Apocryphal Family Stories

While still working on moving in, my husband and I have also begun to refinish the woodwork in the living/dining room area of our new/old house. I had done the woodwork in our previous house so I understood the materials and the process. But we are significantly older now so everything takes longer. Nevertheless, so far the results are good.

The woodwork is dark but very neglected, dry and in serious need of coating. We didn't want to make a major difference in color but the previous owner had installed central air conditioning, hiding some of the ductwork behind new wood paneling. Why she didn't at the same time give some attention to the existing wood is a mystery, but she also took her color cue from the very dry look rather than the color that shows inside the wall cabinets. So she had her woodwork stained a sort of dark walnut rather than what the inside cabinet reveals as a more mahogany look. The wood itself is oak, was oak from the beginning, with the very large beams on the first floor now looking nearly black so her choice of walnut really stood out as wrong.

Anyway, I chose the same color here as in Utah, dark mahogany and we began the process. The hardest part for me, despite my age and the sciatica, is the aroma--such strong petroleum chemical smell is difficult to deal with. We have done the wainscoting and window and shelving on the east side of the room, including the stairwell and it looks great. We haven't brought the tall ladder in to do the exterior window on the stairwell but that is relatively simply and straightforward. Luckily the woodwork is simple, without curlicues or furbelows. That makes everything easier from the steel wool rubbing to the application. It is humid here so drying time is longer than anticipated, but at the pace we are going we should have the entire room resurfaced by August.  

The family stories part involves the information we were given about the history of the house and its remodeling during the late 19th century. We were told that a specific architect had done the remodel but that would mean he was either extraordinarily gifted (he would have been around 10 when it was done) or another firm did the remodeling at that time, or the first guy did it but decades later than what seems to be the case with the remodel. That's how family history rather than history based on research based on documents goes. Just because my mother gave me a pearl circle pin (remember those ladies?), that she said was the most expensive piece of jewelry my grandfather gave my grandmother (whose usual jewelry store was Tiffany), because the pearls were supposed to be perfectly matched natural pearls, does not mean that is true. At least it is possible to examine the pearls to see if they are natural not cultured, but it is harder to find out what happened to this property without going somewhere to look at documents.