DIY house renovation— a death-defying stunt for your marriage.

Two posts ago, I went back to the beginning of our house renovation—how my husband and I decided to buy an old house and fix it up… a decision based around the front-door’s antique hardware. And an imaginary before-and-after picture that lived in my head—a picture designed by a DIY-enthusiasm that came from not ever having fixed anything.

We thought it was a good idea to move into a crumbling Victorian house… restore it… do all the work ourselves… while living here.

If you missed:
Part One, we tour the house and decide to buy it.
Part Two, we move, begin renovation, and reality sets in.

This is Part Three, where I realize the true meaning of fixing up an old house.

For the first two years, there were always multiple rooms with “containment issues” Meaning: one part was “livable” and the other was trashed. Destroyed. An explosion of plaster and lathe and 120 years of dust.

And we were always trying to keep the “trashed” part separate. Or? One of us was: me.
The other of us thought containment was over-rated…

The other of us thought the ONLY acceptable use of time was action… To wade in and just GO.

Wow. This is totally fascinating… keep reading.

Feb 26, 2013 By Victoria Elizabeth Barnes in My Favorite Posts, Our Story 36 Comments Tags: Construction, DIY, frustration, how we got here, Marriage

How we got here… Part Two: I reconsider my ideas about house renovation.

The day after moving is usually a time of reorganizing. Of shuffling boxes around. Of moving one pile to another… A time of trying to find basic necessities like towels and the coffee pot.

But instead? The day after we moved in, Paul woke up at six in the morning. He built three-stories worth of scaffolding. Then he strapped himself into a harness and climbed roughly 1,000 feet in the air.

I was like—wow. This house will be done in NO time.

Wow. This is totally fascinating… keep reading.

Feb 19, 2013 By Victoria Elizabeth Barnes in Our Story 45 Comments Tags: Construction, DIY, how we got here, Marriage, moving

How we got here… Part One.

Over three years ago, my husband and I bought an old house.
There were a lot of reasons… but none of them were necessity.

Our previous house was perfect. A 1920’s Arts and Crafts cottage – charming and adorable and pristine. Although, woefully undramatic.

Paul had finished every last inch of that house. And he had done it all before he met me.
Which A- demonstrated to me: Paul’s magical fixing ability.
And B- showed me NOT AT ALL: the work involved.

We looked at this Victorian house out of… curiosity? Possibility? Because it was there?
Because we are the sort of people who look at houses they do not need?

Because we cannot afford Downton Abbey?

Wow. This is totally fascinating… keep reading.

Feb 13, 2013 By Victoria Elizabeth Barnes in Our Story 40 Comments Tags: DIY, how we got here, Marriage, moving

Eight years after the fact… I finally get to write a wedding blog.

When I was little, we didn’t have a TV. But sometimes, at my grandparents on Saturday nights, I was allowed to watch PBS. Which is where I saw The King and I and Kiss Me Kate. Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly, Rodgers and Hammerstein, Cole Porter…

And I fully expected that when I grew up, Howard Keel would come for me.

Wow. This is totally fascinating… keep reading.

Aug 14, 2012 By Victoria Elizabeth Barnes in My Favorite Posts, Our Story 56 Comments Tags: Anniversary, Ballroom dancing, Gilded Age, Marriage, Philadelphia, Wedding

Remember back when you didn’t understand what it meant to make a giant mess out of your house and then have to live in it?

In the weeks since we looked at The River House, I’ve been thinking about all of the ways I now understand the undertaking we’re considering—ways I wouldn’t have, prior to the experience of renovating our current house.

Before Paul and I got married, my only experience of “home ownership” was an apartment with my best friend—where our biggest “house project” involved a clear shower curtain, a set of permanent markers, inside jokes we’d been refining since we were thirteen, and falling over with hysteria.

Wow. This is totally fascinating… keep reading.

Jul 31, 2012 By Victoria Elizabeth Barnes in Biddle Mansion, My Favorite Posts, Our Story 40 Comments Tags: Communication, Construction, DIY, Fighting, frustration, House, Marriage, Stress, Writing

Things I’ve Learned As A Wife.

Well, it’s Saturday morning at 8 a.m. Now that the bathroom is on hold, Paul is outside sawzalling the side porch. I’ve never met anyone else who wakes up on a Saturday, puts on work clothes. And runs outside. To saw stuff.

I didn’t even try to stop him. I could have, but then he would have been irritated. And Paul does irritation like you would not believe. And never more so than when prevented from demolitioning something, or building something, or fixing something. All while being incredibly loud.

Sorry neighbors. In the face-off between your peace, and mine? Mine wins.