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?
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.
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.
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.
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.
Expansive
So you'll remember these before shots from when we moved. First, from the entry, which was sort of made up of two "bays" divided by a half wall (with wrought iron and a planter!) and a panel of ribbed glass that did nothing more than narrow the space you walk through. Once through the first bay you could go right, down the hall to the bedrooms, left through another archway to the living room, or straight through a pair of double doors into the panel-clad family room.
You can still go any of those directions, but you won't be contending with many walls now. That in-the-way ribbed glass is gone, as is the scrolly iron and planter. That opening is getting changed a bit, and eventually filled in. In fact, the entire second "bay" is gone, and is part of the living room. You can see the header over the hallway is on its way out as well. Long spans of uninterrupted ceiling. Oh, and those big studs? A fat wall that will hold the tv mount on the family room side. With big openings in the wall on either side.
On the left of this shot you can see the interior picture window. Yes, nearly 11 feet long, smack in the middle of the house. With curtains no less. You'll also see an entire wall of cabinetry that housed the TV back when TVs were really deep. So the closet behind the cabinetry was worthless. Oh, and since it was opposite the fireplace you could never easily enjoy both.
Now, all gone! It adds nearly 28 square feet to the room, minus that little corner we need to deal with. (Furnace venting, but I need it to move as its impinging on my layout for a pair of french doors and new windows) Those three old studs sticking up at the bottom are where the window used to be, and now where the fat studs in the above photo are located.
I hope that gives you a little idea of how we combined the rooms, trying to open them to each other but still keep a bit of separateness. More framing has happened, in fact the entire center wall is done as is the wall to the left where you see the electrical panel.
You can still go any of those directions, but you won't be contending with many walls now. That in-the-way ribbed glass is gone, as is the scrolly iron and planter. That opening is getting changed a bit, and eventually filled in. In fact, the entire second "bay" is gone, and is part of the living room. You can see the header over the hallway is on its way out as well. Long spans of uninterrupted ceiling. Oh, and those big studs? A fat wall that will hold the tv mount on the family room side. With big openings in the wall on either side.
On the left of this shot you can see the interior picture window. Yes, nearly 11 feet long, smack in the middle of the house. With curtains no less. You'll also see an entire wall of cabinetry that housed the TV back when TVs were really deep. So the closet behind the cabinetry was worthless. Oh, and since it was opposite the fireplace you could never easily enjoy both.
Now, all gone! It adds nearly 28 square feet to the room, minus that little corner we need to deal with. (Furnace venting, but I need it to move as its impinging on my layout for a pair of french doors and new windows) Those three old studs sticking up at the bottom are where the window used to be, and now where the fat studs in the above photo are located.
I hope that gives you a little idea of how we combined the rooms, trying to open them to each other but still keep a bit of separateness. More framing has happened, in fact the entire center wall is done as is the wall to the left where you see the electrical panel.This week will be exciting. The dumpster arrives tomorrow (we've got a mountain of debris on the patio), and then Bill will demo the family room ceiling. The electricians will be in on Wednesday to install all the new lights/outlets/switches. Bill will likely demo the parquet then as well and then hang the new drywall ceiling. And if the rain and ice and snow ever stop Bill can go pick up the new oak plank and get that put down.
I'll get more pictures posted when the drywall goes up. I can't wait to paint!
Construction update
So what has happened this week? The media wall and surrounding partial walls have been built where the old interior picture window used to be. The old tv cabinetry wall and worthless closet are gone and a new wall has been framed in its place. Assorted other tear out has happened, just part of the entry and the whole north wall of the living room left to go.
The dumpster will be delivered Monday morning so we can move the mountain of debris off the patio. The family room ceiling comes down Monday or Tuesday, and the electricians are coming Wednesday to rewire everything and install lighting.
Bill will be back in to put up the new drywall ceiling and walls, and also remove the old crumbling parquet and install the new oak plank. Which may not be stained for a bit because we're thinking if they're here they might as well refinish everything, hallway, entry, living/family room and dining room.
Photos soon.
The dumpster will be delivered Monday morning so we can move the mountain of debris off the patio. The family room ceiling comes down Monday or Tuesday, and the electricians are coming Wednesday to rewire everything and install lighting.
Bill will be back in to put up the new drywall ceiling and walls, and also remove the old crumbling parquet and install the new oak plank. Which may not be stained for a bit because we're thinking if they're here they might as well refinish everything, hallway, entry, living/family room and dining room.
Photos soon.
We live in crazy times
In addition to the Wisconsin union busting, Iowa and Nebraska are seeing bills introduced by their teabaggers that will grant civil and criminal immunity to those who use deadly force to prevent an abortion. Oh, and allow anyone who is arrested for using said deadly force to sue the police.Because the assault on women's reproductive rights isn't enough. We must ensure those who attempt to kill providers don't pay for their crimes.
America has lost its mind.
The perfect carpet
Chris had a post about Michael S. Smith in Architectural Digest recently, discussing his use of pairs of accessories. What stopped me in my tracks though was this carpet. Source? Anyone?
What's new
Remember I was looking for the Austin Productions copy of this statue from the V&A? Google finally gave it up at a gallery in Seattle. I emailed today to find out how to purchase. I'm kind of excited as it was one of my favorite things at the museum. Brett's mildly worried because we have an aquaintance who has a copy of Michaelangelo's David in every room of his house, but I've assured him I'll never let that happen. (If we ever get together for drinks remind me to tell you the story of the aquaintance's new hot tub, the shorty robes we were given to change into, and my uncontrollable laughter.)But that isn't the big news. The big news is that there might actually be a nice place to put it sometime soon. Super Carpenter Bill is back, and we've given him quite a list:
-open up wall between living and family rooms
-build media wall between living and family rooms
-new family room ceiling (bye bye asbestos tile!)
-new family room floor (goodbye sad old parquet, hello oak plank to match the living room!)
-demo old bar and frame for future built-ins
-replace family room paneling (ick!) with new drywall
-open up entry, removing a myriad of odd partial walls
-demo old television cabinetry and closet, adding 4 feet to the room
And with any luck, hello two new french doors and new windows looking out to the patio.
So in addition to continuing work in the bathroom, Presidents Day weekend will involve emptying out the living and family rooms as well as the entry and hall closets, and making ourselves a temporary living room in...the master bedroom.
I'll post some refresher before shots when we get everything emptied out, and then I should have some fun "during" shots when he really gets going in a couple weeks.
Wish us luck!
Maison21 needs you
A friend of Christian's has taken in this gorgeous boy, but he needs a permanent home. Full info is here. I'd take him in a second if I had any way of knowing he and Alex would get on. If you're not in the market please pass this on to anyone you know who might be. Look at that face, somebody is gonna hit the jackpot.
Subtle pattern
Here is that wallpaper that I couldn't swipe an online photo of last week. I'm sorry there's nothing included to give you a sense of scale, but just trying to find decent light to take this shot was daunting. If you can see the fold lines, each of those sections is nearly 8.5 by 11 inches, so just think of six pieces of copier paper laid out in two rows of three.Basically we're trying to open the living and family rooms up to one another. The family room paneling and parquet floor will be replaced with drywall and oak plank to match the living room, and right in the center of the entire thing will be what we're calling a media wall. Seven feet long and thicker than a regular wall (we're thinking 8 or 10 inches currently) it will hold a flat panel tv on the family room side, and a credenza and some art or a big mirror on the living room side.
The entire room, including the entry, will have painted walls, but we wanted a little bit of pattern for here in the center just to break things up a bit. We'd originally thought about paneling the entire thing horizontally with gray prefinished wood flooring, but we have an old grayish Chinese cabinet we'll use under the tv to hold components and it just seems like too much wood.
This paper seemed too taupe to me at first, but the more I look at it the more I'm convinced its fine and that I can find a gray that works with it but doesn't read too brown.
Cute Contractor hasn't gotten back to us with numbers so I have no idea if or when we're getting started, but whever its a go I think we've got the wallpaper question answered.
Hello Handsome
Photo: Craig McDean
Why I'm retiring to Palm Springs
It's become almost a tradition. It snows, I step out on the side porch and take a picture, then whine on the blog!
The upside is that the company I work for is very good about weather, closing early yesterday and not opening until 10 this morning. Plus we're casual, which to me is the best thing that could be done for one's employees. I'll be much warmer in jeans and harness boots than I would have in slacks and some Donald Pliner slip-ons.Brett got up and shoveled the driveway making it easier for both of us to get in and out, and perhaps more importantly, giving Alex a spot for his morning constitutional. Sweet boy, Alex is one of those dogs that prefers dry paws. While that occasionally complicates spot selection, it does make for less mess being tracked back inside.
Here's hoping your day is warm, safe and dry.
Raina knows how exciting this is
Today we installed Schluter fabric in the bathroom. Yes, only two pieces, but they're large pieces. Combined with thinset mortar that was a bit on the runny side it took a while. Luckily, Brett is off work tomorrow for MLK day and may finish up the pony wall.The fabric is going to cover what we need to cover, but isn't going to go as far as I thought. Luckily I bought a gallon of HydroBan, which is a rubber product that you apply to your drywall with a roller like paint. Two coats and you're ready to tile on top of it. That should cover everything else and be more than enough protection to handle any water or vapor that might get past the tile.
We also met with another contractor about reconfiguring the living room, family room, and entry. He seemed to completely grasp what we want to do and specifically said he would break down our quote so we could choose jobs as necessary. I'm really hoping we get good numbers back from him. He came with good references and he's done things for others that we absolutely are going to need. Like build an addition for the master bath. It doesn't hurt that he's also attractive. And by attractive I mean really hot.
Dear Sherwin Williams
I'm a big fan of your Cashmere paint line. This is the third house I've used it in and have nothing but good things to say about the coverage, finish, and durability.
I've never considered you for wallpaper however, because most of the books you have in-store are not so great. A bud of mine recently found that you have some good grasscloth, so tonight I got online and looked around.
Being able to search by color was helpful, and I found something I think I love. But then I couldn't crib the picture. People do a lot of sourcing online. I have folders on my laptop devoted to furniture and fixtures and all sorts of things I want to remember for future use. Except for your wallpaper, because I couldn't.
Yes, I'll order a sample for five bucks, but it would have been nice if I could have grabbed the picture for my file.
Thanks,
Dave
I've never considered you for wallpaper however, because most of the books you have in-store are not so great. A bud of mine recently found that you have some good grasscloth, so tonight I got online and looked around.
Being able to search by color was helpful, and I found something I think I love. But then I couldn't crib the picture. People do a lot of sourcing online. I have folders on my laptop devoted to furniture and fixtures and all sorts of things I want to remember for future use. Except for your wallpaper, because I couldn't.
Yes, I'll order a sample for five bucks, but it would have been nice if I could have grabbed the picture for my file.
Thanks,
Dave
My newest obsession
Apparently it's been at 51st and Main since August, but somehow until this weekend we'd missed Yogurtini. And I've been twice since Friday night.When you walk in you're greeted by about 14 frozen yogurt machines. Each has two flavors and a swirl. Grab a cup, pick your yogurt, and slide on down to the topping bar. Nuts, fruit, cereal, crunched up candy, its all there. At the end are the sauces.
Top your yogurt as you like, weigh and pay. It's brilliant.
I was out for a bit this evening and surprised Brett by bring some home. I had the same thing I got Friday night: Dulce de leche yogurt, waffle cone pieces, slivered almonds, coconut, and caramel sauce.
For Brett: Chocolate/Vanilla swirl, brownie pieces, crushed peanuts, crushed cashews, crushed Kit-Kats, chocolate sauce.
If you don't have a Yogurtini near you check around, there are other franchises with similar concepts. I'm finding the array of choices and do-it-yourself construction irresistable. I'm totally thinking about going tomorrow for lunch.
Greek chic
Here is eBay item number 350167897809.
$1500 or Make Offer. I'd make an offer. It's cool as hell but that's too much for a chair without provenance. I'm not making an offer, as much as I'd like to.
There's a matching sofa under a separate listing, but that's a bit much for me. I like the beauty of a single statement chair. You could change out those casters for something less obtrusive. GAAA I love that fabric. Classical motif AND quilted. It's perfect for the grayscale scheme we're working here at Chez Malaise. Damn it.
$1500 or Make Offer. I'd make an offer. It's cool as hell but that's too much for a chair without provenance. I'm not making an offer, as much as I'd like to.
There's a matching sofa under a separate listing, but that's a bit much for me. I like the beauty of a single statement chair. You could change out those casters for something less obtrusive. GAAA I love that fabric. Classical motif AND quilted. It's perfect for the grayscale scheme we're working here at Chez Malaise. Damn it.
