Hello again! I hope you enjoyed my last post with our Downstairs Hallway reveal. Thank you for your nice comments! Now that things are finally moving a bit more quickly around here—at least for awhile—let's jump right back in for the promised Living Room Reveal. Since many of us like to get our bearings when we first enter a home, we'll start with the diagram I shared last time. Today, let's pretend you walked up onto our big ol' farmhouse (wraparound!) porch, rang the twist-to-ring doorbell, and stepped inside our home. The Living Room is on your right. As always, I like to show you where we began before sharing with you the rest of the story. If you're thinking this "before" picture looks like a ... Keep Reading...
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FARMHOUSE DOWNSTAIRS HALLWAY REVEAL: Welcome to our home!
Hello, HELLO, friends! It's hard to believe, but some of you were here twelve years ago today when I hit "publish" on my very first blog post. If you are one of those indefatigable friends, then all I can say is WOW— just wow—and thank you! That day so long ago I posted a fancy schmancy tablescape, and I had all sorts of mixed emotions when I threw my creation out into the world with no idea what sort of response it would get. But the response was positive and affirming and opened doors for all sorts of new friendships here in Blogland, and I am forever grateful. So today, as I throw out another creation, there are no mixed emotions; just relief that enough progress has finally been made on this old house renovation to share ... Keep Reading...
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MESSY before the BIG LEAP FORWARD: Our Old House Renovation Update
Today is a BIG DAY. It's been a reeaally long time coming! Remember when I wrote about The PUSH and PULL of renovating an old house? Well, even though we've worked hard to push forward the past few weeks, it still felt like the project was pulling us backward. Squeezing work in between responsibilities and travel is tricky—and waiting for helpers to be available (while worth the wait!) is slow. Several weeks ago we unloaded the dishes-filled cabinets in the dining and living rooms (in order to make them lighter) then moved the furniture to the center of each room. Everything was covered in plastic to protect it while the Sheetrock guys did their dusty work. And this is how we've lived for several weeks. ... Keep Reading...
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LOOKING FOR THE LIGHT: Turning a garage into a creative space
Hello all! I hope you're having a great week during this "almost" Spring season. We had several inches of snow last weekend—and dogwoods are beginning to open their buds today. And while the seasons are a-changing outside, we are making more old house changes inside! It might help you to have a little background so you can see the method to our madness. In the '80s—two owners back—our sunroom (which I'm told they called a "breezeway" and used as an office) plus a 3-car garage addition were added to the back of our small-town Victorian. Then, 20 years later, the next owners enclosed two bays of the garage and turned it into a family room. On the other side of this door is the ... Keep Reading...
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HOW LONG HAVE I BEEN THIS WAY? Looking for diamonds in the rough
The chair sat splay-legged like a pre-adolescent girl who forgot her manners—but I thought it was beautiful. Well, potentially beautiful. The pantry tucked away in the uninhabitable house sported burst canned goods and years of grime—but I envisioned it freshly cleaned, painted, and filled with dishes. Was I delusional? The vintage bedspread in its original box was so filthy no one else would place a bid—but in my mind, it was already pure white and laid across my guest room bed. I snatched it up for $25. res·to·ra·tion noun \ˌres-tə-ˈrā-shən\ : the act or process of returning something to its original condition by repairing it, cleaning it, etc. : the act ... Keep Reading...
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The PUSH and PULL of renovating an old house
Recently I had the pleasure of sharing our old house with a group of interior design students. One of the things we discussed is that when renovating an old house like ours, it's all about choices and tradeoffs. Unfortunately, since we had no option but to live in our house while renovating, one of the tradeoffs is that we make great progress, clean up the construction dust, take a deep breath for a short time—and then start the next messy project. We trade order for chaos—over and Over and OVER again. Some days it's exhausting. But then things start to come together, and (for a short while) it's exhilarating again. We catch a glimpse of THE END and like what we see! There's been a whole lot of that ... Keep Reading...
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WHEN WORLDS CRUMBLE: Connected by a sunflower
Today let's take a break from old house renovation updates and focus on something that really matters. Because let's be honest: There's a lot going on in our world right now, and we can't afford to be self-focused. Much has been said over the past few days on social media about the SUNFLOWER being the national flower of Ukraine. I didn't know that, but I, too, love sunflowers—and I love how that tidbit of knowledge made me feel "connected" with the people of that distant nation. Did the same happen for you? With prayers and support for the people of Ukraine, I'm reprising a post from years ago. A Garden of Sunflowers (Author Unknown) A garden of Sunflowers beckoned to me - Come ... Keep Reading...
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CHOOSING PAINT COLORS, COUNTERTOPS, AND TILE in our old house kitchen renovation
Welcome to the continuing saga of our old house kitchen renovation! I've told you about the beginning (when we decided to move the kitchen across the hall), the messy progress, and how we incorporated two old store display pieces into our project. Thankfully, as in real life, things looked progressively prettier for you as we went along. But today, things really start to improve! Let's begin by talking about COLOR. In 2006, when we renovated our first old house—a 1907 beauty a few blocks away from our current home—it was all about reds and greens and golds. But this 1908 small-town Victorian we're living in now told me from Day One she really loves blues—and brass. 😉 And so that's what she's ... Keep Reading...
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KEEPING THE PAST ALIVE: Incorporating two old store display cabinets into our old house kitchen renovation
Do you remember the sneak peek I gave you in my last post? I promised prettier pictures this time—and we'll get there!—but first a few more rough ones. I promise it'll be worth the wait! The first time we viewed this house, we noticed a treasure peeking out from behind a garage full of "stuff." My heart did a little pitter patter. In time, we decided to purchase the house, and we negotiated with the owners to leave the treasure behind. We were pretty sure they didn't really want to move it, so we were doing them a favor, right? We knew it would be a PROJECT, and the day finally came to tackle it! Who am I kidding? We tackled it for weeks—or was it ... Keep Reading...
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MESSY PROGRESS: Old House Kitchen Renovation Continues
When we bought our small-town Victorian a little over three years ago, this room was the previous owner’s office. It became our make-shift bedroom/office while we worked upstairs on the master bedroom . . . and then it became a tv room . . . and then my temporary office. All along, we knew it would someday be our kitchen. And "someday" finally arrived in January 2021 when we started demo-ing the space. I shared that glorious day with you a lonnng time ago in this post. You may wish to refresh your memory. We made wonderful progress, but (can you believe it?) the kitchen has been ALMOST finished for months. I've been waiting . . . and waiting . . . to show you the completed space, but I've decided to just go ahead ... Keep Reading...
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I discovered antique Valentines in a trunk!
On a recent trip to Texas to visit my parents, I had the privilege of helping sort through an old trunk that belonged to my great aunt, Florence M. Davis Youngblood. Aunt Floe was born in 1904, and some of the antique Valentines and ephemera I found in the trunk belonged to her grandmother. That makes them reeally old! Aren't they fancy? Just look at the beautiful embossed invitation to the St. Valentine's Day party. Gorgeous! And the lovely couple is actually a dance card with names on the back. 🥰 The trunk contained several Victorian calling cards. Here are a couple I especially like. I also LOVE the embossed treasure on the right! It appears to be a tiny box lid (approx. 2.5" ... Keep Reading...
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Taking a deep breath and speaking a word
It's been awhile . . . Without intending to, I took a break from blogging for most of 2021. After over a year of not being around our children and grandchildren (gee thanks, COVID), we finally had opportunities to be together! I know you'll understand why blogging took a back seat to family time. We continued working on our old house renovation, but back orders and sporadic help slowed us down. Renaissance Man and I plodded along with projects, but there were a lot of distractions and other obligations, and finding a life-work balance while renovating an entire house wasn't easy! My 2021 Word of the Year was INSECURITY, and I went head-to-head with that beast all year long. I dug deep ... Keep Reading...
