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The first in my series of travelogue videos about antique shops in Essex, Mass. features Andrew Spindler Antiques. Founded in 1998, Andrew’s shop displays an eclectic, highly edited range of objects, dating from the 17th through the 20th centuries. It’s an impressive, high-end collection recently touted on 1stdibs.com and mentioned again in The New York Times June 3rd story about Andrew’s home.
by Katie Hutchison for House Enthusiast and North Shore Art Throb
This week it was time to move my kitchen-window, wanna-be garden off the shelves and into raised beds at the community garden. The bean bush seedlings didn’t look like they could take another day in their undersized, peat pots, and the other seedlings seemed to be aching to get out of their confining starter tray too.
Sadly, some hadn’t made it to transplant day; the scallions and sweet peas met an early demise. Had I read the scallions seed packet I would have learned that it is “not recommended” to start them inside. But the bean bush packet says the same thing, and they were my star performers. There was more unheeded advice to be found on the sweet pea packet; “Soak seed in water for 12-24 hours or nick with sandpaper before planting.” But who can be bothered with the fine print?
I have, only upon this writing, made the horrifying discovery that my sunflower seedlings are of the “Mammoth Russian” variety, which the packet says grow six- to ten-feet tall! I had assumed “Mammoth” referred to the size of the flower head. Score one for the idjit gardener! How ridiculous those will look in the middle of my four-foot by four-foot garden. I think I’ll transport them to my mother’s garden where they will likely be more at home growing adjacent to her sizeable hornbeams.
The lettuce leaf and baby carrot seedlings, though healthy looking, were difficult to thin and transplant. I’m highly skeptical that any of them will survive the experience. The Italian Large Leaf basil was easier, but I may have packed too many into a square.
I have a feeling my eventual square-foot gardens will bear little resemblance to their initial appearance. O.K., I can hope. Think of the following video as the pitiful “before” shots we architects and designers are so fond of including adjacent to miraculous “after” shots. Here’s hoping for stunning “after” shots.
by Katie Hutchison for House Enthusiast
Waumbek, a cottage on Bustins Island, Maine, is one of roughly 100, mostly antique, small dwellings that ring the three-quarter-mile length of this summer community.
The deep porch, wrapping around the narrow, one and one-half story gable-end shades over-sized windows from harsh afternoon sun, while low window sills welcome softer daylight. Such generous windows can help a small space feel larger. I’ve written about the appealing pattern of “small house, big windows” in a previous design snapshot. The windows' black sashes add crisp borders, like eye-liner around twinkling eyes.
Waumbek is practically a porch with a house, rather than the other way round. The sizable porch adds invaluable outdoor-living space, furthering Waumbek’s surprising sense of spaciousness, considering its size.
Wide, cross-braced guard rails pick up on the broad strokes of the windows and ample porch, suggesting a more generous space than a busy, smaller-scale, baluster design would. Angled brackets on the porch posts quietly echo the cross rails and frame a more personable space between bays.
No surprise, I favor the gable-end treatment of green, accent shingles defining the tippy top, while a white, trim board, in-line with the second floor window-head trim, transitions to the yellow clapboards of the upper-middle section, above the lower porch roof.
To me, Waumbek is an ideal cottage, one to inspire future designs.
For additional reading about Bustins Island and its history, consider The Story of Bustins, a Maine Summer Island.
by Katie Hutchison for House Enthusiast
Recommended maritime event and presentation
I’m expanding my seasonal recommendation of tempting, regional, adult-education workshops, demonstrations, and presentations to include maritime as well as home, garden, and art opportunities. Take a look at my posts from previous seasons to get a sense of the many quality programs operating in the region. Enroll in a workshop, demonstration, or presentation on a lark, and get your creative juices flowing.
“Established in 1793 and cited as the birthplace of the fishing dory, Lowell's Boat Shop [located in Amesbury, Mass.] is a non-profit working museum and National Landmark that is dedicated to preserving and perpetuating the art and craft of wooden boat building,” according to their website.
Boats and Bagels
Instructor: Graham McKay
Saturday, June 5, 2010, 9:30 am – 12:00 pm
$45.00 (10% discount for members) ($25.00 non-refundable deposit required)
“A Morning at Lowell's Boat Shop. Come Row! Join boatbuilder and maritime historian Graham McKay for a morning at Lowell's Boat Shop. The morning begins with bagels and coffee. This is followed by a presentation of historic photographs of Point Shore, demonstrating a rich history of schooners and boat shops on the Merrimack River. Participants will be given an opportunity to row one of our renowned Lowell dories or skiff, with rowing instruction provided for the inexperienced. More competent rowers can join us for a rowing tour of Point Shore.”
(Events and schedules are subject to change so check program websites for updates.)
by Katie Hutchison for House Enthusiast
Click on this photo to see it in the KHS photo note cards/prints gallery.Recommended upcoming New England tours
Hidden Gardens of Beacon Hill (Boston, MA) Thursday, May 20, 2010 9:00 am – 5:00 pm
Concord Museum 21st Annual Garden Tour (Concord, MA) Friday-Saturday, June 4-5, 2010 9:00 am - 4:00 pm
South Windsor Garden Tour & Plant Sale (South Windsor, CT) Sunday, June 6, 2010 9:30 am – 4:00 pm
Farmington/Unionville Friends Kitchen and Garden Tour (Farmington/Unionville, CT) Saturday, June 12, 2010 10:00 am – 4:00 pm
Guilford Secret Garden Tour (Guilford, CT) Saturday, June 12, 2010 10:00 am - 4:00 pm
Newburyport Annual Garden Tour (Newburyport, MA) Saturday-Sunday, June 12-13, 2010 10:00 am - 4:00 pm
Charlestown Gardens by the Sea (Charlestown, RI) Saturday, June 12, 2010
New Castle Village Walk and Garden Tour (New Castle, NH) Sunday, June 13, 2010 1:00 pm - 4:30 pm
Portsmouth Pocket Garden Tour (Portsmouth, NH) Friday-Saturday, June 18-19, 2010
South End Garden Tour (Boston, MA) Saturday, June 19, 2010 10:00 am - 4:00 pm
Newport Summer Secret Garden Tour (Newport, RI) Friday-Sunday, July 9-11, 2010 10:00 am - 5:00 pm
Provincetown Art Association and Museum Secret Garden Tour (Provincetown, MA) Sunday, July 11, 2010 10:00 am - 3:00 pm
Camden Garden Club House and Garden Tour (Camden, ME) Thursday, July 15, 2010 9:30 am - 4:00 pm
Pittsfield Garden Tour (Pittsfield, MA) Saturday, July 17, 2010 10:00 am – 4:00 pm and Sunday, July 18, 2010 noon – 4:00 pm
Private Gardens of the Kennebunk’s Tour (Kennebunk, ME) Saturday, July 17, 2010 10:00 am - 4:00 pm
Nantucket Annual House & Garden Tour (Nantucket, MA) Wednesday, August 11, 2010 11:00 am - 4:30 pm
The Garden Conservancy’s Open Days:
Connecticut: Fairfield County June 6, 26; July 18, 2010
Connecticut: Litchfield County June 13, 20, 26; July 25; August 29, 2010
Maine: York County July 24-25, 2010
Massachusetts: Marblehead June 27, 2010
Massachusetts: Martha’s Vineyard June 28, 2010
New Hampshire: Monadnock Region/Greater Manchester June 26-27, 2010
New Hampshire: Hanover June 26, 2010
Vermont: Lake Champlain Valley June 19-20, 2010
Vermont: Upper Valley June 26, 2010
