Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Welcome to Our Foyer ... A Work in Progress.

It's been a while since I shared part of our house with you.  Today, let's take a tour of the foyer.

This is what you see as you enter through the front door.

2010

I stood on the front porch to take this photo.  The foyer is wide and roomy, and is a great space to greet friends and guests.  There are parts of the foyer that are completely finished (mainly the walls), but most of it is a work in progress.  As I show you around, you will see lots of stripped wood and trim that is waiting to be sanded and painted.  Eventually, these projects will rise to the top of the list.  Until then, they're fine just the way they are.


2002

This is what it looked like the first time I walked into this house, when we were touring it with our realtor in the summer of 2002.  The stair runner at the time was too narrow and worn out, and I have always called that light fixture the "Bug Bucket".


2010
The door to the family room is on the left.  I showed you the Family Room in THIS POST.


2010

And the living room is on the right.  When we bought this house in 2002, the door to the living room was missing.  We found it in a pile of junk, as we were cleaning stuff out of the loft of our barn.  Who knows how long it had been there.  I used a heat gun and a scraper to strip off many layers of peeling paint, revealing the original colors of cream and green (See the green on the corner blocks and the door panels?)  We keep this door closed because the living room is nowhere close to finished, and we use it for storage right now ... such is life when living in an old house under renovation.


2010


The front door is huge and heavy ... 42 inches wide!!  There is never any problem getting furniture into or out of the house through this door.  It took me over a week of solid work with my heat gun and various scraping tools to remove all of the built-up paint from the door, sidelights, and transom.


2002
Here's a before shot of the front door, showing the white paint (it will be white again one day), and the gold flocked Japanese-style, 1960's wallpaper.


2010

This mirror was a gift from the family we bought the house from.  They left it for us (in the dining room) because the wife thought it should stay.  I love it, and I moved it to what I think is the perfect spot behind the front door.


2002

This is the staircase in 2002.  Notice the curvy trim on the side of each step, and the ogee molding that surrounds each wood panel.


2010

Right now, all of the trim is in the basement.  It's stripped and sanded, and it's ready to be primed and reinstalled ... whenever I get around to it.  I removed half of the balusters because it is easier to strip them if they're not in place, and to make it easier for the floor refinishers when they did their job on the stair treads.  The stair railing and newel post wear their original finish, which I protect with the dedication of a mother bear.  I have threatened more than one tradesperson working here ... warning them of the possibility of immediate, violent death if anyone were to damage the finish. 


2010

From this angle, you can see the wool runner we had installed after the steps were refinished, the chandelier I restored and installed, the mahogany clock that we bought as a present to each other on our 25th anniversary, and an aerial photo of the house.


2010

I found this chandelier online, at a shop at Ruby Lane Antiques, and it is PERFECT for this space.  My father-in-law disassembled it, I painted and antiqued the pieces, and he rewired and reassembled it.  From the look on Alice's face, I think she approves.


2010

The clock was built for us by Irvin Rosen, of McKinley, Virginia.  Mr. Rosen was in his late 80's when he built our clock (and another one identical to it for someone else).  He is an exceptional cabinet maker, with a workshop full of wonders.  We have two more Rosen clocks (a banjo click and a pillar and scroll clock).  I feel priviledged to have met him, and honored to have such beautiful examples of his work in our home.


2010

The aerial photo of the house was taken some time after the addition was built in 1967.  It appears to be a hand-colored black and white print, and it has never left the house.  Each owner passes it to the next ... a tradition I will keep, if I were to sell the house ... which I'm not going to do.


2002

The door to the basement is under the stairs, facing the aerial photo.  It hasn't changed much since I took this photo in 2002.


2010

This oak sideboard is the very first piece of antique furniture that my husband and I bought after we married.  We are now using it as a place to drop keys and whatnot, and we store our shoes in the bottom section ... to keep Daniel from eating them.  On it, you see two oak humidors that once belonged to my husband's grandmother, and a miniature Lane cedar box from a furniture store in Fredericksburg.  These tiny boxes were given by furniture stores to graduating senior girls, in hopes that the girls would visit the store to buy their 'hope chests'.   I collect these boxes, which are stamped with the company name and address, from local companies whenever I find them.  So far, I have Fredericksburg, Richmond, Charlottesville, and Orange.  (all Virginia, of course)


2010

As we go upstairs, this is what the view to the downstairs looks like from the first landing.  If you look carefully, you can see Alice lounging on the rug by the front door.


2010

This small flight of stairs leads to the upstairs landing and two of our four bedrooms ... the doors are closed to protect the innocent.


2002

In 2002, before we moved in, this landing had the same gold flocked wallpaper as the foyer.  After removing the wallpaper, stripping the paint off the doors, walls, and trim, repairing the plaster and painting the walls .... it now looks like this.


2010

The French doors lead to the roof of the front porch.  They were installed in place of a window during the 1960's renovation.


2010

Here's a photo showing all of the stairs, and Dorothy coming out of the Family Room.  Alice is still on the rug.


2010

Back downstairs (there's Dorothy again).  This doorway leads to the dining room and kitchen (which I'll show you some other time.).  It was cut into what was originally the back wall of the house.  One side of that line in the floor is original 1848, and the other side is 1967.

As you have seen, there is still a lot of work to be done in the foyer.  The doors and moldings are stripped of all their globby, built-up paint, and I have to give them a final sanding and who-knows-how-many coats of paint.  The stairs will have their trim and balusters primed and reinstalled.  Don't even get me started thinking about the work that's going to be necessary on the front door.

Even with all of this ahead of me, I look around and I fall in love with our house all over again.  Can you imagine how many people have walked through our front door in the 160+ years of history in this place.  Each family has made changes, some good and some awful.  I'm trying to sort out these changes ... keeping the good ones and repairing the mistakes ... on our home's road to restoration.

18 comments:

  1. You are right that house does look a lot like the Macaulay house. Wait till you see a photo of the trim on the stairs - identical to yours. The front door is very different though. Photos coming soon (hopefully tomorrow). I love your front hall - it is so welcoming and classic. The chandelier is perfect. Thanks for the tour.

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  2. What a beautiful house. You've done some beautiful work. I never knew the story behind the little cedar chests. Interesting. I think I have one somewhere. Don't know where it came from.

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  3. Connie, the care, time, and effort you all have put into restoring your home is truly a labor of love and it shows! I know that all of those who have passed through that beautiful front door before you are so proud of the efforts you are taking to restore her back to her former glory! She is a lucky house to have such dedicated owners...I couldn't do it, way too much work so my hat is off to you!

    Kat :)

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  4. Such a grand and wonderful home you have! I love the wide entry hall and the stairway.

    AND, the wide heavy door is what every home should have. We had wide heavy doors in our home in Arizona. They weren't old, but I loved how they felt so substantial when we closed them. Our home now has hollow core doors on the interior and if I could afford to I would replace every single one of them for solid core. Just makes such a difference.

    Thanks for sharing these photos with all of us. Love seeing other's homes.

    Di

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  5. I really admire you for all of your hard work. The foyer is beautiful now I can just imagine what it will be like when you are finished.

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  6. Oh my gosh, Connie ----- what an incredible house!!!! Your love for it just oozes from your words. No wonder you're never going to sell this beauty. It's totally awesome! The setting is just stunning, too. You've got your work cut out for you, but the work you've done is just beautiful! :)

    xoxo laurie@heavens-walk

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  7. Connie,

    Wow,the work you have done is beautiful! Thank you so much for sharing your home. It seems like just yesturday sliding down those stairs. I can't wait to see more finished projects. If you were to sell the house (I'm sure it will never happen) I would like to be the first to know! I really admire you for all that you have done to Hartwood Manor. Your gardens are wonderful too! Have a wonderful Fall!

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  8. Your eye for detail is superb...your lovely home shows it in every picture. I do think Alice is thinking about how much trouble she would be in if she tried to swing from the beautiful chandelier:)

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  9. Connie what a gorgeous front foyer! I have always dreamed of such a home. You have done such a beautiful job on this stairway and entry.
    I also noticed you have another love of mine. Greyhounds. I've had greyhounds in the past, and our beloved whippet passed away three years ago. Such lovely gentle creatures they are.

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  10. Connie,
    I am in LOVE with your house! But if it were me, id say leave those gorgeous doors just the way they are. maybe some oil to preserve them. There is nothing i love more than seeing all the layers that have covered wood over time- revealed! Its so darn beautiful in its wabi sabi way. Thanks for sharing!

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  11. What a gorgeous house - I wish I had a nice big foyer like that - and that front door??? Swoon! I love the color on the walls. Old houses are certainly a ton of work and seem to be a "work in progress" for many, many years, but boy is it worth it when you see the finished project...

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  12. Magnificent foyer.. loved the creamy green door even!!.. your front door is gorgeous... love the upstairs! Am I clear on this?..lol..

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  13. Connie, my foyer is a lot like yours, except our stairs are on the other side. I have double doors and I hate them (they do not feel secure at all!) I would love to replace them with one wide door and side transoms that would let in light. It's one of my dreams to redo our stairs and front door. Maybe some day.

    You've done some great work, you should be proud.

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  14. Absolutely gorgeous. Your home is beautiful and all the work you have done is just amazing. I love your foyer...it's so full of detail and charm. Thanks for sharing, Connie!

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  15. Connie your home is so lovely and the restoration is amazing. I love everything you have done. How did I miss this post last year???? Thank you for sharing your beautiful home.
    hugs
    Linda

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  16. I LOVE your entry!!
    That front door is amazing!! I WANT one!!!

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  17. you have a beautiful home, you are doing an amazing job restoring everything. I would love to own an old house like that one day

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  18. Beautiful front door. Great job you've done!

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