In my last post I gave a tour of my new home here in Paducah. Have a look if you would like to see photos of how it looked before The Big Dump. This move has been exhausting and much more work than I anticipated. I just have WAY TOO MUCH STUFF! And, I am cleaning it all, organizing and figuring out what to keep, what to get rid of… I didn’t have time to do any of that in the old place and it’s just easier to assess things once I see where it all ends up.
I got the key on September 15th and then started packing and moving whatever I could carry. Then, towards the end of the month, my friend, Diane, drove all the way down from Kenosha, Wisconsin, (8 hours or so) to help out. (She’s the one who taught me how to knit…) There was a tenant living here, Rowena (a new friend!) who works as a cook on the River and she only had a day to get her stuff organized before I came in. So, Diane took over piling up her things and organizing what was coming in, especially in the kitchen. Then, I hired a couple of guys from River City Mission (a program that works with homeless men and families and recovering addicts) and it took about a week of having them load up my van and cart stuff over, a few hours a day, while I organized and made the next batch ready at the old house. On day three or four, Diane came down with a horrible bronchial infection and felt miserable as can be. She was staying at the new house and I was still at the old one. We rented a U-haul for the big stuff and she was the only one who could drive it, so she did it, while feeling like crap. Somehow, we all got through it all and I finally moved over with the animals and was with Diane for a couple of nights. It’s all a big blur…
This house is about twice the size of where I was and I’ve filled it up. I can’t believe it. Part of me just wants to take a match to it all. But, each day it is better and as it all gets put away, things are starting to look really nice. Beautiful, even! 🙂 The house has an interesting layout, with the kitchen serving as its heart, as any house should be… I took a screen shot on Google to explain it:
The owner’s (Jan) mother built on to the house as she needed more space. She was a powerful real estate agent, a mover and shaker here in Paducah and one of the first women to make an impact in this way here. The original house was the two bedrooms, bath and kitchen. She added on the library and bird room (as I am calling them) as she needed more office space, then the den, then the garage. My main hang out is the den and kitchen area, which is also now closed off from the rest of the house so that my four cats and dog are contained. I decided to have my bed on the far side of the den area so that I could keep the two bedrooms free and I also like being with my animals at night. I need to generate income in any way I can and I am hoping that the two bedrooms can either become an artist residency area, air bnb or house a roommate. There is only one full bath in this house, which is a bummer as it makes it harder to “sell” that space. We’ll see what happens.
The “library” and “bird room” will be a boutique and gallery for Artizan Made and TAFA. They are two large rooms, about 600 sq. feet, which was the size of my first shop in Chicago. Not huge, but enough of a space to give this whole thing a whirl. I wanted to be open by November 1st to get as much of the holiday traffic as possible, but it’s not going to happen. There is just way too much to do yet. My Mom is coming for a week on November 12th, so maybe the grand opening can happen while she is here. She has been funding this operation, so it would be fun to have her see it in action…
I took photos, mostly because I want to record how this evolves. Here goes!
Before anything else, a big snag that was a major pain was the plumbing here. It was stopped up and it took the plumber 5 tries before he got the roots cleared out. So, it slowed me down on getting everything cleaned as it came in and there were several days where I couldn’t even shower…
Ugh. Dirt backed up into the tub.
Once that was taken care of, I moved full steam ahead.
Living Room
We used it to store Rowena’s furniture while she was gone.
It took her several trips to clear her things out. She loved living here, so it was sad to see her go, but she has gone to live with her mother who is now 80, same age as my Mom. It has been mutating over to my stuff and is the most finished room so far…
It’s kind of a living room, kind of a dining room. I can receive people here, have small classes, study groups… It has a nice, welcoming feel to it.
The room next to it is the library, which will be the boutique area. There is a large open window between the two rooms.
My friend, Abdul, gave me the yellow couch a couple of years ago and I always kept it covered at the old house because I didn’t want the cats to ruin it. It’s so nice to be able to see it as I love it!
Library/Boutique
The shelves were filled with Jan’s mother’s books. Jan has been picking them up. The shelves will look great with objects and then I have lots of displays for garments and accessories. The big problem in this room is that there is no lighting in the ceiling. I have been looking for floor lamps at thrift stores but have not found enough. The guys literally dumped a lot of stuff in this room and the bird room.
A couple of days ago I got this area fixed up and it looks nice, but it was hard to photograph. I threw some textiles in just to give an idea of how things might look. It will look very nice once the lighting issue is fixed and once there are products decorating the space. There is a gas fireplace on the left and it works! That will be a nice spot to have tea with a customer or there might be that bored husband (stereotype?) who wants to sit down. (Not really a stereotype as I have seen it happen over and over…)
You will see an organ in the photos. It belongs to the owner and she doesn’t want it so I put it on Facebook for free and it should be gone tomorrow. I bought stain for some of the displays as I want to spruce them up. There are several nice days ahead of good weather and then I expect it to get too cold, so I hope I can get it done.
Bird Room
This room is directly next to the library and it will be used for small exhibits. Both rooms are about the same size but the ceilings are a lot higher in the bird room so it can accommodate several large textiles, which will be nice. I will have a couple of displays in this room, too, along with the birds. I need to find better stands for the cages and figure out exactly where they will be. The window in this room is the most visible from the street so it will be an important one. The room is still a big mess and I will tackle it soon.
Looking towards the window.
Looking to the back of the room.
If you open that door at the back, you get to my bed, which is in the den area. The door to the right goes to the garage.
Kitchen
The heart of this house and well thought out. The one thing I don’t like is that it was built for short people. Jan is tiny and so was her mother. I feel like a giant in a doll’s house as I bend down to do the dishes…. Which I won’t have to do so many for long as I know an appliance guy who will trade my washing machine and dryer for a dishwasher and installation. Maybe he will give me some cash, too… I don’t really care because the house comes with the washing machine and dryer and they are about the same condition as the ones I have and if they sit in the garage, they will just rust. So, I would rather have something I will use (it would be the first time in my life where I would have a dish washer!!!) then to hold on to something which I won’t.
The kitchen has been hard at work. (See that hole at the bottom of the cabinets? That is where the dishwasher will go.) Endless washing. My old house was filthy and I just want to keep everything clean here.
That big window over the sink has no glass. It opens to a vaulted area in the den which will be my main studio area.
Stools in photo are not mine. They went with Rowena. I did find a couple of cheap ones that are well built at Salvation Army. Just need a new coat of paint.
A big challenge was figuring out how to keep the animals away from the public spaces. There is a big window that opens up to the living room and two of my slatted displays worked to create a barrier there, along with a screen as a door. I am concerned about allergies people may have, but am hoping that since they have never been in those other areas and if I keep the carpets well vacuumed, it will be ok. Charlie, one of the cats, was an indoor/outdoor cat at the old house, but she has shown no interest in going outside here and I don’t want her to. I live on a very busy street and I don’t want to risk having them get run over if they get out. So far, it’s worked very well, although Tor wants to be where the action is…
Tor in kitchen, looking through screen door.
Slats on kitchen window keep pets away from public areas.
Den
My hangout. The first thing I set up was my desk. It looks out on greenery from the garden. Peaceful.
The rest is still pretty chaotic although getting better each day.
Stuff dumped everywhere…
At the back, the bins of fabric… Still don’t know how I will organize them… This used to be the outside of the house and has windows along the wall. It’s a long space, almost the size of my old house. My bed is at the back, to the left of all the bins.
Dali and Maya.
Charlie and Dali.
The cats like it there.
The big dump next to the bed. Ugh…
Mostly fabric…. 🙁
Things are getting more organized… Looking to the back, by the bed.
Looking from the back to the studio area. The big dump.
More organized.
Studio area.
Studio sliding doors look out to patio. Most of this stuff is put away, but there is still a lot outside…
Happy Critters
I have four cats, a little dog and two cages of birds (finches and parakeets). They all seem super happy here. We are very close to Noble Park, a great park with a small lake, and I have taken Tor several times there. We also walk in the neighborhood which is not as nice as our daily ritual at the old house. There we walked around a circle and it sometimes stopped to play or visit with neighbors. Here, all of the streets end up at 32nd which has no sidewalks, so it is a bit boring. But, we will try to go to Noble as much as possible.
Pee Wee
Charlie
Tor
Tor, couch potato
This is a house I could grow old in. I am so grateful for central heat and air! For tight walls that keep the elements out! For not having to run water so that the pipes don’t freeze! And, for so much more!! Things will continue to evolve and this really feels like a retreat, like a place of healing for me. I expect to feel a lot better once things are in their place and I have caught up on my tasks.
Housewarming Gift
My friend, Rose Hughes, came by a few days ago with a housewarming gift! A tradition in her family….
Sugar, to keep things sweet.
Flour, so you never go hungry.
Salt, to keep those tears away.
I Hate Moving
We lived in the same house in Brazil for 12 years. I was in the same apartment in Chicago for 20 years and at the house I just left for 13 years. Each move has always meant this big chore of dealing with stuff, accumulated over the years. Most of what I have is art supplies, furniture, tools and things that are pretty useful. Once they are organized, they will have their place. It is the chaos that drives me crazy. I knew where everything was at the old house and I still have no idea where a lot of things are here. I like to keep my nails short and they were getting to the length where they start driving me crazy. Couldn’t find the clipper anywhere, so went out and bought one. I found the old one the next day.
Moving disturbs the order of things. It is good to get shaken up now and then, to be forced to re-evaluate the importance of “stuff”. I have struggled with the inherent contradiction of wanting to live a simple life and having all of these possessions. It’s been an ideological frustration as an artist, making things nobody needs and in supporting other people who are doing the same thing. Yet, I believe that there is a reason we have this need for stuff, for nesting, for beautiful things. I hope that this space and my stuff will create a welcoming environment that others will enjoy, where creativity rules and where growth can happen.
My goal is to buy this house. The owner needs to sell it and she and my mother are giving me time to test it, to see if I can make it work financially. I have one year to make it happen. I have no idea if Paducah will like the handmade art that will be filling this space, but I hope so. If it doesn’t work, I will have to move again and I will have to get rid of all of these bins as I am not lugging them around again. I have so many ideas and am excited about what can happen here, so I will just do everything I can to make it happen. 🙂
Short Term Plan
The shop will be called Artizan Made and I plan on listing as much as I can on Artizan’s marketplace. Hours here will be Thurs-Sat, 11am-6pm and by appointment. I hope to be open by mid-November and will rotate the bird room exhibit every three months or so. I still want to pursue the ideas I have for sustainable projects that can happen here in Paducah and will continue to work on finding a group of people who share those visions. I will have a much better idea of what works here by next Spring and will report here, on this blog. If you would like to follow along, sign up in the sidebar to receive the posts by email. I will give another tour of the space in a couple of weeks when things are no longer chaotic.
Let’s grow ideas …. in the gardens of our minds!
I am so happy you’ve found a place that feels right for you and that is, like you, unique! It’s great that you know its history and that its kitchen is the heart. The house I grew up in had a kitchen at its heart – you could enter or leave it via the living room, dining room, the stairs to the basement, or what would now be called the family room (we called it “the back room”). Everything flowed through the kitchen, and it was also the only room that had a telephone other than my parents’ bedroom. Coincidentally (or not?!?), I am also in the midst of moving. I found a house in Marquette built in 1939 that, it turns out, is likely a Sears home, the model name being “Marion,” which was my mother’s name. As you know, like your mother, my mother has helped me a great deal, and that I am now moving into a house with her name on it, so to speak, sets my mental wheels a’whirring. But for now I must get back to packing. And isn’t it great how quickly cats and dogs get comfortable!
Oh, wow… Are you going to keep your cabin, too? I had to look up Marquette. Is this it? https://wanderwisdom.com/travel-destinations/Introduction-to-Marquette-Michigan-USA Looks sweet, but so far North… Love your kitchen story. 🙂 Thank God for our mothers!!
It’s looking amazing, Rachel! What a lot of work and what a lot of energy you have needed to do it. I’m excited for the year you have ahead of you. Love you.
I hope you guys can come visit… Now I finally have room to have guests!
Wow! You’ve done so much, and there’s so much to do! But by continually focusing on the potential, you will make that potential a reality. So excited for you! And proud! I find this all very inspiring. As I have always found YOU!
Awww… Thank you, Thom! I really hope that it works for you to come for a visit!