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.