[Editor's note: There used to be a hilarious rant here about the previous owners, but the BF thought it was too harsh. So I deleted it to be nice. Awww. Back to being Serious Me.]
One outstanding architectural detail is the fireplace mantel, which is beautifully crafted and original to the house. Unfortunately it's seen better days. A lot of the finish has been worn away, there are some bad stains and scratches and gouges, and I think someone painted it white at one time (egad). It's just sad to see. However, it's structurally solid and the wood is in good condition (as in, not rotting away!). So the BF and I set out to restore it to its original luster over Memorial Day weekend. What I thought was going to be a 2-day project turned into an ongoing one. We sanded and sanded and sanded some more. We suited up with some SARS masks and eye goggles but still managed to inhale about 2lbs of sawdust and stain our eyes a nice shade of bloodshot. As Mom so eloquently put it: We'll appreciate it all the more when it's done.
Check out the Before pix below. Stay tuned for the After.
(1. Ye olde mantel; 2. Grosso wine stain (for once not by me!) that is still there and a real pain to get out; 3. Nasty 120-year old crud; 4. Lingering white paint and more crud.)
The BF did get a new toy out of this project!
I joked that he should sup it up with a car battery like Tim the Tool Man Taylor, then realized I made a family-show-from-the-90s reference and felt stodgy and uncool. Happy Memorial Day Weekend!! (to be continued...)
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