Historic Athens, Alabama
It's been a few days, but I have been busy getting this next post of our revitalization of a historic American bungalow chocked full of information in case you decide it's time to revitalize your own home!
In today's post, we have made significant progress in revitalizing this historic home in Athens, Alabama - but we still have much to do! Without further delay, we hope you enjoy engulfing yourself in the read ahead! Enjoy!
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| Front Patio In Progress |
As you can see, we have already made major progress on the front patio by just adding a fresh coat of paint to the floor and sprucing up the curb appeal with a pair of vintage peacock fan back chairs, a wicker chaise lounge {cushions in process of being recovered}, blue + white garden stool - a staple piece for any home because of its versatility of use, and gorgeous blue + white accent pillows.
Quill Notes Tip :: The Garden Stool is one of the most versatile pieces one can include in their home. These decorative items are quite desirable due to their multi-purpose uses for wet or dry conditions, indoors or outdoors, or as a bench or side table. And who could resist the classic blue + white Chinese motif? In one of my "go to" design reference books "In with the Old" by Jennifer Boles {author of the blog The Peak of Chic}, she goes into great detail on this design staple. If you don't already own a copy of "In with the Old," it is a must to add it to your library collection - purchase here. {Southern Plus :: Jennifer, my idea of a true Southern Belle, lives right in Atlanta, GA}
Get the Look ::
Coral Reef Pillow by Cotton + Quill here
Outdoor Flower Pillows {ones shown found at Costco} similar here
Rattan Peacock Fan Back Chair {consignment find} similar here
Garden Stool {antique store find} similar here
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| Front Door |
With painting the entire outside of the house not in the budget, we opted for adding a fresh coat of paint to the floor and door of this quaint bungalow. Rather than the floor and door fighting for attention as in their former state of rust - we opted to have the floor meerly disappear with the focus being on the bold front door - painted in Super Nova.
We also replaced the warped and worn fan with a palm style ceiling fan which was more in tune with the character of this bungalow style home.
Get the Look ::
Palm Style Fan similar here
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| Front Entrance |
Get the Look:
Vintage Turn Key Doorbell {shown found at Southern Accents Architectural Antiques} similar here
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| Living Room |
If you have ever purchased a home in need of a "little work" you probably already know that you always have unexpected and necessary improvements that must be done before you can go any further with other cosmetic improvements like paint and new fixtures.
As you can see, the entire ceiling in the living room was one of those unexpected improvements that had to be done. Luckily, this little improvement didn't take too long to complete and was a fairly simple job.
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| Living Room |
After patching and refinishing the ceiling we get to paint!! A light and breezy blue was chosen for the walls in this room to add an immediate breath of life as soon as you enter this home. We wanted a bolder yet subtle look for the door frame and ceiling, so we opted for a color a few shades darker than that of the walls and used a high gloss finish. Of course what we really wanted was a lacquer ceiling and door frame, but that is a whole project in itself as we quickly found out.
Paint:
Walls - Palladian Blue {eggshell finish}
Ceiling + Doorway - 3 shades darker than Palladian Blue {high gloss finish}
Quill Notes Tip :: To achieve the closest look to a lacquer finish, opt for a high gloss paint finished with a polyurethane coat. {Sidenote :: A high gloss finish is sure to show any imperfections in your walls and ceilings, so keep this in mind when choosing to go for this look}
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| Detail of Ceiling + Door Frame + Wall of Living Room |
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| Living Room |
The client found a gorgeous country French vintage fixture for this soothing room. Excellent choice in keeping this room inviting rather than pretentious.
Get the Look:
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| Living Room |
Modern art, part of the client's personal collection, was added above the mantle. I absolutely LOVE the vibrant colors and the tone of this piece.
Quill Notes Tip :: Don't think you can afford to add a contemporary piece of art to your collection or just can't find the right one? Get a large canvas with paint colors that suit you and come up with your own work of art! We all have a little creativity and artist in us....and what a conversation piece!!
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| Living Room Mantle/Fireplace |
I wanted to include this close up of the gorgeous peacock fire screen {another find from the client}. I have one of these in my home as well, and they are absolutely stunning! It makes me feel as I were right in Gatsby's home every day....
Get the Look ::
Vintage Brass Peacock Fire Screen {antique store find} similar here
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| French Door for Living Room |
If you can remember from those "before" pictures, and even looking at the ones earlier in this post, you notice that as you enter the living room, you see straight through the hallway all the way to the back of the house with nowhere for the eye to rest.
A solution to this was to add a pair of french doors made of mostly glass panes to allow the eyes a visual break when entering the home. These were another find of the client at an architectural salvage store - more than likely you have one of these close to you as well.
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| Living Room |
After having the doors customized to fit the space, they are up and installed! Of course this is before they are to be painted in a high gloss to match the surrounding door frame.
The thing I love about the doors my client chose, is that they still give the illusion of an open space, due to the fact that they are mostly glass, while still providing a sense of privacy.
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| Palette for Front Bedroom |
The client and I wanted the front bedroom to exude glamour yet still be a place where one can relax. This room also needed to compliment the adjoining living room as it will always be visible when entertaining guests.
The client found this metallic acid washed cowhide which exudes that glamour we were aiming for in this room. The soft colors of the rug compliment the golden honey hardwood floors keeping a relaxed feeling for this space.
We chose Cotton + Quill's Koi in Flax, an intricate and feminine design, to soften the space around the large windows in this front bedroom.
Get the Look ::
Metallic Acid Washed Cowhide Rug similar here
Cotton + Quill's Koi in Flax here
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| Front Bedroom |
A look at the front bedroom after the paint + fixture has gone up. The blue-green hues in the chandelier as well as the the hand painted portrait over the mantle are highlighted from the surrounding Palladian Blue walls.
Get the Look ::
Chandelier {shown from Lowe's - no longer available} similar here
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| Front Porch |
Here's a view from the front bedroom & what an improvement! Those restricting glass panes are now gone + we find ourselves looking out onto an easy breezy front patio!
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| Paint Options |
As I mentioned from the start, we are on a budget with this project - meaning that means we must limit and choose our paint colors wisely. As much as I would just love to use that Palladian Blue in the entire house (yes, I really love it that much as does my client), this home needs a little variety.
For the dining room we chose a soothing Wickham Gray which lends on the side of sophistication and formality, and for the second bedroom and adjoining bath we opted for Nightingale - a soothing warm gray.
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| Dining Room |
Show-stopping beauty - I was floored once this antique chandelier was installed....another excellent find from my client.
Again, another little hiccup, but that comes with the territory - the painters got the den and the dining room mixed up so what was going to be our Wickham Gray dining room exuding sophistication and formality - we now have a Palladian Blue dining room. Although, I must say am honestly not displeased with the "mix up."
As you can see the chandelier does all the talking.
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| Hallway |
We continued the Palladian Blue into the hallway to lighten what was once a dark passage to the rest of the house. This view is looking back to the entrance of the home through those lovely french doors.
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| Second Bedroom |
No, the fridge will not be finding it's home here.....obviously still a work in progress.
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| Second Bedroom |
Keeping with the spa like approach, the client has decided to use Cotton + Quill's Bambusa in Mint to drape the space around these sun drenched windows. Bambusa comes in 9' panels to create the illusion that one is in the midst of full grown bamboo.
Get the Look ::
Cotton + Quill's Bambusa in Mint here
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| Lavatory |
Wickham Gray was used on the top portion of the walls in this bathroom in order to add a little color and contrast from the stark white appliance and bead board walls.
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| Lavatory |
Here's that garden stool showing up again....Due to the lack of space in this bathroom, a garden stool was added next to the claw foot tub as a place to rest a towel, book or glass or chardonnay while adding a pop of color to this neutral space.
Creating a garden like approach, the client chose Cotton + Quill's Terrace in Oyster for the custom shower curtain.
Get the Look ::
Cotton + Quill's Terrace in Oyster here
Emerald Green Garden Stool similar here
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| Lavatory |
Detailing over the door frames of the lavatory. Currently, we are tossing around some ideas of whether to display apothecary jars full of soaps or crisply folded white towels on the ledge above the doors.
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| Door Knob Detail |
I couldn't resist including a shot of one of the historic door knobs found throughout this home.
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| Den |
As I mentioned earlier, after a little confusion from the painters, we have ended up with a Wickham Gray den - which actually turned out to be an excellent mistake!
The light color of the walls adds a sense of height to what was once a very dark room. At the request of the client, the floors have been replace in pine and will take on the same finish as the hardwoods found in the rest of the house.
This Italian light fixture is yet another fabulous find from the client.
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| Den |
We have decided to use a set of vintage crewel drapes the client found in an estate sale for this room due to it's ceiling being lower than the remainder of the home.
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| Kitchen |
As remodeling a kitchen is simply not in the budget for revitalizing this bungalow, we opted to replace light fixtures + flooring and reconfigure the space to keep our improvements within budget.
The hand painted vintage strawberry tole fixture sets the tone for this vintage kitchen. Actually, this may be one of my favorite rooms in the house - maybe it reminds me of drinking ice cold lemonade at my great-grandmother's home or sitting on the porch of my great-Aunty Macy's home drinking peach tea and munching on her famous oyster crackers...but somehow this quaint kitchen full of character exudes almost 100 years worth of past memories and hopefully another 100 years of memories to come.
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| Kitchen |
A pair of vintage pendants add to the authenticity of this historic kitchen.
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| Laundry / Mud Room |
The shelves have come down, the floors have been replaced with that gorgeous pine, and the walls + ceiling have been painted to mimic the entrance of this American bungalow.
The client wanted to keep with the authenticity of the age of the home by not filling in the cracks of the paneled walls and ceiling. We also repurposed one of the existing light fixtures that was originally in the hallway to create a welcoming look for the laundry room.
Whew! Lots has happened since we first introduced our ongoing design project, and there is still lots to come! Stay tuned for more tips as we take you step by step in revitalizing this historic American bungalow!
