Small library. Big opinions.
Project 01: the kit has arrived, the finish is still to choose, and the real work is still to document.
The Sign of the EucalyptusGiuseppe Cadenasso's studio-home, mid-1800s
House edition / San Francisco
Big ideas.
No plan.
Lots of opinions.
I'm Melissa. I have an old San Francisco house, very specific taste, and a growing list of things I've never done before.
The vision.The attempt.The revised estimate.The beautiful version.
Latest episode
A 150-year-old fireplace.
Zero experience.
The newest episode from the house, plus the short ones. Subscribe so the next chapter finds you first.
Subscribe on YouTubeI Tore Apart My 150-Year-Old Fireplace With Zero Experience (Part 1) Watch on YouTube
Shorts
All ShortsArtists lived in this house. I am not one of them.
This is the backyard. Allegedly.
Is it Wenge or wench?
The house, in chapters
Small beginning.
Big opinions.
First, the little library. Then the staircase, the blue room, and the details worth keeping. Start with the ambitions and the questions, before the after photographs.
Explore all project briefs
The staircase has an opinion.
A finish with ambition. A process that needs a little more information.
An unreasonable amount of blue.
The difference between immersive and rather a lot.
The whole point
The process is unqualified.
The taste isn't.
Not expert instruction with the difficult parts edited out. The first attempt, the better attempt, and the part where I call someone who knows.
Meet Melissa
The sourcebook
The details
make the room.
Paint, hardware, lighting, and the choices that deserve a closer look. A considered starting point for finding the beautiful version.
Explore the sourcebookCurrent links go directly to retailers. Affiliate connections are not active yet.
Field notes
Several things
worth saying.
Field note / The point of view
The first question is not what to buy.
Start with the result you want. The shopping list can wait five minutes.
Read the noteField note / The point of view
The reveal needs a receipt.
The beautiful photograph is only part of the useful information.
Read the noteFor your own very big idea
A little planning.
Off the record.
Put the result, the unknowns, and the actual budget in one place. It does not make the project less ambitious.
Make your project brief