Check Out The Terracotta Floor We Found
I frequently joke that I’ve been searching for hidden treasure since we bought our circa 1780s home five years ago. I only joke to downplay the fact that I am a grown adult who thinks this could actually happen to me. Crazier things have happened in New Jersey. I grew up reading books where the plot lines contained treasure maps and old buildings with secret rooms and hidden passageways. My imagination runs wild but it’s not implausible to think there are gold coins or Prohibition-era liquor buried around here somewhere. Unfortunately, I haven’t found anything newsworthy yet but it turns out a treasure of sorts was hiding underneath a bunch…
Happy List: #358
Hi! Welcome to this week’s Happy List. I’m delighted that you are here on Friday the 13th! This week on the blog I shared an epic stone fireplace transformation. I still can’t believe the difference a little (okay, a lot) of elbow grease made. I also shared the tiny makeover I gave to our exterior lights this summer that made a big difference! Those lights look much more expensive than they actually were now. As always, thank you for being here today. It makes my day to share things with you that interested me, made me smile, or made me think this week. I hope it makes your day too.…
How To Add Copper Accent To Exterior Lighting
Plain to pizazz! Let me show you how to easily add a copper accent to exterior lighting that will take those lights of yours to the next level. All you need is a little hammered copper paint. Any copper paint would probably do, but I’ve been using a quart of Rust-oleum’s hammered copper paint on everything I can get my hands on. It has a gorgeous finished texture courtesy of some magic I don’t quite understand the hammered effect. Plus, I tend to think brushed-on paint lasts longer than spray paint when it comes to outdoor applications. Here’s how the porch light on our Carriage House started. I bought it,…
An Epic Stone Fireplace Makeover
I have an epic stone fireplace makeover to share with you. The fireplace makeover to end all makeovers. Nothing will top this. If you can’t tell, the whole reason I have a blog is to be able to make ridiculous declarations. Haha! But this stone fireplace makeover IS really, really good. As is the running theme with this fixer upper of ours, most of our makeovers involve removing the unnecessary layers to reveal the beauty underneath. The unnecessary layer in this story is the two inches of lime mortar that was skimmed over the fireplace. Eventually, given enough time and exposure, the lime mortar will start to flake off the…
Labor Day Break & Fall-Inspired Reads
Happy Labor Day to those in the U.S. who are enjoying the day off. I’m not just enjoying one day off. I’ll be enjoying the rest of the week off! I like to take time away from the blog when Handy Husband and the kids also have some time off from work and school. To those of you with kids going back to school this week, I wish them all the best! I hope they aren’t too nervous and that they have the nicest teachers. If you want something to read, check out one or all of these fall-themed blog posts. Fall Mantel With Leaf-Stamped Wood Rounds Vintage Toolbox Fall…
Happy List: #357
Hi! Welcome to this week’s Happy List. I’m glad you’re here. This week on the blog, I shared the drone pictures we received of our home. That was the best. I have an aerial photo of this house from the mid-1990s too. I’d do a side-by-side comparison, but it’s hard to see the house in the older aerial photo due to all of the tree coverage. I also answered the question no one asked. Why is there so much wood in an old stone wall? As it turns out, there are so many reasons and I have photographic evidence. You can read about that here. The picture at the top…
Wait! There Can Be Wood In a Stone Wall?
Yes, there can be wood in a stone wall. Go figure. We’re turning our 250-year-old carriage house with stone walls into a gym. The stone needs to be repointed (outer layer of lime mortar removed and replaced) and you might be surprised at how much woodwork has been required in the course of this project. Nothing is ever simple with old houses. I should put that saying on a T-shirt. Might make enough to buy myself a cup of coffee. Where are you likely to find wood in a stone wall? Nothing would surprise me (also a great t-shirt slogan) but we’ve found wood most commonly in four different places…
Drone Photos of Our Home
When we had our siding redone, the siding company took drone photos of our home and sent them to me! Best. Thing. Ever. I’m not even kidding. This was like Christmas in August for me. But it was better because I didn’t have to pretend to be surprised by what Santa had brought me. These drone photos remind me of how far we’ve come in the last five years in reclaiming the property and restoring this home. The below photo of the side of our house shows what it used to look like in July of 2019. I don’t know much, but I do know that you shouldn’t “hide your…
Happy List: #356
Hello, hello! Thank you for joining me for this week’s Happy List. It is so good to have you here. This week on the blog I wrote in detail about one little piece of trim on our windows – the drip edge. Who would have thought I had so much to say about one little board? I also shared the messy middle of our stone carriage house gym conversion. (That’s a mouthful.) It’s literally the most messy project but progress has been made. As always, thank you for being here today. It makes my day to share things with you that interested me, made me smile, or made me think…
Messy Middle – Stone Carriage House Gym Conversion
The messy middle of any project, but especially converting a stone carriage house into a gym, feels exceptionally long. Sometimes it actually is long. I realize time is annoyingly relative. A long time for you might be nothing to me and vice versa. But trust me when I say that when the hours turn into days then weeks of repointing stone walls, you’re allowed to say and feel that the messy middle of this project is taking way too long. I don’t make the rules. I do love to whine about them though. Here’s where we started with the stone carriage house gym conversion. Yes, there is a fireplace wall…
