Tuesday, June 16, 2015

The Makeover of an Old Queen...

Hello Dhaaarlings...
The "Makeover"... (read "Money Pit) has started here at the  "Palais" 
As with most renovations and re decorating on an old house... for anyone else that has been there.... we have discovered a few surprises...




Some of the original plaster fittings and finishings have been water damaged by previous owners and just had a quick lick of paint slapped over them to hide the water marks...




 Therefore we are needing to have the cornice and picture railing on one wall re moulded and replaced to match the original...

And then there was the plaster air vent that just fell off the wall as the workman was attempting to ready it for painting...



Extra time and money...

The plaster on the walls is the original "Horse Hair" none of the new fandangle dry wall...

The colour of the lounge and hallway walls has been a peach/ apricot...
On scraping back the paint that was flaking off everywhere due to being painted with "calcite" back in the 70's we discovered that the original colour was a pale green.




Unbeknownst to the Empress.... a very similar colour to the one that she has picked out for the re paint...

The surround of the fireplace and mantle in the lounge has been extremely poorly finished, something that the Empress hadn't noticed on purchasing the house... 




It's amazing what curtains can camouflage...

The hallway has all the original fittings around the front door and even the window opener above the door... They are so old that they have been clagged up by the application of years and years of paint that they longer work... I'd like to get them restored...




Sadly... the budget won't stretch to full renovation of the mechanism but at least the new paint job will freshen things up and already the hall is a little brighter than it has been in the past...

The works continue... It will be another week before the replacement cornice and picture rail can be finished off but by then the bulk of the work should be completed

Here's Hoping...

28 comments:

  1. Previous owners - they should all be hung, drawn and quartered. Old paint is hell to remove, but worth it in the end. I found a few 'interesting' hidden items at my house at the weekend... I may post a few pics myself :-)
    Anyhow, looking good, Prinny!
    Sx

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    1. that's why i'm paying someone else to remove the old paint... I've done enough DI Y over the years... As for further surprises i'm hoping there wont be too many more...

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  2. It looks like things are moving along nicely, of course it will be worth it when the workmen are finished. I love, love, love transom windows and it looks like you still have all the hardware there, so, maybe someday...

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    1. I'm gad someone could tell me what type of window it was i had no idea Wallingford, thankyou and yes... Maybe someday....

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  3. i spent last summer stripping 2 sets of frontiers/storm doors, then refinishing them. ugh.

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    1. Hard work certainly Norma but i'm sure you are pleased with the end product... It's worth all the grunt...

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  4. I agree with Wallingford...the front transom windows are stunning!!!! Looks like a lot of work to come, and will look forward to more posts. I'll be in the same boat soon, but not to this point. The Casa is getting a fresh coat of paint in July. It's so FUN to watch the houseboys paint, especially when their balls get in the paint tray....then it turns to a good game of roller balls.

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    1. We've hired a specialist renovator/restorer. A little more expensive but worth the extra as he has already demonstrated that he knows his stuff and is quick to resolve tricky surprises.
      I hope there will be pictures of the rollerball derby at the casa in July!

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  5. Beautiful.

    My house was built in 1908 and has the same stained glass panels around the front door. I'm still looking for a green panel replacement. The transom hardware isn't that hard to remove, strip and clean up. Time consuming but you can do it yourself. The paint is probably the only thing keeping the window itself from operating.

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    1. I think the paint is the only thing actually holding the window together!
      One day i will find the time and the money to restore it.Both seem to be in short supply around here at present.

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  6. I love all the original plaster work--horsehair!--and am glad you are replicating it rather than tearing it down. i'm sure it's more costly,. but the results will no doubt be stunning.

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    1. It's worth the extra to keep it real Bob. Sadly the previous owners went crazy with exterior aluminium cladding and replaced all the original stained glass sash windows
      with sliding aluminium horrors... One day i might be in a position to restore/refit the original windows and re clad with real timber... I can but dream...

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  7. STUNNING!! sweet mary sunshine, darling, i am absolutely drooling here with serious old house envy! sadly, i moved from a house built in 1872, to one built in 1994, so you know why i'm so jealous. i agree with ayeM8y regarding the transom works, but also know, it is really time consuming. maybe later, right? ;) looking forward to updates! xoxoxo

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    1. The empress has gone the opposite way from a brand new 30+ squares house with all the modern bells and whistles to a 160 yo Miners Cottage. The whole house could have fitted into the previous lounge area alone! Talk about downsizing!
      The transom will eventually be restored... It is on my list of "Pantene" Moments... "It won't happen overnight... But it will happen"...

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  8. Yikes! That plaster - Do you hear ghostly neighing at night? Still, hopefully it'll all be sorted soon. I agree with the others: that door surround/transom window is wonderful - I bet it's lovely to be in the hallway on a sunny day?

    Good luck to you and The Empress!

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    1. I'd always wondered what the clopping noises were at night, I just thought it was the Empress swanning about in her stiletto slippers...
      Sunny days are few and far between here at the moment, I'm looking forward to the solstice when the light will start to return...

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  9. What wonderful architectural details! I helped a friend in Michigan with some remodeling projects on his house built in the late 1800s. It also had similar plaster ceiling details. Ironically, that stuff was preserved over the years by the tacky drop ceiling that was badly installed by a previous owner.

    It will look stunning when done.

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  10. Apparrently the original timber ceiling boards are still in situ under the plaster, the cost to remove the existing plaster to expose the boards again was going to be well outside our budget. WE are having trouble finding the replacement cornice for the lounge. The company that our plasterer uses threw out some of their old profiles that they hardly used any more just recently... Sadly one of them was the profile of our existing cornice. Looks like we will have to replace the whole lot with something different so that we get a decent matching finish. The Empress is happier but I can only see $$$$

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  11. I'm familiar with tranny "peek-a-boo" windows, especially the clear glass ones above bedroom doors! But the horse hair plaster is a new one on me. I'm glad you went with the Eau-de-Nil it's a much nicer calming colour than the peach.

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  12. Happy birthday, Princess! From all at Castlette DeVice x

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  13. Happy birthday, Prinny!

    Is it still the 26th there? I hope so.

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  14. Birthday ? Oh !
    Congratulations dear Princess !

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  15. Thanks to you all for your birthday wishes.
    I'm very deeply touched that you all remembered...
    And yes MJ it is still the 26th here in Oz

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  16. Happy Birthday darling.

    Good to see the renovations are coming on a-pace.

    I'm sure the dust might be driving you mental, but then those workmen...

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  17. Darlin' - yer still with us ?

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  18. still here folks! Things have been delayed with replacing the cornice as the whole lot has had to be replaced and the new design made from scratch. So the house is still in chaos and i have only a week or two until all the costumes need to be finished for "pirates of penzance"
    I'll be tethered the sewing machine if anyone's looking for me darlings...

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