Serendipity House

Serendipity ~ a natural gift for making useful discoveries by accident

aka... "This Lady's Home Journal"

When we purchased our 105 year-old house we thought a thorough cosmetic overhaul was all it needed. We have since learned that houses built in 1900 need a little more TLC than that.

It has been our experience that most of our projects are delightful accidents, thus the arrival at naming this site. We're not restoring, but face-lifting. With a poorly-executed country theme prevalent throughout, we've begun with the largest project, the kitchen. Striving for an Olde World style, we're making progress... albeit a snails pace. It is our hope that you enjoy watching our progress as it unfolds.

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Laura: Nice site!

Denise: Oh, your bathroom is so pretty! We did ours a year ago but for some reason the border won't stay up. I think it's because the fan is old and just doesn't do the job removing moisture like it should. I had seen someone do sponge painting in a pretty blue and I thought I wouldn't mind trying that. They did it halfway up and then they did the edge with a stencil. It was really pretty when it was done and I think it would be the answer to our moisture problem. Your background here is really

Gayle: Hi Maria! Bet you are staying pretty busy these days too. Have a good week!

Dennis : Thanks for stoping by when you get done you want give me a hand here? Is your coffee to your liking. I keep a cup for ya.

colleen: wtg on making the paper, girl! hope all is well!

vera: can't wait to see pictures! happy weekend! :)

Janie: Wow, I had no idea you had this journal as well! I like it! I am sure there are some great ideas here, and that is awesome since I am now a HOMEOWNER! Yayyy! Have a great rest of the week my friend!

capach66: Love your site, and thanks for the post on my Journal

Vera: nice workaround you found for that moulding :) and yes, your man is truly handy, if you know what i mean :)

Peggy: Believe it or not, this is my first visit to this blog of yours!We are in the middle of the same thing, reno's! Starting with our kitchen and half bath! LOL Oh the fun of it all! NOT! lol Well some things are fun, like choosing what will look best, dreaming about how it will look when it's done, but the work! Oh my!

Meg Allison: Thanks for stopping by and for the tag. I love your journal! We've also been remodeling for a few years now. I'll have to look around your site some more -- I'm sure we have quite a few experiences in common. :)Best wishes, Meg

Jenn: Stopping by to say hello! I have enjoyed my visit and really like your journal! Wishing you many blessings....

bravezila:

bert: hello there

just stopping by and say

halloweenlover: I was looking for an email address to send you a message, but couldn't find one! That is too funny that you lived in Boston! We have lots in common with towns and schools! I was showing my husband your beautiful floor and he wanted to know if you used a wet saw to cut the tiles or that tile cutter thing. We are pretty daunted by the basement task because it is 320 feet, but it will make SUCH a big difference.Your room is gorgeous! It definitely looks tuscan/italian. That is exactly the look

eric: just popin to say hi.

Blog Archive

« Prev 1 2 Next » (50 entries found)

Breathing again - Sunday, July 10th 2005 5:51 PM (1601 days, 19h, 28min ago)

Roof leaks. Carpenter ants. Structural damage. (Oh my!) Yesterday was pretty eventful Many thanks to those of you who wrote in and reassured me,...

Ok Maria, don't panic - Saturday, July 9th 2005 4:30 PM (1602 days, 20h, 49min ago)

Would anyone like to comment on this? Not sure what you're looking at yet? Well, here...let's take a step back... This is one of the corners in our parlor. We...

Raindrops keep falling on my... - Saturday, July 9th 2005 6:22 AM (1603 days, 6h, 56min ago)

... basement floor. Yes...that was correct...rain falling on the floor of our basement. It's actually coming through the roof, but at a spot exactly between the...

Still around... - Tuesday, July 5th 2005 12:17 PM (1607 days, 1h, 1min ago)

Ambition has waned quite a bit around here! We've neither updated our house nor this blog! Just when you think all outside commitments have settled down, a...

Summer's here...get the kids involved! - Thursday, June 16th 2005 6:39 PM (1625 days, 18h, 39min ago)

The painting of this room is in mid-stream. About the time we were going to finish it, Brian's mishap occurred, as well as 90-degree heat over the past few weeks. ...

Easy come...easy go... - Monday, June 13th 2005 8:10 AM (1629 days, 5h, 9min ago)

I'm a little sad. Some hungry little bird (we think) snacked long and leisurly on our blueberry bushes and now we have just a handful left. I was just beginning to...

Heavens to Mergatroid! - Saturday, June 11th 2005 8:27 PM (1630 days, 16h, 51min ago)

It's stinkin' hot here in Upstate NY! And I do mean stinkin'! Not all bad though ~ my surprise peonies are in full bloom, wild phlox has taken over the entire back...

Well, whattaya think... - Tuesday, June 7th 2005 11:29 AM (1635 days, 1h, 49min ago)

Remember that ugly corner hutch from a few posts back? Well, it's still kinda ugly, but I think the shock value has decreased a bit. Tell me what you think......

Conquests & Queries - Wednesday, June 1st 2005 11:36 AM (1641 days, 1h, 43min ago)

Without trying to confuse you by the different walls, here are some before shots of what they used to look like. The first pic with pine wainscoting below, and the...

Weak-end project - Tuesday, May 31st 2005 3:06 PM (1641 days, 22h, 13min ago)

Yes...I spelled that right... After being practically bed-ridden for an entire week, we just couldn't take it anymore. We had to get out of the house and breathe fresh...

Ok...who can answer me this... - Tuesday, May 31st 2005 9:28 AM (1642 days, 3h, 50min ago)

Just how level or plumb were things back in 1900? Before purchasing this house, we lived in a 1981 four bedroom colonial. Your standard, run of the mill, rectangular...

Who can tell me... - Saturday, May 28th 2005 10:53 AM (1645 days, 2h, 26min ago)

If you've followed any of my documentions, then you know that we're not restoring our old house, but cosmetically improving it. (I'm not educated in architectural...

Home at last - Tuesday, May 24th 2005 8:46 AM (1649 days, 4h, 32min ago)

It was a difficult weekend, but Brian is finally home from the hospital. He was released yesterday around noon. He is now on oral antibiotics and will remain...

In the hospital from a cut - Friday, May 20th 2005 11:00 PM (1652 days, 14h, 19min ago)

Brian knicked the back of his hand Wednesday night due to a sort of kick-back from the weed trimmer. Hardly worth the bandaid, so to speak. Yesterday, Brian began to...

Jewelry - Thursday, May 19th 2005 9:39 AM (1654 days, 3h, 40min ago)

Here are the embellishments that will make it all come together later! I'm so excited about these...not just being able to see them on the finished product, but to know...

It's not the Bahamas... - Tuesday, May 17th 2005 1:51 PM (1655 days, 23h, 27min ago)

...but I like this island, too! (and our new sink) Of course, like everything else in the kitchen, this isn't a finished project either. The cabinets...

Kitchen Counter - Monday, May 16th 2005 7:49 AM (1657 days, 5h, 30min ago)

Some progress pictures of the countertop. I can't believe how much work there is in preparing and installing a ceramic tile counter. After reading up on the...

I'll probably exceed bandwidth with this one! - Saturday, May 14th 2005 7:19 PM (1658 days, 18h, 0min ago)

Today just goes to prove that the best laid plans don't always happen like you think (or hope) they would. Getting all ready to dig in on the walls this morning, Brian received...

When your head hurts... - Friday, May 13th 2005 9:28 PM (1659 days, 15h, 50min ago)

...you find yourself a little more irritable to yourself, and irritating to others! Last week I experienced a five-day headache. Makes one pretty crazy after about the...

Where is everybody? - Friday, May 13th 2005 8:10 AM (1660 days, 5h, 8min ago)

I took some time yesterday to visit a few other house blogs, left a few messages, sent an email to some family and friends asking them to visit this site...I even got 80 hits...

Demolition Day! - Wednesday, May 11th 2005 8:51 PM (1661 days, 16h, 27min ago)

...but I like to think of it more as "aggression therapy"! These pictures weren't on the same day, but pretty close together. We agonized about removing the huge picture...

The Kitchen - Monday, May 9th 2005 4:09 PM (1663 days, 21h, 9min ago)

Ok, not much of a title, but it's accurate. I'm really glad I decided to start this journal now instead of coming up with the idea a year from now. It's overwhelming...

The Grounds - Thursday, May 5th 2005 4:06 PM (1667 days, 21h, 13min ago)

Here are some pictures we took during our first look at the house back in September '04. There is nothing better than taking pictures of houses you're interested in buying...

The House - Wednesday, May 4th 2005 3:40 PM (1668 days, 21h, 39min ago)

Here is a southwest view of the house. Reduction of the picture causes the siding to looked warped; I assure you it isn't this bad. This was taken in September,...

A Day of Rest - Tuesday, May 3rd 2005 10:23 AM (1670 days, 2h, 55min ago)

Oddly enough, the only thing I'm working on today is getting better and this website. Woke up with a bit of a sore throat and headache. I will say, however, that I...

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