Our attic is BIG, roughly 1600 square feet, and rises 1.5 stories above the rest of the house. When we moved in 9 years ago, it was filled with all sorts of stuff. Built-in cabinets and shelving, semi-framed walls, and lots and lots of flies. The space had served as a workshop and storage area for the former owner whose fondness for collecting left it filled to the brim. Wood was everywhere; stacked in piles, propped against surfaces, arranged on the floor. Honestly it was hard to see the forest for all the trees. Here’s what it looked like in 2009.
historic houses
The writing’s on the wall.
Today we’re going to continue the wall theme — w/ a tribute to Dole House graffiti. A mixture of old & new.
Upstairs in the attic, scrawled on the chimney plaster. And on the attic beams.
Downstairs in the keeping room.
And in the kitchen.
Downstairs in the basement there are signs.
And yesterday – in addition to the dead rodent, I found writing behind the wall.
The Mystery Flue.
One of the most striking things about our new (olde) house is its original heating system. Not oil, not gas, but CHIMNEYS! Downstairs in the basement you can see the bottom arches of these massive brick structures, rising from the ground like roman aqueducts. Impressive in scale and beautiful in form and function. This Book speaks at length about colonial chimneys and is a great read for anyone interested in the subject.