Laundry Room? What Laundry Room?
Its done and I’ve already forgotten about it. Its in the past. Its time to move on and I have.
Next up: The Butler’s Pantry
That last room I worked on - what ever its called – was cut out of the butler’s pantry. Now its time to do the rest of the room. It is mostly demo’ed, but there is still a little bit to do. Yesterday and today I got every thing out of there and over the next week or two I will get the rest demo’ed and then start in on the paint stripping and get the walls plastered. It is going to be plaster above 60-inch beadboard, with a tin ceiling.
Below are some random shots taken showing the progress of the room over the past few years, and then a proposed new floorplan at the end of this entry. The room is small but not without its challenges. The two big ones are the built-in cabinets that will separate this room from the dining room, and the telecom/network hub that will be housed in here.
All of these shots are taken while I’m standing in the dining room. If all goes well, this view will be replaced with stunning built-in cabinets made of curly and burl redwood, with a marble counter and leaded glass cabinet doors. If all goes well….
This is what the floorplan was in 1895.
It was opened up all the way to the scullery
The two doors on the left (one behind plywood) lead to the rental kitchen and bath at one time. I had to make that cheap temporary plywood partition to separate the water heater from the "living space". This barely qualified as "living space" at the time, but what code says, Greg does.
You can see where the window used to be in 1895 (see diagram above). Now there is only 1 door and it leads to the side yard.
I partitioned the room to add the laundry room.
That sink was going to go there, but it just didn't work. 
Below is what it looks like right now. Through the open door you can see that other room that I just finished. What's it called again?
As I said, I'm standing in the dining room right now. You can see the orange-ish mark on the floor where the original built-ins were. This is what I hope to put back. Well, I will put them back. The hope is that they come out well.
Here is what I hope to achieve. {Nervous grin}
Wish me luck. I'm going to need it.
9 comments:
Good luck! And how about a full panorama of that room you just finished?!
After seeing your kitchen (the island in particular), I'm pretty sure you can pull it off, but good luck. It sounds like a hell of a project.
Too bad the sink did not work, but that turned out be a blessing for us.
People should know I have seen the laundry room in person. Photos just don't do it justice...it is wonderful. Great work.
jagolbec, That's right, I never did do a final shot.
John, The big difference here is these won't be painted. I won't be able to hide my mistakes with putty and paint.
Ron, Thanks. I hope the sink works out .
If your blog were a novel, I would have thought the exterior painting was the climax. No, wait, the kitchen island. Nope, the bathroom was the ultimate.
Now yet an even higher peak looms. It's like the Oregon trail, except I never want to get to the ocean.
The first time I stumbled on your blog you had just finished this project (butler pantry cabinetry). I read through, jaw dropped, and concluded I was not even worthy to post a comment. Two three years later into my own house, I'm a bit cockier now you see.
Blog on.
That is the way I see it too. Every job seems like the biggest. At this point though, (December 2010) I really do think the worst is behind me.
I haven't caught up to 2010 yet (savoring every post, don't know what it is--I guess the combination of your writing style plus choice of topic is a perfect storm for me), but I guess you could say you did scale those peaks, and now you have reached the beach. Serene and beautiful.
Have you ever seen the movie somewhere in time? I think of you a bit like that character: in order to time travel he gathered period appropriate everything (except he got the clothing style off by a few years, funny scene). You have done the same except it's a whole house! Right down to the plumbing fittings. I think if time travel were possible, the Petch House would definitely be a portal. Maybe now that your blog takes less time you can turn to fiction: romantic hero converts house into time machine, rescues the Petch daughter from her prison under the stairs and brings her back to the present (which is why there is no record of her). C'mon, Mr. Darcy, make us swoon some more! You know you've got it.
I would like to turn this adventure in to a book someday. Maybe when I finish the house I'll have the time.
I have often thought you could give Peter Mayle and his book A Year in Provence a run for the money. I also think of Under the Tuscan Sun as another book where the house and its restoration is the main theme. Then there's Green Knowe--a series of books written by Lucy Boston set in her own house; I read them as a kid and again as an adult, and fell hopelessly in love with her 1000 year old manor house. She has a lot of time travel in her books and it is very elegantly done. I've always meant to start a thread on the old house forum at gardenweb about great old houses in literature. I just wanted to throw these out to inspire you, but maybe I'll mosey over there and get that started. But please, you have a very compelling story, and a great voice. And you tackle humor brilliantly, and...I'll stop now. I hate to be one of those gushy posters that compliments you too much but I feel strongly that anything I might say that encourages your writing career is worth saying at all costs. Not to mention selfishly motivated!
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