Shared in Around Home
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We live in an old Queen Anne Victorian home that was built in the late 1800s. It is exciting being in a home that has such an amazing history. The location of our house was once the parsonage for a minister of the Episcopal church down the street from us, back in the days when there were only horse-drawn carriages. There used to be fruit trees and a large flower and vegetable garden, on our property, once upon a time. But then, the minister desired a larger home at the sacrifice of the yard space. The old home was torn down, and this one was built.
I guess I will take you room by room around our "castle". Now, my oldest daughter was kind enough to take these photographs for me after the little ones were tucked snuggly into bed for the night, before we ourselves retired. Hence the "black" windows! Normally, too, you would see people moving about, and activities being had. This is how our home looks just before we go to bed each night! When you first enter, you will see the living room to the left of the front entry. One wall has a "rounded wall". It's interesting, and one feature I've always enjoyed. I wish the photograph would show it better... I put the little ones' table in this room, this past Friday. I thought it might make some of their schooling easier. And it gives them a nice place to color, do puzzles and build with their blocks while we're in the living area. I used to have their "train table" set up here, instead. Now it is upstairs. You will see it, tomorrow, I'm sure, as we "tour" the second floor! I love books! We have bookcases all through the house. In the picture, below, you can see one that I keep my teachers' materials in at the top shelf. The blue basket on the second shelf is for the children's work that is handed in. I keep all our books organized by type. This one, for example, also houses fiction and nonfiction story books, montly magazines, medical/healthcare, catalogs, and certain reference books:
My husband works in a factory that makes beds. He has brought home many bolts of fabric, in the past. They make wonderful spreads, curtains, table cloths, and more! The curtains in the living room (and most of the rooms you'll be "traveling" through, we sewed. This photograph shows the livingroom at another angle. You can see the back door. This bookcase houses Bibles and Sunday School quarterlies, and family devotion materials on the first shelf. The next two shelves are books about Christianity. And the last shelf is gardening and how-to books. Coming back toward where you entered, you will see my little "sewing nook". I have the desk positioned at an odd angle so I can see the children at all times while I'm working. I try hard never to leave the little ones out of my sight! Today was a busy one. You can see it is a virtual wreck on my sewing shelves. And there are several things hanging, if you look closely, waiting for ironing come morning! The shelves have my patterns on it, as well as sewing books and pattern books. The bookcase underneath the calendar has Biblical references. I have all the little ones' toys organized, too. I find that it helps hold interest, immensely. What is desired for play can be found and played with effortlessly. The little toy chest you see in the photograph below, for example, has four drawers. The top holds 5 year old's toy tools. One of the two middle drawers holds blocks, the other, cooking toys. The last drawer holds toy people, animals and vehicles.
Alright, let's go back, now, through where we entered in to the house. This is what we call our "middle room". The stairs lead to the second floor, and the open door leads to the lower bathroom. The other, lighted, doorway leads to the kitchen. The bookcase to the right houses our World Encyclopedias.
This entire middle room area used to be covered in the same ugly green carpeting you see on the I keep our bulletin board up at the end of the middle room. Do any of you recognize your photographs?
Our dining room is off of the middle room as well. It doubles as a school room, and the little ones are pleased to "show off" their work, regularly, on the walls. The bookshelf to the right of the picture is "home" to our nonfiction children's books, the children's school texts, school supplies and flash cards.
Our dining area also has a fireplace. You can see it in the picture, below. The room that extends from the dining room is our kitchen. I keep a travel playpen in there for the littlest one, so there is a safe place to keep her nearby when I must have my hands free to take things out of the oven, chop, etc... The entertainment center at the right of the photograph holds our phone books, mailing supplies, cd's and sermon tapes.
Here is our kitchen. The oldest just finished washing dishes, and needs to put them away before she sleeps. If you look to the right of the fridge, you will see a mess of things hanging from the pretty little wooden "motto" one of the children made for me one Christmas a few years back. This is the "bag holder" that my 14 year old sewed me, and our aprons. The little thing you see hanging in the window above the sink is a pretty windchime one of my children bought me for a "just because" gift. (Don't you just adore our sunny yellow counters? If you look closely , you can see a little sliver of yellow at the left of the picture. There is another counter to the left of the sink that extends around. Our burners are located here. The oven is separate, as seen in the above picture.
And now, as we exit the kitchen, we will take a peek at the first floor bathroom: I put the diaper changer in here, as it's a very large bathroom. You can see it in the photo below. If you look closely, you can see the glass shower stall to the left. I wish we could have gotten that in the picture! It's octagonal with gold edging, and very pretty! As we leave the bathroom, we go through a small hallway that leads to my second oldest's bedroom, and the laundry room. This is the laundry room. It houses 14-year-old's pet rabbit, the cat litterbox, a sink, wash machine and dryer. It's not a pretty room, but it's practical! This is a bad picture with only a partial view (yes, the walls need repainting!): And... 14-year-old's bedroom! I wish another angle would have been shot, as you can't see how pretty she has it decorated! The curtains on the far windows are so pretty and lacy, too. Oh well! It will give you an idea, at least! I do have to say this girl is creative! She used her stamping supply tupperwares as a "lift" for her bookcase to afford more room. She painted her desk herself, and had a friend "dress it up" with painted flowers. Presently, her curtains are drawn. Normally these are pulled back with lacy ties. She has a futon in her room that you can just barely see at the lower right corner of the photo: Alright, tomorrow, we'll take a trip up the stairs and look through the second floor!
I hope you'll meet me back here for the "second installment"! (I will also come back here, later, to post a photo of the house from the outside just for fun. I can't do it, now, as Baby is fussing and supper needs fixing!)
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