its funny
i am still having a hard time laughing about this. but those we told generally find it hilarious. so here you go.… Read the rest
The Power of Paint
paint has an amazing power — one in that it transforms the look of whatever it is you are painting, and two that it can take hours for your to chose the perfect shade. so after considerable time invested into researching whites for trim and doors in the house I settled to Benjamin Moore’s Minced Onion. I wanted a more creamy white that is similar to the ones you would see in old apartments and homes.… Read the rest
New Toy!
I finally have one of my own! So very exciting — cause Sergey’s got lots and lots of tools and until recently I had none. I have been eying sanders ever since we did the kitchen cabinets and finally ordered one from amazon a couple of weeks ago.
well, let me just say, sanding with an electric palm sander is a whole lot easier than doing it manually.… Read the rest
To Strip or Not to Strip?
That is the question you should all be asking when staring at old door with layers of paint. I am on a quest to get all hardwood doors for the VIB. And obviously without a money-pit, we have to get them second-hand, which means they have tons of paint on them. But you known, I think being old and all gives the doors, what do they call it, character!
Anywho, back to the door.… Read the rest
Mini-Salvage Trip
As I mentioned, part of my excitement for the Baltimore trip this past weekend was definitely the salvage stores.
I have already talked about Loading Dock on this blog. We got lucky again with hardware, picking up a whole bunch of drawer pulls , whose new home is tbd. And found an outdoor light for just $1!
I think Loading Dock is my winner for low prices award.… Read the rest
Pick, pick, picking away
Peeling paint is sort of like blisters, there is an irresistible urge to pick at it. This is what happens when you give in:
I guess one of the previous VIB occupants, at some point in the house’s 100 year history, was into gold. I suppose the current state of pocket door trim will encourage us to take care of these sooner rather than later. I am not quite sure who to call about restoration of pocket doors though.… Read the rest
House Project Weekend! Sometime last week we came up with a brilliant idea of dedicat
inside the salvage store
kitchen cabinets anyone?
door knobs
to the roof!
House Project Weekend!
Sometime last week we came up with a brilliant idea of dedicating a whole weekend to house projects so that we can get situated and finally make a dent in our to do list. Well the weekend is almost over – we have done lots. But it turns out that the brilliant idea of getting a bunch of projects done just doesn’t work all that well when you have a million and one tasks.… Read the rest
Week two at Victorian in Bloom was exciting, mainly because of the prospect of being able to do l
The only original door in the house
No Go
Week two at Victorian in Bloom was exciting, mainly because of the prospect of being able to do laundry. We had decided that of all expensive purchases we can make, we would get a washing machine (no dryer yet – hello line dry) as it should last (hopefully) awhile and the look of the machine doesn’t matter very much – unlike for kitchen appliances, which would be a rather silly purchase since we don’t know what we want our kitchen to ultimately look like.… Read the rest
Thinking Logically Day 2 in the house brought drainage problems, as it poured
exhibit 1 – before trauma
exhibit 2 – before trauma
face i make each time i touch a hammer
yea, working hard.
exhibit 1 – post trauma
pocket door surprise
exhibit 2 – post trauma + pocket door!
now we can walk through walls.
Thinking Logically
Day 2 in the house brought drainage problems, as it poured rain for 2 days straight. As a result our basement flooded and Sergey spent a good portion of the day playing digging in the mud, in an attempt to fix the problem.… Read the rest