RANDOM MUSINGS
This is the junk drawer of the blog. It’s the miscellaneous stuff that defies categorizing, but seems too important to discard.

HAVING A SUCCESSFUL BUNGALOW RESTORATION , Part 1- Know Thyself
If you want to have a successful bungalow restoration, you need to take a hard look at your own goals, your own tolerances, your own proclivities, way before you even start looking for your dream house. Too often people fall in love with a house & as much as it is...

HOW TO HAVE A SUCCESSFUL BUNGALOW RESTORATION, Part 2- Your Significant Other
So there you are. Standing in front of a derelict house whose potential charm & beauty just need to be revealed by the loving hand in a successful bungalow restoration. Sounds perfect. Well, let’s take a look at this perfection before you decide that it will be...

BEFORE YOU HIRE AN OLD HOUSE CONTRACTOR
Once upon a time, I was standing in line at a Japanese take-out (great place!)& stepped back when I noticed the grungy guy in front of me. He was wearing a t-shirt that had seen 1,000 better days. It was a bit hiked up in the back, & I could almost see his...

WHAT IS THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE OF RESTORING AN OLD HOUSE?
Long ago, when feebly attempting to restore a Folk Victorian, I discovered that the biggest challenge of restoring an old house is battle fatigue. It’s extremely easy to get disheartened. I know I’m not your mother (Disclaimer: I think I’m everybody’s mother.) but I...

HOW BUNGALOW AUTHOR JANE POWELL CHANGED MY LIFE
Into every life walks a handful of people who impact your life profoundly. Jane Powell, bungalow author, restorer & advocate, was one of them for me. In the winter of 1998, I walked out of my 1966 MCM house in Pasadena where I had lived as a renter for 8 years...

OLD HOUSE RESTORATION VIDEOS- the Menu
This post is an overview of my videos, arranged by subject, with a link that will take you to the various topics with a brief description of each individual video. Each one has been thoughtfully chosen to provide the most information, best images & most charming...

A VERY MERRY BUNGALOW CHRISTMAS
My first bungalow Christmas, in The Hare House, my 1910 Craftsman was a year in the planning. Built before electricity came to that part of, what would be, Los Angeles. I moved in in December of 1998 & started thinking about the next Christmas. I had been living...