They’d likely say “What took you so long?”

My five-year anniversary of living in this fine old farmhouse is fast-approaching, a mere blink in its beautifully-framed 120-year-old life.  And as each homeowner makes his or her mark, some times enhancing, other times insinuating ‘improvements’ where none are needed, I try to spare this winsome Victorian a profile with any ill-placed warts.

I’ve waited awhile to tackle the living room. A beautifully proportioned room (almost) with its original tall slender windows, and a ceiling height that suggested a more recent history. I made my initial move to investigate the ceiling  in 2004, but then the roof, gutters, foundation, furnace, plumbing and porch cried foul, “Hold on Bucko, us first!”

Tom’s Unproven Home Improvement Equation: 2 friends + 1 sawsall + 3 hunches that the ceiling had been lowered = 1 gaping hole in my living room ceiling and an immediate call to action.  Eureka! There’s space under them there rafters.

I had a ceiling to raze and raise, and besides my ten foot Christmas tree was having nothing to do with an eight foot height restriction.  

Under the rafters, I discovered  simple marbled Victorian ceiling paper that softly reflected the light. The lumber remaining around the room’s perimeter was going no where; 3 giant in-line nails every 16 inches saw to that.

Interior design rule 204: Hang a chandelier and no one will notice the crumbling plaster.

The 6 best words in the English language: I hired out the mudding and taping.

2009: Things are finally shaping up, as I ponder what color to paint this room’s walls and trim. (Now where’s that box of five years worth of paint chips?)

What I was blogging about one year ago: A Bird in the Hand.