A collection of articles and posts about home improvement projects and topics with ideas, inspiration, and how-to instructions, from the practical to the whimsical.
You won’t find any high-end HGTV-style makeovers here. Instead, you’ll find budget-friendly tips to update your space or keep your vintage home in good repair. We’re not building professionals, but I grew up around the trades and have worked on a number of historic homes while living in them (with a shoestring budget).
We’ve got an interest in historic preservation and thoughtful updates, plus DIY restoration projects and tips and tricks to save you money.
Well, it’s been really quiet around here for a long time. A full-time, grown-up job (that I love) at a start-up climbing gym, working long hours has left little time for writing and updates. Things have been pretty much in a…
When you have a *very* limited budget, a bucket of paint is one of the best tools in your toolkit. Let me show you a kitchen story of a complete transformation on an Oops! paint budget… it’s a kitchen paint makeover that…
Here are a couple progress shots of the paper bag floor with the brown builder’s paper layers glued down over the old, rough, gouged softwood floor. There are some spots that need regluing, especially at the corners and edges, but trim molding…
It’s Throwback Thursday… or Truth Be Told? Either way, it’s a beautiful day. Crisp, but the sky is a clear and cheerful robin’s egg instead of the bottom of a bucket of grey mopwater that we’ve been staring up into for days….
After debating whether and how to soffit this weird drop ceiling that was left exposed when I took down the wall and other even lower drop ceiling at the back of the master bedroom, we decided it should go. The plaster underneath…
But sometimes you have to take a break! Moving house, plus the critters, into yet another work-in-progress has been pretty overwhelming. Thank god this one’s closer to done in many ways than the past two projects… But here we are! And with…