Underestimating - by Holly

The view from my front door--someone's alcoholic "gift" to us.

I underestimated the bus stop in front of our house. I expected people waiting for the bus and the bus itself coming and going... I did not anticipate the dozens of cigarette butts constantly littered on the sidewalk, people leaving all of their trash in my yard, people letting their kids run around screaming (even at night) in my yard, and finally the classic person(s) waiting for the bus in the cool of our front porch--even after they've seen me.

We have plans to build a fence in the front, with a gate, but we can't do that without approval from the historic board, which will take a very long time (think months). Because we decided to finish the exterior this year, it only makes sense to do all the work to the porch before putting up a fence that would most likely just get in the way/messed up.

I have every intention of petitioning this bus stop to be moved. If you drive towards downtown from east Durham on Holloway, there is a bus stop basically every mile, until you get closer to Elizabeth Street, where it seems like there's one missing. Then you cross Elizabeth Street and there are 2 stops back to back--doesn't make sense. I'll be proposing the city move the one directly in front of our house further east on Holloway; not only would it make a lot more sense interval-wise, but it wouldn't be directly in front of anyone's house (there are storefront buildings).

Hopefully we won't be providing more space for people to stash their trash (on our side of the fence)....

And then there's this... - by Holly

I'm definitely going in circles with possible exterior color combinations. I could picture our house in any color, though I would be particular about the value/saturation and what colors were matched with it.  But also, I'm way better at making decisions when it's not MY project. Feeling a bit paralyzed... my house might actually look like the one above with all the samples I'm trying!

Or maybe this... - by Holly

Contract for the exterior is almost finalized which means this place will be buzzing again soon! I'm still back and forth with paint colors (all things?) and today I found this, which I really like:

So compare that to what I posted before:

Pretty similar in overall feel! I think I'm realizing that not only do I love the color/balance in these two houses, but I also like their Italianate architectural details, which my house does not have. Sad. Nonetheless, I am now back to exploring purple.

And one other thing I like from the purple house, the ruched window treatments--those look awesome! Mine will be white... got that Grandma? You're a professional curtain maker, right? ;)

The First Finished Room!!!

I was so excited to surprise Colin by finishing his office completely (and in time for Father's Day)! I did not do the actual work, that would have taken much longer... but I hired some folks to prime the trim, putty/caulk, paint trim and walls, and install a fan (can you imagine if I tried to do that myself, pregnant with two toddlers in the background???). We had already picked up a few pieces for the office like a small rug and a new desk but I picked up the other things needed and threw it all together.


Before:

After:

After the Home Tour - by Holly

We had a great turnout  (as far as I can tell) from the Cleveland Holloway Home Tour. Thank you to everyone who took the time to come see all the houses!

Here are a few pictures of the house cleaned up with boxes out of the way:

Come this Saturday!