The Historic District

In a he reference section of the district there is a link to an extensive archive of antique wall paper. With a little browsing you just find your papers. And most definitely there is a lot of joy to found in architectural archaeology.

I definitely wouldn't want to live there, but there's a crazy streak in me that likes the yellow/blue/green room a lot!

that sink is neat. I think I'd try to raise the box under it with baseboard heater? I'd get a sore back with no toe kick but maybe it's not an issue. The paint is easy to fix. too bad they didn't spare all the woodwork but it's possible to get it back to wood too, or paint it again? I'd try stripping and see if it'll come easily or not before resorting to putting more on. I guess you;d have to inspect the electrical. shouldn't be impossible to remove the extra meters and you wont' have three minimum payments. If you could get it down to 2 maybe they would be happier. If you plan to reno the kitchen ever I'd consider leaving the one in the dining room to make it easier but the kitchen cabinets still look nice. It looks like a great project and mostly needs some TLC and someone that cares about it's heritage.

I am excited to see what you do with spaces. It looks like mostly cosmetic fixes. I love before and afters!

I can't believe that you could get such a large expanse of the first wallpaper clear from all the subsequent layers. Ours were so stuck together that I didn't think I would be able to get a clear piece of the original paper. I finally got a piece about a foot square, which I saved on the wall.

Keep those pictures coming.
Diane

We have been busy lately removing the tile from the bathroom and kitchen walls. A previous owner must have been into novelty finishes. The bathroom tiles are plastic marble tiles in mint green. They probably went in during the 50's when the second owners took over the house. The kitchen walls are tiled with steel tile, but they were at some point painted over with the rest of the wall (!). It's been fairly easy and quite satisfying to pop the tiles off with a thin scraper and a hammer. They leave behind some nasty mastic that's hard as a rock, but we are going to cover these parts of the wall with beadboard, so I'm not too worried about having a picture perfect wall underneath!

Today I did the most satisfying job yet: reclaiming a window!

This window is in an original pantry-turned bathroom. I am guessing it was turned into a bathroom sometime between 1960-1970, when the house was made into apartments. They came up with this genius way to close off the window: nailing a metal sheet over the frame and then caulking the heck out of the seams. Gorgeous. At least they kept the window.

Today I had the pleasure of prying off that metal sheet and finding the window in pretty decent shape. The window sill needs replaced where they sawed it off, and the lock is painted/rusted shut. Any tips on how to strip it so the window can open again?

Neat discovery & recovery. If you can unscrew the lock from the sash you can strip the paint or boil in an old pan to remove the paint. Use a sharp putty knife to cut the paint around the window stops to see if that loosens the sash. Don't force it.

We have been in constant work mode at the house for the last few weeks. After removing wallpaper and tile, gutting the cheap 1950's cabinets, replastering, running new electrical, and god knows what else, we are finally to the point of putting things back together. I have to say that fresh paint works miracles.

Today I can show you our dining room in progress:
Before:


Now:


The woodwork had so many gooped on layers of paint that stripping it would have been a lengthy nightmare. Fortunately for me, I love the look of painted trim, and in a bungalow it doesn't look out of place. Next week the new floor goes in.

Your paint choice looks very nice. I gather those are replacement windows? What does the original floor look like; it isn't salvageable? Keep the pictures coming!

Thanks, Don. Yes, a PO replaced some of the windows, including these. The original floor is 2" red oak, but it is covered in vinyl floor that has a friable asbestos backing (directly adhered to the oak). Until we can afford to address it, we are installing a floating laminate floor that is a pretty close match to the original.