Front Elevation

My daughter will one day take the house from here (I hope!) and free up some space for me to continue my mini obsessions. Since we agreed from the beginning that it was her house, she was in charge of the look and feel. I told her many folks go for a period feel, but she had her own ideas—and it suited me, too.

She saw the family as living "today," having bought a delightful old wreck, and wanting to make it their home showpiece for now. She found homes mags with elements she wanted to incorporate, cut them out and collaged them, and from her specs I made this drawing, to scale, so we'd have something to work from.

In the meantime, the minute she heard it was going to be a total demolition (in order to replace swollen, flood-damaged wood), she made sure I had all the measurements we'd need and she whacked at it, gently, with a hammer. I never got an as-is photo, because she had it banged apart in a half-hour, before I knew what she was doing!