Blog Resources For My Future Home

The Wits

Yellow Brick Home

Restorative chair makeover for my similar mid-century teak chairs

Making a Farmhouse table here

Door Sixteen

Plywood plank floor for temporary use. In lieu of installing expensive hardwoods before you have the money, why not try installing plywood like Door Sixteen did here.

The Wits

Gorgeous furniture inspiration (see above) through their store

The Brick House

Refinishing Vintage Wood: Instructions from the Brick House for bringing used real wood furniture back to life like my dresser/desk, rocking chair, and mid-century chairs.

Easy Way To Check For Lead Paint: Using the 3M products Lead Check Swabs, an instant lead test.

Ana White (Easy DIY furniture tutorials and plans)

Home DIY project catalog

FYI: This doesn't mean I'll be posting any more frequently than I have been but I wanted to share these resources.

Oh, Ross...Karina, Karina!*

As a follow-up to my last post, here's an example of a home I could move into immediately!** This is an example of a Ross Chapin Architects small home design, the Karina, designed by Karen DeLucas, former owner of the house shown. Please check out that last link, that blog will take you through the house timeline of construction, from insulation, interior/exterior paint colors, vendors used for lights and fixtures, flooring, and landscaping through text and loads of great photographs.

Yes, you do see stainless appliances and granite countertops in this kitchen. However, I feel the kitchen's small scale and practicality stand for more than those so-called HGTV "must-haves."

I love the wood tones and crisp calming colors of the interior design and truly adore the exterior house details.

Click to enlarge

The Karina home plan comes in at 1,606 square feet and is part of their collection of small homes over 1,000 sq ft. It's entire foot print is only 22' X 55'; however, the smallest of the three bedrooms is a healthy 11'-6" x 12', it still has 2 full and one 3/4 sized bathrooms and even a separate 2nd floor laundry room with space-saving pocket doors.


Brilliant, right?!



Now, the bath is a bit more swank than I would prefer with its attached-yet-separate tub and the glassed-in shower with "rain" head, but I wouldn't turn my nose up at the soft-close, low-flush toilets.

Lovely wrap-around back porch


* Loose adaptation of "Corinna, Corinna".
** IF I had the money and/or a job where I could afford the upkeep! ;)

My Future HGTV House Hunting Episode

My unemployment has led me to watching a lot of HGTV. Shows such as Property Virgin, Love It or List It, Property Brothers, Househunters (domestic and intl' editions, etc.

One thing I've noticed is how I tend to judge the house hunters on how flexible they are in their searches. The majority expect to go out and find a house specifically designed for them; the 2nd largest group has eyes that are bigger than their budgets (everything must be highend and move-in ready), and a small minority can see the benefit of getting a house short of their ideals and then remaking it specifically for themselves.

Even when the house buyers have been thinking of their dream homes for months or years, they still come up with deal breakers that they didn't think of beforehand. After seeing realtor frustration show after show, I took some time to see just how difficult I might be when the time come.

I have separated the lists in this post into the following categories:

Deal Breakers - Do not even show me these things
• New build in a development
• Attached home - need natural light
• Flat roof - prone to snow and rain issues
• Dark rooms with no possibility of natural light, i.e. windows
• Low ceilings -less than 9', don't want the hassle of building up
• Tricked-out kitchen - would have to strip and sell to get what I want
• Small rooms - none smaller than 12' x 12'
• Too close to street - need some front yard, stoop

Negatives - Not happy but will look
• No overhead lighting setups - hassle and $$$$ to fix
• Small closets - " " carpeted rooms/floors

Must Haves

• Detached home, at least three sides

• Good neighborhood
• Lots of natural light wood floors - fair condition and above
• Porch - front, side, or back
• High ceilings 9’plus
• Modest fenced yard
• Paved driveway
• 2-3 bedrooms of decent size
• Decent sized closets throughout - walk-ins not necessary

Dream Details - If dreams do come true

• Craftsman style details
• 1920's built-ins
• Under-stair hidden storage
• Pocket door/barn door
• Screened/glassed-in porch
• Kitchen with character
• Garage/workshop

Images: Chapin Homes

Shelter Magazine Review

Domino Magazine Relaunch

Color me blue and disappointed. In the relaunch issue, there was some great design. However, the old heart seemed to be missing. I am not sure if I can look objectively at the magazine now knowing that they are primarily a shopping site, because I could feel a catalog vibe and an emphasis on how you could replicate the look by buying this or that. What happened to championing individuality and one-of-a-kind looks?

The issue was similar to one of the original issues, it contained the same amount of content as before (page-wise), but it is now 3x the cost despite only publishing 4 times a year versus monthly. Mathematically, that means each issue should provide us with the content of three issues, right? No. However, they still make the same amount money in an ideal year on the newsstand.

There is one great and totally worth it thing gained from the web site; it seems that they will make some portions of the Domino article archives available again. I hope in time they will organize the access to them more efficiently. However, the magazine no longer seems as special to me. What a shame...

Fresh Style Magazine

Despite the lack of "shelter" magazines that appeal to me, I have found Fresh Style, out of Alabama. It is published 6 times a year, with a $6 retail price. It is a cool mix of the eclectic style that I love: a little country, old world, thrift, and vintage, with a dash of bright (but not basic) colors. But most of all it has an overall kitschy charm. The magazine consists of a variety of quick projects and great visual inspiration. In fact, its subtitle is 'simple ideas for creative living.'

I tend to read magazine mastheads* and did not recognize any of the editors or contributors from my former fave magazines such as ReadyMade, Blueprint, Budget Living or the like. Regardless, there is talent there.

*Likewise, movie and TV show credits. Test me!

Book Review: Homeward Bound by Emily Matchar

A few months ago, I was contacted by Simon and Schuster to review their new book, Homeward Bound: Why Women Are Embracing the New Domesticity by Emily Matchar. It has taken me a long while to put this together (months!)  because well, I just could not finish the book. Have you ever continued to read a book even after it had started to feel like a chore and it was not a required school assignment? NO, right? You would just return it to the library or pass it on to a friend? Well, since I had said I would review the book, doing that did not feel like an option. I kept trying to reengage my interest in it. I brought it to work every day so I could read some at lunch. However, I just could not do it. The book is not badly written, I just did not agree with some of the premise and the conclusions inside.

The book chronicles the wave of young domestic DIY-ers and those returning to the love of land and family by stepping back from the corporate and somewhat impersonal digital world by becoming involved in growing their own food, raising livestock, baking bread, sewing their family's clothing, educating the children at home, and attachment parenting. I had a problem with the book talking about the benefits of the above, such as the growth of home schooling, without acknowledging that the practice is a privilege and not available to everyone. It is especially not available to families dependant on both parents working. This movement, Ms. Matchar describes is not inclusive, instead its members are limited in age, education, and financial background. It is quite ironic that this return to the "simple" life is more accessible to those who have the money to test out the lifestyle and then choose to take or leave it.

Ms. Matchar interviews highly educated men and women who had quit prestigious jobs to stay home with their children. Of course, every person has a right to do this if they choose; however, the author states repeatedly that their reason for why they did is that corporate culture was not appreciative or helpful to working parents. A lot of that corporate thinking stems from the belief that women will not be as productive or dedicated to their jobs when they have children at home, or that many will quit once they become pregnant. Opting out should not be the best solution. On page 178, I found a few pages on the media fairytale of opting out versus fighting the problems of the working woman but this was more than halfway through the book and only three pages long. I felt it was too little and too late to provide a balanced view of this important issue.

A problem with the growth of this movement (the way that Ms. Matchar describes it) is that women have not yet met all the goals toward parity with men. We should be posing that as the solution to the corporate problem. Feminism and workplace reform are where the emphasis needs to continue because that movement is not over. Women are still only making 75% of what a man makes for a similar job, have inadequate maternity leave, no job security when out on the leave they do receive, and there is still a bias towards working mothers. How will we improve these conditions if women in the professional arena do not champion for these changes before they personally need them. We should try to fix the problem instead of giving up on it. The goal should be for a future society where either path is an equal option with comparable benefits.

Of course, this is just my personal take on the book. Obviously, it affected me strongly. When initially contacted I expected to enjoy this book, I felt it might describe the things I am involved with and express how I thought about the return of the old arts and skills. Unfortunately, I did not feel this book represented me at all. Perhaps, it was because of my age, being a decade older than the people who were interviewed. Or maybe because during my childhood I had a mom who was gifted and involved in sewing, crafting, gardening, and cooking. She and I were always trying some new skill, appliqué, crewelwork, quilting, doll making, even once making fortune cookies. At the same time, my father was into woodworking, paper mache, macramé, and landscaping. Therefore, I have a hard time seeing this as "the new thing", as a fad to be marketed. I feel that cheapens it and believe that the most basic of these skills should be a given in the average person’s skills.

However, I suggest you read the book for yourself and form your own decision. Here is a link to her blog New Domesticity. Feel free to come back and let me know your thoughts.

How Little Can I Live With?

Much more than I thought or want.  Really.

My thought was to purge a lot of unwanted stuff and start over this part of my life by living more simply but I still ended up with...say it again?  Much more than I wanted.  This is what was left after a packed-car trip to the new place!

Does not include the furniture that I will take! 

The biggest space hogs among my moving boxes are the six and a half boxes and plastic totes devoted to sewing books and fabric.  That is even more than the space devoted to my finished items of clothing!  That does not even include the two sewing machines, a table and a wardrobe dedicated to hold everything.  For sure, this is not a hobby suited for minimal living!

I guess I will never be able to live like this:

All-in-one unit. Designer unknown.

let alone this apartment in 300 square feet.

The funny thing is that I really thought I had less sewing "stuff n' stash" than most  bloggers I read until I combined the stuff from my bedroom closet, under the bed, in the wardrobe/armoire, on my bookshelf, and next to and in the sewing table. Yes, in denial, was I.  So can anyone show me a seamster/sewist* that does live minimally?  I'm serious, I dare you!


*Of adult garments, not quilts, children clothing or stuffed animals.

Purging Your Stuff (and part of your life) is Hard

I am moving out of the city and also into a smaller space (my old bedroom in my childhood home) and realize it would be easier and more efficient to limit the amount of stuff that I actually move from here to there.  I once lived in an efficiency and was fine with minimal belongings, but after moving into a "palace" in terms of square footage, I began to accumulate more items and furniture to fill the space.  In the picture below, the only other furniture missing in that picture was a double bed, dining table, folding chairs and a bureau for my clothes. The truly funny thing is that I still own everything in that picture, save for the lavender vase on the coffee table, which broke years ago.

Efficiency.  Arlington, 1997.

I started looking on the Internet to see how others accomplished ridding themselves of things. Check this article on Lifeedited for one family's experience doing this.  If you are also thinking of going this route, two books I have reviewed here before may help you: Throw Out Fifty Things (reviewed here) and Apartment Therapy: The Eight-Step Home Cure that I wrote about here.

For this task, furniture-wise, I'm only keeping what I love.

"Have nothing in your home that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful." William Morris
Unfortunately, that is still too much for the space, but I'm going to make it happen.  The secretary desk turned dresser that I still mean to refinish, my IKEA desk (as future sewing table), my armoire (sewing storage), the chunky mid-century rocking chair, and a self-tiled mosaic table are what I mean to bring with me.  There's also the possibility of keeping the IKEA Misi table, seen in the picture below before its current paint job.  It has been an ideal sewing table with it's six individual drawers the perfect size for scissors, buttons, and other notions.

One bedroom. Arlington, 2003.

I can see that I've kept moving the same stuff from place to place even though many of the pieces were what I came across or someone gave to me as opposed to what I went out and got because it spoke to me and I wanted it. A lot of these items make me feel unsuccessful, like the loveseat a friend gave to me when she moved. She had purchased it years earlier from a thrift store and ten years later it is still in my living room. Underneath the slipcover, it is in horrible shape, to the point I'm ashamed of having people get a good look at it.  I guess I won't feel like I'm an adult until the day I can afford a couch that I choose myself, while this one just reminds me that my lean years are still here.


If you're going to find out who you'll become, you need space in your life for who you are, rather than storing reminders of who you thought you were going to be."
Wende Feller
The rest of my furniture has made its way to Craigslist. A Panasonic portable CD/ dual cassette player (a suggestion to also get rid of my other one was hard to take since I use my music as a way to destress), a bedside table that I repaired, stripped, and painted; an IKEA TV/entertainment center, another IKEA piece, a beautiful dinner buffet (just sold!). There are also two IKEA Robin bookshelves in great condition, a twin-sized futon and frame (remember those?); and a golden yellow (one of my first painted furniture projects) Queen Anne coffee table. Not enough? How about a mini Cuisinart food processor and a Braun 10-cup coffee maker. I am getting inquiries and I've sold two pieces, I just hope to get rid of more as I really need the money they would bring in.

One bedroom. Richmond, 2006.

I hope when I move into my own place again, that I will have the money to buy what I really like, so that my apartment (or house?) will truly reflect my personality and no longer look like I just moved out of a college dorm. I think it's about time.

My Grandma's Attic: Her Dinnerware Collection

Six months ago, my dad and I cataloged my late grandmother’s collection of dishes and cut glass pieces. We were pretty amazed at how much stuff that included, as most of this was never on display. Not surprising, I found that most of them were not my style. I love vintage but my taste is pretty specific and there was a lot here that I did not like. However, for our purposes of what to keep and what to donate, I tried to research the pieces I could identify from markings or specific details. It boggles the mind that my Grandmother had so many different sets of china, all styles, and an amazing large set of cut glass…everything! I’m going to post a few images and descriptions and at the end I’m going to show what made that whole afternoon of opening boxes, setting up groupings, and photographing it all worth it. Oh, so worth it!

Here’s the worst of the bunch, in my opinion the worst design I have ever seen on dinnerware and we are now in possession of a huge set of these:

Yes, your eyes are not lying, green and gold faux Victoriana plates from the Taylor Smith Taylor company. These were produced mid-century and manufactured in the U.S. The platters feature Victorian couples in the center surrounded with a deep forest green band with an intricate overlaid pattern in gold. Research shows this pattern has been known by collectors as Victorian Couple, George and Martha Washington, Quadrille, Romeo and Juliet, or Courting Couple. Each size plate, bowl, or cup shows a different scene. I think because of the green and gold colors that it resembles a holiday collection of some sorts. This. I do not like.

My grandmother has one standout set that is very popular and yet still very desirable. The pattern is popular in its own right and I have even seen it used on cell phone cases. The name is Blue Willow and you probably feel that you’ve seen it before, even if just at a thrift store. Like I said, it was very popular. This design or some kind of close variation was produced by many companies, such as Homer Laughlin (of Fiestaware fame), Spode, Royal Dalton, and Wedgewood. Our set was manufactured by Churchill, a British company and is marked so on the bottom of the pieces. However, when looking at the individual pieces I noticed some variation. Many had the inscribed Churchill mark on the bottom but the stamps would look different and the pieces themselves would have little discrepancies. This was not a one-time purchase, she probably accumulated these over time instead. If sold, it should be in groupings so that each set would have identical pieces.

This Ellesmere Furnival tureen is similarly colored but not related and unfortunately I have not been able to find any information more than the name marked on the base of the piece. Also note in the picture above that the two cups with the Blue Willow pattern have differently shaped handles, another example of their being multiple variations of that pattern in the collection.

  

Here are just a few of the unmarked cut glass pieces varying from butter dishes, compotes, salad dressing cruets to tiered dessert plates and hors d'oeuvre trays (not pictured).

Then there were these, the Whitney #5671 from Imperial China and manufactured in Japan. Again, not my type but I can appreciate its beauty. The white dishes with silver trim are surrounded with a leaf scroll design painted on a light gray band. We have a near complete set of I did a little research, I have much more to do, but I found out on one site that an 8 to 10 place setting, during a good market period, could bring in $700-900 depending on condition. So there is hope for our little venture.

Oh, and the items that made that entire day worth it? Feast your eyes on these!

A Blendo summer cocktail set!

Possibly from the West Virginia Glass Company, this frosted turquoise juice pitcher and eight-piece tumbler set, 2 each of bright aqua, coral, yellow, and sage green with gold rims. The company put out variations of these colorful sets where the saturated solid color at the base gradually fades as it rises into clear glass with a gold band marking the divide. Some were all one color sets, others were multicolor in brights and pastels. Check Etsy or eBay for "Blendo" and you will be amazed. Anyone who has seen my apartment (use the Home tag on this blog to see images) knows that these colors fit right in.  I adore this set. Though I have never 'had people over for summer cocktails', I will at least be prepared if the occasion ever does arrive.

I have a strong feeling that these were a gift to my grandmother because, come on, one look at the stuff above and then look at this...not the same style at all, right? Well, they are no longer packed away, though I would prefer that they were. My father put them through the dishwasher (No!*) and now has them on display in his home even though we agreed that they were mine to keep. I asked him to take care of them but I meant for them to stay protected in their bubble wrap. I hope to claim them in the future and display them when a place I live in is no longer considered a "hazardous place for delicate things to live".

Cute Adaptive Reuse Nightmare

A co-worker directed me to this compilation of stories on WebUrbanist about adaptive reuse projects. They range from an airplane-now-home to an airplane hanger that is a completely contained beach resort.

Architect: John Perkins

One story that really intrigued me was this one on the bureaucratic nightmares involved in a seemingly simple project; converting a garage into a small residence that would fit into the preexisting urban landscape and meet all city codes.

So not as easy at it would seem.

Images: bottleworld.net

Domino Magazine Returns!!

Holiday 2013!

I don't want to get my hopes up too much, but it seems Condé Nast has finally seen the error of their ways and are actually relaunching one of the best design magazine of this generation, Domino!!! Announced last week in Women's Wear Daily, this fall will see the return of the beloved magazine. This time they are being cautious, the print magazine will appear quarterly instead of monthly, as before. Most importantly, the print editions will be accompanied by an e-commerce site developed by e-commerce design company Project Décor. 

March 2009

 Originally launched in 2005 as a home decor-focused complement to fellow Condé Nast publication Lucky, the magazine became a near cult phenomenon in only three years. It's cancellation launched numerous blog posts mourning its demise.


November 2006

This post on E! pretty much sums up what was great about the magazine and made it stand out from all the others currently on the newsstand shelves. I will cross my fingers that they do not change it too much. I hope they remember how we mourned it in 2009 exactly the way it was, and that version of the magazine is what we want back. Except of course, hopefully they will have more advertising revenue, since that was the reason it disappeared, not lack of popularity or circulation.
 


October 2007

 They are still being cautious, the print magazine will be quarterly this time and is accompanied by an e-commerce site. Pro: original publisher Beth Brenner returns Cons: founding editor Deborah Needleman will not and individual issues will be over $10. Let's cross our fingers, OK?

Hey Domino, see you in the fall!

Publicity Reveals Historical Misidentification

I came upon an interesting story through the Preservation Virginia newsletter. It provided a link to a post on the Florida Historical Society website about a woman's home having received official designation as a Sears Roebuck kit house. However, because of the news article, the glory was short-lived. You see, her house, though a historic mail order kit home, is not a Sears Roebuck kit home.

The article appeared in January on the Society's blog entitled The Importance of Historic Designation. Because of its subject matter it reached the attention of Rose Thornton, an authority on Sears kit homes and administrator of the Sears Modern Home blog, which documents homes manufactured by the retail company and features still existing examples found nationwide. Not being familiar with this particular Sears home model and backed with research provided by Mark Hardin and Rachel Shoemaker; who documents mail-order homes in Oklahoma, the error was discovered.

According to a post entitled 80% of the People Who Think They Have a Sears House Are Wrong written by Thornton on the Sears Modern Home website, this kind of mistake is not unusual.

The Florida woman's home was found to be model #620 by the Gordon-Van Tine Company; a competitor of Sears, who sold their own Ready-Cut kit homes from 1916 to 1947. As seen in the composite above (and on the Sears Home site), the owner’s home and model #620 are clearly the same design, especially when you observe the unique shape of their double dormers. According to the post, supporting documentation of this new identification was sent in May to both the home owner and the Florida Historical Society. Click here for an exciting update to this story.

I love that they were able to track the history of this home. However, I wonder what was the reaction of the homeowner when she received this news? Was she happy to find out that her house was misidentified, because…

• It shows that the research was flawed. Perhaps the research effort was subconsciously influenced by the desired result and led them to information that supported their thesis instead of “letting the evidence lead them,” as they would say on C.S.I. or Bones. Quotes from the article state, “It was no easy task to obtain the designation proudly displayed on the front of the house that she purchased in 2002." and "Thanks to the significant research efforts of Ed Browder from Little John Engineering the home’s historical significance is now confirmed.” I wonder how Mr. Browder and his company felt about this new information?


• The designation that facilitated her news mention, ironically is no longer applicable and the plaque attached to her home is no longer accurate.


• Possessing a Sears Kit homes may have more of a cache to the general public that owning a Gordon Van Tine home. The Sears name had staying power and most people associate these types of homes with the company and not all the other companies that manufactured mail-order homes around the same time period.


• In addition, the time period in which Sears manufactured their homes was not as long as other companies like Aladdin and Gordon-Van Tine, from 1909 to 1940. Therefore, they produced and sold a smaller number of homes sold and of those constructed, any still-standing examples are rare and perhaps more valuable in regards to resale value.

I would love to know what happens next, wouldn't you?

Working in historic preservation, my office possesses a non-lending resource library full of architectural books and state and county histories. We also possess a small selection of home catalogs from Sears and Aladdin, which I have spent time studying. Call me weird, but I love examining house plan layouts of the past and discovering the weird alcoves, built-in cabinets furniture, framed archways, and back passageways that were common then. Words like soffit, coving, dentil, eave, and casement, these are all interesting to me. One of the resources that we have is Houses from Books, Treatises, Pattern Books, and Catalogs in American Architecture, 1738-1950: A History and Guide* by Daniel D. Reiff. Written from both a social and historical view, the book covers the whole catalog home phenomenon from early pattern and style books for choosing individual architectural details to the actual process of mail-ordering a complete home, lumber and all.

If you are interested in some of the same things as I, I suggest you contact your state historic preservation office (SHPO) or any local historical societies and see what information they can offer. The Dover currently reprints many of the catalogs from manufacturers (Aladdin, Gordon-Van Tine, Montgomery Ward, Sears Roebuck, Sterling, et al.) and makes them available for purchase. Enjoy!

*I do think he could have come up with a more eye-catching title though?

Images: Sears Modern Home

SHELTER Sets: The New Normal

Note: NBC has cancelled this program but I still had a draft post for its set design, so here it is! In fact, here's a piece on the auction house, One Kings Lane that sold the remains.

I didn't get to watch it much because it was on the same time as some other show that probably got cancelled too but I still think Andrew Rannells is amazing. The main set, a Spanish Colonial Revival home for his character Bryan and his husband David is a gorgeous and believable abode for a the Monterey-based TV producer and a gynecologist. The house was based on the design and style of a 1920s home owned by Diane Keaton, perhaps because the show's creator Ryan Murphy (Glee, American Horror Story) owns another of her past homes.

Master Bedroom

Bryan and Tony shopping for props

Furnished and styled by set decorator Bryan Venegas and production designer Tony Fanning the New Normal home set is eclectic and full of leather, dark wood furniture and floors all accented by colorful tile and pottery. The rare and expensive Monterey furniture was replicated by an artisan woodworker.



Kitchen

Detail of kitchen island tile

Interesting tidbit gleaned from an L.A. Times article; the tile in the kitchen is fake. Trying to replicate the tile featured in Diane Keaton's kitchen would have been too expensive. Instead, they photographed the inspiration tiles and printed the images on medium-density fiberboard (MDF). They were then routed, grouted and sealed just like real tile. In another example of creative thriftiness, expensive pottery was crafted in foam and then painted to look like cement.

Home office

Dining room and home office

I don't know why more TV and film productions don't do things like that. If it looks the same on camera, why not? It helps the budget (in this case by thousands) and  the actors don't need the real thing. Win-win.

A detail from Georgia and Shania's cottage

However, the set I prefer on the show is not theirs but that of their baby surrogate and friend Goldie and her daughter Shania. It's compact one-room size with kitschy details, bright colors and its frugality is more my style. Too bad I couldn't find more photos of it.

Living room and bedroom

View from kitchen

Living room and kitchen

Images: One Kings Lane, NBC, Twentieth Century Fox