Yes... Indeed... I did a thing. I swallowed my pride. While I'm not admitting defeat, I AM admitting that assistance is very necessary and that being a two person army is only hindering us in our industrious efforts to take on the near Herculean task of restoring our historical marvel.
So...
Today, after a trying day at the house where further issues were uncovered and brought to light that made me want to rip my hair out and scream and cry and throw things, a decision was made that will effect the future of the Greensfelder Mansion in what I believe will be a truly positive manner. We decided to start a GoFundMe campaign and to write to This Old House in order to help get the historical community, and the community of Logansport as a whole, further involved with the restoration of the mansion. Let's be candid for a moment; she needs A LOT of work and we're pouring money into her on the daily. Progress IS being made, but that progress would be made so much faster with access to additional capitol or, more importantly, contractor donations.
This doesn't come without promises or careful thought and considerations. I've worked with non-profits for most of my adult life and know the benefit of keeping open books. A complete itemization of projects and receipts WILL be posted for every dollar of donated money spent. This open book policy will absolutely prove that restoration efforts are being undertaken and that hubster and I aren't simply stock piling cash for a trip to Fiji.
You can find our campaign by clicking right here. Photos of chunks of the damage we're contending with can be found there as well as a decent list of what truly needs to be worked on in a timely manner to preserve the home's integrity. We sincerely and humbly thank you in advance for your donation, consideration, and passing of the word so that we may breathe life back into the mansion and the town of Logansport as a whole.
12 October, 2016
07 October, 2016
We have new visitors... Of the winged kind.
My husband is a wise soul who decided yesterday to check the chimneys to see what kind of clearance they have, any down drafts, any debris etc. The fireplace in the living room is in working order. It has a down draft, the cob webs flutter, you can feel cold air coming down and a small kindling fire showed the smoke going up, which is the proper direction, and not out into the house. Excellent! Except... It shrieks at you. That was clue one that we were in for an interesting ride, clue two was the skeletal remains of a creature.
Moving on to chimney two... The parlor has one of the most amazing fireplaces I have ever had the privilege to lay my eyes on. However... It's filled with debris of all kinds. Leaves, sticks, you name it. We need it cleaned and a cap installed. Worse? We found another creature of the same variety as the first fireplace... Deceased...
Chimney Swifts. It seems that we are harboring at least two colonies of the bat-like birds and now comes the question of how to remove them without harming them because they truly are remarkable little things. I'm open to suggestion since I like winged squatters a lot better than the creepy crawly kind and would love to save them in some way. I will be putting out feeding stations for the area songbirds this winter and I plan on obtaining a colony of finches in a large flight cage in the living room or parlor... Maybe even the library. They'll be somewhere.
In other news... The garage is going to be reworked as well and will become a mancave/studio. Hubby needs a place for his toys and I need a private place to write, sculpt, and paint. It appears to be set up already to host a wood burning stove and the plan is to finish the ceiling after replacing the roof and installing infrared heaters to keep things toasty for the winter months. Hubby will have a ball decking it out with high tech security gadgets so I have no worries about anything out there. Plus it'll give me another place to move weather sensitive plants.
Slowly but surely, the plan is coming together. I think I may have a cleaning party complete with wine and cheese offerings at this point. We'll see.
My husband is a wise soul who decided yesterday to check the chimneys to see what kind of clearance they have, any down drafts, any debris etc. The fireplace in the living room is in working order. It has a down draft, the cob webs flutter, you can feel cold air coming down and a small kindling fire showed the smoke going up, which is the proper direction, and not out into the house. Excellent! Except... It shrieks at you. That was clue one that we were in for an interesting ride, clue two was the skeletal remains of a creature.
Moving on to chimney two... The parlor has one of the most amazing fireplaces I have ever had the privilege to lay my eyes on. However... It's filled with debris of all kinds. Leaves, sticks, you name it. We need it cleaned and a cap installed. Worse? We found another creature of the same variety as the first fireplace... Deceased...
Chimney Swifts. It seems that we are harboring at least two colonies of the bat-like birds and now comes the question of how to remove them without harming them because they truly are remarkable little things. I'm open to suggestion since I like winged squatters a lot better than the creepy crawly kind and would love to save them in some way. I will be putting out feeding stations for the area songbirds this winter and I plan on obtaining a colony of finches in a large flight cage in the living room or parlor... Maybe even the library. They'll be somewhere.
In other news... The garage is going to be reworked as well and will become a mancave/studio. Hubby needs a place for his toys and I need a private place to write, sculpt, and paint. It appears to be set up already to host a wood burning stove and the plan is to finish the ceiling after replacing the roof and installing infrared heaters to keep things toasty for the winter months. Hubby will have a ball decking it out with high tech security gadgets so I have no worries about anything out there. Plus it'll give me another place to move weather sensitive plants.
Slowly but surely, the plan is coming together. I think I may have a cleaning party complete with wine and cheese offerings at this point. We'll see.
05 October, 2016
So it's been a little bit since I last wrote an update, and I have to take full responsibility for the busy nature of life that has kept me from sitting and penning something for you guys to chew on. The house, for the most part, has been in a state of flux as we try to tackle the monumental task of cleaning her. There's a lot of dust, dirt, grit, and grime from her various repair projects of the past and, as all unlived in homes, she has one heck of a spider problem. I don't do spiders. At all. Ever. And there's several species and varieties of these eight-legged nopes for me to contend with all at once including a near see-through one that looks like dandelion fluff rolling across the floor until you get a good look at it and nearly come out of your skin. I STILL refuse to go down into the basement and have left my husband to handle that in whole. I'm sure you're asking "But there's thousands of treasures untold down there! Don't you want to see?!" The answer, my friends, is yes... But I've also been told by hubby and the municipal worker who turned on the water and electric that there are scary things down there that defy logic and explanation... And they're alive. No thanks. Needless to say there will be an exterminator brought in very VERY soon.
Other than that... There's a surplus of paint cans, trash, and various other items that are being gone through and removed. The dump is going to be our best friend for awhile. Coats that we've found will be donated to the Salvation Army and so on and so forth. Contractors have been called, a chimney inspector is being brought in, and we're ordering firewood in order to be better prepared to spend the winter in our new wonderland. Am I overwhelmed? VERY. But I think the feeling of being overwhelmed will cease to exist as soon as the house is at least clean and I don't feel the heebie jeebies brought on by the soon to be evicted arachnid tenants.
In AWESOME news, my husband was eyeballing what he thought was a hole in the "library" wall affectionately known as the "Purple Rain" room due to the color of the current paint. He discovered it wasn't a hole in the wall, but rather a hole in about 18 layers of paint and curiosity got the best of him, and I'm glad it did, because stripping it away bit by bit he's uncovered the original flocked wall paper. We're being VERY careful to gently expose this treasure and see just how much of it is intact. At worst we'll be having a pattern made to re-flock the room. Either way, it's a treasure not unlike finding little Sally Greensfelder's graffiti on an upstairs bedroom wall (we affectionately call that room the green room because of the flooring) or the incredible mantle in the living room.
So all in all I'll be doing more and hopefully posting more as we continue on this monumental task of restoring the old mansion.
The kitchen is a point of serious contention at this point... The cabinetry does NOT appear to be original and appears to have been haphazardly done. We're having things looked at, but the general idea appears to be in favor of redoing the entire kitchen 100% but keeping the Victorian/Gothic feel that this home so deserves. It has an abundance of natural light and we're going to work with that. So far we're wanting stained wood cabinetry, flag stone floors and back splash, stainless appliances. We're going to resize the island in the middle of the kitchen and VERY likely set a gas range there in order to free up space for a double oven, space for a fridge, and more counters because counters are a very needed thing. The entire outside wall is basically windows and is off limits. Nothing will be going there aside from delicate window treatments to help preserve the view of the garden and the light afforded by those windows.
The back covered porch is going to be demolished. It's beyond saving with the amount of roof and exterior damage and the idea now is to preserve the windows, rebuild it larger, and do it in stone work to create a sitting/rear entry grotto complete with either a wood burning stove or another fireplace and hanging period correct lanterns for ambient lighting and enable it to be used all year round. Might make an EXCELLENT informal dining area.
I STILL want book shelves in the library. Floor to ceiling. But the integrity of the flocking WILL be preserved and these cases will be bolted as opposed to being built ins. It'll be a very special paradise filled with novels and legal texts and I envision a stunning area rug and period furniture stained to match the gorgeous window moldings. The ceiling will be done in a darker mural, maybe celestial, maybe as a map... Or maybe a large compass rose. We haven't decided, but it will be done. I get chills thinking about it.
Needless to say, this home is going to be a work of art once completed. I aim to see her chronicled in an architectural digest. She deserves it.
Other than that... There's a surplus of paint cans, trash, and various other items that are being gone through and removed. The dump is going to be our best friend for awhile. Coats that we've found will be donated to the Salvation Army and so on and so forth. Contractors have been called, a chimney inspector is being brought in, and we're ordering firewood in order to be better prepared to spend the winter in our new wonderland. Am I overwhelmed? VERY. But I think the feeling of being overwhelmed will cease to exist as soon as the house is at least clean and I don't feel the heebie jeebies brought on by the soon to be evicted arachnid tenants.
In AWESOME news, my husband was eyeballing what he thought was a hole in the "library" wall affectionately known as the "Purple Rain" room due to the color of the current paint. He discovered it wasn't a hole in the wall, but rather a hole in about 18 layers of paint and curiosity got the best of him, and I'm glad it did, because stripping it away bit by bit he's uncovered the original flocked wall paper. We're being VERY careful to gently expose this treasure and see just how much of it is intact. At worst we'll be having a pattern made to re-flock the room. Either way, it's a treasure not unlike finding little Sally Greensfelder's graffiti on an upstairs bedroom wall (we affectionately call that room the green room because of the flooring) or the incredible mantle in the living room.
 |
| Uncovered treasure; flocked paper |
The kitchen is a point of serious contention at this point... The cabinetry does NOT appear to be original and appears to have been haphazardly done. We're having things looked at, but the general idea appears to be in favor of redoing the entire kitchen 100% but keeping the Victorian/Gothic feel that this home so deserves. It has an abundance of natural light and we're going to work with that. So far we're wanting stained wood cabinetry, flag stone floors and back splash, stainless appliances. We're going to resize the island in the middle of the kitchen and VERY likely set a gas range there in order to free up space for a double oven, space for a fridge, and more counters because counters are a very needed thing. The entire outside wall is basically windows and is off limits. Nothing will be going there aside from delicate window treatments to help preserve the view of the garden and the light afforded by those windows.
The back covered porch is going to be demolished. It's beyond saving with the amount of roof and exterior damage and the idea now is to preserve the windows, rebuild it larger, and do it in stone work to create a sitting/rear entry grotto complete with either a wood burning stove or another fireplace and hanging period correct lanterns for ambient lighting and enable it to be used all year round. Might make an EXCELLENT informal dining area.
I STILL want book shelves in the library. Floor to ceiling. But the integrity of the flocking WILL be preserved and these cases will be bolted as opposed to being built ins. It'll be a very special paradise filled with novels and legal texts and I envision a stunning area rug and period furniture stained to match the gorgeous window moldings. The ceiling will be done in a darker mural, maybe celestial, maybe as a map... Or maybe a large compass rose. We haven't decided, but it will be done. I get chills thinking about it.
Needless to say, this home is going to be a work of art once completed. I aim to see her chronicled in an architectural digest. She deserves it.
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