The Cross House

  A pair of floor lamps will follow. The draperies for the curved windows will follow. The right radiator will follow.    

                  Somewhere, in the back of mind, a thought was lazily floating about as I wrestled with the radiator: WHY are you doing this? You are SIXTY! SIXTY!  STOP THE MADNESS! But…what was pain, what was sweat-soaked agony, when this…         With the floor…

For the last two months I have posted many updates on the completion of the parlor in the 1894 Cross House. But the south-east corner, the corner with the mantel and over-mantel, has been conspicuously absent from these many posts. This is because there were big holes in the SE corner, created to snake in…

When the Cross House was finished in 1894 it was common for rooms to have: A pattern on the floor (either elaborate wood designs, wall-to-wall carpeting, or area rugs), Patterned wallpaper. A frieze paper with a pattern A ceiling paper with a pattern In addition, curtains and sofas and chairs and pillows would also have…

  Ross pondered. Ross fretted. Ross worried. Ross came up with a dozen potential solutions to this epic problem. Yes, yes, the world may be going to Hell but, damn, not until the Cross House parlor was the best it could be. So, Ross continued ponderingfretting&worrying. Then a light bulb went off.      …

  Restoring an old house requires a lot of tools. So, having power tools and screws and a caulk gun and ladders are musts. But there are some things often overlooked but which I consider essentials.              

A few months ago, during the memorable Bo Visit, everything I knew about picture rail was turned on its head, and I did a post about this new reality. In short, I learned: Picture rail, at least during the 1890s, was not necessarily installed by the finish carpenters but rather by wallpaper hangers. Picture rail…

          The conceit is that the lightning shattered the ceiling. It’s OK if I am the only one who sees that! Finishing the oculus, and rehanging the incredible period-correct gas/electric chandelier, makes a dramatic difference in the room. The cracked glass ceiling effect, which dominated yesterday, instantly became a background element…

This morning I did a post which…made y’all mad! Mad! I just felt crushed. I felt terrible. I felt devastated. It was not my intention to cause anguish. I just wanted to let everybody know why updates on the parlor had ceased. So, to make amends, rather than a Big Reveal next week, I will…

I have done a lot of posts about decorating the parlor. Then the posts stopped. This is because I had an epiphany, and…eek…started making some significant changes to the room. You will be shocked. Hell, I am shocked. But yesterday I sat in the revamped room and was filled head-to-toe with joy and pleasure. The…

I have been pondering the dining room. The parlor and library are kinda close to being done. So, maybe the dining room next? Perhaps I should do the room in period-correct papers? A wall paper, a frieze paper, and ceiling paper. So, I sent some inquiries to Bo. And he replied with some mighty tantalizing…

About once a year I get contacted by a production company. Would I be interested in having the restoration of the Cross House become a TV show? My first thought: Sure! My second thought: Hell no! The second thought is generated by two things: I know a couple who actually worked with a production crew….

Recently, I did two posts about being invaded by squirrels. The adventure was exhausting. Just when I thought the damn creatures were gone, they would make a mockery of my assumptions. One day, after opening the outer front door, I unlocked the inner door, opened it, and…stopped. A squirrel was standing in the foyer looking…

  All the picture rail in the Cross House was removed, I think, in 1950. There was never any question that I would recreate this feature. I found some large-scale picture rail, ordered it, and was quite excited when it arrived. Then, after talking with Bo, I realized that I had…was really boring picture rail….

    That nut would be me. Sigh. The ceiling was actually finished and primed over a year ago. Then I decided to resurrect the gas/electric sconces and had to pull some wires, necessitating punching a hole in the ceiling/wall (the patch to the lower right). Then I decided NOT to install ceiling fans to…

    After each stained-glass panel is restored by Hoefer Stained Glass, the wood sash itself requires restoration and glazing. So, there is always a lag between when the stained-glass panels return to the house, and their reinstallation. This is the second reinstalled stained-glass window in the dining room. Currently being worked on are the…