This is a home renovation newsletter now
Not really, but kinda
It really wouldn’t be me if I didn’t bite off more than I can chew. Ever risk-tolerant, I tend to fall into the camp of go big or go home. In this case it was both. Dave and I (but mostly I) fell in love with a big, old, historic home eight months ago and like a dog with a bone, I wouldn’t let it go. As a couple who intends to remain childless, do we need it? Define “need.” People keep asking me what I’ll do with all the space to which I giddily reply, “whatever the hell I want, I guess.”
We bought the property as-is. The previous owner was batshit bananas crazy and didn’t do much to care for the 100-year old home so it needs a bit of love and I was foaming at the mouth to get my hands on it.
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If you read my post on the mansions of the Gilded Age you know I love old houses, and if I had an excess of means I would go around buying up all of the grand old homes before they fall into irreparable dilapidation. They don’t make them like they used to. Advances in building technology has only allowed for lazier craftsmanship and mass-manufacturing, and as much as I can appreciate the asylum-like serenity of a modern minimalist construction, living in a lifeless, charmless, open-concept white box is not for me. Life is short. I want color, I want texture, I want height, I want grandeur.
I thought I’d share my vision boards and design inspiration for the home, aptly named Cornerways, as it’s situated diagonally on a corner lot. The seven bedroom, seven bathroom home was built by founding members of the town, and has boasted such prominent guests as Eleanor Roosevelt. Though the house has sat quietly for a number of years now, it hosted many parties in its heyday, and we aim to bring it back to its soiree glory. My favorite features of Cornerways are its eight fireplaces, high ceilings, and grand sweeping stairway. It also came with beautiful chandeliers and candelabras and I’m not mad about it! It’s giving champagne problems.
I feel the need to preface this by saying that I am in a small town in Upstate NY. The housing market here is different, and your money goes much further, so if you also dream of owning a beautiful old homestead, then come on up - The dream is attainable!
There’s a long list of projects on the whiteboard, so we decided to go room by room and DIY as much as possible. This is reno on a budget!
First order of business was to address the smell. ‘Twas unidentifiable, yet unmistakably rank. The two offenders appeared to be the upstairs carpet, and the library where the previous owner was resigned to for the last few years. Day one, we bought a vacuum and rented a steam cleaner and got to work on the carpet and it really helped.
After that, I had to scrub down the library and the kitchen. The library was once a true library - dark, cozy, lit by the light of the fire, and filled with old books - but since the crazy old bat lived in there it had become a musty, dusty, sad room. (Not for long!)
The kitchen is a total tear down, which I’m so excited about because who doesn’t want to build their dream kitchen? And boy is mine a DREAM. We won’t be tackling that project this year, but we will be making some small improvements to the kitchen to make it comfortable for now.
Hey reader - did you know I’m also on YouTube? I make videos showing small town life, learning how to operate a regenerative herb farm, and spilling all the tea behind the scenes of being a startup founder in beauty and wellness. Think Clarkson’s Farm meets Simple Life.
Subscribe to TRISHGP on YouTube to catch up on last season of life at the farm and watch the season 2 premiere airing this week with all of the BTS footage of Cornerways DIY renovations in progress.
The Creative Brief
I’m going for a mix of French Provincial x Regency Core x French/English Country x Southern Debutant. Whew! That’s a mouthful. Romantic lines, toile de jouy, pastels, delicate patterns, damask prints, luxurious fabrics, gilded accents, ornate frames, natural hardwoods, beautiful sconces and chandeliers, and crown moldings for days. Each room is set to be highly intentional in the energy it facilitates and have a dedicated pastel color scheme. I like rooms to have a certain formality and definition to them because it allows you to create a specific feeling and experience for each.
The first room on the agenda is the primary bedroom. The plan is to make this room into a luxuriously relaxing oasis of pale pinks and greens. Here are some of my aspirational Pinterest references that I’ll be sure to fall short of.
The primary bedroom is receiving new wall and trim paint, new light fixtures, new hardware, new window treatments, and new moldings when I can get around to it. Like much of the house, it was painted in this dusty blue color, which on its own is not offensive, but it was overused and as soon as you see it as “surgeon scrubs blue,” you can’t unsee it.
I chose a creamy-peach color for the bedroom called Nearly Peach, with a color called White Sand for the trim around the windows, fireplace mantle, and base boards.
This is my first time doing any sort of home renovation work. I have never painted a thing in my goddamn life so I’m learning as I go. This week I actually made some good progress. Nobody told me how long it would take to prep a space for painting before even getting to the painting itself. I spent all weekend removing nails, spackling holes, caulking cracks, sanding walls, washing them down, and finally I was ready to start painting. I’m not sure if it’s because I love applying makeup, but I’m getting a very similar satisfaction from the prepping and painting. Who knew caulking was SO MUCH FUN.
I’m finishing up the trim paint around the windows and will be doing final touch ups at the end of this week so we can start moving furniture into our room. Exciting!
Next up:
Paint the living room
Sand floors in the library
Paint library (we’re going with a dark green as the primary color)
Shop furniture (help!)
If anyone has recommendations for fixtures and furniture that match the regency x french provincial aesthetic, please drop them in the comments! It’s hard to find anything that isn’t Mid-Century Modern these days. The bedroom is rather large at 24 x 18 ft, so it’s giving crack den while I work on filling the space.
On my shopping list:
Cal king bed frame
Nightstands x 2
Dresser x 2
Area rug
Light fixtures
Chaise
Coffee table
Here are some pieces I’m looking at for the primary bedroom:
I’d like to incorporate some really beautiful soft creams, such as the bedding, which will be very simple and help anchor the room so the focus can be on the elements of whimsy.
I have so much to show you guys - I have to pace myself. More updates, photos and videos next week!
What’s your vibe? Mid century modern? Industrial? Bohemian? Japandi? Comment with your favorite interior design aesthetic.
Thanks for reading ♡︎ Don’t forget to like and subscribe ◡̈
I cannot wait to see what you do with your beautiful home!
What Trish hasn’t highlighted here is my man cave up on the 3rd floor. I’m going with a more ‘garage band’ vibe with a French provincial twist…. (Have to keep the lady happy 🤣)