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                • Our Old House by everyone's hero, Michael Streaman

                Old House My House

                Life in front of the camera and behind the scenes at a This Old House renovation.

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                • April 21, 2009

                  Our Old House by everyone's hero, Michael Streaman

                  finished interiors at this old house new york brownstone project

                  Here we are six months after the first sledgehammer hit and also our first time being filmed as a family for a national television show. As you can imagine, the last two months were insanely hectic as everyone involved in our renovation worked to finish the house for the final filming, the wrap party episode.  Now that the adrenaline rush has mostly dissipated, we are slowly reclaiming our house into our family's home.

                  finished kitchen at this old house new york brownstone project

                  The kids are having a blast--they adore the yard, their spacious room and the spiral staircase! They miss both whole crews--MRS and TOH--and love to pretend they are Michael Streaman with their toy tools and have memorized all of the dialogue in many of the episodes, including the ads! It's really funny because the parts of the house that were featured on the show seem larger than life to them. 

                  Kevin and I have been focused on the hard work of unpacking, organizing our lives over three floors and finishing up various things in the house (installing door/cabinet locks, retouching paint after the big wrap party bash, staining windows/doors).

                  finished interiors at this old house new york brownstone projectWe are thrilled that our last bathroom was finally completed yesterday! We predict that we'll be done unpacking in about two years...

                  We want to give endless thanks to Michael Streaman, our general contractor (M.R.S., Inc) for being so perfect for this exciting endeavor--for his astute design and functional input, his high standard of workmanship and his total dedication to the project. Thank you also to Mike's subcontractors, some of the best in NYC--Vinnie of SuperCharged Electric, Erik and Randy of Aladdin Plumbing, John Thomas woodwork restoration god and many more--and his own excellent crew, including Mario, Mike, Felix, Bolivar, Joseph Gregory, Jose, Wes, Stevie, Junior, Bobby, Louis and Nestor, for all of the hard, fast work, the long hours and for accomplishing it under the watchful eyes of an Emmy-award winning TV show and 24/7 webcams. Bravo, everyone!!! We are in awe of the results!

                  finished exterior at this old house new york brownstone project A huge thank you to the cast and crew of TOH for coming to Brooklyn, for being so great to work with, for your guidance with our project and for documenting it forever. We will always remember this incredible experience.Thank you also to the TOH sponsors!

                  And thank you for reading, watching and for your interest in our house.

                  The Shen/Costellos

                  Posted by Karen Shen | Categories: New York City - 2008-2009 | Permalink | Comments (4)

                  (4) Comments
                  Comment on this Blog

                  Your article caught my eye in the May issue of TOH. Kevin, did you happen to grow up in Kingston, NY? You look like a childhood friend of my brother's. [email protected]

                  Posted by: Diane|April 29, 2009 at 09:19 AM

                  Hi, really enjoyed the final show , betcha it was hectic the final days to say the least, BTW, what happens to all the furniture and accesories that the decorators bring in? Alot opf the stuff was yours but do you have the options to buy or does it all go back on the truck? GREAT JOB!!!!!!!

                  Posted by: gary|April 30, 2009 at 03:40 PM

                  I love kingston New York!

                  Posted by: Andy|May 8, 2009 at 12:27 PM

                  The interiors look awesome...and I am sure the kids will have a blast.

                  Posted by: Mold Testing Tampa |July 31, 2009 at 02:40 PM

                  Post a comment

                  The comments to this entry are closed.

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