06/30/2026
The butler's pantry! Where do I begin? We started on this room right after we bought the house. The Macys had used this room as a breakfast room. I believe it was converted from a traditional butler's pantry to a breakfast room in the later 1920's by CY & Laura Andrews when they lived here. We found an old newspaper in the wall from that time that had lots of ads for breakfast rooms stating that they were the new fashion.
I stripped the wall of cabinets on the southeast wall fairly soon after we bought the house. Under multiple layers & colors of paint was this gorgeous wood! Later, we were gifted the pass through cabinet by Derek Rushforth. It fit perfectly where the old shadow lines were that indicated there had previously been a cabinet in that spot. Another year later, David & Kelly Makin passed on 4 old cabinet doors from a built-in cabinet David had to remove in a home he was remodeling on N Fremont St. Russ was able to build a cabinet to fit those doors where I always wanted a sink. I even ordered the hammered copper sink & reproduction period wall faucet back then--maybe 4 years ago.
We had the plaster repaired & drywall done where the plaster was missing at least 3 years ago by Finishing Touches. The beautiful oak trim was coated with layers upon layers of paint i stripped. The baseboard in this room was mostly pine, so we replaced it with salvaged oak baseboard from the house that was torn down where the Hometown Federal Credit Union drive through is on E Ewing St. The baseboard cap piece was salvaged from the old apartment house that was torn down between the old Anglican Church (34 West Main) & Norris Insurance. Russ put up most of the trim early this year--later winter/early spring.
I picked out the wallpaper & tile last year. Anita Schetzsle helped me order the wallpaper in February of 2025 at Sherwin Williams here in Peru. It sat in its boxes until this Spring. There's nothing like a cancer diagnosis to kick you in gear to finally get things finished! I tried so hard to get it done before my surgery June 3rd, but it didn't happen. We laid the tile first & finished the wallpaper a few days before the surgery.
I've been very limited on what I could do, but my wonderful husband picked up the pieces and even did some of the pretty stuff! The backsplash is made from 2 old tin ceiling tiles I salvaged. Those tiles came out of the building between Hard Times bar & the Nickel Plate Saloon. I got those in the later 1990's & have held onto them all these years. Russ is the one who did the decorative painting on them . (That is normally my job!) He even helped with the decorating. The decorating still isn't finished yet, but it will get there. I used a white refrigerator because we already had it. It will do for now, but someday I'd like a black one. I will place a microwave on the middle shelf of the cart. We're using the microwave in our kitchen right now, so it will have to wait. Our goal is to eventually turn the home into a bed & breakfast. This butler's pantry will be accessible by guests to use for refreshments, etc.
We had to buy grout & adhesive for the tile, upholstery tacks for the tin backsplash, & the little wooden wall vessels that hold coffee condiments. Almost everything else I've had stockpiled too long. We still need to replace the windows & put the trim up around them (we have the trim). New windows will be ordered maybe next year when our finances are back where they should be from all these medical bills.
