Bathroom fix-up - the clawfoot tub goes!

Every old house needs a bathroom touch-up.  Ours was a mix of a nice tub and an outhouse.  The WC was set in a dark hole --- we struggled with saving the tub, but in the end we found a new home for the old claw foot somewhere in Arcata.  Here are a few before and after pictures.

Before --- 

 

We removed some of the redwood "paneling" and found some nice wainscoting - in the original yellow.  A little TSP and the paint looked nearly new-- a hundred years latter.

I'm not even going to show the old toilet -- just too gross.

After --

Here are the after - huge shower - It may not be period but we can live with that.

Unrelated photo of Table Mountain - Butte County - Springtime

Brass Door Knobs Unearthed!

 The doors throughout the house are covered in tons of paint...  A little hot water, some elbow grease, and some stripper there is a new look.

 Took the paint off a door knob and plate and look what was underneath! 

Now we just need to strip and repaint the door.

Scullery Kitchen Renovation

 We recently got pretty close to finishing our scullery renovation (yep, thats where we keep the skulls)

Before

 

On the wall you can see the remnants of the California Cooler - or San Fransisco Cooler.  The wall opened to the outside to keep food cool.  Long ago removed and now it just adds a draft to the room.

On

Here are some more before photos...

After

The counter top is a solid oak from Ikea - the two pieced were butt jointed with the edges routered to remove beveled edge and make the pieces fit together.

Before and After

Every once and a while it's important to take stock of your seemingly endless project and highlight achievements through a series of satisfying "Before and After" photos!

Before, Apple Tree (see previous post on subject for more info) 

After

Before, Front Porch 

After (also see previous post for more info, and this one too)

Before, Skirting (more info)

After, almost done

Before, Front Parlor

Later, but not quite done

Before, The Second Parlor (see flooring post)

Later, not quite done on this one either, but it looks better!

Before, Stairs

In progress, stairs

Before, Stairs 

In progress, Stairs

While clearly there is work to do, a lot has been accomplished! And I didn't even mention the Mystery Door, or Mystery Well! 

New Victorian-Style Porch

We've added a new porch recently, and to our surprise, a charming dog came with it!

So far we've painted the railing, but there's still more to go.

We tore the original porch off as part of our foundation work.   We had a Victorian reproduction made of redwood designed and built for us by Dane Cowen from Ferndale.  He handcrafted the pieces, we painted them, and he put the whole thing together!

(Before)