State of the Bathroom

Been a while since I've mentioned the bathroom, eh? Well the "improvements" have begun. Here is a preview.



Notice the lovely framing on the wet wall. I think a team of monkeys with hammers could have done a better job. This means that I will have to rip out this wall, which is shared with my closet. Boo for having to move my threads!

During the demo we had a fun time that included throwing a sink out of a second story window as well as breaking the waterline heading to the toilet, resulting in water gushing through the pendant lights in the kitchen. Fun times.

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For bathroom vanities I found a couple I like better than ikea, and they are a good deal. I like Exhibit A & B, but they won't be available until mid-July. :-( That leaves exhibit C, which is looking swanky is available now and is similar in price to an ikea set-up. All sets include the vanity, mirror, shelves, countertops, sinks and even the faucets.

Exhibit A:



Exhibit B:



Exhibit C:

Die Wall, Die!

This is what happens when you forget to add some thingamabobbers behind the wall before drywalling and have to cut a hole into your newly painted wall. The 50" uber TV will be mounted this week!

We also ordered the hardwood floors. It will take until Mid-July to arrive, but we think it's worth it. Check out it's Imperial Teak hawtness. We had talked about Brazilian Cherry before but thought they may be a bit too red'ish for my tastes. After that we liked Brazilian Walnut, but the teak was a little bit cheaper, less red, and we just liked the grain better. Who knows, maybe we'll change our mind in another week because we're finicky like that.



The Queen's brother helped out this weekend by painting the ceiling. He succesfully coated the ceiling, and his face with paint splatter. He did a great job on both accounts, and his help was greatly appreciated. :-)

Gratuitous Loki shot!

MCM & Family Expansion

When offered a blank slate of a house, like mine, there are lots of options. At times too many options. As renovations proceed we are forced to determine our own design and decorating. Luckily the Queen and I have very similar tastes. We are not beige walls with brown furniture type of people, thus places like the local furniture store make me cringe.

The style we've honed in on is Mid Century Modern (MCM) and contemporary. One of the great things about this era is that there seems to be a decent supply of MCM furniture that is well made (solid wood construction), in pretty good condition, and for a price that is comparable to the MDF furniture at your local store. Oh, and it looks cool. :-) We decided we aren't farmhouse, bauhaus, or even baroque style people. At least not for a row house. This doesn't mean a few pieces of these styles won't make their way in, but the main theme is MCM.

In following our MCM theme, we've been scouring ebay and craigslist for good MCM stuff. We've thus far purchased a teak vanity for upstairs (not shown), a teak chair and ottoman with white cushions, a teak rocker w/ the bright blue cushion, and some teak nesting tables. Are you sensing a teak theme? We are. We figure the teak nesting tables will come in handy, as we can spread them around the room when company is over, but keep them nested when it's just us around. The Queen has been lusting after a rocking chair, so we had to pick one up. I also ordered a lamp from west elm that looks like it's made from antlers. If it were up to me I'd put a deer head on the wall, but the Queen vetoed this, allowing me the fake antlers for now. :-)



At times I wonder if my parents will find our style funny. Will they walk into the house and think it looks dated? In another 10 years will we look back at pictures and say, "what were we thinking?". Maybe so, but for now I think it will look pretty good, and hopefully the pieces we buy will hold their value.

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In unrelated news, we got a dog from the pound. His name is Loki. :-)

Bad Blogger!

While real life has been exhilerating, work on the house is at a stand still. This weekend the Queen and I tackle painting downstairs and who knows what else. A 50" plasma arrives tomorrow, so we need to get the paint up so we can hang it and move on with life.

Since productivity sucks I can at least show you what Zion looked like. We already want to go back and hike the Narrows and the Subway.











Unfortunately we didn't make it to Antelope Canyon, but after driving uber-hours the day before we didn't feel like being in the car for 8 hours the next day. Hopefully next time we're out there we can stop by. :-)

Hungarian Bookshelves & Subway Tile Fireplace

The Hungarian shelves and the white subway tile in the fireplace are finally in. The fireplace was non-operating, thus tiling it over wasn't an issue. We thought we were going to paint the mantle white, but after looking at it with the white tile in we decided it was too cold looking. We'll just refinish it, with the wood adding a bit of warmth to the otherwise white and silver palette.



The shelves were much easier to do than standard bookshelves and we like the modern look. All the online materials I saw had them unpainted, but after a few coats of white semi-gloss they look like a million bucks. We used sanded plywood instead of MDF, as the ends are free hanging so we needed the extra strength. The front edge of the wood is covered with a strip of melamine. I'd never thought of an iron as a device used in shelf building, but indeed it is.

Over the fire place is the electrical and cable line. When we order the TV I'll know exactly where to place the outlets in relation to the wall bracket, so for now the locations are notional.

I'd say it looks better than it was before, especially with the ceiling fan gone too.

Zion!

I love living in renovation dust as much as the next guy, but the Queen decided we need a break. We fly into Las Vegas tomorrow morning and then have a few hour drive to Zion National Park in Southern Utah. I've never been to the SW (SoCal doesn't count), so this will be a cool trip. We have one night in Vegas, and we'll be making stops at Bryce Canyon, the Grand Staircase and Antelope Canyon.

In preparation I've purchased some camera geekery for the trip: a new uberlight & small tripod, a new ballhead and filters. Along with my trusty 5D, wide angle lens and telephoto strapped to my back it should be a good trip. The Queen says she wants pictures blown up for hanging around the house upon our return, so I'll do my best to please her.

I can't wait to photograph Antelope Canyon - here is a sample of what it looks like.

Courtyard Design

I have zero experience landscaping cement pads behind row houses, but figured I'd give it a whirl. I used ghetto AutoCAD; hopefully it gets the point across.



I think the entire slab needs to be replaced, so while doing this why not upgrade things a bit. Right? This includes adding a decent planter bed, a place for my garbage cans, a grill, and a 6' block wall all around the space to stop the Baltimore City rats from invading my zen garden and keep the local yokels out of my view.

With the slabtacular boringness of concrete, I'm thinking about a few slate tiles or shapes cut into the concrete (shown in cyan) to help spice up the floor.



I also want to hide my A/C unit. Using all cinder blocks is a bit cold, so I'm thinking about a wood fence around the A/C unit, on the gate, and for a neato bench in front of the japanese maple. I'm hoping to use cedar, but I'm only at Phase 1 so there is plenty of time to reduce cost and scope as I head forward. I will do the woodwork myself, and par for the course, I have zero experience building these aforementioned items. I'm not sure if the plants will survive in the places I've put them, so a bit more research is required. I'm worried about the roots going through the temperature extremes of an elevated planting bed. Also, lights hanging over the courtyard would be hot, so I threw a few in.



I need some height on the left side of my boring left wall, so why not add some bamboo. Not sure how it will hold up there, but I like the concept of it. The planting benches could hold herbs, a small fountain, some bonsai trees, and serve as a lovely bar in a pinch. Some planter boxes with sweet potato vine could help brighten up the place in the summer. I would think about painting the courtyard too, but I am at a loss for what color would look good. I have a general hatred toward beige/taupe, so that is out of the question.

If I have someone just do the concrete and block work, I think I can fill in the rest of the blanks. If the quotes come in too expensive for this work, the yard will stay an ugly broken up slab. All or nothing baby!