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My House

My House

slowly but surely

Moving into this house has been a slow process.  Slower than usual, but it is progressing and, over the weekend, it felt like a cork finally popped off of the bottle, and pressure was released.  Our floors were finished and we could finally start moving into the entire house.  On top of that, I had some amazing pieces of furniture that I purchased from Ekster and Lucketts to get in place.  My problem is that I want to do it all right away, so I get a little overwhelmed by where to start.  I reeled myself in and focused on the things I’d been missing most during our month of transition – having my clothes put away and sleeping in my own bed.  So, I started there. All four of us moved the furniture in and put the wardrobe together (which can be a little dicey because it’s a breakdown

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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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1970 home renovation

weekly reno recap | wood floors & more

There are so many things happening in the house (you can read about our new house HERE if you missed it) that I decided I should write a weekly recap while we’re in the thick of renovations to give you a rundown of the activity. Some projects we do are not worth a dedicated blog post, but might be worth a few sentences in a larger recap post.  So, here we go with our first weekly reno recap. This week was mostly about having the wood floors installed and the week prior was all about getting ready for those wood floors.  This meant moving everything out of the three rooms in the house that were getting hardwood floors installed.  This is why I felt some urgency to unpack.  Yes, things will just be sitting out, but unpacking reduces the bulk and most items could be absorbed into a piece of

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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

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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All Things Home

concrete pool restoration & inspiration

When we sat down as a family and talked about what we would want in a future house, the boys requested a pool.  They befriended a neighbor one court over in Minnesota who had a pool and often invited the boys and other neighborhood kids over for impromptu swims and planned pool parties.  It was a highlight for them during the summer and the idea of having our own pool to do the same was very appealing to them.  So, we put that on the wishlist, but let them know we might not end up with a pool.  It wasn’t a top priority.  I really did keep that request at the forefront of my mind when I was looking at houses and most of the homes we seriously considered had pools.  The house we ended up purchasing does have a pool, but technically, it’s just a big concrete hole in

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All Things Home

the first thing I bought for our new house | antique brass andirons

Before we get to the antique brass andirons, I need to thank you for all of the words of encouragement yesterday! I think it can be easy to glamourize moving into a new home, but it’s a tough process even if it’s a happy move into a lovely home.  Things felt more settled and normal yesterday and I slept like a rock last night.  Despite the stacks of boxes waiting to be unpacked, I made biscuits for breakfast, which made the kitchen smell and feel homey.  I sat at the table in the room that will be my studio and wrote a blog post.  I hung some of my clothes in the closet, did a load of laundry, and went to the grocery store. It was a few steps towards a new normal in this house and that felt good. Before we go forward into this new house and some

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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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