Some other before and afters:

Kitchen before and afters:

With a new job and a thousand projects around the house.... the blog lost priority fast. But, I have the summer off, and am looking forward to showcasing some of the work we have been doing. First, the "after" for our living room:

Next up, exterior before and afters. A preview of whats to come...

Portico before and after

the portico

A portico (from Italian) is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea first appeared in Ancient Greece and has influenced many cultures, including most Western cultures, including the College Hill area of Easton Pa.

Although not the most charming enterance I had ever seen, the dilapidated, slumping front porch had a certain charm to it. A Classic Georgian Colonial Revival feature, our portico is small, but very convenient. It also showcased the amount of neglect our poor little house has suffered through. The paint was very faded and peeling off of much of the surface of the part of the porch exposed to the sun and wind. The wood was starting to rot, and some of the archetectual details were begining to peel themselves away from the columns. For such a small area, an unanticipated amount of work went into scraping, sanding, patching, filling, priming and painting. But, I must say, the finished product makes me so very happy.

Room by room

The first room we started on was the large 15'x 24' living area. Bright and sunny, with four large windows, this room has a very comf

ortable feel. The very first project, which began mere days after purchasing the house, was working on the centerpiece of the room - our fireplace. The fireplace was covered in several layers of paint, hiding the beautiful red brick, creating a faux modern feel to such a quintessially colonial fixture.

I was going away for the weekend, leaving N by himself with the house for the first time. I had an inkling of what he was planning, but wouldnt have guessed the extent of his ambition. I called periodically throughout the weekend, checking in, but it wasn't until I came home late Sunday evening and saw several hundred pounds of sand sprayed through the inside of my home that I understood what it takes to removie multiple layers of aging paint off of brick.

N rented an industrial stength commercial sandblaster for this little project.

I must say, it did a fantastic job, albeight a bit messy.

All in all, the fireplace is back to being the true focal point of the room, just the way it is supposed to be.