Blog
Though this blog has not been updated in a few years, the posts with historic restoration project information is still regularly visited so I've continued to keep it available. I hope to post additional how-to and preservation projects in the future.
M.I.A.
Between the house(s) restoration, holidays, pet fiascoes, volunteer boards, crazy busy workload and everything else over the past years, I’ve really neglected this blog. So much restoration and work has happened on our houses, it will be nice to show off all we’ve finish, and share those disastrous projects that just didn’t work out very…
A quick holiday invite
My mother asked me to create an invitation for her staff holiday get-together. Not bad for an hour or so. Unfortunately I like it – a lot – so it’ll be tough to get it out of my head when I do our holiday greetings this year.
Bargain art – The Village Blacksmith
A nearby church has an annual garage sale and it’s HUGE. This is the second time I’ve been and I will definitely going back. Last year I think I found a few things, nothing I can remember specifically, but this year… this year I got something worth remembering! After a few historic home tours, Jeremiah…
Fighting for every inch
I decided to paint the office. This office has had several “I’m gonna….” moments. Each one is, to be honest, a stopgap until I can figure out what to do more permanently. About six months after we moved in I decided to assemble some cheap shelves to hold my processed vintage stuff… for now. About…
Suddenly sconces!
After a year of hoarding them in the basement, I finally got all three sets of sconces cleaned, refurbished, rewired and installed! I actually didn’t just hoard them. Shortly after buying the double-arm and rose sets, I attempted to rewire them but realized I was missing parts. Then I tried again a few months later…
Picture rail moulding cache
While my car is being repaired, I’ve been trying to be present to help when I can. Mostly I’m good as an extra set of hands, especially when those extra hands need to squeeze into tight spaces to retrieve dropped sockets or connect inconvenient plugs. Anyway, so to stay close to the action I’ve been…
I have a shop… again
Several years ago I started an online vintage store. It was an excuse to vintage treasure hunt and allowed me a to buy the most ridiculous, awesome stuff I found. Though it slowed some when I started working at the university, I closed up shop completely in early 2013 when we started looking for a house. Unfortunately, that left me with…
Chateau de Gudanes
Like much of what I follow and read, I have no idea how I found Chateau de Gudanes but I’ve been following the progress for a while now. If you’re interested in preservation and architecture you should probably visit the chateau on Facebook or their website. From what I understand, a couple from Australia was looking for…
New sun room!
As promised, I painted the sun room first in my new color scheme. I am so happy with the result! The paint is dark but with all the windows the room actually feels more defined. My homemade Roman shades also look great, as does my recently painted couch and mid-century chair. Everything has pulled together…
A real Finkton?
CAUTION: Nerd alert! I ran across a photo I’m sure I’ve seen but somehow didn’t really notice until I saw it after a night of playing Bioshock Infinite (again… for like the twelfth time, literally). As I’m sure I’ve noted, I’m the person who nerds out for more than the gameplay. I’m enamored with the architecture and atmosphere…
Picking colors for new paint… again
Shortly after we moved in – a whole year ago! – as is customary for anyone settling in to their new space, I stuffed my cart to the brim with home goods at Target. Among the less necessary things I bought were an adorable campaign style X-leg desk I had been eyeing for a while – in red, of course – as…
Windows Pt. 6 – Interior Trim Rehab and Installation
… And speaking of trim, the combination of water damage and bright north sun proved too much for it and nearly every piece was damaged. Mottled water spots, drip stains and overall bleached and dried, we weren’t sure what we could do without completely stripping and re-staining them, which would mean doing the entire set – and…