I truly can't help making everyday occurrences into some kind of existential learning moment.

Before we could even start demolishing walls, we had to pull up the remaining carpet, carpet tacking, and staples. I tried my very very best to help, but developed blisters within 30 minutes and Cole ended up pulling all the tacking up himself.

As I sit here on our breezy front porch, I realized I've yet to share where we came up with the name Highland House. We bought this beauty with the full intention of sharing it with others. As a couple sans children, we really don't need five bedrooms all to... CONTINUE READING

We're so close you guys! So close! You can read parts one, two, and three if you need to catch up. After we let the stain dry for 12 hours, we pulled out the poly. The first coat we applied in a very devil-may-care fashion, mainly out of ignorance. We... CONTINUE READING

Welcome back! If you're stopping by for the first time, check out part one and part two for a little back story. So before we get to the great misake, we get to talk about stain!!!! While Cole ran the sander, I had some time to research and experiment with... CONTINUE READING

Welcome back! If you haven't already read part one, check it out here! After establishing our game plan, and a solid two weeks of wallpaper removal and drywall repair, we finally got to pull up the carpet all the way, move all the furniture out, and clean the floors. We... CONTINUE READING

When we bought Highland House, we knew learning how to refinish floors was in our future. The start of a four-part series.

Friends! We're approx two weeks into our work, and man, it has been work. The name of the game has been wallpaper removal and drywall repair. This meant lots and lots of fabric softener, water, and ragged fingernails. In some cases the drywall was in pristine condition, replaced not too... CONTINUE READING

As I started rethinking the layout, I found it easiest to conjure up visions of what it might have looked like originally. Cue desperate searches on the internet!

Oh boy, am I dealing with some paint color anxiety. For the first time ever, I have to decorate a house without white trim. My pinterest board has only ever included dream houses with white trim. But I absolutely refuse to paint the beautiful wood trim throughout the house. I... CONTINUE READING

With a week left before closing, I'm doing a whole bunch of planning and dreaming. More dreaming than planning, mainly because I still don't have the floor plan mapped perfectly. BUT in my dreaming, I've started to craft my plan for the hardwood floors throughout the house. Now, the floors... CONTINUE READING

So we're officially under contract with this beauty, and it's looking like things might really happen. Located in Hamilton, Missouri, a mile down the road from Cole's parents, this bizzare dream is becoming a reality. Built in 1915, this home has often been described as a Victorian, and while it... CONTINUE READING