519 First Street

Winter Dreams of a Summer Garden

2011-01-28T02:40:00.000-08:00

In winter, I dream about the garden. Don't you?

On Mother's Day Weekend, the Batavia Plain Dirt Gardeners, a group of wise and experienced local gardeners pull perennial plants from their own gardens to sell as part of their Annual Perennial Plant Sale. The event is always advertised as occurring from 9am - 12pm but the honest truth is that whole thing happens in twenty feverish minutes between 9am and 9:20am when you had better have your game on and know what you're looking for....the Plain Dirt Gardener Sale has provided this garden with phlox, Karl Forester grasses, Russian Sage, purple catmint, chocolate Joe Pye Weed, vinca minor, lamb's ear, and a lot of sage advice from the ladies in straw garden hats who run the event.

To see more of the garden at 519 First Street, click here.

...and to All a Goodnight!

2010-08-16T18:45:00.000-07:00

Great Neighbors

2010-08-14T15:49:00.000-07:00

Our neighbors made us this fabulous book. Its a compilation of photos of Christmas parties, birthday parties and around the neighborhood shots all in a hardcover book.

2010-08-11T06:08:00.000-07:00

More interior photos....this is the front hall where we have old horse tackle hooks to hang our coats and bags and baskets for keys. This little room works well in the winter --- you can hang a lot of coats and snowpants on these hooks.

The photo of the leather chair in the far living room gives you a good picture of the robin's egg blue on the walls in there.

Once Upon a Time....

2010-08-09T20:25:00.000-07:00

....519 First Street looked just like it does today....

Isn't this awesome? It's a photo of the house from...well, a long, long time ago....

See the two trees out front? They are the two enormous trees that keep the house so cool in the summer. Talk about thinking green.

2010-08-08T21:13:00.000-07:00

The picture of the baby in the pram was taken just after we moved in.

Of course, now the baby is almost seven years old and the inset of the house windows are now red instead of cream.

The 24-pane window is also now trimmed in red paint (it's the window just to the left of the front door). Since we had the house repainted last fall, we also repainted all the window screens to match the new red window trim color. It was a labor of love...but they look really good, if I say so myself.

Open House

2010-08-04T16:06:00.000-07:00

Come for a glass of lemonade and see the

House and Gardens for yourself....

next Sunday, August 15th

12pm-2pm

The Room You Haven't Seen

2010-08-03T09:44:00.000-07:00

Well, you've seen the little blue door in this room that hides the secret office. But there are not any photos of this room anywhere else. So, here you go. It has a view of the Annabelle Hydrangeas and the garden beyond. Once upon a time, we used this room as a guest room...now we have a large armoire with a widescreen Mac in it and use the room as a sitting room to watch movies.

On Color, Light and Good Design

2010-07-31T16:35:00.000-07:00

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"Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted." ----Albert Einstein

We've chosen lighting fixtures that enhance the wonderful natural light of the house. The hanging pendant light in the kitchen is simple and beautiful and is paired with an Edison antique bulb that gives off a warm glow. Light makes all the difference on the wall colors as well...the upstairs is all a single color...Benjamin Moore's Glacier Sky but you can see how different it looks in the hallway (middle photo) versus in the bathroom. Downstairs color choices run from Wickham Gray in the middle living room (at the suggestion of my friend Megan who has perfect pitch when it comes to color, click here to see her interior design company) to a robin's egg blue called Woodlawn Blue in the far living room. For the north facing kitchen, the walls and ceilings need to reflect every ounce of light possible so we chose a color called Marilyn's Dress which is very pale but has a blue hue to it especially as the light changes with onset of winter.

Bloomin' Summer at 519 First Street!

2010-07-30T20:25:00.000-07:00

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When I went out for my coffee on the deck this past Wednesday morning, this was my view...well, the images from the deck (and the closeup of the phlox) at least. The last three photos were taken in the back garden later in the afternoon and are a good showing of what's blooming in the garden right now.

A Dry Laid Stone Wall, Stone Paths and a Trestle Table

2010-07-29T11:03:00.000-07:00

Whenever we've done a house project, we've made a point to keep to the character of the house. For the front walkway, a dry laid stone wall fits well with the style of the house.

Other house projects we've tackled include adding several stone pathways...one that leads from the front driveway to the garden entrance and another that snakes along from the back driveway past the fire pit and takes you to the east side of the bank of tall grasses that divide the garden. We also added a bar height table that runs the length of the back driveway. It was modeled after a trestle table and is great for parties as a serving table. In fact, we usually pull a table and large umbrella out to the back driveway for pig roasts...along with the Caja China pig roaster box. With the alley (and not just any alley, it's really one of the prettiest I've seen), it's a great space for warm weather entertaining.

One Good Door Deserves Another

2010-07-28T11:28:00.000-07:00

There is no shortage of unique doors here. From the rounded edges of the front door which match the rounded window frames on the house (with matching red storm windows) to the honey colored doors in the kitchen surrounded by a deep navy trim---the doors are original or historically accurate replicas with beautiful patinas. The narrow dark blue door is actually the pantry right off the kitchen.

Some other not-so-run-of-the-mill architectural details of the house include 10 1/2 inch original baseboards, brown marbled doorknobs (or white upstairs) on every interior door except the pantry, and 7 inch original crown molding in both front living rooms. The kitchen has a pretty 3 1/2 inch crown molding that was added when it was remodeled.

Hidden Storage

2010-07-27T10:26:00.000-07:00

There's plenty of storage in the kitchen although some of it is not in plain sight. The cabinet to the left of the stove has swinging shelves to take advantage of the corner space--I store the wok, pots and some big glass measuring cups in here. The skinny cupboard next to the stove is very deep and perfect for baking sheets, the pancake griddle, the pizza stone and has a shelf for ceramic baking dishes. Then there are the baskets under the butcher block top which I use for kids plates & cups, all of my mixing bowls and it's where I hide the toaster from sight. I also use two big furniture pieces for storage -- a china cabinet for all of our plates and everyday glasses, wine glasses, champagne glasses as well as a buffet where I store cookbooks, the blender, my dutch oven and platters. The most valuable storage comes from the pantry that holds all my glass jars of flour and sugar, spices, cereals, and most of our dry goods. I also have a wooden shelf in the basement for extra cereal, crackers, and paper goods.

It's a cook's kitchen with soapstone counters and a big fat AGA stove which is seriously the greatest stove ever...I love that you can cook a beef stew in the oven while simultaneously using the five-burner stove top (the center burner is 5 inches across) and bake biscuits in the side convection oven. The setup of the bar overlooking the inset butcher block piece allows the cook to chat with guests drinking their wine at the bar.

Southern Exposure

2010-07-25T22:19:00.000-07:00

Both front living rooms face south and so have wonderful light all day long. The oak floors in the middle living room are original to the house while the far living room has reclaimed oak flooring. The ceiling fans in each room keep a nice cross breeze going with the windows open. The 24-pane window seen in the photo makes my list of favorite things and allows in more light while maintaining privacy from the front porch.

The Little Blue Door

2010-07-24T22:58:00.000-07:00

There's a book I love called The Not So Big House which advocates a house that values quality over quantity and that emphasizes comfort, beauty, and a high level of detail. This house came complete with gorgeous details (most added in 1880) like the leaded glass window in the upstairs bathroom, the beautiful 24-pane window in the middle living room and beautiful, beautiful honey-colored wooden doors...and this one blue one. This little blue door hides a mini-office complete with bookshelves and a lift-up desk for a laptop.

A Sweet Flagstone Path

2010-07-24T08:56:00.000-07:00

Of all the details that I love about this house, this is one my favorites. A sweet flagstone path that takes you past ostrich ferns and a Kousa Dogwood along the side of the house to the steps leading up to the deck. Or, you could continue on to the grass path that opens up into the garden.

Reclaimed Antique American Oak Flooring by Mountain Lumber | materialicious

2010-07-21T19:26:00.000-07:00

Reclaimed Antique American Oak Flooring by Mountain Lumber | materialicious

Where every Floor has a Story to Tell

2010-07-21T19:04:00.000-07:00

Several rooms in the house contain reclaimed flooring from Mountain Lumber. The heart pine floors in the kitchen originated from the Southwestern Tobacco Warehouse in Hopkinsville, Kentucky which was a storage center for hogsheads of tobacco in the 1880s. Hopkinsville was the center of a fight between tobacco growers and buyers from 1900 to 1911. A buyers' trust forced the price of 'dark fired' tobacco to painfully low levels. In 1904, farmers formed their own organization to fight back. Nightriders from the 'Planters Protective Association' launched their first attack in 1906 burning warehouses and taking over several towns. Hopkinsville was on their list but the city militia was enough to delay the attack for almost a year. On December 7th, 1907 a group of Nightriders raided the town, blocking bridges and shooting up the police station. They burned two big 'buyer' warehouses. Those flames spread to nearby homes and other buildings...all of this within sight, sound and cinder dropping distance of the building which would provide the kitchen floors for 519 First Street.

Mountain Lumber rescued the historic pine joists, timbers and decking. The joists were more than three inches thick, eight inches high and up to 20 feet long. The great Heart Pine timbers ran a foot thick, 16 inches tall and 20 feet long. All were brought to Virginia and after being cut, kiln dried and re-milled they became the antique floors in the kitchen.

The Gardens of 519 First Street

2010-07-20T18:38:00.000-07:00

The garden at 519 First Street is peaceful and private...the deck looks out over garden beds full of perrenials and a seemingly endless view of tall grasses and mature trees. Stroll along the boardwalk which winds through the middle of the gardens full of oregeno, chives, provincial lavender, Russian sage, columbine and false indigo. The back garden centers around a firepit and is bounded by a shade garden of oakleaf hydrangea, ostrich ferns, lilies and big leaf hasta. Tucked between two trees is a hammock that is the perfect place for a nap in the summer.

Backing up to an almost fenceless alley beyond which is an open grass field of a neighboring property gives the house the sense of being on a common green. Along the back driveway is a tall built in table modeled after a trestle table which serves as a bar/serving table during pig roasts and summer parties. Pull up a stool to the bar and look out over the cutting garden of daisies, hollyhocks and zinnias.

In the autumn, the garden colors change --- the bank of sedum in the center bed turn to burnt red, the tall Miscanthus Gracillimus grasses bloom a feathery red and the Karl Forester grasses start to resemble wheat. The leaves on the burning bush west of the deck turn the most incredible shade of crimson and eventually fall to the ground resembling tiny rose petals.

The wintertime view out the kitchen picture window to the garden is pastoral and serene. The grasses are now all wheat colored and will provide a privacy screen until cut down in Spring; the garden structure is upheld by the shrubs, lilacs and pagoda dogwoods. The deep red potting shed is charming set against a fresh snowfall.

It's a wonderful garden full of surprises in Spring like the tiny blue flowered Scilla that come up in masses...and it continues to delight through the warm months with hummingbirds, butterflies, bunnies and red tail hawks.

Batavia, Illinois