hmmm...beam or arch?

not sure which one...here's a beam pic I like...and, we're going to expose some brick in the kitchen, just like they did above their stove top.

Thinking of going butch...

Butcher countertops that is. Love, love, love this look.

Window Seat

In the existing house, the east wall is bowed out pretty bad. Josh's theory as to why this happened is because when the previous owner dug out the cellar/basement, they didn't do the foundation correctly. Thus, causing the east wall to sacrifice. So! Instead of correcting the bowed wall with a sister wall (which we might do anyway), we are going to rebuild it. Taking out the current brick wall and side-by-side double windows and replacing it with a squared-off window seat. Externally it will be siding that matches the new addition and a square wall of windows, and internally, a cozy window seat that can be used for a reading nook, or a seat for the kitchen table.

like this...

Archways

These archways are cool, and keeps with the Victorian style. This could be the archway from the kitchen to the living room. But instead of a finished wall, we would have the exposed brick.

Peak through this modern addition to the original Victorian house; see the exposed brick wall? Viola!

Some ideas...

Josh, the hired architect, suggested created some arch ways where the back wall of the kitchen is leading into the living room. One walk-through arch on the left, one on the right. Then, I told him I am happy with where the sink is now, but would love to look into the living room while doing dishes. So, throw in an arch there.

Well! While searching for some ideas one a modern country kitchen, I stumbled upon this photo. Hmmm....EXACTLY what I want.


That's a bit TOO county for me, too 'distressed' and french-like, but the archway over the stove (which will be the sink) is what I'm after.

Here is a pic of the 'modern country' style I really like; I like the color palette, too:

Summertime in Boulder

Well, we've been in the house since the middle of June, just over 2 months, and we're loving it. Yes, it is OLD, and yes, it is SMALL, and yes, the garage LEAKS when it rains, and yes, the kitchen isn't as squeaky clean as that of Aberdeen. But, we knew what we were getting into when leaving a perfectly updated, remodeled 4 bed/3 bath ranch for a historic, unique, in-desperate-need-of-much TLC Victorian.

We received our completed as-builts from Josh, the craigslist.org-founded architect, and are happy with Step 1 of 1,000+ of the planning/construction process.

Also, before I start posting pics of styles I'd like to consider for the addition/remodel, here are some shots from our first summer at 512 Concord. We LOVE living in Downtown Boulder and are so happy Syd will grow up in this area.

We bike everywhere. Syd, of course, in tow.

We love the front porch. Thank goodness it's there; it adds livable square feet ;)

The library is a common hang-out; only a 5 minute ride on the bike.

And, the downhill ride to the Business Report is only 25 minutes. Now, coming UP to go home, is another story. Here is best pal Emily and myself on Bike to Work Day June 2009.

We ride to the park near the Boulder Creek often.
Syd loves the swings, the slide and watching the 'agua' with Daddy.

Mount Sanitas is steps away...

Let the painting begin.

The house was painted - from my research on Victorian decor - in true period colors. The den was painted a deep, plum and then the dining room was painted a shiny, metallic (ugh.) green. The master bedroom is a deep purple/brown with a (get this) green painted ceiling. Then, the other bedroom (the son's bedroom) was painted sage green with (get this, again) shiny, glittering, GOLD ceiling. Ouch. The entire pallete was an eyesore, and with being only 1050 sq feet, made the humble abode look a little too small.

Since Glenn and I tend to decorate in neutral, earthy tones, we have chosen two colors to help freshen, brighten, and expand the rooms. Thank goodness the ceilings are super high (we are thinking somewhere between 10-12'). That adds great height to the rooms and makes the entire house seem so much bigger than, well, our first apartment.

Here are our colors:


Saturday afternoon, April 18.

Crawl Space

For being built in 1896, our home's crawl space is in pretty good condition. And, to boot, it is home to the original cast iron, pot belly, warm, grumbling boiler. In the rear of the crawl space, there is a collection of old coals that were shoveled in by the owners. Very cool. The boiler was converted from coal to gas in the early/mid 1900s.

The best part of the boiler/radiator system is the collection of bronze, etched radiators. They have been painted white, which I like, but we discussed stripping them down to the original metal.

Although we plan to continue to use the radiators when we install a more energy-efficient boiler, we plan to keep the original boiler in the crawl space as a historic element to the home.

Here's a cool close up pic of the clinker door - the resevior that collected the used coals. When this little area was filled up, the homeowner would then open the clinker door and clean out the debris.