I hope everyone had a lovely weekend! The weather was beautiful here and a Saturday night rain, made weeding on Sunday a joy! I spent most of the weekend outside between soccer, planting and the Scott Arboretum Plant Sale. I will have to share my new little plant friends in a separate post, but I thought I would show you some progress on the Third Floor today. While I was playing in the dirt, Mr. S. took on removing the wallpaper in the 3rd Floor Stairway. There is still a little bit more work with some extra fuzzy patches, but we got a much better look at the conditions of the walls. We also found a signature from the original paper hanger (the previous owner had mentioned that it was somewhere up on the third floor). We think its says: “M E Albertson Paper Hanger December 31st 1892 Residence Clifton Heights Del Co (Delaware County) Pa“. Pretty cool! Mr. S. worked on the photo to make it more legible, it is harder to make out in person. Too bad it is in a terrible spot right where the hand rail normally goes and adjacent to a bad spot of plaster. We haven’t decided what to do about it. We are planning on painting the whole stairway, but I feel like we can’t paint over it. I was thinking that we might cover it with some wallpaper that we could paint over (so it could be protected and later removed) but look clean for now. Why oh why couldn’t he have signed it up higher in a good spot?
The signature is in the lower left corner.
As you can see it is REALLY difficult to take pictures of the space since it so narrow and tall, with alcoves at the top.
Here is the inside of the new window. Our contractor trimmed it out with a simple trim piece with a bead on 1 side. This matches the trim piece below the sills on this floor. I still have to paint the trim though. The extra board is there to act as a guard for the kids. I like the new window but the screen is definitely sub-par. I haven’t decided whether this will stay or we will replace it with something different (copper pipes perhaps?) but in the meantime we will paint it out white so that everyone remains safe. The new window was in full use this weekend with the fan going. It was pretty amazing to see how much hot air came up the stairs.
One of the first projects for up here once we finish the plaster work and paint is to build 2 little seats on either side of the alcove. The kids already love to hide up here, and I think it would be a great little spot with a soft pillow.
As you can see I needed 2 photos put together to get a view looking back down the stairs. I wanted to show you the weird ledge above the staircase and our new fan (which matches the one on the second floor). Mr. S. thinks it needs a large bust. I’m not sure what will end up there, but it definitely needs to be interesting. Any suggestions?
Would a gargoyle be too creepy?
I think as long as it wasn’t too creepy that could be cool. Maybe a cat gargoyle.
Love that fan, and though I’d have advocated for the original window, the one you installed is obviously beautiful. As for the signature, you could cover it with thin acrylic “glued” on the edges with a clear bit of silicone. We found drawings of sparrows on a wall done by the original wallpaperers, and this has protected them nicely without hiding them . . .
Hi Meg,
I understand about the window. I still have the originals and they will go in the garage loft with all of the other house parts that have come out over the years. I am also considering cutting a couple of interior windows between the future hang out room and the stairwell, and I could use them there. They are REALLY soft, but I think they could handle a use like that. I like the idea of thin acrylic idea with clear silicone! I also have a spot in the future craft room with the previous owners signatures that I want to keep too. It is in a tight spot that will probably see some wear, so I would need something thin and durable.