Unadorned

Last Sunday was the last day. We cleared out the final belongings, bits of trash and swept up. In the late afternoon, I had one last opportunity to record the rooms on the first floor; the ones where we entertained, ate, read, and worked. We did nearly everything ourselves, from the design to construction, painting and decorating. I think it all turned out pretty well. To see the rooms unfurnished was bittersweet, but it did allow me to appreciate them in their entirety. 

The flow from room to room worked well from the beginning. We never changed the basic floor plan, except for removing one exterior door from the kitchen (where the stove now stands). The beauty and utility were already there. We just enhanced them.

These are the first photos I've managed to publish of the kitchen. I'm especially happy with the way this room worked out. I spent three years thinking about the design of this room, which we gutted and renovated in 2003. We did the sunroom at the same time. The beadboard wainscoting flowed from the entry foyer to the kitchen and into the dining room. We also continued the beadboard from the entry up the stairs and to the second floor landing. This feature united all the fairly small rooms and gave a certain visual logic to the whole. And I think we succeeded in making the rooms feel more spacious as a result. I'll miss that stove.

The sunroom is where I spent many hours looking over the back garden. This year, my oakleaf hydrangea finally filled out and achieved some kind of flowering glory. The dappled shade highlighted the many hedges of holly and boxwood, and played across the beds of perennials. In our final spring here on Shepherd Street, I finally settled the selection and position of flowering plants.

A tiny selection of plants from my back garden now sits on my new balcony, still struggling from being uprooted and trying to adjust to the new climate. 

Much like me.