Monkey helping with kitchen planning

Well, when a bulldog figures out the kitchen layout before the humans, we are in trouble. Monkey insisted on adding a wine fridge! Opinionated little guy!

My Very Own Tootsie Toy!

There have been lots of interesting finds throughout the remodel of this house, but this broken metal toy truck has intrigued me. I can just imagine the little boy who owned this toy ...  racing it around on the oak floors...pushing it through the grass in the backyard.  How did it end up in the crawl space under rubble?     

I wasn't certain how old this toy was.  I was thinking perhaps the 50s.  But I finally found my answer.  This Overland Bus Lines Coach was released by Tootsie Toys in 1929!  There is a web site dedicated to the history of the toy line at www.tootsietoys.info. 

Look at what this beauty looked like in its day.

I'm inspired to keep digging for buried treasure....

Stairway To Heaven?

Those that know me well know that if I had any chance of not breaking an ankle coming and going from the second floor, I had to do something to address the pitch of this staircase.  1/2 Airhead Polish + 1/2 Klutsy Italian + Old Steep Stairs = 2 New Broken Bones + 1 Aching Concussion.  

Apparently one hundred years ago people made due with the space they had.  The attic was...well...an attic.  The stairs hidden behind that beautiful oak door offered no more comfort than an attic ladder.  The prior owners of this house drywalled out the attic space and made two bedrooms (er....confined spaces...bedrooms is generous), but never addressed the steep pitch of the stairs.  I'm assuming Grandma never went up and down that hazard!  Getting to the 2nd story was basically like climbing into a tree house.


New stairs were needed and new stairs were completed!  I hemmed and hawed about cutting into the beautiful crown molding, but after several contractors and I hashed out various options for moving the opening, moving the entire staircase, etc, etc, the only logical spot was right where the original builder built it.  In the middle of the house.  So we carved out a few feet at the top of the stairwell, added a landing and several stairs into the dining room (only enough to accomplish the task and not interfere with any dining room traffic or furniture) and voila!  A proper staircase is born.  I call it graceful and modern.  You probably just call it a staircase.  The added bonus was that expert woodworker was able to salvage and reuse the beautiful moldings to accommodate this new design.  The next step is to turn these rough stairs into a masterpiece by adding treads, risers and moldings to complete the project.  Headed off to interview flooring contractors.

Baby steps people...baby steps

So I took a 2 week break from the blog.  I'd like to chock it up to hard work on my end, but I can't.  I've been sick.  Living through this chaos is enough to put anyone back in bed and under the covers!

In the meantime, I met up with a creepy junk hauler on Craig's List (you get what you pay for I guess).  Not only did I have to listen to him tell me that I should be on the show "Yard Crashers" -- like 40 times -- but I also had to deal with him trying to stick me for more money at the end of the job.  Craigs List + weirdos = no more!  So back to networking and using Angie's List to find proper sub contractors to get the job done.

What used to be the "hiney" of my house is new and perky!  I am so excited.  Well, not so excited to find that once we exposed the innards of the back addition, that it was ready to collapse.  
 So as in all remodels, we had to rebuild the addition from the ground up.  Time + $$$ = Broke and delayed.  But the addition is so sturdy now that nothing can shake this baby from her foundation!   Check out our progress and just wait until you see more of the cool stuff we dug up out of the mud pit under the crawl space!

 













Now that this major hiccup is out of our way, we are moving towards the work that really shows progress -- drywall, floors, kitchen install.    We're getting there!

So let's recap our kitchen progress. 

Well, here's hoping that there's a level sub floor, windows and perhaps even dry wall in the next picture!  I'm shifting focus to the exterior for a few days as we have to get insulation up to keep water out. 

Windows and radiators and stairs...oh my!

Well, today is the day it became official.  This house is upside down! 

What Lurks Under the Surface. AHHH!

I have joked that we will find bodies under the crawl space in this house.  Now that the crawl space is open my nightmare has become reality!  I know these dark, dank spots can be gross, but I never thought we'd fine....GASP...bones!  

Yup!  Animal bones we're pretty sure ( well let's hope!) but bones nonetheless.  First mice, now bones!  I think I'll stop digging.  I don't want to find anything else.  

But there was one interesting little tidbit to came out of the walls. We found a little door that allowed for ice delivery to the home. Inside were newspapers from the 1940's.  They were in perfect shape yet delicate and brittle.  The minute I handled them they crumbled.  The society page told me who was calling on whom over Thanksgiving in the year 1940. I guess that was exciting back then. Notre Dame was mentioned in football news.  I will dig up a few news stories to share.  I'm hoping to find a way to work some of these papers into a design element in the house.

Charming and Not So Charming

Well, as in all remodels, there are things that you can't wait to get rid of and other things that captivate your design spirit.  This old house is full of both!  First let's start with the things that are absolutely stunning about this 100 year old beauty. 

These stained glass windows surrounded by a dark walnut woodwork are absolutely exquisite!  They are going to give the living space character, bring in much needed light.  Now to figure out how to get new storm and screens on these babies without dropping a fortune!

The crown moldings and additional display rails are sublime! The wood is in pristine condition and has the most beautiful deep walnut tone. 

And check out these hardwood floors.  100 year old red oak with the most beautiful walnut tone.  Although they have seen lots of wear over the years, the wood is still in great shape and is just begging for a new coat of stain and poly.

But not all features of this old girl are as charming.  I call these design-era FAILS. From 40 year old dirty carpet to plastic chandeliers, these doozies have to go!  But there are a few items in the house that have so much character, it pains me to get rid of them, but they simply aren't practical.  Take the awesome print on this laminate type flooring.  Straight out of the late 50's early 60s.  And these retro lights.  While they look cool, the fluorescent light is painful and every last light in the house has a pull chain!  Okay, I'm done with the chatter.  I'm going to get to work on that electrical.  I have some new fixtures in mind that I'm super excited about.  Check the inspiration board for details.