Full strength

Chris got the photo for me (thank you Chris!) so you can see this little side table from yesterday's post without squinting. Wouldn't it be nice by a chair or in a stray corner? $179 at Urban Outfitters. If it goes on sale its mine.

Industrial Strength

The living room/family room project isn't anywhere near done (but there's progress!), and when it is its going to be a while before its furnished, but I'm already thinking. I found this great tufted tight-back sofa at Neiman Marcus. No, I probably wouldn't buy a sofa at Neimans, but I like this one a lot. When it comes time I'll have to figure out who makes this frame.
And a white garden stool from Williams Sonoma Home. I can't resist cane pattern.

But you know how I like a mix. A little industrial sounds good, doesn't it? I've got the perfect spot for a pair of these, the Decker Bookshelf from Anthropologie. I love that they have drawers.


And in front of that velvet sofa, some rough wood. Like this coffee table from Environment Furniture.


And at 15" by 29", this little Iron Strap Table from Urban Outfitters could tuck in next to a chair or anywhere.
And UO, I'm telling folks about your product, let me grab the damn full-size photo rather than the thumbnail. Big picture here.

Call me

I inquired about some grasscloth, found it was available, and she said she'd call me back with pricing within the hour. That was Wednesday.

Last Friday I sent a sample off to have some paint matched. I included my email and mobile number so they could get my credit card. Nothing so far.

Retailers, I got money to spend if you'll just help me out.

Slightly unrelated, mud and tape have begun here. Pray that I weather the impending dust storm.

***Update*** The paint guy called me, order complete!

I wish this were Tom Colicchio's new restaurant

Photo credit: JoeMyGod
Sadly it's just a restaurant in need of some sign maintenance. Shame.

Waterworks Tile

I was wondering around the Waterworks website. I love a white crackle glaze, especially on a field tile with a raised chinoiserie pattern.
There were a crazy amount of trim options, this was my favorite, although they were all really good.
I'm sure pricing is pee-your-pants high, but you know I'm trying to figure out where I could fit a few square feet.

The Lull

There has been a whole lot of nothing going on with the current entry/living room/family room project for the last week or so. Bill came to finish the drywall, with the exception of a few little pieces that I can't understand why he didn't put up. The Phantom Drywaller, or Steve, who does the mud and tape has bid, and we've said go, but I have no clue when that is supposed to occur. I will be texting Bill tomorrow, a call might reveal that I'm mildly annoyed.

This shot doesn't show the floor, so you can't see where the partial walls used to be. You'll have to trust me when I say it's WAY more open now. That opening in front of the front door alone used to have a 2 foot wide pane of ribbed glass narrowing the space. Its way less congested now. We also have some gorgeous black slate tile to replace the scrap marble there now. We got enough to continue it into the closet. Wet shoes? No worries.

Yes, you're wondering why the electrical box is there. Well, that used to be a closet behind a wall of cabinetry, and framing out and drywalling around it was the most simple solution. The soon to be burnt orange sideboard will likely go in that spot with some art or a mirror or something over it so it will be accessable but not in view. Speaking of that furniture, I got my chrome ring pulls from the place Jenny suggested (lookintheattic.com). They're very nice, the perfect size, and exactly what I wanted.

The other thing this picture shows is the absence of the parquet floor. I'm glad its gone and I'm looking forward to the oak plank coming soon. I'm not thrilled about the nails Bill missed. We have a dog for Christ's sake. A dog we adore. He's been very good about staying out of there but tomorrow we'll get down with our hammers and remove the danger in spite of the fact we paid for demo. Yes, mildly annoyed.

Looking from the living room into the family/tv room, here's the front of what we call the "media wall." The tv will mount on the back side. SO much better than an 11 foot picture window. Also, removing the header over the hallway was a small detail with a big impact. The hall gets more light and somehow seems less long.

There's the media wall from the tv side. You can also see where the bar next to the fireplace used to be. Its not as deep as it was and has sheetrock now, and some built in shelving or cabinetry sometime in the future. Way better.
And that closet in the hall you can see through the opening? Those doors are gone, as are the scentless cedar planks that lined the walls, and the laundry chute. I did leave the cedar on the ceiling for texture. One of those fun little details you'll never see. Holes are filled and I'll be sanding and priming the walls and ceiling and then painting. We need to order new doors for that and the entry closet.

That's it for now, hopefully there will be something new to show soon. Enjoy the tournament if you're watching. My bracket is already shot but my Jayhawks won!

Glee-ful

Finally. Can I get a hell yeah?

Naked

We have no window coverings in the public half of the house. Walk by and those naked windows let you see pretty much right through. So I've been looking at fabric and trying to figure out what to do. First up, some sort of curtains for the big picture window in front. (Yes, the picture window will go, eventually becoming a row of casements, but the total size stays the same)

I know generally what I'm looking for in fabric. A little bit of pattern, a little darker than the pale gray paint waiting to go up on the walls. Something like Schumacher's Silk Fret (above), which is perfect except for the Schumacher price.

What I'm not sure about is the kind of curtain. I know I don't want blinds or shades, and Brett nor I are fans of sheers. My default is a simple pleated curtain on a fat chrome rod. Have you seen anything else you think I should consider?

Fair and balanced and spelled incorrectly.

Via Sly Oyster

Things I found, and a "what would you do?"

I've spent a lot of time the last couple of weeks sweeping, shop vac'ing, dusting, and dragging construction debris to the dumpster in the driveway. When not doing those things however, I've been window shopping online.

If you need a pair of interesting sconces I present the Fortune Teller Sconce. Made by Global Views (yeah, they make a lot of things I like), you could buy them for $435 a piece from Horchow, or you could get them on eBay for $250, here. I wish I had a spot, but I don't.

From this week's online sales (Gilt or OneKingsLane, I forget which) I discovered Environment Furniture and their Campinas Console. I've got the spot but not the money (even though its not outrageously priced) so I may try to build this if I can find some reclaimed lumber to face it with. And should the math become too much for me (which could totally happen) Bill builds furniture!

And finally, a little success on eBay, and my dilemma.

I've been watching West German pottery lately and was totally taken with the simple shape and red-orange glaze of this little pot. It had been running with a Buy It Now over $100, and then another $40 for shipping from Switzerland.

That was all way too much for me, but I kept it on my watch list. Sure enough, the Buy It Now came down and it went on a 7 day auction starting at $19.99. I tossed out a 20 buck bid, won, and Paypal'd the seller.

A few days later I received two emails explaining how between the start and the end of the auction Swiss postal rates had changed, and that while the package had been shipped, the cost was $13 more. A third message followed shortly explaining that paying the extra shipping was my choice, but that they were a non-profit and would have a difficult time making up the loss.

I'm not inclined to pay any more shipping, and here's why: I've sent a small piece of pottery, a Royal Copenhagen bowl in fact, to Germany for 20 bucks. I've also sent a heavy Ralph Lauren coat to Australia for $27. I dont know Swiss postal rates but $40 seems high to me, unless the promised careful packing involved an enormous box.

I've also miscalculated shipping on things I've sold, and to maintain my 100 percent perfect feed back I've eaten it. Once to the tune of 50 bucks. I just don't think you change things after the auction ends.

And finally, if you were a non-profit using eBay as a fundraiser, wouldn't you mention that in your auction listing? I would.

I don't think there's anything to be gained by responding. If the pot arrives in good shape I'll leave positive feedback and be done.

What would you do?

The first Saturday in March

I'm exhausted, there couldn't have been more packed into the weekend.

The AIDSWalk Open, our annual putt-putt pub crawl kicked things off Saturday morning at 10am. Cindy was determined to buy me a drink so the shot of Kahlua I requested went right into the coffee I was still nursing from breakfast. Would enjoying that every morning be a problem?

We were highly efficient covering all the holes in the Westport entertainment district, including our favorite at Morning Glory Antiques. It had a Studio 54 theme, lots of mirror balls and silver glitter, and the best obstacle of day: Members of the KC Wave swim team, in Speedos, on a swing hanging from the ceiling over the green. Why I didn't take a phone pic of the adorable boy dangling overhead in his banana hammock I don't know. Actually I do know. I was preoccupied. Note to self: attend more swim meets.

After a bloody mary and lunch and finishing the 3 holes not in Westport Brett and I were off to Kincaid's. As you know our entry has an opening into the living room where there used to be a planter and scrolly wrought iron. Bill is changing the size of that opening to accomodate the piece of antique Chinese lattice we bought. It's a plain grid pattern rather than anything more intricate, but I think that makes it feel a bit more contemporary, which I like. I'll have photos after I figure some sort of floating mount for Bill to pull off. If you've ever had to do anything like this I'd love to hear how you did it. The lattice frame is about an inch and a half thick.

By now you're wondering what's up with the paint chips above. In anticipation of our new room I've nailed down the details on what I'm going to do with that Henredon sideboard we bought a while back. I'm going to give the Fine Paints of Europe sign lacquer a try. And as a foil to all the neutral walls and floors (and future upholstery), I'm painting it burnt orange. Benjamin Moore's Fireball Orange was a strong contender, as was Navajo Red, but the winner is Orange Copper from Dulux. It's the big chip, sorry about the flash glare.

And for hardware, a simple three-inch ring pull in polished chrome,from Look In the Attic dot com, here.

I spent today browsing Nell Hills looking at rugs and an enormous wall mirror, also hitting up a new thrift store to see if there was any good project furniture (there wasn't). The living and family rooms are moving along and all I can think is that I'm going to have big empty spaces to fill very soon. Pictures of that progress later this week.

Dusty!

Alex says "What the hell? Our ceiling is gone..."

Dirt and dust everywhere.

It'll all be done soon, and we'll clean. Then the floors will get sanded down and refinished, and we'll clean again. And then we'll start decorating, and that'll be fun. Hang in there Alex.