An Inside Tour Of My Restored Old House

In MOVING AND RESTORING MY OLD HOUSE PART I, I wrote about the actual moving and restoration of my old house called The Dolphin. In this Part II, I'd like to take you for a tour of the inside of my house after the restoration.

So, relax, and come inside my house and make yourself at home. It's a house filled with wonderful memories. I am a collector as you will see. My walls are filled with memories. I cannot throw away things my children and grandchildren have made for me. I keep photos of my family all through my house, because I never tire of looking at those beautiful faces.

I entertained the idea of selling my old house about a year ago, and buying a small condominium, but I couldn't bear the thought of taking down all my precious memories to be put away in boxes. No realtor would want to list my house with all this "junk", I'm sure. So, I'm resigned to live here and enjoy the fruits of my labor for the rest of my life.

The moving and restoration of this old house has been quite an experience. The house was built in 1900, and I purchased it at public auction in 1981. It was moved from it's old location to my wooded lot 15 miles away. I invite you to read my Part I to learn more about that subject.

So, come on in.......the sweet tea and cookies are ready for you!

By the way, don't forget to take your shoes off.

I recorded the process of moving the house with my camera, and made a collage of the move. This is displayed on a wall where visitors can see exactly what was done. They enjoyed looking at these pictures; especially the ones of the house coming over our Palm City Bridge!

I love antiques. My house is filled with antiques I have purchased over the years. I have a collection of Hummel Annual plates from 1971 when the collection began. My children would always give me a plate for Christmas, Birthdays, and Mother's Day.

I am also fond of Norman Rockwell's art, and I have some of his plates.

This is a doll house my grandchildren and I made together. I have some of their rocking chairs. The little high chair was a doll toy that belonged to my daughter who is now 50 years old.

I was very pleased at the work my carpenter did with these stairs. He made them from pine, and I sanded and varnished each piece. I had thought of putting in a spiral staircase, but decided against that. I'm glad now I did't.

These stairs are steeper then usual, but it was the only way they could have been built due to space constrictions going up into the attic.

Several years after I restored the downstairs area, I got the idea of making the attic into a usable living space. I measured and designed this space, using every available inch. I call this space, "My Retreat". This is my bedroom, TV room, sewing room, office (where I write), and my bathroom. The bathroom shower is small, but adequate for me since I'm only five feet tall!

I sanded (wore out three belt sanders), and varished all of the wood that was used in the attic.

I have a friend who does stained glass, and she made this insert for my front door. I love the Dolphin!

You'll notice the "Doggie" door I had installed for The Queen of the House", Baby, so she can go in and out.

I became interested in learning how to Faux Glass stain. This is a door my daughter designed and we painted. This was a fun project. Interested in how we did it? I enclosed a link to my instructions.

I have 30 more photos I could have used for this, but I was afraid you'd be bored by now, and would want to leave.

I'm so glad you came by and toured my old house, Thank you for allowing me to share my house of love and memories with you. Come back anytime...We Southerners say "Y'all come back, ya' hear?