Welcoming Entry Hall Finished
(Click picture to view photo gallery.)
Happy new year! We have had a very good Christmas season here at the Newborn House. Candice was home from college and we had time to relax and enjoy time with our families. We hope you also enjoyed good times, good food and good company.
In between the normal holiday activities, we did manage to squeeze in some time to finish another section of the house. The front section of the entry hall is now complete. Work in this area included plaster repair, painting, stencilling, new lighting, and some minor electrical work. (Here's a link to a photo gallery of the front hall.)
The front half of the entry hall is separated from the back half by a large arch, so we've worked our way to the arch and will tackle the back half of the hall next. Following that, we'll probably do the dining room and second bath so that we'll be finished with the downstairs.
But first, Andi has some non-house-restoration projects lined up for January (Stephanie, your curtains are on the way very soon.). And, I have some electrical work and other prep work that needs to be done so that we can get a crew in here to put some insulation in this house.
After nearly a year of work on the interior of the house, we have completed the kitchen, a full bath/laundry room, the master bedroom, the parlor and the front hall. (We've also done a good bit of work to the exterior, mechanical systems, and other projects.) Our original expecation/hope was that we would be able to finish most of the work in about a year. Since we're only about half done, it proves my theory that everything takes about twice as long as you expect.
It's my understanding that the front hall of a house like ours would have had a very important purpose back in the old days. When weary travellers were passing through, it was traditional for homeowners to allow them to seek shelter from bad weather or to overnight in the front hall. Back in even earlier times, the travellers would even have brought their animals into the front hall.
I don't know that we've ever had either weary travellers or beasts of burden in our front hall, but it is now a welcoming sight for anyone who stops by for a visit.
Stay tuned for more updates.