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All Things Home

1970 home renovation

golden oak floors

Let’s talk about the cause of the upheaval in our house and the reason Jeff and I are still living out of suitcases – the wood floors.  We knew that we would get the floors installed ASAP so when we do finally settle in the house, we can completely settle.  We won’t have hardwood floor installation and refinishing looming overhead.  As I shared before, that is a decision that I know we won’t regret, but we’ve been in the house for a month and still have stuff stacked everywhere.  It’s prolonging one of the uncomfortable parts of moving into a house.  It’ll all be over soon, though, because the golden oak stain went on the floors yesterday and we’re now in the finishing stage of the project. Let’s talk about the golden oak stain we’re using on the floors since a few people have asked about that choice as I’ve

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Crochet & Knitting Patterns

selbu mitten knitting tutorial | parts three & four

Well, it took me a little while, but I finally got around to editing the final video in the Selbu mitten knitting tutorial.  I really hope this is a helpful tutorial for those who, like me, always, wanted to make something like this.  You learn so many knitting skills when working on a mitten like this, so it’s easy to move on to other projects like socks, more details hats, and (dare I say) even sweaters!  I don’t know if I’ll ever have the patience and perseverance to make a sweater, but I like little projects like mittens and socks that take a few hours and still look pretty impressive. In case you missed it, you can find the first two parts of this Selbu mitten knitting tutorial below… Selbu Mitten Tutorial Part 1 | Materials, Working on Double Pointed Needles, Casting On, & Starting the Cuff Selbu Mitten Tutorial

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Antiques

Ekster Antiques & Uniques

For over a week, my mom and I planned a day out last Friday.  I had another x-ray and follow-up appointment for my foot (I graduated from the boot) and we were going to hit some antique shops afterward.  I was looking forward to getting out of paint clothes and out of the house and it would be a nice warm-up for Lucketts.  But, the plan was shaken up when I saw an awesome 20-drawer cabinet (that would be a perfect art supply cabinet) posted on Instagram.  The seller was Caroline of Ekster Antiques & Uniques, a dealer I have known and admired for many years. I loved her style before I knew her.  I sighed over her beautiful booth at Lucketts and her home and styling in magazines and decorating books.  And I had the privilege of being her booth neighbor at many markets and getting to know her

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All Things Home

The Lucketts Fall Market

I’m baaa-ack!!!  An awesome part of moving back to the east coast is that I can be a part of the Lucketts Market again!  And, this year, they have the Lucketts Fall Market, which is coming up on October 14-16, 2022. If you’ve been reading my blog for a long time, then you know Lucketts is a pretty important part of my story.  It was one of my favorite antique stores when I was a newlywed living just down the road in Leesburg, VA.  I saved my money for the Lucketts Spring Market each year so that I could buy a few special pieces for my house.  The first market I went to as a vendor was Lucketts, in a little 10 x 10 pop-up tent.  Lucketts is an amazing creative community that brought me in, took me under their wings, and cheered me on as my business and blog

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All Things Home

how to remove wallpaper glue from walls

When you do an internet search for “how to remove wallpaper glue from walls”, you end up finding all sorts of articles that suggest all manner of mixtures to rewet glue and remove it from a wall.  I read a lot of those articles as I needed to wash wallpaper glue off of the walls of our primary bedroom and was hoping to get it done before having new hardwood floors installed.  I learned, though, that most of these articles aren’t written by people who have or are in the process of washing wallpaper glue off of their walls.  It’s missing the angst that comes along with doing this unenjoyable and discouraging DIY project.  It’s also missing the combination of products, materials, tools, and techniques that actually work to remove the glue and prepare the walls for painting. Since I just spent the better part of last week doing this

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All Things Home

a mouse in the house

When I visited my great aunt’s house in South Carolina this spring, she pointed out a little cast iron mouse perched on a bit of trim.  “Did you see my mouse?  You know, you have to have a mouse in your house!” I had never heard of having a mouse in the house, but apparently, it is a thing.  When I shared a tour of my great aunt’s house (you can see it HERE) and shared her mouse, several blog readers shared they have the same tradition.  They’ll make a bit of a game of it and move the mouse around for their grandkids or anyone else who wants to play along to find. I actually did an internet search on it and only came up with old tales of superstition about death upon the dwellers if a mouse eats their clothes and nonsense like that.  I didn’t find anything

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All Things Home

slate tile in the foyer

When I showed the foyer in our new house, a few of you noticed something familiar about it.  This slate tile is one of the original features I loved about this house.  (I also like the vintage lantern fixture in the foyer!) It looks familiar because the Montauk Blue slate tile I selected for the foyer in our MN house is basically a modern version of it.  I’ve always liked slate in foyers.  There is something very classic and stately about it.  The slate is a bit more green in the foyer in our new house and the grout lines are bigger, but they both have the same irregular pattern and definitely the same timeless feel. Even though I am going to remove the wallpaper and paint everything eventually, this foyer has great bones and really is beautifully finished.  The slate tile is a big part of that.  But the

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Decorating

getting new hardwood floors

I’ve decided that moving into a house is a lot easier when you don’t have big projects planned right off the bat!  But, it is also easier to get those projects out of the way before you get settled, so then you can get settled knowing that big project is done.  I guess disruptive renovations are disruptive whenever you do them, but I am glad we’re knocking out some of these projects right away.  One of those projects we knew we would do before we even bought the house – swap out the wall-to-wall carpet for hardwood floors.  Even though we’ve installed and refinished wood floors before, we are hiring out this project to have it done quicker. We’re fortunate that most of the house has hardwood floors, but the family room, primary bedroom, and living room are all carpeted.  With a 1970s house that is mostly hardwood, I figured

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I’m Marian, a painter, writer, and lover of all things creative. From art and antiques to home projects and everyday life, I share my journey in hopes of inspiring you to embrace your own creativity and make beauty in the spaces you live.

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