A Hidden Room

Since you all seemed to like our far fetched idea of a book nook in place of the elevator I thought I'd share another harebrained scheme we're thinking of.

When we tore up the stairs we found a space between the steps and the exterior wall.

A space that we thought about turning into shelves or drawers, a nice place to all of our hats & boots & scarves.

And then we had an idea. A wonderful, marvelous idea.

A secret playroom.

via

But instead of primary colors I'm envisioning a room covered in twinkle lights with pillows on the floor and the perfect spot for a tea party.

Jus & I have even considered leaving it a secret until our children stumble upon the room. But considering that we're a far way off from creating a little room let alone having children I'm not sure if I'll be able to keep it a secret for that long.

Did you dream of finding a secret room as a child?

A Book Nook

Two nights ago, struggling with insomnia I plowed my way through the best book I've read in a while. Staying up till 5 am reading has left me exhausted and wishing for a place (other than our bed) to cozy up in.

As we plan ahead for future projects one space we're going to have to deal with is the top of the elevator.

When the last owners tore the wall apart they left a spot perfect for a closet. Which would be perfectly fine, although a little boring when you consider the option Jus & I are leaning towards.

Spotted on Pinterest by Susan Jay Designs

A little reading nook, I imagine in the future we'll curl up with our kiddos in there to read bed time stories. I cannot think of a more perfect addition to the Behemoth, can you?

Framed.

Now that the stairs are painted I find myself staring at the 18 foot ceilings and wondering what the heck we are going to do to fill the space.

Last week I remembered one of my inspirations from a long time ago. (You know, way back when we had a teensy little house.)

The frame wall.

via

via

via

via

I'm pretty excited about making an empty frame wall on our stairs. I think the frames will add a beautiful pattern to the wall and will be a great way to cover this much space.

What's one of your favorite ways to decorate a large wall?

Renovation Lesson #108

Sometimes things don't go as you've planned.

Like when your husband spends a month & a half hanging drywall and after you texture the walls you go to paint and the paint starts cracking.

Then you have to scrape all of your new paint off.

But next time you'll remember that it is essential to prime the walls after texturing the walls and before painting.

Arts & Crafts?

I'm an architecture nerd. I know the difference between a victorian and a foursquare, a widows walk and a gable. I dream of coffered ceilings and subway tiles.

A couple of years ago I realized that I love love love Craftsman style houses.

Bungalows & Prairie Homes full of built ins, stained glass & wood make my heart flutter.

I've read books on bungalows & Frank Lloyd Wright.

It's safe to say that I'm a big arts & crafts nerd.

When we bought the Behemoth the beige stucco and square columns fooled me into thinking that our home was an early Prairie Home.

As the weeks went on I realized that the Behemoth was too old to be Arts & Crafts and fell firmly into the Foursquare category. I was so disappointed that I still say that our house is "just a foursquare."

As we've gotten into renovation we decided to play up the Behemoth's faux craftsman style. The house has the clean lines & detail that are common in arts & crafts style homes and so we're going to run with it.

One place that our faux craftsman style will shine is the front stairs.

There was nothing about the old stairs that I liked so we knew that we'd be building new stairs & finding a new railing.

My super handy grandpa suggested we go with a design based off the Bolton House in Pasadena that was built in 1906 by the architecture team of Greene & Greene.

via

This railing is simple enough that Jus will be able to help my grandpa build it and will tie into our faux craftsman home.

What style of architecture is your favorite?

Monday, Monday

Happy Monday, sugar plums!

I hope you had a lovely weekend, ours went way too fast but luckily Monday counts as my weekend so it's not over just yet.

And today is shaping up to be the best day of the weekend.

Why, you ask?

Because we're getting the stairs finished!

The last time I showed you the stairs there was a huge scaffolding blocking them and we were using the elevator to get upstairs.

Over the past two months Jus has painstakingly hung drywall, mudded over the seams, and textured the walls. And a couple of weeks ago we were able to take down the scaffolding and walk upright once again.

We've torn up the carpet and are ready to start painting!

Want a preview of the color I've chosen for the stairs?

Valspar's Lyndhurst Victorian Rose

Yes, I know I won the Husband lottery, now if only Jus'll let me paint the kitchen cabinets magenta...

What are your plans for today?

PS Have you signed up for the giveaway yet? I can't believe I hit 100 comments on one post! Woohoo!

PPS I reopened my Etsy shop! Check out My Wish For You for some vintage goodness!

We Live in a Jungle Gym

So remember when Jus made a big mess and tore all the plaster off the stairwell and I threw a big fit?

Since then he's been working to make it better. From the first landing to the ceiling is 18' tall so there was no way he could use a ladder and a normal scaffold is too wide to fit in the staircase so Jus & his dad built a scaffold/floor in the stairwell.

While I'm glad that Jus won't be perched precariously on a ladder trying to screw dry wall onto the ceiling I'm not necessarily thrilled with the design of the scaffold, you see, we aren't able to use the front stairs any more.

One thing we are able to do is hang from the scaffolding like monkeys.

Who knew home remodeling could be so much fun?

Would you regret it?

A couple of weeks ago I ran into one of the Behemoths previous owners. We got chatting about the house and it turned out that he was a wealth of information.

It turns out our pink kitchen used to have a pink refrigerator and a pink stove.

You better believe I would've kept this baby.

via

I also learned that Jus & I are the 9th owners of the Behemoth but only the 7th family to live there. That the house was built in 1890 and remodeled in 1910. I was thoroughly enjoying my history lesson until the talk turned to the stairs.

Yes, the dreaded stairs, the stairs we recently chopped in half, the stairs I knew this man was responsible for putting in.

He started asking if the bathroom was still under the stairs and if the stairs were still wide. I said that we had taken some of the stairs off due to the plaster work that needed to be done. (I know, I know, I'm a dirty rotten liar) And then he informed me that wide stairs were original to the house.

A record ssssccccccccccrrrrrrrrrrrrreeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeched to a halt in my head.

What? No way, those stairs (well, the stairs that the current ones were modeled after) are original? Someone built the house with the intention of having 8' wide stairs at the bottom and 3' wide at the top?

He went on to explain that while the stairs weren't originally that wide but that they were widened during the 1910 remodel, taken down in the 1950s and he rebuilt them in the 1990s.

Later while telling my mom this story she asked if I regretted taking the stairs down.

We're restoring the house, keeping many of the original fixtures and replacing modern things with vintage ones, and we had inadvertently chopped something that resembled the way the house looked in 1910.

My response was an adamant no.

Maybe I would regret our decision to chop the stairs had they actually been original but considering they were cheap & poorly made and how awesome they look now I have no doubt in my mind that we did the right thing.

Would you regret it?

PS Today is the last day to sign up for the giveaway!

Renovation Lesson: The Part Where I Loose My Cool

Yesterday marked two months since we closed on the Behemoth, this weekend marked two days full of work on the house, some frustration and (unfortunately) we ended it being residents at our little house.

Friday we discussed moving and were on the fence as to whether or not we should make the move from our little house to the Behemoth. Saturday I walked into the big house and realized there was no way we could, because when I walked in I saw this.

Jus & his dad had been at this house Thursday night and decided that the plaster that lined the stairway was not salvageable so they started pulling down the plaster. Saturday I walked in to see piles of plaster on the stairs with nothing tarped, no plastic hanging in doorways and freshly painted rooms standing open. Needless to say, the house was covered in a layer of dust.

I know that when the living room wall came down many of you complimented me for being able to handle such a big project, but I have to tell you, this was my breaking point. I could not handle walking into the house to find everything covered in plaster dust. Jus heard about it (a lot), his dad heard about it (a little), and in the end I left the room because I couldn't believe what a mess had been created and how much work was left.

Luckily, Jus knows how to calm me down, within an hour the house was properly cordoned off and the piles of rubble were up. We stood at the base of the stairs talking about our options with the staircase. If you'll remember the staircase was a huge monstrosity that partially led nowhere.

It was decided that we'd start stripping the sides of the stairs so we could see what we were dealing with. My little sister, Banan, and I started pulling off the drywall that surrounded the steps and we found an older staircase under the current staircase.

Said staircase was wallpapered in 1950s gold grasscloth.

(Jus & I LOVE this!)

Then Jus got his saw and chopped the stairs in half (technically a little less that half).

And now we have a normal sized staircase!

(That's Jus's dad, the other culprit in getting my house all messy!)

How was your weekend?

Roundup: Stairway (to Heaven)

I've been itching to do something to our house. I love little touches and unexpected elements that add some joy in a home. It's so special when a homeowner adds some whimsy and decorates somewhere unexpected, like a stairwell. Stairs are usually just a way to get from one floor to another, but when you add some design to them stairs are suddenly something fun. (Plus doing stairs is good for your booty!)

No bookcase needed

via

This would be a great way for kids to learn how to count, or fun for adults

via

A little something unexpected and edgy on a landing

via

These stairs make me smile

via

A) I would love to have a little nook under my stairs for an office B) Leopard print carpet? Hell yes.

via

Floating stairs are very fun and slightly nervewracking

via

This might be what my dream staircase looks like

via

Painting an animal print on your stairs would be an awesome way to show your wild side

via

Our stairs are enclosed, I dream of having open stairs someday

via

Climbing the stairs to your bedroom would be uber romantic if there were love notes written on each stair

via

Wouldn't it be awesome to paint these ribbon stairs like ribbon candy?

via

Having some words to ponder would make a trip up the stairs more thoughtful

via

I love suspension bridges and suspension stairs would be even cooler

via

These are technically for cats but I'd pretty much love a human version

via

This is a great way to use wallpaper, and much cheaper than wallpapering an entire room

via

I would be shaking my booty all the way up these disco stairs

via

Adding your loved ones faces to your stairs is a sweet way to think of them daily

via

I'm not sure how I feel about the cleanliness aspect of these

via

Pantone colors are good Pantone color stairs are great

via

An awesome way to recycle

via

And perhaps the coolest stairs of them all