Show us your vintage home!

[Big Man]

Restoration project (the continuing saga) ...

After several weekends of working (not to mention almost loosing my religion a couple of times [huh] ), I finally got all the old paint and old varnish striped off my fireplace mantel. :eusa_clap All that is left now is to seal it with a protective coat of something. I'm not sure if I want to use a dark colored sealer, or leave it looking "new".

Getting the old paint off was way more work that I had thought, and there was a point where I wished I'd never started this project. But, now that it's just about completed, I'm glad I did.

My grandparents moved into the old house in 1917 (the house was built in 1907). I know that my grandfather did a lot of work on the house after they bought it, such as digging a basement, closing in one of the fireplaces to burn coal, adding a flue in the "front room", building a bathroom off the back porch, etc. From "clues" I've been able to piece together, I believe the old fireplace mantel was painted over for the first time in the 1920's.

Once I give the mantel its final finish (and paint the room), I'll post a picture of the completed project (like any project is ever "completed").

 

[dhermann1]

Are there any early shots of the fireplace? Because of the style, I really wonder if there were decorative tiles around the front as well. If there's no image, I'll bet you could choose some that would compliment it.
You did a magnificent job on that woodwork. You'll look at it for years to come with pride, and every time anyone compliments it (which will be frequent) you'll be able to say "Oh, man, you can't imagine how much work I put into that fireplace!"

 

[Josephine]

After several weekends of working (not to mention almost loosing my religion a couple of times [huh] ), I finally got all the old paint and old varnish striped off my fireplace mantel.

It looks wonderful. Congratulations!

 

[Big Man]

Are there any early shots of the fireplace? Because of the style, I really wonder if there were decorative tiles around the front as well. If there's no image, I'll bet you could choose some that would compliment it.
You did a magnificent job on that woodwork. You'll look at it for years to come with pride, and every time anyone compliments it (which will be frequent) you'll be able to say "Oh, man, you can't imagine how much work I put into that fireplace!"

There are no early pictures of the inside of the house (none earlier than the mid 1950's). I can say with almost 100% certainty that there were no decorative tiles around the fireplace. Those two patches of color in the photo are underlying paint colors I accidentally found while working on stripping the paint.

It would appear that the fireplace and room was painted, in order oldest to latest, blue (like a really BLUE color of blue), light green, light yellow, cream, and the present color. I can remember the cream color to the late 1950's, and my aunt painted the present color about 1970 or so. Quite by accident, I discovered they also painted their dining room furniture to match the room.

Thanks for the compliment on the refinishing job. It really was a lot of work, but I am glad I took on the project.

 

[Big Man]

It looks wonderful. Congratulations!

Thank you.

What was really ironic was, after I finished all the stripping and cleaned everything up, I sat down in one of the old dining room chairs and looked at my work. I thought to myself, "this really does look nice."

Then, the thought came to me that my grandfather probabally sat down in that same chair when he finished painting the fireplace mantel for the first time back in the 1920's and said the same thing to himself. lol

 

[Josephine]

What was really ironic was, after I finished all the stripping and cleaned everything up, I sat down in one of the old dining room chairs and looked at my work. I thought to myself, "this really does look nice."

Then, the thought came to me that my grandfather probabally sat down in that same chair when he finished painting the fireplace mantel for the first time back in the 1920's and said the same thing to himself. lol

You young people! Never satisfied with previous generations' work. Always gotta tear it down! lol

 

[Atomic Glee]

Here are a few in-progress photos from the first few days of painting.

(All colors are Sherwin-Williams historic colors.)

Kitchen in Holiday Turquoise:

Master bedroom in Stratford Blue (the new windows will be installed shortly in the wall on the left and the carpet will be gone soon):

Holiday Turqouise in kitchen, Radiant Lilac on dining area wall, living room beyond in Plymouth Green (the wall you see in the living room will be where more new windows are going):

 

[Kassia]

Oh my gosh i really really need to take some pictures of my parents house!!
It was built in 1958 and has never been renovated.. Its had new carpets and was repainted but that's about it...
Next time i am over i'll take some pics and post them here...Too bad Mom doesn't still have the old red and chrome kitchen table too!!

 

[Dinerman]

I'm all moved in. The house is very cool, a nice old place that's seen better days. It's got character. My dorm room has original hardwood floors, radiator heat, old woodwork around the windows, an angled ceiling on one side from the roof/dormer that transitions into the wall with a graceful curve, and a built in bedframe. Some of the rooms are enormous. Mine's pretty small, but that will be good in the winter, it'll heat better. I'm on the left side of the house, the one with the porch.

Shoe drying rack. The other side of the house has this in addition to coathooks and an umbrella stand built in

My room

The unused/ trashed attic (on the right side portion of the house) which will soon be locked and off limits. Neat architecturally, though

 

[Dinerman]

 

[Forgotten Man]

Man, look at all those "Orbs" that place is totally infested with.... dusty ghosts! lol

Looks like an allergy attack up there!

 

[rogaleo]

neo-pseudo-para-vintage home

It's not finished and furbished yet, but you'll see the direction...

http://homepage.mac.com/rogaleo/.Pictures/domstrona/Image-1EE37B46ECE811DA.jpg
http://homepage.mac.com/rogaleo/.Pictures/domstrona/Image-1EE3DA62ECE811DA.jpg
http://homepage.mac.com/rogaleo/.Pictures/domstrona/DSCN7425.jpg
http://homepage.mac.com/rogaleo/.Pictures/domstrona/DSCN7479.jpg

 

[LelaViavonie]

Oh my goodnes.. these homes are all soo beautiful!

I was in AWE

 

[kampkatz]

Rogaleo,
That is a beautiful house. It looks solidly built. Looks like a timeless design that will always be in style. Enjoy it. Thanks for sharing photos.

 

[rogaleo]

Actually, you know... I hate new homes... So I tried to combine old and new and decided to move an old house to a new location. Since log houses are build like bricks, it wasn't too complicated ( ).

 

[Bubble Cheeks]

We moved into our new house last week so there are boxes everywhere but I had to share my stove and the lounger the previous owners left behind.

I think my heart just skipped a beat when I saw the outside of this Atomic beauty.... I can barely breathe! That's the house of my dreams!

 

[Caroline]

Getting the old paint off was way more work that I had thought, and there was a point where I wished I'd never started this project. But, now that it's just about completed, I'm glad I did.

Great job! I feel for you as I did the same thing to a built in china hutch with about 5-7 coats of both laytex and lead paint UGH! The laytex was the worst, and to further punish myself I used the "safe" remover with fewer toxic fumes, and no heat gun. I was worried about cancer and setting things on fire. In retrospect, I'll roll the dice next time. And there will be a next time, as the foot high baseboard and trim are painted with the same gunk!

 

[Forgotten Man]

Since log houses are build like bricks, it wasn't too complicated ( ).

No, log homes are built like trees! lol When I was younger, about 9-12 I wanted to live in a long home... I always saw the picture of a log home nearly berried in snow on most labels of maple syrup and wished I could jump into the label and live there. lol

 

[Forgotten Man]

I'm not sure if I want to use a dark colored sealer, or leave it looking "new".

I say, stain it dark! If it was built originally in '07, it most likely been dark. I know after all that work, you may not want to stain it... but, I'm sure it would really give an older feeling to the house if it was stained dark. I love dark wood my self, I wish I had dark wood fixtures in my little 1911 cracker box but, I don't.

 

[Atomic Glee]

Well, I'm not quite done, but it's progressed so much I thought I had to share anyway. Here are some photos before & after of the little house.

Before

After - haven't installed new porch railing yet, but have got the old lousy one removed.

Before

After

Kitchen in Holiday Turquoise with appliances

Living room in Plymouth Green - getting ready to install new windows and do the floors.

Bedroom in Stratford Blue - new windows installing here shortly and redoing the floor.

Dining area wall in Radiant Lilac.

Bathroom in Burma Jade.

Bathroom in Appleblossom.