February 25th, 2010
Let’s start with wood floors, since I really think that this is the second-most pressing issue in the house, after the basement walls. And to be clear, this is NOT just about the, erm, aesthetically displeasing carpeting that spreads around the main floor of the house like a fuzzy disease. Since we’ve started living in this house, we’ve been sick. It’s not the mold, since we have that under control through careful tinkering with the house’s humidity levels. It’s not the cats, since we’ve had them all along without (mostly) ill effects. I’m pretty sure it’s the carpeting.
The current carpeting has been in place in the house since somewhere around 1988, and in the intervening 22 years, it’s been exposed to who-knows-what, including dangerously toxic mold/mildew levels, pet dander, dead skin cells, and whatever has been spilled on it over the years. The result is that I’ve had to start taking my allergy medicine year-round, and most of the time while he is home, Kevin can’t breathe without a very heavy, wheezing crackle. It’s scary, and it needs to be resolved. And if it’s something other than the cruddy carpeting? Well, we’ll move on to the next possible solution with glorious new flooring.
Here is where the herringbone comes in: I’m obsessed with hardwood floors in this pattern. Lookie here, and you will be, too:
Inspiration | 
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January 25th, 2010
Over the weekend, Kevin and I finally came to the soul-crushing conclusion that we need to get rid of the Expedit bookcase in our living room. It was soul-crushing for me, anyway. After moving it twice, I think Kevin was sort over the whole thing. Basically, our living room is simply too small and dark to have this black, hulking piece of furniture taking up so much room. Plus, we’re both trying to pare down our belongings, to move out of the realm of packrats who are owned by their belongings, and each and every one of those cubbyholes calls out to me in my sleep to be filled with new and interesting bits of nostalgia and kitsch. I can’t do it anymore! Behold, bad cell phone pictures:
Our lounge really isn’t a bad size, considering the fact that we live in a pillbox rancher from the 1950s. This bookcase, as you can see, makes the room look quite a bit smaller and more crowded. Also, it really limits the layout of the room, because it’s impossible to put it on any other wall. And sure, we’ve got cool stuff, and we like to showcase the REALLY cool stuff, but it doesn’t need to be out on display at all times. We want to streamline.
Over the weekend, I came across the shelter blog The Brick House (via Anna from Door Sixteen) for the first time, and I became smitten with her DIY shelving wall unit project. I’m talking deep smit. I love the very minimalist lines, with lots of wall white-space visible. Kevin’s into the idea, although he thinks it might be a little too “industrial” for his taste. Any ideas on keeping the same general concept, but making it a little foofier?
P.S.: You can probably see from the pictures above what I’m talking about when I say that any design we do, until the gross carpeting is replaced with hardwood floors, is basically turd-polishing. Maybe I should put down an area rug to cover as much of it as I can.
P.P.S.: If I spent half as much time doing stuff to my house as I do perusing shelter blogs, it would be way further along than it currently is. Maybe I should add that to my list of resolutions. Less convolutions, more solutions.
Inspiration, Living Room | 3 Comments »
January 20th, 2010
Would it be completely period-incorrect to pander to my nerdy/foodie yearnings by setting up a touchscreen computer in the kitchen? I know it’s pretty high-tech, but we could find creative ways to hide it, and plus LOOKIT HOW COOL IT IS!
I wonder if I could convince Kevin to help me set this up if I promise we can do one for him in the garage, too. Hmm?
Inspiration, Kitchen | 1 Comment »
