Stickley, Secrets and Snow

We are pretty fortunate to live fairly near one of the few places that sells Stickley showroom furniture "as-is", and bought this insane table. It weighs 450 pounds, which is actually one of my favorite things about it.


Prior to the arrival of the table I had stalled out majorly on the reno. The fading light of the winter and general inertia had set in, and all I really wanted to do was drink in the bath and then go to sleep.
However, the table totally galvanized me. We painted the room it was in, which was the last of the main rooms still to have the handicap of a dark color.
As you can see, it makes a big difference. It took the room from needing many more standing lights, and perhaps some track lighting, to bright and comfortable.

Yes, I know, it's another pic of someone painting, but you can see what I mean about the color. I know you can.


And after, even in the dark of winter, a pleasant room:


So, to celebrate my husband made me a drink called the "Night Marcher". Just the ingredients in a row are pretty intimidating:


But the finished product is quite pretty!


Then one of the former owners stopped by, and just wanted to see the house. Not the people we bought it from, but the people before that, who lived here for a long time. She was walking around and then suddenly she stopped and said "You know about the hidden panel, right?"
We did not!
But now we do!
It's so awesome to have a hidden panel. I always wanted a house with secret places, and so this is just too cool:


And then this morning the first real snow fell:


Eventful weekend. I am so super excited. Even after shoveling a s**tload of snow.
Here is the Night Marcher, for those of you who may be interested:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/02/dining/024rrex.html

My Kitchen iz teh Awesum!

Finally it is done!

I am standing at my beautiful granite countertop listening to 21st century breakdown on the kitchen stereo! Steaks are cooking on the range. Broccoli au gratin is cooling to edible temp from the oven.

It's all good.

Some craftsman pulls:


The copper kettle looking pretty on the silver range (yes! it cooks with gas!):


The double doors onto the deck:


The granite (note: reflection of the winter trees outside in the glossy stone):


More craftsman pulls:



As you can see we made the decision not to try to look like a restoration since none of the original stuff was there anyway, but rather to look modern in a way that was respectful of the house's age and dignity.

What is hard to tell:
The molding is all new, there was almost none around the doors previously.
The ceiling is flat now, not popcorn.
The floor, which is a lighter wood than the rest of the house, has been totally refinished.

I think it worked out great. We had a few small setbacks. Okay, and some bigger setbacks, but it was totally worth it.

Mmmmm.... and now for the steak.
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Beef-Steaks-with-Peppercorn-Sauce-2371