It is with a sadness in my heart that I write this tonight. One of my best friends, a great storyteller, Susanna "Granny Sue" Holstein has experienced an unparalleled tragedy in her life. While travelling home from Iowa, her son Jon passed away in an automobile accident.
Words cannot express how greatly saddened I am for my friend and her wonderful family. She is a wonderful woman, a great West Virginian, and is one of the strongest, nicest people I have ever met. I have faith that she and her family will pull through, although it is certainly a pain that no one should ever have to bear.
If you would like to leave Granny Sue a message, you can do so on her blog:
http://grannysu.blogspot.com
Love and Peace to all.
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Sunday, January 31, 2010
The Key West Bedroom
Hello, it's Franklin Cat again. Today I am coming to you from one of my favorite places. It is the Key West bedroom in my house. This white bedspread is one of the first places I slept when I was a kitten, and I still love it.
Below is a picture of what the room looked like when we started. White box, light fixture of depression, and industrial ceiling tile. Not to mention dark pine wood floors that had seen better days. Oh, and that carpet? Nasty. Just nasty.
Above is how the room looked when the renovation began. The ceiling tile is gone, and the ceiling is now blue.The closet needed help. There was only one long pole in it for hanging clothes, and the doors were "ugh" brown.
Despite all these challenges, it all worked out. You can see below - paint, crown molding, new light fixture, and flooring really helped. We used Key West as the inspiration for this room. Can you see it?
The closet doors are painted as well, the money tree in the corner is very tropical, and the bookcase pays homage to Key West's literary figures, like Ernest Hemingway.
There will be a picture above the bookcase eventually. It will be of the Key West Lighthouse.
Below is the headboard we made out of old closet doors and some trim from Lowe's. The shell on top and the leaves are painted to match the wall colors.
The only missing element so far is the picture/s for this wall. They're going to be photographs of Key West that we took on our vacation, but they've not been framed yet.
I hope you've enjoyed the tour of the Key West bedroom. It's been a long, difficult renovation but I think it's been worth it.
Despite all these challenges, it all worked out. You can see below - paint, crown molding, new light fixture, and flooring really helped. We used Key West as the inspiration for this room. Can you see it?
The closet doors are painted as well, the money tree in the corner is very tropical, and the bookcase pays homage to Key West's literary figures, like Ernest Hemingway. 
There will be a picture above the bookcase eventually. It will be of the Key West Lighthouse.
Below is the headboard we made out of old closet doors and some trim from Lowe's. The shell on top and the leaves are painted to match the wall colors.
The only missing element so far is the picture/s for this wall. They're going to be photographs of Key West that we took on our vacation, but they've not been framed yet.
I hope you've enjoyed the tour of the Key West bedroom. It's been a long, difficult renovation but I think it's been worth it. Sunday, January 24, 2010
The Upstairs Hallway: The Return of the Mahogany Dresser
Hello, my name is Franklin. Welcome to my home - would you like a tour of the recently renovated upstairs hallway? Of course. My associate Julius is now napping, but I will take the time to show you around.
This is the upstairs hallway. I don't have any pictures of it when we first moved in. Just picture a boring white box with ugly popcorn ceiling, no border or crown molding, and just blah... The vanity is now serving as the linen chest, where we keep the towels and wash cloths. It's made of mahogany, and is in the Eastlake style with some other elements. This belonged to great-grandma Mary Burns, who was known to us as "Granny". It was made by William B. Moses and Sons, of Washington, D.C. The company was founded in 1863, and went out of business in 1935.
The kerosene lamp on top belonged to her as well, and has a Currier & Ives scene on it. It is made of milk glass.
Below you can see the molding, which replaced some really cheap trim that was here before. The mirror was an antique store find, and the door will be refinished to match the door frame. It's too cold outside to do it now.
These pictures are actually watercolors by a Pittsburgh artist, Mary Lois Verrilla. She is famous for designing alot of Christmas seal greeting cards. I honestly bought these for $1.50 at a junk store in Rio, WV. I didn't know who she was, I simply liked the scenes that were painted. The top one is my favorite. And the frames? I got them at the Dollar Tree.
Here is a close up of the border and the light fixture. There is a tiny strip of quarter-round at the top and a rope-like piece at the bottom. I didn't realize that the border was a scene of NY harbor until it was up on the wall. You can see the Statue of Liberty in it. The light fixtures (there are two of these) were in the house when we bought it. There is a bit of paint on this one, but it will be removed soon.
Below you can see the top of the window and more of the border & trim. The window blind was on sale at Lowe's for $23, and pretty easy to install. The wall color is called Pear (a light brown) and the ceiling is Parchment (light yellow).
Here you can see the window and my home office door. It will also be refinished in the warmer months. It was painted when we moved in.
And with each new photo of the house, you can usually find an orb. Maybe it's Granny? - or maybe just dust. At the far end you can see one of the doors that was refinished last summer. It's the door to the Franklin Bedroom.
Well, that's the tour. I hope you return next time. I'll show you around the Key West Bedroom, which is also finished. It's got some cool stuff in it too, but I'll save that for next posting. See you later!
This is the upstairs hallway. I don't have any pictures of it when we first moved in. Just picture a boring white box with ugly popcorn ceiling, no border or crown molding, and just blah... The vanity is now serving as the linen chest, where we keep the towels and wash cloths. It's made of mahogany, and is in the Eastlake style with some other elements. This belonged to great-grandma Mary Burns, who was known to us as "Granny". It was made by William B. Moses and Sons, of Washington, D.C. The company was founded in 1863, and went out of business in 1935. The kerosene lamp on top belonged to her as well, and has a Currier & Ives scene on it. It is made of milk glass.
Below you can see the molding, which replaced some really cheap trim that was here before. The mirror was an antique store find, and the door will be refinished to match the door frame. It's too cold outside to do it now.
These pictures are actually watercolors by a Pittsburgh artist, Mary Lois Verrilla. She is famous for designing alot of Christmas seal greeting cards. I honestly bought these for $1.50 at a junk store in Rio, WV. I didn't know who she was, I simply liked the scenes that were painted. The top one is my favorite. And the frames? I got them at the Dollar Tree.
Here is a close up of the border and the light fixture. There is a tiny strip of quarter-round at the top and a rope-like piece at the bottom. I didn't realize that the border was a scene of NY harbor until it was up on the wall. You can see the Statue of Liberty in it. The light fixtures (there are two of these) were in the house when we bought it. There is a bit of paint on this one, but it will be removed soon.
Below you can see the top of the window and more of the border & trim. The window blind was on sale at Lowe's for $23, and pretty easy to install. The wall color is called Pear (a light brown) and the ceiling is Parchment (light yellow).
Here you can see the window and my home office door. It will also be refinished in the warmer months. It was painted when we moved in. 
And with each new photo of the house, you can usually find an orb. Maybe it's Granny? - or maybe just dust. At the far end you can see one of the doors that was refinished last summer. It's the door to the Franklin Bedroom.
Well, that's the tour. I hope you return next time. I'll show you around the Key West Bedroom, which is also finished. It's got some cool stuff in it too, but I'll save that for next posting. See you later!
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