the new Master Closet!

The master closet has been a huge surprise! When we bought the house the plan was to move the master bath to the existing ell and somehow add a small closet in the same space. The ceiling was low, not even 7 1/2 ', and we decided it would be 'cozy!' Then, the ell was taken down (you can read about it here) and in the rebuilding: the ceiling soared to 9 1/2'; a bump-out (7' x 7') was added to house the WC and a stacking washer and dryer (on the first floor this space is the kitchen mudroom); and the decision to move the new master closet into the adjacent upper level of the barn was made. And thus, a master suite was borne! The whole suite: bedroom, bath and closet measures over 950 square feet, the size of our first apartment! Again... the closet was a surprise! A very pleasant surprise!

The master suite takes up the whole east side of the second floor. The closet is down the hall from the master bath. The closet door was originally an exterior door from the old master bedroom to the upstairs porch. On a whim I had it placed as the closet door, and it was perfect! It has fabulous antique wavy glass and original iron hardware. I painted it a pop of color! It's this delicious orange-pink coral that I love, which just happens to be the same coral color in the marble top on the chest of drawers! (It's Benjamin Moore's Coral Spice #2170-40 in Semi-Gloss.) The antique rug has the same splash of coral in it, and look how perfectly it fit in the hallway- it was meant to be!

This chair was in our old master bedroom. I quickly realized it probably wouldn't find a home in the farmhouse.... that is, until I realized how perfect it would be in this corner of the closet! It's a great place to put on your shoes, or just sit and talk to the other person while they are getting ready. The silk pillow has the same coral in it. I walked the small antique footstool into the closet and I swear the background of the fabric suddenly had coral in it- it was never there before! The vintage watercolor of an antique ginger jar filled with tulips was purchased at an estate sale years ago in Dallas. The fabulous early iron floor lamp with mica shade is a recent purchase.


Floor covering is a boucle sisal; it's so much prettier than the photos show. I love a boucle weave and think it feels great underfoot.



Two Ikea chests back to back topped with a piece of Breccia Oniciata marble. Ikea chandelier! We have a stacking washer and dryer just down the hall in the master bath, so this is my 'folding table!' I have literally lived out of zip-locks in my suitcase for a year and four months... it is so nice to have drawers again!


Dan's side!



Door (which was in the original ell) leads to a U-shaped storage closet that wraps around the master closet. Built-in ironing board to the left of the door.




My side with closet door in view. There are two windows in the closet which open awning-style (from the bottom out.)


View from North window.


View from South window.

Here are some photos showing how the master closet came to be! In this first photo you can see the framing for the master shower on the left; the cut-out in the barn roof in the center of the photo is now the hallway/entrance into the closet (see first photo of this post!)

Here our framers are laying the boards for the closet floor.

The framed door opening on the left is door leading to the storage closet.

Another view of storage closet door. The three barn windows you see in this photo will eventually be a "loft" room accessible from the barn room level. The barn room/great room is the space below the master closet and storage closet. The barn is "Phase II" of this project!



Beyond the framing in this photo you can see the space we will use as a storage area- it is under the eave of the barn roof, and wraps around three sides of the closet.

Sheetrock walls going in.

This photo shows the closet door in it's original exterior green paint, and the cut outs for the new windows.

Burrr..... it's cold!

It's 48 degrees! Now, I'm not complaining.... just sayin'! Here is Ella resting on our bed in front of the master bedroom fireplace (she had to go to the Vet today for her annual check-up and is a bit sore from all the shots, poor baby.) The marble surround is in the works, so it looks a bit unfinished at the moment! We are so loving the fireplace! If only I had a dollar for every time we said "I wish we had a fireplace in the bedroom" in the last house, we could have paid for this one! Grouping of recently unpacked antique prickets we found in France and a green glazed-terra cotta baluster that we use as a candlestick to the right!

The natives were getting restless...

Hello! How are you?! I've missed you!! Thank you so much for all of your kind, sweet, touching well wishes that you left for us in my last entry. What sweet gems! Again, you all made me laugh and cry! I'd been toying with coming back, and after a handful of sweet "I'm waiting for your next post..." emails and then after reading my friend Margaret's from Virginia Beach recent charming, touching comment I knew it was time!

In all the trauma in finishing the remodel of the farmhouse and the move, I think I naively thought we would move in and immediately unpack all the boxes, and then I would come back to show you completely decorated rooms. Well, just so you know... that's not happening!! The reality is that up until three days ago we still had not opened one single box! As I mentioned in the last post, when we were moving in, the kitchen was still being painted. That little project took a good two and a half weeks. Then, painters informed me that I should wait at least a week before putting anything on the freshly painted shelves, which of course they painted last. Then, it took those two plus weeks to get my finish carpenter back to the house to build our master closet. Then we had to get the painters, who had moved on to other jobs, back to paint the closet which again took a good week. Without the kitchen and the master closet we had no where to unpack into as all of the rooms were crammed with boxes. And since the barn room (which would have been my "family room" from the old house) isn't completed all those boxes are in the mix as well. The master closet is finally complete and is wonderful!! Pictures to follow in a day or two... promise!

We are now finally rested after the move and feel in sync with the house. But, it took a while. At first it was a bit like when you get a new car, and as much as you wanted and love the new car it just doesn't feel like yours. At the end of last week we finally got all the workers out of the house and that has made a huge difference. We have also informed our GC that his services are no longer needed, and he has removed all of his belongings (and his bad energy) from the property. We will act as our own GC to finish the barn room, and paint the exterior of the house. It is so wonderful to have all of them gone.

As of three days ago, we are finally unpacking boxes and it is like Christmas... it's like opening 200 boxes and getting everything you really, really wanted! I must admit that I spent a good many hours after moving in just staring at the stacks of boxes in each room wondering how in the world did I have so much stuff?! And, how did I have so many "Shells" that were written on so many boxes? Finally, after mustering my courage (with the help of a glass of wine;) I cut a "shell" box open to find one fragile piece of white coral that was the only thing in the box! Whewww! After opening more and more boxes like that I realized that my wonderful Dallas movers had packed many items in their own individual box to keep them safe!! (If you live in Dallas and need an amazing moving company contact I.E.D.S. They are a family run business- the owner and his crew personally drove all of our belongings to New Hampshire last year and then flew back to Dallas. I have not found one single thing broken in any of boxes we've unpacked. I can not say enough wonderful things about them!)

Since I have now realized that my naive thought of immediately posting decorated rooms isn't happening for a while, I thought I will share with you the unpacking process! Usually I wait and post a series of photos that (hopefully) tell a story, but for a while I'll just post a photo or two of things we've unpacked and tell their story. Having been an antiques dealer everything in our house has a story, and while I promise not to bore you with them all, I will share the fun ones!!

This first photo has items from the first couple of boxes we unpacked and randomly placed on the mantle. When I looked up and noticed the grouping I realized how perfectly these few items so completely exemplify my design style, so I've decided to share it with you:

I love birds (you'll see more birds along the way!) and was given this initial pair by my mother as a Christmas present years ago. She still had two pairs. I really wanted another bird. I explained to her how objects (flowers, etc.) are better in odd numbers and after several attempts convinced her to break up one of her pairs and give an extra one to me! (Hi Mama! Thank you!) Don't you agree that three is better than two?!

The oil painting is antique Dutch that I purchased about 16 years ago at an estate sale in Portland, Oregon where we lived at the time. I was just learning antiques and had a gut feeling that this was a good antique piece (for all my knowledge at the time it could have been a print, but I decided to trust my gut.) I think I paid about $125 which was a fortune for us at the time. We've since had it appraised and it is indeed a good old piece!!

The piece of hotel silver on the old books is from the Gunter hotel in San Antonio. I grew up in SA, so it is a special piece for me from our collection. In our last house I kept it filled with river stones picked up from a stream in the Tetons in Wyoming. I grew up going to the Grand Tetons with my parents and the Tetons are very near and dear to my heart.

The blue and white antique temple jar is one of a pair. I collected blue and white Chinese ginger jars for many years, and then along the way I grew tired of them. Sometime last year my love for them was renewed, and I am so happy to see them all again!

Thanks for being back for the continuation of our adventure!
joan