Update on the Historic Tyson-Stedham Home Restoration in Adel, Georgia: Welcome to 173rd Metamorphosis Monday!

Greetings!   Hope you had a wonderful weekend!

Several folks have been asking over the past few months for an update on the restoration process of the historic Tyson-Stedham home in Adel, Georgia.   If you've been reading BNOTP for a while, you may remember this old home was in pretty bad shape when Dustin, of Van de Fleet Designs and Restoration, first began work on the 1912 Arts and Crafts bungalow.  (You'll find links to all the pasts posts following this restoration from the start at the end of this post.)

Here's how this home looked before Dustin began the restoration.  It had been sadly neglected over the years and was in rough shape with peeling paint, mis-guided additions, and multiple roof-overs.

I can't take you inside just yet because the home may be featured in some publications in the near future.  Once that takes place, I'll be able to share the interior restoration.  For today, we'll just check out the final exterior views, including the pretty landscaping.

Dustin chose an historic color pallet for the trim, siding and shutters.  The home has a new roof, new paint, and new porch restorations, front and the back.
Click HERE to continue reading...

Historic Home Tour: An 1880 Victorian Mansion, Beautiful & Bright

I subscribe to several "old house" websites featuring information about historic homes available for purchase.  Though I doubt I'll ever own an historic home, I do love to tour them pretty much every chance I get.  I drool over their large windows, deep moldings, high ceilings and rich history.  If there's a ghost story attached, it's all the better.

But this post isn't about ghosts, instead it's a tour of a beautiful historic home, an 1880 "Victorian Mansion" located in Madison, Florida.  The listing states, "Located in the historic section of the City of Madison is the Victorian Mansion that was built in the 1880s for Major William H. Dial. The home is one of the finest examples of the Italianate style in north Florida."

The listing also states, "The home features bay windows, a roof cupola, and an unusual bow porch on the main facade. It is lavishly decorate with bracketed cornices, window pediments, and other distinctive late 19th century mill work. The house was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.  The historic home has 4 bedrooms with their own private bathroom, a library, parlor, dining room, kitchen, and enclosed porch for a total of 3773 square feet."

Let's take the tour!  (All photos are from OldHousesdotcom)

Beautiful, large entry with a wonderful chandelier.  Look how deep the baseboards are.  Wonder if it's still called a baseboard when the molding is this deep.  When I go on historic home tours, I sometimes almost miss the furnishings from oohing and ahhing over the heavy moldings and architecture of the room.

Not sure if this is the parlor or the library.  Love window seats in bay windows.  What a gorgeous mirror!  Notice all the plantation shutters throughout the home...my favorite window treatment in the world.  I love them layered with draperies...not heavy draperies...gotta have lots of light.  But I do love the look of the plantation shutters, both from the inside of the home and from the outside/curbside.
Click HERE to continue reading...

Brumby Hall: Tour the Upstairs of This Historic Home

In early December I had the opportunity to tour Brumby Hall while on a Christmas Historic Home Tour in Marietta, Georgia. One of the homes open during the tour was Brumby Hall. I previously shared a tour of the downstairs of this beautiful home HERE and a tour of the two dining rooms HERE.

In case you missed those previous tours, here's a brief history of this historic home.

In the previous posts, we toured the downstairs; today, we're heading upstairs.

I've always wanted to put a runner up my main staircase with the brass rods like you see here.  I wouldn't mind exposing a bit more tread on either side, though.  Love this look on a stairway.

Click HERE to continue reading...

Beautiful, Historic Brumby Hall: Take the Tour

This week between Christmas and New Years is such a special time.  In a way, it feels like time is standing still.  For some, life may have returned to normal with normal working hours and schedules.  But if your household is anything like mine, you're still reveling in all things Christmas with New Year's Eve/Day waiting in the wings.  My family is still here visiting and the memories we're making are memories I will cherish always.  I hope you're making wonderful memories this week, too.

A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to tour Brumby Hall, a "house museum" included in The Marietta Pilgrimage, a Christmas Historic Home Tour.  Brumby Hall has a rich history and it's a delight to tour since it has been restored and furnished beautifully.

This brief history of Brumby Hall was included in the booklet we were given during the tour.

Hope you enjoy this "pictorial" tour of Brumby Hall.  If you ever have an opportunity to tour it in person, you'll definitely want to do so.  Pictures just don't do it justice.

The Entrance:

Click HERE to continue reading...

Tour the Beautiful, Historic Whitlock Inn

Recently, a friend and I went on a Christmas historic home tour in Marietta, Georgia.  Included in the tour was the beautiful Whitlock Inn.  This Victorian home was built in 1900.  A brief history found online states, "One hundred and ten years ago, the M.G. Whitlock House, the famous 150 room Marietta resort, burned to the ground. Before the Civil War, it was a popular showplace for tourists taking the train from the hot coastal towns, like Savannah, to the cooler foothills of Georgia. The resort occupied nearly the whole block of Whitlock Avenue where now stands The Whitlock Inn, a private residence and the Trust Company Bank."

"In 1900, part of the land was purchased by Herbert C. Dobbs and his wife Annie. Here is where they built this Victorian Mansion, home for their family of eight. In 1910, the home was sold to Mr. and Mrs. Kemper Smith, who, after several years of residence sold the home to the Dosser family. The much loved Dossers were active in the First Methodist Church, which is now located directly across Whitlock Avenue. Mrs. Dosser is remembered as a favorite piano teacher and the giver of elaborately decorated Christmas parties."  (Brief history found here.)

Today the home is a Bed and Breakfast owned by Nancy and Sandy Edwards who graciously open it to the public for tours.  Come along and take a peek inside this beautiful old home.  (The following pictures were taken by me the day of the home tour, except for the photo of the dining room and back yard, which I found online at the Whitlock Inn site.)

The parlor:  Love the fireplace and the gorgeous wallpaper!

Dining Room:

Click HERE to continue reading...

Christmas Historic Home Tour in Marietta, Georgia

Last Saturday I went on a Christmas (historic) home tour in Marietta, Georgia with a friend.  We had so much fun! The weather was great...not too cold, just cloudy.  I took a lot of exterior pics and was able to capture bunches of pics inside two beautiful homes included in the tour. I'll share the interior shots soon, but for now, here are the sights we saw along the way.

Click HERE to continue reading...

Tour The Library, Drawing Room and Gardens of the Mount, Home of Edith Wharton

For last week's Tablescape Thursday, I posted some photos Mandy took recently after she toured The Mount, the beautiful home of American novelist, Edith Wharton.  If you missed that post, you'll want to check it out.  The tablescape we viewed was created by Bunny Williams, one of my favorite designers and author of An Affair with a House.

If you aren't familiar with Edith Wharton, here's a bit of info about her from the website for The Mount:

"Edith Wharton (1862-1937) was born into "Old New York," a tightly controlled society that positively discouraged women from achieving anything beyond a proper marriage. Author of The Age of Innocence, Ethan Frome, and The House of Mirth, she wrote over 40 books in 40 years, including authoritative works on architecture and gardens. Essentially self-educated, she was the first woman to receive the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction (1921); an honorary Doctorate from Yale University (1923); and full membership in the Academy of Arts and Letters (1930). In addition to being a prodigious author, she was a master house builder and gardener."

Mrs. Wharton built her home based on the designs and ideas she outlined in The Decoration of Houses, a book she co-authored with Ogden Codman, Jr. in 1897.

Mandy also shared photos of some of the other rooms she toured while visiting The Mount.  Mandy said, "We also came across the drawing room that was decorated by Charlotte Moss."

Click HERE to continue reading...

Tour the Apartment and Greenhouse in the Movie, Green Card

Take a Tour of the Beautiful, Historic Apartment in the movie, Green Card

While putting together a recent post listing a whole bunch of my fave decorating and design books, I came across my copy of The Conservatory Book by Peter Marston.  This book is filled with pictures of beautiful greenhouses. The book reminded me of another beautiful greenhouse, the one in the movie, Green Card.  Green Card is a romantic comedy, written, produced and directed by Peter Weir, starring Andie MacDowell who plays Brontë Mitchell, and Gérard Depardieu who plays Georges Fauré.   In the movie, Georges is in a difficult situation because his visa is about to expire and he will have to return to his home country, France.

Brontë, a horticulturalist and an environmentalist, is also in a predicament.  The Manhattan apartment of her dreams with a to-die-for greenhouse, has become available for rent, but the board of trustees overseeing the apartment building only rents to married couples.  Brontë isn't married.  You can see where this is going.

Brontë and Georges get married for the sole purpose of achieving their individual dreams: Georges gets to stay in the country and Brontë gets her dream apartment with a beautiful greenhouse.  They have no plans to live together and go their separate ways after they exchange vows.

As you might imagine, things go terribly awry.  The movie is funny, sweet, romantic and has a surprise ending.  The majority of this movie is filmed in the apartment and it becomes an important character in the movie...a charming, captivating, wonderful character...especially the greenhouse.

The entrance to the apartment is one level down from the rest of the apartment.

Whenever anyone stops by (like Brontë's parents in this scene) they ring (or the doorman) rings on the little call box on the wall to the right.

Click HERE to continue reading...

Savannah Georgia: A Home Tour

When I visited Savannah earlier in the Spring, I was with a friend who loves gawking at beautiful homes as much as I do.  We pulled onto a side street and despite the humid, hot temps, we hopped out of our air conditioned car and strolled a few blocks admiring the beautiful old homes.  Now, that's house love!

One of the first things we came across was this wonderful gate.   I'm loving those pineapple finials.

A pretty home with beautiful window boxes...

Click HERE to continue reading...

Home Tour: Historic Home Built in 1850

Before I discovered blogs, one of my favorite guilty pleasures was visiting real estate sites with listings of beautiful historic homes for sale.  Nothing like taking a wonderful home tour while sitting in the comfort of your own home.  A great site that showcases historic homes is OldHousesdotcom. Recently, I followed a link on their site and it led me to this beautiful home in Palmetto, Georgia.

This home sits on 16.73 acres and the interior appears to be professionally decorated with the furnishings valued at $500,000.  So let's take a tour! :)
Click HERE to continue reading...

A Pantry Restoration

Over the last few months, I've been posting about the amazing restoration of Historic Stedham House by Dustin, owner of Van de Fleet Designs and Restorations.  

Dustin knows all about historic homes, having restored several over the years, including this beauty he purchased during his college days. 

Dustin currently lives in this gorgeous historic 1912 home (below) and he has worked hard returning it to its original state, as well. 

Click HERE to continue reading...

You're a Grand Old Flag...Touring Main Street America!

In celebration of Independence Day, I thought we would take little tour of "Main Street America." These beautiful, historic homes all have one thing in common...they are all flying the colors! I love seeing an American flag blowing in the breeze from a wonderful old porch.



These homes are from various places in the southeast. Some are in Greenwood and Columbia, South Carolina and Asheville, NC but most are in Marietta, Rome and Roswell, Georgia. I've also added a few from a recent trip to Savannah and the Isle of Hope. See if you can spot the flags and/or patriotic bunting in each picture. Some are a little tricky to see, but they are there. Hope you enjoy the tour!

Click HERE to continue reading...

A Fairytale Cottage in Carmel

Carmel, California is known for having some of the cutest "fairytale" cottages you've ever seen. Since I love a storybook home, I was excited to discover one of them is currently for sale AND there are photos online showing the interior of this adorable home.

This cottage is listed with Carmel Realty Company.

It's named Short Stop...even the name is cute! :) The real estate listing says it features an ocean view and is "just a stroll to Carmel Beach and the shops and restaurants of downtown Carmel."

Let's take a little peak inside. It has that beachy vibe with bright, fun colors throughout. The walls appear to be trimmed out in the board and batten style, so popular today.
Click HERE to continue reading...

For Sale: Father of the Bride Movie House and An Historic Home Tour

Well, THE Father of the Bride movie house isn't for sale, but the other one is. Huh? Apparently, there were two houses used for the filming of the first Father of the Bride movie. The one that we all remember below that's located in Pasadena, CA is NOT for sale.

But the home that's located at 500 North Almansor Street in Alhambra, CA and was used for the backyard dining scenes on the deck and for the basketball playing scenes, is available to purchase.

According to the real estate listing, the home is available for $1,350,000. It has just gone on the market and you can take a tour of the inside.
Click HERE to continue reading...

Isle of Hope Home Tour, Part I

Wormsloe, featuring the unbelievably beautiful mile-long avenue of Live Oaks that I posted about HERE, is located along the Skidaway River. Just down the road is a beautiful community called Isle of Hope. According to Wikipedia, "Early maps refer to Isle of Hope in French as L'Isle Desperance (modern French: L'Île d'Espérance). Legends abound of pirates using the island to hide their treasure, and generations of children have gone digging hoping to find it.. Legend also says that French Huguenots used the island as a place of refuge for fleeing persecution."

After our visit to Wormsloe, we went exploring and happened upon this marina along the Skidaway River.





Just outside the entrance to the marina, a street ran along the edge of the marina and the river. It was lined with homes that had us oohing and ahhing. There were too many wonderful homes to share in one post so I'll share the rest in a second post tomorrow morning. As wonderful as these are, the homes in the second post turned out to be my favorites, so you'll definitely want to see Part II of this Isle of Hope home tour. Some were so picturesque, I would even call them "storybook homes." Don't you love that name, Isle of Hope?!





Several of the homes on this street appeared to have their ceilings painted "haint blue." Folklore has it, painting your porch ceiling blue will keep evil spirits away from your home. Back in the day, folks also thought it would deter bugs/flies from hanging around on the porch since they would think the ceiling was the sky and wouldn't land. :) I just love how it looks.





See the doggie on the front porch? We saw so many cute dogs on this street. :)



There's another doggie on this front porch...do you see him?



This home is for sale. You can view the real estate listing HERE.







Love this raised cottage.



I wonder if this home used to have a double porch and they closed in the lower section. I never like to see them closed in.



This home has a big screened-in porch. Normally, I prefer to see screened-in porches on the back of the home; but the view of the marina and Skidaway River across the road makes having the screened-in porch on the front a great idea.

Stop back by tomorrow morning for Part II of this Isle of Hope home tour. Some of my favorite homes were toward the end of the street and you are going to have a fit when you see them!



Update: You'll find the second part of this Isle of Hope tour here: Isle of Hope Home Tour

Historic Tyson-Stedham Restoration, Part III: Welcome to the 119th Metamorphosis Monday!

For this Met Monday, I'm excited to share an update on the historic Tyson-Stedham home in Adel, Georgia. This Arts and Crafts home, built in 1912, had been "renovated" over the years by previous owners and had lost its original personality and beauty.




Dustin, owner of Van der Fleet Designs and Restoration, along with his hardworking crew, have made some great progress over the last two weeks. When I last posted about the Tyson-Stedham home, Dustin had just completed restoring the front porch, demolishing much of the added back porch and had given the home a new roof after removing 6 layers of old roofing. You can view that post HERE.




The front porch project is now complete and the shingles have been installed on the upper gable. Dustin had to demo quite a bit of the porch to restore it back to its original configuration. He added a nice feature on the left side of the porch. Do you see it?




Dustin designed a bench with supports mimicking the columns of the front porch. His lead carpenter, Justin Holcomb, built the bench for the porch. I can't wait to see it once it's painted.



Paint Slingers painting company began the initial pressure washing and paint preparation for the Tyson/Stedham House.




Dustin said, "The initial pressure washing is taking most of the old paint right off the house leaving us with almost perfectly smooth wood to repaint." With just a little sanding, the surface will be smooth and ready for painting.




Another view as the old paint is being removed:




Over the years a previous homeowner had removed a window and added a second door where the window had been, so the house had two "front" doors as seen in the picture below.




Dustin removed the door and restored the original window. Now the home has proper symmetry and balance again. Looks so much better, doesn't it?




Here's a close-up of the restored window on the left, beside its twin on the right. I just know with each passing day, this beautiful old home must be breathing a sigh of relief as its beauty and heritage is being restored.




Dustin said, "We have begun the process of taking the added back deck off the house. we will also be taking off the added back roofing that was added to cover the deck."

Earlier this week I posted about 9 Great Features to include when adding on a screened-in porch. I mentioned how important it was to use "exterior" grade fans on porches. Take a look at that old ceiling fan in this picture below. That's a great example of what happens when you don't use an exterior grade fan...sagging fan blades.




The removal of the drop ceiling reveals the original back clapboard and roof brackets. Dustin said these have not been visible for decades!




Originally, Dustin thought he would be restoring the back porch. But after further research, the porch was discovered to not be original to the home. The original back of the house had an open porch with four columns and a roof.




In this picture below, the porch is being removed. The bump-out here is not original either and it will be demolished, too.




This side view shows the demolition of the added rear deck and the sleeping porch demolition. Some additional brick work will be needed to restore the foundation. Dustin told me this part of the foundation has not been visible for decades due to the additions/modifications made over the years to this part of the home.



The painting will be getting underway real soon. I can't wait to see what colors Dustin has chosen for the exterior. Dustin is known for choosing beautiful paint schemes for the exterior of the homes he restores, so I know it will be fabulous!

Dustin, thanks so much for sharing the restoration process of the historic Tyson-Stedham home.
To see the condition of the Tyson-Stedham house both inside and out prior to any restorations by Dustin and his team, click HERE.

If you miss a post in this series, I have a permanent link on the sidebar. Just click on that link and you'll be able to see all past posts covering this amazing restoration. As you read, when you reach the bottom of the blog, you'll need to click on "Older Posts" to continue reading the older posts in this series.

Giveaway: Styling by Coty Farquhar:
Tuesday is the last day to enter the Giveaway sponsored by Styling by Coty Farquhar. Lots of chances to win with 6 winners for this giveaway. Click HERE to enter.



Metamorphosis Monday:
If you are participating in Metamorphosis Monday you will need to link up the permalink to your MM post and not your general blog address. To get your permalink, click on your post name, then just copy and paste the address that shows up in the address bar at the top of your blog, into the "url" box for InLinkz.

If you'd like to include the MM button in your post, just copy and paste the Met Monday button to your computer or grab the html code from underneath the MM logo under the "Join a Blog Party" header at the top of this blog.

In order to link up, you'll need to include a link in your MM post back to the host blog, Between Naps on the Porch so your regular readers will be able to find the Met Monday party which ensures your friends and fellow bloggers will receive lots of visits, too. Isn't that what a party is all about? :)

PLEASE DO NOT type in all caps...it spreads the links waaaay out. Thanks! :-)

Let's try something fun today! Please visit the person who linked before you and after you...that way everyone will get some visits. Hope you'll visit more, of course. :-)


Welcome! Thanks for coming to the party!