Perkins Place was built in 1949 and, as with many houses of that age, it has its quirks. It was originally built as a fishing cabin and consisted two bedrooms, a bathroom and the open-concept living room/kitchen area. At some point, a large Florida room and garage were added on the east side. In the 1970s, my granddad added a sunroom on the lake side.
One quirk is in the living room. What was once an exterior window was converted to a built-in wall shelf. My mom and grandmother kept collectibles on those shelves, but for the past few years, they have sat empty. At some point, someone had tacked mirrors to the back of the shelves, as people used to do in order to brighten their shelf space and show off both sides of their knickknacks.
Over time, the mirrors had lost much of their silver backing and were looking a bit like faded roses. It was time to take them down. I worried about how difficult they might be to remove and equally worried about what I might find behind them. As it turned out, they were held in place only by a few thumbtacks and all four mirrors came down in less than five minutes. The back of the shelves had been covered by plywood but it had been stained to match the walls. It’s not the most elegant shelf background but it isn't all that noticeable once the shelves are filled.
In keeping with my goal of making changes as inexpensive as possible, I brought in some pictures and books from my Indiana house. To coordinate with the adjacent kitchen theme, most of the pictures are from previous trips to Disney World.
The books are a mix of some written by my daughter, novelist Lea Ryan, and a few that I wrote. I also added a few of my grandfather’s Readers Digest Condensed books, just for old times sake. I intentionally left room for additional books that I am certain will be added in the near future.
One special new addition was the R.L. Perkins sign. The wooden piece with the lettering had once graced the mailbox out front. I painted an unfinished plaque from Michaels and glued the old mailbox piece to the it to create the memento of my grandfather's years in the home. The materials cost me roughly $10 but the sentimental value is priceless.
Next up: The Disney Obsession
Comments