Putting the cart before the horse.

Here is the beginning of the great room..This fake fireplace had to go!  We removed it not only because it was ugly but because it was hiding another gorgeous window.  You will see the window behind sofa in following picture.

Hi Friends,  Had a little time to spare this afternoon before taking my 3 year old grandaughter to register for dance lessons.  Talking about putting the cart before the horse, I just could not stand looking at the great room mess any longer!  My pottery barn sofa and rug came and just had to start decorating in here even though the other half of the room is still cluttered with tools and other equipment that my husband keeps saying he will move it.  Painted the walls and trim in whites to brighten up and make more cheery.  Still trying to find the perfect curtains for in here.  I am going to be bringing in a chippy white fireplace mantel for this room along with other decor (when I find out where I packed it).



Here is the great room, well only half of it.  The other half is still quite a mess.  Notice the window behind?  It was the one covered by that ugly fake fireplace.  I think behind the lamp is where I am going to put that chippy white fireplace mantle.

Have my pictures here that were going to go before the finished section of the room but not to savey on how to shuffle them around.  Another view of great room before painting and such.

Came a long ways already.  Little putty, little paint made this room what it aint!!!!

We moved so much stuff out of our farmhouse and have it stored in 4 different places, but I will get there.  So anyways here is a little part of the great room in the depot that I have began decorating.  Hope you enjoy the pictures!

Depot Kitchen is nearing completion

Our old late 1800's Railroad depot in Gotham, WI

 Had some time to make a post today to show you what we have accomplished with the depot kitchen.  I will try not to bore you.  I will continue to post other rooms but today its my new kitchen.  Lots of elbow grease went into this room.  Still have lots of decorating to do but hard to find anything that I packed away.  Its no wonder with the way I packed.  Hey, cant be good at everything!  Little putty, little paint made this kitchen what it aint!

This is inside kitchen.  Everything was knotty pine, even the ceiling. 
Old tiled floors.  We knocked down the wall behind the stove to make it more roomy.

Here is kitchen after knocking down wall.  Lots to do!!

Here in the kitchen I began painting.  Over and over and over.  Took 4 coats of paint to cover pine walls and ceiling.  Smokers years ago....hard time not getting film from smoke from passing though primer.  This is the room that I hated to paint.

Look at what is transforming!  A pretty, bright and airy kitchen.  Check out the flooring.  Nice.  I love it.  The cupboards were painted white.  Only took 3 coats paint on them.  Yes, I started with primer and then had primer in the paint also.



Here is the start of a wonderful relationship with my new kitchen.  Not all the detailing in decor is finished but its a start.




Here is another angle of kitchen.  New light fixtures in,  still need cabinet handles and new faucet put in.  Also trying to find just the right rug to put under my island.  Hard time finding just the one.  Its one of those things that youll know when you see it.



Where do we begin?

Welcome to my blog. In case you are wondering what this blog is about, I am going to fill you in.
This is all about my husband Ross and I (Theresa) and our quest to save and restore an old 157 yr old flour mill into our home and also restoring an old late 1800's railroad depot. I will keep you posted with pictures of before and after so that you can take the journey with us as we renovate our projects....A little putty, a Little paint.....................!

Things have been very crazy this past month. First we sold our old farmhouse and moved out within a months time. We found ourselves homeless and ended up staying with our oldest son and his wife's home for 3 weeks until our addition onto the depot had gotten far enough along to were we could live. Did I ever tell anyone how much I dislike living among construction?

Well we added a bedroom, bathroom, closet, hallway, made the upstairs stairway take a different route, took out a wall in the kitchen, added all new flooring , painted like crazy which I really do not like either and am not finished yet, and oh we did not have running water until today. It was about like camping. My husband had to keep reminding me that this is an adventure.

So you have it in a nut shell folks. This journey is making my ass tired! I always seem to find myself more positive after each day passes. I am turning the lights off now and hopefully will be well rested in the morning. My husband informed me that there will be a few guests stopping by to see our progress. I will try to post before and after pictures within the next few days.....So stay tuned to our adventures of A little putty, a little paint.......