Adventures in Building Beauty
20something first time home owners doing a top to bottom DIY overhaul of a neglected 1942 stick built home on 3/4 acres (3 lots). Learning as we going, sharing our foibles and successes along the way.
$15 Fall Decor Challenge: Reveal
- Details
- Published on Wednesday, 03 October 2012
Authors: Martina
Decorating for the fall $15 Challenge was harder than I thought it would be. For one, we have (embarrassingly) about zero clean surfaces right now, and no real seasonal-decor-focal like a mantle or coffee table in place. Add that to the fact that the singular dollar store in town only sells candy and novelties (what?) and this is...
$15 Fall Decor Challenge
- Details
- Published on Monday, 01 October 2012
Authors: Martina
It's October first and there is no denying it, autumn is here. The leaves have almost all turned fiery shades of red, orange and yellow, the mornings are frosty and the smell of wood smoke lingers on the breeze.
I don't have a great track record for seasonal decorating (or deadlines), the only thing you can be...
Loft: Sneak Peek
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- Published on Monday, 24 September 2012
Authors: Martina
Our loft has been needing a little (okay, a lot) of love ever since we moved in, but with bigger priorities (plumbing, heating, roof etc) it kept getting put off and put off until an embarrassing amount of time had passed.
{the loft circa 2009 move in}{main loft area-2009}
Even though the walls were built, wiring run, and...
Face Lift For An Old Rocker.
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- Published on Tuesday, 18 September 2012
Authors: Martina
Back in very late 2006 I was a new mom with very little money or space. So when My Uncle Bill generously offered me one of his (many..many!) rocking chairs saying "Every mom needs a rocker for her baby" I couldn't say no. It wasn't glamorous, it certainly wasn't my style, but it was comfortable, and it was free.
{dusty old...
Replacing Laminate Boards.
- Details
- Published on Monday, 10 September 2012
Authors: Martina
When we spontaneously converted our open-concept living room/dining room entry to a more reserved (but still wide) entry we had to remove a few planks of laminate so the new studs could be lain. Now that the studs are up and the drywall hung and painted for a while, it was time to finally put the floor back together.
Unfortunat...
Another Coat Of Paint.
- Details
- Published on Tuesday, 04 September 2012
Authors: Martina
Our kitchen has gone through it's share of growing pains as the most-painted room in the house, but I think this time, I finally nailed it.
{move in 2009}{green x2; 2011}
With no natural division between our kitchen and dining room and the whole open concept thing going on, it was practically impossible to reconcile two different...
Replacing A Stairwell Banister.
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- Published on Monday, 27 August 2012
Authors: Martina
The stairs to our loft are 'open concept' as is much of the main floor. There is no hand rail for pulling yourself up on or sliding down on, but there is an old wooden banister in the loft to avoid falling to your doom.
open concept stairsThe thing about the banister is that it's a little wobbly. Okay it's more than a little wobbly,...
Low Profile Lights.
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- Published on Friday, 24 August 2012
Authors: Martina
After installing our pendant lights in the dining room, it was hard to ignore some of the more awkward light fixtures that still remained to be dealt with. From the golden feathered hanging dome between the kitchen and dining room to the hanging dome that liked to stab tall people in the head as they walked past the loft banister...
Narrow Stairs Custom Canvas Sign.
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- Published on Thursday, 23 August 2012
Authors: Martina
The stairs to our basement are narrow (very narrow) though not too terribly steep, and more than a little bit boring. Wanting something to look at other than, well, stairs either when going down into the basement or walking past the (often open) door, I decided to whip up a little something on one of the canvases I had lying...
DIY Cube Ottoman pt.1
- Details
- Published on Monday, 20 August 2012
Authors: Martina
Even since before we moved into the house back in 2009 I've been on the look-out for an affordable ottoman or two. It didn't take me long to realize that the words affordable and ottoman don't often go together. After building our dining room table in 2010 for our one year home anniversary it dawned on me, maybe we could build one....
