custom furniture, kitchens, and baths by fineartistmade

blog : our house renovation

Boxes

October 25, 2011

We are pleased to announce the addition of a new line of gift boxes to our The Tradition of the New collection.

On the heels of the Down East magazine article, ‘Every Mainer’s Kitchen” comes a feature story about our bath renovations in Old House Journal magazine’s Special Fall Issue: Creating beautiful vintage baths.

In Bloom

June 13, 2011

Each season on the farm has its own magic. Here's a little bit of spring.

And Finally, Cabinets

May 29, 2011

Building new cabinets is one part creative thinking and one part problem solving. There are many practical questions to work through.

Some Light on the Matter

May 20, 2011

Peeling back the layers of our significantly altered kitchen, unearthed just one original feature that had actually survived intact - the 4 inch wide, clear pine, strip floor.

Wall by Wall

May 1, 2011

Replacing modern bow windows in our 1930s addition was critical in terms of transporting the room back in time.

Everything but the Kitchen Sink

April 3, 2011

Since our “cook-space” renovation was in a state of evolution - we made do for a while with the existing stainless steel drop-in sink.

Our Pantry

March 24, 2011

After the kitchen walls were back in place - our next order of business was to finish the pantry. It would be the first fully completed room in the house.

Florence

March 1, 2011

Before arriving in Maine, my vision of a 1930s country kitchen included a beige and green porcelain vintage gas range (like one I'd seen in an antique shop), with white ceramic toggles and an eye level oven on the side.

The Five Year Plan

February 22, 2011

Depending on conditions, contemplating a restoration can be a tad overwhelming. The journey of a thousand miles may begin with a single step, but the question still remains - where do we start?

A Kitchen Addition

February 11, 2011

By talking with Golding family and neighbors, looking at old photographs and examining the physical remains - we've been able to piece together a snapshot of our home's second kitchen.

The Old Kitchen

January 30, 2011

A granddaughter's recollection provided a first real glimpse of our home's original kitchen. Like many at the turn of the century it consisted of free-standing furniture, rather than built-in cabinetry.

Cleaning the Attic

January 23, 2011

Rob Golding's sister, Amy Alice Tucker, was herself a creative story teller and an avid writer of short stories and poems. In a diary entry dated, September 1, 1933, Amy writes that she returned to her childhood home to help her sister-in-law, Jane, clean the attic.

First Settlers

November 4, 2010

Though we never met Robert Golding, he helped give us a glimpse of what life was like on our farm. A local legend; Rob was a hunter, guide, woodsman, farmer and gifted storyteller. His friend, Archie Stewart documented through movies and audio reels hunting and fishing expeditions and Rob telling his stories. They are archived at Northeast Historic Film and the Maine Folklife Center.

The Old Apple Orchard

October 26, 2010

When looking to buy a new home in Maine, one feature our broker neglected to mention about this property was its grove of heirloom apple trees. We were pleased to discover them struggling amidst the white pine and ash that had sprouted up around them. This orchard had been pretty much been taking care of itself for who knows how many years - all the while faithfully producing apples.

My Perennial Garden (Part 2)

September 24, 2010

My garden was inspired in part by many I had read about or visited. One part English garden from my time spent in London (studying photography) and traveling through Europe; one part country garden from my Long Island and Maine experiences; one part California garden from years spent combing the state while assisting a friend who was a nature and wildlife photographer.

My Perennial Garden (Part I)

September 17, 2010

Off the back of the house, some fifty feet down a gentle incline towards Boyden Lake - nestled among survivors of an old heirloom apple orchard, on the edge of a field - within the remains of a rectangular stone foundation - resides my perennial garden. That it occupies this spot was a well laid plan; the significance of the location, on the other hand - was wholly unexpected.

The Honeysuckle Vine

July 9, 2010

Prominent in many old photos are Mary Golding's plantings, one had not been so lucky. A large climbing vine, on the south side of the house; between the dining room and kitchen windows. It's there as early as 1910 - as late as the 1950's - gone by the 1970's. Such a distinguishing feature - we thought of putting it back. Old photos however, gave us few clues as to what kind of vine it was.

Kendall Farm Cottages

June 25, 2010

Just a short walk across our north field and through a line of trees, you find yourself at one of Downeast Maine's best kept secrets - Kendall Farm. Two wonderful cottages, Watercress and Wildflower, built in the 1920's are maintained and rented by their current steward, Georgiana Kendall - who carries on a family tradition.

The Roof

June 9, 2010

Sometimes necessity is the mother of unexpected and happy results. When we purchased our Perry, Maine home it came with a new roof. One less thing to worry about for say - thirty years? Not long after moving in though, shingles started to fly. The wind off Boyden Lake can be fierce.

A New Workshop (Part 2)

May 22, 2010

We have always been restoration purists at heart, so the first major decision in our workshop renovation, was a tough one - to reposition the original location of the exterior door from the center to the side (where a window had once been), to make the space more functional.

A New Workshop (Part I)

May 19, 2010

An expanding business made it time to attack a project long overdue - a properly fitted workshop. The space that workplace now occupies, began its life seventy-five years ago as a woodshed in the back end of the 1935 ‘ell’ (‘Maine-speak’ for addition) to our circa 1893 home.

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