Soon to be old house caretakers in Ohio

[clover]

Greetings from Central Ohio!

[anne (WavyGlass)]

When you start posting pics please post one of how the storm windows are stored in their box. I have 7 that I just lean against the basement wall and would like to find a better way to store them.

The box is basically built into one wall of the carriage house, and is big enough so that the storm windows fit snugly inside so they don't require leaning up against the wall. There is a lid/door, but I am unsure how it fastens. The aluminum storms are also stored in there at the moment, and things don't fit perfectly. It is pretty cold and damp in the "basement" of the carriage house at the moment, so I haven't spent a lot of time investigating.

[anne (WavyGlass)]

We moved in on Saturday. After procuring some room darkening shades for the bedroom, we slept much better last night. Here is an album of pics, mostly of the main level at the moment. It will be evolving as I take more photos.

http://imgur.com/a/KrJ9k

[Don M]

I love your woodwork & leaded glass entry. Congratulations on your new place!

[Powermuffin]

Your house is just gorgeous! I love the fireplace and I actually like that wallpaper too!

One piece of advice for you that most all of us agree on: don't make any irreparable changes to the house during the first year. Settle into the house, discover how best to use the rooms and spaces, and let the house' character guide you.

You will find that not everything you thought about changing should be done. I was amazed at how my attitude about our house changed over the first years. And luckily we had to be frugal or I would have made some changes that I would have regretted.

Congratulations on your new home!
Diane

[clover]

Powermuffins (Diane) is so right! I joined OHW 6-7 years ago, and I quickly posted a list of everything I wanted to do before we moved in. Everyone told me to wait until we'd lived there a year before we did anything that wasn't structurally necessary.

"A year???!!" I scoffed. Yeah right. But frugality held me back, and I'm so glad it did.The kitchen that seemed so hideous before is more than big enough, and decently functional. The landscaping remains unchanged. Almost all the hideous light fixtures remain. (They're still hideous, but now I know about Schoolhouse Electric and am slowly replacing them rather than dropping bucks on cheapos from Lowes.)

Meanwhile, my mud room remodel, that seemed so frivolous, moved to the top of the priority list. Our original windows are slowly being restored. Most of the inside looks the same, but every change has been made with more foresight. More planning. More thoughtfulness.

Best advice ever!

[historicalwork]

That really is a beautiful house. As others have said, the woodwork in the entry way is amazing!

[anne (WavyGlass)]

We have been doing a few things to the house lately. Mostly dealing with old plumbing/drain issues, but I have begun the seemingly unending task of removing the glorious wallpaper in our bedroom. It is such a riot of color that I find it hard to get a restful night's sleep. Here is a picture of the nice surprise I found in the chimney underneath two layers of wallpaper and a piece of plaid fabric. We're thinking it was the vent hole for a gas heater that used to be in the bedroom. I have determined that it is a pot lid, not a true cap. Luckily it is the chimney for the gas fireplace insert that we don't use, and not the chimney that acts as the vent the services.

Unfortunately we have discovered that the second floor storms are indeed not stored in the carriage house, just the screens for the first floor. That is a bummer, but at least we have all the first floor storm windows!

[anne (WavyGlass)]

Long time no updates! Currently we are enjoying the hell out of living in our gracious old house, and haven't done too much to the inside aside from stripping a bit of wallpaper and 7 months later it is still in flux. Ever since the ground softened up enough to dig a little I have been spending all of my time outside in the gardens. They were (who am I kidding, are) in desperate need of overhauling. I've ripped out miles of ivy, hauled lots of mulch, and put in a ton of plant material. I thought I'd take some summer time outside pictures and have updated my album.

http://imgur.com/a/KrJ9k

[BlakeHillHouse]

Beautiful!