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Friday, May 20, 2011

So, Notice Anything Missing?

She's feeling a bit exposed, is That Old House.

This morning started early, with a painting crew
arriving to power wash her walls and trim work.

She likes the attention, but she's a little shy about having all her nooks and crannies showered.
A girl likes to have a few secrets, you know?
Arched attic window.  Wait till you see its shutters!
 Worst moment:  At my laptop in the sunroom, and hearing footsteps overhead.
As in, footsteps on the translucent ceiling.
As in, seeing the rafters bend as one of the guys, walking on the sunroom roof,
power washed from that vantage point.  

I prudently moved out of the conservatory.  If that guy was going to come crashing
through the ceiling, I wanted to still be alive so I could dial 911.

I'm only used to seeing little birdie feet on my sunroom roof.  Not workboots. 
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Not much paint came off in the power washing.  Painter Danny was surprised.
 All the shutters are off, so she looks a little nekkid.
  They are stacked up behind the house.
Howard and I are going to examine them this weekend,
to decide if there are any we can repair and keep, or if they all should be replaced.
 Look closely.  Or even not so closely if you are easily scared.
Yes, there are issues with these shutters.   But they belong here.

However, slats are falling out like baby teeth.
You see that curved bit to the left of this picture?  That's the top half of an attic shutter.
Oy.
 But I'm still hoping to save at least some of them; replacements are just so expensive.

Goodwill doesn't usually have 16-1/2" x 58" louvered wood shutters available.  :-P

Most of the window casings have all their shutter hardware still in place, even
windows like these that lost their shutters some time ago:
Back of the house.
The front of a shutter; the skinny center rail lets you open or chose the louvers for ventilation.
This guy looks in pretty good shape!  Yay.
A close look at this shutter showed me something interesting . . .
Way down deep, under a couple of other layers of paint, is that black, black green paint color.
The one we plan to use for the shutters this time 'round.
It's called Charleston Green, and it gives a softer look than stark black.

So between the darkest of greens on the shutters, and the whitest of whites
on the clapboards and trim, we are returning That Old House to her old, possibly her original, colors.

I like that.


 I think she does, too.   She's been asking to be painted white ever since we bought her, the old scold.
A lady of her advanced age should always get her own way, don't you think?

Now. . . still mulling over colors for the front door (including the old wood storm door),
and thinking, "We should do something about that black wrought iron handrail on the steps."
It will never really end, will it?

I'll let you know when the painting fun begins!  And have a lovely weekend!
Linky Parties below!  -- Cass



 Mosey on over to My Romantic Home for a look-see at other people's treasures.
It's Show and Tell Friday Click here!

At French Country Cottage, see how others are feathering their nests.
Because . . . it's Feathered Nest FridayClick here!

The Charm Of Home hosts a Home Sweet Home party.  Go visit!  Click here.

And at Common Ground, it's Vintage Inspiration Friday.  My vintage house inspires me.
See what vintage stuff inspired others.  Visit by clicking here!

28 comments:

  1. Oh it is going to be stunning. I can't wait to see it all done. Your house is gorgeous. Hugs, Marty

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  2. Cass,

    I'm from Jersey too! When I saw your home I knew I had to follow. My husband and I have been fixing our 100 year old English Tudor. It's a real labor of love. I would love to just decorate but there are so many other things to do before that happens.

    Stop on by.

    Dee
    http://alapinlife.blogspot.com/

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  3. It has to feel great to find out that you are restoring this house to its original colors. How great!! Perhaps a retired woodworker would be interested in restoring the shutters for a reasonable fee. I know the retirement communities around here have wood shops that are quite active.

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  4. You're right it never ends.. .I do hope you solve your shutter problems. But your old house will be so proud of her restoration!

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  5. I love your beautiful old home and can't wait to see her all prettied up. I'm sure you could sell those shutters to a hundred bloggers. :) I hope you can find replacements. All the best. Pamela

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  6. You are right - It is never ending. She will be beautiful in her new white dress with dark green accessories. :D
    Have a great weekend.

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  7. Yup, she needs just a tiny bit of tender loving care. You will get there, it will be a great house when you do.
    If only they had shutters at Goodwill along with other items like this!!!
    Thanks for sharing.
    Michele

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  8. What a gorgeous old beauty of a house!
    We have an old home too, although we could fit about five of ours into yours! ;-)

    Absolutely gorgeous!
    Your images are so lovely.

    Have a beautiful weekend!
    Hugs,
    Anne

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  9. Can't wait to see how she turns out! We just had our deck powerwashed today and if the rain stays away for the next couple of days, they should be able to re-stain it this week. What is with the spring this year in New Jersey?!! Thanks for sharing your progress!

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  10. Oh...she is going to be a beauty ! I love Charlesston Green...can't wait to see her all complete!

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  11. How nice to have captured the original shutter color. Can't wait to see it all done and gor jus!

    Di

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  12. She is going to be beautiful...it looks like you are leaving no stone {shutter} unturned! We had a problem with our shutter slats falling out and plain old gorilla glue worked.

    Can't wait to see the finished job!

    XO,
    Jane

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  13. She has beautiful bones, and those shutters are making me weak in the knees! She'll be gorgeous when she's done! (done?) just a work in progress, huh? Thanks for sharing her with us on VIF!
    xo Debra

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  14. "That Old House" is such a beautiful home. I love the idea of painting the shutters that blackish green. Thats the same color that I have my shutters painted. She will be stunning when she gets a new coat of paint and yes, there is always something that needs to be done with a home especially if she has been there a while. Looking forward to seeing her in her new glory.

    Carolyn/A Southerners Notebook

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  15. I thought you were just doing the shutters? Gonna look wonderful.

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  16. your house, I do love, and I am glad your a purest and want to return her to he original look!

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  17. I can't wait to see her with her new clothes. Had to laugh about your shutters "belonging" there. My sister's has ahdn't had the shutters on it years, but she refused to get rid of them because they "belonged to the house". I think your house is going to look great!

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  18. Oh, this will be fun. Looking forward to her make-over.

    Have fun!

    Melinda

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  19. Your house is glorious! I love that chippy paint.... but a fresh coat will make her sparkle! X

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  20. Maybe you could keep the front door yellow....or the porch furniture....or even some flowering plants....or the planters they grown in.....well, how about SOMETHING yellow....balloons???

    (I may be the only one, but I'm going to miss the yellow!!) :)

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  21. She's gorgeous even chippy! I can just imagine how beautiful she'll be once she gets new "clothes".

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  22. I noticed the missing shutters right away.

    Nekkid about sums it up.

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  23. It never ends does it? I think you should do something about the rail -- it doesn't belong on That Old House!!!! Actually, origially, there probably wasn't ANYTHING there but . . . I find a rail DOES come in handy!!!! A nice wooden one would look better don't you think?

    Over here, with houses of stone and no real trim to paint, doors are a myriad of colors -- bright blue, Christmas green or Christmas red, yellow and an occasional black one. I think they do it for individuality!!! How to make YOUR house your home -- paint the door the color you want!

    Blue Row's front door is drab wood but the back ones are what I call English blue!

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  24. Cass, if you don't actually close your shutters, you can do some stop-gap stabilizing from behind. Use construction strapping running from corner to corner diagonally to hold the shutter square, and paint the strapping to match the shutter. Unless the shutter is closed against the window, no one will ever know it is there. That way, you can save your money on the shutters that are repairable (but loose and iffy) and replace only the shutters that are missing or beyond repair. (It always makes me crazy to see saggy shutters when it's so easy to square them up again.)

    I'm so excited for you!
    Connie

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  25. No, it will never end - you will be enslaved to the Old House temptress as long as she cares to own you. It`s a good thing you`re a willing slave!

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  26. What a Pretty Old House. You're fortunate to have the original shutters even if they are in iffy shape. I look forward to your future "adventures."

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  27. What a gorgeous house and clearly worthy of all the attention she's getting.

    Darryl and Ruth : )

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  28. Cass,
    It is always a work in progress. Our house isn't that old and it is the same! It will be wonderful.
    Thanks for linking it up!
    Sherry

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