213 Pool Brook Road Laurens, 13796

Property Site: http://tour.circlepix.com/home/AUD48K

Bedrooms: 3

Bathrooms: 2.00

Square feet: 2,601

Price: $199,900

For more information about this property, please contact Joann Carolus at 607-643-6211 or joanncarolus@kw.com. You can also text 3260839 to 67299.

See more listings at: http://www.kwupstateny.com

MLS ID: 103529

117 Puckerville Road Oxford, NY 13830

Property Site: http://tour.circlepix.com/home/EK4TY6

1850 Farmhouse diamond in the rough on almost 1 acre - needs your finishing touches. House has newer windows, extensive outdoor deck, vaulted ceilings, Great Room, Den/Office and open floor plan with plenty of family space. Sold As-Is.

Bedrooms: 3

Bathrooms: 1.00

Square feet: 2,322

Price: $40,000

For more information about this property, please contact Joann Carolus at 607-643-6211 or joanncarolus@kw.com. You can also text 3207230 to 67299.

See more listings at: http://www.kwupstateny.com

MLS ID: 98579

Closet Re-Do

When mom first looked at the house, specifically, this bedroom, she was certain she'd never hang her clothes in this closet, or use the living room fan, or, heck, even move in. She surprised me by selecting this room as her bedroom, but she hated the closet.
It had 1940's wallpaper hanging from the ceiling and 50 years of dust. We just wanted it clean and done. We scraped and repaired the cracks in the plaster.

We used Cottage White from painting the kitchen faux Hoosier cabinet. The clothing bar itself was an old pipe, and as soon as I'd completed the first wall in mom's room, the entire thing tumbled to the floor from the weight of the clothing.

Clean baseboard & Floor

We purchased a wooden closet dowel at Home Depot. Funny how much of a difference that made. We installed press-lights, as there is no wiring in the closet. We think the closet was an addition. It has a nice door, and the bottom of the door frame has the lower plinths, but the exterior walls are made of some cross of cardboard, thin plywood and old newspapers, perhaps only 1/4 of an inch thick.

Window Rescue - Jan's Room

Jan left to care for an ill family member, which left me nearly two weeks to rip down wallpaper and scrape paint off of the woodwork in her room. While not completed, I came very close. There is still some white paint in the "after" picture. The Mexican milagro cross was gift from a friend, from Gargoyles, the now-closed shop in Boston. It's perched because I couldn't stand the thought of tapping a hole into a wall we'd worked so hard on.

This project took longer than I'd anticipated, and while very frustrating, it was ultimately very satisfying.

Previous owners replaced the broken glass in the bottom two windows, (minus the panes) with plexi-glass. These need to be removed and the ropes & weights still need to be re-set. I picked up solid brass locks and brass-colored window pulls, as well. Soon, we'll need to replace the window guts with proper, weather-rated windows, but for right now, the frames are easier to live with. Still, so much more work to be done.

Back to the Window

This window stripping took at least a week. The entire wall (scraping, sanding, priming, painting and general agony) took between two and three weeks. I spent a lot of time with the window, getting to know every painted inch. So, after the dish-ditching celebration, it was back to the grind.

Satellite of Love

Today we worked on removing the satellite dish so that we could un-roll the newly-discovered awning.

Jan's room is hot, and the afternoon sun shines directly in. The former owners had sacrificed the luxury of an awning in favor of movies and whatever other 21st c. entertainment a satellite dish provides. We opted to restore a cool sleeping area, privacy and rain that falls away from the bedroom window.

Mike climbed out on the roof (and forbade me to step foot out of the window).

Mike on Roof

The former owners had cable in every room, and the cables were installed haphazardly through the walls via huge holes directly through the sides of house. When we pulled the cables out, they left gaping holes, from outside to inside, which required the best repair we could think of. Removing the dish took a few hours, one trip to Main St. Hardware and some cursing, but Mike finally freed it and swung it down so I could catch it off the porch.

The dish companies don't pick these up or even want them back, they just leave them to rot. So, I did some looking to see what crafts people have turned their dishes into. My favorites are the mosaic bird baths:

Now, my mom has a working awning.

August Black-eyed Susans