New Pictures of Robert's House

Lise Winne writing the post:

In a previous post, I wrote how Robert's house went from a run-down Victorian to a showcase house.

In this post I reveal the newest photos of how it looked when finished. Just about all of the ideas and certainly all of the work that went into the house was my father's work and his brainstorm. These are more views of the outside of the house and its surrounding gardens and lawns (more views of the inside of the house are as follows):

This is a chicken coop in the back which will be torn down:

Here is what some of the inside of the house looks like.

This is the front door and entry-way. My father liked open window-sills to put plants. He built that and the closet next to it, and purchased the Turkish rug from a Turkish merchant. 

Following is a picture of the livingroom. Because he was color-blind, he loved bold patterns and reds. The room is a very pastel kind of pink-purple (he painted the room). He also made the window in back of the couch. It has double paned windows (i.e. three layers of window panes if you count the storm windows. He built them in his shop):

Here is a view of the study, which he decorated and made in a similar fashion (the right window did not come with the original house, so this was his idea too):

Another view of the study:

Here is another view with the woodstove in it (the woodstove took up the middle of the room, not aesthetically ideal, but certainly made the house toasty and warm in the winter:

And yet another view of the study (what is not visible is another bump-out window my father made just beyond the black chair to the right):

Next up is the diningroom. Again, he made the window, the window seat, the bookshelves, the cabinetry, the little nooks for picture-hanging, configured all of the lighting and painted the room and ceilings. 

Another view of the diningroom (some of my hand-thrown pottery still in the shelves of the left hand book case):

Here is a little mini kitchen he put in the diningroom complete with mini fridge, counter-space, cabinets for mugs and small plates and a two burner stove (the room visible through the door is the study). There is also a bathroom he made sandwiched between the diningroom and study:

Here is part of the kitchen. There is a lot of recessed lighting in it as well as open shelving to mimic a pantry. Again, he designed the space, including the bank of windows. He thought a person who was washing dishes should always be able to look outside. The counter tops were hand made by him,  and are higher than most counter tops (built for taller people so they didn't have to bend over to cut vegetables). The cabinets were also made by him:

Another view:

Another view:

Another view:

This is an upstairs hallway, complete with his built-in bookcases and re-organized rooms. The room straight ahead is a bathroom he expanded and re-did. It is a large bathroom with a stand-alone tub, and a big shower stall. It also has bookshelves in it.

This is the main bedroom with another bump-out window:

This is a rather large room. What you can't see are the closets he built, but you can see the small closets under the roof-line. This room is usually airy and light during the day. The desk is an oak desk my father built (with matching nightstands). Another beautiful Turkish rug he purchased decorates the floor:

What is not visible is another bedroom, which is small, with only one window (darker) and was the one I stayed in the most (if I was there during a time my step-family wasn't there, otherwise I slept on the study floor). 

The next room up is the studio, but it is hard to see how big it is. It is quite large and was the place where my father did his drawings, had some work tables and painted the windows, doors and trim of the house. He put in the little drawer units on the side underneath the bank of windows (which he also put in and designed). The shelves in this room were always bursting at the seams with books of saved articles, tools, paint cans, jars of nails, drill bits, art supplies and other things. I'm not sure where it all went, but I inherited the work benches and the drawing table (which is now in my own studio being used every day -- ones he built himself). Also out of this room came 13 filled-to-the-brim bins of papers, most of it just catalogues, articles, clippings with his writing in them. I go through them from time to time, and always discover something about him and his interests. He had many, many interests from social issues to art to building projects. 

Many of the books he had were sold, particularly his architecture books. Those the Winne family will miss. 

Here is another view of the studio (note, the original studio did not have a green rug or a small table in it):

The following pictures are the garage and an upstairs loft area:

Isn't this little nook he made cute? It is where some of his grandchildren slept. It is also where I slept on more than one occasion, especially in the warmer months (and was much more comfortable than the study floor). It also felt like a retreat from the house.

The next scenes are in walking distance from the house, but they are not part of the property.

This is the parking lot at the recreation field (next door):

The beach area at Puffer's Pond (a half mile walk through woods):

The waterfall at Puffer's Pond (very close to the beach area):

For me it is the end of an era. It is saying goodbye to my father in a more complete sense. I suppose we are both alike in that way. I make art and most of it other people get to enjoy. He made a couple of beautiful houses, some cabins and other buildings, and mostly other people get to enjoy them (because he was always toiling with the projects themselves). It is what happens when you are a maker. 

The people who didn't appreciate him and used him are also not going to be able to live on the back of his labor any more, his good-heartedness and all of his blood, sweat and tears on their behalf. In a way, that is a relief. That is the good in all of this, like an unburdening.

I also know there are some big changes ahead for me, and I believe this is the first of the big changes. 

In the meantime, a toast to my father and all of his excellent vision and hard work to make the world a more beautiful place!