Upstairs Bathroom – Before

Posted by on Dec 7, 2011 in Before Pictures, Foyer/Halls | Comments Off on Upstairs Bathroom – Before

Hall Bath "Before

Half bath fixtures "Before"

This is the only room that doesn’t need any paint for some reason. It’s also the only room that is decorated with a gothic themed mirror and crazy hands coming out of the wall holding sconces. Most recently we have been entertaining the possibility of installing a fireman’s pole from the rather large closet down into the bar below. Not really but it would be so cool.

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Bedroom – Before

Posted by on Dec 6, 2011 in Before Pictures, Master Suite | Comments Off on Bedroom – Before

Bedroom - "Before"

Bedroom Mantle "Before"

The bedroom is in pretty good shape – needs a new paint job (no idea what color) and some nice furniture. So far we have a mattress and nothing to put it on.

The view from the bedroom "Before"

This should be a lovely view of the from porch and upper balcony once we get the curving balcony railing replaced.

Ensuite fixtures "Before"

Ensuite tub "Before"

Current ensuite is actually a good size but the plan is to turn it into a walk through closet and go through the wall into the back green bedroom and turn it into a master suite.

Back Green Room "Before


No, I have no idea what that stuff is in the mantle. I hope it's insulation. And not alive.


I’m including this in the bedroom before pictures since the current plan is to go into this room and turn it into a gorgeous master bathroom with a big soaker tub looking at the fireplace which will no longer be green.

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Back stairs – Before

Posted by on Dec 6, 2011 in Before Pictures, Foyer/Halls | Comments Off on Back stairs – Before

Back Stairs "Before"

Not too much to do back here … yet. But carrying a queen mattress up these stairs was nearly the end of me.

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Downstairs Powder Room – Before

Posted by on Dec 6, 2011 in Before Pictures, Powder Room | 1 comment

Downstairs bath "Before"


Downstairs Bath - Shower "Before"

The current downstairs bathroom may have undergone some decorations in the last 120 years and I think perhaps it’s time to redo it once again. The plan here is to do it ourselves and save some money. Or perhaps we just wanted to test our sanity and up the ante on our do it yourself plan.

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Kitchen/Den – Before

Posted by on Dec 5, 2011 in Before Pictures, Kitchen/Bar | Comments Off on Kitchen/Den – Before

Kitchen "Before"

Kitchen Floor "Before"

The kitchen is really large especially for this age of house. After much deliberation we decided to keep the wood floor – though there is a strange break in the floorboards where we assume perhaps once there was a wall between an original butler’s pantry (now where most of the kitchen cabinetry is) and the rest of the kitchen. We may have to insulate though, since at the moment you can see daylight under your feet between the boards and see the ground under the house which is a bit disconcerting.

Back Door "Before"

The back door with a lovely stained glass transom, this will probably continue to be the door we use most often. Unfortunately we just discovered that this door (whose lock has been funky) is nailed on at the hinges. Yes, that’s right, some genius used nails to hold a heavy door on.

Kitchen wall into den "Before"

Behind this wall around the L shape kitchen is a small den, currently blue. The plan is to remove the wall, leaving the exposed brick of the fireplace on both side and put a bar into the den making a large entertaining space from kitchen to bar and opening up into the hallway by removing some of the added wall around what is now the oven, opening the sight lines from the dining/parlors into a more modern kitchen/bar space.

Den "Before"

Wall between kitchen and den "before"

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Second Parlor – Before

Posted by on Dec 5, 2011 in Before Pictures, Parlors/Dining | Comments Off on Second Parlor – Before

Second Parlor "Before"

This second parlor also has the strange color gradation in the cove but the color choice is a little less strange.

Second Parlor - left side "Before"

This is the room we’re planning to keep empty as a dance floor and sometime yoga room. We are still terribly undecided on eventual color.

Second Parlor Ceiling "Before"

This is the only ceiling painting we may be able to keep though there is a concern in the plaster showing the medallion sagging – we may need to shore up the ceiling from above to make sure that original plasterwork medallion doesn’t fall on us.

Second Parlor Chandelier

One of the matched pair of beautiful victorian chandeliers, the other will hang opposite in the dining room when it comes back from rewiring and cleaning.
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Dining Room – Before

Posted by on Dec 3, 2011 in Before Pictures, Parlors/Dining | Comments Off on Dining Room – Before

Dining Room "Before"

Dining Room - "Before" Added Paneling

The dining room has the strangest colors of the house – someone told me that the odd gradation of red walls to green ceiling was historic somehow but I can’t get away from the notion that the ceiling is moldy. The oak paneling which initially done well does not match the cypress and mahogany paneling everywhere else and has taken the brunt of the lack of a/c over the last 5 years. I am determined it has to go eventually but at the moment we’re worried about what we’ll find and the cost of that discovery.

The craziest mantle of the house

This dining room mantle is the craziest most detailed and ornate of all 11 in the house. The hunting man on the right is missing a hand that we’ll probably get recast in resin and the fishing spear guy on the left seems to be missing the tip of his spear.

Dining room sconces

The sconces were some of the weird brasswork that initially kind of scared me with their oddly vacant cherubic gaze (this and the oxidized hands coming out of the wall in the upstairs bathroom) but now I’m used to them and they feel like friends, or at least like some very dazed and confused friends hanging on the wall.
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