Red Bench, Red Wine, Red Slippers

Renovating a home is not all about working...you need to have some fun along the way. In November, we invited Bill's UNH crowd to our house for a Clayhouse Vineyards wine tasting (compliments of Cathy Paris). In our partially-renovated, temporary kitchen, there was enough wine and chatter to keep us warm and plenty of seating and tasting areas...thanks to a red bench and a pair of oak tables.

In mid-October Bill spotted an 8' long bench outside of "Harry Barker's Emporium".*
Coincidentally, it was the same weekend we borrowed my sister Lisa's Range Rover. It was a sign...it fit perfectly in the back of the truck and it fit perfectly in our kitchen!
We also acquired a pair of oak tables from Salem Country Club in October. The club, also under renovation, offered some gently-used furniture to its members. We jumped at the chance to have a little memorabilia from the grille room in our Little Brick House kitchen.

It is fun to entertain during a renovation. Everything is forgiven. The window openings...covered with rigid insulation; walls are primed and wait for a final coat of paint; the floors... half-way to knowhere; and the heat...barely there. Our friends don't mind...it involves them in the process to see the house in an unfinished state. They wait in anticipation for the next gathering.

*a group antique shop on Main Street in Bridgton, in partnership with Harvest Hills Animal Shelter

Jumbo Belgian Blocks

Our property is surrounded by flora and fauna. We have a Norway maple in the front yard. There is a large Ash behind the barn. Over-grown lilac trees run along the south side. Recently, we met with landscape architect, Roger Wells* to get some professional advice and also get to know our property better...i.e. to know the names of the trees in our yard is a very good thing!

This is the short version of what we learned that day. The big, scary apple tree? Keep it...it has so much character. The new growth in the old garden plot? Spray Preen in the spring. It will not kill anything but the new growth. The foundation plantings? bye-bye...our home has a beautiful granite block foundation and there is no need to hide it. The lilacs need pruning...any branches wider than the diameter of a fist should be cut. This will encourage flower growth.

Roger loved Bill's idea of a terraced side-yard. Starting at the end of the driveway, and reaching up to the back yard. It would be a half a days work to move the earth with a small bulldozer. It sounds so simple! We have many large boulders on our property that will retain the earth for the terracing. And we can direct the placement of them as needed.

Do you know what a Jumbo Belgian Block** is? Neither did we, but, we did have them stacked up alongside our shed just waiting for a useful purpose. They are perfect to edge the crushed stone around the foundation. It will keep the stone in place and help prevent the growth of weeds.

Thank you, Roger. We have a lot to look forward to next spring!

* http://www.rwellsdesign.com/

** cobbled granite blocks 10.5" x 7.5" x 4"

Kitchen---Part I

The Little Brick House has a nice size kitchen. 19 x 14 will be plenty large for all kitchen activities...cooking, eating, gatherings, game nights, and laundry. (Yes, laundry.) No longer is the laundry room banished to the basement or a far away room in the house where nobody wants to be. Rather than putting a wall up and closing down the kitchen, we decided to go open and spacious.

We had a plan to wait and just make it a little brighter by painting the walls a lighter color.

Then one day, Bill cleaned the existing cabinetry (with a toothbrush) and asked me, "what color we should paint them?" So our oak cabinets have been painted with Benjamin Moore Hepplewhite Ivory; the dirty brass cabinet knobs (and hinges) were removed and spray painted matte black.

The very next thing on the list is to lift up the existing linoleum floor; buy windows for the south side; and figure out how to heat the space this coming winter. Our kitchen is very usable right now. We will be doing laundry in no time!

Chiminey Crickets

We love the Little Brick House. Yes, we do, really. And when things come to light...for instance, both chimneys are in decay and need repair...we take a deep breath, and figure it out. We want the house to be around for another 170 years.

It all began with a small patch of bubbled ceiling paint. There is water coming in because we don't have a cricket*. Or a chimney cap. Or maybe because the brick chimney needs to be re-pointed. Or maybe a combination of all three.

We did not expect that the furnace and water heater would be tied into the repair of the small patch of bubbled ceiling paint...but, they are. The oil burning furnace and the oil water heater are both venting through our historic chimney. The simplest way to avoid re-building? A super-flue...a concrete liner. The problem? The current building code will only allow one appliance to be vented because of the interior dimensions.

So, we have some homework to do now...to figure this all out. In the meantime, I think we'll fix that small patch of bubbled ceiling paint.

*A cricket is a small false roof, sloped to shed water away from chimney.

Garden of Weedin'

Well, spring came back this year. We had some very beautiful,

warm days in early April. It gave us a head start on garden and yard work.

Even with all the work to be done inside, the weather was so beautiful,

it was impossible to stay inside.

Sand, salt, and plow marks covered the grass and tore into the ground.

It looked so bad that I thought about entering the "desperate landscape"

competition, but, because our house is so cute, I thought... we would never win.

We are lucky to have such nutrient-rich soil. There is a hill of conservation

land backing up to our property. The spring thaw melts right down into

our land. Everything is recovering well, especially the weeds.

I was prepared for the pollen, the black flies, and a long day in the yard.

In the end, I didn't need the surgical mask or the ear plugs. When our hand-me-down* lawn mower started to smoke, I gave it, and myself, a short break. Everything worked out just fine. The following morning at breakfast we read an advertisement on our place-mat for a Yard and Lawn Care company. The next day he was at The Little Brick House giving us an estimate.

*This high-powered work horse came from my sister Kathy's house and before that my Mom and Dad's house in Canton.

It is quite likely 25 years old.

Decoration and Renovation

The Little Brick House has furniture. An antiqued gate-leg table was added to the Dining

Room, and a sofa and lamps were added to the Living Room. Because we are living in the house,

we wanted to add enough furniture to make it feel comfy and cozy, but, not too much furniture

as there is still much work to be done.

The preliminary furniture plans were done early on. Many people don't realize how critical the scale of furniture is to a space. The furniture plan is the number one tool a designer uses for space analysis. It will give you a general sense of how much furniture feels right and how to place it for the best functionality.

Wallpaper and fabric. I looked for inspiration in Marie Finnerty's* portrait. There is a beautiful flower rendered in pastel yellow and green on her lapel. The transom windows are also yellow and green. When I came across a linen plaid fabric by Rogers and Goffigon, I knew I had found the perfect compliment. The walls were painted BM antique white. The sofa is in a stock fabric from Crate and Barrel.

The house has such a simple form. I thought wallpaper in the entry and bedrooms would be a nice choice. And a nature theme seemed to make sense in our "country house". The charcoal gray and off-white printed paper I selected for the Entry is very appealing. Simultaneously, simple and sophisticated. And I think the faded quality will work well in an antique home. The bedroom papers will follow suit. All the decor will be very simple in the bedrooms, the wallpaper will do all the work!

*Bill has a beautiful portrait of his mother, Marie. It hangs in the Living Room.

The Twenty-Ten Sequence

The storm that brought the east coast into twenty-ten was like a dream. Delicately falling snowflakes day after day after day. The Little Brick House was peaceful, in other words... not a whole lot of work was getting done. Sometimes life gets in the way of 2nd home renovations.

I have about twenty (20) items ready to roll into the project and Bill has ten(10) items to get done before any of them can be completed. Patience is a virtue. (3) wallpapers; (1) wall mural; (3) painted floors; (1) painted stairwell; and (12) window curtains...

Bill has continued his investigations in the basement. There was more to be cleaned off the dirt floor, bags full of old bricks, wood, wires, pipes, etc. Now the dirt floor can breathe and Bill can see the ebb and flow of our basement creek. It's looking like the water table sits 5" below the floor. In the recent storm, it was about one inch below! Our house floats.

We received a very thorough assessment of the brick house exterior from our brick mason, Duncan Trails. He will begin work next month and continue to update us as things unfold. His 10-page document included quotes from brick house experts. His approach to a written proposal is so thoughtful that it gives us confidence in his skill and approach to this project.