INTERIORITY COMPLEX

WHAT WE DID THIS SUMMER

Not much -- house-wise, that is.

We worked a bit on one shade garden...with our trusty gardening assistant:

 

And we also couldn't go the whole summer without any fresh vegetables, so we planted a small plot of tomatoes, lettuce, and nasturtium.

 

It worked out fine for us...except for the gallons of rain we had all summer and the late blight it caused on our tomatoes.  Regardless, we have still gotten quite a few beautiful heirloom tomatoes and lots of lettuce.

As we roll into Fall 09 we have lots of new projects planned and will keep you updated regularly.  Please stay with us!

STRIPTEASE

When we bought this house we suspected that above the unusually low ceiling beams in the kitchen there might be more space above...and there was.  We were able to capture almost two feet of ceiling height back in the kitchen by removing the original ceiling joists and re-supporting the house with new horizontal bracing.  Remember this?

 

After deciding to keep them-- for some project, some day -- a friend told us to leave them outside all winter and the elements would strip the layers of paint.  Well we'll be damned...it worked!  Have a look:

 

We haven't really figured out what to do with them -- and this weekend we need to get them out of our yard -- but they really look great, don't they?

OUTSIDE, PART DEAUX...

On the heels of the lilacs, we had another great find.  Ramps .  Not the most common vegetable, but being New York Foodies, we have loved this spring vegetable for years -- never really knowing where to find it...until we happened on a field of it in the woods behind our house.  Ramps love dappled sunlight in wooded areas...just what we have!  Technically they are called a wild leek, but as a restaurant-owning friend of ours calls them they are "the caviar of onions."  Most definitely.

 

Identifiable by the two split leaves (looking kind of like lily of the valley), once dug up they have small white bulbs resembling onions.  Pan fried with olive oil and served with nothing but salt and pepper they are the best.  They can also be grilled or pickled.  For those of us lucky enough to have a small field of them we have also made our own ramp butter from the leaves -- the most flavorful butter for vegetables or steak you will ever have...just get out the Cusinart and blend unsalted butter with sea salt and a handful of the leaves and you won't be disappointed.  Jealous?

OUTSIDE...

With the weather in the Northeast so lovely lately, we knew we were bound to be having an Exteriority Complex soon.  In the midst of budding trees, green leaves, and grass that needs to be mowed (more on that later) we found a great surprise:

Lilacs...one of our favorite spring flowers!  We knew we had a stand of them along one edge of our property, but assumed (as with everthing else) that they were beyond neglect and would never bloom.  Low and behold!

 

We've had a steady stream of these inside house for the last few weeks, making for the most amazing air ever!

SPRING!

Amongst dumpsters, earth movers, and major trenching of what used to be our yard is Spring.  Somehow these daffodils managed to survive years of neglect and all the action since we've bought the house...

 

A welcome break from the chaos!

OUR SCHEDULE

As you can see on the video we just posted we are wrapping up what we are calling Phase 1...very Alias sounding, we know.  Since we chose to bite the bullet and renovate all the interior systems of the house in one shot we are going to have to do the finish work slowly...so our bank account can catch up really.

The original plan was to first open all the walls (pre-Phase 1, if you will) which we did ourselves -- and saved a ton of money along the way.  After that we really stepped away and our amazing contractor started.  His scope was to include new electrical wiring, new plumbing throughout, new heating, central air conditioning, insulation, and finally -- drywall.  What we hadn't anticipated was all the carpentry work that would be needed.  The fact the foundation sill along the back of our house was rotted and had to be re-built was what could be called a "big extra."  That, plus all the leveling of drywall nailers (the studs and beams that the new drywall would be fastened to) led to a pretty hefty amount of carpentry work.  And a hefty price tag attached to it.

This is why we are pausing on the professional work at this point.  However, we will finish the floors throughout and install a new bathroom ourselves in the upcoming weeks.  Stay tuned for the progress!

We hope to be living partially in the house March 1.

WHAT THE !@#$%^& WERE THEY THINKING? THE ANSWER REVEALED!

With this house, as with our last, the question we've most asked ourselves is "What the hell were they thinking?"  Time and time again, we've been perplexed by decisions made by previous inhabitants.  We decided to nip that in the bud for whoever one day owns our house (long after we're gone, that is) by leaving a Time Capsule in one of the walls.

We wrote a detailed letter explaining the condition we bought the house in, what we were in the process of doing with it, and why.  We figured -- let's answer the questions for them!

We also included a copy of the local newspaper with the current date, some information we had from a gentleman who lived here in the 30's, and photos of ourselves and our pets.

Keep this in mind when you are renovating your home...it's nice to leave something behind that may or may not ever be discovered...and if it is then it will answer the question "What the hell were they thinking?"

GOOD SURPRISES

The other surprise:

Underneath multiple layers of vinyl and plywood subflooring we unearthed the greatest original black vinyl with a cream striped inset detail.  This was the original floor material and pattern in the Kitchen and Breakfast Room.  Unfortunately this floor is too damaged to be saved.  We will be doing a large scale black and white marble throughout the Front Hall, Kitchen, and Breakfast Room (soon to become a library).

GOOD SURPRISES

As we were finishing the main demolition work we made two pleasant discoveries:

On either side of the front door were two niches that had been covered over with drywall.  Behind the drywall was the most beautiful hand-stenciled plaster finish on the original wall surface.  From what we could see, this was once the wall finish in the entire front hall.  It has the feeling of a hand-painted Delft tile.  Our contractor will be able to carfefully remove these panels so we can preserve them and re-purpose them in another area of the house.