Welcome to our blog

We're on a mission to make our turn-of-the-century house into a home that's fit for the 21st century - and we want to share the ups and downs with you.

Inspiration

Books to Inspire Your Old House

One of the questions we’ve been asked a few times is who we’re reading, following, and watching for inspiration. The honest answer is: it depends! On the day, sure. But also on the project and what we’re looking for inspiration on. We’ve rounded up our top picks for old house inspo books in this post.

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Inspiration

Books to Inspire Your Old House

One of the questions we’ve been asked a few times is who we’re reading, following, and watching for inspiration. The honest answer is: it depends! On the day, sure. But also on the project and what we’re looking for inspiration on. We’ve rounded up our top picks for old house inspo books in this post.

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Sustainability

Decarbonizing our Water Heater: 90 Days In

We shared glimpses of the new water heater back in November in our Instagram stories, and they were some of the most viewed, engaged with, and commented-on content we’ve ever posted! We’ve received so many questions about it, so we decided to share all the details here.

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Restoration

Historic Shutters: Our Ultimate Guide to Getting them Right

We don’t have many early photos of the house, with the exception of one. It was taken in 1908, when the house was about 4 years old, and from high up in the church tower about a block away: Of course, upon finding this in the town’s historical archives, the first thing we did was […]

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A graduation certificate that reads "Sustainable Preservation" from Cornell University sits amidst a set of building plans.

Restoration

Reflecting on eCornell’s Sustainable Preservation Certificate Program

Just before Christmas, a cool package arrived in the mail: it was my framed Certificate from the Sustainable Preservation program I’ve been taking via eCornell. In September, I shared the news that I was excitedly going back to school by enrolling in the certificate program, led by Cornell University’s College of Architecture, Art, and Planning. […]

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Sustainability

Back to School: When Sustainability and Preservation Meet

Kevin here. This time of year is always a favourite. Whether you’re headed back to school or just enjoying the seasons changing, early autumn carries a feeling not unlike a new calendar year: at work, the frenzy of year-end deadlines and planning for the next; in life, thinking about the countdown to the holidays; and […]

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Landscaping

Making our garden dreams come true

We’ve been in the house for four and half months now. Well, kind of. If you’ve been following along on Instagram, you’ll know we were left with a nasty mess to clean up on Day 5 of living here: a sewer pipe full of grease, baby wipes, and ground garbage that backed up into the […]

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Inspiration

The Ultimate Movie List for Old House Lovers

The very first time we saw the new house (for now referred to as Project GTown) one of the things that got us most excited was the primary bedroom. We couldn’t quite put our finger on why it felt so familiar and cozy, but driving home that evening it hit us: it felt exactly like […]

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County House

Some News: We’re Moving

Today we’re sharing some unexpected news: we’re going to sell our house. It’s hard to believe those words are real and on the internet. But life changes fast.

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A large wardrobe is shown in a bedroom of an old house

DIY

How we hacked Ikea PAX to add a closet in our Victorian home

We built off IKEA’s PAX wardrobe system to create a seamless built-in look for the formerly closet-less master bedroom of our 1880 Victorian.

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hey there - We're
kevin & sarah

We're making an old house work for modern life.

Follow along as we transform our (second!) turn-of-the-century house into a restored, 21st century dream home. 

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