Welcome

Welcome to our old farmhouse. Over the past year I have learned so much history of this house and the people who lived here. Ninety six years of love, loss, hopes and dreams. Preservation continues and there is always a repair to be done. We are trying to be purest in our preservation as much as we possibly can. I hope you follow along and each week I will try to give you a little history of the house as well as the first owners of the house. I've been lucky enough to find a journal from a Granddaughter who talks about the house as well as her Grandparents. So come follow along and learn about this old house as well as the occupants, old and new.

Sunday, September 30, 2012

From This To This


Here are a few photos of my dresser turned kitchen island and
much needed counter space.
Remember this?
 

And This?

 
A little better, don't you think so? I still haven't gotten the hardware on the drawers yet.
I want to add a little more character and get reproduction hardware online.
 
 
 
 
 
 
So being used for a quick meal, extra prep space for cooking or a place for my burlap pumpkins to hang out, I like my island.
 
 
Thanks for visiting.
Sandy
Linking to Between Naps On The Porch for Metamorphosis Monday.



One and Two



Here is my thrifty finds for this week. Two little stools that will serve temporally for the island.
So without further ado, here are 1 and 2.....
 
 
These were probably my best finds this summer, $1.00 each.
A good buy if I say so myself. They are a little tall for the island
but will be a great height for the Grands. So once I find ones I like I can
store these away and pull them out for the little guys.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Thanks for visiting.
Linking to Southern Hospitality for Today's Thrifty Treasure.
Sandy
 
 


Tuesday, September 25, 2012

A China Cabinet and a Sneak Peak


My china cabinet dressed for Fall and a sneak peak at my
kitchen island.
Everything here are things I have had for years.
So I have lots of reds, golds, orange and browns.

 
I decided since we use this room so much, I would stack
my collection of antique quilts on top. Some are family
quilts and others are yard sale and thrift store finds.

 
There are all sorts of different colors and patterns,
some are machine made others are hand made and have
many, many little mends. Can't you just imagine someone
sitting and mending them before they were placed on
the bed for the cooler nights?
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
These are hanging iron candle holders for the fireplace.
They also work here!
 
 
 
 
So now a sneak peak at my island. I am so excited to have
the extra counter space. We used the island at our old house
everyday. Granite was my first choice for the top, then I started
to think that might be to much black, so I decided to go with
wood for now. I can always add the granite. All I have to do is order
the handles and find stools. So maybe next week I will have the reveal.
 
 
 
 
Thanks for visiting.
Sandy
Joining Savvy Southern Style for Wow Us Wednesday
 
 
 



Monday, September 24, 2012

Muted and Subtle


My living room mantle dressed for Fall. I used lots of subtle and muted colors trying to keep things simple and maybe, a little more historically correct. I have no ideal and doubt they even decorated for Fall in the 20's. Sorry for the horrible pictures. I have a terrible time taking pictures of this mantle for some reason. I have literally tried morning, noon and night. I don't know it it's the reflection from the mirror and windows or what. If anyone has a suggestion please let me know.


 
 
 
 
 
 
Some dried hydrangeas from the yard in an old McCoy urn with pine cones in the coal bucket.
And that is my living room Fall decorating.
 
 
Thanks for visiting.
Sandy
Joining A Stroll Thru Life for Table Top Tuesday 

 
 
 

 
 

 
 
 
 

 
 

 
 
 

 
 
 

 
 


Pocket Doors

 
 
 
If you have saw my earlier post, you have saw pictures of the pocket doors that lead from the foyer to the living room. These doors are about eight feet tall. See what looks to be handles? I kept looking at them and the more we used them the darker color seemed to wear off. So with brass cleaner and cleaning cloth in hand, I started to polish. Do I see copper? I think I do!  So after they were removed, cleaned and buffed, we found several treasures.
 
 
 
 

 
After the cleaning and buffing. DH took them off, worked on the lock mechanism and we found the original copper handles and the brass door pulls. We were also lucky enough to find the maker of the doors. Seems that he and his son had a shop in downtown Charleston, the maker was born in the 1800's and did allot of work for homes in the Charleston area. This particular style of door was made between 1875 and 1925, which does fit with records we found of the house being built in 1920. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Another treasure was the front door handle and plate. Turns out the door knob is brass and the plate again is copper. After a test we found the exterior is the same. I hope we can get that cleaned and polished this week, as you can imagine there are several layers of paint on the exterior handle. 
 
 
 
 
 
It's amazing the little treasures you can find in an old home if you look hard enough.
  
 
Now I stand corrected, My foyer is not a foyer, it's a receiving hall or grand hall and our living room is not a living room, it's a parlor!
I guess for now it will stay a living room and foyer, works for us.
So" Thanks" for visiting.
Sandy
Joining Between Naps On The Porch for Metamorphosis Monday.
 
 
 


Sunday, September 23, 2012

A Black and White Stool




Well this week I rescued this poor little pitiful stool. A find at you guessed it, Habitat For Humanity.
A big $5.00, very sturdy just missing it's top. 
 


 
 
 
 I also found this toile fabric at one of my favorite thrift stores. Two pieces for $2.00. Can we say score!
 
 
 
 
This, I also found at  Habitat For Humanity, as you can see $2.00.
 
 
Combine the three and you have a great little accent piece for the porch.
I also have enough left over fabric to make a couple pillow covers.
 
 
Now when the Holidays are over I have another great little piece for either the front or back porch.
 
 
Now for the free stuff, three great wreaths.
Stay tuned you know you will see these again.
 
 
Thanks for visiting.
Sandy
Joining Southern Hospitality for Today's Thrifty Treasure.
 
 



Monday, September 17, 2012

Back Porch Dressed For Fall



My back porch dressed for the summer months.
 
 
Here are the Fall changes. Everything here I have had for years. With the move last year I didn't get to decorate for Fall, so it seems new to me. As I was unpacking I found several things I had forgotten about.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

 
 

 
 
 
I stacked a couple of grapevine wreaths together, added a cloche, rooster, straw and eggs.
 
 
Nothing says Fall like an old tattered quilt and some rooster pillows.
 
 
I tied ribbon around the candles and added four small Dollar Tree wreaths for a little texture.
 
 
 
Table for two.
 
 
The lantern gets all dressed up.
 
 
Now a good book, hot coffee and relax.
Thanks for visiting.
Sandy
Joining Between Naps On The Porch for Metamorphosis Monday
The Dedicated House for Make It Pretty Monday
A Stroll Thru Life for Table Top Tuesday
Savvy Southern Style for Wow Us Wednesday