How long is forever? Sometimes just one second.

We cordially invite you to join us for an afternoon of History, Hors D'oeuvers, and Tea in order to celebrate how grand the mansion is, and will always be.

Dress code is formal.

Please RSVP by October 13th by emailing your guest list to GreensfelderMansion@gmail.com

Paper Hearts and Paper Airplanes

Paper... Lots and lots of paper...

Discussions: check
Arguments: CHECK
Pros: Identified
Cons: Identified

Decision: Unanimous...

We're applying for inclusion with the Local, State, and National historic register. Why? Because the mansion qualifies for all three and as such it would be wise for us to have this incredible bit of architectural history recognized and included where she rightfully belongs.

Yes... That means that the historical integrity of the exterior will be under extreme scrutiny as far as color and repair. Like I always say, 'don't threaten me with a good time'. We have always been bound and determined to restore the Greensfelder to utmost accuracy. Unfortunately we may never know her original colors, but we certainly know it wasn't this asphalt siding garbage that currently makes her look so dark and drab. She needs life and color - and she'll receive it in accordance to historic color palettes.

Know what else is awesome? Tax credits to help offset the cost of restoration. There's so many benefits to doing this, I'm not really sure why we didn't immediately jump to go through the process before hand. Perhaps because of the amazing amount of misinformation that is floating around about the details and the involvement the government has in the ultimate decision making process regarding changes and the like.

We get it. Certificate of Appropriateness hearings SOUND scary - but guess what... They're not. Your local Historic Preservation Commission is so not the enemy. They're not there to make your lives a living hell as you go through the process. What they're there for is to let you know that you're on the right path with your endeavors to restore a historical property. They're not demanding museum quality restoration, they're ascertaining the historical appropriateness of your plans and then giving you options that may be more cost effective and easier in cases of window replacements, siding etc. 

For instance, they may turn down your quest for vinyl siding, and instead suggest hardy board on the grounds that it looks far more appearing and is better for your property in the long run. No one wants to lose details integral to the architectural history of the building, and that's the goal with preservation. 

Another example: You probably won't have your desire for hot pink shutters and purple glitter fish scaling approved. We all like to be a little bit fancy, but your local HPC will find better alternatives and makes suggestions based upon that in order to keep your house's historical integrity preserved, and the entire neighborhood happy (We all know that one house in our towns that everyone pokes fun of because of quirky/crazy paint work. Don't be that house.)

What the HPC is not going to do is police you. They're not going to drive by and flip out and issue a weird citation because they don't like your window treatments, plants, patio furniture, welcome mat, mailbox, and choice of family dog... Or anything else for that matter.

Best part? You can decorate the interior of your home as you please. Daughter wants posters of the latest heart throb plastered all over her walls? No problem... At least not where the HPC is concerned. They get it. People, and families, live in these homes. While they're historical, they're still creating and generating history by hosting families throughout the ages. Music from the late 80s and early 90s is now turning up on "Oldies" stations, and while none of us ever thought that the Backstreet Boys would ever be historical... Guess what... It's bound to happen. History transcends the ages and someday soon, those horrible posters of boy band members and scantily clad pop princesses pouting at the camera will be considered collectible antiques. 

Try not to gag too hard.

Regardless, history is a beautiful thing and the Greensfelder is a wonderful part of it and as such deserves to be remembered. Pray for us as we navigate all the paperwork associated.

Round and round we go

For our local readers, it should come as no real surprise when I say that I'm following in the footsteps of Marjorie Wray (one of the Greensfelder's most colorful past owners) and have taken a stab at the life political. Like Marjorie, I'm running as a Democrat. It's my hope to win a seat on our County Council (District 2 to be exact), and that comes with its own unique set of challenges and obstacles - ones which I never thought would ever effect the mansion.

SURPRISE!

We're currently engaged in a fight where my political opponents have decided to try and have the mansion condemned and have stated that it's not structurally sound without ever once having a structural engineer (or any inspector) come through. They've even had people come out in county marked vehicles to take photos of the property. When confronted, they run.

A close friend confirmed their "evil plan".

So... I did what any social media savvy individual would do and beat them to the punch. I didn't waste time throwing on gobs and layers of makeup or a nice, tidy, designer pantsuit. I went out in my maxi dress, messy hair (don't care), and complete lack of makeup to film myself live on FB, as I flounced, bounced, skipped, and hopped all across my front porch. including the edges. Especially around where the damage to the porch was done by an unknown persons back in late May/Early June.

If you know me, you know that I'm a... We'll just say I'm a woman of substance.

Me. 

As such, I'm not foolish enough to bounce anywhere that I'm not 110% sure isn't going to break/give way and potentially break every bone in my body with a fall. Especially not on a porch where I have zero clue what lays in wait beneath. For all I know it's covering the Pit of Carkoon and the great Sarlacc is waiting for me under there. 

May or may not be under the porch.

I think you guys get the point.

The house, even the porch, is 100% structurally sound.

I just find it rather sad that politics has deteriorated so far into corruption that people would come to attack historical preservation. Though I suppose it just proves who's actually protecting this historical hot bed and who's in it for their own personal agenda.

Sorry to trouble y'all with it - but I figured it was share worthy.

Anyway... We have a gorgeous 2'x4' banner on its way from BuildASign.com that will be displayed in the front yard starting on the 25th! (or as soon as it arrives).

Cool sign, bro!

Look for it as you drive past!

PS: vote for me ;)

PPS: we have website! Kind of. Go here: https://stormshyarts.wixsite.com/greensfelder

Ecdysiast

Ecdysiast - (n) A striptease performer.

Pretty sure you get where I'm going with this post now that we've gotten that out of the way and cleared up any head scratching and Dictionary.com scrambling that may have been going on. 

4 layers.

4.

That's what we're contending with on the wainscot in the bathroom, but we're slowly and steadily combating this by spraying on our favorite citrus-based non-toxic stripper and waiting 24 hours for it to eat through and loosen the layers, then scraping carefully. It's going to take some time and a nice hard toothbrush to get through the stuff stuck in the grooves. So far it looks like the stain is holding up, but I doubt it'll survive the bath I have to give everything to 86 the residue left over. It's a sticky mess right now and I'm not super fond of it - but I'm loving the results.

Such a beautiful mess being made. Can't wait until the paint is gone and we're back to sealed wood goodness!

Pretty sure that's the last photo you guys will see of the bathroom until the project is finished. I know you just love all the construction photos - promise that there will be more as we move on to other projects.

In other news... We're rewashing ALL the wood work with LeadOff... Again. This time we're following up with mineral spirits, cleaning up paint botches of the past, and sealing with polyurethane. It's a seriously necessary process and is taking a bit of time because we seriously live in the land of black walnut and tiger oak goodness. So worth it. So very very worth it. Means we'll be stepping up our weekly wipe downs with Old English wipes. Downstairs floors will be sealed as well. Lord knows they desperately need it.

Good thing I have family right across the street that we can invade while all this dries!

Eight Days Later...

The one thing one must keep in mind when painting plaster is how thirsty it is. Even with a couple layers of paint (purple and white that I know of) the walls in the main bathroom are/were very very thirsty.

Another thing to keep in mind is that red paint is not very user friendly and requires tons of working during the drying process in order to keep it even/streak free/ and blended.

Those two facts combined meant that the bathroom took two gallons of "one coat" paint/primer to accomplish perfection. I still have to finish my corners and I'm trying so hard to ignore the stubborn lighthouse border around the top... It wouldn't come off for love nor money and as such it has been decided that it will be covered with a rather elegant crown moulding... In gold... And stenciled with the Kabuki and the Onyx for a rather divine raised appearance unless I choose to do raised stenciling anyway... Which I just may because the good Lord knows that I'm rather extra like that.

Ignoring the bright blue ladder, the walls are just about complete. Crown moulding will cover the impossible to remove wallpaper border.

However, what I have noticed, is that even with having thirsty walls the black paint for the ceiling has gone on far nicer and will be done in two coats. Coat one is currently drying and from there the chandelier shall be hung with care and of course the crown mouldings will be painted and installed in due time.

The stripping and re-staining of the wood work is underway as well... I have words for the people who painted it. They aren't friendly. I'll never fully understand what the hell people are thinking when they decide to paint over stunning historical wood work. It's just... Unnatural.

In other news...

One of the bedrooms is painted... The ceiling will require painting as well and will be happening in short order, but for right now I'm celebrating the covering of walls that were meant to be white but became the hue of dehydrated urine thanks to excessive smoking and exposure to nicotine.

The top is the color we started with - the walls were white at one point before years of tobacco smoke destroyed the paint. You can see the blue we've covered it with as a comparison. 

We used a rather powerful paint in that room so we're hoping the tar stains don't bleed through. If they do? Pissed off me will be pissed off and I'll likely look into textured silk papers... Which just sounds divine and yet terrifying because it'd be going into the room of a 4 year old.

Might just be easier to repaint - he's requested clouds and a water mural to go with his pirate ship bed. Like I said... We're allowed to have fun with this. Not ever room needs to be dripping with historical integrity. I'll have my silk damask and flocked paper in other areas, don't you worry.

His woodwork, as well as the woodwork downstairs, will be re-sealed this coming weekend as well.

The main hall upstairs is fixing to be painted as well. It will be dark and dramatic and just... Well... Everything. The goal is for a metallic stenciled frieze to accompany unless we decide to hit it with crown moulding as well. Either way... Period sconces will like the hall for ambient lighting and the original floors will be restored and protected with period correct runners.

So yes... Summer is a very busy busy time here at the Greensfelder. Each project is handled with care and tons of research as we continue on as urban archaeologists making educated decisions and implementing them. Once the majority of this work is done, there's going to be tons of shopping to do. Lucky me... I know a local expert who loves this house and can find me pretty much anything and have a mother who's the Queen of Wallpaper... And she restored more of these old homes than I can shake a stick at.

Just wait until you see what we have in store for the entry way.

Un Peu de Magie de Salle de Bain!

Bathroom before. Note that gorgeous tub!

The bathroom project is well underway. The inside of the tub was refinished and encapsulated by J&J Bathtub Refinishing out of Kokomo, Indiana and ohhhh is it grand! We've decided to have him come back and refinish the outside of the tub as well as it's just easier to let a professional restore this tub completely while we move onto bigger and more intense projects within the home. That said, the exterior of the tub will likely be black and stenciled with Victorian floral designs in gold or dark brushed brass for a very subtle finish. The brass of the claw feet will be restored to bright shiny brass! 

Just today we began transforming the walls and covered it with coat one of two of paint! The walls are Kabuki red and once we're finished with the final coat and and we've let it dry, it will be taped off with frog tape and we'll be stripping the multiple layers of paint off the wood work and restoring its deliciously beautiful dark staining which will be completed and topped off by a black ceiling and dark brushed brass and black lacquer fixtures.

From there 5" crown mouldings will be installed adding a pop of white and decorated with the same floral stenciling on the tub done in Kabuki and gold/brass. Pretty sure the interior of the linen closet will be red... or maybe black... or maybe white... Hard to decide. It has the original built in drawers in it as the room would have been a dressing room. There's a water closet the next room down the hall so the toilet was an addition to this bathroom and we're torn between 86ing the water closet in favor of a large shower room or moving the toilet out and returning this bathroom to it's former glory completely. Hmmm... Decisions... Modern convenience or historical accuracy... 

Anyway...

We have a gorgeous antique crystal chandelier that will be installed and we are hunting Victorian candle sconces and various bits of wall art to really complete the rich, swanky bordello feeling. It's all about relaxation... And a bit of an homage to the fact the home was a brothel at one point. I personally can't wait to lay in a hot steamy bubble bath on a cold, snowy night with the candles lit and a wonderful glass of Gewurtzraminer from the People's Winery right here in Logansport... And maybe a good book. Yes. The book is a must.

The future is holding such wonderful things.

By this time tomorrow paint coat #2 will be done and we'll be painting our eldest son's bedroom a soft sky blue because boy. He'll likely wind up with a sea-themed wall mural as a break from the antiquity because boy and child. We gotta have fun with this too, right?
Regardless... The dinge and grime we couldn't fix, for love nor money, by scrubbing... Is buh bye. Finito. 

Coat 1! Coat 2 will even it all out! Praise the painting techniques Eric learned in the Navy!

I swear the feel of the bathroom has changed dramatically. The red brings out the terra cotta/brick tiles in that magnificent mosaic floor! Speaking of the floor, it's going to get a super deep professional clean to pull out the dirt all of our cleaning just can't seem to touch and then it will be sealed. 

The upstairs main hall is most likely going to go a very dark smoky purple with gold leaf frieze and period correct sconce lighting. We haven't decided quite yet - but the idea of that degree of drama and majesty is just begging to be brought to life.

I love this old mansion and I love how she seems to become more and more happy and alive with each and every project we start and complete. She's downright giddy right now and we intend to keep her that way. Yes... She's a HUGE undertaking, but we have learned that if we stare at the forest instead of focusing on one tree at a time, we're immediately overpowered and feel very overwhelmed. If we focus one one project at a time then we're quite content and find it easy to contend with. That's what this house needs; vision, scope, and heart. We have tons of it and lots and lots of love as icing on that amazing cake.

Speaking of projects...  permits have been pulled on the porch. The delay in progress is due to the local Ford dealership royally messing up the turbo on our truck to the point where she's routinely blowing her hot-air turbo boot. She's headed to a master mechanic on Thursday and once she's back we'll feel comfortable loading her with the 4000lb jacks, concrete block, stone, rebar, quickcrete, metal lathe, and lumber necessary to complete the project. We're really grooving here at the Greensfelder and are sincerely hoping to open the main parlor for Christmas stories this holiday season!

Stay tuned for an update once the bathroom's magical transformation is finished!

Another 5 months between posts... Shameful, I know. A lot has been going on within the Greensfelder's little world and more will come about in due time... Like this week.

The front porch is being restored. After a lot of back and forth and irritation galore, we have decided to do the porch on our own. It doesn't take a rocket scientist and Eric IS an Engineer (so what if his degree is in electronics engineering!) and knows his way around wood work and construction. We'll be renting several support jacks to hold the roof up as we pull the pillars down, replace a couple plinths that are damaged beyond repair, and reconstruct the bases.

The bases will no longer be wood. 

That's right. No more wood bases. They will be stone bases and the stone is from a local quarry outside of Kokomo, Indiana. The original Tuscan style columns will remain and will be sanded and re-painted to match what will soon be the new exterior paint scheme. The wood planks on the porch will be replaced in favor of wide plank. The decision as to whether or not to paint them with water resistant maritime grade paint or stain and seal them is currently still in debate. Of course the balustrades will match the paint scheme. All in all? Gorgeousness.

The steps, a huge part of contention, will be removed and replaced likely with flagstone steps and the secondary staircase will most likely disappear in favor of a full landscape renewal unless we decide to do a smaller garden path to those stairs (though I see little merit in doing so). The concrete pathway will be gone as well in favor of stone and eventually the entire front yard will be leveled out, surrounded by a stone retaining wall topped with a wrought iron fence complete with garden gate a top the steps leading into the yard from the sidewalk. There will be period correct lighting and the current porch lights will be taken down and fully restored to their former glory. Expect hanging baskets full of flowers and bunting to suit as well.

Many of you may have seen the front garden. Though sparse, the bright display of color this year was a sign of things to come and we are patiently awaiting the bloom of 70 gladiolas as well. After they fade, the front walk will be attended to as those bulbs have to be removed for winter anyway and we figure we'll let them shine for the summer before changing anything.

One of the first bearded iris blooms of 2018

Next year you can expect so much more... Close to 100 additional gladiolas, the iris beds in back will be moved to the front, more tulips, more alium, more hyacinth, additional displays of daffodils, crocus, dahlias, hostas, peonies... Yes. Just yes.

Inside... Well now. We are VERY excited and pleased to announce that we are working with historic restoration design firms out out of Chicago, IL and Glendale, CA on getting the Greensfelder's mouldings, ceiling designs, and frieze work back to what it should be and once was. Everyone agrees that with ceiling heights like these, there was more than just the work in the parlor and the couple plaster ceiling medallions that remain. The consensus is that there was likely mural work as well, which there IS evidence of.

We have four samples coming within the next week from Chicago and Glendale is studying room layouts and ceilings before making any additional suggestions - however - the one suggestion they have made for the dining room is INCREDIBLE, ornate, and will be the talk of the town. Absolutely magnificent!

Other goals this year? Fireside parlor readings of Christmas stories this coming holiday season!