Novelista

I live in a house built over 100 years ago.   The house has charm and 100 plus year old cast iron drain pipes.   Although previous occupants improved and changed and modernized, projects cannot be evaded.   And some projects that you thought were finished need to be revamped. Case in point, the powder room under the staircase.   New floor, paint, sink, vanity, medicine cabinet, faucet, hardware, and toilet installed years ago.   However, the toilet leaked into the basement.   We concluded that the wax seal failed.   So, after gathering all the necessary tools and parts, we removed the toilet only to find that the wax seal wasn’t the problem. The original to the house cast iron closet flange had partially disengaged, unsecuring the toilet to the floor and drain pipe.   A new flange was not something we prepared to replace.   For days, the toilet loitered in the hall, the bathroom door was kept closed, while we scoured the internet...

All lined and ready for doors Slowly and surely, this tired, old kitchen is getting a long overdue makeover.  The light wood cabinets with large chrome knobs and chrome trimmed laminate counters were all part of a modern kitchen of the 50s.  At some point in the 90s, someone replaced the gas cooktop and wallpapered the walls, which are now a lovely shade of green. The cabinets had this shabby-ness to them with the varnish on the doors coming off and the oversized chrome knobs rusting.  After a long deliberation about color, the cabinets finally have been painted an off white.  The doors and drawers came off and out for sanding and painting.  Hardware was removed.  Upon first moving in, new knobs matched the newly installed brushed faucet.  The faucet has since ceased operating properly.  The new one is now polished chrome.  The knobs no longer match. At first, chrome pulls and knobs were bought.  They just didn’t do it for ...