Ottoman Empire and the Comfy Chair
A few months ago I created a bit of furniture to go with the chair I had reupholstered. First, though, the story of the chair.…
Category: Projects
Unifying with Circles
Carrying on from the last post and finally finishing the super long tale of the redesigning “process” for the look and feel of great room……
Great Room Note–Outside Design Service
During our random discussions about what to do paint- and furniture-wise in the great room, Agent Smith pointed me to a website that promised to…
Making the Great Room Great, Step Eight: Wall Lighting
When we had the main electric panel redone, we decommissioned the monument outlets in the great room and outside areas. We knew there had been…
Making the Great Room Great, Step Seven: Plants and Bits
I always intended plants to be the main decorative ornaments in the foyer and great room, instead of random knickknacks (although we do have a…
Making the Great Room Great–Step Six: Finding Art
In addition to finding furniture for the great room, over the last two years we’ve managed to find interesting items to hang on the walls–mainly…
Making the Great Room Great–Before and After Painting
Some before and after shots of the foyer and great room, once the painters were done but before any furniture was put back. Even sans…
Making the Great Room Great, Step Four: Painting
As anyone who has painted a room (myself included) knows, prep work is what takes the most time. Once everything was prepped and primed, the…
Making the Great Room Great, Step Three: Priming
Once the dropcloths and plastic sheets were taped into place, the painters got busy. The four interior doors were removed from their frames for painting,…
Making the Great Room Great, Step Two: Paint Prep
In mid-August 2019, our regular house painter slotted some time to paint the great room. There was much prep work to be done–the old furnace…
Making the Great Room Great, Step One: Deciding on Paint
Once the great room floors had been refinished and the chimney column stripped of paint, it was time to make the room our own. I…
Venting the Garage
Regular readers know that the primary enticement to buy this place was the big garage. It is used for more than just storing our daily…
A Trip to the Auction House
Soon after buying this place, Agent Smith and I discussed ways to furnish it that did not involve rushing off to IKEA, Restoration Hardware or…
Battery Backup: Hosed
The one casualty of the power wall project was the post that held the reel for a water hose we use a lot–sadly, the post…
Battery Backup: The Install
As detailed in the previous post, we decided to forgo installing a big diesel generator for backup power and opted for a power wall instead.…
Battery Backup: Understanding the Pieces
One of the annoying things about living halfway up a mountain is that we lose power more often than if we lived in a normal…
Mirror Mirror
As mentioned in the last post, the 3D printer helped with a recent crafty project I created for the foyer/great room. I spent a few…
When in doubt, just print it
It’s been two years since we bought our first 3D printer–a Prusa MK3, based upon a friend’s recommendation–and we learned very early on that one…
Exterior Tidying
There were no winter rains in December 2018, so we asked our favorite painter to get some much-needed exterior painting done. As mentioned numerous times…
Insulating Ourselves
When we finished the furnace project and the plumbing project that followed, we knew we wanted to redo the insulation under the house; most of…
Flooring all done. Time for before and after.
First the damaged area by the sliding glass door upstairs in the great room: Then the damaged area at the foyer and great room. I…
Click-Lock
While the teak repairs were happening, another guy who specializes in repairing and installing the type of flooring we have in the blue room and…
Teaky Teak
Before the teak that runs through most of the house could be refinished, a lot–and I mean a lot–of repairs had to be made. There…
My Grandmother’s Cedar Chest
Since I’m one of only two grandchildren on my father’s side of the family, I ended up with a lot of stuff when it came…
Craigslist, Chicago, and Lumber Liquidators
It’s been a while since regular posts have gone up, and even though we’re under a shelter-in-place order, we’ve been incredibly busy with projects. From…
In the Teaky Teaky Teaky Teaky Teaky Room
The house, built in the late 60s, has teak parquet flooring throughout the main living areas–north hallway, foyer and great room. We know from old…
Another Tale of Fencing
When we purchased this place, we knew the previous owners had it on the market in 2012 and again for most of 2013. It failed…
Drain Videos
When Able Sewer and Drain re-piped the drains in the north wing, another member of their team ran a scope down the entire drain line.…
More Plumbing Woes
During the furnace project in May 2018, one of the guys from Ventwerx spotted something awry with our plumbing and brought it to my attention:…
Chimneys Be Gone
After the old diesel furnaces were removed from service, we still had two chimney stacks sticking out of the south wing roof. Since Armstrong (who…
Finishing Touches in the Guest Room
Once the walls were painted and the great tree finished, it was time to add some finishing touches to the guest room. First, Agent Smith…
Guest Room Makeover
Since all the furniture had been moved out of the guest room to allow for furnace work, I took the opportunity to paint that space…