Posts from March 2010
re-nest blogger
Hi everyone…just stopping by to say that I am trying out for a blogger position for re-nest (part of the Apartment Therapy family) and they posted one of my sample posts today! Check it out and if you like what you see, leave a comment!
porch reveal
I had my doubts, but ladies and gentlemen, the porch is finally done!*
*ok, we still have to construct a storage bench but the impending demo party has delayed that for now.
But before the big reveal, let’s take a moment to reminisce.
Here is our cute, perfectly practical open porch in the 1930’s.
Yikes…and this is what it looked like when we bought the house in ’06. [We’re guessing the porch was enclosed in the ’60’s when the metal siding and aluminum windows were installed.] Exterior carpet, yuck!
Last summer we took out everything we didn’t want…
…and by last fall we had ourselves an inviting, solid new porch (and stoop!). We were so exhausted from all the exterior work that we took a few months off before finishing the inside, but today we are finally done and are here to bring you the official reveal!
Come on in!
We chose a light yet warm palette. The carpet tiles are from Flor. We opted for House Pet in “Irish Setter” and two squares of Coir to serves as an integral walk off mat. (We’re leaving our old walk off mat outside as an extra measure during the rainy season.) The future bench will go in the space to the left of the door. The current thinking is that it will be a fir box on steel legs with a chocolate brown paperstone lid/seat. There will be space for shoes under the bench and possibly on the opposite wall as well.
We also installed our new coat hooks! We’re going to try two for now and possibly install a third on the opposite side of the door. We painted the beveled siding the same “soot” color as the rest of the house to emphasize the indoor/outdoor relationship.
No coats yet…we wanted to enjoy them for a bit first.
Finally, the space had to earn the approval of one very particular family member. I cleaned the drool off the front door for these photos but it’s only a matter of time…
[Bailey also just got back from the groomer when I took this. I can no longer braid the fur on his paws, which is a very good thing.]
porch progress: so close
Work on the porch continues. One more coat of paint, then the finishing touches and we’ll finally be done!
modern coat hooks
Back in October, we put together a materials palette for our porch. Four months later (after a much needed break) we are finally finishing the space up and realized we have yet to order the coat hooks! Below is the coat hook style that we picked out last fall – it’s the Bach hook and is sold through a few big name retailers. We like the simple design and functionality. The curved steel is supposed to keep things in place without stretching out the fabric. Since we don’t have enough space for a horizontal, multi-hook setup we plan on installing 1-2 of these on each side of the door which would provide 6-8 hooks total. While we admittedly have a large jacket collection (it’s Seattle – we layer!) we’re hoping that by purposefully limiting our storage capacity, we’ll only keep out the coats/jackets/scarves that we wear frequently and avoid some visual clutter in the process.
Now, even though we’re still feeling good about this option, we decided to do a little more research, just to make sure. Here’s a collection of additional modern hooks that caught our eye. [All images are linked back to their source.]
Love this classic, simple design. Smedbo – $40.50
Minimal modern design from hardware favorite, Sugatsune – $7.20
I love the idea of these abstract house hooks with space for keys, mail and coats! $40 (Canadian) via Remodelista.
So maybe these aren’t really wall hooks, but I love the timeless, clothes pin design. $5.50 each from Muji.
A more affordable take on the Tom Dixon version below, this is a fun piece that would provide a lot of storage. $29.95 from CB2.
A well loved IKEA classic. We have several of these that have moved with us from place to place. $5/two pack.
Another great example of minimalist design. We noticed a similar hook system used during our stay at the Rolling Huts last month. $150 via Nest Living.
Another affordable IKEA option. $10 (in white or black finish)
I love the paperclip motif in this Tom Dixon design. But at $330/segment, I’d almost hate to put anything on it!
Any other favorites out there?
safety first
A few days ago we were browsing through photos from last summer (finally getting around to posting some tools and extra supplies on craigslist!), when we came across this:
And we laughed. Taking a break from paint shaving the house (not a cameo scene from a sci-fi movie), Kyle sports a full range of safety gear. Almost any house project has the potential to be dangerous and/or messy so it’s important that all the right precautions are taken. In this case, it was eyes, ears, nose, mouth and hands. And as an added bonus, a certain entertainment value to our neighbor with the freshly painted house.
Three years ago, we went full face mask to protect against flying chunks of concrete as we cleared out our “planting” strip.
One of our first projects we undertook was to install a wall heater in our bathroom (yes, the bathroom that we eventually gutted). This is also when we discovered the hell that is lath and plaster.
In 2007, a roof harness prevented any mishaps while Kyle shoveled off shingles. [The worst. project. ever.]
I’m not kidding, the roof was intense. Unfortunately, it is harder to protect one’s self against dirt and grime.
So there you go, a sampling of all things safety. We even have a whole drawer in the shop that we’ve dubbed “the safety drawer”. Gloves, glasses, ear protection, dust masks, respirators…it may seem like a hassle at the time (and you may feel a little goofy) but preventing accidents and prolonged exposure to debris is well worth it.
