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| Back of the house in the winter (!) in Wisconsin(!) What's wrong with this picture? |
Our home in Wisconsin is over 100 years old; it's the house where the Headmaster grew up. A number of years ago, he undertook the mammoth project of completely updating and renovating. This involved every room in the house: gutting, moving walls, redoing plumbing, etc. I continue to be in awe of what he did...and all by himself. Very little of the work was contracted out.
The only 'room' left untouched, however, is our basement. Now, many homes have basements that are quite nicely finished and furnished and look as nice or nicer than the main house.
Not ours.
Our basement is very 'dungeon-esque.' It's kind of creepy, in fact! One of my projects this summer is to get down there and do a major cleaning out of many of the gazillion nails, screws, nuts, bolts, etc., etc. that haven't been touched in years!
While plundering around down there last summer, I happened upon this piece of furniture (I knew it was down there but had forgotten about it). Though it had some flaws, it was too nice to languish 'below ground.' So, up it came. I brought it up on the deck; cleaned it up really well, and re-attached drawer bottoms, etc. There is still a problem with one handle (which I have) but haven't figured out yet how to attach it. I'll figure that out this year.
The piece is a lovely bird's eye maple! I love, LOVE the warmth of the wood, and at a certain time of the day when the sunlight hits it, it simply glows! I managed to find the perfect spot for it - in the kitchen where storage is very minimal! And...how do you like the old watering can with dried hydrangeas from our developing garden?
Had I known I would be doing this blog, there would be more and much better pictures, I promise!
There's at least one more treasure down there that I plan to refurbish this year. It might just be my maiden voyage into Annie Sloan Chalk Paint! Stay tuned!
I'll be linking to the following this week:
Hi Nancy,
ReplyDeleteI'm new to your blog and I must say I love everything about it. So happy to finally have the chance to comment. I adore this lovey piece of furniture! The warmth of the color and also the space that it provides. Who couldn't use more space in the kitchen? I can see extra plates, silverware, tablecloths and napkins stored inside. The watercan with the dried hydrangeas is a lovely touch as well.
~N~
Thank you so much for your gracious comments! I'm so glad that you like the piece. It didn't take long to fill it up, mostly with table linens! And you are sooooo right: one can NOT have too much storage anywhere, especially in the kitchen!
ReplyDeleteThanks again! You made my day!
~N
Wow this is just beautiful!! I would love to have something like this for extra storage...beautiful piece!
ReplyDeleteTerry
Thanks for stopping by and watching the video about Oregon!
Thank you so much for your lovely comments, Terry, and for visiting! The piece just looks like it was custom made for the space; I was lucky!!
Delete~N
What a beautiful piece, and you're right - it definitely deserves a prominent spot!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing at Simply Klassic!
Hi Nancy! You asked me about the chair I painted.The first color was Arles, and that was done last Fall. The next color I did was the Antibes green…than as you can see I just trimmed it in the Louis Blue. The wax was the last step. Really NONE of it difficult in the sense the paint is so easy to work with and dries so fast. I think you would love it.
ReplyDeleteThis piece of yours is a real beauty. Thanks for sharing with the newbie party.
So happy that you rescued that very pretty piece from the depths of the dungeon and put her on display (and to good use) in your kitchen.
ReplyDeleteAnd looking forward to see the fruits of your husband's hard labors on your blog ...
:)
Linda
Hi darling, what a "gorgeous" find. Love that you call the basement the dungeon. I have a room down here I call the war room, would love to find a beautiful treasure like yours in there, but alas it's full of "stuff" for the shop. lol hugs ~lynne~
ReplyDeleteWhat a gorgeous piece! I've been looking for this style to spruce up around my house.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful piece! Can't wait to see your next treasure.
ReplyDeleteDebbie
Love the lines of this piece and the beautiful grain of the wood. I am so glad you elected not to paint it. Even though I do distressed finishes, I never touch a piece that has preserved its original wood finish. I envy your basement, I think - the Dungeon sounds sort of scary to a Southern girl. Most houses here do not have basements or cellars!
ReplyDeleteDistressed Donna Down Home
Thanks, Donna! Actually, I am a southern girl; we live here part of the year and in Wisconsin part of the year! I WISH we had basements here...much more storage area!
ReplyDeleteLike you, I could not imagine painting this piece. It simply glows in the sunlight. Sadly, our 'dungeon' doesn't have very many more treasures in it, but I will definitely be hunting when we get up there. There are great auctions there as well as garage and yard sales; I have my work cut out for me this summer!
~N
You dresser is lovely. I inherited one almost like it from my mother in law. It is a treasure and is in our spare bedroom. You can see it on my blog season-to-season.blogspot.com Peggy from PA
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful piece of Birdseye maple so glad that you did not paint this piece it is lovely!
ReplyDeleteSherry