We are pursueing an unusual route. We have what was a somewhat grandish 1882 home that is a mixture of Second Empire and Eastlake. Typical for the time, the back rooms (including the kitchen) were not finished to anywhere near the standard of the front (public) rooms. All the trim, moldings, floorings, hardware etc are/were several grades lower. Trying to recreate such a kitchen would seem fun for a museum, but not practical for the 21st century. And trying to create a muddle left us uninspired. Then we asked ourselves this question: What if, in 1882, they valued and utilized their kitchens as we do today? What if the kitchen was meant to be public and just as grand as the rest of the house? What would it have looked like? That question now forms our basis for design. We found the drawing below for a great ceiling and were able to order a replica, which we finally got installed about a month ago (lots of work!). We will do the floor in the Victorian style tiles from the Tile-Source. This week my wife is applying Venetian Plaster to the walls from Vasariplaster in BM August Morning, so that covers the large surfaces. The cabinets I am building and designing myself (thank God for Sketchup!), and they will be highly ornamental in the original Aesthetic Movement style, with no toe kicks and inset doors, ect. Crown Point has been an inspiration, but we are taking the design a lot further than they do in really trying to recreate period furniture/cabinet design. The idea is that upon viewing a person might reasonably think the cabinets are original to the house, with the exception that such cabinets were not built in kitchens at the time. It's all a bit risky, but it is exciting and we have our fingers crossed! Here is a link that might be useful: Tile Source

What's a gorgeous suit! It does take time to make something like that but it's well worth the trouble to learn. I learned to do bound buttonholes by practicing on scrap fabric. This thread brought back such sweet memories of watching my Mother (born in 1908) get dressed in something like that. She was oh so slender snd fashionable. She always wore hat & gloves... even to the supermarket before she passed away in the late 60's. I have half dozen pair of her lovely gloves...one pair of soft white kid in elbow length with embroideried cutwork...they're still soft as butter. How I treasure them! My Dad, who was so proud of her, used to take her to St. Louis twice a year for shoes- she wore a size 4 (triple A with a AAAA heel.) Sample shoes were only ones that fit, and her favorite stores loved her visits 'cause she tried on so many pairs, they said she sold them by "modeling." Now I realize what a long trip it was from NE TX to St Louis before Interstate hwys. I can remember "petting" her fur coat and wondering what it must be like to be so beautiful. I have a nightgown (part of her trousseau) of pale yellow silk (bias cut in Harlow style) with silk flowers of darker yellow & pale green stems & leaves, all handmade. It is just exquisite, and such a treasure to me. Ladies always "dressed" for travel whether by car or train. Wish I could post the picture of her as a newlywed, all dressed up, standing with one foot on the running board of their Buick convertible with the spare tire tucked in the front fender. When my Dad gave me the picture after she dies he said "She sure was a sassy lil' thing, wasn't she?" as tears streamed down his face. Little girls were in awe of their Mothers & wanted so much to be like them. I thought it heavenly when given old clothes, purses, etc. to play dress-up in. Suzi

Hmmmm a room-to-room fan. Never thought of that! In fact, I've never heard of it...but it makes sense. Only place it could possibly go, however, is above the door, where I had hoped to put in an operating transom window to let in more light and help air to flow from bedroom to bath. Will have to figure out which I need more...the room to room fan or the transom! The bath room will have windows as well.

I was a child of the 80's. Big hair. Big clothes. Big make-up. Add the fact that I was also punk, and boy! Do you have fashion fun ;). I look at pictures of the huge tops and skinny pants (which made us look like bowling balls on stilts - NOT the effect we wanted) and think "why didn't somebody save us from ourselves????". See, when you wear a big top and skinny pants and look down, all you see is flat fabric and thin legs. Allriiiiight, one thinks. This makes me look real SLIM. Yeah. But only from THAT angle. If only you can convince your date to look at you only from above (say, standing on a chair. Or a different floor and peer over the balcony?) ROFLMAO! And harem pants. For heavens sake! Talk about pear shaped. I don't think anyone ever looked good in them. But we loved them. They were cheap and comfy and wore forever LOL. My favourite look however, was a pair of black spandex with yellow racing stripes, a shirt that was more rip than shirt and covered in chains and leather bits, makeup remniscent of a parrot colliding with my face, and remember Cindy Lauper's hair? Checkerboard shaved in the sides, sticky out parts and long parts here and there? Bright red and coloured in streaks of blue, green, and pink? You betcha! Two inch long nails with paintings and adornments, and for shoes either my ankle boots with spike heels or my faves - bowling shoes painted black. My skirts were either floor length or short enough to be worn as belts. I loved "vintage" clothing pieces as well. I used to wear this mens vest (fancy, from a three piece suit) with no shirt on underneath. Or my dad's shirt from being a scout leader LOL. I also stole his funky dress shirts leftover from the late 70's. There was this one with an odd pinkish pattern all over, so well worn it was practically see through. I wore that until it fell apart. And a hideous polyester thing with a dark pattern of pheasants and such (like an old plate LOL). It was so hideous I had to have it and wear it - I know I have a problem. I like to think that I was always just ahead of my time. Each one of my phases has come through again, just not when I chose to be in them at the time LOL.