Decked & Floored

In the early days of this wild west town many bar room brawls took place among scrappy cowboys and forlorn wanderers looking to make their mark in town. The TV series Deadwood did a great job of documenting the fighting and shooting believed to transpire in a town full of outlaws and law men. Happily, Charles has been decked and floored sans the violence!

Last trip back to Charles I got to see firsthand the handy work Dan had done. In months of discussions and drawings with DHP and the City, he brought her deck to fruition. The sketch was a reality! As I walked through our make-shift back door, out toward the creek, I was greeted by a large span of suspended bliss. The classy black railing framed the edge which seemed to tower over White Wood Creek below. I was floored. It was just perfect. A dramatic outdoor living space that utilized that wreck of a rocky back yard.

The “yard” had been a giant hole for many years, open to the unfinished foundation and a year-round access to the basement. We’ve heard from locals who used to party down there, out of the elements and away from the law. Once we closed and finished the foundation, and excavated for drainage, the yard was a dirt-rock-weed patch. Now two-thirds are covered by this glorious deck. We made quick work of unloading patio furniture and moving already existing stuff around… topped it off with our outdoor cooking station, popped a few pots of flowers here and there and WOW. Charles has a really beautiful outdoor kitchen/living room that overlooks our beautiful creek below.

Now the deck has been officially DHP, City and dog approved!

In the remaining uneven, unfinished space to the west, a timber wall was constructed for security, then topped off with a beautiful trellis. It now houses these really fantastic cast corbels that my sister-from-another-century Sarah found for me at a garage sale. They make the perfect frame for a pair of wisteria that I bought six years ago and never had a place to plant. Remarkably, they were still alive in their little plastic pots, and they are now transplanted and thriving in Deadwood.

And we put the nephew to work with a chainsaw and more timbers and Jake built us a walkway area that is now level and completes the back of the house. Guests who come around the side of the house are greeted by this amazing approach, the trellis and the gate to the upper deck. To the left is the old Dorchester School bell, mounted to a fallen tree. To the right, guests are greeted by us.

And… representing us, we’re flying our flags with great pride!

And… if you’re not floored by all of this exterior progress, you will be by the interior! I’d mentioned in my East Meets the Wild West post about the third D in our trifecta of talented men. Dusten joined the Dan/Dylan team and continued our work inside. The 1890s wide Douglas Fir floors have been restored to a beauty I am positive they’ve never had before.

Charles indeed has a dining room and kitchen that is surely the envy of all other houses on our block.

While the kitchen and dining room floors were salvageable, unfortunately the entry, hall along the stairway, back hall, former bathroom and the former kitchen in the Arts and Crafts side of the house are not. D3 also happens to be an incredible tile guy, so we solicited the pro to install our tile floor. Now when you walk in the front door of Charles, your eye is drawn directly back to the new laundry scullery and the window out to the back deck. Next to the dining room and immediately in front of you is the amazing (almost completed) staircase that D2 restored. There is still much to do with touch up, trim work, etc., but Charles has some pretty amazing new floors!

As you can see… the tile is also puppy approved. We really like it. It is not truly traditional in that it would have been a mosaic or penny tile pattern in the entry, and wood throughout, but since there was so much damage from years of remodeling, we had a chance to change it up a little. The pattern is in keeping with the Victorian spirit, but it is a more contemporary look. D3 did a beautiful job of both leveling floors and laying tile at the same time. It wasn’t a job for a DIYer, even with the multiple talents of D1!

So now you’re up to speed on the last few months of progress. And happily, it continues. Kitchen cabinets are in, awaiting installation. Appliances are out of the living room and in their places in the kitchen. The living room is being prepped for carpet in three weeks and the fireplace is being finished. It really is amazing the amount of progress we’ve enjoyed in just ten months. In the evenings, when we lose our work clothes and get cleaned up and decked out, we step out on the deck, look up at our Indian Mountain and we reflect on that progress.

Frankly, we’re floored by it. And grateful for all of it. The opportunity to buy the home and to save it. To make it more beautiful than she’s ever been. To work with such talented people and to build a life for us that is second to none here on the edge of the urban prairie, in this amazing wild west town.