BEFORE & AFTERS- series (1 of 4)Tomorrow : next room !.If These Walls Could Talk:The Livingroom with a twin fireplace For all the decades wed been driving past this house, wed never once seen inside. Our lovely elderly neighbor who lived here had sealed herself off behind heavy vertical blinds. They were the first thing we ripped down.The second owner (a stonemason) had a sense of humor. He built a fireplace 3x bigger than any cottage could need & set a penis fossil in the center. (He also built a twin in the basement ) To his credit, all the walnut paneling & cabinetry hed installed were still intact & shockingly well-preserved. We patched the ceiling, replaced part of the roof, and pulled up the fake plastic wood floors the listing agent had laidThe color in my head: that Hitchcock green – the kind you see in bust-out motels & dive cocktail lounges. It took a ridiculous number of carpet samples before we finally found it from a guy in a Jersey warehouse. Found the Platner table on Craigslist. The 40s Tyrolean chairs from an Etsy seller in upstate New York. A Facebook Marketplace stereo cabinet from Minneapolis (gas cost more than it did). Terrazzo tables from a Lake Geneva thrift store$150! A 5-ft 70s abstract oil from an auction house. David scored a folk art ship in Delavan. Sofa bed from @dean.renaud & Joey. Frankoma pottery from grandmas house. Then came the antiquing trips w/angela & Joey and treasures from the archive of @mrsjoey8 of @lily_pad_wandawega collectiona hodgepodge built over years & borrowed from various corners of camp. Most loved artwork by friends: painting: @f.i.n.n.e.y.f.i.n.n.e.y (also styling till the wee hours with Angela) sculpture by @struggle_inc It started as a room shut off from the world & somehow became the heart of this little place. Someone told me that the best way to restore a place is to start by tearing things open, ceilings, floors, old habits- just to let the light back in. .Filled with things we love, from people we love.Next up: the smallest room & the hardest, most time-consuming, most expensive one. The bathroom. It almost killed us (& everyone who worked on it). nathanbobey

October 31, 2025 • Published by Tereasa Surratt • Instagram