Romantic Furniture

I don't splurge on furniture very often, but when I saw these pieces they pulled at my heart strings.

I bought them all.

The chairs are in my current house, but the bed went to storage for now. It will surface in the new old house.

I can't wait!!

Blending the Old with the New

I look at the back of the house now and see such contrasts going on. Old and new. Chippy, dirty, worn and rugged surrounded by brand spanking new fresh wood. You may look at this and wonder if we have made the wrong choice of making over an old beauty.
The new construction will be added and the crumbling stucture will be removed as the support of the new walls permit.

This is the old kitchen wall that will be bumped out to extend the kitchen and create a breakfast room.

This is one example of why it is a good idea to take a house down to the bones.

My future breakfast room area!

Again, a view of the old - married with the new.

Exciting!!

Mr. Ella and I went by the house a few days ago and found the tower looking quite spiffy. We could use our imagination and see into the future of our new home.

We walked around the back and were surprised to see the back walls had been torn off!

Since then the new construction has started and it all will be changing quickly.
The kitchen area, master bedroom and the back porch will be the first floor addition that extends out from the original footprint of the house.

Over Night

I drove by the new house yesterday and the new tower was taking form. Yoo Hoo, progress I can see! There is also a new dormer to the right of the tower.

The the roof that is covered in black tarp will be cut down and made smaller so it doesn't block the windows.

The house in general is going through the stage of "looking worse before it gets better".

This new constuction is a glimmer of hope admist all of the debri and dust.

Stay tuned for more...

Dreaming

I've been dreaming lately of what our house will look like when it is finished. Sometimes it is hard to imagine that it will really be totally transformed during the next few months. If you were to drive by our house today you would think it is being torn down. I assure you it is not. In order to get the house back to being historically accurate some parts have to go.

The second floor porch was taken off to make way for the new tower.

Under the blue tarp is the framing for the newest addition.
Progress is being made- one board at a time!

Let the Demo Begin

My Romantic Prairie home is turning into a skeleton. Yep, down to the bones. The trailer has been filled over and over.

This is a sure way to uncover all of the old wiring, plumbing and (lack of ) insulation. Including a few rat/squirrel nests and tons of dirt.

I showed you a "before" picture of the entry in my previous post. The wood floors in that photo were the ones on top of these original floors.
Why these were covered up is a mystery.

The room upstairs that we will make our media room has a step down which I thought gives it a little character. This room sits at the back of the house and is over the existing kitchen. The new construction add on to the house will start here and extend out beyond the current footprint.

The floor was torn out and several feet below was the kitchen ceiling. As you can see the step was only a few inches deep, so why the space? Another mystery. Maybe someone thought this would be a good place to run central heat and air. (?)

I don 't know when this kitchen was added. It has all been torn out and my new kitchen will be bigger, better and most importantly new!

All gone...

Now that the kitchen has been torn out you can look up and see where the old room was and the new media room will be. The window transoms were even lost in the black hole.
I LOVE the ship lap wall with all the different boards. I told Wayne, our contractor, I wanted this wall in my studio. (I will tell you about that project in another post.)

When the black and white checkerboard flooring was pulled up it revealed decades of history.
The floor design with the small cream and black squares was probably picked out by someone who liked simple basic dishes. Buffalo China?

I am certain this floor had a pink refrigerator sitting on top of it. My fav... by far.

Possibly Blue Willow or Flow Blue dishes?

I am seeing a Majolica oyster plate when I look at this pattern.
(The 1960's newspaper to the right was found in the wall.)

If only the floors could talk!!

Charmed

I want everyone to know I have really enjoyed hearing from you all. Your comments have been so encouraging. Our journey will take about 11 months until completion.
The home was probably built in the 1890's, possibly sooner.
McKinney record keeping at that time was sporadic.
Wayne, our contractor, has been fabulous to work with. He has been an important part of the restoration of McKinney's Historic District.
The first time we looked at the house, it spoke to us in many ways.
Here are a few of the things that charmed us ...

We saw the character in the front door as soon as we walked up on the front porch.

The original staircase greets you as you enter.
Try to picture it without the lovely wallpaper.

The front door stained glass can be appreciated as you gaze down the stairs.
I am picturing my grandsons sliding down this banister or maybe even Mary Poppins sliding UP.

Outside there are a couple of beautiful wooden architectural pieces.

Most of the windows have transoms above them. Thankfully the ones inside will be used only for decoration and not for air flow. Unlike in the 1890's,we get to have A/C!!
In my next post I will show you the history that was revealed as floors and walls were stripped down. It is a little sad to watch the house being taken apart, but it will shine in the end!!