Friends were moving to Chicago and wanted to see the house. Two other couples also came.
Setting up for a tour for friends
Dining Room
Trim in dining room dividing the wallpaper and paint
Found Brackets
I found two matching brackets in the basement. They were covered with white paint so I stripped them and sprayed a metallic bronze. Perfect for the open passageway between the dining and living room!
Dining Room Closet Doors
The two closets on either side of the breakfront are installed and trimmed. The left closet will be a coat closet and the right one a pantry.
Pantry Door
Steven has installed the door to the pantry. It has special hidden hinges and a magnetic latch so we don’t have to have a knob for opening.
China cabinet
The china cabinet between the dining room and living room is finished so the wall paper border was installed and the stencils were painted.
Built-in China Cabinet between Dining Room and Living Room
The original house had built-in bookcases on each side of the doorway between the dining room and living room. On the way to church, we found the top of a hutch along the street. Steven removed some of the drywall so we could give it a built-in look. He is in the process of repurposing a wood counter top we had removed from an old cabinet that had been in the dining room. He recut it and is gluing two pieces together for the top. He will tung oil the top after it is sanded.
Original Baseboard Trim
We saved all the old trim when we ‘deconstructed’ the house. The dining room trim had all been painted several times and I scraped and stripped it after which I restained. The living room trim had been left original. The base is in three parts. The wide basic baseboard is installed first and then topped with a curved trim piece. After we finish tung oiling the floor, quarter round will also be installed.
It is a slow process for Steven as we choose the best pieces to be used in each place and he miters the fit for each. The circumference around the china cabinet we are building in was the trickiest. After he cuts and installs the butcher block top, I will reinsert the glass shelves and reattach the doors.
Lace Curtains
I had several lace curtains in storage from Goodwill and a previous house. I couldn’t wait to see them up. Yes I know that is usually the last thing done in a house but – oh well.
Stained Glass Rose for a hole in the storm
Early on a hole was punctured in the dining room storm. A hole and radiating cracks. It is a large piece of old glass that we didn’t want to replace so Steven took the glass pieces apart and copper foiled them and created a red rose for the hole. He then painted on green leaves along the cracks. Meanwhile I repaired the window glazing on the exterior windows and painted the inside of the big window.
