So with 2 little ones your hubby is going to try to figure out how to "do things", while the kids are taking a nap? Down with flu or cold? Sanding? Any allergies in family? As a newlywed we moved into a $60 rental house with wonderful landlady. The lady that had lived in house for years had died. House had not been painted or anything done for at least 20 yrs. Not up to our standards that is for sure. I spend hours washing down walls, sanding & painting as it was a well built 1920-30's house & I wanted it to look like new. The ceramic tile was 1 in squares on bathroom floor, I can not even tell you the hours I spent scrubbing the grout but it sure looked great after it was done. Same with kitchen countertops. I used Tilex back then & windows open as could smell fumes, not good for kids even tho products have improved. You don't say ages of kids but you can't put a paint can down & go out of room without kid managing to stick their hand in it or worse if they are under 3 yrs old. So unless dad is superdad & great at whipping up lunch with a paintbrush in his hand you are heading for trouble in your marriage. Later we bought a new home but just painting or getting new carpet was a hassle & a half with 2 kids underfoot.I removed all the old carpet & horsehair pad myself(very allergic to it) No money for sitters so kids were underfoot & of course as these things happen, it rained that day so furniture was slacked on covered patio & covered with tarps. Things go wrong a lot on this forum so unless your marriage is super strong & you both love,love, love old homes this could be a fast track to a divorce, especially when money gets short. Buy or borrow a few tools & make a picnic table & benches & see how talented you really are at getting angles right, etc. I've done a lot of things & can refinish old furniture beautifully but I can not put together a simple birdhouse for the life of me!! If you can't do simple things you probably will wish you hadn't gotten into this house. It is very attractive(from a distance). Try replacing glass in an old window someone has around & see how much fun that is. After the picnic table & a window or 2 you may have some idea how it will go. Best if wife & you work on these 2 projects together. If you end up yelling at each other or have a ball doing it that will tell you somewhat what is ahead, as far as your emotions go. Good Luck!

Hi Everybody, I use a ruler I don't see mentioned around here. It's not a quilter's ruler, but one I've had most of my life. It's 2" wide x 18" long; I've always used it. I used it as Editor of High School Yearbook to layout out pix of 535 seniors, each single one w/ a 1/4" border. This ruler grid is in eights of an inch, does a GREAT 1/4 inch. Got me through Textile School & years of plotting weave diagrams on graph paper also 1/8" grid. When rotary cutters came along, I found one of these rulers w/ a 1/4" metal edge, which is just perfect for rotary cutting & also drawing on 1/4" seams for all my quilt seams. The manufacturer is the C-Thru Ruler Company & it's clear plastic w/ the grid in red or turquoise. I'll have to take a pic sometime. I simply could not be w/out it.

Here is some old-time-carpenter's geometry. If the curve is an arc (part of a circle), it is easy to draw using three nails and two boards. Both methods require you to put a nail at the end point and center of the arc. Then get two boards and create either a half-lap or gusset to hold them together at the ends. It does not have to be fancy or neat. Method 1: * Put the two boards joined so they create a "triangle" or large "V" with each board (same edge) touching both one end point and the center point. * Fasten the boards to maintain this angle (let glue dry, nail together, etc. whatever works for you.) * Put a pencil in the apex of the V and keeping the boards in contact with the left and center nail, trace the left side of the arc. * Repeat for the right side. Note if the V apex angle is 90 degrees, you will have a semi-circle (half circle). Method 2: * Lay the first board from the left nail to the center nail as before. * Attach the second board PARALLEL to the chord (the line connecting the endpoints of the arc.) The easiest way to do this is simply measure from the chord up to the midpoint and mark the same distance above the right endpoint. * Securely fasten the V as before. * Remove the center nail. * Trace the arc with the pencil in the apex, keeping the boards in contact with each endpoint nail. This method requires longer boards, but is one operation and not two.

One more sidebar, I promise. I work in an industry where regular folks almost always use the wrong words for things. I can be indignant about it and constantly correct them, which makes me look like a jerk, or I can gently educate them, or I can ignore it and infer what they mean. I assert that THERE IS something that we refer to as Rustic Modern: sliding barn doors, shiplap, Provincial-stained woods, white walls with texture. There is a real vocabulary to the style. We can deride the term or we can get on board. The most useful question is: "What do you mean by ______?" (The best other example I can think of is the term "Contemporary", which some take to mean modern, but it really just means the current style. You have to ask.) So, @giaagg, what do you mean by "Rustic/Modern"? Looking at your ideabooks, you have a bit of a range of elements, but I would say you like grey and white, and textures, in an unfussy composition, which all tends to look more modern, with rustic accents. Does that sound right?