How to tell when you'd be in over your head?

There is a house for sale a few doors down. We've had our eye on the house because 1) we're suckers for houses that look like they need love and 2)It has lot that's double the size of ours.

This house has a lovely double tombstone door and it looks inviting enough from across the street.


But when you notice plants growing up and out the side

The sagging porches

with the bees flying from a hole in the siding


The snow fence left over from the garage/barn that imploded last winter during a heavy snowstorm

It makes you think twice.

The yard, currently overgrown and not level, has potential. I hate to say the house is a knock-down but I highly doubt there would be much worth saving, since I know there is at least 1 window that's been busted for over 3 years and its been a rental for more than 5 years.

I am waiting for a return call from the realtor, hoping a tour will push me off the fence. I'm just not sure which side of the fence I'll be happy to land on!

Come to the light...

I have been searching for the perfect set of wall sconces to flank the bed in the guest room and the search was over when I saw these from 1st dibs posted on Maison21.

I wonder how you turn them on?

Be our guest, be our guest

The Smallest-Guest-Room-In-The-World needs a makeover. This room has gorgeous pumpkin pine floors, which only appear in 1 other room in the house, but the room is so small I feel pangs of guilt every time I make someone stay in there. If it had a new coat of paint and some atmosphere, I wouldn't feel so badly about treating my house guests like sardines.

I looked through old Domino Magazines for inspiration.



Do you think its true that a bold color would make it feel larger? I think a dark blue like this would make people sleep better, but I'm not sure it would really feel any larger.


I love the gray upholstered headboard and the nail-head trim that is everywhere now. This blue on the wall seems cheerful too.
I love these twin beds in gray with the matching curtain, but I don't know about the Bone White paint on the walls. It just looks dingy to me.

I'll post a "before" picture as soon as I find one that isn't too hideous.

What a strapping guy!

The strapping is up on the basement ceiling and the lights have been temporarily placed. Yes, we know they're upside down, we just want to make sure we have enough lights in the right areas.

Its almost time to really design the mudroom area of the basement. Time to figure out Google Sketchup...

Fancy New Heat Pipes!

When adding new walls to the mudroom, we had to re-route the heat pipes to be inside new the walls. I'm sure the proximity of the heating pipes to the outside walls are part of our heat problems anyway.

To do this we used PEX piping (orange pipes in the above photo) and to avoid having to buy the 100$ crimping tool, we used SHARKBITE push fittings.

We also use the WATTS push fittings since SHARKBITE doesn't have a 45 degree.
after it was all hooked up, we fired up the boiler. Of course, the pipes didn't get hot. We needed to bleed the system first.

About 20 - 5 gallon buckets later, the air was purged from the system and the water ( and heat ) was flowing. Don't worry though, Jeff promptly shut off the heat and it will remain off until Novemeber.

Next up: Strapping the Ceiling! Will the fun ever stop?

The spoils from Brimfield

Brimfield is filled with stuff. Good stuff, crappy stuff, and sometimes stuff I'm actually looking for that I'm willing to buy from someone who was really nice.

I went to Brimfield in May and scored this cabinet on my way out of J&J's field after a "Maybe just 1 more pass down this aisle".

I spoke with the man and his wife who were selling it for quite a while, and I think they gave me a good deal, and he helped me load it into the truck.

I didn't have the guts to pull an Eddie Ross and paint the whole thing. But I did like the way this looked:



So I just painted the inside with BM Decorators White in a Semi-gloss leftover from the kitchen paint job.


And moved it up to the little nook in the living room. I love the height it adds to the room, photos of which will be coming any month now.

A man's vacation home is his castle

This is the Castle on Sebec Lake in Maine. When we visit our friends there, the kids love boating past it. Everyone is looking for a glimpse of either Cinderella or Malificent, and it really makes you wonder what life would be like if one were royalty.