Guess what?? We finally have a real update… but more on that a minute. First let’s talk about this crazy winter. We’ve never lived in a cold climate and learned something new: Not much work can be done when it gets as cold as it did. Of course this year was an exceptionally brutal one. Even so, we loved being in the snow and spending Christmas in Winslow. It truly was extraordinary.
Another thing we learned about snow is to not let it accumulate on the roof. We had a couple of issues at the Emporium. During the worst of the melt, it sounded like a rainforest in there.
And boy… what a mess it made of those “beautiful” ceiling tiles. Haha! Fortunately, the damage isn’t in the designated storefront and it looks like the roof/drain issue can be fixed with a sealer. I’m just thankful no antiques were damaged, and that we hadn’t already done the work when this happened.
Speaking of work, lets get to the update.
It’s been more challenging than expected to find an available contractor, so have instead spent the last year-and-a-half sorting through stuff, fixing stuff, and planning out the space. It figured my retiring from NBC coincided with the worst winter in a long time, but now that the weather is cooperating, maybe we can finally get some work done. The last few days in Winslow have been exceptional, a gorgeous start to Spring.
If you’ve walked by lately, you may have noticed it looks empty up front. That’s because we’ve moved everything back in preparation for work to begin. During that process, we came to a decision:
Simplify the plan.
Instead of wading through the grant process and the long period of approval, we want to move forward. I’ve finally let go of the dream of tin ceilings and wood floors. Instead, we’re going to make the space as pretty as we can working with what we have, and guess what?
Drumroll please…
Work has begun!!!
Robert Wilson and his crew began the interior plaster repair this week to get it ready for paint.
The color we chose should beautifully complement the sunshine that flows in through the front windows.
As for the ceilings, we’re going to try something which will hopefully make them… disappear. Fingers crossed it works and looks good. Here’s a before picture.
Stay tuned to see the results.
As for the exterior…
Again, we’ve simplified. Instead of trying to strip it down to the glazed brick, we are going to paint over the seven-color facade.
Too many smart people have said we could strip, only to find the glazed brick in too poor a condition and we’d have to paint anyway.
Of course, we need to wait for the weather to truly stablize, but we have the bid from Robert and are now planning the color. Much as the baby blue looks great with the sky, that’s not the direction we’re going.
Other Stuff.
We still need to get the awning repaired and the rear door reinstated, along with building the movable wall to divide the space, stripping the carpet out, and polishing the concrete, but at least step one is finally happening—one that will truly make a huge visual improvement. I’m practically dancing with joy.
Brian and I will be heading to the Czech Republic for a couple of weeks. Hopefully when we get back, the interior paint will be done.
Until then…
