Tuesday, September 13, 2016

Entryway Update

* Disclaimer! The photos are all over the place on this post because I can't seem to beat my hubby to the mark. I always procrastinate and think "Oh, I will take pictures before we start", but when Mister is ready there is no waiting for photos!

We live in an antique colonial-cape. Upon entering my home you have a choice of three directions. You can close the door behind you and turn right, through the french door, into the living room,


Old photo, not these colors anymore.
turn left, through another french door, into the dining room,

Also doesn't look like this anymore...click here to see after.
or head straight upstairs to the office, bedrooms and only full bath.

When we moved in the stairs were covered in carpeting (no pictures) and ya know that had to go! The stairs, in keeping with the old house feel, are narrow and steep.....and boy, did they creak!

We painted it to look like this:







The bead board wainscoting and stairs were a raspberry-chocolaty color.  In keeping with the times, the walls had gotten a paint technique. First we painted the walls a warm yellow. Once dry, I went over with white paint that had an additive that extended the drying time. It allowed me to roll on a coat of white then I pulled a wallpaper brush through the wet paint to leave a stria effect with the yellow showing through.

Of course I couldn't leave it like that. Using my Donna Dewberry (remember her?) skills and stencils I painted two topiary on either side of the stairs. The floor was covered with an ugly piece of linoleum but neither of us were brave enough to want to try to tackle that at the time as it was securely glued down to the wood floor.

This was taken after we had already started the process, hence the big blob of white paint on my topiary.
But all that was over ten years ago and it didn't match where my home and style are now so what's a girl to do? Right.... Pinterest! First, I found pictures then...  pitched the idea to Mister. It took some time for him to get used to the idea but he is a good sport. When he does get the vision he is all in and I've already told you there is no waiting for my photos... First thing was to remove that linoleum! Underneath, the maple wood floors were in good condition, all things considered.


The stairs. Ugh. We first had to fix the squeaky steps so that took us to the basement door and a big mess of taking down the peel n' stick wallpaper, horse-hair plaster and lath. Yuck!

When we took down the plaster the only support was the dark piece of wood going down the center.

Once that was done we were amazed that we had not fallen through to the basement long before now! There was nothing supporting the stairs other than either end of each stair. No center support!

The center wood was not even notched into the stairs; just resting on the inside corner of each step!
Because these stairs were put in 150-200 years ago they were not done on uniform sets of stringers. Each step was individually cut thus the uneven stairs.




Mister put in a center support (1" thick plywood) then cut individual triangular-ish pieces to screw into that support in order to sure up each step. He went back up to the top side of the stairs and screwed right into the top of each step. That did the trick; not a squeak nor creak! Next, our favorite tool for an old house... caulking1 We used wood putty on the top side.

Now we (yup, Mister) could paint. Mister painted one side of the stairs first leaving us access to the upstairs while it dried and the next day he painted the other side. They ended up getting two coats as did the trim and doors upstairs. Ahhhh...clean. We used my go-to white, December Starlight, by Valspar.



The walls got a couple coats of this lovely gray, Ralph Lauren's Elgin Gray.


And............... bad idea............that was NOT going to work! The treads were going to be ugly within days. We decided that the risers would stay white but the treads would get a nice couple coats of blue; Behr's English Channel.





Sometimes you just have to put on your big girl pants and let go of the pretty dream. I will be much happier, long term, with the blue.



And this is the tiny entry way now. I still want to replace that light fixture as it does not go with my decorating style now but I have not found what I am looking for yet.









Now I am thinking I may need to paint the front door but don't know if I can bring myself to do that. What do you think?

Party Time!
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28 comments:

  1. Oh! That door would be lovely in blue!

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    1. Ooh, what type of blue? The trim on my house is a wedgewood blue color...

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    2. I've been trolling Pinterest for color - just type in blue door and a whole bunch of inspiration pops up! It's getting cooler here, so my painting day is quickly approaching!

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    3. Strange weather, here, Gina. Thought I would have a couple weeks to do some painting projects but the temperature went from high 80's to low 60's in one day! Rain has finally come and while I hate that I can't paint we do really need the water. Happy painting! Of course, I will be checking in to see what you did!

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  2. Maybe sand it down and refinish it. Like how you did with Nana Ruth's dresser. Sans flowers?

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    1. Hmmm.... maybe. Would you still do it as dark? There are a lot of imperfections that would show in the wood.

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  3. Maybe sand it down and refinish it. Like how you did with Nana Ruth's dresser. Sans flowers?

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  4. Lovely, but a lot of work, I know! My husband and I love older homes and old things that can be re-purposed, as well. We're dangerous in antique or "junk" stores! I'm your neighbor at Strangers & Pilgrims. Blessings! Donna

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    1. Hi Donna! Mister and I have spent/wasted many hours at antique and "junk" stores (that is his term- I see them all as treasures). I love spending time at Strangers & Pilgrims and grateful for the party every week to share at. Thanks for spending time with me!

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  5. I can't tell you how many times I have said to my husband, "Wait, but we haven't taken a picture of it yet!" So I'm with you on the mister not waiting for pictures.
    I love what you've done with your house so far. I really like the blue on the stairs. It's a lovely accent color. I like your stenciled topiaries too. Whatever you end up deciding on the door, I'm sure it will look great. If not, you can always paint again, right?

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    1. Your are so right, Rebecca! It's just paint and if I don't like it I can change it.(Well, I will try to see if Mister will paint it first.) Thanks for stopping by and for the lovely comment. Hope you can visit again, soon!

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  6. Oh goodness...it looks so great! :)

    I would love for you to share this with my Facebook Group for recipes, crafts, tips, and tricks: https://www.facebook.com/groups/pluckyrecipescraftstips/

    Thanks for joining Cooking and Crafting with J & J!

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    1. Thanks, Jessica. Thank you for the party and for the facebook invite!

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  7. That is one bright and pretty entryway. The paint job makes a huge difference and now the whole area looks really pulled together. Thank goodness all is well with the stairs. I can't imagine how those old things held up. Knock on wood! The area looks great and I would also say about the front door, go for it!

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    1. Thank you for the kind words, Mary, and thanks for spending some time with me. Yes, I could have knocked on wood but not too hard! Ha-ha! I think maybe they were so old they were petrified and the fact that even with things not being to today's codes, the craftsmanship was made to last a while.

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  8. You have a beautiful home. I love the transformation. It really opens up the foyer and the stairs look great as well. Thank you for sharing at Dishing it and Digging it link party. We love having you.

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    1. Thank you, Vanessa. I am glad you could spend some time with me. Thank you for hosting the party!

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  9. Wow, you have been busy. Love the stairs and I think that gorgeous door would be beautiful blue as well! Thanks for sharing with SYC.
    hugs,
    Jann

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  10. Jolena, wow! You guys really have been working hard! The stairs look great, but all of that trim and molding is gorgeous! Thanks for sharing. You are one of the features at The Round-Up from the Before & After Wednesday party at The Dedicated House. Here is the link so you can check out your feature. http://www.thededicatedhouse.com/2016/09/round-wednesday-19-8.html Hope to see you again tonight at the shindig. Happy day to you. Toodles, Kathryn @TheDedicatedHouse

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  12. Looks lovely! Thanks for sharing at Home Sweet Home!

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    1. Thank you for hosting the party and for stopping by.

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  13. It looks wonderful!!! Thank you for sharing with us on the Art of Home-Making Mondays at Strangers & Pilgrims on Earth! :)

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