Most people would look at this house and be overwhelmed with the amount of work needed to repair it. You have probably figured out..that we are not most people...lol! We see beyond the flaws. We see the gorgeous 12 foot ceilings, the plaster walls, the amazing wainscoting, hardwood floors, huge windows, fireplaces with original tile, just for starters!
Our goal from the beginning was to restore and preserve all of the original features that make this home historic and unique. It takes more time and more effort to take the original features and repair them..but it is so worth it in the end! Many of the materials used in these old homes are superior to those used today. Our house is 115 years old and was basically vacant for over 30 years. Most homes that are neglected for that long are beyond repair. This home had damage..but nothing that could not be reversed. Can we talk about “Open concept”? This has been the popular trend for a while now. Every home renovation/house flipper show is all about removing walls! As I mentioned earlier, one of our main goals in renovating our old, historic home is to keep as much of the “original” as possible. Of course, that doesn’t mean we are skipping the modern amenities..like Central Heat/Air, indoor plumbing, and a dishwasher! However, we did decide to keep the original layout. We did not remove any walls. I mean..they are plaster and in amazing shape considering the age and neglect over the past 30 years.
This is what the dining room looked like when we bought the house. The pile on the right is the railing from the front porch. We are grateful that the gentleman we bought the house from kept everything!
We carried this huge (very heavy) mantle outside and stripped off the paint. We have tried various methods for removing the old paint...we have found that a heat gun is the best option for us.
I was tempted to keep this green wall as is..but we had to fix the large crack in the plaster..so we decided to paint it. Before we moved in..my parents (who happen to be professional painters) sprayed the walls and ceilings with Ecobond Lead Defender Pro. This product actually treats and seals lead paint.
The first step in getting this room restored was cleaning out the room. Next, we repaired the cracks in the plaster (with the help of a professional), then on to the floors. We had the floors refinished in the living room, dining room, foyer, and Harrison’s room. The kitchen and master bedroom flooring had to be replaced. The kitchen flooring had linoleum...which had been glued to the wood. Our bedroom floor had a lot of water damage because of the large hole in our roof.
Then we painted! Since my parents painted the Ecobond (before we moved in) which acts as a primer, we were ready to paint. We painted the trim an off-white, the walls an antique white, and did an accent wall in a deep green. It is very important to use a high quality, low VOC paint. I used Behr Marquee. It offers amazing coverage.
We haven’t finished the bar area yet.. we are deciding on the layout. This amazing sink was the original kitchen sink! It is huge! We wanted to keep it..but it was too big for the kitchen so we repurposed it in the dining room!
When we moved in to the house (December of 2019) we had no kitchen..so we used our bathroom sink to wash dishes for a while. Once we got this hooked up..we used this one! It was so much easier!
Stay tuned for more from our Restoration ❤️
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