Garage (Second Story) Art Studio

Today, we began phase two on the second story art studio above the garage--to build the east and west dormers (8'x 12' rooms).

Below, Jon and Dad opened up a 12ft. section to make the west dormer.  An identical dormer will be added to the east making room for an elevator, and canvas/frame storage.  There will be windows in the dormers, but ceiling fixtures w/ 5000k bulbs will light the studio.   

Here's Jon and Dad building the west dormer today, lifting the platform using the bucket truck boom.

Jon is the fellow in the white t shirt, and my father Gale in the striped shirt. 

My Dad is 80 years old . . . and is a retired contractor. 

Dad and Jon putting attaching sub floor on west dormer.  In the background is our garden.

End of the day's work for Dad and Jon. 

Lower right is Mom watching the build.

My Great, Great, Great Grandfathers

Meet Sylvester Snow - my great great great grandfather.

Sylvester Snow was born in 1791.  His son was Gilbert Spencer Snow.  And Gilbert Spencer Snow's daughter was Edna Irene Snow.  Edna's son was Gilbert Samuel Harriman.   Gilbert Harriman's son was Gale Harriman.  Gale Harriman's daughter is me, Linda. 

I love this photograph.  Left is my great grandmother Annie Laurie Miller at age 6, she's the one with her hand on the dog's back.  Annie was a red head.  Her younger sister is Etta. 

Center of the photograph are Annie's parents (my great great grandparents) Silas Benjamin Miller and his wife Clara Tucker Miller, and baby Maude.  To Clara's right is their son George. 

When I was 10 years old I used to play cards with Uncle George and Great Grandpa Bill.  They were very old men then.  We played for pennies.  They always won, mostly because they cheated us little kids.  And much later I learned about the card cheating from Grandma who watched those two old men pass cards to each other under the table.  That really makes me laugh now. 

In the background right are my great, great, great grandparents Merriman Tucker born 1819, and his wife Atha Reeves Tucker.  In the foreground are Clara Tucker's brother John Warren Tucker and his wife Edea.  I met a cousin online and was given this photograph. 

The photograph was taken around 1919.  Seated is my great great great grandfather George Washington Miller, born 1826.  Standing at his side is his son Silas Benjamin Miller.  Silas' daughter was Annie Laurie Miller Ashley.  Annie's daughter was Leatha Ashley Harriman.  Leatha's son is Gale Harriman.  I am Gale Harriman's daughter Linda.  

 

Meet William Ashley born 1827 in New York.   He is also my great great great grandfather.  His son was George Ashley.  George Ashley's son was Willie Arthur Ashley.  Willie's daughter was Leatha Ashley Harriman.  Leatha's son is Gale Harriman, and I am Gale's daughter.

George Ashley my great great grandfather.  Cool photograph eh?

This is a photograph of my great great great grandparents Moses Sperry 2, and his wife Sally Chaffee Sperry 4.  The photograph was taken July 4, 1857.  Their 11 year old daughter Martha 1 my great great grandmother stands in front of her father Moses.  Moses was born in 1813, and Sally in 1815.  Their names, birthdates, birthplaces, along with their children's birth information appear in the Sperry Family Bible.   Martha's daughter was Edna.  Edna's son was Gilbert Harriman.  Gilbert's son is Gale Harriman, and I am Gale's daughter. 

Antique Woodwork Flower Design

I need your feedback on this . . .

Our 1893 Queen Anne Victorian house has a repeating flower design on all of the window and door woodwork. 

Do you know what the flower design is called? 

Was it a popular design picked by the original owner, or was it a design created by the builder? 

Could it have been a spin-off design from a furniture manufacturer?  The reason I ask is . . . a friend of mine contacted me and offered to sell me her oak dresser.  She said it looks like my window/door trim.  I saw the dresser and nearly fainted . . .

Yes, of course I bought the dresser from her!

Crocheted Bedspread

I received the crocheted bedspread and shams from a friend.  She passed it along to me, because it had a big blue ink stain on it.  My luck was better cleaning it.  I doused it with "Zout" stain remover twice (machine washed it twice).  The ink stain completely gone.  Looks great on the sleigh bed.

I put an ivory color summer weight blanket under the crocheted bedspread. 

Finishing the floors, North Bedroom

You'll remember we just finished repairing the walls and ceiling in the North Bedroom.  The color is a dark steel blue to match fabric found to make matching drapes. 


Last weekend, we pulled everything out of the North Bedroom in order to paint the floors two coats of a dark expresso color, "Coal" by Valspar.  I like the contrast between the painted floor and 10" off-white baseboards.  

Here are some photos taken this afternoon, while putting the furniture back into the room.  We changed the orientation of the bed, moving it to the long wall (17').   I'm more confident of this arrangement. 

Gone is the butterscotch color of the floors. 

The round table $15 thrift shop find.  Blue/white vase purchased at auction for one dollar.  The yellow- gold channel back chair--a gift from a friend. 

Salvaged ceiling fixture from the house.  Cleaned, re-wired, re-purposed two identical fixtures for the north and west bedrooms.  Free stuff is the best, isn't it?  Especially when you find yourself just wild about it, right? 

We have to remove everything from the rooms upstairs, (one more time, aghhhhhh) in order to install crown molding to all the rooms upstairs.  Unfortunately, that project is nearly at the bottom of our "winter" work list.

Tell me, have you given names to the bedrooms at your historical old house?  Did you use first names, or last names?  I've thought about naming rooms after previous owners. 

For the summer, I removed the shears from the windows.  Although they are very pretty shears, the view of the large front yard is much more fun.  And, with the shears out of the way, makes it easier to open the windows and enjoy the breeze. 

The household items left behind included a folder of papers . . . inside was the bill of sale for the standing steel roof (1955), and a letter from the 1950s congratulating previous owner on accepting the job as of president of our township.

Thrift Shop Wicker Rocker for the Bathroom

I found a white wicker rocker for the bathroom at Beth's shop in Auroraville.  She has so many fine things in her store.  Makes it difficult to shop for just one item at a time.  So tempting . . .

I saw the rocker and knew it work well in the 10.5 x 15' bathroom.  (Another seat besides the toilet).  Sometimes you just need a place to sit put on/take off shoes, socks.  Or, to lay an extra towel within reach of the clawfoot tub.

Prints for North Bedroom

Mademoiselle Romaine Lacaux, by Pierre-August Renoir

I found this print in a white frame at Golden Country (a thift and gift shop) in New London, WI.  I slid the white frame into the center of a more elaborate old frame I purchased at auction summer of 2009.  Both pieces purchased for under $30.  This steel blue wall color in the North Bedroom is perfect for gold accents and frames. 

The other print for the North Bedroom is, "The Broken Flower Pot" by Jan Verhas.  It is a large print contained in a gold frame and light celery green mat.  It was difficult to photograph as it is framed under glass.  I cropped it to eliminate the reflection of the ceiling fixture. 

I found this print at the Dane's home in Waupaca, WI in 2009.

Weekend Work - Painting Floors

My weekend work is painting the floor of the North Bedroom.  It is Valspar, the color is "coal".  We finished repairing walls, painting walls and woodwork this winter.  Shortly after finishing this room I started having problems with my knee.  Well, I still have the knee problem, but solved the work routine by sitting on my butt and scooting around the perimeter.  Who needs to kneel anyway, right?

I pinned up the drapes, and took down the shears on the three windows facing the street. 

This is the east wall of the bedroom.  Before I started painting this morning I asked Jon to help me move the bed to the center of the east wall.  I just wanted to see what it looked like, and if it suited the room layout better.  And it did.  Afterwards we move the bed towards the west wall, so I could paint the majority of the floor. 

Here's the sleigh bed tucked close to the west wall.  You can see the former painted color of the floor--a butterscotch color. 

I painted the floor around the perimeter of the bed.  Afterwards, I brought out the fan to get things going with the drying phase.

Above is one of the light fixtures we salvaged from the downstairs.  The ceilings downstairs are nearly 12 ft. and the light fixtures looked minature there.  So, we re-purposed the fixtures upstairs where the ceiling height is 8 ft. 

Jon showed me how to re-wire the light fixtures (my worklist Dec 2007).  There were two identifcal fixtures.  While re-wiring them I discovered they were made in 1961--not extra old fixtures like I originally thought. 

We enjoy re-using all the things left here by the Quien family (second owners).  The Quien family owned the house for 90 years!  (1917-2007).

While it would be nice to remove everything from the bedroom while painting the floor, it's easier for me to divide the floor painting project into two phases.  Less work dismantling the bed and moving the heavy bookcase (re-purposed dining room hutch).  This hutch is a favorite of mine and was the inspiration for the door style of the kitchen cabinets.

The three windows will be a nice place for a couple of chairs, narrow table & lamp.

I took these photos right after applying first coat of floor paint.  When dry the floor is more of a satin finish.