Thank you for finding That Old House amidst the chaos of the Internet. We are delighted that you are here.

Thursday, May 19, 2011

Time To Make The Changes!

The painter, Danny, stopped by the house the other day
to take a walk around and see what needs doin' before That Old House
gets her own fancy white dress before Alida's wedding.
Surprisingly, not too much carpentry work is needed.
The old gal is holding up pretty well, and so is the house. (Ba-dum-bum.)

The thorny issue: what to do about the shutters,
which by now are pretty much held together with good wishes and little else.  
This pair is one of the good ones.
 Fixing the existing shutters -- and many no longer exist -- would be a time consuming
and costly endeavor, and with such old and damaged wood, might not last long.
Shutters on front of the house; none on the west side.  Only their hardware remains.
These louvered shutters are the right style for this simple Greek Revival house, and they may or may not be original equipment.  They are operable, with moveable louvers, and I love them dearly.

But I have to be a little bit practical; costly as it is to replace them with reproduction wood
shutters, it's probably the best course.  I wouldn't patch together broken glass in a window. 
Well, actually, yes, I would and have done, but that's beside the point.

First floor in the back -- shutters.  Upper floors -- shutter hardware is empty, no shutters left.
 We are researching wood shutter manufacturers who can duplicate what we currently have.
Only, not broken.  We may be only able to do the front of the house this year,
and each year add a few more windows, because this is also a costly endeavor.  Any suggestions?


Tomorrow, the house will be gently powerwashed, in preparation for hand scraping and sanding.
She's looking forward to the spa treatment -- it's exfoliation, after all.  

Shabby shutter on the right has blown off -- twice -- in Nor'Easters.
And then new makeup -- rather Kabuki-like.  White clapboards and trim, with Charleston Green for the shutters, a green so dark that unless you look at it with your eyes crossed and in the sunlight, it looks black.  Porch ceiling  -- light blue to fool the bugs, and the porch floor a dark porch gray.

Front door?  That's the lipstick, and I haven't decided that yet.  Something with pizazz.
Schiaparelli pink?  Screaming Yellow Zonkers yellow?  Tiffany blue?  Royal purple?  Something with zing.

Danny the painter approves of the white and black color scheme.  He says the house will have real WOW power when it's done.  It's good to have your painter on your side.

******************************************************
I have my own transformation work to do, inside the house.
Three years ago, when we moved here, I hastily sewed draperies for the three dining room
windows in the bay.   Practical, but not well done and never my faves.
A little too much puddling there.  It's also called "too lazy to hem."
 
Meh.
The fabric never thrilled me.
I am a fabric-a-holic, and I want to be thrilled by it.

A couple of months ago -- if by "a couple of months" we
mean "last Fall" -- I ordered a bolt of fabric that does thrill me.

 Oh baby, come to Mama.
 The red background is as close to an exact match to the red walls as fabric can match paint.
And the stylized pineapple motif?  Perfect for a dining room where you do your hospitalitizing.
(New word.  If people can say "off load" for "unload" then I can hospitalitize.)
 
I swoon.
And now that I have a nifty new sewing machine, featured in yesterday's blog post,
I am going to tackle this fabric and wrestle it into draperies. And then maybe recycle the fabric of the first curtains into seat covers for all the oddball dining room chairs we have.  Stay tuned! 
 -- Cass

14 comments:

  1. How about a composite shutter, it may hold up better in the long run? Of course I don't even know if they make such a thing! For the door, Benjamin Moore has a Carnival Red that I adore! Take a peek at it, I think you like it, if you like red lipstick, which I do!

    Looking forward to seeing the new drapes and the reupholstered seats!

    Mary

    Mary

    ReplyDelete
  2. I do hope you are able to solve the shutter dilemma and HAVE shutters - - - at least on the front of the house. I think she would look NEKKED without them.

    Now, about the curtain sewing project - - - I HOPE you give yourself more than ONE WEEKEND this time.

    I'm just sayin' - - -

    ReplyDelete
  3. The house is going to be gorgeous when all done - I can't wait to see the results. I'm partial to your color scheme since our house is white with the very dark forest green shutters - after 10 years I've never tired of it. The front door went from the same green to a deep berry red and I'm so happy with it. I'm sure whatever you choose will be perfect! BTW - love the curtain fabric, too!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I think she'll be smashing!!!! And I love your drapery fabric! I may copy your color scheme (blue ceiling -- gray floor) for Linderhof's front porch that is much in need of sprucing!

    ReplyDelete
  5. No more yellow???? Oh No! I love your pretty yellow house....well, I guess I'll just have to get used to it. LOL! (I have nothing against white, it's just that Yellow is my favorite color.)

    I'm sure it will be just as pretty. :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. Cass~
    the lady will LOVE her new finery..
    as will the mistress of the house!!
    and I agree..
    a nice RED door will be icing on the cake!!
    Love the drapery fabric..gorgeous!!
    have you already got YOUR finery together for the big day?
    warmest sandy hugs..
    Loui♥

    ReplyDelete
  7. Cass those current curtains would make LOVELY dining room chairs that would match the new fabric nicely.

    ReplyDelete
  8. CAPITOL LETTERS....DO NOT PAINT YOUR FRONT DOOR PINK...REPEAT...DO NOT PAINT YOUR FRONT DOOR PINK.
    Okay that is over with now lets get on to those shutters. I think there is a vinyl shutter that would less expensive, lighter to hang and easy to work with.
    I have been told that shutters are the eyebrows on the house and must be there.

    ReplyDelete
  9. She is gonna be a beauty all dressed up in her white gown with dark green accents. One of my personal favorites! Can't wait to see it done!

    I remember when you got that fabric, I love it and can't wait to see it made into drapes! Hugs-Diana

    ReplyDelete
  10. And the wedding is when?
    You're a girl after my own heart!

    ReplyDelete
  11. I just heard your house creak with excitement! I want your sewing machine by the way.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Cass,

    I'm excited watching your old house get a make-over! A few of our shutters and corbels and gingerbread need work. Can't tell in your photograph if you are also dealing with those issues. I love the fabric for your drapes. The sewing machine is supercalafragalisticexpialadoshus!
    Embroidery! My sweet Grammy is rolling over in her grave. Where did you get the new rug? It's beautiful! Your daughter's wedding is the event of the season in blogland. Bigger than William's and Kate's!

    Your Friend,
    Deborah

    PS Having a Cottage Charm Give-Away with lots of antique and vintage items.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Such a beautiful home you have...maintenance is no fun. She's worth it!
    Love your new fabric. Gorgeous.

    ReplyDelete
  14. The house is going to be lovely! I think the yellow door would look good with the green shutters! Or maybe a red door! Tough call!

    Love the fabric! I'm looking forward to seeing pics of your new drapes!

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for visiting That Old House; it's always exciting to find new comments -- they are treasured! Because of increasing spam, I have reluctantly eliminated "Anonymous" commenting. Legitimate anonymous commenters, please forgive me! You might try using "Open ID" instead. Blogger's spam software worked for a good long time, but, sadly, no longer.