Category Archives: Old House

There were about 5 layers of wallpaper in our 135-year-old foyer. I say ‘were’ because Emily went wild and started rippin”, tearin’, scrapin’ and sprayin’…and now there are zero layers of wallpaper in our foyer. We were going to repaint (or rewallpaper). I say ‘were’ because we decided we ain’t gonna do that.

I needed to weed some beds. I didn’t want to use chemicals. But really, I just wanted an excuse to use a flamethrower. Win-Win-Win…especially the flamethrower part! LOL

I teamed up with AI to design an outdoor space in our side yard area (off our kitchen). I told it all the stuff I wanted, and it came up with a pretty decent starter plan. Then I went outside to stake it all out. After that, I waited for Emily to get home to …

Continue reading “This Old Dean House – Sideyard Plans”

It could have just been some drywall patching and a little paint. It wasn’t. Foundation damage, ceiling damage, and a whole-house plumbing repipe turned what should have been an easy room into a darn big project. I think we moved in and out of the Den four different times over many months as we lived …

Continue reading “BEFORE and AFTER – Den Remodel – This Old Dean House”

This was the most challenging house project we’ve undertaken so far. But I liked it the most. The area near the street is still a mess, but it is much better than it was. I put this emergency to bed with my trusty shovel and some back-breaking work. Whoever put gravel in this area is …

Continue reading ““Emergency” Mulching – This Old Dean House”

We’ve been doing inside renovations for several months, but when the weather warmed up, I got to thinking about all the outside projects/renovations. I’d rather be outside than inside almost always. I go from 1) there isn’t that much to do to 2) I’m so overwhelmed I’m crippled really quickly. LOL Emily and I don’t …

Continue reading “This Old Dean House – Outdoor Renovation List”

The window treatments that were in the house when we moved in had seen better days. It was the first thing I wanted to update (because it had crack house vibes). Also, I don’t want to be walking around half-naked with people looking in at me. Emily said we had to wait until almost everything …

Continue reading “Finally…Window Treatments – This Old Dean House”

During renovations, I came in from working outside one afternoon, and there was a bird in our kitchen. I got him/her out (or so I thought). Later, it got back in, and so did Dad/Mom. I’m not sure how many birds came through. At some point, I’m pretty sure I heard them calling in reinforcements …

Continue reading “There’s A Bird(s) In Our House – This Old Dean House”

We’ve been knee-deep in a historic home remodel for the past 6 months. We are living in the house while doing all the renovations. We are not finished, but getting close. What does living through a renovation like this look like? Lots of dust and lots of musical chairs with rooms full of furniture! This …

Continue reading “Living In A Historic Home Remodel – This Old Dean House”

We chose the color scheme for the inside of the house (or so we thought). Turns out, when I was doing some demo, I found out the color we chose was already under several layers of paint. I think the house liked that color and “made us” select it when we were at the paint …

Continue reading “Painting The House Inside – This Old Dean House”