On Summit

In the last year or so, I've heard many people describe the concepts of  joy, whimsy, and playfulness as forms of resistance. I'm not sure if that's exactly what's been driving our color and design choices as we turn our attention towards the more cosmetic elements of the Akron almost-mansion, but I will admit there's a certain logic to the construct. Today, whimsy stands in stark contrast to the oppressive, corrupt, racist, and soul-crushing political climate we inhabit. More than that though, it can serve as an active refusal to accept the same. I've heard one of the best ways to prepare to fight fascism is to practice breaking rules. Well, what better way to start than at home with the rule that says 100 year old almost-mansions have to be fussy and formal. Readers got a hint of the decorating direction we were going in a previous post about the pink bathroom . Today I want to share a few more updates. A staircase with colorfully painted balusters are picture...

People often buy old houses because they love the quality materials and period details. Fixtures, doors, trim, and hardware can all serve as selling points as one considers buying an older home. From that perspective, efforts to update an older house are often viewed as harmful, especially when the remodeling work can't be reversed. Countless French windows, pocket doors, swinging doors, light fixtures, mantels, tiles, and trim have been lost to time in the name of modern "upgrades". The saying "It's only original once" speaks to the precarity of maintaining a house in its initial state. Still, in the history of any 100 year old house, remodeling happens. It's a rare house that can remain completely unmolested over decades and generations. And sometimes, as we discovered at the Akron almost-mansion, the remodeling efforts become part of the house's story. That's what we found in the pink, first floor powder room. The almost-mansion was built in 1...

It's spring in Akron and things at the Akron almost-mansion are (mostly) moving forward. In my last update on this project I alluded to the fact that we're spending every weekend at the house attending to the business of patching, prepping, priming, and painting. Well, we're still doing that, one room at a time, and actually starting to see some progress. Three rooms are pictured through two doorways. One doorway is arched and the next is rectangular. The closest room is painted yellow. The next room is tangerine. The last room is a kitchen with blue-grey floors. My wife has determined that this house is going to be cheerful, bright, and full of whimsy. I support that initiative and will point out that those efforts begin with paint selection. While I wouldn't go so far as to say we're selecting colors based on name alone, it's nice when the moniker fits the theme. Here you can see we chose Optimistic Yellow (Sherwin Williams) for the dining room, and Cheerful ...

I feel like I've been slacking recently in my efforts to keep up with this blog and the work that's been happening at the Akron almost-mansion. That's a testament I think to how busy I've been, and also to how weirdly routine this whole project has become. I don't want to say the novelty has worn off (the house still offers its share of surprises), but we'have fallen into some pretty regular patterns this winter. We drive the 110 miles north almost every weekend to patch, sand, prime, and paint. We spend a day and a half covering ourselves in the dust of the 20th century's finest paints, wallpapers, hardwoods, and plaster and then traverse the same 110 miles back home. We move garbage, cardboard, tools, and equipment out of one room and into another (and then out to the garage). We go up and down two flights of steps; first for the joint compound tape, then for our masks, and then again for the right screwdriver. We misplace tools only to trip over them minu...

In a previous post , I channeled my inner-Woody Hayes to offer shout outs to the contractors who are helping make our Akron almost-mansion a habitable reality. Now, I want to give shout outs to the family who have been with us every step of the way too. A pair of siblings are seated on a functioning radiator in an otherwise empty room, save a portable table saw. They are smiling and appear happy. Before we embarked on this journey we held a "family meeting" where I laid out our plan (such as it was. LOL.) and described what we were going to need to make this project happen. Specifically, I made clear that my wife and I couldn't do this without their help. We lived (and still live) 110 miles away from the house we're trying to rehabilitate. I shared their would be times folks might be called upon to meet contractors, accept deliveries, take out trash, and otherwise represent our interests in matters related to the house. A group of people are pictured raking an unreaso...

You win with people. In Columbus, Ohio and particularly around The Ohio State University campus, it's a saying that's both well-known and well-loved. I use the phrase lot a myself, partly in earnest, and partly in sardonic reference to the deeply flawed and equally revered man who made it famous, OSU football coach Woody Hayes. Hayes coached The Ohio State University's football team to remarkable success during his two-decades plus career. Along the way he wrote a book ( You Win With People! ), supported Nixon, said objectionable things, and often exhibited such a volatile temper that one might rightly wonder why people would stick around long enough to do any winning at all. But I digress. As with most maxims, this one is true. Woody Hayes was right. You really do win with people. Sure, plans help. Budgets help. Strategies help and material resources help. At the end of the day though, success in any endeavor hinges on people. I've been thinking about this a lot in the...

I feel like home renovation programs and content creators focus a lot on the before and after comparisons. To the extent that the goal of these undertakings is typically to go from one (before) to the other (after), this makes perfect sense. What gets lost though in this focus on results and comparisons is what it's like during the process. I was especially struck by this over the last month. During that time we've had four separate contractors in the house working on four separate rooms or projects.  Bill has been working on the kitchen. Matt is doing the second floor en suite bathroom. David and Pecos are doing drywall, and James has been doing some miscellaneous electrical work. And that's just the regulars. Add in the garage door technicians and the crew that came out to install the new radiator, and the almost mansion has been busier than ever in recent weeks. And it shows. Not only do people need room to work, they also need places to stage and store fixtures, materia...

Back in August my wife and I decided to each take a week off from our respective works and embark on a "Renovation Vacation" at the Akron almost-mansion. The impetus behind the trip was two-fold. One consideration was our realization that it's really hard to make any kind of concerted progress when you live two hours from a job site. By the time we get everything packed for a typical trip, drive to the house, get our work area organized and start working, it's just about time to head back home. The other consideration was that with all the delays we've seen with this house, we thought it would be good for morale if we could make even some small progress on our own. The plan then was to spend a week "camping out" at the house and doing light projects and cleaning while we were there. I say camping out since it's kind of what it was like. Yes, the house has electric and 70% plumbing (including two functional toilets), but there's no heat, no kitche...