Summer Project Update - Finished!!!

So it’s been months (and months…and months) in the works but finally my summer project is FINISHED!  If I knew then what I know now….yeah, not sure I would have taken this project on. 

Side view - this was taken on inspection day

Side view - this was taken today

 

Back Steps..sad

 

Back Steps...now.  Long term plan is to move this door to the back of
the house and put a window here instead

It wasn’t hard….really.  But it definitely took more time than I had anticipated…that darn trim work…

Garage before...bonus room on the side is a future project

Garage now...what you can't see is the addition of a garage door opener...
very important for New England winters

There are several more exterior projects that just didn't get done this year but this was a huge step forward.

Front Door...before

Front door now...still needs a major reno (i.e. new door,
new steps & portico) but a little paint will make do till
spring

With all of the challenges (like me getting on the roof to paint the dormers?) and the frustration of it taking far longer than I wanted, it was so worth it.  I am very pleased with how it came out and definitely house proud these days. 

Front view before

Front view after - was going to paint the brown shutters but after taking them
down I decided it was a better plan just to replace them

Next up….guestroom redo.  Here’s the before:

This is the photo from the listing when Mrs Johnson still owned (and
decorated) the house.

The Other Side of Fenway

I can’t believe how fast this last weekend went…I feel like I say that every Monday but its true every Monday.  There are always so many things to do this time of year in New England.

One of my favorites is Fenway Studio’s Open House… this year it seemed like it was a little earlier than normal being held this weekend.

Fenway Studio's
30 Ipswich St., Boston MA
photo source

I would have totally missed it without my good friend Maureen’s sharp eye catching it and texting me the “hey we have gotta go”.  We first discovered the Fenway Studio’s Open House a couple of years ago when they were hosting a open house/wine tasting.  No wine this year but it’s still such a cool event.

Some Art....loved this Artist's stuff!

Some more art...

A little something about Fenway Studio’s (from their website):

It came to be built because early in the 1900s, many of Boston's best-known artists lost their studios and life's works in a disastrous fire at the Harcourt Studios on Irvington Street in Boston, and many barely escaped with their lives. 

Fenway Studios was designed so that every one of the 46 studios would have north-facing windows, 12 feet high. The interior plan, with 14-foot high ceilings, was inspired by the 19th century atelier studios in Paris, where many of the original artists had studied. The building, of classic Arts & Crafts design with clinker brick exterior, is located on Ipswich Street in the Back Bay. 

Fenway Studios is a National Historic Landmark building. It is the oldest continuously functioning building in the country constructed for and dedicated solely to artists' space. The Studios are also the first in the country to pioneer a not-for-profit limited-equity form of ownership. In order to maintain rents at an affordable level, artists are not permitted to profit from the sale of their units, save an adjustment for inflation.

The really cool thing about this open house is that not only is there a ton of great art work to look at but the studios are all individually owned and thus individually decorated (or not decorated in some cases…).

The windows are magnificent...perfect for an artist

A fairly utilitarian (ie underdecorated) studio...
it's still so appealing isn't it?

Some are just downright cozy.

They had a little coffee clatch going in this studio...so inviting!

The "living" area of another studio..many studios put up a wall or curtains
to separate the space 

Upon entering each studio there is generally a small storage area and stairs that lead down to a main “room” where the art happens.  There is also some form of very small bedroom (like just barely big enough for a bed and that’s about it) and tiny kitchenette.  Many have fireplaces.  Kind of like a real mini studio apartment – but it doesn’t look like these are primary residences for anyone.

This was my favorite studio as far as decor goes...loved that it has
some color and the space is so well organized/used. 

The kitchenette of this studio..more color....and a happy color
at that

The view from the entrance (i.e. top of stairs).

And the other side of the room...with Maureen making friends
with the artist's rescue dog.  He was a sweetie.

The artists who choose to participate in the open house (not all do maybe 25 or so do) open their studios and welcome the public and are present to discuss their works and sell them. There are all price points from $5 greeting cards made from original prints to several thousand dollar larger original pieces and everything in between.

Definitely a Sunday well spent!

Fall Back In Time...at Circa

A couple of weeks ago I shared my visit to The Pine Cone Hill Outlet (you can see my visit here) in the Berkshires but if you read my blog at any regularity you know by now I’m not driving 3 hours each way and not doing a little more exploring when I’m there.

And it was such a beautiful day fall for wandering…

My other great find that day was Circa….when I spotted a parking spot out front just waiting for me I knew it was fate.

Located right next to a wonderful coffee shop Circa is the end unit

Old brick building with high ceilings and filled with mid-century goodness, what more could anyone want?

The woman working there was the owner’s mother and she was super friendly…no question she loved her daughter and the store she had opened…small business customer service at its best!

Don't you just adore the color of these?

And how much fun are these?  Did you know orange was
Frank Sinatra's favorite color?  Yep, it was.

This lounger was about 3 feet wide and was upholstered in kind of a
beigey shaggy fabric...so 1970's Elvis

Now, my style isn’t necessarily mid-century modern but I am a firm believer in buying what you really love regardless of style and it will somehow come together.  Can you say eclectic?  I don’t think my style is necessarily eclectic in the true sense but I definitely am not married to one style, I buy what I really love and it somehow comes together.

I did end up finding 2 fun things….

My old clock that I bought ages ago at Ballard Design had stopped keeping time.  Probably just needs a new clock mechanism but I just haven’t seemed to get around to fixing it.  I still love it but maybe it’s time to try on a new look for a bit.

Old Clock...10 years old

New Clock...maybe 50 or 60 years old

I found this inspiration photo on Pinterest a while back and have been looking ever since for the perfect ladder for my laundry room.  

I love this idea...I am so stealing it!
photo source

Isn't this great?  So many possibilities!

I love the patina on this vintage ladder....but it would
be so fab in a fun color

Now I just have to decide…paint or not to paint?

Any thoughts on which way I should go with this?  It has such great patina but there are so many fun colors out there if I go the painting route.

Fall Vacation Estate Sales

I have not had nearly as much time as I have wanted this summer to frequent estate sales.  You know how much I love starting my weekend with a leisurely Saturday morning drive to a few where I can scope out the houses.

Well, last week I decided to take an impromptu vacation from my paying job to try to finish up that never ending Summer Project 2012 (you can see my progress here and here and here).  So while my week was primarily spent painting, painting and painting some more I did decide that Friday I would take a little break to enjoy an estate sale or two…

Friday’s first sale was maybe 20 min or so from my house in Melrose but I just knew it was going to be a good one.  It was run by some of my favorite sale hosts Essex Street Antiques.  

Melrose House

This fireplace fit perfectly the style of this house...it's not for every
house but I love the "earthiness" of it.

This is definitely not everyone's look but I find something endearing
about it...not sure I would be able to live with such a busy room for
a long period of time but I love them when I see them in other homes.

They always have great sales and their prices are extremely reasonable.  Not everything is always shall we say “bargain priced” but I find everything to be priced fair and there is always something at every price point.

Beautiful dishes I wanted these so badly...but my pragmatic self took
over and reminded me I didn't need them...unfortunate!

I did however totally score at this sale!

I couldn't pass this Towle tray up...it's kind of a unique size 21"W x 9"L
now I just have to decide whether to hang it or not

Darn it, these were sold by the time I got there...don't they just invite you
to sit & spend a bit of time relaxing?

The next sale was 30+ min away from the Melrose sale but had really good potential…100 years of accumulation can’t be bad right?  Well, it turned out to be not really my kind of sale.  There were a lot of cool things but most of it was terribly dirty.  I’m not afraid of a little dirt but this was more than I really wanted to deal with.  So no finds here.

So of course if I was going to hit the Friday sales I might as well put one on my list for Saturday morning…I mean it was just down the street in Marblehead and looked so promising.

This lovely little lane lead to a charming little oceanfront neighbothood
and the Marblehead sale

Site of the Marblehead sale...distinctly a cottage

Saturday however took me to a little summer “camp” in Marblehead.  It was tucked away in a part of Marblehead I didn’t even know existed and was so reminiscent of the summer cottages of Bayside or Temple Heights Maine (near my childhood home) that I felt right at home.

This was a livingroom that spanned the whole front of the cottage

There were 4 bedrooms upstairs but none of the rooms had ceilings...
interesting but charming in a camp kind of way

This was a really cool camp – definitely needs some TLC but I so loved that you could feel the history of everyone who had spent many joyful summers here over the years.

1 of 2 "Jenny Lind" or spool beds that were for sale

and the other one...can you guess which one came home with me???
Yup this one...couldn't believe they even had the side rails.  It needs a little
buffing but for $20 (yes twenty - I didn't forget a 0) it was the bargain'
of the day!

The lady who was running the sale told me that the owner had passed away and her children no longer wanted to keep it as a summer home so it was on the market (see the listing here).  So sad but I’m sure another family will enjoy this camp for many years to come…if I were in the market for a camp it would surely be my family enjoying it!

Ocean view from this lovely little camp...I'm ready to move in :)

2012 Summer Project Update - Dormers Done

Have you ever started part of a project and immediately had the thought….oh no this really wasn't a good idea?

Well, that was what was shouting in my head after I had decided that there was no good reason I couldn't or shouldn't get up on my roof to paint the dormers to my house.  I painted the sides up to the roofline without any issue what’s a few more feet right?  Well, knees shaking I quickly figured out what a few more feet were…my tipping point.

Two-toned house...not really what I had in mind...

So off the roof I came with only about 1/3 of one side of one dormer painted…fail.

At least I tried right?  And I learned my limitations without breaking my neck…it’s all good except my dormers were still peanut butter brown and my house was a pretty yellowy cream….crap.

So last week I got some help from my mother’s husband who drove 1 ½ hrs with his big kids ladder to spend the day finishing them up for me.  Holy cow they look so good.  Thanks Butch...appreciate it more than you know.

Butch up on the roof..he makes it look so easy

Roof acrobatics courtesy of Butch....no way are you catching me in this
pose.. oh and that's my 1/2 painted garage workshop to the right (a
future project that will be so wonderful to finish inside...maybe next year).

And one step closer to this project being done.

Dormers done...I think I lost the "ladder war" though...mine looks
so undersized next to Butch's.

Just the trim to finish now…

Scraping the trim...this week's goal is to finish
it...I think that's a doable goal.