Archeological Dig

Curiosity got the best of me on Easter so decided to do a little archeological dig to see what was under my vinyl siding. I picked a spot on the back porch so it wouldn't be visible from the street (if I ruined things) and a place that was a little shielded from the weather.

I pulled back the siding just over a window by my back door and then the aluminum trim around the window. I was told by some of my neighbors that the house was shingled before the vinyl went up and that it was in rather good shape.

Here's a little segment of the window trim that looks like it's in pretty good shape.

I pulled off another row of vinyl and here are those shingles. It looked to me like the shingles were sitting at a plane higher than that of the window trim which seemed curious. There must be something under the shingles.

So I cut away at the top row of shingles and this is what I found. The original clapboards! It's pretty dirty and there are quite a few nail holes but it's in relatively good shape.

As you can see in the lower left of the photo, the shingles were placed so that they slightly overlapped onto the original window casing, and then the decorative piece was added to hide that overlap and to finish the edges.

I'm unsure whether or not this is good news. I don't know whether or not any of this original surface will be able usable. But what's exciting is the possibility that once everything is peeled back, that we'll get the opportunity to see the original details.

I can't wait for that day to come.

Antique Serpentine Chest

You may remember this chest from the antique warehouse on Cape Cod. I wasn't sure it would work in the living room but I loved its lines and for $38, I figured I could use it somewhere in the house. I immediately thought it was a little too large for the space so I took off the wheels which helped a little bit.

I put it in place with a few things on top just to live with it for a little while. Here's my vintage fan that I bought on etsy and a sculpture by Provincetown artist Mike Wright.

But check out the alligatored finish on the chest. And I have the feeling that the pulls are old kitchen cabinet pulls. I'm not sure they're perfect but I don't hate them and I like the dark bronze color.

So now I get to play with this little vignette. Here I've added a few things to bring in some color. I like the addition of color but these things just aren't really working together.

So here's another option that brings in color. My granny smith apples, a little mid-Century collage and a vintage pitcher. I think it's got a nice vintage feel but the sizes are off and I don't just think it's the right feel for this room.

But here's an option that is feeling more like a fit. The vintage fan, an old carved candlestick that I turned into a lamp, a little abstract drawing in an ornate gold frame and little brown speckled vase. I think the variation is sizes, shapes and textures is nice.

I'm happy with this for now so I'll let it stay and see how it feels for a few days. I'm pulling some other artwork together from around the house, having some framed, my convex mirror has arrived, and I'm expecting some new pillow covers and a lamp from Pottery Barn that should go into the room.

I still haven't done anything about getting the roman blinds made but hopefully I can pull everything together over the next few weeks and you can take another look at a more finished room.

A Little Local Real Estate

I drove out to Lincoln, Massachusetts on Saturday to go to a wonderful little art gallery there, about 15 miles northwest of Boston/Cambridge. Lincoln is an historic town near Lexington and Concord and played an important role in the American Revolution. As I neared the gallery, this gorgeous Colonial house appeared around a bend, almost in slow motion, with a sign in front "For Sale."

As you can imagine, I couldn't wait to get home and check out the details of my new country home. It was built in 1785--can you imagine?--and sadly it is under agreement. At least it saves me $2,295,000.

But I thought it would be fun to look at a little local real estate that's still available. To give appropriate credit to the sellers, I'll provide links for each of them in case anyone is interested. See if you can guess the prices before you look.
This gorgeous Mansard style Victorian found here couldn't be any more perfect. It's on a 1/2 acre too which is extremely rare.
Here's another extremely handsome Mansard found here that just about makes me drool. This image is going in my inspiration file because I love the color palette. I'm really starting to like houses with trim that's darker than the body color. It automatically feels historical.

Here's a newly renovated salt box house found here. This house lising also shows an old photo of the house which is cool.

The listing states the house was built in 1940 which I thought was wrong because the photo itself seems older but I checked public records and 1940 is correct. It reminds me a lot of Paul Revere's house in Boston (shown below) which was built in 1680.

And finally, if you'd like something you can add your own personal touches to, here's a Victorian that just went up for sale. This is on the street where I last lived and I walked past it many times envisioning what I would do to it. It's actually got a nice covered front porch that could be really sweet. They say it has a lot of the original architectural details so I'll have to get over and check it out when there's an open house. This one found here will go pretty quickly.

I want to get out and get more inspiration for color shemes--would it be wrong to take my Benjamin Moore fan deck so I can match the colors?--so sometime soon, I'll get over to "Tory Row" outside Harvard Square so you can those houses with me. Many of these Colonial era homes were owned by Loyalists--people loyal to the crown of England...and they're amazing! This home below...

...known as the (Henry Wadsworth) Longfellow House, was originally built in 1759 and after the Loyalist owner was chased out of town was used by George Washington for his home and headquarters during the American Revolution. How cool is that?

Happy Easter

Whatever Easter means...

...to you...

...I hope...

yours is wonderful!

Happy Easter from my cottage to yours.

Front Hall Facelift

Just as you walk in my front door, you're greeted by the staircase to the upstairs. This is typical in a side entrance Greek Revival, only in my cottage it's much more petite. The stairs are about 2 1/2 feet wide and the hallway is just a little over 2 feet.

This is the view that greeted my friends when I gave the first tour of the house just after closing. They were speechless. They didn't see any potential at all. The carpeting was the first to get ripped out. The banister and newel post was stripped of its mint green paint, the pink wallpaper came down and the stairs and floors were refinished.This is same view today. I just repainted most of it except for the back wall where you can see the beadboard is half painted. On the left-hand side is the White River color I painted the living room and the right side is the white primer. The baseboard is also unpainted. And, yes, this wall is different than what you see in the original photo. I ripped that wall out before I moved in because it was such a dark area and I thought I would find a window hidden behind the outside wall. Why I rebuilt the wall is a story for another day.

Imagine how many people have walked up these stairs to bed in the last 167 years.

I kind of think the newel post and the banister should be a little darker. What do you think?

Here's a before photo looking toward the front door. It's a great shot of the pink shiny wallpaper.

And here's what it looks like today. As you can see it's a very tight space. The track light wasn't my first choice but it allows me to take off the spotlights making it easier to get furniture and building materials in and out. The back of the front door was painted mint green and since I expected the door to be replaced rather quickly--hopefully as part of the porch project--I just used walnut gel stain to make it look like wood. The door is also the wrong style. This is a Colonial style door. The original trim is still around the door so you can see where the sidelights are supposed to be (where the switch is). They may still be behind that panel.
Here's a really blurry shot of the front stairs viewed from the living room.
And what that looks like today. One the projects on my short list is repaint the wall going up the stairs. You can see that tried a color (behind the lowest balusters) that I hated so I primed over it.
I'm considering painting this stair wall a dark gray. I think it would beautifully highlight the graceful curve of the base molding.

Crate and Barrel Apples

I went to the mall over the weekend with a friend to to pick out some new eyeglass frames. I'm a sucker for kitchen stuff so I suggested we cut through Crate and Barrel so I could see if there was anything I needed. I was drawn by these Granny Smith apples that looks amazingly real.

"Look at these," I said. "Aren't these amazing?"

"What the hell are you going to do with those?" he asked.

I put them down and walked away.

And then ran home and ordered them online.

$3.95 each but they're amazing.

20 Questions (or so)

I was asked by Janet of The Gardeners Cottage to answer some questions about myself. Sarah from My Yellow House also passed on an award to me a few weeks ago (which I thoughtlessly ignored) where I was supposed to share some things about myself. Since each of us limit the scope of our blogs to a particular segment of our lives, I think this is a great way to share a little bit of ourselves off subject. So here's a little bit about the curmudgeon behind An Urban Cottage.
What time do I wake up? 6:00 but I hit the snooze two times so I feel like I've slept in.

Coffee or tea? Double latte, please.
Favorite time of day? Morning. (After the latte)

Breakfast? Usually oatmeal with some vanilla yogurt but my guilty pleasure is a strawberry pop tart. The colorful sprinkles just make me happy.

Favorite salad dressing? I make my own vinaigrette and it's one I learned to make when I visited Paris years ago. Salt, pepper, garlic, a little dijon, vinegar and olive oil. In the summer I tend to make it with lemon instead of vinegar. The only commercial dressing I buy is Annie's Shitake Mushroom vinaigrette. It's got soy and sesame oil in it and it's great on brocolli or any stirfry. (I took an art workshop with Annie in Stowe, VT. She's really cool and she had the funkiest sneakers.)

Last drink? Friday night I had a Cranberry Bog Martini at Legal Seafoods. I'm not a big drinker but I love my "bogs."

Favorite store to max out your credit card? Easy one. Berta Walker Gallery or Artstrand in Provincetown.

Favorite pizza? Plain cheese.

Last dinner I ate? I had a salad with some grilled shrimp.

Food dislikes? Turnip. And I won't eat veal.

Steak or chicken? I'm really trying to be thoughtful about the meat that I eat and I'm trying to eat less but with spring coming, I'm really looking forward to grilling my first steak of the season. Sorry, Janet.

Where do I want to retire? Good question. I'm not sure but I'd like to have a summer and a winter place even if it's a little shack in both places. Maybe Vermont or coastal Maine in the summer. The winter place is the tough one. I don't need a warm place, maybe something a little less bitter than New England though.

Last movie I saw? I'm not a big movie person but Precious. Didn't love it but Monique was amazing.

Favorite cuisine? Indian. I could eat it every day and probably be happy with only the vegetarian choices. Samosas, chana masala, saag paneer. Love it all.

Favorite restaurant? Most of my favorite restaurants are in California. Chez Panisse, The Slanted Door, Green's. Julia's Kitchen in Napa was one of the best meals I've ever had--an interpretation of Julia's casoullet--but they've closed. I love Bouchon too. (Any restaurant with a bakery next door is close to my heart!) Locally, I would have to say East Coast Grill and The Blue Room in Cambridge or Mela (Indian Food) in the South End. Not fancy; just good cooking.

Favorite color? Blue.

Favorite piece of clothing? Either my 1980s Comme de Garcon collarless blazer or my J. Crew hoodie.

Favorite flower? Really, really hard. There are so many fragrant flowers that immediately take me back to my childhood like lilacs, peonies, Lily of the Valley, hyacinth, etc., but I would have to go with zinnias. You can't beat the color and they're long lasting as a cut flower.

Favorite sport to watch? Football but on TV. Not a fan of the cold seats.

Like your job? Most days. I work with a lot of great people and although we work hard, we also have a lot of fun which makes a big difference.

Tattoos? Two. One I got in Houston, Texas on a business trip after a few too many mimosas at brunch. And the other one I got with my mother and sister in Niagara Falls, ON. My mother got a daisy. My sister got "sunshine" on her shoulder and got three Chinese characters on my upper arm that stand for health, wealth and good fortune.

Dog or cat? Cats. I have three Abysinnians. This is Angus below. Although I love dogs too.

Pet peeves? I have a lot of them but most of them revolve around inconsiderate people. Need I elaborate?

Just for fun, I'm going to be challenging Kelly McGuill of O so D to answer these questions. I love Kelly's style as I've mentioned a few times in my own pages but I left her a comment that I thought she was sexist when she was male bashing in one of her posts. She sent me an e-mail saying "Hi, it's me, the sexist blogger." So she probably hates me but I'll see what I can do.