And after giving my tipping thread, here are some pictures to explain why I will not be eating out until 2019 or so. You all saw the door the other day, but here is a refresher:
Here is what you see as soon as you enter:
You’ll notice a) your bearded host modeling the finest in Penguins shirts and overalls, but more importantly, b) the color change from the left side of the arch, to the inside of the arch into the living room. Also, the flooring is done.
Here is what the other side of the front door looks like with the wood restored:
The next view is from inside the living room, with the arch you just saw to the left, giving you a view of the fireplace, the dining room, and the flooring:
We’ll finish painting that little area tomorrow, but we had so much stuff there we couldn’t get to it. It really gives you an idea of how dingy and drab the color used to be. Here’s a close-up of the fireplace, which is a project that will be dealt with in a year or so when I am liquid again. I think the flooring looks really good there and they did a great job:
This picture is from the living room, almost under the arch, with the fireplace on the left, looking into the dining room and the little half bath. You can see what the floor looked like before, and you can see the blue of the half bath, which is the same as the blue of the kitchen.
Finally, here is a reverse view of me standing in front of the doorway to the half bath, looking back through the dining room and into the living room:
So what is left on the knock list? A lot of little stuff, with the only major projects being the dining room flooring, which should get done tomorrow, and the installation of the vent and hood above the oven in the kitchen. After that, we have to:
Install upstairs toilet.
Install half bath pedestal sink and cupboard
Install all the pulls for the cabinets
Molding
Finish the stairs to the second floor
Install railings (they’ve all been stained and varnished)
Have the plumber do his work (install sink faucet, hook up inline filter to fridge, gas line to stove, futz around with the fireplace and see if it is functional).
But for now, most of the major stuff is done.
scuffletuffle
Fabulous looking and fabulous that the major stuff is nearly done. Congrats!
Brachiator
Ah! Another episode of “Behind the Indigo Door”
Enzymer
As others have said, Great Door!
Was the fireplace originally a coal burner? It looks shallow like the fireplaces in many old houses here in Durham from the 1900’sh vintage.
rikyrah
It looks great. I appreciate you taking us on this journey with you. It’s been a pleasure to watch Casa Cole come along.
Can you take a picture in the footwear that prevented you from going in yesterday?
Bart
Meanwhile at Cole’s home: http://i.imgur.com/0xNxbrm.gifv
HeleninEire
I love these updates. I feel ALL your pain. I once had a house built for me and the biggest takeaway was that one should NEVER do it alone. Two reasons. 1. You REALLY need someone to share the costs cuz it’s always WAY more expensive than you’ve been told it would be. And 2. You really really need someone to bitch at who understands that they should not take it personally.
Luckily Cole has us!
Ohio Mom
It is gorgeous.
BGinCHI
John, post your address so we can send housewarming gifts (mustard, etc.).
Also, if I’m ever wanted by the authorities, I’ll have a Safehouse.
trollhattan
@Bart:
Funny! Rule #1: do not piss off the cat. Rule #2: get toy, regardless of rule #1. Such dainty paws.
Kay
I love the entryway. The blue is a teeny bit purple-ish, which I like.
Mnemosyne
This really is coming together lightning fast. I know it helps to be doing it in the winter (which my house painter brother tells me is the slowest season) but, frankly, I think your being single has sped things up considerably as well. When you’re not having to constantly check and re-check decisions with someone else, you can decide a lot faster.
trollhattan
Apparently Marsha Blackburn’s quick survey on killing Obamacare did not result in what she expected. What’s that courtroom lawyer rule about never asking a question you don’t know the answer to?
MomSense
Looks beautiful, Cole.
Have you thought about area rugs to protect those gorgeous floors from the critters’ claws?
I just gave my dog a bully stick and now she is walking around the house whining looking for a place to bury it.
Sarah in Brooklyn
Swooning.
trollhattan
@BGinCHI:
Would be an even better safehouse if Cole were “movin’ up the hollar.”
Or does one move “down the hollar”? I’m a confused westerner with the lingo.
Rosalita
I love all the details in that house! You picked a beauty to restore.
Birthmarker
It’s beautiful! Congrats! It does take a couple of years for your cash to rebound, or at least it did for us. I had to live with the furniture we hauled from the other house for a couple of years, period.
Mike J
@trollhattan: If you live in town and are moving to the hollar, you move down the hollar. If yo are already in the hollar and are moving further back, you are moving up the hollar.
Mnemosyne
@trollhattan:
Not to jump on a dead horse again, but this is why it’s even MORE important for people with Republican reps to call and fax their offices when they disagree. The teabaggers have created a nice, cozy bubble for them where they know that everyone hates Obamacare because the only people who ever contact them hate Obamacare, and the Republicans need to know that that ain’t so.
mitzimuffin
It took us 23 years to finish our 1870’s Victorian in a tiny village. You are doing a great job. Don’t get discouraged. Sometimes it’s best to wait, gather cash, do it the way you want. Good Luck. Oh, it’s great to have an experienced Dad to supervise/help. I didn’t have that.
trollhattan
@Mike J:
[Furiously scribbling notes] Okay, got it: down the hollar if skipping town, up the hollar if Mags Bennett is mad at me.
raven
Looks good grump!
BillinGlendaleCA
@trollhattan: Stay safe up there, sounds like you might be getting some rain. We’re just getting the tail end down south.
JPL
@Bart: That was awesome and so true.
SiubhanDuinne
This is going to be such a gorgeous house!
John, if you updated I missed it, but how is your brother’s house? Did the tree get removed and the roof repaired?
Also, and maybe I’m conflating two separate things, but IIRC he also injured his shoulder or arm a few weeks ago. How’s the recovery coming?
ThresherK
@Brachiator: I know you didn’t refer on purpose, but 2016 also took Jim Lowe, of “Behind the Green Door” and WNEW-AM fame, after a long life.
MomSense
@Mnemosyne:
I decided to call my Republican Rep who supports repeal (asshole). I called both Senators. King’s office said he doesn’t favor repeal unless there is a strong plan for replacement. I could only leave a message for Collins so I’ll keep trying her. I know the 1st District Rep Pingree so I called to thank her for her support. I honestly think it is important to call the Congress critters who support the ACA so that if they need to say they have been bombarded with supportive calls they can.
Oh and I called Senators Graham and McCain to thank them for their comments at the intelligence hearing. We have to reinforce the behavior we like.
mai naem mobile
That door is Royal Blue. Well,on my screen anyway. It’s what the Brits call Royal Blue.
JPL
@BillinGlendaleCA: The news is reminding to buy a snow shovel, even though it would stay in the shed for years. The latest forecast for me is for four to six inches, but since tomorrow’s high is suppose to be 29, it’s not going anywhere. Truth be known, if I had the snow shovel, I’d need boots, and then hope that the city would plow the streets. None of that is going to happen.
p.a.
Really is primo, but that painting behind the handtruck has got to go.
opiejeanne
Your house is coming along very nicely Cole, and I love, love, LOVE the front door. The color of your door looks like it corresponds to the one in my box of paint tubes as Ultramarine. I love a splash of color, especially on a front door.
Lizzy L
It really is going to be beautiful, John. I love the door and the fireplace is great, can’t wait to see what you hang in the space above it. It is a wonderful house. Thank you for sharing it with us.
opiejeanne
I am stuck in moderation! What did I say?
opiejeanne
P.S. I like the arches.
JPL
@p.a.: lol I did not notice that, but it does give new meaning to life in WV.
RSR
Look great!
I forget, how old is the house?
Mnemosyne
@BillinGlendaleCA:
We’re getting the tail end of their previous storm right now. The tail end of their current storm isn’t arriving until next week.
I’m glad I live on the second floor.
NotMax
Should there be a sufficient quantity, that would be a great place to install those antique tiles you picked up.
Presume that’s the whole house thermostat right next to the fireplace. If so, with fireplace pumping out heat the bedrooms and bathroom upstairs will likely be commensurately colder.
Tried to convince the parents for years to relocate the thermostat, which was in the living room – a space roughly the size of Yankee Stadium (slight exaggeration), with multiple heat-leaking original 1930s casement windows. By the time the living room became a comfortable temp the rest of the rooms in the house were suitable for growing bamboo. (Excepting my bedroom, which had been carved out from half the garage and had no extant heating whatsoever.)
NotMax
Trick of the lighting but funny that in the picture of the foyer the living room walls look pink.
trollhattan
@mai naem mobile:
Tardis Blue. Because Tardis.
trollhattan
@NotMax:
The whole damn interior is pink. Shhh, tell no one.
BillinGlendaleCA
@NotMax: Cole likes pink.
hilts
OT
Jesus Fucking Christ on a Ritz Cracker:
Facebook in an act of epic stupidity hires media hack/doofus Campbell Brown to Lead News Partnerships Team.
Brown married Daniel Senor, the former chief spokesperson for the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq.[8][47] Senor is also a former advisor to Mitt Romney and close associate of Paul Singer, Republican power broker and charter school supporter.
h/t wikipedia
At least 2 members of the village idiocracy are very happy
Chris Cillizza: “This is smart by Facebook”
Bill Kristol: “Excellent. @campbell_brown really is fair & balanced.”
h/t http://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/06/business/media/facebook-campbell-brown-media-fake-news.html?_r=0
JPL
@hilts: Wow
NotMax
Wouldn’t be surprised if the original plans show the arches as having been designed by Krell & Associates.
:)
BillinGlendaleCA
@hilts:
Fixed it for ya.
karen marie
@BGinCHI: Or, at the least, register somewhere (or several wheres) with things that you’d like/need so we can send you housewarming gifts!
satby
Who is that poor befuddled looking man staring at the floors in two of the pictures? He looks too young to be your dad and too unsplattered to be a painter.
Ryan
@Bart: Awesome!
J R in WV
That “antique” gas stove is a hazard. Newer gas stoves have safety shutoffs if the gas goes off, the stove won’t pump gas into the room when it comes back on, for example.
My Grandma had one of those in her living room, and turned it on in the mornings, while she went to the basement to put more coal in the furnace.
It never was left on without someone in the room watching it. Now you can get propane stoves that have ceramic panels that cast wonderful infrared warmth onto every surface in the room.
Anyway, if there’s an actual chimney in the fireplace, and firebrick in the firebox, you could try burning actual firewood in the fireplace. ;-)
just kidding.
But really, you should have the plumber install a new gas stove with all the modern safety features, like a carbon monoxide detector, as well as a gas pressure cut-off safety. Just worrying about you, John.
Also, who is that skinny guy Satby asked about?
Ryan
@hilts: What, she got sick of turning America’s schools charter? Realized others were better at it?
MelissaM
It looks wonderful and you (and your pack) will enjoy it!
Kristine
Love the arches and the woodwork/floors. It will all look so great when it’s done.
cbear
@satby: @J R in WV:
I dunno, but between that guy, the other guy, and Cole–I feel like I’m watching an old episode of the Newhart show with Larry, Darryl and Darryl.
Mnemosyne
@opiejeanne:
I don’t know if you saw the final ruling by the architects, but it was basically, West Virginia house with Craftsman period flourishes. I think we’ve gotten spoiled by living in areas where we get to see the genuine article all the time.
opiejeanne
@Mnemosyne: I saw a lot of discussion by actual architects, but I might have missed that ruling, although, come to think of it, there was something like that posted by one of them.
I’ve been watching people whinge about the small size of kitchens and bedrooms in Europe and Costa Rica. I swear, I want to smack those idiots on HouseHunters International half the time.
Calming Influence
Mr. Cole, this is a ridiculously fine house. You will enjoy quiet times just standing in a hallway taking in the great work you’ve done. Cheers.
Luther M. Siler
God, the asymmetry on that arch would MURDER me.
CarolMarie
Oh, my god, John, it looks absolutely beautiful! I have been lurking her for many years, but I had to comment to let you know that you and your dad did a wonderful job. You and the dogs (OK, we’ll see about Steve) will be very happy. Best of luck!
J R in WV
@Luther M. Siler:
If you’re talking about the top photo, that arch is affected by the perspective, and is probably not actually asymmetrical at all. Even an old-tyme carpenter can make an arch symmetrical. None of the arches photographed straight on look off at all.
Christopher H
I’ve encountered the change of colour for the inside of a deepish arch before. It’s a detail that really lifts the colour schemes on both sides of the arch. And it’s such a little bit of paint that you can easily change to tweak the effect. Looks good, ay?
Calming Influence
Minor gripe: in most parts of the country it’s a “punch list”, not a “knock list”. And you should acknowledge in some way the humanoid appearing in your photos.
PhoenixRising
Good choice on the exterior color there.
On molding: our handy guy, who my wife used to sponsor until he got WAY into the 7th step and she wanted to hand him off to someone more diligent in their 12-stepping, did the floors in our RV a couple of months ago. He texted me while he was midstream.
“Molding is good when you’re drinking to cover up mistakes. But it’s still good when you’re sober ’cause you don’t have to get mad about every little thing that’s not how you expect.”
Yep.
Larryb
@MomSense:
Sadly, this is a true thing. I just re-did my lovely maple floors and they are already trashed from scrabbling claws.
Vicki Delany
You (and your dad) have done a fabulous job, John
Neldob
It’s beautiful, inspiring even. . . then again I know there’s that feeling of money spraying from a fire hose. My trailer wouldn’t be able to appreciate it. Your house certainly does, though. Congrats and many awesome days there.
Fred
Lookin’ good John. You got the fancy and the schmancy.