Posted: February 8, 2012 | Author: amiestjean | Filed under: Uncategorized |
I’ll give you a glimps of my most recent projects. I have been sanding the floor of my largest suite along with part of the hall way. They are almost ready for varnish. You can see the great pattern in the wood which is repeated throughout the house. It’s a pity that most of it will be covered with Persian Rugs.
I know that I said that my next post would be of my foyer, but the view is not so pretty since I removed the carpet from the staircase. My play is to finish the sides of the stairs and have a runner down the middle anchored with brass rails.
Posted: December 6, 2011 | Author: amiestjean | Filed under: Uncategorized |
Once I completed the library, the next room to be finished was the Ballroom. It was partly complete because of the work on the ceiling and fireplace in the library. The very first thing I did was to remove a door coming from the entry. It was pretty useless as there was a larger, nicer door from the foyer. The two doors were just a few feet apart which was redundant and cluttered.
Being an older house, the walls were less than perfect. I invented my own process that included applying colored mud to the walls, which I them painted. Afterwards I sanded the entire wall exposing both colors. I completed this with a frosted glaze. Next I tiled and finished the fireplace. Once this was complete, I had the floors in the Ballroom, Library and Dining room refinished.
Now I was able to decorate. I’m glad I had the foresight to purchase my fabric in California before I moved here. This town has a huge lack of fabric stores unless you do quilting. Most of my furniture and decorator items I purchased through my friends at Dakota Plains Auctions. I have some historic items to add once I decide exactly how to protect them. Except for the refining, most of the main floor is complete. I will next show you my foyer and entry.
Posted: November 22, 2011 | Author: amiestjean | Filed under: Uncategorized |
When the house was built in 1917, it originally had a great ball room. When I bought the house, it had been divided in half. The smaller portion was made into a chapel when it was converted into a convent. That was our assumption which was confirmed once we removed the carpet in the ball room. We could see that the pattern in the hardwood floor continued beyond the wall. By the way, my friend and I removed that carpet the day the house closed escrow.
One of the first things I did was to have my son cut a hole in the wall. I had always envisioned that room as a library with wall to wall bookshelves. My original intention was to keep the wall with a large pass through similar to the one going into the dining room.
I really wanted a fireplace either in the ballroom or the library. On a trip to Colorado, I stayed in a house that had a three-sided gas fireplace. I had mentioned to my contractor that something like that would work between the two rooms. I was fortunate that he located one in a reuse store. So down came half of the wall to accommodate it. After seeing that, my friend suggested we lose the entire wall. As usual she was right.
Now came the huge job of having the library built. My contractor bought the oak plywood, ripped it into planks and delivered them to me along with finer finishing oak. I had the huge job of sanding and staining them. It was a larger job than it sounds. Between the dust, and fumes I was forced to stay elsewhere. Fortunately, I have a vacation rental three doors down and it was off-season. Daisy and I stayed there for a good month. Once I had accomplished that task, my contractor came and assembled my room. He completed it 2 days before Thanksgiving. My son was flying in from Austin for the holiday. After that, my contractor came back and sprayed it with varnish.
The next step was to fully install the fireplace. I was fortunate to acquire the lovely over mantel piece from my good friends at Dakota Plains Auctions.
Posted: November 10, 2011 | Author: amiestjean | Filed under: Uncategorized |
I realize that I have been lax in my blogs lately. My daughter came for a visit fromPhoenix. I’m trying to convince her to move toRapid City. I am realizing that I will need help running the Bed & Breakfast and Vacation Rentals. She is a great cook and wonderful in organizing me. Today I will show you pictures of the suite in which she stayed. It is the only one finished, well mostly finished. I still have plans to do draping around the bed, and will refine the décor.
I took my color palate from the fabric I brought with me from California. I painted the ceiling a lighter gold and brought the color down the wall a couple of feet. The remaining walls are a very deep gold. My trim is a light yellow, the same color in which I am trimming most of the second floor. The fabric I used on the windows and bed is burgundy and gold. I did double roller shades trimmed in beads. The reason I did that is so there is the option of dark, light or a combination. I like to keep the top shade up for the great view and sunset, while keeping the bottom portion down giving privacy. I will drape the bed in a sheer gold fabric trimmed in burgundy.
The in-suite bathroom was originally a closet with an entrance door in the hall. I lengthen the bath a couple of feet or so and moved the entrance to the bedroom. I tiled the shower in subway tile and accented it with glass tile. There is a shower curtain that matches the fabric on the windows in the bedroom that needs adjustments. It is finished off with a pedestal sink with oval tilt mirror, and naturally, a toilet. A small shelving unit gives plenty of storage for extra linens and grooming supplies.
Posted: October 13, 2011 | Author: amiestjean | Filed under: Uncategorized |
The room I completed after my kitchen was my dining room. Although I did add a washroom and removed a wall between the kitchen and dining room, there wasn’t much structural change. I wanted to stay true to the craftsman style architecture while bringing in a french flavor. I got my inspiration from one of my trips to Paris and designed my dining room after Giverny (Claude Monet’s home.) I finished my walls in a pale yellow, and went with a stronger yellow on all my trim. I then accented the rest of the room in blue as is common in french design.
One of the things that attracted me to purchase this house is the built in’s in this room. There are plenty of drawers for linens and silver. The display portion enabled me to display my crystal and china. I did add lighting in the display case for better exposure to my treasures.
I have large windows, so decided to use roller shades. So that I had more option for natural light, I did an upper shade and a lower one. I continued to use this application through the house. I used a blue toile on the shades, then accented the window with a couple of different stripes.
My friend suggest that I use a farm table which is common to the french country design, and allows for seating for up to ten people. She then found, and transported the table for me. The chairs I used for the head and foot of the table, I had purchased at one of their auction, then recovered them. At their last auction I was delighted to purchase five additional chairs, along with a bench which completed my furnishings. I had in the past bought a couple of tea carts which come in handy for serving.
Posted: October 7, 2011 | Author: amiestjean | Filed under: Uncategorized |
Here in the Black Hills it’s a tradition to check out the leaves in Spearfish Canyon. This year we were not disappointed. They were the best ever, since I’ve been here. I usually go either too early, before they completely turn color, or too late, after they start falling. But this year, we managed to hit the prime week-end. It was a great day in the convertible with the top down, Not too hot, or too cool, just perfect. I’m trying to enjoy the season before it turns cold. Once that happens, you will get more blogs about the renovation of the house. I usually get lots done in the winter because it’s not as inviting to go out.
Posted: October 4, 2011 | Author: amiestjean | Filed under: Uncategorized |
You can feel it in the air. It is fall. If you couldn’t feel it, you can witness it in the activities. The first sign was marked with the Custer State Park Buffalo Round Up. It is held late September or early October. This year it was Sept. 27th. It begins about 9:30 AM but if you want to find a place to park, it demands an early arrival. Officials at South Dakota’s Custer State Park say 14,000 people turned out to watch this year’s buffalo roundup. That’s a dozen people for every bison. Sixty park personnel herded 1,200 buffalo into corrals during the 46th annual roundup. Twenty years ago, the annual event drew only hundreds of people and not thousands. And even though it’s turned into a major tourist attraction, the main goal is still management of the park’s buffalo herd. Calves are branded and vaccinated, and adult animals get pregnancy and fertility tests. The park also auctions off some of the animals to keep the size of the herd in check. Hundreds of animals will be put up for sale on Nov. 19.
Posted: September 27, 2011 | Author: amiestjean | Filed under: Uncategorized |
Today, I just want to express my appreciation to my good friends at Dakota Plains Auctions. Without their help, I would not have be able to furnish my Bed and Breakfast with wonderful antique furniture, decor and serving pieces. My plan is to surround my guests with decor that is vintage to the period of the house. Also to serve them with fine china, linens, crystal and silver. They have made this possible. Through them I have also acquired some great South Dakota Historic Pieces. ( I will go into that in a another blog)
When I moved here, they had an antique store, Main Street Antiques, but were making the switch over to the Auction House, which has been quite successful for them. As they closed the antique store, they gave me great prices that got me started furnish this old house. Since then, I have gotten great deals at their auctions for the rest of my furnishings, and serving pieces.
Dakota Plains Auctions is also licensed in Firearms and Old West articles. They have about five auctions a year and only deal in quality items. They also have live Internet bidding utilizing Proxidbid & ICollector. Check out my friends Rick and Margi Olesen at www.dakotaplainsauctions.com Their next auction is November 12 & 13, 2011.
Posted: August 9, 2011 | Author: amiestjean | Filed under: Uncategorized |
I know I promised to post more pics of this house, but also want to let every one know of activities in the area. I would be remiss not to mention the largest event in this area, Sturgis Motorcycle Rally officially started yesterday, but they started arriving a week ago . Many of you know of it, but many don’t (I had never heard of it until I moved here) This is the 71st year. There are motorcycles as far as the eye can see and that’s just in Rapid City. They pretty much take over the Black Hills. They appear to be having a blast.
Posted: July 30, 2011 | Author: amiestjean | Filed under: Uncategorized |
When I was invited to visit this area, I had no idea how much there is going on here, and what a tourist destination this is. That’s why I’m including it in my blog. I not only want to share my experience of the renovating and decorating of the B&B, but to entice people to come to the area for a visit. Trust me, you won’t be disappointed. Oh by the way, I don’t think I mentioned that beside my future B&B, I have a couple of vacation rentals. If interested you can visit my website www.amiestjean.com I’m pretty much book for this season, but you can check out my houses, along with links to other attractions in the area.
This weekend is the annual DAYS OF 76 in Deadwood. The Days of ’76 began as a way to honor Deadwood’s first pioneers – the prospectors, miners, muleskinners and madams who poured into the Black Hills in 1876 to settle the gold-filled gulches of Dakota Territory. Since the first celebration in 1923, the Days of ‘76 has grown into a legendary annual event with a historic parade and an award-winning PRCA rodeo.
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Today, I just want to express my appreciation to my good friends at Dakota Plains Auctions. Without their help, I would not have be able to furnish my Bed and Breakfast with wonderful antique furniture, decor and serving pieces. My plan is to surround my guests with decor that is vintage to the period of the house. Also to serve them with fine china, linens, crystal and silver. They have made this possible. Through them I have also acquired some great South Dakota Historic Pieces. ( I will go into that in a another blog)
