To our home’s successor,

We are finally catching up to current events… in 2024, with very little liquid assets to do any projects, we did what we could. We had quite an opening left on the enclosed wall in the parlor where the sliding door had been and we did not have great working heat in there, so insulating and enclosing it was an essential next step. We opted for rockwool insulation- it’s a great natural material that is fire resistance and moisture resistant AND mice don’t like it. 

This room was a little strange in that it’s clear there was a mix of drywall and plaster throughout. Though we had leftover lathe from the primary bedroom work, we opted to use leftover drywall we had instead and top coat with plaster to try to replicate the existing pattern. 

This was such a tough learning curve- plaster sets so quickly so you have to move quickly…

We bought a plaster brush to get the swirls but we accidentally learned that a sponge with set plaster chunks in it actually did a better job at copying haha. This project was extremely difficult and pretty messy but we were happy for our first go at plastering and know that the imperfections add a little more character. The previous owner had also done an attempt at plaster repair between the windows and did not quite match the pattern either so we feel this room is destined for a mix and match patching. 

We made a push on the porch ourselves by priming and painting the 3 season porch. The ceiling was especially difficult but everything received 2 coats of Benjamin Moore fresh start primer with a light sanding between coats. We then brought the rest of the porch ceiling paint color in with the grey- BM- Bruton White. We painted the walls to match the house- BM- Harwood Putty.

And because I’m a glutton for punishment I decided why not push a little more and prime and paint the parlor so everything was at least the same color. 

My vision for this room had been a quintessential smoking room. I wanted dark and moody. Convincing M of the vision was more difficult. We had sat with paint samples up on the walls for probably a year. We settled on a beautiful rich green which had been Sherwin William’s color of the year in 2022- Evergreen Fog. Though it’s a lighter sage green, it appears quite dark in this room. 

While we haven’t updated furniture yet or fully finished the room yet, please picture a cognac tan leather sectional and wingback chairs. I also need to work on updating our curtains and probably installing a higher curtain rod off the window frame. 

Our contractor, Jeff, returned in August 2024 to work on some odds and ends – He fixed some upper trim, installed our steps-at last! We ordered custom trim work to match our windows and create a winged section of railing as it was not salvageable all from Westminster Millworks in town. It took a little while to be produced, but it looks great and we agreed to prep- prime and paint prior to install in the coming year. 

Despite all the hardships, this house and our community has finally started to feel like ours. The Porch project may not be done yet, but we’re nearly at the home stretch.