living room stuff - audio/video #1.

So a month ago when Jeff was here he had to go get me started wishing I had a new TV. Now granted - there is absolutely nothing wrong with the incredible 19" CRT that currently graces my living room despite the fact it is difficult to see from the couch (I have to squint - with my contacts in - which give me 15/20 vision) and I have had it for over ten years. It still works. But Jeff was going on (OK, maybe not going on - more like mentioned) how when his ten-year-old behemoth of a rear-projection monster died he ponied up and scored a rockin' deal courtesy of newegg.com on a 50" Samsung plasma. Which got me thinking ...

And so after much searching (of my soul - cos there really is nothing wrong with that 19" beauty - and of the web) and watching prices I came across this website called todaystvdeals.com which I would highly recommend for anyone looking to buy a TV and not interested in hitting up the local Big Box. It has lots of deals and random "coupon codes" and such that only seem to last for a few days, so I got a smokin' deal on a 42" broadband-enabled LG LCD (read: stream video over our LAN from Netflix and possibly Vudu).

It's pretty. And I'm sort of stoked regardless of the fact I really do not watch all that much TV. Our Xbox Media Center will look way cooler - which I do use on a daily basis.

So anyways - that's really not the cool part of this (at least not to me, but afterall this blog is really only for me anyway). The cool part is the fact I need to find an updated audio rack for my stereo stuff. Updated because I have had the same Ikea cabinet for at least ten years, too. And no - there is nothing wrong with it, either. Well, the doors fell off a few years back but it looks perfectly fine without them. They were actually sort of in the way. But I want to hang my TV and move the stereo in between the two sets of windows in my living room.

And out of nowhere got a killer idea. Again, killer only to me I am sure but whatever.

Instead of some lame wooden stereo cabinet like everyone else has - why not go the route of a Gator road cabinet!?

That was rhetorical, by the way. Of course I am going the route of a Gator road cabinet. These things are awesome - and how even more awesome they will look in my living room as a stereo cabinet. Granted - my audio equipment is not made to be mounted in a rack like this. But that is precisely why Gator makes rack shelves. This thing is modern and retro and cool all rolled into one burly (albeit slightly expensive) package. And when my fifteen-year old stereo components finally give up the ghost - my plan is to simplify and upgrade at the same time to pro-level amps and a preamp (because that's all you really need anymore with servers and Xbox media centers and the like hosting all your music) - rack-mounted of course.

OK - I am done now.

Oh - one more thing: this means over the holiday weekend I get to crawl up in my attic and snake some wires for the surround speakers. It is about time I set up my whole surround sound system now that I will actually have a TV that can match the sound level.

new old mixer.

So on a gorgeous Saturday afternoon we decided we would take an adventure and bike up to Milton to the Garage Sale Store. Yes, in Milton, WA there is a garage sale store. It is only open on Saturdays from 9-3 (no earlies!) and was rumored to having been shut down. Well, the rumors were false and we had a fine time biking up to the top of the hill (which I thoroughly enjoyed after so much biking around on flat ground).

Anyways, perusing the many aisles I came across this mixer which I immediately took a liking too (if for no other reason the chrome was cool and a KitchenAid version of this would be at least $300) ~

I turned it on and it worked through all the speeds perfectly, and it comes complete with a little wind-up timer. I did not already own a stand mixer–just a crappy hand mixer that I bought years ago at Kmart or something like that. I know the whole 'retro' thing can be taken too far but I do not think I have crossed that line. And this one–like the fan–is just cool.

Oh, and it was ten bucks.

Then it was just a matter of fitting this in my pannier and making the bike ride back down the hill and home. No problem. I love it.

More ideas.

So Friday was a good day on the idea front thanks to a forwarded link from Katie. In that single link came two really big ideas: one to solve my fireplace dilemma and another to provide me with the perfect kitchen cabinets for the real kitchen remodel in a few years.

The problem with my fireplace has always been (despite the gas insert someone installed, which I will remove and return it to just being a wood-burning fireplace because there is nothing better than the sound of crackling wood on a chilly winter evening) the fact someone painted over the bricks at the bottom part of it. And I have always wanted a brick fireplace (one of the things the house I bought had to have was a fireplace–along with a big, covered front porch and window over the kitchen sink among a few others) and I was looking at either a) somehow successfully stripping the paint off all the bricks or b) completely tearing it out and redoing it. Neither one a great prospect. But here is this idea ~

Now I realize it is not brick and I am still coming to grips with that (there could be nothing cooler than a wall of old bricks in my house–especially in my bedroom). But I could make this work with the top half of the fireplace and have a great mantel dividing the two. I could perhaps figure out a way to create a border of bricks and paint them black just like this idea (along with the inner hearth). For the outer hearth right now it is some lame ceramic tiles that were laid (but not grouted) when I signed on the dotted line. But I never grouted them because I knew I was going to rip them out. I had envisioned a nice big (it's 18" x 5') slate slab (ideally, one big piece as opposed to tiles) but I am not 100% sold on that yet.

Okay, and then for the kitchen cabinets ~

What I noticed of course right away was the moulding at the top of the cabinets. Uh, which totally matches the moulding around the windows and doors and will go with the crown moulding that I'll hang along the high ceilings (from that earlier post). I am not sold on the supports they have beneath the cabinets and probably will leave that part out because they don't fit with my style, but this was priceless. Even the lower cabinets with the baseboards are perfect. I love the bin pulls for the drawers but would have to replace the small circular cabinet knobs with these because, well, I like squares and rectangles and right angles in my designs.

And I also really dislike dark cabinetry because it's, well, too dark. And makes the whole room darker. So I would paint them (most likely) just white. Or maybe a light grey. But the point would be to have light cabinets contrasted then with a dark (maybe granite, maybe concrete–not sure yet) countertop. And stone flooring (like a dark slate).

Another thing about it that caught my eye that I'll be debating is the wainscoting. Wainscoting is super-classy so I might just be inclined to put it in my kitchen like this, reaching up the walls at least four feet (maybe more) with a dimensional stock border going around it (4" or 5" I think–like the window casing along the sides). And of course then the color of the kitchen would be a rich one that would contrast with the white wainscoting, moulding and cabinetry (not–like this picture–white!).

So anyways, a couple of really good ideas all from one post. I was excited. And thanks Katie.

painting option #1.

Okay, so I did this earlier in the Summer (after I finished laying the sidewalk)–took a photo of my pretty-crappy-on-the-outside-needs-a-new-paint-job house and then went to work in Photoshop creating masks for every different section and applying different paint colors to them. The trim. The porch floor. The gutters. The railings. Etc. etc. Good times. But it is cool that it is possible to try out different color combinations and colors easily before ever dabbing a brush in a can of paint. Or–for that matter–before even buying a can of paint (see–there actually are practical uses to Photoshop!).

So the before ~

And then the after ~

This is Benjamin Moore Historic Collection Peale Green (HC-121), a brilliant white trim and some grey or other (there are a couple in the HC collection). I will try other options before I actually go out and buy paint but if anything it goes to show how crappy my house actually looks right now–in case I need motivation (although painting the exterior of my house ranks fairly high in the category of projects I would never look forward to doing myself).

Oh yeah, I also 'Shopped in a new door more along the lines of what I will be getting. What I did not bother doing was replacing the crap metal railings and the crooked stairs. But I will for real. Oh–and get a classy porch light. I love how I did not even bother to move any of the shovels or broom before taking this. Now that is classy!

hanging out to dry.

Katie turned me on to the idea of hang-drying towels because they remain slightly stiffer than when tumbled in the dryer and I have really taken to the concept. So much so that I, um, might need to get a bigger (or an additional) clothes rack.

(Music note soap courtesy of Julian for this past Father's Day)

And a little over a year ago, had I taken this same shot it would have looked like this–not sure if I have mentioned or not but I am way into before/after shots of my house. They are entertaining–at least to me.

fireplace idea and other moulding musings.

So a year or so ago I was wandering around downtown Olympia with a friend and we found ourselves in this tiny little bookstore with an actual decent sampling of Bungalow books (hard to find unless you are browsing around Powell's in Portland). And I found this perfect little book called Small Bungalows that was filled with a smattering of good ideas for my house and so I had to buy it. One of those ideas that I will be incorporating in my living room is this one of a fireplace ~

This will go wonderfully with this idea for paneling that I got out of some advert at a local door and trim shop ~

Which now just happens to match the pattern on the rug. Perfection.

And then finally–the idea for all of the crown moulding of my house probably starting with my bedroom once I get to that point since that will be the first 'real' completed room (the kitchen and guest bath will be torn out eventually so I did not hang this moulding up in those rooms when I updated them) ~

A piece of crown molding combined with a piece of dimensional stock (probably 4" I am thinking) and then at the bottom a piece of fillet that matches the window moulding (in the background–mine already is exactly the same which is why I loved this idea). I got it out of a painting book I think I found at the library and think it will look quite nice when finished.

rug.

Well, on this very rainy Sunday instead of out in the mountains on Matthew's and my epic Stuart Range traverse I found myself instead on my couch caramel latte in hand reading a bit more of David Roberts' memoirs On The Ridge Between Life and Death and various browsings on my PowerBook and then the sun came out for a brief moment which made me remember I had wanted to take a quick photo of my new living room rug that I (well, someone may disagree) found at Ikea that is perfect. Not only is it perfect for my living room–because of the rectangular pattern and all the right angles which will match the paneling I will be installing in here whenever it is I get around to this room (and despite the fact I have done literally nothing to this room I still like to look back on what it looked like when I first moved in)–but it only cost thirty bucks! And rugs are expensive. And of the things I do not mind spending good money for, um, rugs are not one of them. So this worked out amazingly and the only question that remains which I have mostly already answered is should I get the slightly larger one?

Eventually I am going to be getting this coffee table and I think the bigger one will look slightly better with that in place. But regardless, it is the perfect rug and it is nice to have even a five-by-seven soft piece of something to step on in my house (all hardwood and vinyl-to-be-stone-or-tile flooring right now). And there is a lot to do in the plans for this room but I will save that for another day.

Now back to reading. If the sun stays out–later, a walk.

kitchen light at long last.

Um, I think I finished my kitchen (well, the makeover anyway) about two years ago although there was never any real hard date and there are still a few things I should really do (like trim out the door that leads back to the laundry room) and to make it seem OK I only finished trimming out the window last summer so then it has only been a year since finishing. But regardless, it is quite lame that I just got around to hanging the kitchen light above my table. The real reason it took so long is because I had originally installed the can and the wiring for a different table (you can see where I have to touch up the drywall where the old hole was in the ceiling) so apparently that slight obstacle put this project off until now. It is good to remember at one point this corner looked like this (yes, that wallpaper kicked *ss) after I tore down the drop ceiling to hang a new ceiling at the original 9' height.

But now the light fixture that I bought fully two years ago that has been sitting in my basement is installed dimmer and all and I quite like it. I always envisioned this little corner as my own little coffee shop dark paint and dim lighting and a fine home-made espresso next to me music on quietly in the living room either reading a book to myself or on my PowerBook taking care of bills or looking at Flickr or just chatting with a friend over a good bottle of wine. It is the perfect little corner.

And now it just needs a print on the wall, maybe of this photo which has become one of my favourite photographs that I have ever taken–I would print it fairly big, maybe thirty or forty inches wide and of course mat and frame it in a heavy, black wooden frame.

And the flowers were given away, but quickly replaced as I realized I actually liked having some color and something a little organic in my kitchen. Now to just not let them die ...

But kinda the point of posting this was the two hours or so it took to install this by moving the ceiling bracket in the attic and doing a bit of wiring and such made me realize how much I miss working on my house. This summer has been full of climbing and backpacking and generally getting out so there has been little time for remodeling but it really is enjoyable getting dirty and making my house mine. And so I will get moving on my bedroom probably after fall is in full swing and trips to the Enchantments and possibly Yosemite and Hidden Lake definitely again have been had and it begins getting darker earlier and there is less need to get out.

It really will be exciting to have my bedroom finished–the list that started this blog all checked off. Remodeling = good times.

new old fan.

So Katie surprised me with this fan a couple of months ago and I have been meaning to mention it on my house blog ever since because it is perfect and goes wonderfully with my house. Found at a garage sale where she also found an old, über-cool door that she turned into a corner shelf that looks perfect in her place. A little WD40 once in a while is all it takes to quiet the squeaking and it is so much better than a new one from Restoration Hardware cos this is actually old and comes complete with a bunch of squeaky character.

I do love a good summer garage sale.

Oh, and she found that lamp for me, too which nearly perfectly matches a floor tripod/surveyor's lamp that I already have in my living room.

lists.

OK, so a little while ago I set this up so I could blog solely about the remodel progress of my 1923 Arts & Crafts bungalow, and am just now getting to the first post. So last Thursday I sat down after Julian was in bed surrounded by a myriad of catalogs picking out fixtures and furniture for my bedroom – going to get on that, for real now. Afterall, it has only been over a year of missing walls and my bed propped up on a pile of sheetrock. Starting with finishing the electrical, which will include wiring for two Rejuvenation Arts & Crafts wall sconces (on a dimmer, of course) in between where my bed will go for the main lighting (no recessed lighting in the room, just one in the closet that I will have to wire), a perfect ceiling fan from Restoration Hardware and of course the structured network cabling (4 runs of Cat6, one in and one out of RG6 cable to each outlet box – two in the bedroom).

Once that is finished, I will order the two Marvin aluminum-wood clad windows I need to replace (one will be a sash kit so an easy install, the other will require completely removing the existing window and putting in a new frame). Then hang the drywall and mud and tape (it is not a year of working on the house if there is no mudding and taping of drywall to be done). Then paint the walls (I think I have the color picked out but we'll see – it could change). Then install the carpet (um, paying someone to do that). Then hang all the trim (which will already be primed/painted), including a layered crown molding/casing/fillet combination along the ceiling. Then (finally) mortise and hang the doors after installing the hardware (I estimated it will cost me more for the flippin' hardware than the doors themselves – as in, the doorknob alone is more than the door – granted, I got a killer deal on all of the solid fir, 5-panel Simpson shakers I bought but that still makes me cringe a bit).

But anyways, this post was actually supposed to be about this list that I came across as I was going through my box o' house plans and stuff looking for the estimates I got on the windows last fall before leaving for Hawaii. I apparently made it one week after moving in and it reads ~

* TO DO LIST – WEEK OF 5/7

☐ Take down all lattice shutters + other decorations on outside of house (as applicable)
☐ Wash all windows inside + out
☐ Remove all baseboard heaters + controls from walls (including basement) but *NOT darkroom
☐ Take down decorations inside (mirrors, etc.)
☐ Remove all hardware not needed from windows
☐ Mow lawn after shifting mower height down (1) notch + weed eat
☐ Try to fix garage door opener
☐ Put together J's bed
☐ Begin working on unsticking south living room windows
☐ Begin building screens for my N, J's N, and any L.R. windows you get unstuck – materials are in the garage
☐ Look @ fridge -> measure how far it is angled to shim

I think there might be a second sheet (it's somewhat amusing that 99% of my house plans and drawings and ideas are on random pieces of paper scattered about in this box and perhaps somewhat amazing is that I can find what I am looking for with relative ease).

Anyways, I got a kick out of that. The list for the bedroom is less sporadic and more orderly, but there is something quaint about this first of many, many lists that followed and have yet to be created.