Tags
country, Decor, Decoration, farm, Georgian, House, Interiors, Ontario, PEC, Prince Edward County, Regency, renovation, Restoration, Rural
Temporary Accommodations (Week 21) | Gorsline House
We’ve been waiting for this moment for so long: our first opportunity to spend a night at the house. Mind you, the accommodations are so scant it’s more like camping than anything else. We had to book a last-minute room at a hotel nearby when KA told us he was having trouble with the water system. Once that was sorted out, the only amenities we had for our long weekend-weekend stay were working toilets and a hand-shower with hot water (thankfully).
R and I hauled some furniture from home, including a queen-size bed and box spring (but we forgot the base frame). Somehow, we also packed double-size sheets so we had to make due with an awkwardly too-small bottom sheet. Also, we managed to forget pillows, so two clean beach towels shoved into pillow cases made for some uncomfortable head and neck support.
Main Shower (Week 21) | Gorsline House
The showers are still without glass, but KA rushed to install the shower fixture in the main bathroom for us to use. There’s nothing glamorous about having the crouch in a corner with a hand shower to avoid flooding the room and soaking the ceilings below.
Main Bathroom Sink (Week 21) | Gorsline House
KA has yet to provide a solution for the badly offset bathroom console, but it’s temporarily rigged up for use this weekend. The door banging into the side of the basin is still frustrating – especially with the increased risk of damage.
The Invisible Kitchen (Week 21) | Gorsline House
KA assures us the kitchen cabinets are still underway, but we’ve consolidated the appliances for quick installation once the fixed elements get placed. The softwood floors have not worn well under the stress of construction. The scrapes and gouges somewhat match the ‘beat up’ quality of the original floors, but it tends to look sloppy on the newer material.
Clearing out the storage locker (Week 21) | Gorsline House
Keeping a storage unit helped rack up additional monthly expenses I could stand to avoid, so while we had a cargo van for moving appliances from the city, we took the opportunity to empty the furniture we had accumulated in preparation for move-in day. Surprisingly, everything fit in a single load but was barely enough to furnish more than two rooms.
West Parlour (Week 21) | Gorsline House
I couldn’t keep R away from exercising his decorating muscle, but he had his ideal living room set-up in less than 30 minutes. A rug are two are definitely necessary to keep the furniture from looking temporary, but I still love the patina of the worn-out floors. We’re thinking a dark wax might help to even out the colour where the finish is almost entirely gone.
Painting the Master Bedroom Floor (Week 21) | Gorsline House
My task for the weekend was to paint at least the master bedroom and ensuite bathroom floors. Even though KA has kept the place remarkably tidy during the renovations, R and I spent a full day vacuuming and mopping all the floors throughout the house for a deep clean. I managed to get a single coat of Benjamin Moore’s Gloucester Sage on the bathroom floorboards before the bathtub went in, but neither R nor I are happy with how green it looks.
I opted to use Rockport Gray as a warmer compliment to the off-white colours used for the walls and trim, but there’s something about the daylight in the room that makes it look too cool – further emphasized with these digital photos.
Benjamin Moore – Rockport Gray
Floor Paint Sample Patches (Week 21) | Gorsline House
I had a moment of regret towards the end, and wanted to leave patches of the original colours I had covered over. If only the thought struck me before I got this far – we could hide this type of sample under the bed further into the room, but these patches will certainly have to be painted out this close to the door. Argh!
R and I agree the yellow ocher is the hue we want to replicate in at least one room. Given how cool our bedroom looks even with a warm gray floor, this space may be the ideal candidate.
Ready for painting… (Week 21) | Gorsline House
Four days blew by so quickly, with little improvement to the spaces on our part. KA is gearing up to paint the front parlours so we were careful to keep the furniture clustered and out of his way. He has promised the cabinet boxes will start to be installed this week, so we just might be able to cook our first meal at the house within two weeks.
gorslinehouse 
It still astounds me how much furniture you and R own. I’m glad that all of those lovely sofas, chairs, tables, secretaries and such will have soon have a place to live. Some of those tables look familiar. Do you have two of those round tables with the marquetry or is that borought from your home?
With the exception of chairs and D-end banquet tables, there are few pieces of antique furniture you’ll find in duplicate. The marquetry tea table is the one we found down the street from our house in Cabbagetown – from a woman’s estate affectionately called the ‘Lady Salisbury Collection’.
Despite all the weird and wonderful things we’ve collected, the house still has much more space than we can fill with what we have. However, I know Robert is aching to go on a buying binge now that many seasoned Baby Boom collectors are starting to downsize.