Sunday, May 19, 2013

Stairwell I


A Cathedral Ceiling

Bill has been working on the new stairwell space this month, and here is the cathedral ceiling above it in progress. The prominent beam here required a lot of repair work, but now you can no longer see the front lawn through the space above it! Next comes some floor trim there and more linen wall paint to the right...


The other end of the stairwell required custom fit wall trim and flooring while the new rail post was created and notched into place. The post will have a wood rail.


The wall is made of very rough and old sides of pine boards which Bill sanded with an orbital sander, enough to nearly burn the motor out. After additional hand sanding it now has two coats of primer. Preparing the wood here and in the foyer took much of Bill's time; including carving out and sanding beam cracks besides sanding and filling every surface so that you want to touch it all as you navigate through it eventually.


The paint color on the stairs will be "Glacial" by Restoration Hardware, which seems an appropriate pale color for this small space in a house so close to a glacial lake. We will also use this color on the inside of the front door to separate it from so many surrounding wooden parts.


The light fixture I've selected for the top of the stairs is a maritime polished chrome pendant from Restoration Hardware, which will provide much downward light and match finishes with the rope rail fixtures. The rope rail was custom made to length using hemp and cotton twisted together and fastened with sailor's knots, by "StairRopes.com" in the UK.   


  

Update: Top of the stairs and stairs finished; after and before.



We continued to open the adjoining eave spaces to allow for a curtained closet and sculpture, while having room downstairs to create a full closet next to the new staircase.


This picture shows the  eaves opened up although it was taken while Bill replaced major roof beams.



We were able to build a  new closet downstairs next to the stairwell, using an original old door Bill built-out wider and taller. The inside is entirely built of very wide; old King's Wood boards we found for building "new" walls in this house. Inside the closet is an early art deco light fixture and outlet found on ebay.








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