Built-In Stone Bench Ideas for our Backyard
If I was going to rank backyard landscaping features on their coolness factor, a built-in stone bench around a firepit would be near the top of the list. Not to mention, it’s an introvert’s type of landscaping. I want you to be comfortable enough, feel welcomed, and have the best time, but I don’t want you to feel so comfortable that you stay forever. Hahahaha! But, seriously, I need my sleep. We have a spot in our backyard that would be the perfect place to add a built-in stone bench. In the below photo, it’s the spot to the right of the wood steps. There’s already a rock wall there.…
Check Out Our Newly Painted Carriage House
Cue the celebratory dancing because I am beyond excited to be able to share our newly painted Carriage House on the blog today! I’m still pinching myself because the transformation, thanks to paint, was so dramatic. I hate to use the cliched phrase “the power of paint,” but I haven’t come up with a better alternative phrase! The power of paint is next level on this project. But first! What is a Carriage House? It sounds so fancy, doesn’t it? Trust me – ours is not at all fancy. Originally, a carriage house would have been a building to store a horse-drawn carriage and the related horse tack. It could…
Colonial Farmhouse Two Year Anniversary
Put on your party hats, people! Today is our Colonial Farmhouse Two Year Anniversary! It feels like we’ve lived here for only a minute and also forever, but in reality it has been exactly two years. Two years is actually a long time for us to live in any one place. It is usually a little before the two year mark that I get the itch to move. I get antsy for change. Ready for a new adventure. I’m not saying I don’t have that itch now, but that antsy feeling is tempered by our life stage and changing priorities. Plus, I have plenty to keep me busy around here!…
Updating Our Home With Antique Hardware
We have been replacing “modern” door and cabinet hardware with antique hardware in our Colonial Farmhouse and it is surprising how big of a difference it makes to the overall look and style of our home. I’m using the term modern very loosely. In a house that is 240 years old, anything in the last 100 years could be considered modern. Most of the hardware we’ve replaced is probably 20 – 30 years old. I doubt it was installed as a style statement, but more of a practical response to a “this cabinet door no longer stays closed” situation. This modern hardware didn’t look bad. It didn’t look good. It…
How to Fill Gaps in Wood Floors with Oakum
For the small percentage of you living in really old houses (bless you!), let me share one of the more historically accurate ways to fill gaps in wood floors with oakum. This is the information I needed when we bought our Colonial Farmhouse and didn’t know what to do about the gaps between the original wood floorboards. I had to comb through the internet to find bits and pieces of information, so I’m combining what I learned all in one place with links out to the information that helped me. If the gaps in your wood floors don’t bother you, leave them. But if your kids can push things through…
The Great Barn Loft Clean Out
Last month we tackled The Great Barn Loft Clean Out. Did we accumulate THAT MUCH junk in less than two years of owning the Colonial Farmhouse that we needed to clean out the barn loft? No. But… Here’s an itty bitty detail that’s important to this story. We had never looked in the barn loft before last month. That’s right. We bought the property with the barn loft sight unseen and then ignored it for almost two years. Who does that? Us, apparently. In our defense, the loft doors were nailed shut and it’s not like we weren’t busy dealing with all the other problems this money pit house of…
Which Category of Kitchen Art Do You Have?
I’ve thought a lot about it and applied zero scientific reasoning to my theory, but it seems to me kitchen art falls into 5 categories: Food themed because it is a kitchen, DUH! Non-food themed because you have a rebellious streak. Child-themed because your refrigerator is covered in child masterpieces. Just a clock because the clocks on the appliances aren’t enough to get you out of the house on time. Who are we kidding? Nothing gets you out of the house on time. No art at all because minimalism is grand. Actually, there could be a bunch of reasons for no art at all, but being a minimalist has a…
Built-In Computer Desks One Year Later
When we constructed built-in computer desks for our kids we didn’t do it with a pandemic and remote school in mind. Our pessimistic nature really let us down on that front. We just needed a place for our kids to realize their lofty career aspirations of becoming YouTube stars that play Roblox and Fortnite. See how supportive we are? Not supportive enough to give them cushy chairs to make them comfortable dabbling with this dream though. We truly didn’t anticipate the office and those built-in computer desks becoming the hardest working space in our house besides the kitchen. The kitchen is always the hardest working space, right? But then the…
Colonial Farmhouse Kitchen Mini Makeover One Year Later
Do you know what I enjoy more than a room makeover reveal? Learning how that makeover is holding up over time. Instead of the pretty spaces, give me all of the hard-working, well-loved spaces that shine. Last January we did a Colonial Farmhouse Kitchen Mini Makeover that mainly involved staining the cabinets and changing the backsplash grout color in our kitchen. To get the full impact of this kitchen mini makeover I need to take you on a quick trip down memory lane. The below photo is how the Colonial Farmhouse Kitchen looked when we purchased the place in June 2019. I know I say this every time I show a before picture, but that…
Colonial Farmhouse Upstairs Bathroom Before
Our Colonial Farmhouse upstairs bathroom has remain untouched since the day we moved in. In many ways, this upstairs bathroom has likely remained untouched for at least half a century. It is a bathroom time capsule! We all know in every time capsule there is something tucked inside that makes you say, “Why was that put in there?” All the things in this time capsule make me say that. After almost two years of living in the Colonial Farmhouse, I’m finally ready to give this upstairs bathroom a small update. Here’s a taste of how the upstairs bathroom looks in all its “before” glory. Hmm…was taste the wrong word to use for a sentence about…
