ArtandInteriorsbyJesse: This Old House

While living in Boston all those years ago, I loved watching "This Old House"...I didn't realize what "old" really was until living in an house built in the 1700's...It was in Salem, Mass, and it was three stories, converted into apartments. We had fireplaces in all the rooms, some of which actually worked; the one in the kitchen was a passageway for squirrels, but the one in the livng room worked. I learned a great deal about how such old houses were built, and how sturdy they had to be. The walls were horsehair and plaster, and scraping wallpaper was impossible, as huge hunks would just come out..horsehair and all...solution..sheets...I love sheets...

This is my dear-departed Gussie..resting in her "window seat"...the sheets were Ralph Lauren, and I originally covered the bedroom walls of that house with them. I worked for Bloomingdales in Boston, and when we would get a new "release", we got extra fabric...so, we had wainscoating halfway up the walls, and the other half, I stabled the sheets, and trimmed it out with gimp to cover the staples. It was cozy and it also was a form of insulation against the cold, New England winds, blowing in off of Salem Harbor. I still have the sheets...I no longer have my Gussie..although, she is haunting our Texas house (but, that's another story.

Our home in Wisconsin was new construction,as was our Texas house...this house in Tennessee on the Cumberland Plateau on Lake Canterbury is about 27-years-old. We have begun the renovation, and I'm excited! When we first moved in, there was the dark, ugly brick fireplace, which we immediately painted white...we painted the living room, "sun room" and our bedrooms, and started the process of peeling and scraping wallcovering (which is in progress). We have hired the contractor, and selected the color(s) - Sherwin Williams "Urban Putty", and if it ever stops raining long enough, we are on our way.

This is the back of the house..We brought in several truck loads of mulch, and my wonderful husband spread it all by himself..it looks so much better, and if it ever stops raining, we will get rid of the crop of mushrooms..for the are not edible, I am sure!

Face it...ugly brick is ugly brick, and this floor-to-ceiling fireplace ate the room, and it was dark..we painted it...I don't recommend painting stone fireplaces unless you are an expert...I am good at that sort of thing, but it can get pretty scary.

It's blue hydrangea season on the Cumberland Plateau, and kind friends gave me a great gift of them...The fireplace is actually much whiter...here's the "true color"..

I had a wonderful time embellishing the mantle during the holidays...

The "sunroom" has become a combination "dining room" and "sunroom"..the views are wonderful, and I love the "treehouse effect"...Working on the space even as I write this.