So I'll do this with captions as that's the easiest way. Most of the work recently has been on finishing details and it's been slowed by work of the kind that pays for the work on the house. I've had time to consider the direction of the finishing details and I like the way they're going. On occasion I'll walk into the house and see a small section and can suddenly imagine living here and I get a burst of energy but more often the work is painfully slow doing by myself. It's also very rewarding which I like since I feel so connected to the house now more than ever. It is very much like the restoring of a motorcycle and the satisfaction that comes from that. Moving in will be like the first ride.
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| The bathroom is finished save for the vanity that I need to build. I'm quite happy with the result. |
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| To the end of building the kitchen cabinets and the various other vanities and built ins I've started work on garage cabinets as my "practice" and my first effort provided many lessons. |
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| When you consider this is just for the garage I think I'm off to a good start. I found a lot of mid-century pulls for $15 so that will help finish the cabinet in a nice period fashion. |
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| I'm doing the garage in a full Euro 32mm Faceless and the rest of the house will follow suit. It's the most clean design although it's more time consuming to build. |
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| And because I'm a glutton for punishment and want this to be a true gem of a house I've decided to dovetail all the drawers just to take it to the next level. This is my first practice box and it's fairly good. |
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| To finish the beams I've decided to face them in cedar to match the ceiling and walls and then sandwich them in 3/4 hemlock painted black to match the rest of the details. It was difficult to find a "true" 3/4" board to match the dimensions of the existing trim but we found it. Lumber dimensions from the 50's to now have changed quite a bit. |
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| Here's one of those beams at the loft - one of the few non original detail changes that we're keeping but trying to incorporate into the original aesthetic. |
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| Here you can see the progress of the beams but also the trim and windows are all being painted black. This has made a HUGE difference to the look and feel of the house. It's encouraging. |
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| The house as we bought it was decorated in the 80's style of "clown threw up on the walls" with purple, mauve, yellow and green violating the dignity of design. It's great to see the graceful lines restored and the dignity regained. |
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| Little by little it's coming together. |
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| And the garage is also coming along as it will serve and the test bed and work center for the rest of the house. Here the ceiling has been painted white and the beams black. VCT floor has been ordered which will give the space the feel of a 1950's development lab and brighten it further. |
