Entablature Started

We put up the back and bottom portion of the new entablature above the front door over the weekend. It will sit out on the columns on either side of the door and cover the big hole that is there now. Trying to get the rest of it up by the end of the week! Should make a huge difference in the front of the house and be close to what was original.

1st Christmas

The Christmas tree...all 10' of it. And the cats only knocked it over once.

Drawer Pulls

Getting some hardware on these cabinets! Or the drawer pulls anyway. Still deciding on the doors. Really breaks up the expanse of white in there.

Kitchen Tiles

It's been a long process, getting this kitchen redone, but we're putting the finishing touches on now. The grouting is up on the wall tile and it looks so much better.

 

 And just for fun, let's revisit the tile that used to be there:

Living Room is Done!

A few weeks ago we were finally able to finish up the living room. The floor is totally refinished, the baseboards are refinished, the walls are painted (White Wool by Behr) and the book shelves and window and door frames are refinished. Much better! Time to start decorating...

Primer Everywhere

A fresh coat of nice white primer is now on the door frame (minus the top portion that's awaiting rebuilding) and the first floor windows!

Front of House

We spent the weekend scraping the old paint from the door and windows. The paint was in bad shape and a lot had peeled off. We're trying to weather-proof the woodwork outdoors before the weather gets bad to prevent any more water damage and moisture. The lower level windows in the front now have their first coat of primer. The doorway will get a coat later this week and we're working on getting the new portion above the door built.

Living Room Woodwork

Still hard at work on the living room. The woodwork, mantle, baseboard, etc were looking worn and dull so we brightened them up with a fresh coat of stain and varnish. They match the floors a bit better now as well. The walls are also primed and there is 1 coat of paint on most of the room. 
BEFORE:

And here's what they look like now:

  

Front Yard

In the past couple months we've tried to get the front yard cleaned up. It was pretty overgrown and we still need to get a stump grinder to remove what's left of the bushes, but it looks better. Eventually we'd like it to be all grass.
Here are the AFTER pics:

And here are some BEFORE pics for comparison:

Fixing the Front Door

Lately we've turned our attention to weather-proofing the outside of the house and fixing the giant mess that has been made out of the front entrance. In the painting below you can see the original entryway, complete with beams above the door.

This is more or less what the door looks like now-

And here is a pic of the house in the 1980s, when it was looking a little better-

The previous owners removed the upper portion of the entry and replaced the 3 windows around the door with stained glass. This showed off the windows more but the house really looks like it's missing a piece and we'd like to restore it as close as possible to the original architecture. Unfortunately we still can't find any photographs from before the remodel so we're having to go off the water color and other photos from Greek Revival style homes of the same period.

Another problem with the upper beams having been removed is that it opened up the facing column details to a lot of moisture and has caused them to rot a good deal.

Home Owners Past

Here is a portrait of the man who used to live in the house and possibly built it: Horace Gregory. The local historical society had it in their collection. Unfortunately they didn't know too much more about the house than we'd already found. But they did say the Gregory's child was buried in the backyard...

Horace was a tailor, free mason and held several local offices. He died in 1876 (age 81) and his son, David, a doctor who served in the Civil War, was deeded the house. His family remained there until 1922 when David's wife Linda passed away and the house was sold at auction. The Gregory family purchased the land from the Buckinghams in March 1844 (verified through old newspaper articles). We've been told the house was built in 1836 though we are still trying to verify that date and find out if it was the Buckinghams or the Gregorys that actually built the house.

Bugs

Termites. I suppose it's to be expected in a house this old when no one has taken care of it. We've since had it treated for all kinds of bugs.

Another Cat

Whit has a way of attracting cats like no other person. So it's no surprise that already a second stray cat has shown up and made it's way inside. She's about a year old and obviously some sort of Siamese mix. The house is barely livable and already 2 pets!

And Violet is as adorable as ever. Look at that little face. At least all these stray cats are gorgeous...

More Living Room Floor

Slowly but surely getting the living room floors finished up. They have been sanded, stained and had 2 coats of polyurethane. One more coat and they'll be all done! Then it's on to the walls and the lighting fixtures.

Violet, Making Herself at Home

Since no week would be complete now without new kitten pics, and who doesn't love kittens. Her name is Violet (despite my suggestions that she be named after a paint chip color)

Sanding the Living Room Floor

Once all the carpet was taken up in the living room we rented (yet again) the industrial sander.
Here are the before pics:

The floor isn't in bad shape, but there were a number of paint spills.
Here are the after pics:

 

Now all of the holes need wood filler, the cracks need picked out and it will be ready for the stain and polyurethane (3 coats each).