Last year in early September my phone rang with a call from Early American Life’s publisher, Tess Rosch. “Why haven’t we ever shown your house in the magazine?” she asked. My answer was simple, “Because it is always covered with thread and bits of fabric!” She assured me this wouldn’t be a problem since they like to shoot with low lights so that the photos have the dark, cozy feel of an early interior, so “the dust won’t show”. Then she asked me what I was doing in two weeks! In a pure panic I explained that I was in the midst of getting ready to host an Izannah Walker doll making retreat in my studio at the end of the month, and the studio was still under construction, so I had 14 sewing machines sitting in my dining room at that very moment. Plus I was having the exterior of the house painted and the windows repaired and re-glazed, a process that had been ongoing for four months with no end in sight. Undaunted her next question was “Tell me what you do for Christmas?”. The rest is history…
We spent all of October, November and the first part of December, right up until the wee morning hours on the day of the photo shoot, getting the house ready to be photographed. Here is a look back at some of the projects we took on.
For a closer look you can click on any photograph to enlarge it.
A couple of years ago we had ice dams, which caused a lot of water damage though out the house. The first floor bedroom was one of the rooms that needed extensive plaster repair and repainting. Because so many rooms had to be worked on we hired a painting and plaster contractor. During a very traumatic two week period nine rooms, plus both stairwells and the surrounding hallways had plaster repair and were repainted. As a treat to myself for living through the work, we had the contractor, who was supposedly an expert in decorative and faux painting, glaze the bedroom walls. The glazing was the last thing he did and he rushed thorough it, slopped paint on the floor and ceiling and wound up with a very uneven, poor quality glazing job, quite different from the sample boards he had done for me. It turned out that this bedroom wasn’t the only work we had to re-do. Much of the repaired plaster failed and had to be done again. Long story short, it’s sometimes much easier in the long run to do the work yourself!
Other projects that I didn’t remember to photograph were:
– painting the kitchen cabnets
– repainting the kitchen woodwork
– painting all of the woodwork in the front stairwell and the adjoining upper and lower hallways, a huge project due to all of the doors and windows
– repairing the plaster on one wall and the ceiling of the dining room
-repainting the dining room wall, ceiling and woodwork
– repairing the plaster on the master bedroom walls and repainting
– making a mantle shelf for the master bedroom fireplace to match the shelf in the adjoining room
– repairing the plaster in the upper hallway and repainting
– grain painting the parlor fireplace surround
– cleaning and touching up the kitchen mural
– framing samplers
– hanging samplers and prints on the walls
– restoring a crib quilt to hang over the TV in the 1790’s kitchen and adding muslin facing and hanging loops
– an all out cleaning of all the gardens and flower beds ( our yard has never been so clean and ready for winter!)
– painting our bedframe
– repainting the main floor bathroom woodwork
Then came the decorating…
We cut fresh trees at a near by tree farm and got them put into stands, then three friends came to help me decorate the trees, garland the windows and ring the chandeliers with evergreens. After that it was cleaning, cleaning and more cleaning, followed by a stint of baking and even more cleaning. Which brings us to 3 a.m. on Photo Day, when I declared a halt and Brian, our middle son Blair, and I put down our dust rags and went to bed! To be continued…
This is the bit where I say thank you to:
– Brian for cleaning, all of the yard work, filling in the carvings on our bedframe and helping me paint it, and being tolerant.
– Blair for helping me paint endless quantities of woodwork, countless doors and the occasional ceiling and wall.
– Colin for drawing on my hallway wall (can you even believe a mom would ever say that to her son?).
– JungHwa for mixing paint and working on the hallway mural.
– Joy for sewing, stenciling, painting, glazing, finding me the best evergreen roping, untangling a million Christmas lights, decorating trees and being a true friend.
– Susan and Kathy for dropping everything in their busy lives to come help me put up Christmas decorations.
– Linda Anderson and Duane Duncan for all of their hard work and expertise with exterior painting, repairing, glazing, plastering, and undertaking dozens of other tasks large and small.
– and yes I did edit the thank yous, everyone really did much more but the list was getting very, very long… I could not have done it without you!!!
* Curious about the ice dams I mentioned? Click here to read more.
What an absolutely exquisite home. It’s a rare family that will keep an antique house going- bless you all and your lovely home.
Jenine,
Thank you!
Paula
Hi Paula, Your home is beautiful. My husband and I live in an antebellum home in Mississippi called “Collina” which was built in 1835, and have restored it. They truly are “labors of love” and I understand your commitment to keeping these wonderful homes intact and beautiful so that future generations may enjoy them as much as we do!
Theresa,
Thank you. Your home sounds wonderful. The 1830’s are one of my favorite periods in history.
Paula
Awesome story and insight to behind the scenes. So much fun to peek into your home and life. Beautiful home!
Yvonne,
Thank you!
Paula
Paula, what an incredible amount of work you all have done to share your wonderful home with us all. I feel very lucky to have had the chance to see your home in person. It’s so warm and inviting just as you and Brian are as well. Each night during my quiet time I read and re-read thru so many of the articles in the EAL 2013 December issue. Since getting this issue I have subscribed to it for the first time. Even though I have a new modern Colonial home I still am in love with the style of furnishings and articles this magazine offers. Thank you for accepting their offer to photograph your home, I love everything about it. Fondly, Mary Goddard.
Mary,
Thank you! What a lovely thing to say. We try to make it an inviting place to be, but it’s hard for me to judge… All I know is that it feels like home. When I’m here it’s like the house is wrapping me in a warm loving hug. Which is just like a home should feel.
EAL has long been one of my favorite magazines. I was reading it back when we were living in a new Colonial style home in MN. I’m glad to hear that you are enjoying too. They have some very interesting articles.
❤ Paula
I really enjoyed the EAL article and also enjoyed your back story. I am trying to cut down on buying magazines (we previously discussed my magazine closet!) and try to only purchase a few very vintage magazines from online. When you said your house was featured I did rush out and get the Dec. issue of EAL which is one magazine I still enjoy – so glad I did!
Wonderful job you and your family and friends have done, just lovely!
Priscilla Miller
Priscilla,
Thank you! I’m so glad to know you liked it. I do remember talking about your magazine closet 🙂 I have a few problems along those lines myself! Do come back here to the blog to visit, as I have oodles of photos to post of room views that didn’t show up in EAL. I photographed everything! After all I didn’t want all that cleaning to go to waste!!!
Paula