And New York makes six

I'm still holding out for a California wedding, but it's nice to have another option. To the New York legislature, thank you, honestly I didn't think you had it in you.

And to Maggie Gallagher, Brian Brown, The National Organization for Marriage, The Catholic League, and your supporters I will say this: Please stop. You are on the wrong side of history, and everyone sees it but you. Your fearmongering falls on increasingly deaf ears, and one day gay men and women will marry everywhere. Our families, though vastly different from yours, will be protected as yours are now. And you cannot stop it. Civilization will not crumble, and the institution of marriage will not be damaged as you insist it will, but strengthened through inclusion.

This isn't about you. It is, ultimately and singularly, about love.

Reduce, Reuse, Re-plate

Old Stiffel lamps come up often at auction. Lots of "antiqued" brass, even though the majority of them are only brass plated. You can usually pick them up cheap, and as these had nice shapes, I did. Not a pair, but definitely related, and a nice size.

One of them has a bit of corrosion, so when I took them to the guys at Acme Brass Plating we decided we'd start with the clean one first and see how it went. I picked it up over lunch today, I think it went well.

They had to cover the brass plating with copper first, then the nickel I wanted, but it polished up beautifully. I'm dropping the other off next week and hopefully they'll be able to make it work.

Million Dollar Decorators: The 30 Second Recap

1. I thought I would like JAM and that Ross would bug me, but its turned out to be the exact opposite.

2. Shoes and purses suck as decorative accessories, I don't care who splashed them with paint and signed them.

3. I adore Kathryn Ireland and Nathan.

4. Mary McDonald makes pretty rooms, which is all the more impressive seeing as she's crazy.

5. Shannon Factor may just be the SINGLE MOST AWFUL PERSON IN THE WORLD.

Perfect

This rug is exactly the sort of thing we need. It's new (I think) so I doubt it'll show up at the outlet anytime soon. Speaking of, has anyone ever been to Stark's outlet?

Meet Lloyd

Oddly enough, of everything we've done with this house I think I'm happiest about my new bathroom sink. (The Lloyd pedestal by Toto)

I've got to clean the floor, get switch plates and outlet covers on, and wash the new gray towels we got to replace our khaki colored ones. The last piece is having the glass guys out to measure for the shower enclosure. Oh, and I may need something new for our toothbrushes.

It's just so much more pleasant to brush my teeth or wash my hands here rather than a tattered blue or purple sink with wonky old faucets that spray in odd directions.

I'm no Jenny, but...

Every once-in-a-while I do run across something suprisingly good on Craigslist. Like this cocktail table, which is 42 inches square. The ask is 50 bucks.

The burl veneer on the top has some damage that would need to be filled and sanded, but that doesn't bother me or my paintbrush one bit. The question is what color.

The room is pretty much grayscale, some oranges and blues to keep things from being too sleepy. What do you think?

***UPDATE*** Bought it. The seller was lovely, she said she's had it for about 30 years. It's heavy and solid, but the top is shot. Its going to need some serious work. OR, a new stone top. Wheels turning...

Night and day

Remember my family room? The overgrown, totally beat cabinetry opposite the fireplace and the worn parquet that was coming up in places, oh and the nasty dark paneling.

Well, the single door (with the storm door that wouldn't stay closed) and the cloudy, drafty picture window are gone. The replacement is a smaller window with sliders, then a 5 foot french door.

Yesterday the electrician rewired, then today the last of the drywall went up. Tomorrow and Tuesday is mud and tape inside while Bill replaces the trim and shingles outside.

So, after the floors are finished and the trim goes up and some interior doors are replaced the whole middle third of the house will be ready to decorate. I've got that sideboard to paint and a couple of chinese lattice pieces to do a little finish on and back with mirror for starters. Can. Not. Wait.

Finely marbled

As usual my camera can't deal with anything white, but here's a little progress shot on the bathroom. Bill's been here all week and only today got to start grouting.

He'll finish up the walls tomorrow and switch to black grout for the floors, which I didn't shoot as they're currently covered with paper.

I also noticed taking these that while the bathroom is oversized for what it is, it's also small when you try to take a picture. Hopefully when fixtures are in (can't wait for cute Matt the plumber to be back!) and ladders and tools are out I can get a shot that looks right to me.

There's also a bit of painting to finish up, and of course the window to be replaced (that's absolutely next on the list), but then my mornings should start here rather than the scary pink tub/shower we're beginning our days in now.

A warm weather public service

Summer has reached the midwest as the temperature has hit the mid 90's both yesterday and today. Here at Chez Malaise that means gin season!

I recently discovered the Simply line of juices and drinks. All natural and delicious I thought they'd make super summer cocktails, and they do.

Today's riff on the classic G-N-T is:
-1 part Bombay Sapphire (life is way too short to drink bad gin)
-1 part tonic (Brett buys diet and it seems just fine)
-3 parts Simply Limeade

Stir and garnish with a lime wedge. I forgot to buy a lime so my drink is naked, but still tasty.

I occasionally buy a Simply Lemonade at lunch and it too is delicious. I'm thinking next weekend we'll try that with plain old vodka or Absolut Citron and a splash of Sprite or some other bubbly mixer.

Bill is here tiling (photos later!) and I've got a pleasant buzz while I tidy up the kitchen. Yay weekends!

Black tile / White Flag

Yes, we'll try most anything, but more importantly we know when to call in the professional. Bill's back, and we have a new entry way floor to show for it. Gone is the old scrap marble, and in its place is black slate. The old marble was in concrete so there was a jackhammer and some beefing up of the old floor joists and a huge mess in the basement, but this is WAY better. And it goes into the closet because I'm one of those "fewer flooring materials the better" guys.

The white flag part comes in with the bathroom. It was taking us forever, it was time. He started on that today as shown below.

And then our french door and new window are in (so excited!), so he'll install those in the family room when he's done with this tile.

This freed Brett and I up to work on our landscaping. We've started installing edging and a small boxwood border and the maple from a few posts ago. Today we put in a little mugo pine, a pair of artemesia, a pair of reed grasses and started installing weed cloth. We bought some more boxwoods to continue the border but they're not going in until later this week, we were beat.

Bullet dodged

Photo credit: Scott Cook via KSHB weather blog

I think this photo has had the color adjusted, but the cloud formations absolutely happened. I know because I was watching from my office on the 32nd floor of the second tall building from the right edge. It didn't look quite this green from my vantage point but it was seriously dark. I was in a meeting when the sirens went off, followed by the severe weather app on my phone. (Weather Alert USA, $3.99 from the App Store and totally worth it)

Shortly after that our COO stuck his head in the conference room and said "everyone to the stairwell!" The next hour and a half or so was spent milling around in the interior hallway, elevator lobby and stairwell with my phone watching the radar map and listening to National Weather Service radio before finally walking down 31 floors. Shortly after that it all passed and the sun came out. Totally strange.

The Rapture was a bust, so we landscaped

I read an early morning tweet from someone in New Zealand that said they were all still there, so we decided the Rapture must have been scratched. Its a shame too because the weather was beautiful, perfect for heavenly ascention.

Not perfect was Friday, when I took these first two pictures showing the enormous overgrown yews:
And the enormous overgrown yews coming out.

Here is our new Crimson Sentry Norway Maple shortly after we got it in the ground. We're in love with the color and the fact that it grows in a more columnar shape. The house is heavy on horizontals so we're trying to put in plenty of verticals.

And here you can see the beginning of the bed liner and the little boxwoods that will eventually become a low square hedge.

Weed cloth and mulch are coming soon. Hopefully the weather holds on Monday so the tree guys can come back and get everything finished.

We've been to the nursery a number of times and have found a variety of pines, both tall and tree-like as well as smaller and bushy, that we're planning to use. (There's a very odd dwarf cedar at Family Tree that I think I have to have too. The foliage is corded, it looks like a big green mop.)

I've also been to House of Rock which has some good smallish boulders, and Van Lieus, which has very good pricing on Japanese outdoor lanters. Hopefully there's more to show soon.

Regrets only

I'm a bit late here because I don't read fundamentalist Christian websites. I found out today that on April 29th vehemently anti-gay "pastor" Scott Lively wrote us a letter entitled "My RSVP to LGBT." Us as in the gays. All of us. (In case you didn't know, that LGBT stands for Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgendered. So clever.) It's long-winded and chock-full of chapter-and-verse justification, but it basically says we should repent. There's a hint of the usual "love the sinner, hate the sin" thing that we always get and a bit of "I've sinned too" as well.

It kills me to link, but should you be interested enough to take a look you'll find it here.

As a good-mannered gay I've looked around to see if anyone responded, and I don't find that anyone has. So I will.

Mr. Lively,

Thank you for your recent note inviting us to repent. You obviously spent a great deal of time composing it, and I know that you have little to spare with all your work convincing East African governments that loving someone of the same sex should be a capital offense.

I can't speak for all of the gays as I haven't personally talked to everyone, but among those I have chatted with the general consensus is either that the bible is open to interpretation, or is not actually the word of god. Another salient point raised by more than one of us is that our eternal salvation is our business and definitely not yours.

That last point leads me to a question which I've always wanted to ask: If we're not going to change our ways (and clearly we're not), and you believe (which you clearly do) that we're going to spend eternity in a firey hell of unimagineable agony, wouldn't a Christian response be to support our safety and security in this lifetime? You don't have to love us. Indeed I sleep just fine knowing you believe my 13+ year relationship both displeases god and will bring about the eventual fall of civilization. Couldn't you just stand aside, perhaps read one of those Left Behind books, and just let us live our lives with the rights and dignity you enjoy? Couldn't we all just live the way that feels right for ourselves? And when the afterlife finally arrives we can play whatever hand we're dealt. Wouldn't that be fair?

Sincerely,

David (for a bunch of the gays)

Chipper

Earlier this week we had trees along the street trimmed up as they'd grown down to where it was hard to walk down the sidewalk. A different arborist (we split the job between two) and his crew are here again this morning. The dying tree on the corner is down and being fed into the chipper. Lines are up in the enormous oak in the back yard to clean up the trunk and ventilate the top. Crew chief is mowing down the overgrown yews that ring the house. Soon the monster magnolia will be trimmed back and ventilated.

We look less like the Munsters house every minute. THRILLED.

***UPDATE*** They got a good start but have been rained out. To be continued Monday...

Its an Airstream with a tortilla press

Food trucks aren't a new phenomenon, but they are kind of new for Kansas City. I follow a few on the Facebook and Twitter, which is how most of them let everyone know where they'll be.

Tonight we tried Port Fonda, which was parked downtown doing their mexican street food.

Local and organic and handmade, from a vintage Airstream. I was kind of far down the street when I took this, you can't see Brett there in line asking if they had dessert (they didn't tonight).

Brett had the carnitas, I had the chicken livers and pipian rojo, all on handmade tortilla, washed down with Mexican Cokes. We both liked our dinner a lot and I'm already looking forward to going back. Its in the 50s tonight so we ate in the car. When it's warm enough to eat out on the sidewalk I bet its even better.

The other cool thing is that the Airstream has a chef's table. By reservation, groups of six can hang out in the trailer, watch the cooking as well as whatever's going on out on the street, have some drinks (byob) and fill up on a family style taco spread. We're trying to figure out the perfect occasion to give that a try.

13 bears, a big dog, one pot-bellied pig, and a raccoon

Enjoy your weekend!

Baughman on the Bay

I love to type Milo Baughman into the search box on eBay. You always get a few things you've seen and loved, and sometimes you get something new.

Twill wouldn't necessarily have been my choice for this but it's simple and I don't hate it at all. I love that its white. The Buy It Now is pretty steep but you could make an offer. Here.

Then you'd need a spot to set your drink. Wouldn't one of these pull up nicely? Plus you get an extra to use somewhere else. Then when you feel the need to move things around you've got a pair. Here.

The Contender

I've owned a number of sofas, I think they may be the single most difficult piece of furniture to choose. I've never owned one I really loved, but I've learned along the way. Rolled arms take up too much room. Slipcovers always look like an unmade bed. Dark brushed fabrics fade and show stains. Chenille fabrics look and feel good as a swatch but don't live the way you'd like.


Which brings us to the sofa above, the Beckett sofa by Bernhardt Interiors.


This is a contender. First and foremost is the look, kind of a streamlined chesterfield. Next and just as important is the size. At 83 inches it will center nicely on my 9 foot media wall.


I know I've bitched about the cheap furniture wasteland that is Nebraska Furniture Mart, but knowing their Design Gallery carries Bernhardt we went to take a look. They didn't have this frame on display but there was a similar one and it sat nicely. There were a number of good fabrics to choose from and strangely they're all one grade and price. And finally was their price, which was shockingly less than I was expecting.


I also learned that they sell American Leather. I had her quote the Rex bench that I'd like in front of the fireplace and they're about 400 bucks under the quote I got from Black Bamboo. Yes, I'd prefer to support the independent retailer, but I need a house full of furniture so I've got to save where I can.


The only sad news was that Henredon's Warren dining table appears to be discontinued and I haven't seen anything else I like as much.

So, has anyone owned a Bernhardt sofa? I'd be interested in hearing what you have to say.

What it looks like

Just in case you're interested, this is the view from our new lobby looking out from the receptionists desk. My boss picked the finishes and did a beautiful job. The white wall is a wood panel product of undulating waves with a glossy white finish. The wall behind the receptionists desk is this too, with verticle glass panels on either side and our logo in steel embedded in the panels.

Exhausted

My office moved this past week, and as I work in Operations it was our big show. Think about your last move, only imagine there are 130 people in your family, and you lived in your last place for a decade.

Back with something interesting as soon as I'm recovered.

Wall tile

We started on wall tile today! Had we remembered to buy a rotozip to cut some holes for those pipes to slip through we might have more to show, but I'm thrilled that we made the progress we did.

Colored Ceilings

We're going with a very pale grey for our ceilings throughout the house, but in the entry and dining rooms we have some very cool old backlit coved ceilings. I gave this pale turquoise a shot and we really like it. (pardon my tape there) I can't wait to do the dining room now.

I'm very nearly floored

Bill was here yesterday and today, and fingers are crossed that he'll be back tomorrow. He goes back to work on Monday so his availability is about to plummet. Flooring has hit the home stretch! Here's a shot of what we started with. Sad old, worn parquet with a bit of old termite damage over in the corner by the patio door. And now, oak plank running continuously from the living room into this room!

Yes, there's plenty left. We've had one floor finishing quote and Tuesday afternoon the cute french guy who redid the bedroom floor is coming to quote . Also Tuesday a window guy is coming. If we can resolve the replacements for the patio door and awful picture window then this room will be close to done.

I can't wait to be paneling free.

China Black

You thought we abandoned the bathroom project didn't you. Turns out it was a good weekend for getting things done. While I was priming and painting new drywall Brett was slaving away mixing mortar and setting floor tile. And that green is waterproofing, not a wall color. Originally we'd planned to lay this on a 45 degree angle because I think that usually looks better. As we were measuring we got to looking and decided that with the black tile and black grout it wasn't going to make all that much difference. Now that theres a big spot of it down I like the way it looks and I'm glad we switched gears. More to come!

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