Mt. Washington Hotel at Bretton Woods

Posted on | January 31, 2011 | 17 Comments

Over the weekend we embraced the snow and went skiing in northern New Hampshire. We stayed at the Bretton Arms which is an inn that is part of the Mt. Washington Hotel Resort. The hotel was built over a hundred years ago is one of the last surviving grand hotels in the United States. Back in the day visitors traveled by rail to the backcountry of New Hampshire for long vacations away from the city.

When I was a kid we lived in northern New Hampshire. My older sister took riding lessons at the hotel in the summer months—I was too little and was only allowed to take trail rides on special occasions. I spent hours staring up at the big white lady nestled in the mountains from the riding ring. It was the fanciest hotel I had ever seen.

Above and below snapshots from a twilight walk around the resort. An outdoor pool on the backside of the hotel was full of kids after a long day of skiing. The kids ran down a heated sidewalk, jumped into the steamy hot pool that looked out to view of the mountains, fancy indeed!

Mt. Washington Hotel
Route 302
Bretton Woods, New Hampshire
603-278-1000

Category: new hampshire, travel

Elegant Green Paneled Molding

Posted on | January 27, 2011 | 15 Comments

New beams have been installed in the den and next week the plasterer will be over to hang a new ceiling. I can’t believe that I may actually be able to paint my den in the next month or so. Ever since I saw the room I wanted to paint it green. At first, I wanted the trim to be cream and the walls green. We scraped off hundred layers of paint to discover the paint was originally green. Over the summer I spotted green molding in a number of historic New England homes which really pushed me to fully embrace painted moldings.

I want the molding to be an unsaturated green that feels moody with a bit a gray like the molding in the photos above and below. My first choice was Verte De Terre from Farrow & Ball. The sample we painted on the wall is extremely close to the original paint we found on the molding. Next week Farrow & Ball is releasing nine new paint colors. I’m eyeing Mizzle: A soft blue grey which takes its name from the West Country description for a combination of mist and drizzle. The color from the press release looked similar to the den below with the leather sofas. The new colors are not available till Feb 1st—I’ll share some inspiration rooms next week. The Mizzle sample should be here next week for me to try out!

Photo Credits: Jasper Conran Country, Farrow & Ball Living with Colour, Remodelista House Call: Karin Draaijer in Belgium, Quinlin and Francis Terry Architects: Kingsham Farm, unknown, World of Interiors: more photos here.

Category: interiors, paint colors

Narrow Doorway

Posted on | January 26, 2011 | 11 Comments

We are still in the process of shoring up our ceiling in preps for the new ceiling; I’ll share more of the process on Friday. We had to make a decision this morning if we wanted to keep the doorway from the den to the smaller room wide or make it narrow again. When we first bought the house the doorway was narrow but a piece of the original frame had been cut out. The wall was crumbling so we decided at the time to just rip the whole thing out.

I grew quite fond of the wide frame but Greg hates it. He doesn’t like how the doorways are no longer symmetrical. Greg found all the doors for the room around the house in closets and in the basement. Once the room is done we’ll be able to shut all the doors and light the fire in the winter and stay super toasty. The den is our most precious room in the house; so I should probably keep it as historically accurate as possible, right?

The little room is eventually going to become a library. We’re planning on installing a floor to ceiling bookcase next to the window. I’m thinking since the room relates to the larger room I’ll keep the molding color the same but maybe add a little wallpaper or maybe just beautiful curtains around the window? I think I need to see the room with some paint before I decide.

Above how the doorway looked this morning and below a series of photos of the doorway in transition.

Category: house renovation

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