With the Barretts – Adventure Near & Far

Debra’s Domain Transformation – a Last Look at Hildring House – Guest Post by Debra

Such a late post- we sold Hildring House a couple of months ago, (Dan here; you know I can’t resist commenting. It has been more than a couple. But the Hildring House Debra’s Domain Transformation was one of the highlights of the adventure, so it’s worth looking back.) and we have moved on to a new adventure – “the Cottage on the Corner,” which we will talk about soon. At least I hope there will be something in some state of at-least-partial-completion that we can talk about.

"before" shot of Debra's Domain — Here is what the room looked like in the MLS photo before we bought the house.

Not horrible, but not at all my style.

The first thing that happened was the closet. Mr WTB very wisely insisted that the guest room (aka Debra’s domain) have a closet installed STAT. The before closet was a 1950’s 3×3, not adequate even for a clothing minimalist. Luckily, there was a closet in the garage which backed up to the guest room. We had it flipped, installed some pretty mirrored doors, and then Container Store came and did magic. Voila! a functional, pretty closet space.

Dan again – you can see the post where we talked about doing this closet HERE. You might also remember the post about re-fitting the 3×3 closet that she mentions. You can find that one HERE.

Help a Tad-Pole!

How often do you get an opportunity to help a Tad-Pole?

Many of you who have been on With the Barretts adventures are aware of my connection with Amphibian Stage Productions – a fantastic, cutting-edge, often mind blowing professional theater located in the Near Southside neighborhood of Fort Worth.

If you’re a member, you know that Amphibian’s shows are not to be missed. (If you’re not a member, click the link, above, and rectify that deficiency.) You may or may not know about the wonderful community outreach work that the ‘Phibs do – including the Tad-Poles. Well, it’s time you learned, and this is your opportunity to help a Tad-Pole!

Happy Earth Day

Happy Earth Day. We only have one. Protect her.

April 22, 2019. Earth Day

We only have one. Protect her.

Dan

A Venice Adventure – Teaser

A teaser of a Venice Adventure With the Barretts

We’re having a Venice Adventure and it’s lovely.

Venice gets a lot of bad press these days, primarily because of the crowds. I can’t say that it’s completely unjustified. Around St. Mark’s and the Rialto Bridge, the throngs of people can be maddening, especially when there is a cruise ship (or two or three) bobbing at anchor nearby.

But St. Mark’s and Rialto Bridge, as spectacular as they are, are by no means all that Venice has to offer. Some would even say that they’re not even the best that Venice has to offer. Count me in this latter group.

Venice is a captivating, confusing, utterly beautiful city. We are having a wonderful time, even though the weather has been a bit uneven (that’s Debra atop the bridge in the photo, above, with her lovely head encased in a hood against a light rain).

Silly Selfie - Grand Canal — Silly Selfie – Grand Canal

This is a teaser post. I’m not sure when I’ll get around to doing a complete post – or series of posts – on Venice but I wanted to give you just a taste. To let you know that you’re on our minds.

It is a big, wonderful world out there and we hope that you’ll make every effort to experience as much of it as possible.

So, until we have time to sit and visit and look at LOTS of pictures, I hope you enjoy these few glimpses of a truly lovely Venice Adventure.

All the best, and safe travels to you!

Dan

Hildring House – the Tiniest Bath – Fini – Guest Post by Debra

Guest post by Debra showing off the changes to the tiniest bath at Hildring House – with lovely photos by the lovely Amber Shumake.

As promised, Debra is here with one of a couple of posts that she’ll do about the conclusion of the Hildring House Adventure – the re-do of the little bitty bath in Debra’s Domain. I’ll be throwing in some before shots for context – they’re easy to distinguish from Amber’s lovely after shots. As usual, when I just can’t resist chiming in, I’ll do so in italics.

We may have a new contender for the title of the tiniest bath at an upcoming project, but now, let’s just enjoy the lovely photographs from my wildly talented friend Amber Shumake.

The light fixture (@hudson valley) looks so great in here! I’m happy with the all-brass decision, but it’s always sad to leave the “finds” behind- gotta keep that warehouse full of things for future projects so I can move on peacefully 😊.

Hildring House Transformation – Before & After – Part 2

Part 2 of the amazing Hildring House transformation in before and after pictures.

Sorry that it has taken me so long to get around to continuing the before & after shots of the Hildring House transformation. Things have been pretty busy, what with Valentine’s Day and getting ready to move.

That’s right. Hildring House soon will have new owners and Debra and I will be off to a new remodeling adventure. For now, though, let’s keep looking at the changes that took place at Hildring House. Once again, unless otherwise noted, all of the “after” pictures are by the wonderful Trey Freeze.

Let’s start back in the dining/living/kitchen area.

Living, dining, kitchen before — Before.

See how isolated the kitchen was? And not just because of the wall. The dramatic change in flooring material segregated the spaces. The pass-through, while a pretty convenient idea, did nothing to help the flow.

Removing the wall, installing the bar/island, getting rid of the fluorescent light box, recessing the kitchen lighting and carrying the same, wonderful oil-rubbed wood flooring throughout all of the area – and painting everything white – made it miles more open, welcoming, and accommodating.