Barn Doors in the Den

 

 Televisions are great these days since they are easy to hide when you

don't need them as the focal point of the room.

Our den area is just really an extension of the kitchen and is fairly

small. 

We found this old barn door at a  local sale and knew right away where it was meant to go.

John quickly cut it in half on his handy table saw.

 I had picked up the old barn door railing at a garage sale in West Texas. Score!!

This rusty, crusty file cabinet was missing three drawers and was in need of a good washing
when we first laid eyes on it.  Perfect for holding all of the tv doo dads and dvds.

 Caster wheels gave it the added height to look just right.

We had to figure out how to hang the barn door rail away from the wall, so we came up with

some architectural door pieces and some bead board to make little boxes to attach the hardware to.

There are no fine finishes at My Romantic Prairie Home. 

We want visitors to feel at home and

know they can sit a glass down anywhere or put there feet up on the furniture!

Signs of Spring

 

 

 

 

 

Lucy Goosey

 One of my favorite finds in the house is this crackled to perfection wooden goose.

I call her Lucy Goosey. She roosts on an old wash stand with an arrogant air.

 

Rusty, crusty and peely is the name of the game here.

 

Watch out for Lucy!

Snow on Prairie

Christmas day started with God's beautiful handiwork.

We are not use to having snow here, which makes it extra special.

Snow always reminds me to thank the Good Lord above 

for our  many blessings.

It's also so much fun!

Fall on the Prairie

We moved in a while back and life has been crazy busy! 

We just now have started to decorate. 

All of those pieces we collected to put in this special house are being pulled out of storage and finding their place in our home.

Come on in for a quick tour of a couple of rooms.

The entry is decorated for Fall. We describe our style of decorating as bringing the old from the past into the 21st century with a  twist.

The entry during demo. We had to take the walls down to the ship lap so that we could add insulation and sheet rock for today's living.

My favorite room in the house.

Most of the kitchen is new construction added on to the back of the house. 

We had the windows on this wall put up high for light and privacy.

 The cabinets are slightly distressed.

 I love our Kasmir White granite. 

We placed vintage ceiling tins as a stove back splash.

When we find some old corbels that fit just right we will add them to each side to give the area even more character. 

It is amazing how much work has been done on this house and it still isn't finished, but I guess we wouldn't know what to do then!

To Name a Few Favorites

We started this journey a year ago. Our daughter Leah was home for Christmas when we showed her what was to be our future home.
She might be the only member of our family that didn't think we were crazy...

This past Thanksgiving, Leah was home again and saw the progress that had been made.

The house is not finished yet, but we are getting closer day by day.

A few of my favorite things around the house include the ceiling in our powder bath. It is a patchwork of found ceiling tiles from one of the buildings in downtown McKinney. Someone suggested we paint the tiles. I happen to like it just the way it is....unique.

I love my dining room. Mr. Ella is going to build me a huge farm table to put in here!

The original pocket doors and the added trim work are just perfect.

We brought in old crusty pieces where we could.

My pantry doors...

My farm sink....

The pressed tin behind the range.

(The cabinets are going to be distressed to look old.)

The old doors we saved.

And my most favorite thing.....my studio!!!!

I can't wait. I wish I could just twitch my nose and it would all be finished and everything in its place!

Our Journey - the Entry

Our journey began about a year ago when we stumbled across what turned out to be our future home.

 The first time we looked at the house it was a cold day and we were freezing. Some of the doors were blocked with insulation boards. The tenants were living in a few of the rooms with small heaters.The air was thick with cigarette smoke.We moved quickly, with our eyes and minds whirling.  As you can tell the entry had been updated over the years, but needed an overhaul. 

A major overhaul...

The sheetrock came off, exposing the original shiplap boards.

While I was taking this picture I noticed something red up at the top of the wall.

I looked up and discovered the entry had once been totally covered with lovely red paper- even the ceiling. Back in the 1800's there wasn't any sheetrock, only wood. It would then be covered to help control the air drafts and they loved color ....everywhere.

The dining room doorway on the left was opened up.

The back of the house was also under reconstruction.

You can see light from the where the back of the house was torn off. 

 

The back of the house was rebuilt and is visible from the front entry.

The sheetrock came next. I have been asked why we didn't leave the shiplap boards exposed.

Well, we would simply like to be warm in the Winter and cool in the Summer!

We added an old door leading to the kitchen area. We hope to add a leaded glass window in the transom.

I think that I should tell you now that we are

not decorating this house with Victorian colors or stuffy uncomfortable furniture.

I respect history, but this will be a home, not a museum.

Whew, I feel better....

From the dining room looking toward the stairway you can see the fretwork I bought one day at the Antique Mall. 

I think it was meant to be!!