Let's Go Upstairs.

Post #7

I think today I'll take you upstairs. On the second floor there are 6 bedrooms, (we only use three at the moment) a sitting room, a library, and two bathrooms. Only one bathroom is working; the shower and toilet in the second bathroom were taken out by a previous owner -- another long story -- and we never got around to redoing it. It's used for storage now.





As you come to the top of the stairs, you'll see an antique clock that my father-in-law had. He took it with him to every house and even the last move to Florida. We don't know for sure where he got it, but he always liked it and wanted us to have it. I think he knew it would look good here.
The light fixture is original to the house but I am not sure which doctor hung it there. The house had gas fixtures when it was first built, unless this was converted.





This is a view looking down the hall from the bathroom toward the top of the stairs. The door on the left is my bedroom. Straight ahead is the library. (sorry, about the blurry picture!
We brought the large teak Buddha with us from Taiwan. We bought it in our first year of marriage, so it's always been in our house. It's said to bring good luck when you rub his belly. Children always love to test out that story. (giggle, giggle)


To the left of the hallway picture is what we call the Lilac Room, the most recently decorated of all the rooms upstairs. It's one of our favorite guest rooms. I am selling all of the furniture in here. I had planned to cover the walls with quilt wall hangings so the walls are bare because I never got started on any before making the decision to leave.

I made this quilt and then matched the paint to the colors. It always seems so spring-like in here.


I found these curtains at Walmart! You can't see the fabric, but it's a sheer with small flowers the exact same colors as the quilt. They're even stitched in a cross-hatching pattern just like the quilt. You can see the window design through the light. I've always loved the bedroom windows. In the book that Hilda wrote she says this room was used as a guest room, also.



A pleasant and restful corner. The radio is from the 30s and still works. I always expect old-time music to play when I turn it on.
Now that you're in the guest room, would you like to stay a while? Sit back and relax or take a nap. I'll call you for dinner!


Please check out my other blogs at:
Thyme for Herbs
An Herbal Bedfellow
Tickling the Ivories

See Anything You Like?

Post #6

This is what my house looked like on Saturday. I am leaving it set up like this for another few weeks, so we can have at least two more sale days. What a mess. But we sure were busy!! See anything you like?
I'll continue the tour on the next post. See you then.















Please check out my other blogs at:
Thyme for Herbs
An Herbal Bedfellow
Tickling the Ivories

My Story and the Parlor.

Post #5
Are you ready? It's long!

This house has always been known as the Doctor's House. When we moved in in 1992, all we had to do when we met anyone new, was say we lived in the Doctor's House and they all knew where it was. We used to sit on our front porch and watch young people ride horses to the post office, tie them up, and go in to get the mail. In the winter, snowmobiles went roaring down the road late at night. And how we laughed and enjoyed it's quaintness. But in the last few years, farmer's fields are being turned into subdivisions. It's become a highly desirable area. It's only 20 minutes from downtown Grand Rapids and 10 minutes from a huge mall and all the restaurants you could ever want, and here we are still in a farming community. The problem is the new people don't know the history of the township or even care to find out. They don't know about the Doctor's House. The majority of them think they live in a neighboring town because that is the post office and school system they use, so their address reflects that. I sometimes think of the Jay Walkers on Jay Leno when I talk to them. How can you not know the name of the town you live in, your fire department, your library, and where you must go to vote? Anyway that's another subject.

My previous house was a Spanish-style ranch. We had it built and it was beautiful. In-the-ground pool, two fireplaces, and a courtyard with native shade plants, but it wasn't me. I grew up in an old house, and the house before that one was old. I was proud of the new house, but I never really felt quite comfortable there.
I used to go by a Dutch Colonial on my way home from work and think, now that's what I really want. It was on a small city lot with a one stall garage, not attached. No, I'd think I'd like a bigger yard for my gardens, but I still like living in a city setting, not country. Where could you find a yard like that in a city? I went out of my way some days to drive by and dream. We weren't thinking of moving at all and I never told my husband about my dream.
One day, he said, "Did you see the paper today? There's an open house in the country. Look at this place. What are we doing Wednesday night? Let's go look!"
We never went to an open house for fun or curiosity in our life! But it was summer and a nice country drive. When we arrived, the place was a zoo -- cars everywhere, people all over the place. Later we were told over 80 people went through. The Realtor said it was the social highpoint of the year for the town. Everyone wanted to get inside. It was "excuse me, pardon me" all the way through the 22 rooms. We loved it, but I started to have a sick feeling at the same time thinking, my husband is going to make me move. Even though I'd had the dreams, I still had not told him, and I was really afraid to shake up my life again.
We talked to the Realtor, signed a guest list, and went home talking about all the things we could do to it -- then promptly forgot about it as being too far out of town, etc, etc.
Two weeks later the Realtor called and said "Of all the people I talked to, you were the ones I thought would call back; there was a light in your eyes." We said thanks, but no thanks. But then we couldn't stop talking about it. Every night in the dark before bed and every day over supper we would dream. I then confessed my daydreams and showed him the house I had been looking at. It was a carbon copy, white Dutch Colonial EXCEPT the country house was a double Dutch, 2-3 times as large, had a three stall garage and 1 acre of property! Suddenly it dawned on me, that this was not just Happenstance, but a true gift from God. Everything I wanted and more!
We took another look at the house, made an offer , and they agreed to take it off the market for one month while we tried to sell our house -- unheard of!
We sold our house in three weeks! Again unheard of at that time, like now, houses were taking 1-2 years to sell.
So that's my story. I named the house Happenstance House, because if it weren't for the ad placed in an unusual spot in the paper, we would never had seen it. But we always knew it was more than happenstance that brought us here. It was truly a gift, and I have always been grateful.


Here are photos of the parlor to the right of the front entrance.









Please check out my other blogs at:
Thyme for Herbs
An Herbal Bedfellow
Tickling the Ivories

Come and Sit a While

Post #4

It's been a week since I last posted. Things have been crazy around here. We're having a big sale tomorrow and the house has been temporarily turned into an antique shop. It's a good thing I started this blog when I did.
So come in and sit a while. I have a lot more to tell you about my house.


You enter the living room to the left of the door. Once there were oak pocket doors, but the last doctor (number three) took them out in an effort to modernize. I've always mourned the loss of those doors.
Doctor number two had an oak grandfather clock built into the wall -- who knows why. His son, a doctor also, remembers it being installed but did not know the reasoning behind it. Maybe for stability,because his 5 children were known to be wild. All became doctors, nurses, and/or married doctors.

Doctor number one's youngest daughter, Hilda, was born in this house. She wrote a book about the house when she was in her eighties. I corresponded with her a few times and through a series of events received a copy of her book. It tells about each room, whose bedroom was whose, and even where furniture was placed. Her mother used to sit in this corner in 1907 and look out at the hummingbirds in her trumpet vine while she quilted. I used to host a quilting bee and many times we would sit in this room while we worked.


Hilda wrote about the fact that she had to take piano lessons and the piano sat on this wall, the very same place where I had placed mine. She remembers being the first house in town to get electricity and tells what that was like when the workers removed the gas chandeliers.



Looking into the dining room, you can see my husband's Victrola. He has several throughout the house. Some we will sell, but we are keeping this one.
The doll on the lid was my grandmother's. I had new hair and eyes put on her and then I made her dress and bonnet, much of it stitched by hand. I was younger then and had more patience.
We also have a lot of things from the Orient, as we used to say. We lived in Taiwan for two years when he was in the Navy and I was a new bride. I've always loved the mixture of Oriental and Victorian antiques.

This antique Queen Victorian chair was in a house my parents bought when I was 12. No one wanted it, it was just an old chair to them. But I loved antiques even then. I had it in my bedroom and used to read in it and dream about my future husband and what my life would be like.


As I look at these pictures, I can see we have been over the top with our collections; plates, vases, music boxes, eggs, geisha girl, blue willow, cobalt glass, canes, books, perfume bottles, Victrolas, eye wash cups (yes, Duane loves the colored glass ones) watering cans, etc. etc. It really is time to part with some of it.

In the cupboard, you can see some depression glass, mostly ruby and lots of Bavarian dishes, as well as my smoke blue crystal glasses I bought in Taiwan.


The hutch, for the most part, houses my good china. The plates and black vase on top were Duane's grandmother's. She got them as wedding gifts in 1910.
THe red vase as well as the one on the buffet were gifts from my daughter. She brought them back from one of her trips to Romania. We took the large one to Antiques Roadshow this summer when it was in Grand Rapids! So now it has a claim to fame.
We found the picture in an antique shop about 15 years ago. It literally stopped us in our tracks because it looks like Duane when he was a child. It was odd placing him in that era, so we had to have it. People that we know will look at it and at first say, Is that Duane? No it can't be!


The plate rail is a little bowed but it's still holding. These are not real old houses. I painted them myself in the 80s when apparently my eyesight was exceptional. Now I look at them and wonder how I ever did it.

A stained glass window we bought at a flea market for dirt cheap! We brought it home and popped it in. Just like it was made for that window. The clock was in one of our antique shops. No one wanted it so I brought it home. I did that a lot which is probably why the shop never made any money :) It also was a perfect fit for this spot and the dark wood matched the dining room set.


This stained glass was made by the same lady who made the insert on my piano. When I was giving lessons to adults as well as children, we struck a barter deal. We figured out labor hours only, I paid for the glass, and then I gave her lessons to equal the same number of hours she put in on the window. I will not part with this either.

Is your tea getting cold? Need a refresher? Oh, I'm so sorry you have to go. Come again soon so we can see more of Happenstance House. Maybe next time I'll tell you how she got her name.

Company Comes to the Front Door

Post #3

My mother always said "company came to the front door, relatives, close friends, and salesmen to the back." How times have changed. Now it seems as though you're never quite sure which door to enter. In the Dutch community I live in, it is common practice for everyone to use the back door. I guess the more to keep the house clean of the dirt off your shoes.
Anyway, I'm not Dutch American so we will enter the front door, my favorite way to enter this house.





Off to the right of the door is the porch swing that my father made for me. I love to sit out here and read. Sometimes my husband and I swing before bed and listen to the crickets in the evening.



The hardwood floor that Duane, my husband, stripped, sanded, and varnished on his hands and knees.


The stairs, railing, and spindles had been painted white in the 40s or 50s. A previous owner did all of the work before we bought it. It took her a year to do it using dental floss to get around the curves of the spindles.
The wall of pictures is the result of my years of genealogy. I'll show you some of them close up in a minute.


This is to the left of the door. The woman who did the stairs had this enlargement made of the original house and asked that it always be kept with the house. I'll pass it on to the new owner. The pedestal holds a silver tray with antique calling cards that I have collected.


Straight in, this hall goes to another hall and then to the blue and white breakfast room I showed you on post #2.


This is a picture of Dr. Lanting, the doctor who built the house in 1907. It's his medical school graduation. I might leave this one behind too.



Immediately to the right of the door. We used to own an antique shop and this was left over. No one wanted to buy it, so I kept it. Isn't it beautiful? The lady I got it from said her mother brought it from Italy. It serves well as a last check before going out the door.


My father's World War II Company picture. He's a decorated vet.


My husband's great great uncle, Civil War picture. We both have many Civil War relatives and many who were in the Revolutionary War. Some of mine fought for the British, but I don't talk about that much :)

My father-in-law as a baby with his parents.


This document is written in old German. I had to have it translated. It gives my great, great grandfather permission to come to the US for six months. He was a serf and had to prove that his debt was paid before he could leave. It's dated 1885 and stamped with a wax seal by the Governor of Mecklenberg.



The top of the stairs, leading to bedrooms, etc. We'll get to that soon enough. I've probably held you up long enough so we'll continue in a few days. Thanks for stopping by.
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Please check out my other blogs at:
Thyme for Herbs
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Blue and White

Post #2
As I promised we are about to begin my home tour.
I should really start you out at the front entry but I couldn't wait to show you this room. so let's pretend we came in the back door as good friends often do. You would enter the yellow enclosed porch here.

The other three sides are windows with old knotty pine trim and ceiling. It looks into the back yard and part of the main garden. The windows are trimmed with yellow gingham.
Then you must go through the mud room which is not much to see, just painted white, lots of coats and shoes and purses hanging on hooks, depending on who's over.
A quick turn to the right and here you are. One of my favorite rooms of the house. My blue and white Country French breakfast room.

Take your time and look around. Don't look too close, there's a lot to dust and I'm sure I missed plenty.


There's a small collection of blue onion, a vase from Romania, and others.




My view every morning as I read my book and sip my morning tea. What flowers are blooming today? I wonder what bird that is calling? Look, did you see the hummer?


And here's another passion of mine. Blue Willow. This curio cabinet is also loaded with cobalt blue, and flow blue, and a piece or two of blue Greentown Glass. Most of it must go, but I'll keep some of the special pieces.


This is a look around the plate rail. The wallpaper looks a little yellowed in these pictures but it's actually very white.


I know it's a lot -- I told you on other blogs, I can get obsessive. I'm embarrassed to say there's another plate rail above the windows, fully loaded, but the light was too bright to get a good picture. After the tour, I'll take down a few pieces and photograph those close-up.

Check back for another room in a few days. I'm thinking front door this time. Thanks for stopping by. Sorry the cookies weren't done; it's been a rough day.
Hmmm, maybe another cuppa will hit the spot.





Please check out my other blogs at:
http://thyme-for-herbs.blogspot.com
http://anherbalbedfellow.blogspot.com
http://ticklingtheivories.blogspot.com