Serenity Cottage

07/30/2026

Let’s get filthy!

Demo of the kitchen ceiling and walls to discover the extremity of the old termite damage.

07/25/2026

Who’s in for helping with more demo???

C’mon, you know you wanna!

05/09/2026

If any Friend of Serenity Cottage wanted to donate a couple 20x16 tarps to help stop the raining in the parlor and stair hall we would be so grateful.

05/08/2026

05/08/2026

I’ve been scouring eBay and Etsy for reclaimed sash pulleys. New, these things are cost prohibitive for me to outfit thirty-six windows, four pulleys per window, $12-$45/pulley. So, yeah, they may be mismatched; but, they come out, thus far, to about $5/pulley. Instead of thousands spent, only hundreds. And their “Y’all come!” variety will speak to the story of the rebuilding of this old girl. I’ve got *almost* twenty-eight windows’ worth.

“And what are they used for,” you may ask. Well, a cords are attached to the sides of each sash and strung over the pulleys into a cavity beside the window, inside the wall, and from them are hung these, sash weights. The weights balance and suspend “weightless” (I know, ironic) in their channels allowing even the heaviest sashes to operate with ease. Again, four per window, industry standard is $1/pound. What you see here is six-hundred eighty pounds of six- & seven-pound weights.

If y’all come across sets, help a sis out!

05/08/2026

I made a mock up of the windows I’ll be making for the Cottage. I wanted to be sure proportions and size were right before mass-producing pieces from the historic 140-year-old rafters and joists.

Mind you, this isn’t a stage prop. These are proper, true to craft, sho ‘nuf two-over-two archetypal historic windows., the kind of thing a person like me would make for someone wanting those e’re-sought-after tax credits, which require authenticity in new applications in historic house restorations.

I thought I’d make a 3/4” muntin for them. The 1” seemed like it’d be too big, almost comical in proportion, the thinner profile would be more elegant. Who am I to question the wisdom of the craftsmen that came before. No. The 3/4” looks weak and lost. 1” it is, ancestors.