Thornewood Antics

[stonefarmhouse]

Definitely hard to give up living space once its there! Interesting bit of history though with the closed in porch, at least you always have a good story to tell

[Gothichome]

James, had a better look at the side by side, now and then, nothing has changed but the colour, the porch and the front steps. It looks like the core brickwork on the current steps is the original brickwork! The old looks to be a wood landing and steps. I don’t think it would take much to bring back the old look. Although I think the wood could be replaced with cement slabs, and the concrete topping can easily be replicated as well.

[Manalto]

Got this wallpaper for the living room today.

[Gothichome]

Very nice James, looks like some thing the Aesthetic Interiors people sell.

[Manalto]

I was just informed that I'm going to have a house guest in a few weeks and I am in no way ready to receive visitors, so it's crunch time. Service areas are first priority so I'm working on the serving pantry (this sounds like a highfalutin name but it's what it's called on the original architect's drawings). The woodwork was gummed up with multiple layers of paint. That has been removed and I'm now in the process of getting it ready for repainting. I'm looking forward to seeing it a nice glossy ivory, with that crisp detail.



This was the oldest wallpaper in the room, under two other papers. It was in both the serving pantry and the adjoining kitchen.



Here's what I'm replacing it with:



The newest wallpaper that I removed was a viney botanical, which gave me the idea to choose this, and it's a nod to the aesthetic history of the house.

[Manalto]

The stained-glass windows that I commissioned from Alley Kat Stained Glass in Starkville, Mississippi arrived today. This one will go in the serving-pantry window:



And this one will go in the dining room.



The windows are side-by-side on the outside of the house, so I thought it would be nice to repeat the pattern for uniformity. The upper sash in each window has two panes which will have identical simplified versions of the larger window.

[Gothichome]

James, nothing like a dead line to get things moving, maybe I need one for my stalled bathroom project. The original wallpaper looks typical for late Victorian into the art nouveau period, well typical for many a decade actually. Your new ivy paper reminds me of other designs that lasted for decades, it will look nice in your kitchen/butlers pantry.
Your choice of leaded glass is very nice and will look very ‘in period’ and fashionable for the age of your home, nice choice. I look forward to seeing the end product of your efforts.
Ron

[Manalto]

Ron, I'm stopping by for a visit on May 1st. I'm keeping my expectations high. Please be ready for me.

Just to make life a little more complicated moving toward my deadline, I've pulled apart my little office off the living room and am renovating it, too. Pulling down the flimsy 1950s or 60s "driftwood" paneling exposed clapboard siding in remarkably good condition so I decided to preserve it although the room no longer functions as a porch.

There's a tradition in the south, which I believe began in Georgia and South Carolina, for painting the ceiling of your porch a color called "haint blue." Its origin has something to do with superstition for keeping bad spirits out of the house, the blue mimicking water (which we all know bad spirits refuse to cross) for that apparently dim-witted ghoul who can't tell the difference. If you search the color online you will come up with a variety of shades, most of them subtle and muted. The literature suggests a blue-green. My office being so tiny, I went for a bold Tiffany blue. "Bold for small spaces" is a policy I tend to follow.



So far, so good. There has been a comforting absence of evil spirits since I've painted.

There is still trim and painting to be done here. Incidentally, I think the ceiling fixture is original to the house.

[mjt]

I hadn't heard the evil spirits rationale before. I'd heard that supposedly light blue ceilings acted as an insect repellent.

Regardless, I like that little light fixture.

[Gothichome]

https://www.today.com/home/what-haint-b ... ue-t115573
I too have not heard of the evil spirit angle for haint blue. I have known of the discourage the bug theory though.
Ron