log house – Home at Winshaw

House Progress Winter 2017

House tour time again! We don’t really have any big progress to show off, but a number of little things that have made this winter more cozy.

The most visible change would be our new living room arrangement. If you remember, before we had a stack of dry lumber stored along the long wall behind the couch. (we don’t yet have an outbuilding big enough for lumber storage) This really limited space and what we could do with arranging the furniture. However, when we brought the Christmas tree in, to make room for it, Jordan decided to move the lumber stack up stairs to our room – which I was reluctant about at first, but now I am really enjoying our new ‘bookshelf’!

So, that had an avalanche effect, and we spent about two days rearranging and deep cleaning the room – so refreshing! It’s amazing what a little change can do sometimes. We also had room to bring an extra rocking chair down from the attic, and bring a cedar chest downstairs for a coffee table.

A nook which we jokingly call our ‘momma and poppa bear chairs’.

Not too much has changed in the kitchen, although Jordan did get some more plumbing completed under the house, which brings us closer to running hot water! Exciting! Also, more skillet hooks, can’t ever have enough of those!

In this picture we were getting ready for a ‘pie supper’ get together we were hosting – normally the table with the green cloth sits more in the middle of the room for my main cooking work space.

I’m so excited about this update – a hanging lamp over the dining room table! This is a vintage lamp that we bought for $5.00 at a yard sale last year. Finally got it rewired and installed above the table – and it’s been so delightful having that nice overhead light at one of our main project spaces! Good lighting makes such a difference on these dark winter days.

The kid’s room.

The sewing room.

Our bedroom – notice our new ‘bookshelf’! It’s really coming in handy. I’m going to be almost sad when we have to use the wood to finish the wall paneling. (haha – almost.:)

We ended up with an extra set of copper twinkle lights after Christmas decorating, so they came to live in our room and give us a nice soft nightlight. I like the cheeriness of it!

What progress will be made in 2018? Hmmm…I’m hoping for a summer kitchen, finishing and painting the inside paneling….finished kitchen cabinets, and maybe a door or two! But,that’s an awfully big wish list, so we shall see! Jordan also must really build a barn/shop soon too, which will be quite the project!

I am so thankful for where we are now – when I look back on how far we’ve come since moving in to our log house, it’s amazing! At first we had no water at all (running or otherwise, haha) except for the creek, no bathroom, no stove, no sink or tub….and only one somewhat livable room! Compared to then, we are so comfortable now, and will just keep plugging away at all the finishing touches.

Kitchen Update – Making Progress!

Over the winter and spring Jordan has made a lot of progress on our kitchen! I am so excited about it. The kitchen has long been one of the most unfinished spaces in our house, and its exciting to see it getting a face lift!

The first big change was when Jordan found and purchased a used Kitchen Queen woodstove. We’d been on the lookout for a cookstove big enough to also heat the house, and this one is perfect! My small antique woodstove will have an eventual home in the summer kichen and be used during hot weather. Installing that was a big project! He insulated he wall behind and put the tin barn metal heat shield and stovepipe vent, installed all new stovepipe and made braces for the outside, then made a copper covered heat shield and platform for underneath the stove. Lots of work!

The window over the sink was taken out and completed re-glazed and the inside painted white. While it was out, Jordan chinked the two walls in the kitchen, and when the window went back in, it was the first in he house to have it’s proper trim installed as well! The trim will be painted white too.

The sink cabinet he built (still needs doors) and installed our sink and our real plumbing! (no hot water yet) The vintage enamel sink we bough at the local ‘Octoberfest’ sale last year for $25. I am really loving the progress! Read on to see what’s next….

Eventually the wall behind the sink will be our cabinets – there will be a larger cabinet and counter to the left of the sink which will be my ‘baking station’, and to the right of the sink will be a narrow cabinet with a space for a ‘coffee station’. The wall will be covered with a combination of open shelves and small cabinets, and there will be a hanging light fixture over the sink. The picture below is very inspiring to us, and the feel of our cabinets will be similar:

Picture credit David T. Smith

The color of the cabinets and shelves will be milk painted a distressed and muted aqua/sky blue, much like the antique cabinet below. Picture credit Garth’s Auctions

To the right of the sink, there will be a plate rack and cup hooks incorporated somewhere above the ‘coffee station’.

There will also be a work station in the middle, sort of a large island with a space underneath for firewood storage.

It’s been so fun to see our ‘real’ kitchen finally coming together!

If you are interested to see lots more of my farmhouse kitchen inspiration – be sure to visit my Pinterest board on the subject!

Kid’s Room Pictures

Most of last year our ‘guest room’ as it was then was filled with dry lumber were were storing for finishing the attic floor and the upstairs walls. Last fall when we put in the attic floor and did more work on the upstairs walls, we were able to move the stack out of the spare bedroom, and it finally became – the kids room! Marian and Alan had been sharing a crib in our bedroom, and it was high time they had their own space! They were pretty excited. It has been fun fixing up the space even though it’s not a finished room yet.

Right now I am keeping their clothes in this antique steamer trunk. It works famously!

Their beds are two crib mattresses, we keep them stacked during the day to be out of the way, and then at night they can each have their own bed. We have a small antique iron bed that Jordan is in the process of restoring – when that is finished it will be Marian’s bed, and Alan will have a trundle bed.

This is one of their favorite imagination areas – the play kitchen. Jordan made the wooden hutch for Marian for Christmas 2 years ago, and my parents found the other piece in an antique store and fixed it up to look like a woodstove.

Marian at her ‘sewing machine’.

Lots and lots of books stored here and there. I am looking forward to having some floor to ceiling built-in shelving in the corner between the windows one day!

The curtain behind their closet is covering a space where a second window will be. I strung tiny twinkle lights around it to give them a nightlight.

In the corner I have baskets for their various toy categories – wooden blocks, toy animals, baby doll things, and Alan’s basket of special toys (guns, hammers, tractors).

That’s their room! It becomes a wreck nearly every day, but being such a small space it’s also really quick to clean it up again in the evening when I’m putting them to bed. We’ve all been enjoying having the toys contained and having a nice space for the kids to play and sleep. I have lots more plans for this room as we continue to finish out the house!

House Tour

Hello friends! It’s high time for another house update and current tour. We’ve made some progress on the house over the summer and fall – the most recent big change is walls upstairs! We have also added some furniture and small items since the last house tour in 2014 which you can see here.

But, first things first.

If you were to come in our front door, you would enter into the sitting room –

On the other side of our big open downstairs is the kitchen –

When we add a few more features to the house – such as the summer kitchen, pantry, and have a bigger woodstove – things will be arranged very differently in the kitchen. But for now, what we have works.

Because our current cookstove isn’t big enough to heat the house in the winter, we have this barrel stove attached. Eventually it will be moved to Jordan’s shop.

Now, continuing to the back room from the kitchen, you will pass my freezer and temporary pantry area. (messy, overflowing ragbag and all…) but hey. At least we have plenty of preserves to last until next blackberry season!

keep going through the next doorway, and you are in the bathroom. We don’t have running water here yet, but will someday.

Our clawfoot tub which will one day be painted, and our composting toilet system.

Lets take a quick peek at the front porch, then then we will head upstairs…

once you are up the stairs…you are now greeted with another flight of stairs! These lead to the attic, our third story.

Little peep into the attic – which is just storage right now. When it is finished out it will be bedrooms for the kids.

Back to the 2nd story – turn left into our bedroom.

Walls are coming together! It’s so exciting to be able to feel the size of the rooms now! This is a closeup of my closet area. Jordan was able to frame in lots of extra storage space, much more than I was counting on! yay! (please tell me I’m not the only wife who gets excited about closets….)

Bonus picture – Marian was napping in her crib while I snuck around taking these pictures…

Now, through the doorway into my sewing room…which may or may not be my favorite room in the house.

Fabric, research books, iron, patterns and notions all within reach. Heaven.

The last room of the 2nd story is the guest room:

We did finally find a matching window for the hole in this room. When we get that put in I will begin making this into Marian’s room. Right now it’s mostly a staging area for various projects of mine – here it was being used as a place to organize my purchase of a huge lot of vintage hats for resale.

From the sewing room you can step out on the top porch…

…which has a beautiful view!

That’s our home as of now.

Porch Railings

Over the last few months, we’ve been trying to move forward on the finishing of the house. We still have lots to do. In the last two months or so, with the help of some dear friends, we were able to pretty much complete the porch railings for both stories of the house.

The railings were constructed of Eastern Red Cedar wood, which we logged last year from a place that had had their whole stand of cedar trees blown down by a tornado a couple of years ago. The logs were sawed into lumber on the sawmill.

Fresh cut red cedar is so brightly colored.

Our two busy ‘helpers’ caught in the act dumping out and mixing up the various boxes of screws -again.

A new set of front steps also had to be constructed as the porch railings were being built. These were made from oak.

Cutting the treads for the steps:

Fitting the treads into slots cut into the side pieces, known as “stringers”…

The railings coming together upstairs.

The Cedar wood has lots of character!

…and finished! The house looks very different externally with the addition of the railings. I think it makes the house look bigger.

Looks so good! It also makes the porch space so much more useable, especially upstairs, where the porch wasn’t safe enough to really enjoy and use much before the railings.

The two small gates that will close this opening on the first-story porch still need to be hung. Other than that, the railings are all done.

Spring Snapshots

Yesterday was the most beautiful spring day you could ask for! Marian, Alan, and I spent a good deal of the afternoon outside, enjoying the fresh air and new greenery springing up everywhere. Alan rode happily in my new Baby K’tan wrap, while Marian observed everything from her stroller as we explored. (her favorite thing) I snapped a few pictures as we went along to document our afternoon adventures…

The sky was very beautiful with thunderstorms brewing, but the sun still brightly shining.

First we set off into the woods behind the house to take a peek at some of our favorite spring flowers –

Violets! These little pretties are everywhere this year. I think they may be my very most favorite woods flower – but it’s very hard to decide!

Wild irises. The Tennessee state flower.

…and bluebells! We always look forward to the patch of bluebells being in bloom.

After our visit with the flowers, we strolled back towards the house to say hi to ‘da-da’. He was busy cutting down a firewood tree by the creek.

Marian crawled around for a while and played with her cat (named Violet – she just had five kittens in Jordan’s toolbox).

Marian tried to convince da-da to take her over to pet the cow. Her mission when she is outside is to greet as many animals as possible.

Instead we went to the creek. One of Marian’s happy things to do is throw rocks in the creek. She loves seeing the splashes.

By the time we headed back for the house, both babies were ready for a nap!

We had a lovely afternoon, indeed. It’s amazing how spring happens every year, but each time it seems new and wondrous all over again. It’s especially fun sharing it with Marian who probably doesn’t remember much about last spring!

Little Moments

Just a few shots of little moments from the past few weeks.