In pieces, anyway! Our carpenter will be back next week to start installing everything.
The vast sea of wood grain will be minimized once the shelves are filled with books, but oh, man. That’s a lot of new oak. I still think it’s the right thing to do here (as opposed to painted woodwork), but new oak is never as pretty as the old-growth stuff that’s in these old houses.
Yep, still thinking about where to put the nursery. I had something else planned to post today, but I’ll push it to next week instead. I looked through the 400+ photos I took of the house when it was empty and found a couple more to share that might help you understand the layout a little better. Also? I created a layout. I’m helpful like that.
I’m still not keen on the idea of moving one of the kids upstairs. Maybe when they’re older they’ll want to head up there, but while everyone is still little, I like us all on the same floor. So it’s really a choice of our family room or the second kitchen.
The glass doors and that large opening aren’t original, but I like them. Because of the openness, both rooms feel spacious and flooded with light. Here’s the view from our bedroom.
I adore the crazy jumble of doors everywhere. It’s one of the quirks that sold me on this house, whereas the second and third kitchens here? Not so much. Those were more like — eh, we’ll find a way to change those spaces and make them work. And while it may be nice to have the nursery right next to our bedroom and still keep those glass doors while the baby is a baby, it’s not something that will work long-term. Plus we’d still have the second kitchen which isn’t serving much of a function.
Using this room would be easy though, and requires minimal to no construction (either remove the extra two doorways, or close the doors and ignore them).
I know a lot of you think I’m crazy for wanting to get rid of the cabinetry. I’m not set on it, but I’m not sold on keeping it either. Many suggested putting a cushion on top of the center portion and using it as a window seat, but it’s too high and I’d lean more toward using it as a dresser if it stayed.
Now, that sink? Super charming! Where it is? Super weird! I want that cabinet out of there.
Directly to the right is a linen closet, and beyond that is another bedroom (which was a sleeping porch, once upon a time). Here’s a layout of the space.
* Update: There is an alternate floor plan in the comments, showing how the hallway could be reconfigured. *
Plenty of awkwardness. For scale, the kitchen wall with windows is 12.5 feet long. If we did this room in stages, we would remove the door between the kitchen and the family room and reuse it so that we could close the room off from the hallway. The sink would go, but all other built-ins would stay. Minor construction, but we’d have to go through the baby’s room to get to the back bedroom or to the stairs.
We still have a lot of thinking to do.
A guess, because the design is tentatively based on the only design we can see from the upcoming line of wallpaper by Rifle Paper Co. for Hygge & West. There are more patterns to come in May!
The bathroom on the second floor is nice, just not to my taste. There is fruit-themed wallpaper, hunter green on a mottled tan background, with a green and maroon border, and a yellow faux-finish on the claw foot tub. The bones of the room are good though, and I’ve been happy to not do much in there until inspiration came along. Inspiration came along. Last Friday, I immediately started scheming up a design plan featuring the new wallpaper line.
Dean Stockwell in ‘The Boy with Green Hair,’ Art.com
I’ve not seen the movie, but I love this as a photograph.
Rifle Paper Co. Wallpaper, Hygge & West
I could easily work with this yellow and green design, but the full line will be out May 19 with more options.
My Bathroom
Brass and antique fixtures, ahoy!
Brass Bathroom Waste Basket, Target
Yep, more brass. I picked this up a while ago, so it’s already in the room.
Fleur-de-Lys Juice Glass, Anthropologie
I moved all of the toothbrushes to the inside of the medicine cabinet, so I’m on the lookout for tumblers small enough to fit into the holders on the sink. These may be too delicate, but they are adorable.
Large Hicks Pendant, Circa Lighting
I’m dying to use one in this house, and the bathroom could be the perfect spot. I do still have the small oval and brass pendant from Eleanor’s room though, which could be a good (free) option.
Row Stripe Towel, West Elm
Stripes are always welcome.
Martini Side Table in Antique Brass, West Elm
I bought this originally for the vintage bathroom in our first house and then didn’t use it there because the room was too small. The bathroom’s a little larger in this house though, and it fits perfectly.
Schoolhouse Numbered Hooks, Pottery Barn
These are up, and you’ve seen them already because I used ’em to announce baby number three!
Pharmacy Accessories in Amber Glass, Restoration Hardware
The sink has a built-in (unfortunately shell-shaped) spot for the soap, but I like the look of these for the room.
Painted Claw Foot Tub
I’ll choose a color for the tub from the wallpaper, like this lovely green.
Two more months! I’m so eager to get started!
Yesterday’s post was more about how we use the space, but today I wanted to share some more photos of the playroom. It isn’t quite done, but nearly so.
I have some clips for hanging the kids’ art that I want to put up, and some other prints and paintings to hang. I sewed those curtains way back when, and now that they’re up, I can take down the old blinds that are still there. The windows themselves though are the worst in the house. I’d like them to be painted white, but I suspect they’ll need repair or replacement, so I’m holding off until I assess my options.
Eleanor has a lot of tea parties here. She setup this little homemade booster seat a couple of days ago, and seeing it was one of those “awwww” moments of parenting.
Both she and August like to use the play kitchen a lot. As much as I like pink, I was hoping for something more gender-neutral in color, but then I found this one on clearance for a great price. It’s well-made and fun to play with, and I’m pretty sure neither kid cares what color it is.
Ever wonder where those flea market mannequins of mine went? There they are! On the right.
Good golly, they really are creepy, aren’t they? It’s like the latex head Brandon used to hide in our kitchen cabinets — you get so used to the weird creep-factor that you kind of forget about it until you see it through someone else’s eyes.
Let’s move on. Dress-up closet!
Outside the closet, I lined up the bookshelves that used to be in Eleanor’s room, in the last house.
Then we have the easel, and the art desk, which you saw yesterday. (And the creepy mannequins again. Hi!)
I’m planning on painting a fun pattern behind the art desk, to break up all the white, and putting up the kids’ artwork will help too.
It may not be done, but it’s working so nicely for us.
The painting of the second parlor — it is done. Huzzah! And Emptying out the room to paint has been really good for helping me figure out how to arrange the furniture. The corner fireplace has been throwing me off, and the room has so many windows and large doorways that figuring things out took some trial and error. I think that the way I had it before, with the sofa, an armchair, and plans for two additional chairs felt a little crowded. (Good thing I was just using placeholders for those two chairs near the fireplace.)
The color is Black Beauty, by Benjamin Moore in a matte finish. It’s a soft, warm black with more of a brown base than a blue one. I think it modernizes the house and all of its oak woodwork without fighting against it, and I love the way it turned out. The room’s three huge windows face south, so even with a dark color, it feels bright.
I ordered two tufted pink ottomans from Target, because when you see something good and cheap there, sometimes you have to just go ahead and buy it before it’s gone. (They are, of course, already sold out now.) I figured I could return them if I couldn’t find a spot for them, but that if I did find a place, I’d want a pair. They’re here and they’re cute, and I think I like them along the wall that previously had a very narrow console table against it. Actually, a console table over the ottomans would be great, but the one I had there won’t work — too narrow, and the base gets in the way.
The rest of the space is looking a little empty right now because I’m trying to bring in only what I know is going to stay. (This is a departure from my “let’s shove everything everywhere because I have a big, empty house to fill!” approach. You like?) The coffee table that was here is currently upstairs, and the rugs (two that were lined up end to end to seem larger) are rolled up temporarily. I think a really beautiful mirror could be a good addition to the room, either above the fireplace or in the adjacent corner. I just put together a collection of my favorites over here.
Below, either the floral chair or the colorful painting are staying, but not both. One or the other will move to the library-to-come, in the front parlor.
Speaking of the library, the shelves are not in yet, but I am liking the view in so far with the black stripes of the antique sofa tying into the black walls. I also found a spot for my large botanical print, so more black, yay! Ha. Although I do have to say, I’m not minding the lack of color on the walls throughout the first floor as much now. Contrast is satisfying.
I’m even more excited now to get those shelves going. A wall of books is going to look amazing with these two spaces!
I’d hoped to have a painted room to share today, but I underestimated the ability of my right arm to paint and paint and paint. I’ve primed, I’ve put a first coat on, and I’ve done half of the cutting in for the second (and final, I hope) coat of paint, but I still have a few hours of painting ahead of me before it’s done. Such tall ceilings! So many windows and doorways, and a fireplace to cut in! Such strong shoulders I will have! (On the right side, at least.) Luckily my legs are holding up just fine with having gone up and down the ladder all weekend, and I’ve finished all of the up-high work.
I liked the range of blacks that Benjamin Moore offered, so I stuck with them for my samples. I tried Soot (so close), Almost Black (too light), Polo Blue (pretty and nuanced, but too blue), and finally, Black Beauty (the winner!). It’s the warm black I had been looking for, and it makes the wood trim in the room look amazing. The three huge windows are South-facing, and the room is flooded with light, so it can take a dark, dramatic color. I can’t wait to see it with the furniture back in place!
Now, off to paint.