One of my favourite things about old houses is the history they come with. Marbel staircases worn with the passing of feet, brass door handles polished by many hands, layers of paint and paper exposed by rips and chips.

Yet, while the past can be picturesque, it doesn’t always meet modern needs. When updating an older building it’s a fine balance between losing all the pre-existing character and making the space usable.

Our house was once two smaller houses. Although they appear to have been joined for a while, interestingly the owners never removed one of the two sets of staircases. The second staircase, while a part of the history of the house, divides one space into a small room and two space wasting corridors. Therefore, in order to create a more useful space, we began taking down some partition wall and the outside of the staircase.

Chris has put his bid in for the new room to be the master bedroom, though I prefer the room next door. We’ll see who wins in the end.

While removing walls is always fun, the drudgery of clearing old plaster continues. Luckily, most is so rotted that it falls away in big chunks. In some places the plaster removal reveals awkward surprises, like old repairs or large cracks. More pleasant surprises include an old fireplace.

Rehoming the old items from the house continues with the old bed finding a home in someone garage (we decided not to ask why), while the ancient oven was taken to help cure motorbike parts. My new favourite item is an old oil applicator can. Chris can’t understand my fascination, but this small object takes me back to Sunday morning cartoons with hero desperately trying to fix his plane, car or train. Perhaps the magic oil can will help fix up our ruined home?