Victorian Farmhouse - More "Before" Photos and the Detatched Barn

I'm sure some of you are itching to see more of this house, and there's PLENTY more to see, it just takes FOREVER to edit everything, organize all the photos, and then write the posts. Believe it or not, but it's now 9:44PM and I started editing photos at around 7PM.

This post will feature a bit of a quick introduction to my two friends who are restoring this old farmhouse, as they'll be appearing occasionally in photos. It will also show some of the interior of the detached barn (which you'll be able to see more clearly from the exterior in the next post).

My friends' names are Angelina and Pierre. I've been friends with Angie since high school, and we met through another mutual friend. She is very interested in archaeology, and she spent many years working at Upper Canada Village in Morrisburg. Through her, I was able to see many events held at the village (which I always adore visiting). Pierre is her husband, and I think we (our group of friends) first met him around 2010, maybe 2009? He is very interested in 3D modeling and computer graphic design. They're the same age as me (32 going on 33).

I asked Angie if she had any earlier "before" photos of the house, and she sent me a bunch, most of which will follow.

Here we see the office (refer to floor plan) where Pierre is ripping up some of the old linoleum flooring. The walls also had wallpaper (there was wallpaper and mac-tac pretty much everywhere in the house) but by this point they had already removed it from this room. I believe she told me that this room also had ugly shag carpeting over the linoleum. I'm not sure what was in the hallway with the staircase. Probably more of the same.



Here's another shot of the original front room archway which we opened up (which will be shown in the next post). You can see two of the old wallpaper layers. I shared a similar photo, but in this one you can see the patch work along the bottom. Some of it is moulding, and the other half is a sawn piece of tongue-and-groove. All of it is nailed in place with old square nails, and we were able to figure out that this archway has been blocked up since the mid 1920s.



The second archway in the same room, looking into the main room (living room). Here you can see some of the ugly and soiled carpeting. Ick! As I've already mentioned, the house was largely empty aside from 2 or 3 cats for around 4 or 5 years. You can also see the poorly patched-in HVAC stack to the right. I had thought it was drywall, but it is in fact painted plywood.



The main room before renovations. Brown shag carpet, and beige floral wallpaper. The picture on the far wall is actually hand stitch work from around the 1970s or 80s, and is a family made piece. I believe it's being kept, but I'm not too sure where it will end up.



Under the carpeting was linoleum. This one is printed to look like carpeting! I had no idea they ever made such a product. It's kind of funny, kind of cool, and kind of hideous all at the same time, haha!



Under some of the linoleum were old newspapers. This was one of the neat looking pages from the Ottawa Journal, dated September 9, 1969!





Barn

Here's Angie standing within the chicken coop portion at the back of the detached barn.



I didn't really grab a good photo near the front of the barn, but I'll describe it as best as I can. It is, after all, just a barn. When you walk in, there are 3 stalls for animals. They didn't look large enough for horses, so I have to assume something smaller. To the left is a narrow hallway that leads to the next section of the barn. On the right hand side of this hallway are some pantry cupboards with old doors and narrow shelves. There were remnants of medications for farm animals in one of them.

The next room is where some of the next photos were taken. This is largely just a big square room with posts propping-up the sagging ceiling. The left wall (same wall with the hallway) is badly caving in. Further along that wall it leads into the chicken coop section, which seems to have been tacked-on to the main barn later. To help, I've just quickly thrown together this floor plan of the detached barn:



There was a sort of foothold or ladder, so I was able to grab this photo that shows the small attic of the chicken coop section.



The actual chicken coop, with the small side door to the outside.



Here is the saggy left hand wall looking from the chicken coop door towards the front of the barn. Don't let your brain adjust the angles, it's THAT crooked. You can see the hinged door on the left is hanging fairly vertically. The man at the far end is Angie's father. The floor is all rough and cracked concrete.



Facing the right wall of the large square room. The item in the lower centre of the photo is a rough ladder to go up to the loft (second floor). Half the floor is rotted so it was not in any way safe to even attempt this.



This is the section of wall between the coop and the rear door. A lot of the interior of the barn has floral bits of linoleum tacked to the walls. It's actually kind of pretty. It almost looks like 17th century tapestries. I assume this is old linoleum flooring that was once in the house.



Looking up into the loft.



Rear door.



The loft again from a slightly different angle.



As far as I know there aren't any current plans for the barn other than try to keep it standing. I assume that it would be nice to fix it up, square it up, and use it for something, but that will be time and budget permitting, and after everything else is finished. Until next time. (And for those who are curious, it's now 10:52PM as I'm wrapping this up). Final edits done at 11:08! :P

A Small Tribute For A Great Client

I was saddened to hear not long ago that Dr. Traer Van Allan, my favourite client at Lefebvre's Upholstery, passed away in mid November at age 84. We've had steady business from him since I started, and I always loved working on his projects. One of the very first projects I ever saw in the shop was a blue striped chair that Pierre was working on (see blow).

He was a kind old fellow, and he loved antiques, history, and old homes. During our deliveries we briefly toured the better part of the three homes he owned in Morrisburg. The oldest, and nicest of which I talked about here: http://my1923foursquare.blogspot.ca/2013/07/amazing-house-tour.html. He had plans for this house to become a museum, but I have no idea if there were provisions or specific plans for this already in place.

Anyhow, since it doesn't appear that he had any children, and he is survived only by his sister and some cousins and friends, I thought it would be nice to compile a nice little list of the projects he helped save for future generations to enjoy. Some of these were a lot of work, and would have otherwise ended up in the landfill. Not all of his projects were documented. There are several dining chairs that we repaired (I couldn't find the photos), as well as a funky leopard print ottoman we did, and several other small repair jobs (painted exterior chairs, some rush seats, seat cushions, etc). There was also a large slipcover we did in white fabric for a daybed, along with about a dozen feather pillows in the red and white toile fabric.

The list of projects below show the majority of all the projects Pierre and I worked on for him between 2013 - 2015. I have no idea how many additional pieces Pierre worked on before I started working for him. All the links lead to the upholstery blog posts, and there are lots of additional photos there.

Blue Striped Victorian Chair:
http://lefebvreupholstery.blogspot.ca/2013/06/a-beautiful-early-victorian-chair-with.html



White Sofa:
http://lefebvreupholstery.blogspot.ca/2013/08/antique-loveseat-white-complete-overhaul.html

This was my first time taking apart such an old sofa. It still had all the original straw stuffing, and even the spring seat cushions (like a miniature mattress wrapped in cotton padding). As you will see from the other projects, Mr. Van Allan loved bright white cotton.


Coombe Wing Chair:
http://lefebvreupholstery.blogspot.ca/2013/08/coombe-wing-chair-white.html

This is one of the nicest chair frames we've worked on. When it comes to wing chairs, most of them all look very similar, but this one had really striking triangular wings, and beautiful carved legs. Several of the chairs we redid had gotten water damaged in a basement, and all the original upholstery was ripped off and thrown away.


Victorian Side Chair:
http://lefebvreupholstery.blogspot.ca/2013/08/victorian-side-chair-red-floral-toile.html

Out of all of his chairs, I think this one is my favourite. I absolutely love the red toile on it.


Blue Striped Fan Back Chair:
http://lefebvreupholstery.blogspot.ca/2013/09/fan-back-chair-blue-white-stripe.html



Hitchcock Chair (Repair):
http://lefebvreupholstery.blogspot.ca/2013/09/early-antique-stencilled-chair-repair.html



1962 Wing Chair:
http://lefebvreupholstery.blogspot.ca/2013/09/1962-wing-chair-white.html



Arm Chair / Sofa Chair:
http://lefebvreupholstery.blogspot.ca/2013/12/arm-chair-white.html



Ribbed Back Antique Chair:
http://lefebvreupholstery.blogspot.ca/2014/02/ribbed-back-antique-side-chair-white.html

Mr. Van Allan did not originally like this chair very much (he may have even called it an "ugly duckling" at one point), and he wasn't even sure what fabric he wanted for it. He told us to do the best we could with it, and just to use more of the white. We decided to get rid of the top-mounted piping, and fix the back stuffing back to how it was before. The final touch was a few tiny white buttons. He was very happy with how the chair turned out. We didn't change very much on it, but it made a big difference. It's a very elegant chair now.


Small Antique Wing Chair:
http://lefebvreupholstery.blogspot.ca/2014/02/small-antique-wing-chair-red-toile.html



Victorian Slipper Chair:
http://lefebvreupholstery.blogspot.ca/2014/02/antique-victorian-slipper-chair-red.html

This one looks like very little was done to it except new fabric, but it needed LOTS of frame restorations. It was completely taken apart and redone from scratch.


Antique Sofa:
http://lefebvreupholstery.blogspot.ca/2014/03/wonderful-antique-sofa-bold-orange-dark.html

I absolutely love this old sofa! It would have looked great in my living room against my light green walls.


Eastlake Settee:
http://lefebvreupholstery.blogspot.ca/2014/04/fully-restored-eastlake-settee-red-toile.html

By far the most dramatic transformation was this settee. Pierre spoke to Mr. Van Allan over the phone, and explained that it would need far more work than we had originally planned. He also mentioned that it would be unrecognizable when it was returned. I wasn't there for the delivery, but he was so happy that we were able to restore it that he dug out the matching chair (below).


Eastlake Chair:
http://lefebvreupholstery.blogspot.ca/2014/04/fully-restored-eastlake-chair-red-toile.html



This is a beautiful carved mahogany arm chair. We didn't reupholster it. I believe he just wanted a bit more padding on the arms. This is one of those other small side projects. I took a few photos since it was such a nice chair.



Cooper Sofa Chair:
http://lefebvreupholstery.blogspot.ca/2015/01/cooper-arm-chair-wing-chair-red-white.html



Headboard & Divider:
http://lefebvreupholstery.blogspot.ca/2015/01/headboard-room-divider-white.html





Vintage Sofa:
http://lefebvreupholstery.blogspot.ca/2015/02/vintage-sofa-simple-white.html



Hopefully these all find new homes, and good caretakers.

So long, Mr. Van Allan. You will be missed.

Auction

I went to an auction yesterday. The star attraction for me was a stunning French Comtoise longcase clock. I was really hoping I'd be able to take it home. Sadly, I was outbid on it, but I still wanted to share some of the auction items, and my two purchases.

First off, the star of the show, and the only reason that I dragged myself out of bed at 7am on a Saturday, the longcase. This is a French longcase clock along with its original grain-painted case. The clock dates from around 1860-1870, and it was in fairly decent condition.







The case on it was pretty warped, very flimsy, and thin, but I've been told that they are all made this way. It's sort of like a fragile house of cards holding up a 30Lb movement. The grain painting and surface decorations were absolutely wonderful, and in excellent shape. The dial and pendulum were also beautifully painted (in the original paint) and in great shape. These are just thin stamped brass, and they get damaged very easily.

Some of the problems with the clock, however, were not going to be easy fixes. One of the major problems was that the original hinges of the trunk door were broken away. This means that there are chunks of wood missing from the door, and that some of the original hardware is now missing. The way these hinges work was basically just an eye bolt, with "L" shaped bent wires sticking out of the case body. These are very simple hinges, and you can just lift-off the doors if you need to.

Other small issues were that some of the boards on it were severely warped, like the left upper panel shown above. There was also a deep crack through the right side of the case which would have been impossible to repair. The clock also has no key, which is usually a very large crank. You can buy new ones, but old original keys are always much better.

I was willing to pay quite a bit for this clock, but nothing crazy. I had told myself 600$ max, but when it came up for sale, I bid up to 650$, and lost to a bidder who got it for 700$. I was pretty bummed out after that.

The last detail I'll mention about the clock before I move on, is that it was much taller in person than I had expected. I'm 6' tall, and I think the dial bottom was at about my height. The clock was probably a little over 7 feet tall.

At the auction there was also another longcase clock, an Art Deco style German one probably from around 1900-1930.



I wasn't really interested in this one, because I'm not a super big fan of Art Deco, and I don't think I'd like having this huge piece of furniture that I didn't absolutely love. It sold pretty cheap at 130$ to an antiques reseller (I spoke to him later on). It wasn't until after the auction was over that I truly realized how terrible the condition of this clock was. The man who bought it was trying to move it onto a dolly, and the entire top part of it was loose and broken from the rest. You could see screws into the wood that had been added (and that weren't holding it together anymore). I also noticed that the top door hinge had broken right through the wood side of the door and it had been very poorly reglued, and there was also a break in the wood case behind the hood door. On top of all this, I also saw that the two lock plates on the case looked like they were missing, so even though the locks and key were still there, you couldn't keep the doors shut. It also had just general problems visible from the start, like the chipped upper crown, and loose mouldings everywhere. Besides all this, the veneer on this clock was ABSOLUTELY gorgeous. I'm not even sure if it was burled walnut, or some other burled wood, but it was some of the nicest cuts I've seen on any similar clock (which is saying a lot). Even the sides were just as nice as the front (a lot of clocks and veneered furniture use cheaper or plainer veneers on the sides).

There were several other mantle clocks at the sale, but only two were worth photographing. This first one was a mint condition Seth Thomas "Black Mantle Clock". I don't know what model it was, but it had a Seth Thomas label on the back, and the plates were stamped ST, so it was all original. A lot of these clocks have been heavily refinished, so it's always nice to see original ones like this in good shape. I bid on it, but I wasn't willing to go over 100$ on it. Some are selling for much, much less on eBay these days. I think it sold for 120$ or 130$.



Another Art Deco piece. This one was a Perivale Westminster chime clock, from the UK. I'm told that it's not the best brand to look for if you want a Westminster clock. I think it sold for 75$. IT was in very good shape, and it ran, because it started up during the auction and kept ringing during the day. So did the Seth Thomas, actually.



Some of the furniture went for absolutely nothing. A lot of items went for very low prices, while others went for way too much. This gorgeous Victorian settee went for only 50$.



This painted cupboard was one of the few items that actually went for a semi-decent price. The auctioneer started at 1200$, but it ended up selling for only 500$ and no one else bidding. It was a really beautiful piece. From the photo I had thought it might be a fake, but I opened it up to look at it, and it was the real thing.



This was another item that almost had me in tears for what it brought. A gorgeous pine bonnet chest, roughly 1850s, old crackle paint, but rotted/broken front feet (not hard to replace). Dovetailed drawers. Gorgeous piece of furniture. 50$. If I'd have had a truck, or a place to put it, I'd have bought it.



This piece was interesting. There was a bunch of stuff on it, so I couldn't open it to look inside, but it looked a lot like a VERY old Quebec blanket chest. Some of these are as old as the 1700s, but again, it's hard to say for sure. I think it had missing mouldings around the top. It sold for 75$.



The last piece that almost had me crying was this MASSIVE bookcase unit.



According to the auctioneer, one of the people there said they knew where this cabinet came from. Somewhere local and it was either a built-in or from a store display. In either case, the piece was probably close to 10 feet wide, and it had been propped up on an odd looking base. I would have taken that off, and put 6 bun feet under it as a low bookcase cabinet. All it needed was a few new pieces of glass. It sold for only 150$. Just for comparison, it would probably cost 200-400$ just to build a copy of ONE of those doors.

So finally we come to my purchases. I was so bummed that I hadn't managed to buy the clock or anything else (and I wasted the entire day there: 9am-4pm) that when the auction was close to wrapping up, they asked the rest of us if there were any specific items they wanted us to bring up. I had been waiting for 2 specific oil lamps, so I got one of the guys to bring them out.

The first one, and the one I wanted the most, as a black marble 1860s coal oil lamp with a wheel cut font. I had one other bidder against me but I got it for 45$ (less than what I've paid for some of my other lamps).



The other one was this early 1850s flint glass "bulb" or ringed/beehive lamp.



I got it for 30$. Note that the burner and chimney that are on it are NOT original. They are much too "top heavy" for the lamp, since the lamp was meant for whale oil.

Both lamps were FILTHY, especially the black marble one. It still had coal oil in it (which smells like roofing tar), and I think it has never been cleaned. The patina on the brass is some of the heaviest I've ever seen (which is nice - and very difficult to fake, btw). All of the engraving was also deeply embedded with grime.





Both lamps after cleaning, and the short lamp with the correct burner.



I spent about half an hour cleaning this lamp. I did not polish any of the brass on it (because it looks amazing like this), but I did wash it. I actually took the entire lamp apart to clean it. The entire bottom is held together with a bolt in the marble base. I scrubbed all the nooks and crannies in the engravings with Comet and an old toothbrush. The inside was also a bit of a challenge to clean. I had to use the toothbrush, a paintbrush, and my fingers to reach all the spots, but now it's spotlessly clean.



The engravings show up especially well when it's backlit.



The last thing I want to mention, is that the incorrect burner and chimney from the bulb lamp were a perfect fit for my white marble lamp that was missing these parts. I had been looking on eBay for a burner and chimney, but it would have cost a lot more than the 30$ I paid for the bulb lamp, so really, it was almost free.