Phase II: the barn mud room & storage room

This post shows the making of the barn mud room and the barn storage room. 
I was initially going to include the loft, but even I was getting confused, so for simplicity I'll focus on these two spaces.  The barn mud room and the storage room sit on the same level as the barn room .   
(for reference: the loft sits directly above the mud and the storage rooms)



As I have previously mentioned, our attached barn was a working livestock barn when we bought the property.  Here you see the livestock stalls; notice the iron water basins and the iron hay rack in the corner!   This corner will be the barn mud room.   Stairs will be built in this space that access the garage below.

The room cleared out and opened up for construction.
Please note the door opening to the right of the window- that is the doorway into the storage room.  As you can see in this post the ceiling is low (it is the same in the storage room.)  These boards will remain exposed.

View from the barn room.  The open framing to the left of the original barn door is the doorway from the barn room to the mud room.  The storage room sits behind a wall that the barn door is leaning against.  The space visible through the framing on the second floor is the loft.

This wall will be closed off except for the opening into the mud room where we will place these antique iron gates from Argentina.

I wanted there to be a division between the two rooms, but didn't want to close off the rooms entirely with solid doors.  I knew these would be perfect for this space when we found them two years ago!

View from the mud room towards the barn room with the iron gates in place.
I've always had a very clear vision as what the barn room will look like, but this mud room was more a means to an end (the garage) in my mind- until we started the renovation.... this little space is quickly becoming a surpise little gem!




Two layers of flooring were removed to get down to the original barn floor.




The mud room floor being demo'd for the stairs.

The construction of the stairs to the garage.

All of the original antique barn windows have been replaced with energy efficient windows the same size and style of the originals.

The framing of the stairs in the garage. 

The room after being insulated.

Wood post with original iron tethering ring.
The structural engineer mandated that a post be placed in this location in the mud room  (for reference: the opening on the right side of the photo is where the iron gates will be placed.)   This original barn beam was used instead of a metal post.  To the right of the post will be the stairs to the upstairs loft. To the left of the post behind the wall (this original wall will remain) is the storage room. (The doorway into the storage room can be seen in the second photo.)

The storage room "before"!  If you've ever lived in an antique/old house you know the challenges of having little to no storage space.  This room will serve that purpose for us.  We have some fabulous antique iron lanterns (originally gas) from San Francisco that will serve as lighting in this room.

The NE corner of the storage room "before."

The same NE corner with the old windows and doors removed.

And again, the same NE corner of the storage room showing the stairs that were added to the loft.  The stairs will be walled off from the storage room.

Standing in the storage room looking back to that corner to the right of the old post with the metal ring (5th photo up, where the doorway to the loft steps will be....are you still with me?!!)

The carpenter cutting the doorway to the loft stairs.

The loft stairs doorway.

So, you get the big picture, right?!!!

quieting the voices...

If you've been reading my blog for a while, or if you are one of those wonderful, crazy new followers that have told me that you've gone back to the beginning and read the whole thing  (xo to all of you!) then you know how much I love New England and how much I love living here. 
That said, there is one thing that I dislike HATE about it.........
power outages.


This morning we woke up to this winter wonderland!

 As much as I enjoy the beauty, there is this nagging little voice inside my head screaming...
"PLEASE DON'T LET THE POWER GO OUT!"


It was in our second winter here that we lived through what is now referred to in the media as the "ice storm of the century."  (the story is here)  While we were some of the "lucky" ones who only lost power for SIX days (some people were without power for over three weeks), it was still a very traumatic event.  We were living in a rent house while the farmhouse was being renovated, and our rent house's only source of heat was a tiny flame from a very lame gas fireplace with the temperatures getting down into the single-digits every night.  When we lived in Dallas we would have the occasional power outage and would gripe for days if the power had been out for 2 hours!!  So, needless to say six days was a really long time.  Last year we lost power for two days and then just last Saturday we were out for a full day. 

There are a lot of occasions in New Hampshire for power outages:  snow, ice, high winds, falling trees, etc...   When we renovated the farmhouse (and after the ice storm) we buried our electrical lines from the road, but that doesn't eliminate all the other factors around us. 
(I would also like to note for the record, that somehow Dan always seems to be out-of-town during these power outages..... hmmmmmm...)


So.... this week this little beauty was installed!  For those of you not familiar with this type of animal this is a whole-house generator that comes on automatically when the power goes out.
(This should make some of the voices in my head go away!!)
let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

(I would also like to point out that Dan, with the help of Big Blue!, built the stone retaining wall behind the generator... it is still a work in progress!)


So, what's the longest you've ever been without power?!

snapshot...

afternoon sun on the living room coffee table

vellum books circa 1750

~ ~ ~
I would like to thank Yvonne Blacker and Linda Smith for the mention in the premiere issue of their new digital design magazine:
New England Finery



the making of a headboard

It is with great (design) embarrassment that I admit to you that we do not have a headboard in the master bedroom.... and to be even more honest, we do not have a bed-skirt either.   The box spring and mattress on the metal frame is in full sight when you walk into the master bedroom... oh the horror of it all!!! 

I have excuses.... would you like to hear them??

please cue the violins....

Doing a major renovation is exhausting- mentally and emotionally.  When I finally got around to designing the master bedroom I just ran out of steam. I make big and tiny design decisions about the farmhouse each and every day, but the master bedroom has thrown me for a loop!  I've been paralyzed with indecision.

And, since Dan was going to make the headboard for me I've also proven to be ineffective in my nagging!  Even using the line  " Ella would really like it if you were to make the headboard " hasn't worked... 

That is a joke around the house as years ago in Dallas I came up with the project of taking down a brick wall that enclosed our terrace and putting in an iron railing to open up the view of the yard from the house.  We even found the perfect vintage railing at a flea market, but for months I couldn't nag talk Dan into doing it.... until one day when I casually mentioned to him that, our then puppy-dog, Kelsey would really like it if that railing was there instead of the bricks so she could see into the backyard from inside of the house.  And, I'll be damned if he didn't, that very day, go outside and start taking the brick wall down!!!  
But, again- even that technique wasn't working with the headboard.  

end of excuses.

Having several carpenters around the house every day working on the barn renovation proved to be the answer.... we gave this project to one of them!  I'm happy to report that the master headboard is in the works (literally as I write!) 

During Phase I of the farmhouse renovation we took down a wall giving us a very nice size master bedroom.  The bed sits on one full wall, and I wanted the headboard to have a rather large presence in the room.  I contemplated an upholstered headboard, which I have used in the past and loved, but decided I wanted the element of wood on this wall. 

Months ago we bought these large antique wood  gate posts (each made from a single log; in other words not pieced together in any way) thinking they would make perfect headboard posts.

Being that they were turned on a lathe you can see how they are slightly different.  While I love that feature from a uniqueness aspect, it is making it a bit tricky for the carpenter.  The posts will be cut to make the tops of the finials level to one another.

 I have had this Viva Terra Gustavian headboard saved in my design files for a long time.  I love the lines of this piece, so this is the inspiration for the shape of the headboard. 

The headboard will be made from reclaimed barn boards from our barn renovation.

My original plan was to take the above inspiration photo to our library and use a projector to trace out the headboad to a king size.  Turns out our carpenter is skillful at drawing and he did it free hand, making changes as we went- a larger curve here, a different angle there, etc...

In this photo Dan is helping the carpenter trim out the initial design so it can be reversed over to the opposite side.

Using the large garbage can on the left for reference, you can see how tall the wood posts are in this photo.

 

 Testing....

Looking closely you can see the pencil outline of the shape of headboard drawn on the paper.  After seeing the design upright the top didn't have the right curvature that I wanted, so it was adjusted.

In this photo the final design is stapled to a piece of plywood.  The plywood will be the structural base that the finished barn boards will be attached to for rigidity.

The design being cut out on the plywood.

The edges being sanded down.

Isn't she a pretty little thing?!!

The posts being measured and leveled for cutting (leveling).

The salvaged barn boards that will be used for the body of the headboard.

The barn boards being clamped together before attaching.

Boards attached from the backside.

Since the headboard is a work in progress I will add more photographs to this post today and tomorrow to keep you up to date!

Oh... and please feel free to make me feel better and tell me of the design projects you just can't seem to get finished!!

thanks, I feel better already knowing I'm not alone!

Friday's update:

Dan helping!

Love!

Sanding the finish boards.  (be sure to note the mason working in the fireplace!)

Attaching the posts.

ta-da!!

Now, it's my turn on the project.... time for the finish!
The carpenter suggested I just leave it as is and put a clear-coat on it, but I'm thinking he might be one of those husbands who won't let his wife paint the stained paneling/moulding!!  The master bedroom is a grey, so I'm going for a "driftwood" finish.

I'll let you know how it turns out, but for the record... I'm not as fast as the carpenter!