10 The Remodeling

When I bought the house at 100 East Bluff Street in Palouse, Washington, my intent was to tear out many walls and open it up. I wanted it more studio-like. I wanted it to be more like my “parrot” self and chose pastel colors for the palette. The parrot totem is whimsical, brilliant, and colorful. So I wanted to reflect that in the décor. And I had one piece of furniture, my chaise, and it was modern.

From my library studies, I knew I could remove up to 8 feet of non-load-bearing wall without structural danger. You can tell load bearing walls by looking in the crawl space or basement. If there is no wall underneath the one above, you're usually okay. I also knew, because of the 4-sided pyramid-shaped roof, the roof load was primarily on the outer walls. So I began demolition around June of 1990. This is a railroad house brought in on the railway around 1900. It's very strong and built of pine lapboard on all walls.

Nathan and Daniel were still young and they came up and helped. I documented everything with before-and-after photographs. The house has always been changing as our needs change. It's been nice to have that freedom to “take down” and “put up” as required. Of course, being who I am, I never got a license to make these changes and no inspections. The home always has had a homemade crafted look since I am no carpenter. But I've always felt competent with electricity and Terrie has taken care of our plumbing and auto needs (repairs and new installation.) I've kept the computers running.

Palouse has been a good place to live. Especially this location. We are close to the Grange. And the footbridge is close across the Palouse River. And there is a nature trail close by. There's a library branch downtown and a store and a gas station. And a couple of mechanic shops. And a high school.