Classic Houses of the Twenties

I found this Cranston plan in a book, Classic Houses of the Twenties, at the public library. Although the first homeowners must have made some changes (i.e., front porch, closet placement, etc.), this plan is pretty close to my house. (The kitchen nook, 1/2 bathroom downstairs, and the den were added later on.) I thought it was pretty cool to find this. I was just thumbing through the book, out of curiosity, and I stumbled upon this one.

Finally, House Project Completed!

Yay! The house project of 2009 is now complete. Here are some final photos, contrasting before and after. I'm thinking that the brighter green will make the house look better even in the winter. What do you think?

I took the above ("before") photos when I first saw the house and fell in love with it in 2006.

I love the splash of "Moroccan sun" on the side door.

This side was peeling really badly, and now it looks so clean.

Now I just need to add a bit of black to the numbers so they are more visible. But that's about it. It's finished. Yay!!!

Chris had quite a bit of prep on this house, especially the trim and windows on the garage. But it looks so much better, don't you think?!

Mike's New Grill

Mike and I went to Lowe's today to get him a new grill. Actually, his parents suggested it for his birthday this year. Mike says, "Thanks, Mom and Dad!"

Our yummy food was corn on the cob, grilled veggies, and burgers. It was all a success! I mostly prepared the food and let Mike have the "glory" in tending the grill. :-)

Kitchen

Now the kitchen is painted. We kept it close to the same color green that was there before, and I had painted the terra cotta color when I first moved in (to cover some marks on the wall from the attached table that the previous owners had). I had a new fan put in, and I bought new sheers to brighten up the kitchen. It's difficult to tell from this photo, but the kitchen is so bright now. I really like it, and it will be nice and bright in the winter.

I think when I go to sell the house, I'll have plenty of photos to give the realtor to post. :-)

This is where the exhaust fan used to be. This is by the kitchen nook.

Moroccan Sun Shines on the Porch

Chris just painted the porch the other day, and I think it looks great! Actually, a neighbor down the street now wants Chris to paint his house, and I've heard from several neighbors (unsolicited, by the way) that they're liking how the house is shaping up.

He also painted the front and side doors the contrast Moroccan sky color.

Grand Rapids Public Library

I joined the Grand Rapids Urban Explorers Meetup, and my first outing with them was a behind-the-scenes tour of the downtown public library. First of all, I love libraries, and this one is architecturally beautiful. Construction began in 1902, and two years later, the Ryerson Public Library was opened. An extension was built in 1967, and in 2003, restoration to connect the older and newer parts of the building was completed.

This is the main entrance, which was was part of the recent restoration.

Marble door frame in the 1904 part of the building.

Ceiling in one of the reading rooms in the 1904 part of the building.

Upstairs view of the 1967 extension.

Cool light fixture.

This clock is on the wall behind the cool light fixture.

Martin A. Ryerson, who completely financed the 1904 opening of the library, was a native of Grand Rapids and the grandson of a founding member of the Grand Rapids community. He also helped to establish the Art Institute of Chicago and the University of Chicago.

Almost There!

We're moving into the final stretch, and Chris's paintbrush has now touched all the sides of the house, in varying degrees of completion. Here's the north side of the house, and you can see how the green looks with the "Moroccan sky" color, or as my neighbors call it, "orange."

Here you can see "before" and "after" photos of the downstairs area with the den windows (on the left side). We replaced the storm windows and painted the outside window grilles to match the trim. They were painted a yellow color, presumably to match the house. It now looks much cleaner, and another plus is that I can open all four den windows! :-)

Chris now has also started on the south side of the house, which was badly peeling before.

Chris still has a lot of trim, gutters, downpipes, doors, and the porch to finish, but he's getting there!