Fairmount Estate

09/01/2024

I'm a little late getting this post out there, but I just wanted everyone to know that George and I sold the property in late 2023 and have been living in my hometown in Indiana for a few months now. Not only has George always loved this city, but we're now only an hour and a half away from the kids and our grandson over in Ohio instead of almost seven hours. THAT makes all the difference in the world to us. Thank you to everyone who followed along on our journey to bring an old, condemned mansion back to life. Yes, it was a lot of work, but we never regretted taking on the project. We had a plan from the start and saw it through to the end. Everyone's supportive comments and compliments helped motivate us when we needed that extra boost. Although we never intended the house to be our forever home, we're so glad we could make the house "shine" again for Bristol. The Fairmount Estate project truly is, and will always be, one of our greatest accomplishments. Kim and George Noll

10/29/2022

My 68th birthday with old friends and new friends from York England…great times!

10/26/2022

The trees are always so pretty, we really don’t mind the leaves.

09/07/2022

Our summer project - the deck and pavilions in the back yard. Because we wouldn't know what to do with ourselves if we didn't have a "project", right?

06/14/2022

4:30 a.m. vibes, just before the storm.

06/05/2022

The small niche outside the Boiler Room has always gone unnoticed...until now. A new deck was built and stained, after which I mounted my metal Puffin mounted to the rail. The door leading into the Boiler Room was treated to a new awning, trim work, and glass. The old patio furniture used on the Front Porch years ago received a facelift and dressed with new cushions. Ms. Neutral Colors here went outside her comfort zone by adding an orange rug. And finally, string lights were added to give the space just the right amount of an "it's summer, let's party" vibe. Another fun task checked off the list!

05/27/2022

I think the guy who draws Arlo & Janis has secretly been following George and me around in order to gather material for his comic strip.

05/21/2022

Remember the vintage iron patio furniture we picked up for a song back in February? Well, after being scrubbed, painted and dressed with new cushions, it's now enjoying a new life on our front porch.

05/21/2022

The first home Munsey and Maxie Slack built together as husband and wife is now for sale in Johnson City.

For sale This 6674 square foot single family home has 6 bedrooms and 6.0 bathrooms. It is located at 214 E Watauga Ave Johnson City, Tennessee.

02/05/2022

I need to say this first. I understand what I like may not be to everyone’s tastes. This may be one of those times. But I love it, George thinks it looks cool, and it’s our house. One of my many pet peeves is when someone posts something they think is lovely and then people come out of the woodwork with their unsolicited, negative opinions. If we only all lived by that old adage, “If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all.” Okay, now that I have that off my chest, here’s the story of our Breakfast Room wall.

I consider myself an “artsy” person. The ten years it took us to finish this project really tapped into that side of me. But during the break we took from working on the house, that part of me was ignored. So much so that the stencil pattern I’d used a few years ago in the Breakfast Room had gone from “I really like that” to “man, that’s boring.” The wall needed a little something “extra”, but I just couldn’t put my finger on what that “extra” was. And then I remembered an episode of HGTV’s One of a Kind where the decorator covered the walls of a homeowner’s Butler’s Pantry with antique spoons and an idea started to take root in this crazy brain of mine. After a lot of time spent Googling, I found it. I found the “extra.”

Vintage children’s silverware marketed under the name “Like Mother’s” that was produced in Germany in the 20’s and 30’s. Noll is a German name, and this house was finished in the late 20’s, so I took that as a sign to find and buy as many sets of Like Mother’s that I needed for my project. The result is subtle but interesting, and we absolutely love it. Again, it’s not for everyone, but it is perfect for us.

Just wait until you see what I do with the box of 1,000 wine corks that arrived the other day.

02/05/2022

The Deal I Stumbled Upon This Week!

The plan is to use all our current patio furniture to fill the pavilions in the back yard. Which is all well and good, but then what am I going to put on the front porch? With the porch being 100’ in length, I’ll need something more than just a simple table and chair set. Hhhmmm, something vintage that would go with the house would look good. Maybe have a seating area at one end, outside the Morning Kitchen, where we could sit and chat, entertain friends or just watch our neighbors and their dogs walk up and down the street. And maybe a dining area outside of George’s office where we could sit, enjoy a meal and watch life go by in the neighborhood.

So…early Tuesday morning I checked Facebook Marketplace for patio furniture and found the cutest vintage table and chairs in Kingsport for just $275. I jumped all over it, found out it was still available and scheduled a time we could see it that very night. But get this! It wasn’t until AFTER I’d scheduled our meeting with the seller that I went back and looked at the picture again. Or, I guess I should say PICTURES because there wasn’t just one picture…there were four. It wasn’t just the table and chairs for sale for $275, it was the dining table and four chairs, a lounge chair, a side chair, an end table, and a 3-cushion sofa. AND then when we got there, I found out there were actually TWO end tables. So, ten pieces of vintage wrought iron patio furniture for $275!

With a little power washing, a little spray painting, and some new cushions, everything will be and look perfect. Speaking of cushions, I found the perfect ones, picking up on the colors of the house. Sssh, just between us, I’d only meant to put the cushions in my online basket. But somehow, I mistakenly ordered all my new cushions, and THEY SHOULD BE HERE NEXT WEEK. Yes, I’ve confessed my “mistake” to George and, like always, he just shrugged it off. He’s the best. Not only is my husband great at understanding, but he can back into a skinny driveway with a trailer attached like nobody’s business. It impresses me every time! I can’t even back up the lawn mower and little wagon without jackknifing and eventually walking away in disgust.