Last week we reported on our finished bedrooms. This week the old Victorian manor finally started to feel like our home. The second floor landing was completed.
The effect is very much period and really nice as shown in these before and after pictures.
We chose a rather dramatic red and gold patterned carpet reminiscent of the Victorian style. We did not go so far with the walls, but we did pick up on the carpeting's colour palette. To lessen the darkness of the red, we added a "cherry rail" providing the effect of wainscoting. Of course all of the electrical wiring was changed and we were able to replace an old ceiling fan with a more suitable chandelier.
The banister was re-stained and varnished to bring out the beautiful deep red cherry wood. The downstairs entrance hall carries the same colours but we now plan a new entrance flooring. In order not to damage it in the next phase of renovations, this will be done at the end of our project. Around the same time frame, we also expect to work on the main entrance doors.
What is even more dramatic is what we were able to do with the Widow's Walk. Before I get into this, there has been some debate here about this room.
A Widow's Walk is very typical of Victorian Second Empire homes. Although it became very much an architectural embellishment, originally it was postulated that these rooms were designed to be used by women waiting for their men arriving from the sea. They would walk to these rooms so they could look at a distance. They were typically accessible from the roof.
Our Widow's Walk was definitely not accessible from the roof (and never seems to have been). In fact, the only access seemed to be from a small opening in the ceiling similar to an attic access panel.
This fact lands credence to a story we read. An elderly lady (Marjorie Page) who lived on the property as a child during the Great Depression (1920's) wrote a small article published last year in Niagara this Week and on the web site MyPelham; it was about her experiences on the property, which they fondly referred to as the Ridgeville Castle at the time (on the outskirts of a very small country town, this farm house would have certainly seemed grand).
In those days, the Widow's Walk was referred to as a bell tower. Presumably it housed a large bell which would be used to call the workers from the field. So this "Widow's Walk" may have actually been a "Bellfry" (a term our contractor has been using since the beginning).
In any case, once we saw beyond the access panel we made the rather bold decision to completely open up the ceiling below this room.
This part of the project is finally finished and here are the results.
This has become a very impressive space. It is now a signature architectural element for the inside of the house and it actually looks much more impressive than it does on the outside (or in photos).
Aside from insulation and the finishing of the new walls, the windows of the tower had to be completely rebuilt. The original window frames were rotted.
To finish the space we picked up on the colour palette of the second floor landing. Paneling simulating the paneling beneath the main windows was added to provide a break from the red walls and to finish the junction between the brick walls of the tower and the interior plaster walls.
We also installed electricity to the tower and now (where presumably there might have been a bell) a large coach light style chandelier hangs from the peak.
Next week, I hope to post the results for the two new bathrooms.
PS. Next year, we will be searching the house for the "hand-painted ceiling" referred to by Marjorie Page ....I fear it is long gone, but with all of our false ceilings, you never know.
Meanwhile, I still have to report on the farming front and of course we continue to clear land...seemingly a never ending process.
However with the nice weather (almost spring like this week), we do feel we have achieved some progress. I never thought we would see our Kiwi vines from across the creek and I never thought we would be able to distinguish the old trellis rows of the Kiwis. I think it will now be time to attempt a proper trellising system for some of these fruits.
Of course I cannot complete this blog without reporting on our winter squash trials.
This week, it was time for the Festival Squash. Somewhat smaller than an Acorn squash and much more colourful, this squash is easy to process.
This week's recipe experiment was Couscous stuffed squash.
For this meal, we halved the squash and seeded them. We then baked these in a 175 deg. C oven until tender.
We concocted a mixture of melted butter and brown sugar and brushed the inside of the squash.
For the stuffing we fried some carrots, garlic and celery in vegetable oil. Added cumin, pepper and salt. After a few minutes, we added chick peas (or garbanzo beans) and raisins.
Once the vegetables were tender, we added some home made vegetable stock to the mix and the recommended amount of couscous (1 1/2 volume of liquid to 1 volume of couscous). We let the whole thing simmer until the couscous had absorbed all the liquid.
The result: a delicious and hearty vegetarian meal or side dish.
Finally, for those interested in local and organic foods, please check out this video entitled Farmageddon. This highlights the plight of small American family farms today; it is truly concerning that the "land of liberty and freedom" should come to this.
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