rebeccmeister (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
rebeccmeister) wrote2024-08-24 05:09 pm
rebeccmeister) wrote2024-08-24 05:09 pm
Fixing things [stuff, projects]
I'm spending a lot of hours on the computer these days, to the point where when the evening rolls around, I'm tired of it. One of the things I've been doing recently is putting on internet videos while knitting or washing the dishes. Somehow or another, I am finding myself watching a lot of videos of people fixing things.
It's all kind of great, really.
I guess this all pretty much got started when S and I began watching videos about the keel-up Ship of Theseus restoration of the Tally Ho (completed, after something like 7 years of very intense work!).
I appreciate that the person with the below channel does not voice-narrate his videos, and he also provides a lot of tiny tips and hints about things I would never have learned anywhere else:
https://www.youtube.com/@NewYorkshireWorkshop
I haven't watched his videos about his kitchen remodel, mostly just videos about updating his small backyard and alley. His approach is interesting to me from the standpoint of what he saves/restores versus what he replaces and updates. I might personally make different aesthetic decisions, but there's still a lot to learn.
I especially learned a lot from this staircase restoration: https://youtu.be/46vpG9arDAM?si=x4YXgQ_mzGZ9tY6f
I also wound up watching a couple of videos by another person who seems to have created a business from restoring vintage furniture:
https://www.youtube.com/@ModernMakeovers
It's just helpful to see how much labor goes into this kind of restoration work, and to see/learn which tools work best for various processes. Also to appreciate how much life remains in many of the spaces and objects that surround us, and what some possibilities are. I did watch one where I was filled with great envy, because this restorer had far better success with a chemical finish stripper than I've had. It was also helpful to learn about some of the particular repair decisions made, and to see how different kinds of wood/veneer damage were dealt with.
I really don't think I'd want all of my life energy going towards an Extreme Home Makeover. But it's good to see what that actually looks like. On the other hand, there's something to be said for developing a connection to things by working with them directly. So I don't necessarily need to live in a house that is totally buttoned up, either. A balance is called for.
It's all kind of great, really.
I guess this all pretty much got started when S and I began watching videos about the keel-up Ship of Theseus restoration of the Tally Ho (completed, after something like 7 years of very intense work!).
I appreciate that the person with the below channel does not voice-narrate his videos, and he also provides a lot of tiny tips and hints about things I would never have learned anywhere else:
https://www.youtube.com/@NewYorkshireWorkshop
I haven't watched his videos about his kitchen remodel, mostly just videos about updating his small backyard and alley. His approach is interesting to me from the standpoint of what he saves/restores versus what he replaces and updates. I might personally make different aesthetic decisions, but there's still a lot to learn.
I especially learned a lot from this staircase restoration: https://youtu.be/46vpG9arDAM?si=x4YXgQ_mzGZ9tY6f
I also wound up watching a couple of videos by another person who seems to have created a business from restoring vintage furniture:
https://www.youtube.com/@ModernMakeovers
It's just helpful to see how much labor goes into this kind of restoration work, and to see/learn which tools work best for various processes. Also to appreciate how much life remains in many of the spaces and objects that surround us, and what some possibilities are. I did watch one where I was filled with great envy, because this restorer had far better success with a chemical finish stripper than I've had. It was also helpful to learn about some of the particular repair decisions made, and to see how different kinds of wood/veneer damage were dealt with.
I really don't think I'd want all of my life energy going towards an Extreme Home Makeover. But it's good to see what that actually looks like. On the other hand, there's something to be said for developing a connection to things by working with them directly. So I don't necessarily need to live in a house that is totally buttoned up, either. A balance is called for.