blog : fineartistmade renovations
Trimming Out
January 15, 2012
The dining room and kitchen in our Queen Anne house project in Eastport had been stripped of its architectural elements and covered up with birch veneer paneling - virtually head to toe. Fortunately the rest of the house was left intact, giving us a model to work from.
Demo
August 21, 2011
Our clients were not quite sure where the original kitchen in their Queen Anne cottage had been. Modern paneling was obscuring the evidence and rumor had it that it had once been located in the fully finished bead board basement.
Hot off the press
July 31, 2011
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.
"Pretty it up"
July 10, 2011
In a town filled with ancient Cape Cods, Federals and Second Empire mansards, this sweet, well kept,1899 Queen Anne cottage really stands out.
Blog Mentions
April 26, 2011
This month, fineartistmade was mentioned by design bloggers: Ill Seen, Ill Said, KB Culture and Frolic. The posts feature everything from bath renovations, our home's restoration to our furniture.
Spring News
March 19, 2011
A fineartistmade kitchen is included in the April issue of Down East magazine.
The News
October 21, 2010
This old house of ours has got us busy this fall! We've been taking advantage of all the last of these beautiful sunny fall days to refurbish most of our 26 windows and storms - getting the house ready for winter. So, there has been scant time for blog posts.
History in a Can
August 22, 2010
The Eastport kitchen renovation has come to a close, but the story isn’t over just yet. One more aspect of the home’s restoration begged for attention - its history. The question that most intrigued us now? Who had lived in this venerable old cape?
The Devil's in the Details
August 18, 2010
We never build the same kitchen twice, but the challenge is always the same - to create a space that is both elegant and functional. Serving not only the user's culinary and domestic needs, but reflecting sensitive and thoughtful values that elevate the spirit. Heady goals for a humble kitchen? Why not? We allowed this home to guide us; from trim to cabinets to finishing touches.
Nuts and Bolts
July 28, 2010
There is a warmth and authenticity in custom handmade cabinets you just can’t get from the store-bought variety. With painting done, it was time to start building the cabinets for the Eastport kitchen. We could do the job in our shop, but establishing a workspace onsite has its advantages; one being a more fluid design process, another, the economy of convenience.
Trim
June 19, 2010
Beneath two subsequent kitchen renovations, the original hand-planed baseboard and chair rail had survived. It was difficult to remove them from the positions they had occupied for so many years, but this was not a museum restoration - this was somebody's summer home. The goal was to create a comfortable modern kitchen that preserved the 'spirit' of the old room.
Old and New
June 2, 2010
There is precious history woven into the fabric of an old home. Though we prefer to keep as much original material as possible, total preservation is not always practical or economical. This is often a sad reality while working on antique buildings. Renovation, even at its best, requires a little bit of letting go.
The Old Fireplace
May 26, 2010
Prior to the "deconstruction" phase of our Eastport kitchen renovation we hammered out a plan for the new room with our client. Creating a brand new kitchen in an antique home requires special consideration. It has to function efficiently, respond to the needs and conveniences of contemporary living - yet somehow connect with kitchens past. In this case a past that spanned nearly 200 years.
Getting Started
May 10, 2010
My inaugural blog, coincides with the start of our new project, a kitchen renovation in an early nineteenth century cape in Eastport. Our goal is to bring the room back, in spirit and detailing to its earliest period.
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