friday, I meet with Jeff from Creative Kitchens to go over the proposal for the kitchen. I am sort of dreading the total, cause I really don't want to have to sell my car to buy this kitchen. Like that would ever happen. Ha! Will keep you posted.

Pictures speak.

Pics to view.

Pics

Just Pics.

The Five Month Report Card...

We are in month five of the Russell Street project. No doubt, the transformation has been amazing. It means so much when someone familiar with the old house sees it for the first time in the new light. (Thanks, Mrs. C.) There will certainly be more pictures posted later, but I wanted to post some of the early pictures, before anything was done, including the former window treatments, along with some of the current pictures from last week. The pictures should speak for themselves.

Brown...

Each day the roof is more brown. What can I say? It looks awesome. Can't wait for all of the red to be brown. I hardly recognize this as 242 N. Russell Street. Far, Far cry from one year ago! David and I reviewed the plans for the next few days and weeks. The guys are working on repairing and patching the existing hard wood floor in a few places. They have begun to prime the over 10,000 linear feet of crown molding, baseboard and trim. 10,000 feet! Okay, the house isn't that big! That is alot of trim. Jeff called today from Creative Kitchens to tell me he has the rendering completed and will be sending that over to me. I am anxious to see how this will look. Last week-end was tax-free for "Energy Star" appliances so we now have a new LG Steam washer and dryer on the way. I just can't wait to do the first load! Yeah right! More later.

"Morning Glory..."

This morning I could hardly wait to run over to Russell Street to see the roof paint. The painters have been there late in the evenings working and finally began the transformation of the red roof to brown. These are the upstairs dormers where they have started. It is a perfect match with the new tin roof over the addition. Good jobs guys for the color match! As I was walking around the back yard, I had to walk around a pile of leftover brush, limbs, stumps, and what I thought was all weeds. I could not help but take time to notice the 20-30 blooms of Morning Glory in the middle of all of the brush and limbs. It made me stop to thank God for every new morning and every new day. You just never know what you might find in the middle of a pile of brush! It might be something good!

New Paint! Even Some Blue...

This week the painters are working hard to complete the exterior so it will be crisp and white. They also have begun to transform the red roof to a lighter pale brown that will match the new tin roof added in the late summer. As an extra bonus, they painted the porch ceiling the first rendition of "blue!" The look is coming together but, even the painter agreed, the first color applied came out a little purple! I love "The Color Purple" as a movie but not as my porch ceiling. I was able to pick out a lighter, bluer shade of blue which will look great. I am attaching some more current pictures of the exterior with the new addition and new paint.

Work Continues...

As those heated days of almost 100 degrees have now blended into frosty mornings, the work continues. The dry wall crews have worked everyday patching, mudding, sanding, repairing and making "this old house" new again. The rest of the team have been hard at work installing new beadboard ceilings in the foyer, hallway upstairs and downstairs, and the guest room upstairs. I also picked out the crown molding that will go throughout the house. Big beefy six inch molding will finish and trim out the ten foot ceilings areas while just as impressive four inch molding will be installed in the lower ceiling parts. Also, I want to thank Jeff from Creative Kitchens for coming over to measure and offer a rendition of what hopefully will be the new kitchen. I brought Mom in for the appointment along with the valued and needed input from Ben. Thanks to all for the ideas and suggestions. Jeff also measured and is proposing cabinets for the bathrooms. Everything white is proposed for the lower Master Bath and Guest Bath. Clean lines and darker cherry woods in the upstairs Master Bath. If all of this wasn't enough, the painters are outside priming and prepping for the crisp white coat of paint to complete the exterior. Once that is completed, the work will begin on the tin roof. That will be a huge transformation from red to brown. One interesting note on the painter; he mentioned to me he was actually the one that painted the house the last time from green to its yellow/red combination. I also this week, stopped into the Dal-Tile dealer in Greensboro to select and review tile for the house. Mickey is anxious to get going on the job and really bring the interior to a new level. Soon I say, soon! More later...

And then there were walls...

At long last, you are now looking at the new walls at Russell Street. These are the beginning of what will be the hub of the home. The kitchen/family room is now taking shape. It has been a vision in my head for the past several months and now I can see it. The first pic is standing in the kitchen looking into the family room where the televsion will be over the fireplace the pantry on the right hand side. The second shot is the same view just straight on. The last shot is from the fireplace looking into the kitchen. It is very light and airy with lots of great natural light, especially since there are no electrical options at this time. This is a far cry from the dark panelled walls, orange counters, faux brick floors, dark brown fireplace and low ceilings. More to follow as the walls appear.