Happy Easter

Amaryllis Picotee

Although we think of amaryllis as a Christmas flower, we're celebrating

Easter with one last flourish from Amaryllis Picotee.

Amaryllis Picotee

Picotee's lovely white flower has a green center and fine red penciled edge.

I love how the red defines its very sculptural edges.

We'll be enjoying a quiet Easter hanging out with a few good friends, enjoying

good food, and sitting on the chairs we're not normally allowed to.

Whatever you do, however you celebrate, I hope you have a wonderful day!

Tomato Soup and Grilled Cheese

There's a new color scheme being served up all over the neighborhood. 

I call it Tomato Soup and Grilled Cheese.

When I was at lunch at Sam's in South Boston recently and saw it on the menu,

I just couldn't resist ordering it so I could juxtapose the photos.

This is a two-family house I wanted to buy several years ago.  It was about as crusty as

a grilled cheese sandwich back then and I decided it was too scary of the project.

Someone bought it, fixed it up and flipped half of the house for the same price

as they paid for the entire house.

It was then I learned, don't be afraid of crustiness.

via

This house was the first in the neighborhood to use TS&GC color scheme

about three years ago.   The others all quickly jumped on board.

via

This one switched things up a little bit with bronze window sashes.

photo:  me

I think I like it better with black accents.

What do you think?  Could you warm up to TS&GC on your house?

Appraisers and Roofers

It was 7:30 in the morning.  The house was all spic and span and

the morning sun poured in the front of the house.

The yellow paperwhites brought their own sunshine to

the dining room we all waited for the appraisers to arrive.

There had even been a dusting of snow overnight that

perfectly covered my missing shingles.

Everything was perfect....

...until I looked out the window to see...

...the roofers had arrived unannounced.

I nearly had a heart attack.  All I could envision was the

appraisers arriving to find my roof...

...looking like this.

Fortunately, they were just stopping by to accept delivery of the

roofing materials.  It would have been nice to have gotten this done

before the appraisal but at least they could see that it was actually going

to happen in the near future.

The roof was replaced the next day.

So here's the before.

And here's the after.  It's not a huge impact but it does look a lot better.

They also added a ridge vent which will provide better ventilation in the attic.

(The shingles are Certainteed architectural shingles in Colonial Gray color.)

The appraisal went well I think.  It's hard to judge and a lot of the outcome will

be the comparison of my house and its finishes to comparable properties

in the neighborhood based on recent sales.

They did say that it was apparent that everything was well maintained

and that a lot of the finish work looked new.  That subjective data gets

offset by the fact  that I don't have a garbage disposal, a dishwasher and

a microwave, butcher block counters versus granite, etc. etc. etc.

A porch adds X dollars to the price, a patio adds X dollars

and off-street parking adds X dollars.  Good information.

They did drawings of the floor plans and took photos of only of

the kitchen and bathrooms, hot water heater and furnace. 

Not too invasive and it took less than a half hour.

I don't have any concern about where the appraisal will come in but I'm more interested in

how the work I've done to the house has affected the value.  I think it's important when you're

renovating to know the value of your house as well as understanding your local real estate

market.  I don't want to overshoot on installing high end finishes if I won't be able to recoup

that investment if I decide to sell the house at some point.

Is there another renovation in my future? I don't know.  But it's good to be educated.

Keeping Track

 

When you're renovating and/or decorating a house, you come across a lot

of details.  Pinterest has proven to be an invaluable tool to  keep track of ideas

and products that I may want to go back and look at later.  I wanted to share my secret for

keeping track of information when I'm out and about on the road searching for

furniture, salvage and details I may want to look at down the road.

 

 

 

My secret is a Moleskine.  They come in a lot of different forms but

I like the plain notebook.  It's 5 x 8.25 inches which is about a half sheet of regular

copy/printer printer paper so it's not really pocket size but small enough that

I can carry  the notebook and a point-and-shoot camera in the same hand.

(Although maybe that's why I keep dropping my cameras!)  They're available

at most art supply stores and also on the internet.

 

 

It's also got a handy pocket in back to stuff business cards and receipts.

I'm famous for losing receipts and this has helped a lot.

 

 

As I was out, for example, looking for vanity options,

I started a new page and noted where I was.

Adding the date wouldn't have been a bad idea either.

 

Even though I usually document things I like with my camera,

the notebook is a perfect place to make a little sketch so you can note the

measurements.  Here you'll see my drawing of the Swedish chest in the lead

photo and its measurements.  It's not a perfect drawing but there are enough

details--the scrolly edge on the middle drawer and the bun feet--that refresh

my recollection. It provides details that a photograph doesn't.

 

I knew at the time this wasn't an option for my downstairs bathroom

but having all the details allows me to go back later to see if it might be

an option, for example, for the upstairs bathroom or maybe a kitchen island.

 

 

Another thing that's really helpful is having the dimensions of all

your rooms.  I can't tell you how many times I've been out somewhere and

see a table or chest and really can't tell if it's the right size for a certain spot

in the house.  If you have all these measurements, you'll immediately know

if the antique sofa will fit through the den door or if the salvaged doors

are the right size for bathrooms.  I try to measure as much as possible; e.g., the

height and width of windows and doors, the height and width of walls as well

as each space between doors and windows, and the placement of light switches

and outlets.

 

Of course, the secret is making sure you have your notebook when you need it.

It's never a problem remembering if I'm making a road trip to Maine or Cape Cod,

but sometimes I find myself stopping somewhere when I'm closer to home.

It doesn't always work out but I find the best place to  keep it is in the car!

* * * * *

 

For you art lovers, I thought it might be fun for you to read a few pages of

my notes from my meeting with Jeanne Bultman which I talked about in

my post Why I Love Provincetown.  I sat down immediately following our

meeting and wrote down as much as I could remember.  It's amazing how

certains details can fade after time and I knew these were details that I wanted

to get down for posterity.  I've masked a small portion of my

notes just to protect the family's privacy.  I hope you enjoy!

 

 

 

Vanity

Plans are moving along nicely.  My refinancing has been approved and

I expect to have my appraisal this week.  

I've also started plans for the new downstairs bathroom.  I've always thought my biggest challange for both bathrooms would be to find a unique and interesting solution for the sink.  I've always envisioned something old paired with something modern.

I stopped by Darby Road in Waltham to see what I could find.

The gray Swedish chest would be beautiful.  

I'd pair it with a modern rectangular vessel mounted on the top.   I'm not a huge fan of the bowl vessel sinks; they just seem a little precious.  This nice chunky one that would allow you to wash your face without losing half the water onto the counter.

This is one of Darby Road's custom pieces.  I like the idea of cabinet doors better than a piece that has drawers.  You could get a shelf or two inside without having to deal with shortening the  drawers.

It's got some nice details and can be painted in any color so it 

could fit in to almost any design scheme.

I love the corner detail on this chest.   Really different hardware too.

This is another Darby Road piece that could be transformed

into a handsome country vanity...

...that you've maybe seen on my Bathrooms Pinterest board.

This isn't at all an option but isn't this amazing?  The sink and

counter sections are all porcelain.  Perfect for your country house!

Not for my house, but I love this Chinese chest.  It's got a beautiful patina.

And I think it would be gorgeous with a copper basin on the top.

A table is another option.  I love the turned legs on this Swedish piece.

It could look like this only with one large sink.  Yes, it lack storage but I love

how little visual space it takes up.  

 It's unfortunate that every one of these pieces is too big.  The architect's plan shows a 30-inch sink.  I think I could push that to 32 inches for the sink but all of these are 36" or larger.

This table could be fairly easily modified.  If the top were removed, the front and back rails

could be trimmed down.  I used my photo editor to add a shelf to the bottom.  

Kind of like this.   It's no much better than

having a basket of towels sitting on the floor.

I like the marble top too.

So I think this is the one.  I've drawn up plans to alter the piece 

so it fits and I'm heading to the bath store to figure out the sink and other fixtures.

See you there.

Note:  I regret that I had to put the word verification back on.  I was getting overwhelmed with all the spam comments.  It was either add add word verification or turn off anonymous comments.

I know it's a pain; I'm sorry.

Antique Maps

I recently came across a collection of antique maps and couldn't resist 

bringing some of them home.

There was quite a large collection that included locations all over the United States 

but I pulled out as many Massachusetts towns as I could find, especially cities

and villages along the ocean.

I would assume each map was a page in a large book but each one

has been cut into perfect rectangles and mounted on cotton so they can

fold into a little booklet.  Many of them are signed "F.H. Silsbee, Lawrence, Mass."

and a few are dated 1899.  I googled F.H. Silsbee and found he was a graduate

of MIT and a member of the New England Cotton Manufacturer's Association

You can see faintly on the back of the Falmouth, Mass. map the text on the back

that reads "Desription of Topographic Map of the United States."

Let me show you a few.

Beverly and Salem, Mass.

Plymouth, Mass.

Yarmouth, Mass.

And I love that some of the maps

of seaside towns are mainly open water leaving an irregular edge

that make abstract shapes.

Provincetown, Mass.

Truro and Wellfleet, Mass.

The maps have a very soft red, white, blue and black color palette

that would fit very easily in almost room.

Fall River, Mass.

(Of Lizzie Bordon fame.)

Since each map has a grid of nine panes, I think they would look great framed 

and hung in a grid of nine.

A project that would certainly drive me crazy

getting hung perfectly.

* BY REQUEST *

For present and former Salem residents, historians, witches and warlocks, I'm adding an enlarged image of the Salem map.  It's too bad there's not more detail but I'm sure some of you (Donna Seger) will see some things that have changed.

(It seems it won't enlarge when you click so I'm making it as large as possible.)