What a crazy July we've had at Two Holt! A few pieces of new furniture have been added and the french doors are now in! I can't believe I didn't take a picture after this one because the windows have also been replaced with more energy efficient ones now. Phil will be trimming the windows and door to make it look like one unit, but that will come after he puts up the beadboard walls. Remember...it's all a work in progress right now. This is the wall we're preparing for the new gas fireplace and mantle. That will be installed next week. Phil will be painting and distressing the mantle. We tried out the colors and technique on a little table and I think it's going to be perfect. The floor heater will be taken out and the television will be mounted on the wall above the fireplace. Phil has also decided on his first project for next year...he will put in a tongue-and-groove ceiling next spring. :) This is the outside wall waiting for the fireplace unit. We took out a window to add the fireplace. "But, wait!" you say. "Wasn't the exterior painted gray? Now it's yellow?" That's a whole other story! In a recent decision, we decided to take off the asbestos siding and put hardy board siding up instead. All Phil's previous painting was for naught! So he's busy repainting! This is what was under the asbestos, but I'm not a fan of tongue-and-groove siding so the hardy board went up. AFTER the hardy board went up on the deck side, I had to have hardy board on the side porch side. Just so you aren't confused, this picture was taken before the one above...the big window came out for the fireplace chase. Now you can see the progress Phil is making with the repainting... And here's a close-up of my beautiful new steps up to the deck! When you only have 600 square feet, every inch of space matters! The screened porch will add 300 square feet of living space because in Highlands I can keep the doors to the porch open the entire summer and fall. Temperatures at Two Holt have stayed in the 70's all month. We decided to take out the wall between the kitchen and living room to make it an open area concept. Now...what to do with the stuff that's there? There's a range, hot water heater, and washer/dryer. That's three BIG appliances! We found a local craftsman who is presently building an island to house a new cooktop and oven. A local company will install new granite countertops on the knotty pine cabinets and new island. That should all happen within the next two weeks. After lots of fretting, thinking, and bickering, we came up with a brilliant idea! We never used the back door and taking the wall out gave us an additional escape route in case of fire so we decided to add a bump-out to the back of the cottage to hold the new tankless hot water heater unit and the washer/dryer unit. Here's the door open before the bump-out was added and after it was added. And here's an exterior shot of the bump-out. Notice our new energy efficient kitchen windows! Just today on the way home from Two Holt, I saw a guy selling painted windows beside the road. I HAD to stop and look! And guess what! I bought one just to show Phil what I've been trying to tell him to do with our old cottage windows that have now been replaced. Phil is a bit of an artist and I know he can make something beautiful out of those old windows! Here are a few of our old windows and below that is the window I bought for Phil's inspiration... My next trip to Two Holt probably won't be until Labor Day weekend. Phil has stayed behind to continue working. Hopefully my next blog update will showcase the fireplace, island, and open area living room/kitchen!
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Phil & SharonMarried 40 years and hoping to enjoy many more! Archives
December 2019
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