Annabeth made her way to her new house. The one she already owned, the one she was going to have to furnish soon. That was the main reason she was here. She wanted a list of everything she needed ? and wanted ? before she went shopping. Oh a few things were obvious, bed, stove, fridge, couches, bookshelves. She had decided, however, that she wanted to go through the house room by room and take detailed notes to make things more organized.
Organization was never her strong suit. It was probably how she missed the fact that the two houses were adjacent in the first place. She wanted to do this right though, and that would require careful planning. Planning she had to do, this was her home, she would decorate it.
Once she came down the street, the house dominated the landscape. With three stories, each eleven feet high, it easily reached thirty-six feet into the sky, if not more. The octagonal tower grabbed the eyes first. The slightly unusual shape, the intricately carved woodwork surrounding the top, all worked together to capture the attention of passers-by.
The house itself was surrounded by a low cast-iron gated fence. The small front yard allowed enough room for a walkway to the door that bisected two patches of grass either of which would be ideal for a lawn table and chairs. Annabeth jotted down some ideas for that.
The side yards were little more than pathways to the back lawn. Annabeth conceded that some flowerbeds along the house would cheer it up a bit.
The back lawn reminded Annabeth of a British flower garden. Neglected, as it had been, everything was overgrown, and there were almost as many weeds and thorn bushes as trees. She could see the potential though, and she scribbled a note about a gardener. She wouldn?t need to worry too much about furniture, the stone walls and benches were still in place and intact as far as she could tell. Stonemason joined gardener in her notepad.
Making her way back to the front of the house, she jotted down plans to light the pathway. Then she stepped up onto the left hand porch and looked around.
?A wooden bench here, I think,? she muttered to herself imagining where to put it. It wasn?t big enough for a porch swing unfortunately.
A quick nod, and a fiddle with her keys, and she stepped into the entry hall. It was a large hall, with a winding stair along the back wall. A sideboard would go good there for odds and ends. A grandmother or grandfather clock of course, but she wasn?t sure where to put it yet. She?d need a coat rack too, since there wasn?t a closet in the hall. Two sets of sliding doors connected the hall with both the parlor and the dining room.
Sliding open the door between the hall and the parlor she glanced around the next room. A settee in the bay window, and a couch each along the left and right hand wall of the room. Her fingers danced along the paper as she committed thoughts to paper.
She strode to the windows on the left hand wall. Tall ? they stretched from nearly the floor to nearly the ceiling ?they looked over the front porch. While she studied them she felt no drafts slipping through the panes of glass. They may look old, but they were insulated like newer windows. The latch was in the center, a quick glance confirmed that there were hinges ? walk out windows. She?d heard about them before, but she?d never seen any. She carefully opened one of the windows gauging where to put the porch bench now that she knew the window opened.
After she latched the door tightly, she ran over to the windows on the other side of the room, and flung them both open. She trembled as the cold gust of air braced against her. She looked outside and tried to think about what should go out there. Rattan chairs maybe? Her face scrunched as she added that note with a question mark.
Once again, latching the windows, she turned toward the fireplace along the back wall. All that would need would be some pictures and knickknacks. But the center of the room, should she leave it open, or put a large coffee table in the center. In the end she compromised. A note for a smaller coffee table to tie the two couches and settee together and place snack foods. Perhaps some end tables in the corners near the couches as well.
The next sliding doors, led to the library. Built in bookshelves filled the walls, from floor to ceiling. She?d need to get a book ladder. Two windows led onto the front porch. The other windows looked out onto the side lawn. The fireplace on the left had wall, shared the central chimney with the fireplaces in the parlor and the dining room. A couple of couches in the center of the room would fill the rooms requirements. Well, that and a lot of books.
Another set of sliding doors brought Annabeth into the dining room. The fireplace would add elegance or coziness to meals had here. She would need a dining table, chairs, and a buffet. She glanced toward the back wall, imagining her family china sitting proudly in the two built in corner china cabinets.
In between the cabinets a wooden door led to the back rooms of the house. The powder room nestled in a corner between the dining room and the back stairwell. A hall connected the dining room with the kitchen, and served as an entry hall for the side porch.
Filled with cabinets, and a solid island, both of which required only minor repairs, all the kitchen really needed was a fridge and freezer, a stove, a sink, and probably a dishwasher and garbage compactor.
The door leading to the back stairwell was in the kitchen, and she carefully climbed to the second floor. The inspectors assured her that the building, including the stairs were structurally sound, but it never hurt to be careful, right?
The stairs let out in the upstairs back hall. Annabeth took the door just off the stairs leading to a small room that she planned to use as a study and practice area. It would need a desk, a chair, maybe a few props. She?d worry about that more later.
Making her way back through the hall she moved back toward the main portion of the house, and the room that she claimed for her own. It had the only en suite bathroom and the most direct access to her study. She jots down, ?Grandparents bedroom suite from storage,? and then moves on to the front hall.
The door leads out just at the end of the stairs from the entry hall. Above the downstairs hall is a large bathroom for the other two rooms to share.
The smaller of the two guest rooms rests above the parlor. A single bed, a desk and a wardrobe would fill it out nicely. The other room, a little larger in fact than Annabeth?s room, will receive a double bed, dresser, chest of drawers and a vanity.
The only room left is the tower room. Stepping out once more into the hallway she opens a wooden door leading to a small stairwell, and mounts the stairs cautiously.
The tower room is the only room so far that she doesn?t have a plan for. Other than coming up occasionally to enjoy the view. It might work well for storage if nothing else. A spring-loaded ladder rested against the ceiling, just under the door leading to the tower roof. That would be fun in the summer, but not so much right now, so she left it be.
Glancing down at her list, she nodded satisfied. Some of what she needed she had in storage on Earth, others she could probably pick up at antique stores. She had a plan, now she just needed to work out the budget.
((This is the last post I?ll be making for this thread. Thanks for reading.))
