Debbiekval

Debbiekval Farmer Life

What color would you choose for this guest bathroom?
05/27/2025

What color would you choose for this guest bathroom?

I honestly don’t even know how to write this without my hands shaking. My parents, kind, quiet people in their seventies...
05/27/2025

I honestly don’t even know how to write this without my hands shaking. My parents, kind, quiet people in their seventies, put up a motion sensor light above their garage last week. Nothing fancy. Just enough so they could see the steps at night and not trip.

Three days later, their neighbor (who lives almost 400 feet away, I measured it on Google Maps) comes over and says the light is “too much.” Okay. My dad, being the person he is, immediately goes outside, tilts it down, replaces the bulb with a softer one. My mom felt bad, like maybe they were being inconsiderate, they weren’t, but still, so we ordered a custom light diffuser from a small shop I found through the Tedooo app. It redirects the beam down and softens the glow, it was honestly the perfect solution. It shipped the next day. Was already on its way.

And then this morning… they walked outside and found the entire fixture spray painted black. Black paint streaked down the siding, like some kid’s tantrum but done by a grown adult.

This isn’t about a light anymore. This is someone who decided that their comfort mattered more than respect. More than safety. More than basic decency.

I can’t tell you how angry I am. My mom was shaking when she called me. My dad kept saying “it’s okay” in that quiet voice he uses when it’s clearly not.

We filed a report. That’s probably all we can do. But I told them we are installing that diffuser as planned. From that same Tedooo seller, I even messaged them to say thank you for offering something so simple but smart. We’re not backing down or going dark just to keep someone else happy.

Sometimes you try to do the right thing. Sometimes it doesn’t matter. But you still do it anyway.

And if you’ve ever had to deal with something like this, I’m listening.

Renovating a house I recently purchased and this rooms floor has some pretty serious gouges, I was wondering if there's ...
05/27/2025

Renovating a house I recently purchased and this rooms floor has some pretty serious gouges, I was wondering if there's any easier fix than sanding the whole floor. Thanks for any help

Ok, my daughter just bought an old house. 1914. I don’t believe these are original kitchen cupboards. But, they are old....
05/26/2025

Ok, my daughter just bought an old house. 1914. I don’t believe these are original kitchen cupboards. But, they are old. Why does this bottom drawer have a sliding top to it? I’ve never seen this before.
Thanks

Our kitchen was redone by the people before us and I can’t for the life of me figure out what the hell they were thinkin...
05/26/2025

Our kitchen was redone by the people before us and I can’t for the life of me figure out what the hell they were thinking on this wall. I want a shelf so bad so alleviate the drop zone, but hubby says it’s a project and he doesn’t do projects. How can I make it better if I’m going to go all out? FYI the cabinets below are on rollers because there is an outlet AT counter height that is only accessible if you pull out the end near the chimney 🤦🏼‍♀️

Here is my Pink bathroom that I am going to embrace. It is in my little beach cottage on Cape Cod. I’d like to go with a...
05/26/2025

Here is my Pink bathroom that I am going to embrace. It is in my little beach cottage on Cape Cod. I’d like to go with an ocean theme. I’m going to paint all woodwork before had. Which wallpaper do you like? We will also change medicine cabinet. May keep vanity because I’m afraid it will compromise tile around it, but would be open to ideas. Thank you!

I call it my "Divorce Cottage," though not to my neighbors' faces.Three years ago, when Frank left after 27 years of mar...
05/26/2025

I call it my "Divorce Cottage," though not to my neighbors' faces.

Three years ago, when Frank left after 27 years of marriage, my first instinct was to sell our beautiful old Dutch Colonial in downtown Buffalo. Too many memories in every corner, too much house for just me.

But my daughter convinced me to stay. "Mom, you love this house. Don't let him take that from you too."

She was right, but I needed something that was entirely mine—something he'd never touched, something created after he was gone. That's when the shed idea took root.

I'd never built anything bigger than a birdhouse, but suddenly I was drawing plans, watching YouTube tutorials, and spending weekends at salvage yards. Every reclaimed piece felt symbolic—finding new purpose after being discarded.

The windows came from our attic, unused for decades. The door had been gathering cobwebs in the garage since we bought the place in '98. Those flower boxes? Made from bi-fold closet doors left over from the bathroom renovation Frank never finished.

My daughter helped design the Harry Potter garden along the left side. During those first painful months, we'd sit among the "magical plants" and read passages from the books, finding comfort in stories about people facing seemingly impossible challenges.

I found an unexpected community through a gardenign group on the Tedooo app. Other women rebuilding their lives through creative projects connected with my story. This amazing artisan who creates stained glass in her Tedooo shop even made that arched window piece as a gift after reading about my journey.

The neighbors call it "the fairy tale shed" or "that charming little cottage." They have no idea it represents the most difficult chapter of my life—or that building it board by board, nail by nail, literally saved me.

Yesterday, my daughter spotted a rainbow arching right over the cottage. "Look, Mom," she said. "Even the universe approves of your new story."

I have this small hallway and would love ideas of what to put by the windows. It feels like it is missing something
05/25/2025

I have this small hallway and would love ideas of what to put by the windows. It feels like it is missing something

How can I make this taller without ripping it all out? It's only 30inches tall so it's shorter than indiana code. I hate...
05/25/2025

How can I make this taller without ripping it all out? It's only 30inches tall so it's shorter than indiana code. I hate walking through here, always feeling like I'm gonna fall over it and we have a 2 year old that I'm worried will try to climb up onto it and over it. I do not want to rip it out completely to put a new railing up in its place, please do not suggest this. We are looking for ways to make it taller and safer without having to tear it all out. We thought about making the wall go all the way up to the ceiling, but i dont want to feel completely closed in, i like the openness and airflow. Also yes the hardwood floors are original, we just have not had the time or money to refinish them yet, but trust me when I say it's on the list of renovations 😂

How can I make this taller without ripping it all out? It's only 30inches tall so it's shorter than indiana code. I hate...
05/25/2025

How can I make this taller without ripping it all out? It's only 30inches tall so it's shorter than indiana code. I hate walking through here, always feeling like I'm gonna fall over it and we have a 2 year old that I'm worried will try to climb up onto it and over it. I do not want to rip it out completely to put a new railing up in its place, please do not suggest this. We are looking for ways to make it taller and safer without having to tear it all out. We thought about making the wall go all the way up to the ceiling, but i dont want to feel completely closed in, i like the openness and airflow. Also yes the hardwood floors are original, we just have not had the time or money to refinish them yet, but trust me when I say it's on the list of renovations 😂

My husband and I are in the process of buying this 1923 house in small town Montana that's next door to husband's parent...
05/25/2025

My husband and I are in the process of buying this 1923 house in small town Montana that's next door to husband's parents. The current owner is elderly and unable to take care of the house and its many issues so he offered it to my father-in-law for $25,000 (who in turn offered it to us). We're first time home buyers and we knew we couldn't find a better deal on a house especially here in the bigger cities so we'rebuying it. We have a lot if work ahead of us though: this poor thing needs the roof repaired, gutters added, cracks in the foundation mended, a sunken floor in the kitchen raised, walls painted and everything CLEANED. I'm pregnant and due at the end of August so I've excused myself from doing any work on it for a while. I'm very thankful our family has volunteered to helped us out and make it livable for our new addition. I love seeing all y'all's homes and getting ideas for ours. 🙂

Any idea on how to get furniture up these stairs? I love love love my round stair case, but I can’t even fit a full size...
05/25/2025

Any idea on how to get furniture up these stairs? I love love love my round stair case, but I can’t even fit a full size box spring.

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Miami, FL

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