When we gutted the hallway, we found some gorgeous wallpaper samples. It was badly damaged and falling to pieces, but I did manage to get some good photos of it before we decimated things. Here, you can see how it was applied – it may have gone all the way up the wall at some […]

In all my years of house voyeurism, I have never seen a bathroom with features like this: Notice that this is a one-piece – some serious flushing cabability! See the matching light fixtures, shelf bracket, towel rod, etc? I was amazed it was all a perfect match AND still intact, given that the house has […]

As promised, here are the photos of our hallway after my battle with the rainbow rug: The disintegrated carpet pad along with 2 out of 3 of the tools I used (the other was a hammer) The “after” shot. Ignore the unmade bed. A good shot of the pink tin tiles. You can see where […]

Thought I’d make myself feel better by posting a before and “during” (because of course, there’s always more work to be done to ALL our rooms) of our living room. It’s not great now, but it is MILES away from where it started……. For two young newlyweds on a budget, paint is the best thing […]

You may remember this pink and purple gingerbread Victorian from the neighborhood tour I posted a while back. It’s one of my favorites in town because of the incredible attention to detail. Everything about the exterior echoes certain design elements, right down to the flower trellises. It’s on the market now – the man who […]

Our curiousity got the best of us last night; Teague casually mentioned wanting to see inside the cupola, so I told him if he brought me a ladder and a light I’d climb up there. Ten minutes later, I was balancing precariously on the ceiling beams with a spotlight in my hand. I’d planned on […]

Thanks to all of you who have offered suggestions on obtaining/keeping insurance. You’ve given us some really great ideas. I’m working on the situation, and will keep you guys posted on how it works out. For your viewing pleasure, here’s the neglected back room that the insurance companies despise……. as you can see, it’s not […]

Our dining room was the first room we really plunged into. It was a room that we knew would look ok with just a quick facelift, so it has been our “showcase” room, the one that illustrates our house’s potential and keeps people from thinking we are crazy folk. I’ve been holing off on posting […]

I am in love with our town. It’s a tiny little place surrounded by farmland. We live about two blocks away from the main village, which is full of historic houses and storefronts. They call it “Canal Town” because the Erie Canal was a big part of it’s history. The canal was opened in 1825. […]

I nagged poor Teague about this unsightly mess until he finally got a chance to cut and wire-nut the cables… BEFORE: AFTER: This small change makes a big visual difference; it’s also twenty times safer than having fabric-wrapped wires hanging from your porch ceilng. The insurance company (and the neighbors) will be pleased.