Here's some pics that Crittles and CJS requested in the "Remember Me" post. A few pics of what I've been up to .. Guess I'll start with the outside first. Our house was built in 1910, the best description for it would be a South Colonial Cottage I guess and it is tad less than 3000 sq ft interior living space.


I'm trying to think back, we've lived in this house for 7 years now. The outside has undergone two 'transformations' .. the first was a quick pick me up because we felt sorry for the neighbors. Which basically involved removing 100 year of nasty old paint .. painting and primping. Some of you might remember pics, the body was taupe, the front door ( not the original ) was red, porch floor red. I can't seem to find my pics of it right now, if I do I'll post them too.

This last transformation, about 2 years back involved in depth replacing of anything that needed replacing, like the roof, the shingles on the dormers and all of the columns that supported the front porch, etc. I picked a new color scheme to bring the house around to look more like the cottage I've always wanted. We refinished the original front door and put it back on the house and tore up the front walk and put in brick pavers to match the existing patio and foundation on the house. Removed the stairs and re-did them, put up lattice to hide part of the foundation I've always hated .. lots of work done here.


Here's the original realtor ad .. she was rough, but I see could load of potential and see in my mind what the house could be.


This picture is old, right after we repainted yellow this last time. Since these pics, I've removed all of the front landscaping, increased the front beds by double and they now sweep to meet the walk .. I replaced it all with Annabelle hydrangeas and different hostas ( very shaded out here ). Last year was the hydrangeas first year in the ground, I'm hoping this year they'll start to grow into a mass of flowering bushes along the front. They have the most beautiful lime and white blooms and lend themselves well to the era of the house.

In this pic most of the porch furniture is missing too and we have a new center light up now. We'd just repainted the porch floor in these pics. I've been collecting vintage metal porch furniture and Dave and I have been sandblasting them and then repainting .. I'll show a pic of one we've done below. Also excuse the hose .. it's now on a wrought iron retractable reel that hides it on the steps.





Hmmmmmmm ... Does this board not let you post direct pics any more? Or am I posting them wrong. I'll post more in a few, can someone let me know if there is a way to direct link.

Looks great, Sammy! I remember when you used to post a lot and wondered how the house projects were going. Thanks for the update.

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Kim

I don't know anything about posting pictures but I do know a great remodeling job when i see one. It's looking great and I'm anxious to see the inside as well.

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Square dancing is friendship set to music!

Your house is gorgeous and it hardly resembles the original picture. You and your husband do good work and you have a true gift for seeing the potential in a project (no duck.....just swan!) So very impressed!

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I don't suffer from insanity, I enjoy every minute of it!

Wow, look at that .. the pics magically appeared I was just getting links.

Well, anyhow ..


Let's see, some detail I was talking about:

Redoing the original antique heart pine front door so we could put it back on .. lots of sanding and waterloxing, it was a 3 day process.





I've been collecting vintage metal porch furniture .. I love the old swings. I have a small and a large, plus two matching chairs now .. I throw the wicker in the mix, because I like a 'collected' look. Here's a pic right after we picked the furniture up, again .. old, lots of layers of paint, but in great shape :




Here's what it looks like after sandblasting, then being painted with auto paint .. good as new. I have a bunch of outdoor fabric that I picked up from a local textile mill and I'm having cushions made for everything this spring :






Just some general pics of the gardens summer and fall :

Here's our small cottage out back this past fall :




Around the fence side .. on the cottage is my potting shed and chicken house. Yes! I did say chicken .. I have three back yard hens now that we raised from tiny baby fluff balls.




The chicks as babies :




All grown up :








And their first eggs, they are Easter Eggers and lay light green eggs. So, yes we do eat green eggs and ham






But .. I'm getting ahead of myself .. I'll go back and show you redoing the cottage pics in a little bit.

Thanks guys for the kind comments!


Going backwards a bit .. the little cottage is 1000 sq ft and right now mostly used for storage. The side part is my chicken 'cottage' and potting shed.

We re-did out here to bring it in line with the main house. New beadboard, new porch floor, used some old still workable column off the front porch, new door that was salvaged from else where in the house, new shingles to match the house, flowers boxes, paint job ... etc, etc, etc


In process pics of that .. you've seen done pics above :











Finished pics that spring, just planted the windows boxes with wave petunias that went crazy and covered the porch over the summer. *LOL*





I try to get to the inside later today or tomorrow

So much fun!

Fantastic! You and your husband should be featured on "This Old House" or better yet, have your own show, "Sammy's 7 Year Renovation Project" or "Sammy and Friends" (you have to include the chickens!)

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I don't suffer from insanity, I enjoy every minute of it!

It's a beautiful home!

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The political system is broke and it's a joke.

Uh-maaaaaazing! I want to hire you. You need to blog all this, you have a fabulous gift I wish I could claim. I see great things in your future! It's so much fun watching your progress in pics and you've done a superb job describing the process - this is more engaging than the cable tv house/homes shows these days.

P.S. - I'm stealing all your ideas, especially what you did with your metal glider and wicker. I love the old metal furniture, love how it feels and the noises. Now I need to take a before pic of my beloved (if ugly) metal glider that has crossed the country with us and will always go wherever we go to post so you can tell me what I might be doing wrong along the way ;-) Though, it's probably still too cold and damp to do it outdoors here, may have to way a few more weeks (or months, one never knows here). I'm pretty inept at this sort of stuff.
This is one pro point for digital photography in my techno-resistant mind ;-)

Thanks so much everyone, I'm glad you all are enjoying the pics!

Mom .. for the metal furniture, we sand blasted them down to bare metal with a detail blaster. The primed and painted them with inexpensive automotive paint, using an air gun.


I guess next up, is upstairs. This area was originally meant to be the house's attic space. The previous owners had 'remuddled' it into 3 cramped, small, dark and not to code bedrooms. We never used them, they were that bad!

If you want to see all the pictures from start to finish on this room, you can do so here .. it's worth a look, some of them are quite scary.

Upstairs - a set on Flickr


The girls have the whole upstairs, it's a large dorm like room. We do 'let' them roam the downstairs also, they seem to wander down when the smell of cooking is in the air a lot. The area is approximately a little less than a 1000 sq ft of living space and 16 foot high in the center. As you can see in the above pics we have a hip roof. We reframed the dormers to allow the roof line to follow them and removed the low 7 ceiling that was up here .. then vaulted the ceiling and followed it's pattern .. put in two sky lights in the main room and one in the bathroom. Most of their furniture is from yard sales or auctions or CL and has been reworked to fit the room. These pics were snapped right after the room was completed, so things have been added here and there since then.

Sleeping area, the cubbies behind the beds provide personal storage and block off stair well :


Other way , we tried to build most storage, like their clothing drawers in this pic, under the eves as not to take up livable room :


Vanity in back dormer:


Art table, table found on the side of road and repainted .. chairs are vintage school chairs.


Video game area, this area now has chairs in it and toy storage area, housing all WII, Guitar Hero, etc, etc crap. *LOL*



Bookcase that you see in the previous pic, backs the cubbies behind the girls beds :



TV area with vintage chairs :



A better look at chairs and art table, you can see the backs of the cubbies too here. They hold the girls zoo of stuffed animals.



I'll try to get up their bathroom next , if you guys want me to keep going. Let me know if you've had enough. *LOL*

thanks for the sandblasting info, after so many decades of paint jobs that makes sense.

I want you to adopt me and make me a room that cool ;-) I do windows, floors, and can handle some power tools, howevever I do not paint ;-)

You have a knack for making everything look so cozy!! I love it. When I look at the pictures I think of all the hard work that must have gone into it!!!!

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Mom .. oh my windows and floors, throw in bathing dogs and I'll have to see if I can find a fourth matching bed for upstairs. I totally don't mind painting .. but keeping up with the floors and windows alone with the dogs and three kids is a full time job! Please .. if you even consider stripping your metal furniture, wear a *good* respirator and do the work away from any children you may have. There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that the paint you'll be stripping off does contain lead.


Julie ... thanks, it was my goal to make the house a warm, comfortable and relaxed environment for my family. A place where the kids gaggle of friends are always welcome and no one can hurt a thing.


The girl's bathroom is next up on the list :

Their bathroom is tucked into one of the side dormers, this is a straight on looking through the door. Ignore this shower curtain, it was a temp, until i could make them the one below :







We took this :

( not my house, I bought this off craigs list )





And these ( 3 hobnail vintage pressed glass lamps off ebay )



Did a little work and it became their vanity area ( painted a rather sassy blue color, added new glass hardware, roughed in a sink and I made the lamp shades )


You can see more of their bathroom in that flickr link above.


Downstairs is next ..

Teeheehee .. you guys are going to freak when you see the next round of pictures!


Next up .. now that our precious children were up in their little shangri la and out of the way and .. well Dave and I had a place to camp out, eat take out food and pretend everything was okay ... It was time to get serious!


It was time to VERY, VERY carefully remove each and every piece of antique heart pine floor board downstairs. Cut out all the old, cruddy floor joists and put in new joist, lay down a sub floor ( which houses of this era don't have and it makes them very drafty ) .. then VERY carefully lay the antique heart pine back down, sand it and seal with waterlox. We did one room a weekend .. until they were all done, sealing each room off until it was finished .. I kid you not. All of the neighborhood children were totally fascinated by this process by the way and we had a house full of them as this was going on. *LOL*


Bye - bye old floor joists ..





Hello new ..



Hello subfloor .. you'll make the house so much warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer .. we love you




If there is any doubt left in your mind that I *am* crazy .. well just go back, look at those pics and multiply the process by 7 times!

It does get better .. slowly, but it does .. more to come ..

In the mean time the world continues to turn and time ticks on.. my children grow up to be axe murdering dolls :



Or Rocket girls that want to fly away :





And my middle DD, who unfortunately for her has developed my warped sense of humor and love of breaking her Dad's chops, grows up to be him .. much to the great amusement of our neighbors and everyone that knows Dave.





And I start to wonder if it was the lead paint that got them or was it living with large looming holes in their home open to gaping pits below .. or any of the other strange things my children have encountered on this remodeling trip we've been on.

So I sit and ponder this for a few .. then I go on to plan my kitchen.
And there is the cliff hanger of the night my friends .. I'll try to be back tomorrow, same bat channel, same bat time ..

Awesome!! Actually, way beyond awesome!!
Now, how about the kitchen??

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I was walking home one night and a guy hammering on a roof called me a paranoid little weirdo. In morse code. -Emo Phillips

Not only do I bathe dogs, but I bathe giant breed dogs with allergies (one guy needs 2X week Selsun baths!)
I'll bring my own bed ;-)

OMG! That is all...OMG!

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Mental that one, I'm telling you. ---Ron Weasley, "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets"

Good morning, nutty pics huh?

Kitchen, kitchen .. hmmm

Yes I may have a few kitchen pics around here some place.


Today is a much busier day for me, I'm at the *that* stage in my life that I'm sure a lot of you are all at. Not only are you chief cook and bottle washer .. seemingly you become the chauffeur too .. and personal assistant, in that your children's hobbies, clubs, etc .. become yours also. Well the girls are involved in enough stuff to hire on staff at times it seems. So I'll try to get pics up as I can.

First off .. the kitchen. Well, after having all that nice time to cool my jets and think over what did I really want in a kitchen ? What did I really need .. I cook a lot yes, I spend a lot of time in my kitchen, yes. So I want function, I wanted it to be big enough to be workable, but not huge .. so I don't have to travel any more space than possible. I want it to be light and sunny, yes .. lots of sun shine. I also decide that it needs .. totally needs to fit the personality of the house and mine too. Old and quirky

At this point I decide that the kitchen I want, is *NOT* going to work in the space the kitchen we have is currently at. Nope .. I need to start reworking the floor plan down stairs. The old kitchen is in the gabled roof section that's added on off the back of the hipped roof. It's in a way 'detached' from the house .. that's how a lot of older kitchens were. Kitchens of our homes era were strictly about function, they were ugly and utilitarian .. so they kept them as separate from the house as possible, just basically functioning to serve the dining area.

What I'm looking for is a kitchen that's more the heart of the home, but still keeping in the 'flavor' of our older home. Now if I take an old, dark, dated bedroom in the back of the house , add to it a dark, dated, bathroom that needs to go any how and a badly functioning entry that leads to the back deck ... knock out a few walls, put up some LVL's ( supporting beams ) and add in a whole wall of french doors that will lead out to my new and improved deck .. voila .. then I have something.

Dave squealed like a little girl when he saw that plan, let me tell you But .. because he's the good guy that he is, he saw resistance was futile and the plan made sense .. it would just be * A LOT * more work.

I'm off to get a cup of coffee, gather my thoughts, work on the girls play costumes for a little bit since the deadline is near and I'll be back ...

I'll start you with these :



My inspiration for my 'new/old' kitchen .. My 1949 completely re-built Tappan Deluxe Stove .. with all her cute little bells and whistles. It's easy to fall in love with a stove .. it really is!

So where was I .. Oh! Light bright and airy. As you can see from the above pictures .. the back wall of french doors leading out to the deck went in. Now a look that I've always loved, is very in keeping with the era of the house and would reflect a ton of the beautiful sunshine is white beadboard ... let it be so ..



If you look up in this picture, that's where the wall was knocked out and the LVL went in :







As you can see .. we have way too many dogs helping with this project!
We have five dogs now .. don't ask, we seem to have become sorta a dog rescue .. that's a story for another day though.





Yay cabinets .. cabinets are always good! Used stock cabs .. did a little work to them to give them a custom look and to fit our baby hippo sink.







More to come ..

I think I may be losing you guys here, this was probably more pics than you bargained for. It's hard to shove 7 years of work into a few pics and be accurate.




Stove and hood .. new windows .. more light .. yay!




Next came the long and drawn out task of painting .. We used Cabinet Coat paint, total PITA to pain with .. but the stuff dries hard as nails. Going on a couple years now, knock on wood .. I have no chips!



We're getting there .. I have a sink and dish washer again .. Joy!

Taz says good job Mom, now can we eat ..




One of those big spaces above was for my double stack ovens ..

Now you see them :



And ..



Then they go bye - bye behind a pocket 'pantry type' door .. keeps my bakeware clean and makes them dissapear a bit. So I have the smaller oven in my vintage stove and the two large wall ovens.

Here you go .. these pics again are right after the kitchen was completed. A few things have changed and more decorating has been done. Here's the kitchen though :


Looking toward the stove :



Looking at the sink run and beyond into the eating area. I have booths in there I bought off craiglist at the moment and they are facing each other. I'm still looking for the perfect big 10' long table .. when I find it, the booths will back the sink run and become a banquette, with chairs on the other side of the table :



Looking at the back wall which has the fridge, ovens and that antique hoosier I use as my pantry cabinet, plus my cute little vintage step stool :




Looking the other way towards the hall :




In the eating area I also have a built in cubbie that we built to house some vintage metal medical cabinets that I found .. I use this area as my dining buffet :

Which leads me to the hall that you see in the picture above from the kitchen. We have one long, fairly wide center hall that runs the length of the house. I pulled the green from the kitchen on to the walls for the hall.


First let me start off with these pics .. I've become a total estate auction junkie .. really, like I need a 12 step program!

I bought a lot of 11 antique lights, these are in situ at the auction .. for the price I'd pay for one at a store.




I also have been stalking this 14" antique church pew for years and finally got the owner to sell it to me.



Spent a lot of time stripping it .. underneath that solid stain it's antique heart pine like our floors and woodwork ..




So that bench went in the hall after many hours of work on it ..




And after a couple hours of work .. cleaning and rewiring the lights, they were ready to be hung :

Looking back towards the kitchen .. I'm searching for a hall runner still in here. We are replacing each ceiling as we re-do the room with beadboard also :




Looking towards the front door :




Wall across from bench, that's the kitchen opening :




Hangs my grandmother's picture, surrounded by antique transferware :



Looking face on towards the family room at the stairs and bench :

Sammy, your house is absolutely beautiful, I love everything. Your kids are adorable and you and your husband are extremely talented.

The colors you chose for the girls' area are wonderful. I loved the way you were able to remodel and still maintain the character of the house. As someone who loves "old" stuff too I know how difficult it is to successfully mix it all together -- you have the gift!!

I have one question about the Annabelle hydrangeas you planted in your front garden. Do they get morning or afternoon sun and in what zone are you located? My backyard is shaded much like your front and was hoping hydrangea would do well back there with a little afternoon sun in zone 4. Also, what size containers were they in when you bought.

Thank you for sharing and keep the pictures coming please.

I love, love, love your style!

Keep the pictures coming!
Everything you've done is beautiful.
Are you and your hubby for hire? My hubby is terrible with tools lol.
Judy

yes yes keep those pictures coming loving the style of your home as well. I am going to post some pics as well. I love the country theme I love your old stove love it love the colors. My home is a mix of what I call antique french country cottage sbabby chic the older the better. Love your pictures once again Peace. Catherine

To think this all started because of that adorable 1949 Tappan Deluxe stove! I love the stark white mixed in with the vintage green hoosier cabinet (would love to have one of those along with the stove!).

I like the shade of green you chose for your hallway/ living area. Did you used to have a red or gold living room? I remember a pic you posted ions ago, and it was either red or color washed gold.

I want to go to some of your auctions. I started going to estate auctions a couple of years ago, but they have not had any since November, so I'm experiencing some withdrawal symptoms! They are so much fun, but can be time-consuming (and slightly addictive). You have to keep telling yourself, "No, I have no need for this". "Why did I just bid on that?"

Thanks for sharing all your projects with us.

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I don't suffer from insanity, I enjoy every minute of it!

I love your pics. I remember seeing some others many years ago and loving them too.

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I've never lied to you. I've always told you some version the of truth.

Thanks so much everyone for the kind comments! Next up on the list is the family room .. which is a more recent re-do, while the room is furnished, it's not fully decorated. I tend to add stuff as I find it, via auctions, thirft stores, garage sales, craigs lists and the like. I love a kind of collected look and I enjoy finding the items, the down side is it takes a bit longer to actually complete a room.

Cberts .. I'm in zone 8 ( NC ) .. we get some morning sun, I did not have a big blooming last year, but it was the first year they were in the ground, so their energy was directed putting in roots probably. They were 2 year plants when I bought them, I over wintered them in pots under my deck ( got them last in the fall ) and they did fine, so they went in the ground their third year, this year will be their fourth .. I'm crossing my fingers for good things this spring.

Judy .. acutally my DH does build for a living .. we own an operate a residential construction company, that specilizes in log homes.

Crittles .. oh yeah! It's totally easy to get carried away at auctions. *LOL* Dave and I go together, it's like the key stone cops .. but we have a great time. I've got so many neat finds too and such great prices. Our living was gold at one point, then red .. it's actually still the same red .. but with a twist. I'll show you that too.


First I guess .. actual before pics of the family room. This room was the 'dumping' ground for unwanted items that didn't fit in the house .. furniture from previous homes that didn't work well in the space, etc. Since it was functional, we just let it be ugly, since we were working on other parts of the house .. we knew we'd eventualy get here.

The surround was sheet rock and the hearth was cement .. no not kidding, part of the previous owners work. Pulled stuff out, didn't replace ..





Note metal cabinets .. this is what they looked like when I first found them, before the green paint job :

We started off by removing the under sized bookcases and built new bookcases that go from wall to mantle on each side. We also framed out above the mantle and *gasp* painted it ... yes, I am a evil wood painter and I'd do it again!



We also removed that horrible textured ceiling. It was badly framed in, so they smeared sheet rock mud thickly up there with a trowel. Ummm .. yeah, that's not conspicuous.




In here we went with for function with a slipcovered sectional, which I have two interchangeable slipcovers for, so they can be washed as needed. A sectional because it fit the room best and gave us good seating for the space we had.



Mantel and bookcases done. I used marble subway tiles on the mantle .. it plays nice with the blue/gray on the walls.



New ceiling :


TV area .. soon as this TV dies, we'll buy a flat screen and hang it on this wall, removing the stand. I just couldn't waste a perfectly good tv. The mess of wires have since been bound and hid behind faux beadboard backs that slide in front of them.



More to come ..

For a bit of 'funk' I threw my vintage orange chair in here. At some point this chair is slated to be redone, i just haven't gotten there yet. I actually like the orange pop of color in here .. the fabric, not so much. I saved the chair because it has cool caned wings and neat faux bamboo legs ..

BTW : this is Rider's chair .. remember my sweet little basset hound puppy ? Well .. he's 8 now and growing into a grouchy old man .. but he's still my boy and I love him so! Tables are consignment store finds .. bought both for $70, solid wood, love them.





As it sits since we've hung the center light. Lamps are temp, pulled from other sections of the house .. I'm looking for table lamps in here and a rug, etc.. etc ..

So .. on the subject of vintage chairs .. well they seem to be another thing I have an addiction to, you'll find them all over my house.

Let me introduce these sad little babies .. I found them stranded road side, hitching a ride to the dump. So I stop, threw them in the car and brought them home. Dave just rolled his eyes when he come home .. spring were sprung, cushions sagging .. wood was good though.




Here I am channeling who they want to be when they grow up ..




So after some fabric shopping, I brought my stuff to have cushions made and new foam put in the cushions .. while that was being done the chairs got a makeover. I did the paint and the bottom upholstery .. I however still can't sew to save my life.

And this is who they grew up to be .. yes, the chairs you're mother warned you about. But don't they look happy and look they found a cute little vintage lamp friend too ..



Closer up ..

Okay, you finally did something I'm not wild about ;-D

Ha, Mom .. are you talking about the family room or my funky little chairs. There's no doubt those polka dot chairs aren't for everyone .. I'll be the first to admit I have very eclectic taste and I decorate around it. I've gotten mostly positive reviews on them though .. can't tell you how many people that have visited asked me where I got them. Which I found fairly surprising.

Loved the pics. Wish other people would do this. I love seeing what people do to their homes. I don`t find it boring at all. O.K. Virgo lets get that camera into your house. nancy

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When you don`t know what to do-Walk fast and look worried.

Yup, it was the chairs. But I've been told I sit on my taste ;-) Really liked the beadboard on the ceiling - something else I'll have to steal ;-)

Great thread! I love your commentary, and the peek into your life. What a beautiful home!

Sammy, I am absolutely fascinated by your home and the work you've put into it. What an incredible gift you have. I hope you'll keep the pictures coming. (I'm in NC too!)

Mariah

Didn't you have an issue with a neighbor when you first moved in?
My poor old mind seems to remember silly little things like this instead of the things it should!!!

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Square dancing is friendship set to music!

I kind of loved that earthy red you had previously with the stained fireplace.
You painted the fireplace????? I thought you were the queen of stripping and matching the perfect stain to show the wood grains. That being said, I do like the look of the new blue room and the white accent trim.

You and your husband are workaholics. For most of us, changing out one room would be a huge undertaking and it seems that you have done every room in your house, including removing the floors!

My husband and I were forced to completely gut our family room due to a flood last year. Although a lot of work (which is still not finished), it was fun to completely change the room and color scheme. I will try to post a before and after picture later.

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I don't suffer from insanity, I enjoy every minute of it!

Hey guys! Thanks so much for the comments. I didn't get a chance to get on yesterday and I'm stealing a few minutes this morning as I'm having my first cup of cofee to post. My kids are going into tech week with the youth theater play .. busy, busy, opening is next weekend. Dave also just got home from a project he's been working at 8 hours away. So my computer time is at an end for a little bit. I will check back in when I get some time though. Thanks for taking a look at what we've been up to, it's been a wild ride .. but I'm pleased with how it's turning out.

Crittles ... I do love stained wood .. but .. if you go back up and look at the front of our house. That room is the first room on the left side .. all sun light is blocked by the front porch. By painting everything semi-gloss white and putting a lighter, soothing color on the walls, it brought the room from dark cave to light and livable. I'd love to see the project that you and your DH did! I hope you get a chance to post pics.

JM19 .. yes, we did have a problem with a very wacked out guy that lived across the street. They moved a long while back and we have a very nice older couple that lives over there now.

Sammy, thanks so much for posting your pics and for answering my questions about your Annabelles. I hope they have tons of blooms this year -- post pics if you get a chance.

Everything you've done to your house is beautiful and I confess to a bit of a crush on Mr. Tappan too.

Closing thread a few posts early due to all the pics......please feel free to start a new one. Beautiful home! And keep the pics coming!

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Nicole