Stages...

As in life, remodeling and renovations happen in stages.  In order to best show you the stages the back lot has undergone, let's go back in time to the purchase of the property in December 2016.  This first pic is taken from near the back door of 211 Main and reveals a view of the back lot of 209 Main next door.

To point out a few elements.... Notice the chain link fence with the Concertina wire along the top edge, the piles of debris, the tangly vines, the tree.

This photo was taken from the back of the lot and reveals the lot directly behind 211 Main.  Again, there is a lot to look at.  Odd pieces of machinery, equipment, another view of the chain link fence and lots and lots of weeds.

Now we are going to fast forward a a couple of months.  

This shot is taken from the back of the lot and toward the back of 209 Main.  The building in the forefront is the rear of the Florence Public Library.  There is still quite a bit of stuff lying around, but a ton of debris has been removed.  The wall of the library is awesome!  It looks like it is constructed of concrete, but that's just a guess.  We have plans for that wall, and we will be working with the Library to bring those plans to fruition.

Fast forward again...

Oh, my.  Things are definitely shaping up.  All the debris is gone, although the last load is piled into the dump trailer you see parked there.  I can't even begin to tell you how many hours went into scooping, loading, pitching and raking to get to this point.  We found a couple of surprises along the way.  First up was layers and layers of carpet.  Yep.  Carpet.  Each layer of carpet was covered with a layer of dirt, so it took awhile and some heavy equipment to remove all the carpet.

This view is of the back of both buildings, 211 and 209 Main.  Once the carpet was removed, we found a couple of more surprises.  One was an underground propane tank.  A very old propane tank.  It was disconnected long ago, but the layers of carpet and debris concealed its existence.  

Brett Adams and his crew are responsible for the most recent heavy work going on in the back lot.      At one time a 50' x 30' metal and wood barn stood on the back lot near College Street.  At one time, the barn was used to store coffins.  When the previous owners purchased the property in the late 1990's, the barn was in disrepair, so they chose to push it over and covered it up with road base.  We had hoped the barn would be exposed during the back lot's leveling process, but only bits and pieces surfaced.  Melanie and I have enjoyed walking through the freshly turned earth and finding all kinds of treasures.  Broken bits of vintage glass of every color, old tiles, bits and pieces of iron, railroad spikes, old horseshoes...and trash.  Lots and lots of plain old trash.

Above is the most recent picture of the view of the back lot from the rear door of 211 Main Street.  I took it this morning just as those clouds you see in the background opened up and it started raining.  Quite a difference, isn't it?  Melanie and I have big plans for this back lot.  Think secret garden.  Lots and lots of fabulous color, with some pavers and pathways where needed.  I love birds, so there will be birdhouses and bird feeders.  Since water is a problem, we plan to install a rain barrel and capture water that comes off the roof and use it to water the plants.

Melanie is planning to offer the largest portion of the property out back for additional parking for folks visiting Main Street.  This is quite a gift to the folks of Florence, as well as visitors to our community, as this property wasn't free, and the cost to turn it into a safe and secure environment is quite costly.  

Are you getting excited?  We are!  We can't wait to get all the construction behind us and throw open the doors of 211 and 209 Main and welcome you inside.

Sneak Peek of the Renovated Interior

You're going to flip when you see the finished interior of 211 Main!  Here's a sneak peek of some of the projects we've been busy working on.  Take a gander at this floor...

Is that not the most awesome floor you've ever seen?!  And it's not even finished yet.  Once all the construction work is complete, we will paint another coat of color to each square, then TWO coats of sealer.  This design was Melanie's idea and it is pure genius.  The floor is linoleum squares that are probably over twenty-five years old.  They were pretty blah, but in surprisingly good condition.  The problem was the blah factor.  Melanie decided to paint the floor and came up with this design.  If you've seen me around Main Street in the last year, you might have seen me in an apron that is made of a similarly colored linen fabric.

Another new addition is the logo we had made to place on the front door.

I love the new logo and Melanie thought the double-lined border around the door's glass would really add to the vintage look we were going for.  As usual, she was right.  You'll find the double-lined border on the picture window, as well.

Have you ever watched a photo shoot?  Most people haven't.  My oldest daughter, Paige Morse, is a photo stylist, so I'm one of the lucky ones who has seen this particular magic in action.  Paige was home for a visit a couple of weekends ago, and once she saw the interior of 211 Main, she had to create a quick shoot of some of the items she sells through her Instagram account, paige_morse_home.

Looking at this photo, you'd never know that this building is still under construction.  I'll share a little secret with you about photo shoots.  What you see through the eye of the camera is perfection.  What is out of the camera's view is usually chaos.  Seriously.  What you can't see is ladders, equipment, tools and, well, chaos!  But you gotta love that peek of one of our walls and that glimpse of floor...

What do you do when you have a building with arches?

You build more, that's what!  Remember the beautiful arched windows on the front of the building?

Melanie decided to add another arch to mimic those on the front.  This arch is constructed of brick and close to where the temporary wall we took down, which once served as the pharmacy.  Here are a couple of pics of it during the construction phase.

Stay tuned for the final result.  This arch is awesome!

Yes, we're definitely fancy now!

 I love flowers, curb appeal, first impressions and beautifying Main Street...not necessarily in that order.  As I mentioned previously, there is a four foot space that separates the two buildings that Melanie purchased.  The space isn't obvious to the casual observer, as it is walled up with concrete blocks.  At some point in the future, Melanie plans to remove that wall and create a walkway from the rear parking lot to Main Street.  Until that happens, that expanse needed some dressing up.

First up was a coat of paint to blend it into the building front of 211 Main.  Although the color improved its appearance, it was still blah.  The solution...flowers!  Melanie took on the hanging task and drilled holes for screws.

 Next up, iron baskets filled with geraniums and vines with white flowers.  And, yes, Melanie is saying, "Are you really taking my picture?"

 The finished product.  Two iron baskets filled with colorful flowers.  These are new plants so they should grow and bloom profusely in the weeks ahead!

Isn't it amazing what a fresh coat of paint and a few flowers can do to improve the appearance of an odd space?  I love it!