The house
Unfortunately, only one of the doors is original, but we may replace it at some point with something more fitting for the age of the house. And don’t mind the paint job, they’re going to get another coat soon!
A far cry from our sprawling ranch, this house is an 1800’s Georgian style colonial, complete with 2 symmetrical front doors. The kids think they look weird, but I love the unique window into history and the many speculations for the second entryway. We decided to paint them “Massey red” at Superman’s request (actually Sherwin Willams Rave Red, but don’t tell him that), but we later saw a post on the meaning of front door colors that made us so excited that we had chosen to actually go for it. According to the post, red front doors sent a message to travellers that they were welcome to come in and stay for the night. That’s exactly the kind of home we are hoping to create! Also, it was a symbol for those travelling on the Underground Railroad, and according to our local historical society, our house lies right along the path of our town’s former “railroad”.
On the inside, under 150+ years of style changes, it resembles a pioneer cabin. The beech wood is warm and rich in color and provides a sturdy frame with its mortise and tenon joints and hand made wood pegs. We’ll get to that in later posts though, after you help us tear down the paneling that covers EVERY surface, including the back side of each door.
Though part of me still mourns to be “home” we are slowly molding this place to reflect the past, as well as our family.
