If I could have any computer in the world, it wouldn’t be the super-slim Macbook Air (although that would be lovely). It’d be this beautiful behomoth named the “Computational Engine” and built by an artist who calls himself Datamancer. Honestly, I could care less how much RAM it has or whether it runs Windows Vista. […]

Saw this on Unclutterer the other day and could not resist sharing…. it’s the perfect gift for your favorite obsessive-compulsive crafter!

It’s called “The Original Scrapbox”, and is a seriously overblown version of an armoire-office. It even has a little pull-out work table. Ok, so the pricetag is a hefty $1,500… but think of all the […]

Photo of Mark Twain’s study - found at: http://www.galenfrysinger.com/mark_twain_elmira_ny.htm 
Yeah, I know - it’s freezing cold up here in New York and no one wants to take a walking tour in January. But this one is well documented online, so you can Victorian-house-peep from the comfort of your own home. One of our blog readers is […]

Saw this somewhere in the blogosphere and had to share… an innovative company called Reestore out of the UK takes everyday items and gives them new life. The Max sofa is my favorite:

Old clawfoots are sitting in yards and basements all across Upstate New York. Why not have a refinisher go crazy and alter it […]

I’m all for modern design and unique architecture, but this? This seems like a resell nightmare…

The toilet house was built by Sim Jae-duck, the chairman of the organizing committee of the Inaugural General Assembly of the World Toilet Association. Apparently he hopes his toilet house “will highlight the global need for better sanitation”. Hmmm…. […]

Our fall has, thus far, been one of the nicest in recent memory. We’ve had weeks of warmer-than-usual temperatures (tomorrow might hit 80!) and very little rain. It hardly feels like fall at all, except for the obvious reminders - pumpkins and potted mums on everyone’s front steps, leaves floating lazily to the ground with […]

When one stops mowing due to no-motivation-syndrome, marvelous things can happen. Your neighbors might despise you, but beautiful things will pop up all over your yard. Use this as an excuse to put off weed-whacking for a few more days:

Whatever that thing is, it’s cool - and about 4 feet tall at the moment. Kinda […]

I’m always drooling over Anthropologie’s feminine-and-antiquey-cool array of goods, from shirts to sofas. I’m pretty sure every female my age has a crush on that store, whether or not it exists in their city/state/universe. The closest one to us is in NYC, a 5+ hour drive, but the online shop is always open for window […]

As I often note when I post pics of our stairwell, we’ve yet to put railings up. About a year ago we ripped out two false walls that had been constructed where the railings originally were, and despite my most optimistic hopes there were no beautiful Victorian railings hiding between said walls.
We’ve been living without […]

As if HGTV has not sucked up enough of my time with their non-stop stream of DIY and renovation tv shows, their website has a new feature in beta that I could seriously get addicted to. It’s called “Rate My Space”.

Basically, you upload photos of a room in your house (or your garden, yard, etc) […]

My craft room “after” is so very, very close to being ready… one very stubborn shelving piece is all that stands between me and that great feeling of accomplishment I’ll get when I post the pics. But dammit, it’s one tough shelf - and last night a flat tire derailed my plans to conquer it. […]

After my last tirade about the weather, you might think Central New York does not get sunshine until July. But we had some good karma coming after all the shoveling we did this winter, and it came in the form of a gorgeous, cloud free weekend. Two entire days of sunshine and 70 degree temps. […]

In writing this post, I am going to reveal just how pathetic my life really is. Because last night while all the hip cats were out sipping tequila shots out of each other’s navels, my friend Tracy and I went to see a movie. This wouldn’t be embarrassing, except that our choice in movies happened […]

Nadja and Sean of American Four Square Renewel took our “wallpaper on the ceiling” cheat one step further, painting it copper. And the pictures look amazing! We’ve thought about doing a copper-colored fake tin ceiling in our living room, so I had to bookmark their post.

You might recall that we did a quick fix on […]

One of our commenters was interested in the colors used in our bathroom, so I thought I’d share the detailed info on our paint choices. I’m terribly in love with the way they came together.
We started the process by choosing a shower curtain - because as you’ll quickly learn, it’s infinitely easier to find (or […]

Photographer Phyllis Stewart has a great gallery of Victorian home photos, both interior and exterior. I came across these while searching for exterior color schemes for our upcoming (hopefully? if we can afford it? and if our sanity remains intact?) painting project. Because if all goes as planned, we want to start scraping and painting […]

When my parents got rid of all their personal belongings and hit the road, we became the proud owners of some really awesome antiques. One of my favorite pieces is the Edison Disc phonograph, which came from my father’s family and (I think) dates to around 1915. Here it is in our front entry room:

One […]

Ok, so we did a little DIY remodel in our kitchen with a teensy budget last year, and it came out pretty good. But Greg, over at The Petch House blog, has a kitchen that makes my knees weak. And he did it all himself, including the design and construction of some truly gorgeous custom […]

The photo-sharing community Flickr has got to be one of my favorite web tools EVER - second only to blogs, of course. Those of you using it need no convincing as to why it’s amazing. Those of you who aren’t… get over there and check it out! You can start with our Flickr gallery, which […]

As you’ve probably noticed, I have a serious addiction to pretty house things. Big things, little things, teeny tiny details that no one but me would ever notice…. the kind of stuff that makes your house unique and memorable and a reflection of you. Of course, it’s all just STUFF, and deep down I know […]