Bare bones

Demo was not completed over the weekend, but not for lack of trying. The minor plumbing complications caused us to not be able to get the sink and toilet out until after the plumber came. That happened today, so we're ready to clear the rest of the room.

Our lack of a power saw also proved to be a handicap in getting out the studs around the shower. They'd probably come out with a few good whacks from our trusty sledge hammer, but after two days of work neither of us had it in us.

We're taking one day off this week to complete everything before they pick up the dumpster and I don't think we should have any problems getting everything completely stripped down.

The next photo you get should show a perfectly empty room. I am pleased to report my plastic and tape job seems to have kept the dust out of the bedroom, save for the paw prints.

Hammered

Here's a few photos from yesterday while we're on break. I'd forgotten how horribly strong our plaster-over-drywall walls are.

Except of course the enormous rotted chunk that came down all at once. That grab bar kind of made me laugh because it was way too heavy to carry. At some point it broke in two and we got it out to the dumpster.

Speaking of the dumpster, someone has tossed in their bag of dog poop each morning. Not that I care, I just find it funny that each day has greeted us with a bag of foreign crap.

We've done well taking things down without disturbing the new bedroom walls on the other side, with the exception of one screw head-sized perfect circle of spackle which popped off in the bedroom. Easy fix.

There are of course a couple of hiccups, in the form of two vent pipes revealed when the walls came down. One is in the shower wall that needs to move about 8 inches west, and one is right where the medicine cabinet needs to be. Frustrating, but if thats the worst thing that happens we're incredibly lucky. So far there does not appear to be any rot that can't be dealt with. One thing we have learned: rotting wood smells awful. Things are dryer today so its much better.

Today has been all about the floor, and the pneumatic impact hammer we rented. Tile over a nearly two inch mortar bed on metal mesh. Hellish in some ways, but we've made surprisingly quick headway. Hopefully the shower bed comes out just as well.

And we're off

We have one unblemished sink basin,
And one 12 yard roll-off in the driveway.

That means its Demo Weekend at Chez Malaise! I had a few spare minutes at work today so I typed up a whole schedule of what to do when. We spent the evening moving some stuff around and cleaning up a bit, followed by removing a number of doors. Tomorrow starts with a trip to Lowe's (and a coffee run) and then its hammer swinging time. The plumber is scheduled for Tuesday morning to move pipes, and the electrician is either Monday or Wednesday for all the wiring. We've promised them both a room stripped down to the studs so there's no choice, we go until we're there.

I have no doubt we'll find a bit of rot and mold, but the entire bathroom is sitting on a nearly 2 inch pad of concrete so hopefully the damage is only in the walls and not the subfloor. Cross your fingers for us.

Here we go

"Moral disapproval alone is an improper basis on which to deny rights to gay men and lesbians." - Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker

Proposition 8 has been overturned in California. The entire ruling is available online, and while I plan to read it, I thought the above quote summed it up nicely. The appeals process has already begun and I expect the entire battle will just get uglier and uglier. But at least for today, we have something to celebrate.

Set your shampoo here

Or in our bald-headed cases, your soap, shaving cream, razors, etc.

I just ordered this double niche from http://www.tileredi.com/, and had an email within minutes saying it would be received in 3 to 7 days. My local tile shop had similar products, but the sizing is what I like about this one. 16" X 20", so it should fit between existing studs and minimize any framing I need to do. I'll verify that for you once it arrives. Just screw to studs, install underlayment, silicone the seam between the niche and underlayment, and tile over.

UPDATE: Ordered at 930 this morning, email around 3 this afternoon from UPS letting me know it had shipped. We like fast.

A few more pieces of the puzzle

The medicine cabinet from Resto showed up today. Just a simple frameless mirror, so not really worth a photo. I will say its solid and heavy as hell, should be very nice when its installed.

It took HomeClick a few days to process our broken basin, but the replacement ships out tomorrow. Thankfully they told us to just pitch the broken one so we don't have to deal with sending it back.

We gave Westport Glass approximate measurements for the frameless shower enclosure and door and they called with their quote today. It was less than I expected, but more than Brett thought it would be.

This weekend we'll order tile and the Schluter products. The only thing remaining is the tile-in niche for the shower, which I need to buy tomorrow. The plan is to have the dumpster delivered Friday for demo next weekend.

Recommended reading

Chris at StyleNorth has a nice review of two books on the collections of Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Berge. Both The Private World of Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Berge, and The Yves Saint Laurent Pierre Berge Collection (the Hardcover catalog from the Christie's sale) are now on my list of books to buy.

Damaged

We unpacked Lloyd (the pedestal sink) tonight and he's beautiful, except for the back left corner of the basin, which got crunched in shipping. The pedestal was double-boxed and made it just fine. So we'll call HomeClick tomorrow morning and see what we need to do. I wish it wouldn't have happened, but I will say this is giving us a full and complete experience working with them. If this gets resolved quickly without a hassle it will virtually guarantee we'll use them in the future. I need two more bathrooms and a kitchen, and likely a new washer and dryer, so our business is theirs to win.

Update 1, Thursday 10am: They've asked that we email a photo of the damage.

Things I love: Silver foliage

Isn't it great when a plant likes where you put it? Everything in the little side bed is looking healthy, we've had a lot of rain so I'm not surprised, but none of the plants are especially fast growers, save the two artemesia I surrounded Mr. Cement Frog with.

I'm a sucker for most any plant that leans to silvers and blues, this finely cut, bushy variety being my favorite. They like some sun and I was worried they wouldn't get enough on the east side of the house, but it appears to be working out just fine.

Now if the big varigated grasses I put by the garage and the porch would stop looking so dry and scraggly I'd be perfectly happy. The smaller dark green maiden grass seems to be doing well, but the big guys look like they're having a hard time of it. Buckets of water seem to help, as did all the rain, but a few dry days and they're looking iffy again. Fingers crossed.

Mad Props

Just a note to say I'm very happy with HomeClick.com. First, when we called to see about cancelling the first sink it was no problem at all. Then the shower head that wasn't supposed to ship until next week arrived at Brett's office today. He also received an email letting us know that the sink (ordered this past Wednesday night) shipped this morning.

Not only was shipping on the sink free, there was a popup promotion when we pulled the trigger and we got an extra 5% off.

I'm a fan.

Longevity in design

It's an embarassment of fixtures and fittings here! Everything arrived from HomeClick today save the shower head, which is scheduled to show up in a couple of days. Also a surprise was the box I found on the porch when I went out to get the mail, the pair of Albion single sconces from Restoration Hardware.


We've opened all the pretty things and I'll just say again, Kohler makes some beautiful products. The Purist suite is simple yet visually substantial, and the gleaming polished chrome is gorgeous. I thought about a photo but each thing seems to have a lot of pieces, all of which are wrapped safely in foam envelopes and bubble wrap. You'll see everything in the after shots, hopefully very soon.


Thank you all for your thoughts on the sink dilema. As you likely said to yourselves, there just wasn't much difference between the Barclay and the Porcher. And while the Toto stood apart, its still a white pedestal. More contemporary in feel, but retaining some classic lines. Especially when you look at the pedestal itself. It's the shape of pedestals past, simplified down to the basic elements. In the end, the Lloyd by Toto was the winner.


Martha asked the question I think I needed to hear: how would either look in ten years?


I think they'll both look good in a decade actually. But I also recognize that over time my taste has changed, and it seems that it's been a movement toward simple and more streamlined. The materials in the room, the black and white marble, white porcelain and polished chrome, are timeless and should hold up as well as they always have. The toilet and sink especially recall the lines of their predecessors, and hopefully that influence, pared down to the essential shape and proportion, will keep them looking both classic and fresh for a long time to come.

A little wrench

Ok, we've hit a slight hitch. The pedestal sink we ordered is on backorder, and won't ship until September. Sure it happens, but in this case it's going to require a replacement. So, here are the candidates.

First, the Lutezia pedestal from Porcher. Not all that different from the original choice. I'm a bit bugged by the curved deck below the spout but can probably deal with it. This ships from HomeClick in 4 to 5 weeks, so it would have to be purchased elsewhere. I've found it on eBay at $318 with free shipping.

The other choice is the Lloyd pedestal from Toto. Ships in 2 to 3 days, for free, from HomeClick. But it's $538. It's also more contemporary, which isn't what I had originally envisioned, but also isn't something I mind. One thing that I do like a lot is that its 34 inches tall. Both Brett and I are around 6 feet tall, so we like a little extra height.

The Purist faucet would work just fine. Also we bought a pair of the Albion bath sconces from Resto. They're seriously minimal, and would also work really well with this sink.

Alright, lets hear what you think.

House in a box

Thanks to my buddy Russ, I've discovered something you might be interested in. Most people know that Sears used to sell entire houses, everything you needed to build, right down to the nails. All cut, packed and shipped to your building site.

Well they've got most of their old home plans archived online here.

I've spent a huge chunk of my evening looking at renderings and floor plans, and wondering if any of the countless little bungalows and tudors I've visited might not have started out as a Sears & Roebuck Modern Home.

Rooms are generally (but not always) small, and some plans don't contain bathrooms (outhouse plans were available too), but it's surprising how well the designs hold up. Many of the decades old exterior elevations seem especially graceful to me still. There was even a fourplex apartment plan that could be any number of apartment buildings around KC.

Bathroom in a box

What better way to celebrate a distinctly American holiday than with some good old American consumerism! After exhaustive research and price comparisons, we ordered most everything we'll need for the bathroom this morning. HomeClick.com was the winner with an average of 37% off manufacturer's list and free shipping on most items. We compared with Lowe's and HomeClick was lower, plus theres no tax for the online purchase. Then on top of that, they were taking another 8% off for the holiday.

Barclay Constitution pedistal sink
Kohler Persuade dual flush toilet

Kohler Purist widespread faucet in polished chrome

Matching Purist shower mixer and head

Tissue holder, towel ring and a pair of bars (below)

We've found an oversized Carrera subway tile for the walls, floor to ceiling, and a black 12x12 marble for the floor, and will be measuring and figuring out how much we need today. We also need to order the Schluter shower underlayment system this week.

The electrician's bid is in, now we just need to find a plumber. And hope that there's nothing horrible awaiting us when we start demolition. I can't wait to call for a dumpster!

Prada: Resort 2010

While her daddy is back in Michigan celebrating his nephew's first birthday, Prada has been hanging out at our house! She's run Alex ragged but I think he's been happy to have some company.

Tom and Prada moved to Brookside in April and it seems like he's having her groomed more. She must have been matted on her legs though because they've shaved her down close, but her little bit of a beard is coming in nicely.

Happy holiday weekend everyone!

Auction score

I didn't go to the auction this week, but I saw this pitcher on the website and ran down over lunch and left a bid that turned out to be successful. The manager at the auction house said things went cheap, I'm kind of bummed that I didn't go, there were a few other pieces I would have bid on.

I think that this is redware, but I'm going to have to do some research. The unglazed bottom, rim, and scrapes on the applied handle all have that dark reddish color. I'm pretty sure its old, the interior glaze has crackled like you'd expect, but that's all I know. I feel like I've seen the orange color and/or polka dots before, but I'm not sure.

If anyone has any redware knowledge or knows of a good source let me know.

Tool

Elena Kagan refused to roll over yesterday in response to Jeff Sessions' (R-Alabama) badgering about her handling of military recruiting while the dean the Harvard School of Law. After her succinct explanation that ended with her clearly stating that they did exactly what the Department of Defense asked them to do, Sessions said "I'm just a little taken aback by the tone of your remarks."



I couldn't hate our nation's congressmen more. Mr. Sessions, who the hell do you think you are?

Better

So it was like this, only with more weeds:
Now it's like this.

SO much better. Should be great when it fills out.

In the dirt

We couldn't stand it anymore. We've had Brett's associate from the firm mowing the grass (he likes yard work, and he's cheap!), meanwhile the yews and bushes of uncertain lineage that ring the house have grown to epic proportions. They started out old and huge anyway, now its starting to look like the Munster's house, so we've had him begin pulling them out.

I felt like some shrubs beat no shrubs, but I was wrong. Even the dirt and stumps look neater than the six foot high yews out front and the big hairy whatevers blocking the dining room windows.

Brett went to El Dorado for his reunion over the weekend, and left to my own devices I stopped by the nursery and picked up a few ornamental grasses. I did wait until he got home Sunday to make sure he agreed with their placement, and they're now softening the the corners by the garage door and the side porch.

Between the side porch and the garage door is a little 3X5 bed wedged between the house and the sidewalk. On a whim tonight I ran to Lowe's, thinking I'd get some landscape fabric and weed the empty bed and put down some cloth and think about planting. Then I walked out among the plants in the garden center.

It took me a few hours, but the bed has been weeded, tilled, covered with cloth, and now contains an azelea, a coreopsis, a pencil holly, two artemesia and a curly reed grass. It's all looking a bit small now but I planted planning for everything to fill out. The one thing I completely forgot to buy was mulch. I'll get a bag of that tomorrow and post a photo when it's down.

Jedi masters

Sunday night Rachel had us over for dinner to celebrate her son's 4th birthday. His name is Jack and he's into Star Wars (among a number of other things) at the moment, so the light sabers Brett bought him (with light and sound effects!) were a huge hit.

Me blowing bubbles with the birthday boy's little sister

Popular with us was the sangria and the huge platter of grilled veggies, steak, chicken and fish we all enjoyed together before presents were opened.

Jack and Uncle Brett doing battle in between dinner and cake.

The meal was so good in fact, that I recreated it here at home tonight for Brett and I. We're still working on our pitcher of sangria. I was pleased with my mixed grill, but then I grilled some peaches to have over ice cream, and it kind of fell flat. The little doughnut peaches aren't optimal for grilling, lesson learned. Last night Rachel served the Chantilly Berry Cake from Whole Foods. Or as we like to call it, The Crack Cake. I'm generally opposed to store-bought birthday cakes (my mama had mad kitchen skills back in the day) but their berry cake with its whipped cream frosting is amazing.

A time for turquoise

A weird blog thing just happened.

I've not been to an auction in ages, but tonight was the spring art & antique auction at KC Auction Company. I wasn't going to buy, but there were a few things I wanted to see. One was this turquoise crackle glazed Pisgah Forest Pottery pot.

There were also a number of good old painted pieces, all in the blue family, strangely enough. Nothing I could use here, but definitely ones I wanted to see and touch. This hutch was the best of the bunch. It could use a cleaning but was in pretty good shape overall, with great paint as you can see. I left before it hit the block but checked the online catalog later and it sold for $675. That's the most I've ever seen a painted piece sell for here.

Oh, so what was the weird blog thing? I got on to upload these pictures and post, and noticed Mrs. Blandings had a new post up, so I took a look. George Terbovich, David Jiminez, and Emily Evans Eerdmans, three gorgeous shots, all related by color. And that color is turquoise.

I feel even better now that the pot came home with me.

Another shopping opportunity

I'm probably late to the party on this, but I just discovered OneKingsLane.com. Much like Gilt, only for home furnishings. On Saturdays they have "Tastemaker Tag Sales," and today's was Bunny Williams.

Prices were obscenely high even at half off, but I thought the above pictured hand-forged saw horses were supremely cool. Retailing for $2900 and sold for $1429, its a game I'll never be able to play. Still, it's entertaining to look. It also sent me scrambling to eBay where there was nothing even remotely similar to be found.

I signed up and got right on, but I do see that there's an invitation mechanism too, so if you can't get in and you'd like to shoot me an email (davidallen1967@gmail.com) and I'll send you an invite.

In praise of summer TV

I love (some) summer TV. My favorite summer show of all time starts next week!

We also enjoy

I've picked my pony and will be rooting like hell for adorable 18 year old Kent Boyd.

If the dancing thing doesn't work out I have some ideas on how he can still achieve fame and fortune. Looking at the photo above I wonder if the show stylists aren't thinking the same thing. Either way, he was first out of the chute on tonight's contestant introduction show and performed beautifully. Fingers crossed.

Metal of Order

I mentioned buying a metal box at the monthly Bottoms Up! antique sale Saturday after the big sale at Nell Hills, and tonight I realized I hadn't posted a picture. So when I went into the kitchen to grab it to shoot, what was sitting there with it but the metal basket I bought at the Sparks show just before Memorial Day.

The dealer at Sparks told me it was a crab basket. Being a midwestern boy I have no idea if that's true or not, but it's round and metal and in good shape which was enough for me.

I love metal and steel, and have a bit of a thing for baskets, especially metal ones. I also love a bit of industrial salvage, which I'm certain that heavy handled box is. And finally I've started putting some things to use to do some organizing around here.

A pair of metal locker baskets I've had for ages were perfect for holding hand towels and wash cloths in our old steel medical cabinet right outside the bathroom in our new bedroom. The new box and basket will be ready for our next organizing effort.

Also, how nice it is to take a shot of things in a clean, new room rather than the sickly yellow paint covering most every other room in this house.

Retail Therapy -or- What I'll do for 85% off

First, thank you all for the kind words both here and on the Facebook this past week. It really has been a comfort to know that you were thinking of us. We're doing alright, just trying to keep Alex busy and hoping for a smooth transition to a one dog household. At least for a while.

The photo above shows my place in line this morning at the Nell Hill's tent sale. This replaced the old yearly warehouse sale in Atchison, and was the first one at the KC store at Briarcliff Village. The sale began at 10am, and I got there about 830. The line actually went around the corner of the tent about 20 feet. The group first in line got there at 530 this morning, and I thought I was probably sunk, but by the start of the sale the line circled the tent, snaked across the entire front of the store, and completely past Trezzo Mare restaurant next door. Trezo, incidentally, in a burst of genius set up an all-you-can-eat breakfast buffet between the restaurant and the store. Seven bucks and they had no problems making you a plate and bringing it to you in line if you didn't want to risk losing your spot.

Mary Carol's crew also made the rounds with a coffee cart and she herself came through the line letting everyone know about some of the particularly good deals and how things were organized. As they removed the side panels of the tent for light and air the line compacted as everyone folded up their lawn chairs and prepared for battle.

There were a couple of spectacular buys. A handsome couch that retailed for $2800 marked down to $600, and a pair of armless chairs and ottoman covered in a gray and white Imperial Trellis like fabric for 500. Of course they had SOLD signs on them within seconds of the opening. Huge bolts of fabric (the reason I was there) for 25 bucks, and holiday and seasonal greenery (actually pretty good stuff) for a buck a piece.

With no fabric I could use I did dig around (it gets packed, and all those big boxes and laundry baskets the ladies bring didn't help) and came out with a mercury glass butler's ball ($10) and a little concrete faux-bois mirror ($2). There were two big blue and white porcelain jar table lamps that I liked, but the better of the two was broken. The intact one was only $35 but the painting just wasn't that interesting.

After paying up and taking my bag to the car I ran inside to see Rich. With the exception of the summer clothes being worn you would have thought it was the last weekend before Christmas. People EVERYWHERE. I walked around a bit, said hi to Rich, and headed out. His text message to me at 12pm summed it up: "Mother of God it's only noon! The tent is decimated!"

Since I was out I stopped down in the West Bottoms for the Bottoms Up antique sale. There's actually a few first weekend sales now, so you can make day of it if you like. I bought an industrial steel handled box. Not sure exactly what I'll do with it, but it's very cool. I also ran into a few dealers from the mall and Jason from the auction house, so it was nice to see and talk to them for a bit.

Home now for laundry and other weekend chores. And a wine class tonight. Everyone enjoy your weekend!

Brookside's Blackjack: 1998 - 2010

Jack,


It wasn't all that long before you were born that I was a single guy on the verge of turning 30. Responsible for nothing but myself, obligated to no one, almost grown up but not quite.


I met a nice guy with a friendly dog named Kirby. Pretty soon that nice guy and I were a couple, and I decided that Kirby needed a best friend too. I'd chosen your name before you were even born, and Daddy and I couldn't wait for you to get here.


You were so tiny when we finally went to meet you and bring you home. I held my breath as we set the carrier on the kitchen floor and finally opened the door. Kirby looked at us like "You got me a puppy!" and you came bounding out of the crate ready to play. I think that moment was when I knew you weren't just a dog. You were the last piece, the part that took us from just a couple of guys and a dog, to a family.


I've learned so much from you over the years. You were stubborn, self-involved, demanding, and practically uncorrectable. Fearless, and handsome, always, with those Best in Show eyebrows and that glorious beard. You were also sweet and smart and loving, loyal to your dads, and perhaps most comforting of all, quite likely the happiest dog I've ever known. When I think of you I'll always remember that your reaction to almost anything was to wag your nub.


Your end came unexpectedly, and Daddy and I are both a bit shell-shocked, with schnauzer-shaped holes in our hearts. I truly thought that your last days would come much later, that we had time to spare. And I always hoped that as with Kirby, there would be time for spreading a blanket in the park and having ice cream. Being unable to mark your passing as a family is my only regret.


We loved you dearly Jack, and we'll miss you terribly. I hope you know how grateful we are for your being in our lives, and that we'll carry your memory with us for the rest of our days.


Love,
Your Dads

Ready for bed

If you could see the bedroom where we've been sleeping, with it's two-tone blue damask flocked wallpaper (missing a strip here and there), the rough, stained and damaged wood floors, the chipped blue-painted woodwork...then you'd know exactly why we're excited to turn in tonight.

Sure, our bedroom furniture will transition to the guest room eventually, and those lamps need new shades, and most importantly we've still not ordered new windows. But past that, this room is clean and new, and nearly done.
We took out a tiny closet full of slanted shoe shelves to make a normal size door into the bathroom. Our old stainless medical cabinet has been pressed into duty, with some baskets to hold products and my favorite ironstone punchbowl full of soap. I need to refold the towels (currently stashed in an armoire) and stack those in there too.

Also fun was the little bit of "shopping" I did through the house. I won't do too much as we'll move to the master eventually, but we'll be here for a while so I thought a few accessories would be nice. We're also pretty proud of our closet door handles. They're actually cabinet hardware, but chunky and heavy and nice. The shocker was the price, five bucks and change from Locks & Pulls out in Overland Park.
And finally, to break up the dark floor, the 9X12 seagrass rug. Overstock.com, $280, shipping included. Yes, I wish it didn't have the canvas border, but I've looked and I can't find borderless rugs. If it doesn't exactly disappear, it doesn't call too much attention to itself either. We're pleased.

I've got some touch-up painting to do over the weekend, a couple curtain rods to mount, but mostly we're done. Of course from the bed we look directly into the scary bath-let that planning begin!

Raina, if you're at Target over the weekend...

Ha! Everyone have a GREAT long weekend!

Design Freak: The Christopher Barson Project - Or, why Fine Living Network is dead

I normally tend to post later in the evening as I'm kind of a nighttime guy, but I've just witnessed something so heinous it sent me running to my laptop. We changed cable companies so tonight after I changed out of my work clothes I flopped on the couch and started flipping through the TV listings to see if there was anything to watch.

Fine Living Network (soon to be Cooking Channel, and now I see why) was airing a special called Design Freak: The Christopher Barson Project.

Here's the premise: Find a smart-mouthed gay dude with a trendy haircut and a drinking problem, give him a homeowner with no unreasonable demands, a bland but perfectly serviceable room, and a small budget. Then sit back and prepare to be simultaneously horrified and underwhelmed.

Here's what the program description on the website says:

"Equipped with his non-stop snippy one-liners, Christopher takes on these projects with a droll

roll of his eyes and creates living spaces that go beyond the homeowners' wildest dreams. This

special combines the docusoap of Christopher's wild personal life and successful business with

makeover projects for homeowners who have no idea what they got themselves into."

So what did I see during my 3 minute stay? Nice young married couple, city apartment in what looked like Chicago or NYC, master bedroom reno. The room was maybe 14X16, good sized windows on one end, hall of closets at the other, painted a minty medium green. West Elm wood lattice headboard, patchwork bedspread, pair of assembly-required nightstands. Bland but neat and clean.

For the final installation (the part I caught) Christopher Barson sat on a chair, barked "COCKTAIL!" at an assistant (who produced one!), then sipped away and told some poor kid where to put the lamp and end table. He then sat a couple vases on the end table stuck in the corner, leaned a 30 inch tall (seriously, not even up to the window sills) mirror against the wall, and proclaimed it done. Art? No, none. Window coverings? Huh-uh. Candles or flowers? Oh, big Pier One bottle base on the end table got a few sprigs of something artificial. Finis!

The homeowners seemed pleased with his paint choice, a paler shade of non-descript, as well as the bedding, something gray with unironed pillow cases. Oh, and the husband liked the vases. If they enjoyed the half-ass gold leafing he did on their headboard they didn't mention it.

To conclude the segment Christopher said he felt like he made a good looking room, but had he had $15,000 he would have done something that would have ended up on the cover of Architectural Digest.

BITCH PLEASE.

I don't know what I'm more offended by, his stereotypical sassy homo schtick, his complete lack of design skills, or his blaming the lackluster space on the size of his budget. Christopher, I just took a similar size bedroom down to the studs and built it back up, including all new electrical and floor refinishing for not much over 4K. My room is better looking completely empty than yours is "fully" furnished. Style and price are almost never related, and blaming the room's shortcomings on a lack of funds is just plain unprofessional.

I feel bad for the homeowners too. They seemed really nice. Young and cute, probably not married long, they deserve a designer that can make 3500 look like ten grand, not like 500 and change.

And finally, Fine Living Network, WTF? Find the person on your staff who thought the self-described "drama magnet" was a good idea. Fire them. If you're doing a special on design, you need someone who can actually make beautiful rooms, not some sassy homo wearing an ironic sweater who thinks that a lighter paint color fixes everything. The world is full of shelter magazines and design blogs and HGTV and people of all walks who care about their living spaces. Your audience has evolved, and we know bad when we see it.

Occasionally disadvantaged

I've been looking for a big round dining table for our big square dining room, and I think I may have found it. (We're nowhere near ready but you know how I like to plan ahead) Henredon's Warren dining table measures in at 72 inches and doesn't appear to have a leaf, which I like. I also like the simple structure and think the color of wood would work on either a carpet or our dark wood floor. At six feet across I'm betting I could get up to 8 around it comfortably.


Sadly, we don't have a Henredon gallery here anymore. Fuhr's used to have both Henredon and Baker galleries but they're long gone. And while the website directs me to Madden-McFarland or Dillard's I'm doubting either keeps one of these on hand.


You can order Henredon through the Design Center at Nebraska Furniture Mart (if you can stand wading through all the Ashley and La-Z-Boy to get to it), but I miss being able to put my hands on things while I browse.

MidMal Reviews: EasyClosets.com

Look at that, new doors! For the hallway and closet anyway, the bathroom door won't go in until we get going in the bathroom. Obviously the casing needs primed and painted. The doors came primed so they'll just need a coat or two of Snowbound, like I gave 80 feet of base moulding today.
Just as exciting as the closet doors, is the closet system itself that we ordered from EasyClosets.com. How about a product review?

Let me start by letting you know I have no affiliation with EasyClosets.com, other than I've just ordered and installed their product.

Their online design tool was really very easy to use. You pick the type of closet (say reach-in versus walk-in), input your measurements, and start building. Tall hanging, double hanging, drawers, baskets and hampers are all available. There are also a variety of drawer fronts, hardware options, and accessories such as tie and belt racks. There are a range of available laminate colors and wood grains. Because this bedroom will eventually be used as a home office/project room we went with plain white laminate.

We ordered our system last Saturday afternoon. I received an email Monday morning saying that our boxes were shipping and would be delivered Thursday, and they were. All nine of them. One small thing I thought was pretty smart, each box was labeled "Corner Bedroom," the name I gave our design. If you'd built and ordered multiple closets you'd know exactly where everything should go.

We opened all the boxes and familiarized ourselves with what each piece was, and opened the instruction booklet. It came with a plan drawing printed in with the instructions. Not exactly the easiest to follow, but not difficult either. The main thing is to mount the back wall track at the right height, perfectly level, and screwed into studs.

The rest of the system was a breeze. Vertical panels simply hang on the track and receive cam pins. Horizontal pieces get cams inserted and then set on the cam pins. One turn of the screwdriver and everything tightens up. If its not in correctly you'll know. Even installing the drawer glides was no problem with the included self-tapping screws and a drill fit with a phillips head bit. Instructions even tell you how many open holes you need above your drawer rail for the next one.

Finally, scoring the plastic track cover with a utility knife allows it to snap straight and it mounts right over the track to cover the metal. With that you're done.

Overall I'm happy with the product. The closet system we used at the condo was very similar, but bigger and quite a bit heavier, but also a lot more expensive. I would probably not use EasyClosets for our master closet, opting for real custom cabinetry instead. But for this office bedroom or the guest room (the next closet we'll need to outfit) I think it's perfect. And I can't argue with the ease of customizing to fit whatever the need, the lightning fast shipping, or an installation that really was no big deal.

A lack of willpower

I know I said I wasn't going to post any photos until the room was done, but this is how I am. We're happy with the floors, and even though I think the doors/casing/base moulding are only going to crisp things up I couldn't wait.

Northwest corner looking east:
Just inside the hallway door looking west:

Close-up in front of the (still unfinished) window seat:

This last picture is most representative of the color, a charcoally off-black. Darker than what we originally had in mind, we're totally fine with going deeper. Most of our walls will be on the paler side to keep things light, and I think the darker floors will provide some needed contrast and ground the spaces. We'll use rugs throughout the house and I think the color will also help define spaces, especially in the more open areas of the house. More to come (hopefully) soon.

Relief

The floor was stained yesterday, we went with the darkest of the gray stain samples. After a full night of drying time (we ended up with water-based, long story) we woke up and the floors were...blotchy. And oddly brown. Hmm.

Brett emailed Dan the floor guy to let him know we didn't think it was looking so good, and we never heard back. Happily we came home to a floor that had been given a second coat of stain and is now...even, and charcoally and dark!

I'm not taking a picture now. The floor has three coats of semi-gloss polyurethane coming and then Bill will return to install the base moulding and doors. With that the room will be done (with the exception of the windows, which we're still looking for), and I will shoot. I'll post the original before to remind you of the horror, and the final result, which I think we're going to be rather pleased with. Thank you for your patience.