Treasures

Pantry

Isn't this charming? This is the pantry in the kitchen. There were a lot of spiders in the house - I must say that I've never seen so many - but the pantry was devoid of arachnid inhabitants. That was a nice discovery for us, especially since that is where most of the dishes and cooking utensils are kept. I am still amazed at the joy of moving into a fully furnished home, and not just any home, but a Victorian cottage. In a way, it feels like you are intruding into someone else's life, because so many of the previous owners' possessions are still in the house. It gives the home an instant, lived-in, homey feel, but you also feel that you want to make it your own. I believe that a house like this one remembers its various occupants, in a way, in that each of those occupants has left an impression on the place. Perhaps it was a vase that was used for flowers, or a favourite teacup, a lamp, a set of handmade curtains. I washed these kitchen curtains by hand, gently, and dried them on a line outside before putting them back on the windows...

Vintage Kitchen Table and Chairs

The table and chairs are perfect for this space. Although  during a recent visit, a friend of ours noticed that the seat of his pants had become stuck to the chair! His bum was actually stuck to the chair - he had really settled in - and he had to peel his shorts off the surface. I think we may have to refinish the chairs. The varnish or whatever it is on the chairs has become sort of tacky on a couple of them. I will have to figure out how to refinish them. I will add that to "The List."

The nice thing about this house is that the list is not too onerous, because we do not live full-time in the house. That would put an entirely different spin on things. We have the luxury of being able to tinker with these projects, as we have time, and somewhere else to live. I am sure we will have to wait to do anything really major with the house. I think that it will cost a lot of money! We will have to save up and fix the house as we go along. There seem to be many blogs having to do with Victorian home renovations. My favourite, and I am new to reading them and have much to discover yet, is the Devil Queen blog. Those posts are hilarious!

Heinous Furniture, but I Like the Curtains!

The furniture was going to have to go... You will learn its fate in a future post. Don't worry, it has a happy ending. The couch was a hideous hide-a-bed that weighed a ton, and had been lived in/on by numerous, poopy mice. The chairs (both recliners) were not mousy, but ratty - I don't mean literally ratty here, but tattered.

The table, my mother-in-law tells us, is actually called a "dry sink." It is quite nice, and the lid opens upward to expose a storage area underneath the tabletop. I am going to try to find a nice, Victorian lamp to sit in that window. We decided that we like the curtains! They need a good cleaning. Do you think dry cleaning will work? They are fragile looking.

The Cookstove

I know I already described the cookstove in a previous post, but  I love it, and thought it deserved another photo! This house is a treasure trove for us. I can't wait to light this baby up and make some dinner.