Our solution to a window in the shower.

Every month, I get a few emails asking how we handled the window in our shower…

I’d like to reply—oh, la la la… that’s so boring… Wouldn’t you rather ask me what I’m planning to be for Halloween?

Why is no one curious about that?

But instead of grilling them about their failure to ask me the truly important questions, I cobble together a response about the window. And I promise that SOON I’ll do a real post.

So—to the people I told that to, and never did it? I’m sorry.
Now you know what my husband deals with every day.
What takes other people one hour? Takes me 49 years.

It causes all kinds of problems… Most of which are way more serious than unwritten blog posts.

Anyway. We have a large window in our shower… it’s not unusual in old houses.

Wow. This is totally fascinating… keep reading.

May 21, 2013 By Victoria Elizabeth Barnes in Hall Bath 13 Comments Tags: DIY, Tile, window in shower

LUCK on your side… a gift for my best friend.

A few weeks ago, my best friend Lara, had the pleasure of walking me through one of those experiences that initially appear to be soul-crushing and life-destroying…

Although, later are revealed to be less than significant… and possibly blown out of proportion… and maybe even a figment of your imagination that would have published you beside an advertisement for an all-male, nude-revue.

No one talks you through this like Lara.

Wow. This is totally fascinating… keep reading.

May 14, 2013 By Victoria Elizabeth Barnes in Random Stuff About Victoria 38 Comments Tags: Best Friends, crafts, DIY

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 35 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

Bath Remodel: Fixtures and Vendors

I don’t know how anyone designed their dream bathroom, prior to the advent of online-shopping. I mean, I understand it if you are a hedge-fund manager. Or a time-share magnate… But if you are not? And you actually want to have money left over to buy shampoo? The internet is a magical place full of treasure and discount bathroom fixtures.

The only price of admission is your commitment.

Your commitment to looking. And looking and looking. And comparing. And having seventy-two browser-windows, full of 18,956 tabs, all of which are on different design sites… that you CANNOT FORGET TO GO BACK TO.

Your commitment, to spending all your brainpower scrolling, scrolling, scrolling… through inspiration photos and chat boards, and Pinterest, and the abyss of Google image searches.

And? Since I am nothing, if not committed? I spent a truly outrageous amount of time on the internet… I bought everything except our tile online.

The DIY large medicine cabinet is my favorite element… and it cost next to nothing!

If you’re new to our bath remodel, you should read this post first. It’s ALL about how much I LOVED the whole DIY aspect. And how EASY it was to design. And how much FUN I had trying to cram all my ideas in a small and narrow bathroom.. Wow. This is totally fascinating… keep reading.

Feb 6, 2013 By Victoria Elizabeth Barnes in Hall Bath 53 Comments Tags: choosing bathroom fixtures, DIY, Marble lookalike tile, Remodeling, transom window, window in shower