Sleep Nook How-to

Here's a picture of the final product of our little sleep-nook project. As ramshackle as out pad is, we still get a lot of visitors. Friends come up from the city often just to unwind and chill out. We love that, and want to make it as comfortable as possible. That's why we have a big, huge bed smack dab in what will eventually be the living room.

The first thing I did was drape the hell out of the (circa 1950/1960's) closet that had gobbled up a nice chunk of the floor plan. I used a staple gun and tons of Russian linen. Just kidding. It was actually a bunch of Ikea curtains (but they are linen and were made in Russia). Have you noticed how everything is Belgian linen this and Belgian linen that in the design world these days? It's friggin linen people! Anyway. I covered all of the crumbly plaster closet walls with it. Though my flash is acting wacky, its a nice greigy, nubby vibe in there now.

My goal: to not have guests lying in bed going "Oh my god, they're making me sleep in a friggin closet!"
My cost: $0 - Joe got these a few years back from The Apprentice, and I've been hoarding them for a project like this ever since. Thank you mister Trump! I still have a few which I think I'll sew into pillows.

There was only about 10 inches of space on each side of the bed - so bedside tales were an issue. I knew it wouldn't be officially cozy if guests couldn't read in bed...

So then I remembered an old Apartment Therapy post about making shelving out of books.
I also remembered that AT readers lost their minds over it. Because like, BOOK MURDERER!! Or some shidt.

Why look, there's one of my beautiful little shelves now.

And there's its partner. As you can see from this view, the spine was broken on this book. I found a pair of big, sturdy, matching books at Goodwill for a total of 50 cents. They weren't the prettiest ones there, but the dimensions were right and the fact that they were a matching pair clenched it.


As you may have guessed, this was a super easy process. First, Joe drilled pilot holes in the bottom of the book. Then he attached a bracket. We could have gone prettier on the brackets, but I wanted an invisible look so we went cheapo.


The books are "Who's Who of American Women" edition 2 and 3 (1964-65). Neither of my grandmothers were in them. So as far as I am concerned, they are crap.


Just kidding. You should know that I LOVE books. My father has an amazing rare book collection and I am an avid reader. So calm down. But listen, I got these at Goodwill where they'd undoubtedly been sitting for years. I feel no guilt. I think these will be admired more here than they would have been there. And don't get me started on how many brand new books are pulped each year, you Kindle loving heathens. Aye, aye, aye.

But if you just HAVE to stage a Peta-like rescue mission, shoot me an email. I'll give you our street address. Just come and go quietly in the night, so Bernie doesn't bark, K?

Here's an action shot of Joe screwing it to the wall. He put a 2 x 4 behind the drapery so that the shelf wouldn't suck my draping job in too much - and also so that it wouldn't fall right off of the crumbly plaster walls.


Here's the ugly underneath. We cut a slit in the draping, to hide the bottom half of the bracket.


Then I topped each shelf with these little bedside lamps I got for free from my friend Dawn's house sale (I helped man the sale and got lots of unsold goodies at the end). I bought new shades at Lowes for $6.50 each. They aren't my dream shades or anything, but they work wonderfully here, I think. Soft, cozy glow.

Ta-da!

Other side:

Viola - a cozy sleep-nook open for visitors.

Mouldings and Such

Member how I was obsessed with achieving the perfect shade of gray flooring? And how I did the steel wool in vinegar experiment and absolutely nothing happened. Then Door 16 blogged about a similar floor and through her I discovered this (for your drooling pleasure) which drove me insane and made me want it even more.
Well then I read THIS and decided to try again.

This time I used some of the hand cut iron nails that I'd collected from the house and cooked them in a jar of vinegar over night with the lid on (ahem controversial).

If you're still interested here's some more info on a similar process.

I only had a teensie area to test on so forgive the weirdness - but I finally got it!
This is the oak floor that's in the living, dining and hall. I stripped and sanded a small test area that will be covered in moulding.

It's not super revealing I realize, but when you enlarge it you will see that I think I've finally got the look I was going for. I've been dreaming of old, dried-out, silvery barn wood.
It's the most peaceful, relaxing color I can imagine and damned if I don't wanna live in it.


Oh we finally got casings inside this doorway. Thanks for bringing that to my attention Bernie.

Nuther view.
Man! I hate that front door. But whatever, focus on the good, focus on the good.

This is what's going on moulding-wise around the door. Almost done!
We have those salvaged rosettes stripped and primered now - I'll do a photo update as soon as they are up. They really make the new boring mouldings look more custom and less sterile.

The wall is pretty much ready for it's finish-pretty coat too. Can't wait to have time for that proj. It'll be so satisfying.
All for now.

Curtain Saga

What's wrong with this picture?
I'll tell ya.
As soon as I hemmed and hung these babies (thanks Donald Trump! - Joe scored tons of drapes for me off this season of The Apprentice - which he works on every year) I realized it wasn't working. For one thing, they totally cover the moldings (casings?) that surround the windows, which zapped the room of any architectural interest and made it look new-ish and prefab.
Ick.
This is partially because I used too narrow of rods, they should be so wide that the drapes reveal the entire window when open. But then they'd cover tons of wall, which I also do not want. I want to add some cool panel molding later and I don't want the room to be wall to wall drapery.
Does that make sense?
So about a week later, I went up to Albany to an awesome salvage place, where I scored a bunch of interior shutters. They will give us the privacy we need but still let in a lot of light and the pretty views we get in the evening.
As you can see they are beat to crap and really dirty. I'll have to paint them. But come on, I got 8 of them for $100 and the size is perfect.
In this shot they look too short because they're tipped, but they cover the bottom window exactly.
I'll just use the drapes in one of the zillion other rooms that need window coverings. Even the navel-height windows upstairs could use these.
Here's my artsy shot of the view from the front window.
It looks like a light-brite or paint by numbers - no?

What do you guys think? It's not set in stone.

I Aint Gone Lie People...

Mudding ceilings sux. Don't let anybody tell you different. I actually thought I had done a pretty awesome job, till I talked to Joe on the phone and he told me that I needed to go over all the walls and ceiling with a florescent light, looking for imperfections. Damn it! So of course, under florescent light it looked like complete ass (as do ALL things under florescent light now that I think about it). So anyway, I worked on it for a lon glong time. The whole point was to finish so I could get the kitchen and living room primed and therefore stuck down so that I might walk through the house without getting filthy from the plaster dust that penetrates everything. Hope springs eternal right? I'm so demanding!

(note the plaster "chaps," hot look no?)
Anyway, I did succeed in priming the kitchen at least. And guess what? It kinda looks like crap. Such a drag - but hey, it's my first time and Joe can help me perfect it later. For now at least it's clean. And the fact that I did a great job on the walls and corners is some consolation.

Later, I was talking to my neighbor, and I told him what Joe had made me do with the florescent light. He prety much did a spit take. He was laughing his ass off. Apparently, outsiders quickly identify my husband as an insane perfectionist. I appreciate this trait when HE'S doing the work... but when I am? Not so much.

Dry Wall Hell

So yeah, here's what I'm doing now. This is me after countless hours spent sanding the kitchen ceiling and walls, and putting another layer of mud on the corners. Fun times, fun times. At one point I realized that I'd crossed over into insanity. Which of course, meant it was picture time. For the people...
There's sort of a Milky Way thing going on on my T shirt, with Saturn being my right boob. So you see, I find ways to be fancy no matter what I'm doing.
Ick. I'm looking forward to days and days of this. Anyone with a day off feel free to jump on a train and come help me. I promise to amuse you with the weird positions I plaster in (i.e. one foot on top of fridge, one foot on top of ladder) and as always, there will be snacks.

An Archaeological Dig Through My Walls

Behold: a wall of beautiful faux wood paneling in a nice beige-with-a-touch-of-salmon-for-the-people shade. Now, pretty much anyone who sees a wall like this has the same thought, and that thought is, "What more could one want from a wall covering? This is the most perfectly stunning wall covering I have ever seen!" I know! But wait, it gets better!


Here's what I found underneath! I know! It's like I won the lottery. Bucept instead of foldin money, I was awarded a lifetime supply of shiny, wood-like decor! And yet, oh yes, there is more...


Here's what was underneath that. Yepsies, what you are looking at is the same orange artichoke and mushroom-bouquet wallpaper that I found in the upstairs kitchen. These archaeological digs of mine are sort of helping me get the vibe of the former floor plan , and I guess this room (the large upstairs living space with the belly-button windows) was once several rooms and one corner was a part of the glorious, citrusy majesty that was the former upstairs kitchen. So yay! More of that. But... guess what was underneath?

Some awesome split-pea green lead paint! Luckily it comes off in big wheezy, brain damaging chips. Which is how I discovered what was underneath...
Some really delicate, hand painted daisy wallpaper (ehem ontheceilingtoo) which I kinda love. And you can already see what I found underneath that - this really bold green wallpaper which looks Victorian to me. click to enlarge.

So - that's all for now - does anyone know how to get layers of stuff off without ruining all the stuff underneath? I would love to be able to get a better look at the wallpaper on the very bottom layer.

Fireplace Project

here - as promised (a zillion weeks ago it seems) are some updates on my fireplace project.
first I did a few tests. On the upper left hand corner I used joint compound only.
In between the bricks elsewhere I used a hot mix which is (for those who don't know) just a combo of plaster and joint compound. The mix makes it dry much faster and gives the whole thing a bit more body so that it doesn't droop or sag or any other such bs.
The more plaster you mix in the faster it dries so you wanna mix just a bit at a time if you are a slowpoke like moi. I also stripped some of the mysterious crappola off the floor with a brilliant cleaning product that I like using way more than the strippers I've tested. It produces no odors or gasses thought I'm sure it's not at all green. But I digress. More on that later.
Example 1:
As the closeup reveals the joint compound alone section looked like total ass. lots of bubbling and cracking and all manner of ugliness. Fine, now I know.
Meanwhile the mix section dried really smoothly and was mailable by hand. So I was able to press it into the crevices after letting it dry for about 15 minutes.
Here it is fully covered. It still needs another coat and then paint to achieve the look I am going for. But I think it already looks way way better. More like stone and less like something built by stoners. Ok that was a very Dad/king of lame puns type joke but you'll have to forgive me. I have other qualities.
Here's another close up of the surface.

And one of the hearth. These tiles are pre 1900's and I'm diggin on them. So they shall stay.
Ok I also tested an adhesive remover on the floor and this is the result. It worked pretty well - but was super fumey and scary toxic. I'm thinking I'll just use the hardcore cleaner again. But will also test out one of the soy strippers and see if we can get there without destroying the earth.
It's gonna look rad huh? In my dreams this floor is stained a silvery gray like driftwood.
Here is the cleaning product I used. I don't have the energy to reload it in the proper way - so be a dear and tilt your head to the left won't you?
all for now.

Fireplace Project

So finally - a fun decorate-y project! This week, one of the things I get to do is work on the fireplace. My Dad is coming up (over?) from Montana to help me and together we are gonna work our asses off. Here's my plan for what I'd like to do to the fireplace. (yes that is a snow shovel that I was using for a dustpan - thank you for noting my ingenuity).

First a few facts about the fireplace that I call "creative bricklaying gone bad." It may surprise you to learn that this fireplace is not some wacky addition thrown up in the sixties. Because I am a crafty little detective I discovered that this baby is either very early 1900's or actually 1800's! First of all every Hudsonite who has seen the hearth has said that the square hand made tiles (not pictured in my photo but they look exactly like the ones pictured below) are pre 1900's. But that's not enough to get me excited or anything.

Here's what did it for me....

I was in a church in Hudson (do not ask me why darling) when I saw this... My fireplace's very own ugly twin! Ok I'll admit that mine is much uglier. But still! Of course I made a total spectacle of myself snapping these photos without explanation, but whatevs. I was on a mission.

Here's the aformentioned hearth. not nearly as ugly as the fireplace surround but nothing too darling either. But regardless, mine will probably stay (thought possibly painted - inspiration pictures to come soo).

So here's where I gleaned some info. this fireplace was gifted to the church in honor of Mary Leeds Punderson 1818-1916 for her 98 (for real y'all) years of service to the Senior Sewing Society. So this was after her death. Sometime not to far after 1916 I'm thinkin.

So I'm also thinking that these were probably made by some local designer. I'll keep my eyes peeled for more like them in the area. NONE of this info however, is enough to make me want to keep mine intact. I'm just not that deep. Much as I'm into historic restoration I'm just not feelin it.

So here's the plan. Frst of all - keep in mind this fireplace was coal and does not work. I'd love to get an insert someday so that I can turn it into something functional but that's not gonna happen anytime soon I don't think - due to finance alone. I'd like to cover the brick surround portion with the plaster treatment shown below (from Apartment Therapy). Follow the link to see how to do it. It leaves a sort of softened cloudy surface to the brick. I think I might be able to obscure the weirder brick shapes and sort of re-draw more normal-ish shapes in the plaster with my fingers. We shall see.

How to create BDDW walls

Then, I'd like to whitewash the exposed brick from the chimney portion (which we just exposed - yay!) so that the bricks still show through but aren't so dark. ie the gorgeous photo below (Apartment Therapy). Follow the link for directions on how to do it.

How to whitewash brick walls

Then, I'd like to use an old barn beam or something similar for the mantle. That's the sort of thing I love love love shopping for. So that'll be a welcome break - whenever I get to go hunt for that.

All for now. I'll let you know how it all shakes out. Getting the dining room dialed in is going to feel awesome!

Fall Out

Although Joe did all the walls (and the entire kitchen) we actually let Chester's dudes demo the paster ceiling in the living room. They didn't close the doors to the one room where we were storing everything so I came in to find everything looking like the aftermath of Mt. St. Helens . This is my prize leather rhino which my parents bought at Liberty of London before I was born. needless to say I wasn't thrilled - but I got it cleaned up pretty quickly and all is well throughout the land.
I'd also moved a bunch of art up there which also got really dirty. These two on the left were done by my old friend Matthew Brannon. He's in the friggin Whitney Biennial this year (maybe you've heard of it?). So yeah, I'm going to have to start taking better care of all my beloved paintings!
Arg....