It's the little things...

For those who love old homes, the creak of a loose floorboard or the pitter-patter of rain on a worn tin roof evokes a feeling of peace. For years, I poured over real estate magazines and drove up and down the streets of town searching for an historic house within our means. After years of pining, we were blessed with Faith Cottage, an 1890 Victorian. Although sporting 19th century elements on her exterior, her interior had been stripped clean. Nonetheless, we began adding Victorian embellishments to enhance her newly renovated rooms. With little original left in tact, any tiny treasure revealing her past was a reason for celebration. As time progressed pieces of her history began to surface.

Shortly after moving in we found sections of the original plaster moldings in the attic. I was elated at such a discovery!

A few years later, hubby and friend Kasey were replacing the porch floor and came across several shards of old bottles and a cobalt blue marble. Where most people would have tossed these items away as trash I was thrilled and went about displaying them.

The next find would take place when hubby was working under the house and unearthed an early 20th century Coke bottle from the Beaufort bottling company. This was the best find to date and I proudly displayed it in the kitchen window.

On another occasion when hubby was working under the house, he discovered the locations of the original fireplaces. Being an 1890s structure there was no doubt its heating system had been fireplaces; however, all evidence of them were long gone. Although the fireplaces had been removed, the brick remnants below the house remained. We hope to make use of these bricks in a future project.

Most recently, hubby was planting a flower garden and found pieces of pottery, china, and part of a bottle in the dirt. I was ecstatic!

It's amazing how shards of pottery, an old Coke bottle, and some crumbling plaster molding can bring so much joy to the keepers of an old home. As the old saying goes, "it's the little things in life that make it special."

Blessings,

Victorian Lady Kim