Done Painting!

The house is all painted up, the rotten boards have been replaced, the doors are painted, the entablature over the front door has been installed and we have new front porch lights and mailbox. Looking better all the time. The color is Pier.

Going Grey

The first coat of paint is on the front of the house! It's only the first coat and the house looks a little naked without the shutters (which are also in tatters and in need of a major overhaul and/or replaced) but so far so good! No more big yellow house though :(

Here's a reminder of the "before":

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.

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.

The Background

March 5th, 2012 - Closed on the house!
The details: Built in 1836 with an addition approximately 30 years later.  2,744 Sq Ft. 3 bedrooms, 1 1/2 baths. Bay window, Florida Room.
Major, forthcoming improvements include a new roof, overhaul of the full bath and interior plaster repairs. And lots and lots of paint!

Here's the overview:

Dining Room Bay Window

Staircase

Living Room Fireplace

Kitchen

Front Entryway

Bedroom #1

Bedroom #2

Bedroom #3