Annie has truly made their house a home for her and the kids over the last year. To say that it's warm and inviting is an understatement--with Annie as your hostess, it's no surprise that you feel like part of the family when you are visiting. It's wonderful to see the life that is lived inside this home!
It's been a long wait for a professional mason to come "fill in the gaps" in this old fireplace, which was kept for viewing pleasure only. Paul was excited about keeping this blue stone exposed! Hopefully this "last piece" will be done this year.
After 5 weeks, Phil Costanzo stayed on for a few extra days to create some beautiful details around the house-this is one example and it's the first thing you see when you walk in the house!
Scott and Karen Cruess took a family road trip to visit and bring Ann some beautiful furniture from a generous soul in Northern VA. This is one o the pieces-with Ann and children's Christmas artwork displayed.
This wall holds some beautiful family photos and was re-painted during the year to be more "kid hands friendly!" It's a great color that blends well with the other colors that Ann chose-she sure has good taste!
This handrail was one of the final touches to the house. That wall behind the stairs was re-built and extended during the project.
The guys did a great job with a high rail that the adventurous Coakley kids can't easily climb over!
Getting heating and air into a 100+ year old home with no ductwork wasn't part of the original plan. Paul and Ann had various heaters that they had planned to use, along with AC units. Thanks to the generosity of so many, Ann was able to have a full ductless HVAC system installed with units in each room!
Getting heating and air into a 100+ year old home with no ductwork wasn't part of the original plan. Paul and Ann had various heaters that they had planned to use, along with AC units. Thanks to the generosity of so many, Ann was able to have a full ductless HVAC system installed with units in each room!
Ann's wonderful mother, Susan Brindle, made this wall in the boys' room (from Jane Eleven Photography). If you knew Paul, or have come to know him, you know he WAS a super man.
Caeli's room is so sweet and all girl-as you can tell
Mike Eck built this great custom mantle for Ann's room (as well as the window seat), and it now supports so many beautiful gifts and memories that Ann has received friends near and far.
This is another beautiful piece brought over by the Cruess family, supporting a donated TV-Hope Bruce Harrison not only cooked food for the crew multiple times, but she came back with this great TV for Ann's oasis.
As you can imagine, Ann has her hands full-it's so great to see her beautiful bedroom and the retreat that this offers her.
Caeli was instructing which pictures people would like to see, and so here you have another view of Ann's room, with Caeli looking on to ensure it's being captured!!
A lot of mouths are fed in this beautiful kitchen! The appliances and gorgeous custom cabinets were all donated by some incredibly generous people--it's truly Ann's dream kitchen!
This is the area that you're in when you enter the house (back to kitchen). The 2x2 window up top is one of the original windows from the house. Like the wood that wrapped the beams in the kitchen and living room, it was great that Jason and the crew were able to salvage old pieces of the house, knowing the history and memories made there years ago.
Annie's brother-in-law, John, planted trees in between the house and the road that will provide fruit as well as a barrier! Can't wait to see these trees in start producing in a few years!
More trees in the "Coakley Orchard"
The contractor did a really nice job blending the external "duct work" in with the house
These pictures immediately make us think of the generous hearts that made it possible for Ann to have this system installed. Especially because her and Paul had gotten an estimate months before and decided it was not something they could afford. What an awesome thing to see the result of such generosity!
Great generosity=new roof! The old roof could have lasted, but it had leaks in it, and would need repaired within a few years. So, again, through the generosity of so many, Annie was able to have a new roof put on so that her new house was well-protected!
This room has housed many visitors over the last year and many more will come in the future to visit Ann, the kids, and Paul's final resting place. Note the guest book journal on the table :)
This wall of cabinets was designed specifically for this space and it is awesome!
Walking back from Paul's final resting place, you get the best view of the house, including one of the two decks that the Christian Appalachian Project team built in 1 weekend. When they framed the house, Paul wanted a side door placed there because he wanted to eventually build a deck...Ann is so glad that they planned for that-it is now a great space for them to enjoy dinner in the summer.
See Ann walk Christian, Damian, and Caeli through the house for the first time!
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