My Home

I am not sure how many people know how long I looked.

We moved from Chicago, after restoring a 100 year old farmhouse, to Emeryville, California at only the beginning of the recession. And I still wanted the Midwest. The two door detached garage. A house with history. The ability to spend a majority of our evenings in the yard. Enough room to place all my furniture - yes, enough furniture to fill a whole moving trunk (which the driver said he had only done three times in his career - hmmmm).

I am sure you are saying to yourself that there was no way. And, after several months and many stressed realtors all over the Bay, I flew my father out from Washington D.C. He did not believe that I could not find "the one" and I wanted to prove it to him. And, of course, we found the house the next day. Nevermind that it was an hour outside of Emeryville.

Maybe not the best decision at the beginning of a recession to buy a Victorian with 2 kitchens, a garage apartment, a two car garage and a double lot. But we did it. And, especially during these times, we cannot be more thankful.

We tore out all the oak cabinets, removed all the floral wallpaper, refinished the pink clawfoot tub and planted the entire yard. And ten years later, it is complete and I am ready to start remodeling again. If only I had the time between working on others' spaces.....so I guess gradual changes are more in the cards right now. And the beautiful part of home remodeling is that, yes, it can be done quickly or gradually. All it takes is one light fixture or a fabulous wallpaper to change how you see your space. Here we go again (sorry Kevin)...