I’ve started removing 50 year old paint from the window sills and door frames in the kitchen recently, and have discovered the required tools for the job:

The Citristrip stripper is foamy enough . . . → Read More: My current favorite tools]]> I’ve mentioned in previous posts that I have used a heat gun more than a blow dryer in recent years.

I’ve started removing 50 year old paint from the window sills and door frames in the kitchen recently, and have discovered the required tools for the job:

The Citristrip stripper is foamy enough to stick pretty well on a vertical surface, works fast, and leaves a dandy orange aroma in the kitchen.

Although I am not a big fan of the dentist, I am a huge fan of these dental-style picks that get that pesky paint out of the nooks and crannies – as well as between the various finish pieces of the door and window frames.

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Technorati Tags: American Four Square, Citristrip, Renovations

Dennis called his buddy Rob (who has helped us move the old Tappan upstairs, helped hang the upper butler’s pantry cupboards and more) and up the Grand came and back down the Tappan went. . . . → Read More: It’s finally here!! Sound the alarm!]]> After a couple of years, it was time for the new old stove to come upstairs and earn it’s keep.

Dennis called his buddy Rob (who has helped us move the old Tappan upstairs, helped hang the upper butler’s pantry cupboards and more) and up the Grand came and back down the Tappan went. Of course, it was the hottest, stickiest day we’ve had in a while. Just perfect for moving big heavy appliances.

I still haven’t found replacement handles for it yet. But the replacements function well and aren’t too flashy.

I thought I’d miss the Tappan being up here, but really, this is so much nicer. It fits the fridge better and even though there’s only a few inches clearance, it seems to open up the room.

It still needs some sprucing up, but it’s in great shape for a 70+ year old appliance.

The Grand stove manufactured in Cleveland, Ohio next to the G.E. monitor top.

If anyone knows where I can find vintage or reproduction Bakelite handles, please let me know.

I need to find two of these ivory Bakelite handles.

Technorati Tags: American Four Square, Bakelite, GE Monitor top, Grand Stove, Monitor Top, oven, refrigerator, stove, Vintage appliances

“You know I talked to Helen today. She has a niece who married that Taylor boy. His mother was such a good cook. I . . . → Read More: Restoring the pantry – the saga continues – part 4]]> Or maybe the pre-quel.

I know we haven’t gotten to the pantry part. I have become my mother. She used to take 20 minutes to tell a 5 minute story.

“You know I talked to Helen today. She has a niece who married that Taylor boy. His mother was such a good cook. I remember when she had us over for dinner. They had just moved into their new house. Oh, she had the most beautiful house, the drapes in the living room were just lovely….”

Anyhoo……………..

Our aim to restore the pantry (see I’m keeping on topic here), was borne of our desire to keep the kitchen as true to what would have been era-appropriate as we could and still have a livable house.

The POs we purchased the house from had left the gas oven (circa 2000) and we purchased a 2003 simple refrigerator. Both functioned perfectly fine, but neither one fit the kitchen and were severely lacking in the charm department.

Solution? One was tucked in the basement, next to the original pantry cabinetry.

An early 1950s Tappan. We met the children who used to live here (now well into their 60s or more) when their father passed away a couple years ago. One of their daughters told us that was the “canning stove” their mom used every year.

The other we found at an antique store -

A 1934 GE Monitor Top.

Both have obviously been used. But they both work great and look terrific sitting next to each other. Of course, monitor tops don’t have a real freezer section, but a chest freezer in the basement fills the bill. I have to tell you, that monitor top gets so cold in some spots, it could be considered a freezer. And, I don’t even mind defrosting it. It only takes about 30 minutes.

Not too long after the Tappan was moved upstairs, we found this little baby:

I tried in vain to find replacement Bakelite handles, but we found something workable and someday, it will come upstairs and the Tappan will got back to the basement. We use this 1930s Grand gas oven on holidays when we need additional oven space.

The pieces we started with (see here) were put into service:

The china cabinet was sanded and painted Buttermilk Yellow milk paint and Linen Napkin high gloss latex.

The Napanee cabinet got new doors courtesy of an Amish gentleman in Central Ohio, a back, and a new maple top made by Dennis.

Everything we buy, we use. We plug in every electric gadget we want to buy at the antique store to make sure it’s useable. Dennis knows how to rewire everything…Thanks Heavens!

Okay, so what happen to my teaser in the last post? Coming next: hidden treasure, the search for the perfect yellow paint, and the trouble with plaster. And what did this post have to do with anything? It may help explain why we chose the path we ended up taking during our renovations.

So next time: hidden treasure, the search for the perfect yellow paint, and the trouble with plaster.

Really!!

Technorati Tags: American Four Square, free standing kitchen, kitchen, Monitor Top, Napanee, Renovations, Tappan, unfitted kitchen

So we determined we would go with the unfitted kitchen.  It was more in keeping with the era of the house and kinder to our budget.  We had the basic . . . → Read More: Restoring the pantry – Part 3]]> Moving on…. if you missed part 1 and part 2 of this exciting adventure, see “Kitchen Reno – part 1″ here and then here.

So we determined we would go with the unfitted kitchen.  It was more in keeping with the era of the house and kinder to our budget.  We had the basic components.  Next up?   A little research for me.  Demolition for Dennis.

No doubt about it, he loves this stuff.

I purchased Jane Powell’s Bungalow Kitchens as well as Bungalow Bathrooms.    I also became an avid reader of the House Blogs web site, American Bungalow forums and other resources.    We found out that homeowners who couldn’t afford subway tile would often have the plaster scored to look like tile.    A couple of coats of oil-based paint gave the plaster the kind of sheen that resembled tile.    Well, that’s what we had here!    The lower wall was separated from the upper by a chair rail.    The lower wall (about 5 feet) was scored and the upper wall (also about 5 feet) was smooth plaster.    Unfortunately, the walls have been painted so many times, the score lines were disappearing.    The solution?    Heat gun.

Now, for some reason, the heat gun has been my domain since we moved in.  We’ve used it alot.  Alot.  A whole lot. I don’t know if Dennis figured I had more experience in this area because of the whole blow dryer thing or what.   But the heat gun and I are good friends. So I set out to strip the old paint off those lower walls.    You know, a room seems small until you start stripping paint off the walls.  Then it’s massive.

Let’s take another quick peek at the room as it was when we moved in.

The bottom wall (the scored part) was green.  I don’t know exactly what color green, it was not      exactly hunter green and not really pine green.  It was kind of in between those two.  The chair rail was burgundy latex and the upper wall and trim was white latex.    Inside the cabinets (and inside the small closet in the bathroom/pantry was BRIGHT! YELLOW! PAINT!    It was older paint, so it was apparent that those cabinets had been painted long ago – BRIGHT! YELLOW!

I began to stripping.  It was tedious.  I burned my hand 3,000 times. I burned the wall a few    times too. The saving grace: the lower walls had not been washed down or sanded prior to a couple of those coats of paint.  Once you got a piece started, you could peel that paint off in sheets.  I finally got down to the bottom layer.  It was a warm white – amazingly close to what we had picked for the lower color.

Next step, removing cabinets.

The kitchen after (most) of the lower paint had been stripped off.

We tore those upper cabinets down one Friday night.  We had both worked all day and we should not have been wielding hammers in close proximity to one another.  The good news was we took two walls of upper cabinets down in one night and didn’t kill or maime each other.  The lower cabinets soon followed, except for the cabinet that housed the sink.

Coming next:  hidden treasure, the search for the perfect yellow paint, and the trouble with plaster.

Technorati Tags: American Four Square, free standing kitchen, kitchen, Monitor Top, Napanee, Renovations, Tappan, unfitted kitchen

The kitchen had been remodeled probably sometime in the 1950s. The family that moved in about 2000, had put . . . → Read More: Restoring the Pantry – part 2]]> When we last checked in with our intrepid renovators, the discussion was centered around restoring the butler’s pantry. We had already done quite an overhaul of the kitchen soon after we moved into the house.

The kitchen had been remodeled probably sometime in the 1950s. The family that moved in about 2000, had put new flooring down (icky, inexpensive sheet vinyl), but hadn’t tackled anything else…well, except for the paint. The paint!

Here’s the picture – a typical 1920s American Four Square. The kitchen? Really, a good size for it’s time – 13 x 12. Biggest problem? One huge window and five doors. Five doors! One to the dining room, one to the stairwell/family room, another to the basement, the door to the pantry (now bathroom) and the outside door. Kinda limits your options.

Here are a few photos of what the kitchen looked like on our second visit to the house with the realtor.

The original kitchen has the birch doors, a gray starburst Formica countertop. Not to mention the curlique over the sink and corner shelves straddling the window.

A view of the kitchen window. A massive 47″ x 49″. Cupboards had been cut out (left) to make room for the refrigerator. Unfortunately, the placement of the fridge meant the beautiful oak dining room door had been taken off and stored in the attic.

West side of the kitchen; to the right is the door leading to the basement. To the right is the door to the stairwell & family room. While the ‘to the ceiling’ cupboards was nice, I got nosebleeds from teetering on a chair trying to get to that pressure cooker or slow cooker. You can see the vinyl flooring. That stuff was soooooo slippery when it got wet, it was dangerous.

The North side of the kitchen. Dennis is standing in the doorway which leads to the basement. Mike, our realtor, is in the pantry (now bathroom) door. The door to the far right is the outside/backyard entry.

We both knew the kitchen was going to get an overhaul – it needed it badly. We set out making our plan shortly after we moved in, but didn’t start until 18 months later. It takes us a long time to make a plan. No, that’s not true. We make plans quickly, and then we postpone starting a project. All that really does is give me a chance to change my mind. And I did…many times. We looked at counters and cupboards. The stuff we really wanted was way expensive and the stuff we could afford we hated. Finally, I decided on a freestanding kitchen. So we started scouring antique stores and flea markets.

We found three pieces that set us on our path:

A china cupboard in an antique store.

A baker’s cabinet…complete with pull-out bin.

A sad, half complete Napanee cabinet.

Next up: The paint! The appliances! The scary demo man.

Technorati Tags: American Four Square, free standing kitchen, kitchen, Monitor Top, Napanee, Renovations, Tappan, unfitted kitchen

Just as we were starting to get our bearings, . . . → Read More: We’re not the big slugs you think we are….Really!]]> We’ve been away for a while. We’ve had a pretty rough winter. Those of you who read this blog might remember that my mom passed away in September 2007. We had a memorial service for her in November which was not without its’ family drama.

Just as we were starting to get our bearings, Dennis sister, Sue, passed away on Christmas Eve. She had battled pancreatic cancer for several years. She did amazingly well for a very long time. Then just before Christmas, she fell ill and was gone within a week.

The winter in Ohio has been, ah, dreary. We’ve had snow on the ground most of the winter. It’s been cold and damp then colder and damper. I’ve been suffering from cabin fever to the point I’ve considered packing a toothbrush and leaving. For.good. With my luck, I’d get stuck in a stinkin’ snowdrift.

With all that out of the way, I’ll say this. We haven’t been doing nothing around here. We haven’t been doing as much as we’d like, but we haven’t been doing nothing.

In my next post, I’ll start the story of how we went from this:

to this:

I prefer to think of it not as a deck, but as a porch. A big porch.

Technorati Tags: American Four Square, Porch, Renovations

Miles and Roxie

Originally uploaded by . . . → Read More: On the lookout]]>

Miles and Roxie are at their post after hearing Santa was coming soon. Santa always brings good snacks and squeaky toys.

Miles and Roxie

Originally uploaded by kwill1229