A Victorian hide-away

13 years ago

This isn't a true home (the couple lives in a trailer) but as a fanciful hideaway, was brilliantly executed, especially for the cost. Be sure to flip through the slideshow, the photos are excellent. (NYTimes is free and does not spam you, if you are asked to register)

"In the Catskills, Comfort in a Gingerbread House

NYTimes June 23, 2010 - DELHI, N.Y.

THE most magical things in life are the ones that spring up where you least expect them in the case of Sandra Foster, the tiny Victorian cottage in the Catskills that shares space with a 1971 mobile home, two aged trucks, a pen full of chickens and a hand-lettered sign advertising "Farm Fresh Eggs, $2 a Dozen."

The chickens and their eggs are the remnants of a restaurant that Ms. FosterÂs husband, Todd, a great bear of man, tried to run in this sleepy college town last summer; like the landscape business he started a few years earlier, it failed. Mr. Foster, who is working at a local poultry farm, is still recovering from back troubles, making Ms. Foster, a fiscal administrator at Brookhaven National Laboratory on Long Island, the primary wage earner.

No matter. Ms. Foster has her own shabby-chic retreat. It may not have a bathroom or a kitchen, but it is a dream of Victoriana: stacks of Limoges china with tiny rosebud patterns; chandeliers dripping crystal; billows of tissue-paper garlands.

This is all the more impressive because she renovated the 9-by-14-foot cottage, an old hunting cabin, herself. The cost of renovating and furnishing it: $3,000."

Here is a link that might be useful: Victorian cottage slideshow)

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Comments (6)

Shades_of_idaho
13 years ago
Thought I was seeing double and I posted to this on the other thread. It really is a darling space. Would be fun to do up one room in the house like it. I really love the shabby all white look and then all the fancy colored glass work I like to do gets in my way. LOL

Anyway shows a few of us are thinking in the same direction for sure.

Chris
sandy808
13 years ago
I loved seeing this. What a relaxing space she has set up for herself. I'm now working on a floor plan that puts my sewing studio a bit outside the house, with more window views than I could have achieved with it inside.

The other advantage is, I can make my sewing space larger, and I can have its heating and cooling on a timer. I can keep it a bit out of my comfort range when I won't be in there, but have it set to go when I want to be. This will be handy when I won't be sewing for a stretch at a time....like during prime gardening time....and I can hang lace curtains if I want to.

I also believe any relationship is better if we can each sneak away to our own space periodically, no matter how wonderful the marriage is. My husband is a gem and my best friend as well, but sometimes it's just nice to say to yourself, "I'm alone for a few hours, woo hoo!"

Sandy
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Thanks all. I should see where F&B is sold and give them a try. I keep seeing wonderful rooms done in F&B and I hear it's good quality. The servant's rooms are not adjacent to any other rooms for the family living area (at the time) this one adjoins the kitchen and nothing else. I won't be doing wallpaper in the kitchen. It will generally be a white room with unfitted cabinets in a few different colors I'm thinking. But that's a bit down the road. Right now the adjoining room is done in mauve and blue flowers with little geese and hearts on the boarder...wanna guess a decade for that crap? I ordered the fabric above with some contrasting patterns (stripes and solid) as well as the paisley. I love the tones. I am totally sold on painting the wicker persimmon (now where do I find that in a spray paint LOL). I love the soft greens in the fabric and I am thinking I will do the walls with that for now then when we redo the kitchen go with the high wainscoting. I love the idea of the plate rail at 5'. But I want to make sure that works with the pine shelfs I have already purchased. They might be too high at 5' (the ceilings are 10' and the larger piece must be a good 4' plus tall). But I could also do one around the top of the room which is a nice look. My new challenge is how to hide a five or six inch cast iron plumbing drain that runs up the wall (uncovered when I started pulling wallpaper off). Do magnets stick? Maybe I could cover it with magnets LOL Ohh and on the ceiling, I have been in contact with a lovely man back east who uses antique molds (or whatever they use) going back to this ceiling (it came out of a hotel in san francisco and is in the kitchen and dining room as well but the dining room will come out). He is going to work with me to "fix" both rooms so that the tin doesn't just die into the wall. The cornice is odd...it actually looks more like a pipe cover or something because it dips down and than back up again (picture a gutter glued to the ceiling). It's just down the long walls and not on the other two so it looks like ummm maybe a bowling alley gutter upside down LOL I actually could picture using some of the morris paper in here...I have a bunch of samples I can compare to the fabric when it comes. I actually do love a few of the simple fill styles. Datura have you ever been to the fabric district in LA? If not...my dear you have to go! It's wholesale prices and blocks and blocks and blocks of wonderful fabrics. Fabulous bolts at 120" wide...silk (good quality) 120" for ten bucks a yard! Talk about going crazy....Ohh dear I think I lost her...she's probably booking a flight as we speak. heh heh
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rafor
13 years ago
It's funny how my daughter sent me this link on Thurs and then I have seen it posted on several forums here about a dozen times since yesterday! We're building a glass garden house using old windows and cool old french doors. This is the second one for us. The first was on the west coast and wasn't quite finished before we moved to New England. This one is larger and has a steep pitched roof which looks really cool. Now that I have seen this link, I might add a loft like she did. Our little house is 12 x 16 with the roof peak 18 feet high. I'll post some pics once we get some of the walls up and in. We're still phutzing the the roof right now. If you want to see pics of the first one, search for my user name on the garden junk forum.
User
13 years ago
Sandy, so pleased you are pursuing the separate studio! It is a great option to be on your own occasionally. I thought you'd like the way this little shed/cottage had a loft in the end gable.

A friend of mine married a mariner who went to sea for a month at a time. She fretted about it, and I said it was good for her marriage--but she thought not. Then he came home for over a year with no job. That was NOT a good thing. She learned that sometimes absence is good for a relationship.

I always told her, "Be sure you want what you wish for, because you might get it."
cavedweller
13 years ago
Thank you all for the comments and to Joyce wadler of the NY Times for showing interest in our lives.
A few corrections thoughÂNo tarp is on the actual man cave, the chickens had nothing to do with my restauranthttp://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/24/garden/24cottage.html?hpw, It was a baby buff orpington chick Joyce was shown, and I was a home improvements contractor for the first 3 years in KerhonksonÂnot trying to start anything, but rather having a business that was needed to save us money on the home we just bought. Over 5 years, we put in $40k or more and endless hours of labor. We purchased a wood lot and stone quarry to provide wall stone and much needed firewood for the house too.
We have made all the breaks we got. Nothing came easy for either of us except our love for each other and the ability to show personal support in each others endeavors.
For all of you...never ever give up or tell yourself " I couldn't do that". If another human being can, most likely so can you.

Visit myShabbystreamaidestudio.blogspot.com
Actualmancave.com

Thank you Todd aka Cavedweller@actualmancave.com

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/24/garden/24cottage.html?hpw
Shades_of_idaho
13 years ago
Quick post I have to shut down and unplug. We are having a huge storm coming down on us.

I really want to thank you for your lovely inspiration and will explore the other link as soon as this storm goes over. Gonna be a bad one.

Welcome to the SH board. So glad you stopped by. Honored REALLY

Chris

A Victorian hide-away

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Shades_of_idaho

sandy808

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