Tag: home renovation
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How to Build an Awe-Inspiring Charcuterie Spread on a Budget
The holidays are right around the corner, and we know what that means: lots of gatherings! One of our favorite types of house parties are wine-related (even if I am not able to partake in tastings this holiday season.) Grant and I live in Southwest Michigan’s wine country, and I have worked in the wine…
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Repurposing Hardware and Giving a Bathroom Vanity a Facelift
The Pillar House currently has one working bathroom, and the vanity in it is far too small. Knowing a full bathroom remodel is a year or two down the road, I took to Marketplace to find a replacement. The most important aspect to me was a white top. I was lucky to find this cute…
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Replacing Main Floor Windows
The day we moved into the Pillar House, the living room had snow drifts. Partly due to the ancient front door, but also because a number of the windows were cracked or did not seal. We knew then that replacing the house’s windows would be a top priority. The BEFORE windows were single-pane, wood framed…
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Upper Roof Reconstruction
Our roof needs some MAJOR repairs. During our numerous viewings of the house, we noted that several rafters in the loft were cracked or broken. There was also a deteriorating chimney, unsealed windows, and a large amount of animal droppings that made us weary. So we knew this when we bought the Pillar House, and…
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How to Keep Cut Flowers Fresh
Is there anything better than walking into your home to a vase of bright fresh-cut flowers? In the past I have not been a huge live flower person, but these spring temperatures and the country air are changing my tune. Nothing is worse than finding wilting petals only a day after picking and arranging your…
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Get to Know the Renovators
Grant was born on July 4th in Southern Indiana. He was the oldest of two boys and grew up on a farm. Here his mechanical mindset was allowed to roam free, taking apart tractors and reassembling them before he could hardly walk. He has always been a hard worker and helped his grandfather and dad…
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Repairing Mortar Joints on Exterior Brick Foundation
When the weather warmed last Spring, Grant and I decided to add some front landscaping to the Pillar House. First, though, our exterior brick foundation needed some major repair work. There were major cracks in some of the brickwork as well as missing mortar. After power washing the eastside of the foundation, we added new…
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Watching Grass Grow
I am amazed that it is already mid-June. Michigan has been a dealt a very wet and cool summer thus far, but G and I continue to design our house into a home. One very big project that will be stretching across the summer and into the fall is regaining control of our unbelievably jungle-like…