It's been ten long months, but the porch is finished! And, after three years, we are done with the house renovation! All that remains is final landscaping. Once again, I'll let the images tell you the story of the last two months of porch construction. If you keep reading to the end, you'll see the…

One of the porch projects we have most looked forward to is the return of the columns. Putting in the columns have dramatically changed the look of the house. It's beginning to look elegant and stately again. Work on the house has continued over the past month with new deck flooring and a ceiling. I'll…

It's time for an update on the porch. Even though the work started in July, it still seems as though there is something new everyday. For those of you who can't be here, I'll get you (mostly) caught up through photos. Once the brick structure was capped off in October, the wood construction began. The…

As winter decided to send us the coldest weather of the season so far, I am thrilled to show you that we were toasty warm with our new gas boiler and fireplace. Two years ago, I told you about our life without heat in The Heat is On. We knew our oil boiler was nearing…

This phase of the porch construction has come to a close and the next phase will begin shortly. The masons' final touch was placing the limestone caps on top of the brick wall. Most of the original limestone caps were saved. They were in the backyard for many years waiting to be returned to their…

We survived the house tour! We needed a break the last couple of weeks, so I'm just getting around to telling you about it now. We had over 300 people through our home on September 28. We enjoyed telling everyone about the renovations and showing off the work we've done. The Cranbury Historical Preservation Society…

We've been watching as our porch wall grew, brick by brick, for the past five weeks. It's a masterpiece. We never really understood the amount of detailed craftsmanship required. We have also been amazed as we see the plan come to life. Everyone has been wondering if the porch will be done before the Historical…

We are working furiously on projects right now. That's because in less than two weeks, we will open up our home for the 2019 Historic Cranbury House Tour. One of the projects that needed a little boost was repairing the leaded glass windows. There are two of these windows along the front staircase wall. They…

The other day, I sat at my desk near the front of the house and realized something was different. It took me a moment to know what it was--it was quiet. It was glorious peace after days of listening to a jack hammer drilling into concrete and a back hoe digging a trench. This was…

I realize I left you hanging with our attic mess in my excitement to tell you about the start of our porch project. In fact, the attic has been useable, although not finished, since May. Let me give you an update. After the delays and problems I described in the last attic blog, "When Things…

Our final major project has begun! I first wrote about it in The Porch: A Shocking Revelation! Those of you who live in town can see the changes for yourself, but my readers in other locations need an update. The "face" of our house hasn't kept up with its interior. While we have renovated the…

Every remodeling effort needs to have a moment of crisis, and this was ours. A year ago, we signed with a contractor to finish the attic. It was due to be completed by October, last year.  Our newly-signed contractor never showed up for the job. After lies and delays, he admitted that he was no…

Today, I am thrilled to say, that the last of the kitchen projects is done! Just a year ago, we didn't even have a kitchen. I told you all about it in All I Wanted for Christmas was a Kitchen. Over the past year, we debated what to do with the old dumbwaiter. It was…

I haven't posted in a while, but that doesn't mean that nothing has been happening on the house. We have projects going on inside and outside. One of the most satisfying projects for me is our backyard transformation. Flowers, shrubs, and trees feed my soul. It was hard to find anything beautiful about our yard.…

Our poor old house needed a makeover. We put on some fresh white paint and replaced decaying shingles last year (Beginning the Transformation) but she was still dressed in boring brown. We've just added some bright window "makeup" to help her look beautiful. Our home's attic is a treasure trove. We were fortunate that the…