Riverside Parade of Homes

We just got back from a little road trip.  This is the last week of 

vacation for both of us this summer, so we took a drive to some fun waterside towns 

populated with amazing historic homes.  Since I'm trying to decide what cut out design I want 

for our wood shutters on the front of our house, I brought my camera along

to snap some photos of them on old houses similar to ours.  

This is my kind of water walking.

(Lots of photos to follow.  Click on images for a closer view.)

Small yard?  Who cares?!

Huge shade trees in these old neighborhoods help keep these homes cool.

Between the big old trees and the breeze from the nearby river,
 there's usually no need for central air conditioning.
Good thing, because these houses must cost a fortune
to heat during the cold winter months!

This pretty green and orange painted door adorns the home pictured above.

I'd love to own this wood door with beveled glass window and sidelights.

Look at the trim detail on the upper windows.

Unlike new neighborhoods, the electrical wires (like ours) are overhead.

It's more noticeable in photos than when you're viewing it from the street.

(That's a flag pole to the right of the stairs.) For you youngsters, the little guy

 in front of the french doors is a lawn jockey.  Tess at Willow Manor published a blog post

with the interesting history behind this piece of American folk art.

All white exterior.  The grounds are surrounded with a wrought iron fence

that unfortunately didn't fit in the photo from where I was standing.

Next time I'll use the landscape setting on my camera.  (Thanks Jennifer.)

Look at those curved windows accented with stained glass panels!

  And there's more.....

The garage with living quarters above.  No doubt rented out

to offset the cost of the groundskeeper, window washer, and painters.

Painted lady.

I wonder how long it took the original owners to decide on all those

paint colors?  Probably less time than it's taking me to decide on one

color for our fence and shutters.  If the owner had been outside, I'd have

been tempted to ask what brand of exterior paint they use.

It must be durable.  This is not a paint job you'd want to tackle

every few years!

Inviting entry, gold lions and all.

Hanging baskets of ferns are a must on these covered porches.

I love this color combination.

Look at those doors!  Tall blue glazed pots filled with flowers

add an unexpected pop of bright color

alongside the old doors.

Oodles of stained glass windows can be seen on these homes.  I'd love to

see the colorful glass from inside.  These homes are located in Stillwater, MN situated on the

St. Croix River.  For a small fee, you can attend a progressive tea on weekends before Christmas

 to see these homes dressed up for the holidays.  (On my to do list.)

*Notice the original beautifully restored wood windows.

And how about the fish scale roof shingles?

There's nothing run down on this house, but it has a haunted appearance due

to the weathered cedar shingle roofing and widow's walk on top.

I'm convinced there must have been a horror movie filmed here at some point.

(Maybe this is where my rusty old bike originated.)

Colorful house surrounded by trees.  I only got one shot of this beauty.

(The owner was pulling into her parking lot just as I snapped this photo.)

House atop a hill with interesting corner stairs leading up to their wraparound porch.

A good spot for a time out.

My computer is giving me fits and I've only shown you half of my photos.

But as you can see, I've gotten lots of great ideas for........... what was I

looking at?  Oh, yes.  Shutters.

Oops!  Not a shutter to be seen.  I'm sure I must have some

photos with shutters on the other half of my pictures!

To be continued......

stop back for part 2 of the home tour biathlon, and don't forget your water shoes!

Vickie

*If you enjoyed this parade of homes, you'd also like to see the many beautiful home tours

featured by Jennifer at Town and Country Living.  Stop by and visit her blog!

Joining the parties at:

Common Ground Vintage Inspiration Friday

The Charm of Home Home Sweet Home

Privacy in the Privy

In my last post I showed you the wood shutters on the front of

our house.  I mentioned that they needed to be painted, but on closer

inspection, we realized that the upper shutters should be replaced.....soon.

I figured that constructing board and batten shutters should be a pretty

simple job even for us.  We had some scrap lumber in the garage to play with,

and a problem area inside our house that could use a privacy shutter,

so here's what we came up with.

I lined up the boards and pencilled a simple cut out design on the center pieces.

My handyman cut the moon and star shapes with a jigsaw and then we

screwed the vertical pieces to the horizontal braces.  I made my own chalk paint

with flat red paint and unsanded grout.  The wood was already distressed, so

I didn't have to work hard at making the shutter look aged.  And, believe me,

there are already enough distressed surfaces to contend with in this room!

We added horizontal braces to the back side so the shutter

will look finished whether open or closed.

(This is the best shot I could get with the available light when the shutter is closed.)

I added a hook for an outhouse feel.  After all, the shutter is located...

....in the man cave biffy.  Just a very small step up from an outhouse.

Exposed plumbing and steam pipes and a bare light bulb create the industrial vibe

we all want to bring into our homes.   :@

I'm sure the opening was designed to let daylight into

an otherwise windowless room since it's positioned adjacent to the laundry room window.

  Normally it's not a problem, but when there are guests in the back yard, they might see a wee bit

 more than they bargained for, if you get my drift.  Mmmm, hmmmmm.

Looking out.

Looking in.

Problem solved. Easy as one, two, three!!!

And that's just how many sets of the shutters below we need to reproduce.

I have never been particularly fond of the cut out design on the original shutters.

What is it?  A fox?  A pool ball rack?  A bull?  Your guess is as good as mine.

Just for fun, which design would you pick?

Given the history of my gardening fiascoes in our yard,

I'd have to go with that pesky squirrel smack dab in the middle.

Well, if you'll excuse me, I've gotta go!

Thanks for stopping by,

Vickie

*Joining the parties at:

Funky Junk Interiors Saturday Nite Special

Knick of Time Tuesday

The Farmhouse Porch Cowgirl Up

Common Ground Vintage Inspiration Friday