Seeing progress on any renovation is good for the soul!
We have been swimming in the deep of our project here for months now.
I thought it might be nice to share a before and after of the foyer today!
The day we moved to BannockBurn 1878 the foyer looked like this…
We were full of smiles walking around making plans…
The romance of the property conveniently clouding the reality of how much work there really was to do!
Since we were involved in a very large client project at the time the plan was to just move in and get through the winter and then start the renovations in the spring…
That was the plan…
Within a few weeks I decided that at the very least I could camouflage the green tiles as a temporary fix until the major renovation began.
It actually worked fairly well!
I also painted the hallway and changed out the light fixture for this beautiful lantern style one from Hinkley to freshen it up.
When spring came the real renovating began…
The main focus was supposed to be the kitchen but as things often do we experienced “project creep”!!!!
After a lot of discussion we decided that it was in the best interests of the house to strip back some of the dated and non original flooring… ( five different kinds on the main floor) and replace it with beautiful wide width white oak.
It was a large expense we hadn’t planned on but in the grand scheme of things it was money well spent as it unified the whole first floor and brought back a farmhouse aesthetic fitting to the home.
So… the ripping out began!!!!
I am just going to interject here that living in the house during a renovation is ….
NOT FUN OR EASY!
We must have moved packed, unpacked and moved again every stick of furniture on the main floor several times.
The dust, dirt and upheaval proved challenging.
It was well worth it but I want to be clear. If you are considering attempting a project like this one while living onsite…
Go into it with your eyes and mind well open… things shift daily and adapting to your changing environment while balancing all other aspects of your lives will be an emotional journey.
The white oak was laid and stained with a semi transparent stain that looks like whitewash.
It brings a light airy feeling to the house that I love.
It will also gradually wear back in high traffic areas which will give an authenticity to the space.
The runner on the staircase was another consideration…
I wanted a stripped one with a wide stripe.
The amazingly beautiful ones that I sourced for the Little Inn project were from Hartley & Tissier.
They were fantastic but unfortunately not in my budget at this time.
So I picked these charming ones from Dash and Albert. The pattern is Birgingham Stripe.
I bought three twelve ft. runners and two eight ft. ones. The idea was to do the staircase and also use them in the upstairs hallway and the kitchen.
Yesterday we finally had time to put them in!
Emmitt thinks they work rather well!
The rest of the kitchen project is wrapping up nicely.
I promise to share the completed space very soon.
You may have noticed a peek at those barstools I dyed for the kitchen!
I am a bit proud of myself I must admit!!
Come back tomorrow for a post on my Fall styling…
Spoiler alert…
It involves a lot of garden produce!!
