liam's lair

my son's room got an overhaul. this change was precipitated by the removal of french doors. now, if you are new to the chalet here are some details - we have 8 doors and until this remodel we had 5 sets of french doors. built in 1924  the chalet was a summer get away - tons of doors and windows for breezes and nary a bit of insulation. (hand hitting head emoji)  anyway after the galerie to porch switcheroo the door removal was the next big item on my husband's never ending #ToDoList for this 94 year old gem!

project morning: Steven snapped this of Liam and I as we headed out to a friends birthday party - leaving him on the balcony 3 stories up - happily working in solitude.

this is the view from the bedroom. it was always nerve-racking having an old set of glass doors in a childs room. 

here it is -  a nutshell from the day. Steven's first hurdle the storm doors he caulked shut so well it took him 2 hours to get them open. after that the process was a repeat of the porch - build the wall and install the windows.

he actually finished the outside this past weekend.

we looked for a while for paint - we considered a bunch of dark and light blues and greys, but with how dark our bedrooms are in the chalet due to the wide eaves we decided white was really the best option.

i wasn't prepared for how much i would love the crispness. i quickly realized i wanted to go more navy with some pops of green in the design. hey - my designs are never set in stone. there were plenty of items that were returned to stores; a lamp, rug and other accessories. i washed and put his orange quilt away. i think i will get a navy one when the weather changes but, for now, Liam loves his blue blanket.

moving his bed to the other side of the room has made it feel larger. we always had an extra plug in radiator in that outside corner - when the weather changes in October i'm not sure where it will go but, we'll figure it out.

all the art we took down did not go back up. i moved a few pieces to the basement - some into storage and we hung one in the play area.

for the first time in my life i am going to let this space and these walls evolve!

i rehung the skeleton over the storage cubbies. i love these units they hold toys, books and display Legos on top!

i was thrilled he let me frame his Star Wars poster! there was talk of scotch tape on his walls.

i am in love love love with the navy leather tray with cross stitching details i found at Home Sense.

how stylish is his lamp? this is one of a set of vintage gold tone lamps that were in my Aunt's living room. some spray paint and voila! 

here's a few images of the painting process.

above is the fresh updated corner and here the same space last winter.

this image at left is from 2014. his bed in it's original place.

and finally i thought i'd share my original design of Liam's room from when i was pregnant. i never wanted anything cutesy. i found the bedding - i still think the modern square design is timeless. the rug is from Home Depot. we received gifted furnishings, my old dresser was converted into a changing table and the crib was bought sight unseen from Target.com. my biggest splurge was the art from Art.com and framing.

i'm hoping this redo will carry our son through a couple of years. we know he could use a larger bed - he's tall and he's only getting bigger! he's 4 ft 5-1/2 inches tall and 70 lbs. i do already have a scheme in my head complete with a loveseat and trunk coffee table - because he must have the most comfortable place to hang.

til next time.

galerie

here's a little story about my sunporch.

this is one of my very favorite images of the chalet. it shows both galeries.  you may be saying to yourself what in the world is she talking about? well, in a chalet the outside area on the side or back of the structure are not decks or porches - they are galeries.

this is the book that taught me all about my little chalet. this glorious slim volume originally published in 1913 - a gift from my husband.  what strikes me funny is the author Mr. Dana lived in NJ.

i love the cover art.

before i delve into the porch - here are some details about the chalet. it was built in 1924 - the first house subdivided from an estate - our street name was originally the name of the estate. it was handcrafted by Austrian craftsmen as a vacation home for the Morgan family. they enjoyed winter sports and summer breezes here. we have breathtaking western views during the winter months. back then they had them all year-long.  if you follow me on IG you will have seen how the canopy of green has filled in and we are enveloped by trees.

 here is the main galerie in 2009 - the entire ceiling with its original tongue and groove boards and nonexistent insulation was rebuilt. yes, those are actually the underside of our bedroom floorboards. which means the floors were either cold in winter or hot in summer.

the grey painted flooring is actually the ceiling of the basement. these are the same floorboards that extend from the interior. which means just like upstairs whatever the weather was outside... it filtered into the basement - it just depended on what good 'ole Mother Nature was up to.

we spent much time reading, relaxing and listening to ballgames on the galerie. Memorial Day Weekend was always the official opening of the season - that's why feeling a bit wistful i'm sharing the story this week.

here's Fred enjoying some winter sport in February 2012.

i love this picture of my boys in march of 2014 (Fred passed away May 18, 2018 age 17)

summer 2016 -  we enjoyed the heck out of our upgraded seating!!!

now, this is what you think of when you think of a chalet... with outside galeries you'll see nothing is cantilevered. all the galeries are completely outside structures.  cantilevered interior spaces are not good.

winter 2017.

the thing about having snow on the ceiling of your basement is - it must be removed... like asap... before it melts into said basement. water was always a concern all year-round.

rain in spring, summer and fall; snow in winter. we dealt with the weather for almost 14 yrs.

until the nor'easter of February 2017 - there was so much driving snow - finally we knew however much loved the galerie it was time to close it in - and we did just that - from studs, windows and radiators to bead-board walls and new flooring.

this is the last time i ever had to grab towels to soak up the rain right before the final close in. we were so very blessed during construction with regards to weather... i kept praying and God kept listening.

the space turned out better than i ever could have imagined. not only did it add more living space to our cozy home. the chalet is weather tight for the first time in 93 yrs. and a humongous bonus is the noise reduction - no longer do sounds from outside filter up through the floorboards into our bedroom or my sons.

my husband and i sleep more soundly.

#whoopwhoop

a favorite chair anchors each side.

i can't say enough how much i love my porch!

here's the full transformation

any space in your home you would like to radically retool? please share!

til next time.