The Summer of Finishing Projects

Five years ago, to the day, we closed on Blake Hill House. I began blogging about it immediately. We’ve made a lot of progress in this big old house. Remember when BHH looked like this?

Or this?

All of the trees and bushes were overgrown and threatening to swallow the house whole! A thick layer of mildew grew on every shingle and shutter.

Three summers of painting and landscaping and BHH looks bright and shiny again.

Generally, at the first of the year, I write a post about all of the projects we plan to accomplish. However, when January rolled around, all I could think about was the giant floor refinishing project and not a day past that. (I promise there will be a floor update soon.)

Now, summer is almost here, and I’m trying to stay true to my vow not to spend every single day working on the house during the warmer months. Summer is fleeting here, and I do not want to spend it hunched over with a paintbrush in my hand.

Like most homeowners, we’ve started plenty, but the last 10% lingers. So, instead of getting bogged down starting new things, this will be the summer of finishing projects. Here’s the run-down.

Summer 2019 Projects

1. Finish Painting the Model T garage and the sleeping porch. We had the gaping hole and the roof rot fixed at the end of 2017.

2. Finish the Underside of the Street Side Front Porch. Ignore the right side of the photo below because I finished that part last summer. However, the lower left side of the porch is still covered in plastic, and the final board between the pillars is still missing.

3. Windows! Right now, I have three unfinished windows in the basement, two in my workshop, and one window covered in plastic in the library.

The unfinished windows belong in the upstairs guest bath…

the laundry/office…

And underneath the street side front porch (thus the plastic!). The sashes are all in various stages of completion, so I need to buckle down and get them to 100%.

4. The Front Door

The large front door and the staircase (next up) are arguably the most important projects in BHH. I’ve been talking about this door for three years and stewing about it for longer. (Posts about the door: one, two, three) I don’t regret the time we spent thinking about the project because we want to do it right, not necessarily fast. This door is the real deal, supposedly built by a craftsman who became a part of the Roycroft movement. I cannot verify that information, but no matter who crafted it, the door is something special.

5. The Grand Staircase This project is multi-phase, so technically, I’m not finishing it, I am starting it. However, I broke the full project down into parts, and painting the stair risers and finishing the treads up to the first landing is what I want to complete over the summer. I removed the runner recently, and the treads are a mess.

It’s a lot. I see that too. However, this list should keep me focused week-to-week even if every item doesn’t have a check mark beside it by the time the cold weather arrives this fall.

I want to hear about your summer work plans. What projects are on your list? Have any of your lingering tasks finally made it to the top of the queue? Lastly, how should we celebrate five years of living in and working on BHH? (Five years!) What would you like to see? I feel like we should do something to commemorate this special occasion.

-Stacy