Progress has been slow of late. The holidays and other impediments to the work. That said, I believe all the scraping and prep is now done on the stair and window trim. Ready to replace the non-matching trim near the top and then stain to match the staircase.
While plaster repair is being performed in other areas of the house by my friends at Tiger Ox Painting, I took the time to install a soap dispenser for the kitchen sink.
Work continues up the stairs as we scrape away the paint on the wall side trim. It is a bit of work but will be worth it “wow” wise.
With the exception of the radiator (it’s a bit cold here to drain the system to do that right now), I think we can consider the Powder Room done.
Back to work on The Hague House today. Did some finishing touch-ups on the powder room window (including installing the hardware) and began the re-rope and repair of main stairway window.
Most Restoration Is Boring
There’ve not been a ton of updates lately. That’s because so much of what we’ve been doing isn’t flashy. Lots of little “whoas” and no “wows”.
It’s wood filling nail holes in trim. It’s caulking edges and touching up the paint.
It’s re-attaching (not changing) light fixtures now that the ceiling is painted.
It’s installing a baseboard heater and having it take longer than expected and trying to troubleshoot why it wasn’t working and calling the electrician twice for advice only to have him figure out it was never hooked up to the breaker box in the first place.
It’s picking up and organizing the tools that seem to have been scattered to the four winds so that they are easier to find for the next project.
It’s the small details and finishing touches that others might not notice but you not only know they are there waiting for you to be done but can’t unsee them even after you walk away.
And even on the days when nothing gets done, when my attention is turned to other things, the project still lingers in my mind. A problem I walked away from the day before because I could not figure it out is often solved as I’m drifting off to sleep or just waking up.
In the pictures I share you may see a before, a during, and an after, but seeing them all together you have no sense that between those were dozens — perhaps hundreds - of choices and challenges in-between each shot. You see not the labor but the love.
More finishing touches in the Powder Room today. Installed a new sink/cabinet unit (ended up not liking the one we initially chose). Also, the window is now re-roped, repaired, and installed. Will need some paint touch ups but looks and works great.
Oh, Hi! Did you say you needed a convenient yet decorative place to hang stuff over the sink? Yes? Well, we’ve got that.
Just a small detail but makes a big difference. The top of the range hood looked unfinished. We made a little crown for it and now it looks complete.
