Test Paints are on the house

We decided on the gray color scheme.  There are now test paints all on the house - very exciting!  Luckily Jim & I picked the same 4 colors for wall, accent, trim & fish scales.
Martin Senour Cape Cod Gray 315-6 for the wall color; Martin Senour Antique Doll 48-3 for the trim.  Benjamin Moore Hodley Red HC-65 for the red accent and a navy color - Benjamin Moore Newburyport HC-155 for the fishscale.

In the pictures below - there are two wall colors, a gray (the one we chose) and a blue.  The blue was a little too 'teal' for us and we didn't like it with the navy fish scales.
On the pictures of the test paint, there are two reds, two white/cream and two navy, but you can't tell the difference in the pictures.

The top picture is the inspiration house that we found locally - when we turned in the house that we liked online, the contractor said 'oh, there's one just about like that on Arch Street'.  It has the 4 main colors, then a metallic on the post 'balls' - I'm thinking copper for ours (would match the turret rim & finial).
Thanks for looking,
Christy

Cute Kids at County Fair - off topic blog

So a quick off-topic blog - our kids at the Pope County Fair!  Aren't they cute?
In Arkansas - September is County Fair time.  From vegetables & crafts to chickens & cattle, farm families & 4-Hers bring their best products to compete & have fun.  Our family farm is in Pope County Arkansas - the boy's grandmother raises cattle and they show the animals at county & state events (just like me & my granddad).  We had lots of fun at the fair this year - as always, but the farming was hard for 2012.  There has been a bad drought going on in most of the country & Pope County seems to be the epicenter of it.  NBC, PBS & the Weather Channel featured my Mom on the news - check it out (I said this was an off topic blog...)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-19158664

http://video.today.msnbc.msn.com/today/48131639#48131639  

http://video.msnbc.msn.com/nightly-news/48127198/#48127198

Now...back to the super cute kids!

Thanks for looking,

cm

A break for a few days...

We've been hard at it evenings & weekends since July 16th.  
However, this week, our family is exhibiting livestock at the Pope County Fair Thursday through Saturday. Next week is a business trip to Minnesota & then a surgery for my Mom.  

So, OCD-Christy will have a 4 day and then a 5 day 'break' from working on the house.  You regular folks are saying "Whew, how wonderful" - the other old-house-ers are saying "Oh dear, how will you survive" (In case you hadn't figured me out yet - I'm the latter).  In anticipation of this emotional period - yesterday I did a walk through of each room & wrote down everything that needs to be done before move in.  
(Of course, keep in mind that the to-do-list and the to-buy-list and the repair-list and the 'plan' are all existing lists...but now there is a room by room version...doing a list from scratch & then comparing it to the other lists is essential for Virgos...be patient with us.  And, if I do say so myself, it's a pretty darn good list!)

We'll be counting on our 3rd party contractors to be doing all work while I'm off on other adventures - CM Construction is finishing  up the wood replacement & has started sanding & priming...picking a color is coming soon (oh, the pressure).  They are fixing some windows and installing a door where there's just a piece of insulation now.  Also flipping the front porch poles over...they are upside down (picture below).  We also have a fella that is going to patch-up the insulation on the ducting under the house.  It was on my 'to-do' list, but I'm not too game for insulation-scratching nor the under-the-house-area...he was affordable & has done a good job on a couple other items - give him a call if you need just about anything done in the Little Rock area:  Henley's Home Repair 501-747-4473 (found him on Craig's List - http://littlerock.craigslist.org/sks/3233997551.html).

In the kitchen, we finished the tearout & got the lower cabinets installed.  The countertops are on backorder as of yesterday & won't be arriving until 2nd week of October - yikes.  So they are sending me a sample so we can pick kitchen backsplash & flooring.  Checkout this funky wallpaper that was originally in the kitchen that we found.  Pretty vintage!  Unfortunately it's not saveable...BUT I did find replacement wallpaper on Etsy!

Thanks for looking!
cm

The original wallpaper found in our kitchen

Vintage Wallpaper online

The kitchen...planning phase going well

For the kitchen, we're not doing the 1910's - 1930's decor like the rest of the house...it's going to be 1940's - 1950's!
The anchor pieces are the 1941 vintage Merritt O'Keefe stove & the double-sink with double-drainboard metal sink unit.  The cabinets are flat-front to look like the metal 'youngtown' type cabinets.  The counter tops are vintage-style Red Cracked or Crackle Ice laminate with the metal banding - just like the 'inspiration' kitchen.  I'm SO excited.
The only decision is the flooring.  The inspiration room has red floors...I'm leaning toward putting it exactly like the photo or changing it to the green (samples below).  

We ordered the counter top and banding today - 4x10 sheet with metal banding on the edges (just like the photo).  I have to brag on my vendors again!  
A Moment in Time Retro Design http://heffrons.com/retro/banding.html
They were SUPER nice & helpful...they are also lots cheaper than the other vendors.

 BHM Countertops in Bryan is doing our installation on countertops & flooring...I'm bragging on him even before the job is done just because they were helpful & tolerant of my 'non-modern' kitchen design & needs.  http://www.bhmcountertops.com/


This one will take a few weeks to see the results.  I'll post WIP & finish pics are we go.
Thanks for looking!
 

This is the INSPIRATION kitchen

Our stove is a 1941 Merritt Okeefe similar to this one

The sink unit is like this one

Red floor like the inspiration room?

Or maybe a green one?

 

Re-fancied Fireplaces: 1 of 3 done

The entryway fireplace had been painted white on white.  The tile was still original and is a green-gray-cream mix.  Below is my attempt to revive it.  The paint matches the green in the tile, the accents are white with gilded leaves.  One down - two more to go.

The living room & dining room fireplaces are vintage dark-stained wood and really decorative.  This fireplace in the entry and the two that are in the office & guestroom are not as fancy & painted all white.  I'll try my hand at the office & guest fireplaces in the next week or so.