After a wrenching several months, we are here, in our 160-year-old house. Our renovations are mostly done, with the art studio last to the finish line (and still not quite there.)
The meaning of a house with deep history like this one has seized my imagination, turbo-charged as it has been by 'Here,' a sublime, a peerless, a brilliant book by Richard McGuire (2014, Pantheon Graphic Books), with its illustrations of the same house, mostly the same room, the same land, over hundreds, even thousands of years. I bought 'Here' the year it was published, little knowing the importance it would have in my life. I now see the wainscoting, the fireplaces, the 12' high planked ceilings and heart pine floors of MY 'here' through McGuire's kaleidoscopic vision and imagery, two examples of which follow:
Note the years the images derive from are noted in these McGuire spreads:
So now, here, our narrative, with some before and after photos. The before photos come from the MLS listing, our introduction to the house that was to be ours. Those photos show a very handsome house, well-loved, well cared for, but not one, I admit, I felt particularly attracted to. It didn't seem us. Our old house, designed and built by my husband and me, was spacious, with many windows, lots of light, and perfect traffic flow, all things that mattered greatly to us, and not qualities I saw in the photos of the listed house
My friend and real estate agent, along with two of our daughters and my longtime best buddy, however, urged me to see the potential in the house. "You have to buy it," said my hitherto-skeptical daughter, minutes after actually crossing the house's threshold. "It will be our new family home!" said her sister, who had felt the loss of our old house very acutely. "It will look totally different with your furniture and artwork! You will love it!" said our agent.
So, thus persuaded, we leapt. And here is the beginning of this new chapter in the house's life, and ours.
BEFORE, the living room:
AFTER, our living room:
BEFORE, the hallway:
AFTER, our hallway:
BEFORE, the dining room:
AFTER, our dining room, still very much in progress:
BEFORE, the family room:
AFTER, our family room:
I can imagine the stunned bewilderment the original owners of this house, a mid 19th-century farmhouse from Smithfield, NC, would feel were they able to see it now. French furniture? Modern art? Shocking pink chairs? But the glory of this house, this beautiful house the Jones family built all those years ago, is how generous it is. It has opened its arms to us... I do feel that.
We are not finished with our changes. I have more rooms to show you. I have the garden transformation to document. I have my studio just on the cusp of being a useable work space and I canNOT wait for that.
Now that I am fully ambulatory again, I'll go back to Smithfield to collect soil, that deep red clay, to make paint from. I have images of the original family to explore. I'm not sure how this house will make itself seen in my work, but it will. It will.
I am out of the woods now, recovered from my leg injury. I've rolled up my sleeves and I'm ready to work. See you soon!
Dearest Jeffery, this house would not have achieved lift off without Moreton, you and Stanley, and Ippy and Neil. David and I have felt such support and love and inspiration from all of you as we took this big step into a new life. Much love to you and Stanley and all.
Posted by: Laura Frankstone | October 13, 2020 at 08:55 PM
Thank you, Annie. I'm glad you like our house. Luckily for me, I have seen two full moons already from our bedroom windows. They overlook the garden so it's really a grand view all around!
Posted by: Laura Frankstone | October 13, 2020 at 08:50 PM
It has been such a joy watching your transform this magical house into your new home and how the house and its history has inspired your transformation of it. It is what the house has been waiting for! You and David and your eye for beauty and space and color.
Posted by: Jeffery Beam | October 13, 2020 at 12:17 PM
Yes, Laura, and Kate, that is what I would try to get, if it were my dream house-- lifting the space and filling with light. Then bring in the outside if possible, a little, too.
Especially the moon if the windows were on that side of the house. I am a lover of moon watching. When I moved my mobile home to my daughter's farm I asked the movers to arrange the angle so I could watch the moon from my living room. He stared at me and said, "Whadda ya, anyway, a werewolf??" And he didn't do it. Maybe did not know how, LOL.
Posted by: annie | October 12, 2020 at 04:42 PM
Yes, Katherine, that is certainly a key difference. My goal from the outset was to make the interior an airy envelope for our artwork and belongings, taking full advantage of the 12' ceilings. Of course, the stunning architectural elements such as the wainscoting, the planked ceilings, the 6 over 6 windows gave lots of character to that 'envelope!' I also used my customary saturated colors and antique pieces as accents in a neutral, airy matrix, another key difference. Also, and most important, I made light happen in a potentially dark house!!
Posted by: Laura Frankstone | October 12, 2020 at 09:56 AM
The thing I noticed most - apart from the change in wall colours was that the previous house had most of its visual activity in the bottom half of the picture - whereas your photos of your rooms neatly illustrate the benefit of introducing some tall verticals and generally lifting the level of the eye.
Posted by: Katherine Tyrrell | October 12, 2020 at 09:37 AM