adourns new little addition!

adourn has a new little addition....baby emma klema was born on friday november 22!!!! a little early...but doing well! she'll be around the shop often, waiting to meet everyone 

seeing this is the week of thanksgiving, its the perfect week to take off and cuddle our little joy at home. we will be closed this week 11/25-11/29. back open on saturday 11/30!

we'll be getting ready for our big HOLIDAY OPEN HOUSE on saturday 11/30! join us then for some early holiday shopping and some fun christmas mini sessions from Candid Joy Photography!!

here's the info:

Jump right into the holiday spirit by joining Adourn and Candid Joy Photography at our Holiday Open House, Saturday November 30th 11am-4pm. We will have our very own gourmet hot chocolate bar, sweet treats and even sweeter deals inside the shop.

Candid Joy Photography will be offering session fee **FREE** mini sessions for the kids! Dress your little one in his or her Christmas pj's or other fun holiday outfits (red will be best!!) to take advantage of this fun holiday themed setup. AND all January-April 2014 sessions booked during the Holiday Open House will also receive a $50 discount off your session fee.

the 1870 victorian....a new roof...and layers of wallpaper

the first big project to tackle was the roof....as i said before, the current roof was at least 85 years old and placed right over the original (what i think were original) wooden shakes. im pretty sure the only reason the roof lasted this long was because the shingles were slate...in pretty poor condition, but were 'mostly' still on. there was some significant leaking around the 2 chimney's and various other places in the house. so getting this done will be HUGE, so we can start renovating the interior.

here's a photo of the old slate roof...

its been quite the project getting the new roof finished. all of the unexpected little things that come up! of course some of the fascia is rotten, along with some of the soffit, AND some of the crown moulding. alot of that work we'll be doing this spring when we get the exterior back to its glory! but some of it has to be done now, with the roof.

so the tear off began...and the new sheeting put up....do you notice it looks a little WET?!?!

so we've had great weather for a few months now...hardly any rain. and it decided to rain once we got the roof torn off and the sheeting on...needless to say....it leaked a bit ALOT.  it was a good downpour for most of the day and night on this particular day. we knew there wasn't much we could do, but finally at 930 that night, i decided to go take a look...why wait until 930 at night...when i could've just gone to bed and thought about it in the morning...??? but i went over there and this is what i found...

hey, the wallpaper and plaster are coming off anyways, right?! AND with the wallpaper peeling...i discovered just how many layers of paper there are!! some if it is gorgeous and i'll post pictures of it all later. can you imagine how many different looks this house has had inside?!?! so anyway, this just helped the process along...and we decided the house needed a little bath. i was still freaking out a little, so i headed home and grabbed all the containers i could fine, stopped at the shop and grabbed what i could and then off to the house again...and all i could use there are the infamous 'red solo cups' to catch water. so i went around the house, placed a little red solo cup under drips, bowls, garbage can lids..whatever i had...

this actually worked quite well and it caught A LOT of water! all i good now...the roof is papered and shingles are being put on. so a dry house now!!
 
and we can continue to do this...and there is a whole lot of 'this' to do. starting with the upstairs and working our way down. we couldn't keep the plaster....one, because it was cracking and in very poor condition on the ceilings and the walls. and two, because this beast needs to be insulated!!!

getting ready for christmas!

adourn is almost ready for christmas!! the window displays are being built and painted....holiday centerpieces are finished, shutter wreaths are almost done, and delicious scented holiday candles are here!! there will be some fun handmade christmas gift tags for sale, along with handmade knitted handwarmers and lots of jewelry!

this centerpiece is made from an antique lighting fixture...gorgeous!

these turned out so adorable! i used a few vintage childrens christmas story books for the two wreaths on the ends and a map for the one in the center!

our 1870 victorian

some of you may have saw my post about us closing on our new adventure!! not only do i adore old architecture...i want to preserve it the best i can. i guess that's why i love my job shop so much! i love restoring furniture and giving it new life. well, now we have a HUGE job on our hands, restoring our new 143 year old house. we aren't talking 'remodel'...we're talking restoration. i hate going into a gorgeous old house and seeing updates that don't blend with the house or period it was built....i'm not saying you can't update a house with modern amenities....but they shouldn't compete with the house. believe me, there will be a kitchen with modern amenities and a big soaking tub in the bathroom! i also believe in re-using what you can. we'll be taking each piece of trim off every window and ceiling and base....repairing and re-painting it...and putting it back...but why wouldn't we??? its GORGEOUS!! and i wouldn't dream of getting rid of any of the door knobs or window hardware..or the ONE somewhat original light fixture in the house. thats what gives the home its character. there will literally not be a single inch in this house that won't be touched. its going to be a labor of love...and by labor of love, i mean a $&#*$& to restore! there will be many trips made to architectural salvage places in the cities! but it'll be beautiful once we're done with it!

we just got into the house 7 days ago....and it begins already! FIRST project....the slate roof that's 85 years old...which is sitting over the original wooden shakes...CRAZY! it leaks, so needs to be replaced before we can start on anything inside of the house...

dumpster and scaffolding all set up to rip the roof off this wknd!

here are a few 'before' photos...i'm going to try and document the process throughout the restoration!

kitchen...updated sometime in the 60's it looks like

full bath....love the radiator in there to hang your towel on while you bathe!

not 'original' to the house...but antique and the only light fixture in the house that is somewhat original. this will stay!

all of the ceilings and most of the walls have layers of wallpaper and cracking plaster

GORGEOUS wainscoting going up the stairs...this will definitely stay!!

a beautiful built-in in the living room...i can see a pop of color on the back wall of it!

amazing original woodwork through out the entire house

the little half bath under the stairs! love it!

here she is.....beautiful porches...peaks and detail! she'll clean up nicely :)