Month: October 2017

Posted in Design Tips Included!, Finishing!, Nancy's Kilgore Cottage, Uncategorized

Stoned….1 kitchen & 2 baths

Posted on by nancychapmon

Meet Ashleigh, my HERO from Stone Link; she may look young, but Ashleigh is super knowledgeable about all types of stone, quartz, tile, sinks, iron doors….and probably much more I don’t even know about!

Stone Link is located on Highway 80 in Longview, & they have a super extensive showroom and stone yard full of the most impressive displays I’ve seen this side of the Dallas design showrooms….just take a look at the view from their front door:

stone link

Nice, huh?!  This is only a tiny part of the showroom, but the rest you’ll want to explore on your own….

OK, so here’s the story of my urban cottage’s countertops:  I really really wanted to use quartz in the kitchen of this house; I had wanted to use it in a former Lake Cherokee remodel, but alas, that was 2008 and it was quite a bit more expensive than granite…..which always seemed strange since granite has to be formed over thousands of years, in the earth, by pressure, and therefore is a limited resource.  Quartz, on the other hand, is man-made using 8-10% polymers etc, and roughly 90% crushed quartz….which is actually usually crushed or waste granite, marble & natural stone or recycled industrial wastes like ceramic, silica, glass, mirrors, etc.  The pricing on quartz countertops is usually still higher than granite, as demand has continue to drive the price of granite downward….and while quartz started out  ‘trying to look like granite’, the trend now is towards very different-looking quartz material that doesn’t resemble anything nature made!  I see it as a great way to recycle waste material, so it’s a win-win scenario! 

Soooooo, weeks ago I visited Stone Link on a  Saturday; it was D-Day.  I had to know whether or not I could get quartz countertops into the budget, and pick out the granite if not.  I was so lucky to meet Ashleigh, who was totally prepared to answer all my questions, figure estimates based on my kitchen/bath scaled drawings, and was generally all-around encouraging & helpful.  And here is how she made it work for me:

These are 3 pictures of the beautiful PRE-CUT slabs of granite and marble Stone Link has on hand; the selection always varies, and presumably the more desirable slabs sell fastest….though really, aren’t they all beautiful?!    By using pre-cut slabs for both of my bathrooms (thus greatly decreasing the labor involved) we were able to save enough off of my countertop budget to do quartz in the kitchen for just a TAD more….and I decided it was worth it!  So I picked this quartz, which looks a great deal like Carrara marble:

calcutta-grey

And for the two baths, I chose these 2 slabs (honestly I went back and changed one of them a few weeks later, but still chose from the pre-cut slabs)

If you’re wondering why I wanted quartz in the first place, here is a good resource for the comparison between granite, marble & quartz.  But one of the main reasons for me is that granite has to be sealed, & re-sealed yearly, as it is a porous material.  (and most granite owners fail to re-seal….life gets in the way)  For a cook’s kitchen, quartz is actually a harder surface, & easier to keep clean….& it never needs to be sealed.  Also, my vision for this kitchen included white countertops; while there are now more white-based granites available, they are premium-priced & still, more colorful.  Carrara marble is a traditional choice for a cook’s kitchen, but marble is soft & porous….so this beautiful quartz was my favorite choice to give the best of both materials.

I’m happy to say that my lovely countertops were installed last Thursday, and while I’ll give you a tiny peek now….you’ll have to wait a week or two longer to REALLY be awed!  Here’s why:

The house is in serious finish-out phase right now, but that makes it hard to get good pictures of any one thing!  Because we are ‘layering’ the tasks to get me moved in on time (and just because I think that’s the best way), we were still operating this past week without any interior lighting.  The electricians will be back this week to put in the final service panel and install ceiling lights….AFTER the ceilings are painted.  So these pics are going to look really really rough….and you may well not believe the house will be ready for movers in 2…..yes, 2 weeks.  But we do have a plan……stay tuned

island first view

First look at the edge of the 7′ island….

kit ct

First look at one of the countertops (and cabinets!)….

kit sink first view

First look at the stainless one-bowl apron sink…

And….first look at the hall bath counter installation in progress; later that day the undermounted sink was installed beautifully!  But…speaking of sinks…..

The sink issue reminds me to pass on to the uninitiated what can happen the day of countertop installation, in hopes of preparing you to, well….be prepared!

RULE #1:  HAVE ALL YOUR FAUCETS ON-SITE!

Having been through this a gazillion times before, I knew this rule….so Roger made sure the plumbing fixtures were all delivered to the job-site on Tuesday, to be prepared for Thursday.  If you’ve never had stone countertops installed before, it’s crucial to have both the sinks and faucets available.  Often the fabricators will install a standard stainless sink in their workshop, making it necessary to get it  TO them ahead of time – which is also why they often include the sink in the price of the job.  But in my case, the apron sink made it necessary to install on-site, as the cabinet front had to be modified at the same time.  They also elected to install the 3 bathroom sinks on-site, as they were porcelain bowls that could have broken in transit, since they were transporting quite a bit of stone. 

But you also must have your faucets on hand for the installers, as they will need to cut the holes after the countertops are installed.  Some of my clients have been surprised to find out that “faucet holes” are not standard; they each come with a template to be used for cutting the holes, so there is a proper fit when they’re later installed.   And if you think about it,  some sets have a separate hole for the sprayer, lotion or hot water.  (mine has only one hole, as I prefer a pull-out sprayer, and have NEVER ONCE used the lotion, soap or hot water hole effectively)

So I arrived at the house Thursday mid-morning to make sure all the faucets were laid out in the right location in case I couldn’t be there when they needed them.  It was only then that I noticed the kitchen faucet & drain were NOT in the big box of plumbing fixtures that had been delivered!  After a few calls, we determined they had just been left off…..so fortunately  Coburns had the faucet in stock, and I only had to make a quick trip to pick it up and have it available….I was so thankful not to have interfering appointments that day so I could do it!  Then later in the day I returned to the site, knowing they were finally there and working.  Much to my delight, I saw that one bathroom countertop had been installed, and they were working on the master bath!  PROBLEM #2!

RULE #2:  Make sure your plumbing fixtures are measured correctly!

 

Remember these lovely round porcelain sinks from an earlier blog post?  I just loved the shape, having never seen this exact elegantly curved and perfectly round sink.  And I made sure to pick out a high-arc faucet that would reach over the rim and not splash water outside the bowl.  What Ashleigh and I both missed was actually measuring…..one thing that IS standard is the depth of a bathroom countertop!  As I arrived, the guys were standing there scratching their heads over the master bath slab, with the lovely sink sitting atop it for placement.  What they were trying to do was mark exactly where the hole would be cut; this involves placing both the chosen sink and the faucet on the surface to be marked precisely (and since I have double sinks in that room they needed to match exactly as well).  They not only need to LOOK right on the slab…..they also have to take into consideration the inside edge of the front of the cabinet, and the granite overhang.  They were scratching their heads because I walked right into them realizing this just wasn’t going to work! The sink was too large to possibly fit it onto the countertop, unless I was willing to put the faucet on a side corner…….NOPE!  

A quick call to Ashleigh confirmed that I was in fact the FIRST purchaser of these elegant new sinks…..and nobody yet knew they were too large for a standard installation!  (The way they would work is to have the faucets wall-mounted, but that’s not a modification that can be made this late in the project).  However, this is where flexibility is key to a successful remodel:  we both knew they had just gotten in 2 sinks from the same line which were a softened rectangle shape.  Ashleigh had actually called me to come in earlier in the week to see the new ones and make sure I didn’t want to switch.  So there was the solution!  She immediately sent out the alternate sinks and the job continued.  I’m sure the new shape will grow on me, but on a project this size one really has to be flexible and not sweat the necessary modifications!  Be the end of the day, the installers had finished all of the countertops, sinks, backsplashes and final corner polishing….and they are just beautiful!  Unfortunately, I cannot show you how pretty they are, as this week all the interior painting is taking place….and the countertops are safely protected,  not to be fully unveiled until it’s safe!  However, I DID give you a sneak peek.  Next time  you see them, I hope you love them as much as I do!

I can hardly wait to reveal the gorgeous new kitchen backsplash I switched to this past week!  I changed from a basic greige subway tile to an iridescent subway that pulls in the grays, bronzes and aquas in sight of the kitchen, very very subtly.  Pictures do not do justice to this lovely tile, so just know I’ll show you very soon!

Finally in closing, thanks go to Ashleigh and her crew from Stone Link….your professionalism is much appreciated!  And to Nancy with Coburns, who listened between the lines and made my selections easy, thanks to you as well!  Both companies are a great resource to us in this area; please check our their showrooms next time you’re dreaming up a project at your own house!  

Here’s what is coming up this week:

  • Window trim-out, crown moulding, door facings and base mouldings installed

  • Interior painting

  • Small carpentry ‘fixes’ including the finished step from master bath to bedroom and uneven floor fill-in (where walls were removed)

  • Tile installation

    happy fall!

set your clocks back next Saturday night!

Posted in Design Tips Included!, Finishing!, Nancy's Kilgore Cottage

Kilgore, TX: Home of my cottage and…

Posted on by nancychapmon

Hello Friends!  I hope you all  had a great week; I can tell you that things are looking ‘very up’ at my little Kilgore project!  The guys have officially moved inside to start the finishing (aka, they’re finally going to make it pretty!)  A little more about this later…..

the guys

but since the house is in a transitional stage, I thought I’d take a few moments to show off Kilgore itself, my soon-to-be new home!

logo

 

Some of you may know more about Kilgore than I do, but for those who know little or nothing, here are a few highlights;

“The World’s Richest Acre”

One cannot talk about Kilgore Texas without talking about oil!  Not only is it the heritage, and still the major industry in the area, but the evidence is PROMINENT!

So…if you’re from Texas, anywhere in Texas, chances are you pass pump-jacks daily…you may even live where there are wells operating noisily…you almost certainly ARE or know people who are oil-field workers….in one of the many industries related to and in support of the oil fields.   BUT IF YOU LIVE IN KILGORE, this scene is what you see everyday… DOWNTOWN!  It was…and it is, still today.

A little history from Wikipedia (I hate to copy/paste, but how could I say it better?! )

Kilgore was founded in 1872 when the International–Great Northern Railroad completed the initial phase of rail line between Palestine and Longview. The rail company chose to bypass New Danville, a small community about 10 miles (16 km) southeast of Longview, in lieu of a new townsite platted on 174 acres (0.70 km2) sold to the railroad by Constantine Buckley Kilgore, the town’s namesake. That way the railroad gained the profits from sale and development of these lands.

The new town received a post office in 1873 and, with a station and transportation for getting commodity crops to market, soon began to draw residents and businesses away from New Danville. By 1885, the population had reached 250, and the community had two cotton gins, a church, and its own school. The racially segregated Kilgore Independent School District was organized in 1910. By 1914 the town had two banks, several businesses, and a reported population of 700. The 1920s showed continued steady growth, and by 1929 Kilgore was home to an estimated 1,000 residents.

Prosperity came to a halt, however, when Kilgore was dealt severe blows by a steep decline in cotton prices (on which most of the town’s economy was still based), and the effects of the Great Depression. Businesses began to close and, by the middle of 1930, the population had fallen to 500; the community appeared destined to become a ghost town. Black people joined the Great Migration out of the South to northern, midwestern, and western cities for work.

Kilgore’s fortunes changed dramatically on October 3, 1930, when wildcatter Columbus M. “Dad” Joiner struck oil near the neighboring town of Henderson. This well, known as the Daisy Bradford #3, marked the discovery of the vast East Texas Oil Field. Seemingly overnight Kilgore was transformed from a small farming town on the decline into a bustling boomtown. The Daisy Bradford #3 was subsequently followed by the Lou Della Crim No. 1 and many others.[5] By 1936, the population had increased to more than 12,000, and Kilgore’s skyline was crowded with oil derricks.

Oil production continued at a breakneck pace throughout the early 1930s, with more than 1,100 producing oil wells within city limits at the height of the boom. The explosive growth left most civic services overwhelmed, and as a result Kilgore was forced to incorporate in 1931. With the city flooded with male workers and roustabouts, law enforcement struggled to keep order among the shanties, tents, and ramshackle honky-tonks that crowded Kilgore’s main streets. On one occasion, they had to summon help from the Texas Rangers to keep the peace.

By the mid-1930s the oil boom had begun to subside, and most of the small oil companies and wildcatters had sold out to major corporations. The boom was essentially over by 1940. But oil production has remained central to the city’s economy. The population, which fluctuated wildly throughout the 1930s, stabilized at around 10,000 in the 1950s. A 2015 estimate placed it at just under 15,000 residents.

If you want to know more, it’s well worth your time to visit the East Texas Oil Museum

KilgoreOild_19b

 

Back to those downtown derricks for a moment, I MAY be wrong, but I believe the old buildings shown here are the present-day home of Jack Ryan’s Steak & Chop House, one of Kilgore’s most wonderful restaurants, and one any town would be lucky to have!

I can’t mention Jack Ryan’s without a nod to The Back Porch, Kilgore’s casual venue for live music, libations, and dancing!

back porch

 

The Kilgore Rangerettes!

rangerettes

I KNOW you’ve heard of the Rangerettes!  They’ve been performing all over the world since 1940; to be specific…The Rangerettes have performed on four continents, in eleven foreign countries, twenty-three states, and Washington D.C…have performed at 67 Cotton Bowl halftimes in a row, and regularly perform at Dallas Cowboy pregame and halftime shows.

You may have even heard of Gussie Nell Davis, the super-famous founder of the Rangerettes….here she is:

gussie nell dvis

However, I MAY be able to clue you in on a lesser-known fact of the inventive Gussie Nell Davis’ accomplishments!  You see, I’m from Greenville Texas, home of The Flaming Flashes!  

In case you’re wondering what The Flaming Flashes have to do with the Kilgore Rangerettes, here you go:  Gussie Nell Davis was a PE teacher from  Farmersville, Texas (between Greenville and McKinney), who turned the Greenville Lions’ pep squad into a  drum & bugle corp famous for high kicks, precision routines & short skirts, and named them The Flaming Flashes!   My 2 oldest sisters were in the Flashes, and I can attest to the HIGH STANDARDS!  Back in the 60’s my oldest sister was temporarily benched upon threat of expulsion….for what? Well, for cutting her hair an inch too short!  The girls were regularly weighed in at that time, and were required to have hair of a particular length to flip up on their shoulders, looking perfect under the famous cowgirl hats!  Gussie Nell Davis had set super high standards, which were adhered to by her successor, Mary J Vance.   

But alas, in 1939 Kilgore College dean Dr Masters hired Gussie Nell away from Greenville High School; he wanted something new and unique that would increase female enrollment at the college, but also keep people in their seats during halftime, instead of drinking alcohol and brawling under the stadium!  Greenville’s loss was Kilgore’s gain…and the Rangerettes were born!

As a young Jr High and Sr High twirler in Greenville myself, I attended twirling camp in Kilgore each summer, where the name Gussie Nell Davis was in the air all the time! Her stringent standards were considered the ‘norm’ at Kilgore College, so they were just as hard on us!  (I thought the campus was SO cool; I loved twirling camp!)

And one more TODAY connection for me:  my good friend and client “Pill” Malm (formerly Barbara “Pill” Harmon) was one of Ms Davis’ assistants in the past!  She moved back to Kilgore a few years ago to help open the Rangerette Showcase and Museum, on the campus of Kilgore College, where she can be found many days behind the desk…and the showcase is absolutely fascinating!  If you haven’t visited, put it on your calendar; it’s a hidden gem!  

Texas Shakespeare Festival!

shakespeare festival

Talk about a local gem!  Started in 1986, it’s now in its 32nd season.  Need I say more?  Here’s the upcoming 2018 Season if you want to start getting excited now!

While I’m name-dropping, the Shakespeare Festival is held at Kilgore College’s Van Cliburn Auditorium….another son of Kilgore, Van Cliburn was one of Texas’ most famous classical musicians, who emerged as a prodigy when he amazingly won the Tchaikovsky International Competition in 1958, in Russia, at the age of 23!

(My Mom, as a classical pianist & later teacher herself, worshiped Van Cliburn!)

van_cliburn_russia 1958 tchaikovsky comp

I cannot possibly do justice to his story as well as Prudence Mackintosh did, for Austin’s NPR station; I invite you to read her article here.

That’s just a few noteworthy things about Kilgore; if you want to know more, please follow the links in each section!  As far as I’m concerned, I like the small-town charm and the interesting, affordable homes that are still standing there.  I have sold many Kilgore homes to first-time buyers.  One Saturday morning when I was sitting in the house, contemplating purchasing it, I heard a melodic tune getting louder and louder, till I suddenly realized it was an ice-cream truck coming down the street!  That was a nice moment…

 

Ok, just a couple of progress photos:

The termite-chewed area surrounding the front door has now been replaced with nice new wood and covered up with sheetrock

The new roof is being installed, and should be finished in a couple of days.  I used Weathered Wood, which has always been my favorite composition shingle; it’s a dark cool gray and brown mixture.  Of course it will look spectacular soon, when the bricks, shutters and doors are sporting THEIR new colors!

In the picture on the right, you can see a dark brick covering the spot where a window was removed to create the master  bath  (and one was removed in the kitchen as well).  We had to patch the hole with brick, and this is the only one  Roger could find that matched the size, shape and texture of our brick exactly.  If you could see it up close, you’d be impressed!  Now when the paint covers it all, you’d never know there was once a window in that spot!  Great work, guys!

This week I want to leave you with a different sort of “find”; this is not something I bought, but something I learned from my short respite, living in an apartment!

the deadbolt

This is a SECURITY feature I plan to make use of in my urban cottage…and you may want to as well!  Notice the deadbolt on the outside of my door; you unlock it with a key and enter.  But look at the inside of the door; see the EXTRA deadbolt at the top?  Yep….that makes me feel pretty safe!  So Roger has Jan at Designer Accents in Longview on the hunt for this one-sided deadbolt (she is also supplying our barn door hardware!)

 

Coming up at the Urban Cottage this week:

  • Sheetrock – woohoo!  We passed inspection and can now close up the walls!
  • Plumbing faucet rough-in valves
  • Hardibacker for bathroom tile; showers, tub, floor
  • Tile work in the master bath, later in the week
  • POSSIBLY setting the kitchen cabinets, later in the week
  • Tape, bed & texture begins
  • If I’m lucky, maybe I’ll see some color SOMEWHERE!

Thank you once again, my fixer-upper friends….have a wonderful week & check back in for really fun progress!  And remember… I’m never too busy for your referrals!

 

Posted in Design Tips Included!, Finishing!

a few finishes for fans….

Posted on by nancychapmon

I know you’re all waiting to see what the house will LOOK like when it starts looking pretty!  I get it!

The trouble is that all of my illustration tools are packed away in storage, and I don’t have time to learn a new program to show you digitally!  Help!  I hesitate to illustrate….when it doesn’t do justice to the finished product.  So here are a few “pretties”….you may have to wait and see the rest!

The exterior brick and siding will be painted white; of course to me, white comes in zillions of shades, so here’s the one I chose, with accents:

Painted Brick/siding
Trim
Shutters
Exterior Doors
Roof

Upper left is Reliable White, for the brick & siding; next to that is the trim, which is Pure White  The lower left is Essential Gray, for the shutters, and in the middle is Vintage Vessel, for all the exterior doors (yay!).  The roof is Weathered Wood, which is my favorite roof color since it incorporates cool dark brown and charcoal gray; if you look closely at the tiniest ‘dots’ in the granules, they’re the palest aqua/gray! Note:  if you think the ‘white’ looks beige, just wait; once it’s painted it’ll be vanilla ice cream

ALL COLORS SHOWN ARE SHERWIN WILLIAMS

 

Here is an in-the-store snapshot of the wood floors which will be in every room except for the baths:

new wood floor sample

 

Next we have a computer model of the kitchen cabinets, though the “real thing” will be so much more beautiful than it looks here!

Many thanks to Bob Spangler at the Longview Lowe’s, for all his HARD work trying to please Nancy, the detail-oriented perfectionist, on the cabinet design! 

 

The perimeter cabinets are white; while the island is soft gray and the countertops are a white quartz with pale gray veining…..mmmmmm!

Hardware is oil-rubbed bronze (there are no “uppers” to the right of the sink; I’ll be installing open shelving there)

calcutta-grey

The Quartz

 

This is a fun re-use; remember the 2 crystal chandeliers that were in the living room and dining room?  I hated to get rid of them, but didn’t see at first where I could possibly use them…..it nagged at me, as I really wanted to keep as many of the original elements as I could.  One day it hit me:  use the larger chandelier over the island, and the smaller one in the laundry room!  Trust me: it’ll be GREAT!  There will be plenty of recessed LED lighting to take care of overall light, so I’m looking at these as the “jewelry”!

Kitchen Island
Laundry Room

When using something “old” or “too fancy”, contrast it with another style to bring it up-to-date.  In this case, I’m contrasting the large crystal chandelier with the  oversized rustic pendant, which will hang over the one-bowl apron sink; the wood chandelier will also be visible, hanging over the dining room table…see what you think!

Kitchen Island

….and don’t forget, the chandeliers will be on either side of this door:

Kitchen Island

I REALLY wish these pictures were better, but being reminded of that popcorn ceiling in the ‘before’ pics just makes me anticipate the soon-to-be-afters even more!

velvet sofaThere!  I just thought I’d give us something lovely to look at for a moment….the much-anticipated Ms Chesterfield in sapphire velvet….ahhhh!

 

OK, let’s talk about the baths a little….I love the tile!  It’ll be hard to illustrate, so just consider this your TILE TEASER!

Docklight+Hexagon+9.5-+x+11-+Porcelain+Wood+Tile+in+Magpie (1)

Hall Bath Floor

hall bath granite

Hall Bath Granite

Florentia+1-Light+Bath+Sconce

Hall Bath Light Fixtures

(Threw that one in!)

 

Master Bath Floor

 

A few more Master Bath Elements…

 

I hope that’s enough color ‘n stuff for today, but in case you’re wondering, here is a brief list of what’s going on and coming up:

  • Jose & crew will finish installing all new windows tomorrow

  • With luck, city inspectors will come tomorrow to give thumbs up on closing the walls!

  • Sheetrock will go up this week – WOO-HOO!

  • The roof will (hopefully) be installed this week

  • The garage is full of cabinets & appliances, tile, fans & fixtures

  • The HVAC crew is coming this week to replace the ductwork and run it to the new room

  • Roger is getting the new garage door ordered (to be installed after we no longer need garage storage)

  • After roofing, I THINK we can dispense with the huge dumpster!

Now, as I like to leave you with a fun “find”, here’s the story of the attic fan and what I’m going to do with it!

This is the hall; left is  BEFORE; someone before us had decided to just place plywood over the  opening for the old attic fan; they had even sprayed popcorn on top of it…..lovely!  The picture on the right shows the gaping hole AFTER the attic fan was removed, (there is now a nice new attic stair pull-down where that hole was) and HERE…

attic fan backis what came out of the hole!attic fan front

Have you ever wondered just what an attic fan looks like?  Well, here’s your chance!  Of course it’s very dirty here, but it actually has a pale blue sheen to it….how serendipitous for me!

I’m going to use it outside next to the covered patio; I’m not exactly sure how just yet, but I love the industrial vibe…it’s as good as any sculptural element I think! 

NOTE:  for you men and gizmo enthusiasts in the crowd….I overheard the electricians talking about how this could be rigged to run outside and cool off the whole crowd at a gathering, in a workshop, or wherever one needs a WHOLE BUNCH of airflow!  Nice idea, huh?   

 

Well, it’s Sunday night, we’re all facing our work week, and most of us are bummed about the Cowboy game….so I’ll say goodnight and wish you all the best for the week ahead!

fall porch

Carve out some time for yourself this week & enjoy the cooler weather we’re promised….

…as always, thank you, and please remember that I have a “real job” and would love to assist in any real estate needs you or your friends & family may have!

Posted in Design Tips Included!, Finishing!

And Behind Door Number One…

Posted on by nancychapmon

Happy October Friends!

No, this isn’t my porch, sadly….I’m just missing my chance to decorate for Fall since my cottage isn’t quite ready!  So I’m dreaming of my own porch-scape while I update you on progress at my urban cottage project….sit back, relax with  a cup of tea or java & enjoy!

fall porch

I thought we’d talk about doors today; resolving my ‘door issues’ has been ongoing, and became downright crucial in the past week!  Several posts ago I showed you the door I’d finally uncovered at Canton….the one that will be modified to a swinger between the kitchen and laundry.  (we’ll review shortly)

What I never mentioned is my consternation over ALL of the doors in the house!  I longed to keep the original doors, as much as possible.  They are all solid wood, and I love the door hardware, which I’ve actually NEVER seen before!  Unfortunately, along the way some of the original knobs had been changed or modified, making them either ugly or less-than functional…..and the doors themselves were not necessarily the best choice for each application.  So, finding ways to reuse the original doors, while making sure I had a fit for each spot became a bit like working a puzzle!  

Roger and I put our heads together last Saturday, & I’m pretty stoked about what we came up with!  But before I reveal the re-use let me show you what the doors look like…..here you go!

door

I wish I’d snapped a better picture of the original doors BEFORE we demo’d….they’re all safely stacked away in the garage right now, waiting to get the “hang” of their new locations!  4 of these will remain where they always were:  the laundry to hall spot, the hall bath, & the 2 bedrooms.  But the others……???

 

Problem 1:  Several 2′ doors have been removed from closets and the tiny bathroom:  what can be done with them?

Problem 2:  The newly-enlarged closet in Bedroom 2 is right behind the bedroom door; how can we fashion a closet door that won’t interfere with the hall door swing?

Problem 3:  The master bedroom has 2 long rectangular closets; what can be done besides bi-fold doors that will open widely enough?

 

(Just ahead, you’ll see there are a couple of other “door problems” to be solved, but I’m dying to tell you what the Roger/Nancy brain-trust came up with for these!)

For each master closet we are going to use 2 of the 2′ doors……then mount them as a gliding double door….aka barn doors!   

The 5th remaining 2′ door will be a single barn door on the closet in Bedroom 2, gliding back and forth BEHIND the door swing from the hall!  

OK, I’m feeling like a door-nerd now….why is this so exciting to me?!  I just love using something old in a new way – & now the house will have it’s original doors, 2017-style!

Open the door

“THE MASTER BATH ~ BEDROOM DOOR”

This could be the name of my biggest door headache of the whole project! The drama was intense as I searched, surfed (online), shopped, scratched my head, and tried to find THE DOOR!

If you recall, the new master bath being carved out of an old bedroom required us to move the door (to the bedroom) a few feet;  that sounds easy, but the OTHER side of that wall is brick!  Remember, the new bedroom WAS the sunroom….and before that the sunroom WAS the back of the house.  So…..brick.  The day loomed when the brick saw would be rented, on the job-site, & ready for Jose to cut the opening for that door.  

At first it seemed I had such a long time to find it, but as time wore on and I didn’t find THE DOOR, the clock was ticking on my quest!  You see, I didn’t want that to be an ordinary new 6-panel door, and there wasn’t a suitable ‘original’ door to be used there…..besides that, I just dreamed up that it would be a cool, one-of-a-kind OLD door!  

So……last weekend I knew I absolutely had to find THE DOOR or the hole would be cut this week for an ordinary one.  There’s nothing like a deadline to motivate, right?  My sweet daughter Kiki and her friend Jessica were visiting last Friday, so they stoically agreed to scour Canton with me……I know for sure we looked at 50 old doors, and it may well have been more.  There were some we liked, but none that seemed quite right.  The curse of a designer is the inability to “settle”……sigh.  

doors universe

The Saga Continues….& the Solution Appears!

Saturday afternoon Kristen (aka Kiki) and I decided to run out to Riverside Trade Days, which is held every other weekend in White Oak.  We were just hoping one of the vendors out there would have something I’d fall in love with….unfortunately we got there at 4:30 and all the vendors were gone!  If you haven’t been there before, the vendor’s booths are in storage-type units arranged in a U around a pavillion.  We could see a stack of doors towards the back, and since nobody was there……yep!  We decided to drive right on around the U to investigate!  As we pulled around the U, we both SAW IT!  We cried in unison, THAT’S THE DOOR!  (dramatic, I know, but it’s true!

blue bathroom door

TADA!  Don’t worry….a few of  you won’t “see” it yet, but later you will!  Everything about this old door is perfect for what I wanted, but never could’ve described.

There is no room to make this one a slider (which is preferable since you don’t have to mess with the original hardware), so Jose will have his work cut out for him, making it a workable door….but he can do it!

I’m sure I’ll clean it up a bit, but the patina is my favorite color, and the fading/crackling/wearing is what I love.  I’m super happy to have found it JUST IN TIME!  Today they cut the hole….with my blue door size!

mbath door opening

There was one last door I’d searched for; the PANTRY DOOR.  The pantry was moved from one side of the laundry room to the center of the long wall, and I wanted just one more cool door for it….I really wanted a screen door since I hadn’t found one earlier for the kitchen-to-laundry spot (but oh, I love the door I did find!)  Another vendor at Riverside had left a screen door sitting out, and with it’s vertical lines, I thought it would work.

Sunday I set out once again to Riverside, thinking I would catch all the vendors before anyone else got there, to claim MY doors!  This time it seemed I arrive too early….until Google helped me realize I had the entire wrong weekend totally!  Sigh….I needed that blue door, at least!  Fortunately a sweet couple was there, rearranging their booth; they directed to me to the manager, who called the 3 vendors involved (the stack was between 2 booths, so we didn’t know which one owned the blue door).  2 of them were kind enough to call me back and agree to meet me out there Sunday late afternoon – which I’m ever-so-grateful for!  The screen door owners arrived first, but unfortunately I had to rule out that one; it was built the “old” way, and  it would’ve had to be taken apart into many pieces in order to re-screen it, which was necessary.  They were such good sports about it all, and joined me in meeting the other vendor, a friend of theirs…..and all of them now friends of mine, by the way!  People are often so kind, don’t you think?

We unstacked all 7 of the doors so they could be seen; there was one I kept looking at, but didn’t know what I could use it for….after all, I only needed ONE more door, and it was to be a SCREEN door!  But that raggedy old door was calling my name, and after awhile I could see that it would be the perfect pantry door after all!  

See what you think:

pantry door

Now here’s the framed pantry:

pantry

And here is the final cool solution of the day:  I don’t want to disturb the hardware on this door, or risk messing up the wear pattern on the finish:  the only way to make that work is to make it into a barn door…..but as you can see, there isn’t room!  This pantry could ONLY acomodate sliders that opened to both sides…two small doors, basically.  Now look at this again:

Do you see what I see?

Just in case that was a “no”, I’ll tell you:  Jose is going to CUT the door in half vertically!  The design is perfectly symmetrical, so it will not only work, but it will be amazing!  It’ll also work better as a pantry, not having to open the door, and aesthetically, it’ll keep us from have 3 door swings right in a row…pretty cool!

As if that wasn’t design-fun enough, this pantry door will now line up perfectly with the kitchen swinging door, and you’ll see it through the upper glass panes….see?!

doors opportunity

If you don’t happen to be a door-nerd like me, thanks for hanging in there…I think it’ll be fun for you to  know the background when at last you get to see the finished product!  So this concludes my door-themed blog post,  & you’re all caught up on the swingers & the sliders!

 

PS.  Since I was obviously ‘otherwise engaged’ last weekend, and didn’t get out a blog post….I’ll send you another one Sunday with colors & finishes….”if the Lord is willing & the creek don’t rise”  (please tell me your grandmother also used to say that!)

 

See you Sunday – tomorrow (Saturday) I’m showing duplexes to an investor client, then meeting my cabinet delivery at the casa! Stay tuned!