tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-43177058077503664932024-03-17T20:01:16.303-07:00Project: NestTwo novices take on a San Francisco Victorian.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02857548705786175606noreply@blogger.comBlogger38125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4317705807750366493.post-24340283631380349562014-02-23T01:08:00.002-08:002014-02-23T01:08:13.940-08:00New project coming?Why yes there is! We've been remiss from our writing duties due to all of our renos being completed in early 2013, but a new circumstance has changed our renovation lot: Andi is pregnant! Guess what that means... baby's room!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02857548705786175606noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4317705807750366493.post-76085782497255848902013-02-06T16:43:00.003-08:002013-02-06T16:43:55.530-08:00Andi on Apartment Therapy!As you have noticed, we haven't posted in a while. A long while. Mainly, we were project-less, waiting to start our final reno - the kitchen. While we planned and waited, Andi applied for a blogging gig with Apartment Therapy. And she got it! She will post updates on our kitchen reno on Apartment Therapy weekly. As they come out, we will also post links to the blog here.<br />
<br />
It just so happens that the first blog has posted! Here it is in all of its glory: <a href="http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/introducing-andis-kitchen-renovation-renovation-diary-andis-kitchen-183725">http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/introducing-andis-kitchen-renovation-renovation-diary-andis-kitchen-183725</a><br />
<br />
Enjoy!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02857548705786175606noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4317705807750366493.post-74091170199607047752012-07-09T20:39:00.000-07:002012-07-09T20:39:30.384-07:00Back on the Renovation Wagon: The Master Closet<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span id="internal-source-marker_0.7986395493264119" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">We’re back! After a winter of skiing and puppy-raising we are ready to do some more renovations. </span><br />
<br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">In
May Dean and I demolished our master bedroom closet. The closet was
from Victorian times when women owned 2 pairs of shoes and 3 dresses.
Not so functional for me. Dean had to use the closet in the guest room,
and my clothes were packed in the master closet like smooshed bugs. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5t3epSM0iPaODP39pCtvYHbbRXSoEpLJdyW_fisCp9hfKiJTrIdqP0RjZCr1Epq7SzbFdb7CI4hIKZU9RqwOdzDAFz5ZttkEdYoa9Opgvx-zxAhPHBqvv-8XNW4HyzH-0FU7Cy2kxgcs/s1600/Project+Nest+4.24.11+008.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5t3epSM0iPaODP39pCtvYHbbRXSoEpLJdyW_fisCp9hfKiJTrIdqP0RjZCr1Epq7SzbFdb7CI4hIKZU9RqwOdzDAFz5ZttkEdYoa9Opgvx-zxAhPHBqvv-8XNW4HyzH-0FU7Cy2kxgcs/s320/Project+Nest+4.24.11+008.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Before: A small but pretty closet</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvaaFRXfTPuGaqs-Xh_i-TLYnxfT046Q1aeQ9c0-FSgGOVN1WrkwgiILTheK6jRvEWnH7iDgg3EpFP8v6T9XbVnJsRDwO_EynFe3_auPGrl49dLj8EFgDlYi1sHciSq-Otlk8UXpm8Ytw/s1600/Project+Nest+4.24.11+009.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvaaFRXfTPuGaqs-Xh_i-TLYnxfT046Q1aeQ9c0-FSgGOVN1WrkwgiILTheK6jRvEWnH7iDgg3EpFP8v6T9XbVnJsRDwO_EynFe3_auPGrl49dLj8EFgDlYi1sHciSq-Otlk8UXpm8Ytw/s320/Project+Nest+4.24.11+009.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Before: The master closet had a small footprint but was 14 feet tall.</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">How
can a closet be too small to fit both Dean and my clothes, but so tall
that it generated two pick-up trucks full of rubbish for the SF City
dump? It is a contradiction that we had to ponder after Day 1 of demo. </span><br />
<br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Demo
of plaster walls is dirty work. It looked like we took a 5 lb bag of
gray flour and threw it all over the room. Plaster dust also makes your
skin dry and your hair go to dreadlocks in about 20 minutes. In short,
a delight. The plaster and lath all chipped away easily enough using
the heel end of a hammer, then I tackled the dust with plenty of Pledge,
multiple moppings with Murphy’s Oil Soap, a wet-dry vac. I get the
feeling I still may be sneezing in 6 months though. That dust is
pervasive.</span><br />
<br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">We
also got a surprise view into our neighbor’s backyard after we demo-ed
an interior closet wall and found that an exterior board was missing on
our building. We called a carpenter to deal with that pronto and were
glad—it started raining later that day. </span><br />
<br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">With
the demo behind us, Dean built the frame for the new closet the
following weekend. Dean designed the closet himself and I am superbly
happy with his vision. It is 8 feet wide by 10 feet tall and 2 feet
deep. It has a long-term storage cubby on top for
seasonal stuff. We took some square footage from the bedroom to
accommodate this bigger closet, but decided it is worth it. We also
splurged on two sets of custom 8-foot tall double doors to maximize the space.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYg7BnoLk4zXH4erCRgdD3PYX02Y3I5-qXxI5521nJYNpu0xZ9NSsVp_C6wj3Vs_mSJTyaH7DBaYIFeJEkDuMqMxWkuUuMVDCt3rBgg0aUoAYVZlX7U762zoNRocKGeVjtLYXK5Amh96g/s1600/NYC+June+2012+034.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYg7BnoLk4zXH4erCRgdD3PYX02Y3I5-qXxI5521nJYNpu0xZ9NSsVp_C6wj3Vs_mSJTyaH7DBaYIFeJEkDuMqMxWkuUuMVDCt3rBgg0aUoAYVZlX7U762zoNRocKGeVjtLYXK5Amh96g/s320/NYC+June+2012+034.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">After: A closet big enough for two people! </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> I
was super impressed with Dean’s framing for the closet—very sturdy and
professional. Maybe he can share his tricks in a technical blog later.
One design trick that I really like is that Dean measured the width of
the doorway into the room, and made sure to keep all passageways in the
room at that width or wider, so nothing would feel cramped after the
bigger closet was constructed. </span><br />
<br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Dean
and I try to learn from our mistakes and not be cheapskates. After
gutting and renovating various rooms in our home, we have come to
acknowledge that we will never be good at drywall finishing. The walls
always come out looking a little wavy and odd, leading us to hide
imperfections with an aerosol spray can of “orange peel wall texture.” I
don’t recommend this product but it is available at Home Depot if you
need it. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLeDcUFPfnPwpP46lOjsjwklIkhCArizbgohuF8vgbU9_A-OXhX29mtaufBBDuCZMwcpsK3aSU0TC2hqCqs06UFXe4Ca2cKCajwrvHFT2lNBvcoioEEnecF5neGYzJ7576BlGroN_bbrI/s1600/NYC+June+2012+035.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLeDcUFPfnPwpP46lOjsjwklIkhCArizbgohuF8vgbU9_A-OXhX29mtaufBBDuCZMwcpsK3aSU0TC2hqCqs06UFXe4Ca2cKCajwrvHFT2lNBvcoioEEnecF5neGYzJ7576BlGroN_bbrI/s320/NYC+June+2012+035.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">
Recognizing past shortcomings, we took a friend’s recommendation for a
plaster and drywall pro named Jimmy from Ireland. Jimmy came by the
apartment and said, “Is that a Wheaten Terrier? They’re all over
Ireland,” and charged us $1,000 to do all plaster and drywall finishing
on the closet and other damaged areas. He had it done in two days. What
a luxury! Something got completed and we did not have to do it. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7OufguxmOEAnS9cnnqNCvG9PIFDKoxxbMk3c7W1ARDlcKvQu3lr3XPv7PN7Ls3oTw1J6YAq_s1joTlIjRbBnQeJwX4kpxkkCFS3RE4Sp8f0b91BdwT6azJ8eSjSW58cj6gtYV8HpC4RY/s1600/NYC+June+2012+045.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7OufguxmOEAnS9cnnqNCvG9PIFDKoxxbMk3c7W1ARDlcKvQu3lr3XPv7PN7Ls3oTw1J6YAq_s1joTlIjRbBnQeJwX4kpxkkCFS3RE4Sp8f0b91BdwT6azJ8eSjSW58cj6gtYV8HpC4RY/s320/NYC+June+2012+045.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My side of the closet. Everything has a place.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7lLhECv3BYAPpRFUASvuaGIWhLOmL1hzwgNqtaOWp3jjfr5UgplLS1_ZD2QBZNL25f_OFGY05k8SQqqe9Ajfv1DHjl8ggK9WStkCfLV8q2gWXDwTB6MeCsDLKJO1-mJuEM09zd4A_N5Y/s1600/NYC+June+2012+043.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7lLhECv3BYAPpRFUASvuaGIWhLOmL1hzwgNqtaOWp3jjfr5UgplLS1_ZD2QBZNL25f_OFGY05k8SQqqe9Ajfv1DHjl8ggK9WStkCfLV8q2gWXDwTB6MeCsDLKJO1-mJuEM09zd4A_N5Y/s320/NYC+June+2012+043.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Construction costs always
are surprising. I can say that the custom walnut Elfa closet system that
Dean designed at Container Store is worth every cent of the $1,341 cost (plus $300 for installation).
Look at my pull-out jewelry drawers! Look, I have room to buy more shoes! </span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">All
in all the project took 3.5 weekends to complete, plus some time at
night, and cost a total of $4,500. We are very happy, and ready for another construction break.</span><br />
<br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">-Andi</span></div>Andrea Forkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06346953218579029796noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4317705807750366493.post-31721442100150225362012-01-11T19:29:00.000-08:002012-01-11T19:32:56.417-08:00Rory and Guest RoomDean and I are taking the winter off from renovations to ski and enjoy our new puppy, Rory. But I still cannot resist the urge to tackle a home project from time to time. Before the holidays, the dismal guest room was just begging to be updated.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVKU4_2kvDHuyqHoO3y9nUO0tNrvemuB6tjil0W_k78t3T78jE12uR3vbkmWBqvptOVk07S6YaREz_GKgCKZ5KDMnR6SFtFwoX_sOzYz24x12uICXeC5qpnHu9Mq1vE_xbbgbeJJemIqY/s1600/Picture+013.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" height="400" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5696070052902491922" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVKU4_2kvDHuyqHoO3y9nUO0tNrvemuB6tjil0W_k78t3T78jE12uR3vbkmWBqvptOVk07S6YaREz_GKgCKZ5KDMnR6SFtFwoX_sOzYz24x12uICXeC5qpnHu9Mq1vE_xbbgbeJJemIqY/s400/Picture+013.jpg" style="display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 300px;" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rory, our Wheaten Terrier, is 4.5 months old. He makes our home very cozy,</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkQ_-f6CUluGv2z2GPLLgSZXMv-HfCecDBSXTSHR0tj2bt9KR6P1tkW9iGLw3jMv76NXpUCAp8cwHGRHMQNlgQs046IFHRlP3NzVuq0XMegqcIHpNMPJchQkbixQQZX78hFxItZ0rlwYY/s1600/IMG_0259.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkQ_-f6CUluGv2z2GPLLgSZXMv-HfCecDBSXTSHR0tj2bt9KR6P1tkW9iGLw3jMv76NXpUCAp8cwHGRHMQNlgQs046IFHRlP3NzVuq0XMegqcIHpNMPJchQkbixQQZX78hFxItZ0rlwYY/s400/IMG_0259.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Before. The paint was chipping off of one wall, so I decided to strip the whole thing. This is mid-project.</td></tr>
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The “before” photo is particularly gruesome because the guest room was a construction staging area during the bathroom renovation. In addition, one of the walls was water damaged from an old leak from our upstairs neighbor’s bathroom. The leak caused historic wallpaper and the 5 layers of paint on top of it to buckle and crack. I spent about 15 hours scraping the wallpaper off one wall to make it smooth. (BTW, I found that soapy water in a spray bottle worked just as well as pricey wallpaper solvent to loosen up the old paper).<br />
<br />
<div>
My budget for the whole room was $750 and I didn’t quite make it. But I came close.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkMjKdOAuhVZ9NchSGizNaVyD-GYcN2I3AC2EpwS96pKJuII98n0Y6YezekCTimKTVid9V7o-BSfIny6yM4KJj5TNk6uA5CNDLs0xpBwzOW3jMvZGL2b4zW5asENvP9y-isfu90vExK2E/s1600/Rory+and+Guest+room+009.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkMjKdOAuhVZ9NchSGizNaVyD-GYcN2I3AC2EpwS96pKJuII98n0Y6YezekCTimKTVid9V7o-BSfIny6yM4KJj5TNk6uA5CNDLs0xpBwzOW3jMvZGL2b4zW5asENvP9y-isfu90vExK2E/s400/Rory+and+Guest+room+009.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I have a hard time choosing my favorite elements: the dhurrie rug, red bed and light blue walls are all great.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I painted the walls light blue, using the leftover paint from our half-bath (Farrow & Ball’s Borrowed Light). I repainted all of the trim in the same white we have used throughout the house—Halo by C2 Paint. If you want to spruce up a room but don’t want to make huge changes, I recommend repainting the trim. It makes such a big difference and only takes a few hours. Cost for paint was $0 because we already had it on hand.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWCNhPBtHDUbjQN2lJIE0MRGmzsqXBMI94qHQU4greo-KsRGAhn8qf3u36f66rnd9AKpDqI-QKfWtMMS3YYqBs1V2pJirXub_3N2ke-yecButKTbYJ1xlD5xpnPv_K8fE4k7a6SWHUfIM/s1600/Rory+and+Guest+room+012.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWCNhPBtHDUbjQN2lJIE0MRGmzsqXBMI94qHQU4greo-KsRGAhn8qf3u36f66rnd9AKpDqI-QKfWtMMS3YYqBs1V2pJirXub_3N2ke-yecButKTbYJ1xlD5xpnPv_K8fE4k7a6SWHUfIM/s400/Rory+and+Guest+room+012.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The white glass Ikea lights hung by the bed have an amazing glow.</td></tr>
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I looked far and wide for an 8-foot square rug. It was important to find this size rug, as the guest room is 10’x11’ and a double bed and an antique armoire take up much of the square footage. The rug will only be visible in a limited area beside and at the foot of the bed, so it had to be the perfect fit. I found that Overstock.com has excellent rugs with the best selection of sizes. I choose and brown and ivory <a href="http://www.overstock.com/Home-Garden/Morrocan-Chocolate-Ivory-Dhurrie-Wool-Rug-8-Square/6128497/product.html" target="_blank">Moroccan wool dhurrie rug</a> made by Safavieh and paid $269 with a coupon.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVosTOr32y6SIRzCPwFLhU4QcerGxFP6xjVu9-P0GuPdX3ZdExEBT0FXpsKMV5Gqrl2EztM_BshetWUYg7TWsGMpxiVO5SfJueIFJ88wZ57Tnh0Cb0vJWIYxrRZacH9zc3Q0h6aqVW9oc/s1600/Rory+and+Guest+room+017.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVosTOr32y6SIRzCPwFLhU4QcerGxFP6xjVu9-P0GuPdX3ZdExEBT0FXpsKMV5Gqrl2EztM_BshetWUYg7TWsGMpxiVO5SfJueIFJ88wZ57Tnh0Cb0vJWIYxrRZacH9zc3Q0h6aqVW9oc/s400/Rory+and+Guest+room+017.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Winter cabbage, San Francisco books and quarters for the bus on the bedside table.</td></tr>
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I bought an old pineapple post bed on craigslist for $50. The original bed seemed to have a varnish on it so I choose a paint-and-primer-in-one from Behr in the color Apple Polish. Cost for paint was $15.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivNwCuawp7ofIvE9U9d-j-yu7JQ3EZE9rYswurVPTO24j54p0DKqkekUkPkdbx_znheon69QtuK0TvkEAAn59zMpJe5ZPC7F3Zf4yAsjHvaLvHUT75YmHQ4ge6LcXRgdFgDB89fcHQ9OE/s1600/Rory+and+Guest+room+018.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivNwCuawp7ofIvE9U9d-j-yu7JQ3EZE9rYswurVPTO24j54p0DKqkekUkPkdbx_znheon69QtuK0TvkEAAn59zMpJe5ZPC7F3Zf4yAsjHvaLvHUT75YmHQ4ge6LcXRgdFgDB89fcHQ9OE/s400/Rory+and+Guest+room+018.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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The sheets and a comforter are also from Overstock. I picked the best-reviewed linens with the most reasonable prices. The Supima cotton <a href="http://www.overstock.com/Home-Garden/Solid-Supima-Cotton-Flannel-Sheet-Set/5219395/product.html?cid=95138" target="_blank">ivory flannel sheets</a> cost $53 and they are so cozy and rich-feeling. I highly recommend them. The zinnia fitted sheet that I used to cover the box spring was from Garnet Hill—I have had it for years. The blue blanket is also an old-but-loved linen that I bought at Selfridge’s department store in London. Total cost for linens, including down comforter: $98.<br />
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The bedside lights are two Ikea pendants from our storage room that were intended for the hallway, but did not work out. I had a lighting guy re-wire the pendants to plug into a socket and turn on with line-switches. It is nice to have hanging lights at the bedside because they do not take up space on the bedside table. Cost: $115.<br />
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A new mattress and box spring was $300. That included delivery and tax was waived.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6l4SAfM8sCUwZvHVAtRZ68cieWSU3quXjSVDjc00q8whl8mSV27eloTaICCYk1SbDRIHTlyW4GrI90lmtmMoRuNC_NW-Tw0xwkW6zP1tZFA42XeuWsGMT9mnZkaV_toIyt91fpx6hso8/s1600/Rory+and+Guest+room+016.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6l4SAfM8sCUwZvHVAtRZ68cieWSU3quXjSVDjc00q8whl8mSV27eloTaICCYk1SbDRIHTlyW4GrI90lmtmMoRuNC_NW-Tw0xwkW6zP1tZFA42XeuWsGMT9mnZkaV_toIyt91fpx6hso8/s400/Rory+and+Guest+room+016.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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The storage armoire and nightstand are antiques that I already owned. I also hung artwork that I already had—including a framed .25 cent buffalo target from a hunting store. Even less expensive, the artwork above the bed is a creased piece of white paper that Dean and I made after seeing Ed Ruscha’s work in the Museum of Modern Art New York.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwlnfgrqdiIsh2iOC9WCfK9alpUTaktHYwgrgQMh6WzxkUHAopbqRAXolyjeqcOmncq-mdzu9pP1nh-VwT1la8YKXi0Jo-23kdE3kk9iDKwR1ZKyyBd8zt3gdvkWyGfRQ74CAkRodBkIQ/s1600/Rory+and+Guest+room+014.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwlnfgrqdiIsh2iOC9WCfK9alpUTaktHYwgrgQMh6WzxkUHAopbqRAXolyjeqcOmncq-mdzu9pP1nh-VwT1la8YKXi0Jo-23kdE3kk9iDKwR1ZKyyBd8zt3gdvkWyGfRQ74CAkRodBkIQ/s400/Rory+and+Guest+room+014.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The storage armoire is large but holds so much stuff--bed and bath linens for the whole house and other miscellany.</td></tr>
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Hopefully this is a restorative and stylish retreat for our friends and family when they visit our city by the Bay. I still have a few more finishing touches to do, including searching craigslist for another bedside table. We hosted a non-stop stream of guests over the holidays and they all liked the room. I also slept in there once too, because it is too cozy to resist.<br />
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Total cost: $847.</div>
</div>Andrea Forkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06346953218579029796noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4317705807750366493.post-7428186022700044182012-01-11T17:36:00.000-08:002012-01-11T19:32:28.629-08:00A Winning Reno?Andi entered our li'l ol' bathroom in This Old House's 2012 Reader Remodel Contest! <br />
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<a href="http://youroldhouse.thisoldhouse.com/thisoldhouse/submission.jsp?id=119124">http://youroldhouse.thisoldhouse.com/thisoldhouse/submission.jsp?id=119124</a><br />
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Please rate away dear readers. Rate it like it's the desired score of your child's aptitude test. I don't know if this helps our chances of winning or anything, but, hey, what else have you got to do? I bet you expected a 1000+ word essay on hardwood floor refinshing or something, so you should have a few minutes extra to spare. <br />
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There seems to be no limit to how many times you can rate each reno, so attack it like a spam robot! (I have...)Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02857548705786175606noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4317705807750366493.post-15676171292239785072012-01-05T11:13:00.001-08:002012-01-05T11:16:57.548-08:00#1 Bathroom Reno of 2011!Apartment Therapy voted our li'l ol' bathroom reno as the #1 bathroom reno of 2011.<br />
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Check out the rankings here: <a href="http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/sf/hot-posts/a-looker-of-a-loo-10-of-the-years-best-bathroom-rehabs-best-of-2011-163505?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+apartmenttherapy%2Fsf+%28San+Francisco%29" target="_blank">http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/sf/hot-posts/a-looker-of-a-loo-10-of-the-years-best-bathroom-rehabs-best-of-2011-163505?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+apartmenttherapy%2Fsf+%28San+Francisco%29</a>.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02857548705786175606noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4317705807750366493.post-173049141024123402011-10-01T11:30:00.000-07:002011-11-11T13:00:20.309-08:00We're Famous!<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Check out our bathroom on Andi's favorite website Apartment Therapy!</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/sf/bathroom/before-after-andi-deans-master-bath-157131"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/sf/bathroom/before-after-andi-deans-master-bath-157131</span></a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02857548705786175606noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4317705807750366493.post-47278585800744505722011-09-09T22:44:00.000-07:002011-11-11T12:56:47.131-08:00Uptown Bathroom<div style="margin-bottom: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">Our bathroom renovation is done. I don't know how to express my relief. Last Sunday I saw friends for the first time in 5 weeks for reasons other than food delivery and showering at their apartment. </span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">Because a picture is worth a thousand words, here are the before, during, and after shots.</span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt;"><br />
</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_NkkRO2gGfg/Tr1yA0AyoRI/AAAAAAAAA0A/CNdXKC-LIeo/s1600/bathroom+before.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" nda="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_NkkRO2gGfg/Tr1yA0AyoRI/AAAAAAAAA0A/CNdXKC-LIeo/s1600/bathroom+before.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="color: #181818;"><span class="thumbnail-caption1"><span style="font-size: 7pt;">Before...</span></span><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"></span></span></span></div></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt;"><span class="thumbnail-caption1"><span style="font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Verdana;"></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7q5H5VDhF78/Tr12oCxVLCI/AAAAAAAAA1I/9UbwJK5_2lo/s1600/andi+demo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" nda="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7q5H5VDhF78/Tr12oCxVLCI/AAAAAAAAA1I/9UbwJK5_2lo/s1600/andi+demo.jpg" /></a></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9O0Yh_JyeeE/Tr12oEbjeOI/AAAAAAAAA1M/urQkJeXrAXc/s1600/bathroom+from+door.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" nda="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9O0Yh_JyeeE/Tr12oEbjeOI/AAAAAAAAA1M/urQkJeXrAXc/s1600/bathroom+from+door.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0pt;"><span class="thumbnail-caption1"><span style="font-size: 7pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="color: #181818;">After!</span></span></span></span></div></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt;"><span class="thumbnail-caption1"><span style="font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Verdana;"></span></span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">We finished the bathroom on schedule at the end of August. We have been putting the "finishing touches" on it for the past few weeks. The quotes around "finishing touches" are ironic and meant to convey that sometimes a "finishing touch" can take 2.5 hours to execute. Like caulking around the floor line. Or hanging the shower curtain supports, or cleaning up the construction staging space, better known as our guest room.</span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">We love the bathroom. I feel like a billionairess every night when I brush my teeth and apply moisturizer under its warm and well-placed lights. I call it the Uptown Bathroom because it is so sophisticated and timeless and luxurious. (Though timeless is a dangerous adjective. The last time I heard someone say "timeless," she was lamenting the wide-brimmed asymmetrical sunhat she wore with her wedding dress in 1986.)</span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">It is hard for me to pinpoint what I like most in our bathroom. Here are some of the most adored elements:</span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt;"><strong><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">The charcoal tub. </span></span></strong><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">I sanded the exterior of the original cast-iron tub with fine sandpaper and applied Rustoleum, a very smelly-but-simple priming product. The Rustoleum was followed by flat gray paint called Dakon Gray by </span><a href="http://www.philipsperfectcolors.com/palette.html" mce_href="http://www.philipsperfectcolors.com/palette.html"><span style="color: blue;">Philip's Perfect Colors</span></a><span style="color: #181818;"> and a flat finish varnish by Pratt & Lambert. I painted the feet a silver and coated those with a varnish as well. We had the white interior of the tub professionally refinished by Miracle Method. That is not a DIY project--their process was identical to painting a car.</span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-oIWwpH7aXNU/Tr12o4UIInI/AAAAAAAAA1s/UYhATaBAJ8k/s1600/tub+detail.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" nda="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-oIWwpH7aXNU/Tr12o4UIInI/AAAAAAAAA1s/UYhATaBAJ8k/s1600/tub+detail.jpg" /></a></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt;"><span style="color: #181818;"><strong><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;">The double sink</span></strong><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;">. Having two sinks is pretty awesome. We don't have to share and we each get a medicine cabinet. </span></span><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">That is cause for a baseline "hooray!" </span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-EZdoRBH2X6o/Tr12pFo4IeI/AAAAAAAAA14/6mN4hqR1idk/s1600/washstand.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" nda="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-EZdoRBH2X6o/Tr12pFo4IeI/AAAAAAAAA14/6mN4hqR1idk/s1600/washstand.jpg" /></a></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">I had been eyeing the sink on the Restoration Hardware website for over a year. At my mom's suggestion, Dean and I drove one hour to Vacaville, CA, and checked out the Restoration Hardware outlet. Bingo!</span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">The outlet has amazing medicine cabinets, sinks and hardware for 30% of the sticker price. The Robern medicine cabinets that we bought for $200 each are practically worth their own blog entry. They are so well-constructed and well-designed. They do not compare to any other medicine cabinet I have ever seen. Well worth the money.</span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cBsqEbsGyjo/Tr12oXBQXdI/AAAAAAAAA1c/TYUtXEmIURg/s1600/millie+%2526+floor.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" nda="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cBsqEbsGyjo/Tr12oXBQXdI/AAAAAAAAA1c/TYUtXEmIURg/s1600/millie+%2526+floor.jpg" /></a></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">The concession was that we had to mix metals in our bathroom to get the outlet deals. All hardware above the sinks is Satin Nickel (lights, medicine cabinets, and faucets). All other hardware in the bathroom is Polished Chrome (towel rack, shower system, sink base, and exposed plumbing below sink). I think it works for one reason--we have grouped the metals in regions in the room. There is not obvious contrast between the nickel and the chrome because they are never within two feet of one another. Many designers are mixing metallics in their designs nowadays. Even so, it was a risk but I am happy with the finished product.</span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">We had our own marble fabricated from an outfit called Marble City in San Carlos. They specialize in 1.25 inch marble which is the thickness we needed for a sink base that only had a frame, not a solid surface on which the marble could rest. On the marble lot we choose a giant slab of uncut and unpolished marble called Blue Sky. It looked very white with a few gray and blue accents before it got polished up. Low and behold, when that marble was sealed and delivered it looked much more detailed and colorful, primarily blue with dark gray detail, like a stormy sky. We were lucky the colors worked well in our bathroom because the finish definitely surprised us. Lesson learned--marble is accentuated when polished.</span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BNxepCYgQwg/Tr12oLJMy5I/AAAAAAAAA1Y/epxhyMjfqck/s1600/cabinet.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" nda="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BNxepCYgQwg/Tr12oLJMy5I/AAAAAAAAA1Y/epxhyMjfqck/s1600/cabinet.jpg" /></a></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt;"><span style="color: #181818;"><strong><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;">The lighting</span></strong><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"> is great. It is so smart to position lights in the bathroom at eye-level. It makes you look so pretty when light floods your face from a horizontal direction. Plus, you should horde light bulbs that will soon be illegal with a really warm tone. We recycled the overhead light from the old bathroom to make up for my environmental naughtiness with the warm light bulbs.</span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">The <strong><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif";">Italian porcelain floor</span></strong> is great. The herringbone pattern turned out beautifully. The subway tile walls are also lovely and inexpensive. Doing all of the tiling ourselves was not so lovely, but I must admit it was inexpensive. Dean will tell you those tales but I will announce that 3 out of my 10 fingers were worked raw one Sunday from tiling. I had a painful time washing my hands with soap afterward.</span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">We also splurged on a new <strong><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif";">shower system</span></strong> which is beautiful. It is from an outfit called Sunrise in Oakland, CA. I definitely recommend it.</span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">Dean and I are breaking from renovations to ski all winter and also get a puppy. I am already scheming about our kitchen renovation and have a file folder of "inspiration clippings" for the project. Dean refuses to look at the file folder.</span></span></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02857548705786175606noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4317705807750366493.post-92035972840784630102011-08-17T19:10:00.000-07:002011-11-11T12:56:08.488-08:00Messy Progress<div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">We had a grueling weekend of two 13 hour days.</span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">Day 1: Drywall. Our friend and construction volunteer Chris May stuck around for all of Saturday, taking one break to redeem a Groupon at Lombardi's on Polk, then pressing onward until the wee hours of the night. Shimming drywall, cutting drywall, hanging drywall. It was brutal. The guys look happy here because they are done with the job.</span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt;"><br />
</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mgZDzLs7vfw/Tr1zbzpy2SI/AAAAAAAAA0o/cnHbc7H0iEU/s1600/dean+%2526+cmay.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" nda="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mgZDzLs7vfw/Tr1zbzpy2SI/AAAAAAAAA0o/cnHbc7H0iEU/s1600/dean+%2526+cmay.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="color: #181818;"><span class="thumbnail-caption1"><span style="font-size: 7pt;">Dean and Chris in front of the impeccably hung drywall. </span></span><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"></span></span></span></div></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;"></span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">Day two: Floor Tile. Chris was the smart one for declining day two. Dean and I are not so lucky. We patched floors. We screwed down Hardy Board until my thumb needed a massage. We mixed mortar. We fiddled around with a rented wet saw and realized it was broken. We took it back to the rental place. We started tiling around 3 PM.</span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">I laid the tile while Dean operated the wet saw. Around 11 PM our work really started to decline in quality and the neighbors politely asked us to stop cutting tile in the garage. Dean had to finish up in the morning and we both felt like we had been hit by a truck.</span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">We are happy with the result though. We picked a modern Italian porcelain tile and laid it in a traditional pattern--herringbone. It is a stylistic microcosm of our bathroom, which will be a mix of traditional and modern. Dean is grouting the floor as I write this and we patched the drywall with joint compound last night.</span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">We are steeling ourselves for the final weekend--tiling the walls and painting. Then we get our shower back--the ultimate reward.</span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Q0JdIE3ZQDs/Tr1zb3YH0nI/AAAAAAAAA0s/QIwV34haTjU/s1600/floor+%2526+gyp.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" nda="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Q0JdIE3ZQDs/Tr1zb3YH0nI/AAAAAAAAA0s/QIwV34haTjU/s1600/floor+%2526+gyp.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0pt;"><span class="thumbnail-caption1"><span style="font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Verdana;">Our modern herringbone floor.</span></span></span></div></td></tr>
</tbody></table>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02857548705786175606noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4317705807750366493.post-5453245463395967042011-08-11T11:13:00.000-07:002011-11-11T12:55:07.380-08:00Beginnings of a Bathroom<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We have not quite finished our big summer project (house painting), but one should never rest on his laurels. Last weekend Dean and I demolished our bathroom. Our good friend Carter lent a hand. We cannot repay him with enough In and Out Burger—he was such a great help. Here is what happened in this order:</span><span style="color: #181818; font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div> <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_NkkRO2gGfg/Tr1yA0AyoRI/AAAAAAAAA0A/CNdXKC-LIeo/s1600/bathroom+before.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" nda="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_NkkRO2gGfg/Tr1yA0AyoRI/AAAAAAAAA0A/CNdXKC-LIeo/s1600/bathroom+before.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The bathroom before the demolition. The vinyl floor was curling and moldy, and the single sink was tucked </span></div><div align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">behind the bathtub, barely visible and too small for 2 people.</span></div></td></tr>
</tbody></table> <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cPnysCOnuAY/Tr1yA5LQqhI/AAAAAAAAA0Q/Toq74vIB28w/s1600/bathroom+during+demo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" nda="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cPnysCOnuAY/Tr1yA5LQqhI/AAAAAAAAA0Q/Toq74vIB28w/s1600/bathroom+during+demo.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The bathroom on Friday evening, after the plumbers and electrician did their job.</span></div></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"></div><ul><li><span style="color: #181818; font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Our fantastic plumbers came over and moved the cast iron tub out of the bathroom, so I can restore it in the guest room. It took three strong men to move it. </span></li>
<li><span style="color: #181818; font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We tore out all the 100-year-old bead board that was globbed with paint and moldy in spots. It was two inches thick and made of Redwood. Much different than the bead board you buy at Home Depot today. </span></li>
<li><span style="color: #181818; font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Dean and Carter framed a new ceiling, which will allow us to have a bathroom fan and vent the new fixtures. </span></li>
<li><span style="color: #181818; font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We ripped out the linoleum floor and the vinyl floor underneath by chipping away at it with paint scrapers. </span></li>
</ul><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"></div><div><span style="color: #181818; font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">All of this happened in one day. It "freed up" Sunday for a big day at the San Francisco dump and Home Depot.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"></div><div> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qOEuXtplJBs/Tr1yA1I0HbI/AAAAAAAAA0E/us2tVX0CQ94/s1600/bathroom+calendar.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" nda="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qOEuXtplJBs/Tr1yA1I0HbI/AAAAAAAAA0E/us2tVX0CQ94/s1600/bathroom+calendar.jpg" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I made a childish calendar entitled “Dean and Andi’s 16 Days of Construction.” It helps us visualize how short but intense this bathroom renovation will be. It has been a good tool for retaining mental sanity already.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"></div><div> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We do not have a shower and our friends have all been so kind to let us use their showers, and even feed us and give us a beer and some conversation after long days of construction. Thank you Jason & Colleen, Kyra, Andy, and Denis (and Chris & Susan this weekend)!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"></div><div> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We are really excited about the finished product. It is something we have dreamed about since last July, when we wrote <a href="http://projectnest.squarespace.com/project-nest-blog/2010/7/25/bathroom-schematic-design.html"><span style="color: blue;">this blog</span></a>. It is a good sign that 13 months later we choose the same bathtub, sink and cabinet that we dreamed about last July--maybe we will never grow tired of them.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"></div><div> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We started on August 6 and are set to finish on August 22. More to come soon!</span></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02857548705786175606noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4317705807750366493.post-58352336936724289362011-08-10T18:06:00.000-07:002011-11-11T12:54:30.329-08:00Painted Lady<div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">Painters have been working on our building since May, giving it a much-needed new coat of paint. We changed the color scheme too--now the building is a blue gray "October Sky" and the accents are white, navy blue, burgundy, and a bunch of other blues. We have nine colors on the building in total, including a lot of real gold leaf on the woodwork.</span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">Here’s what she looked like before:</span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Mhlb8Xcalb4/Tr1vl7BtJ4I/AAAAAAAAAzo/TwlV0isf7rc/s1600/old+corner.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" nda="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Mhlb8Xcalb4/Tr1vl7BtJ4I/AAAAAAAAAzo/TwlV0isf7rc/s1600/old+corner.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gdB3Ml31Kl0/Tr1ubkx4rWI/AAAAAAAAAy0/y7IWT5JXwlc/s1600/old+detail.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" nda="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gdB3Ml31Kl0/Tr1ubkx4rWI/AAAAAAAAAy0/y7IWT5JXwlc/s1600/old+detail.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--9zliHsRROg/Tr1ucAJMG5I/AAAAAAAAAzE/INMhk6Ifc2k/s1600/old+front.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" nda="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--9zliHsRROg/Tr1ucAJMG5I/AAAAAAAAAzE/INMhk6Ifc2k/s1600/old+front.jpg" /></a></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;"></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">On Monday the scaffolding came down. Here she is! It was a long road to completion, but we are immensely happy with the finished product.</span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BMc7Hb4e_Q4/Tr1ubEQnLXI/AAAAAAAAAyc/VpwwTyPK9gA/s1600/front+detail.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" nda="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BMc7Hb4e_Q4/Tr1ubEQnLXI/AAAAAAAAAyc/VpwwTyPK9gA/s1600/front+detail.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VC0AFShHA_E/Tr1ubIh63lI/AAAAAAAAAys/Ugq_CTrx2ww/s1600/back+detail.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" nda="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VC0AFShHA_E/Tr1ubIh63lI/AAAAAAAAAys/Ugq_CTrx2ww/s1600/back+detail.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-NjP-Q04P9cw/Tr1ubkyRtNI/AAAAAAAAAy4/s64plmgpZLw/s1600/front+steps.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" nda="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-NjP-Q04P9cw/Tr1ubkyRtNI/AAAAAAAAAy4/s64plmgpZLw/s1600/front+steps.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DpEYIGF48do/Tr1ubAxgXhI/AAAAAAAAAyg/VkSHxHustF4/s1600/front+corner.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" nda="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DpEYIGF48do/Tr1ubAxgXhI/AAAAAAAAAyg/VkSHxHustF4/s1600/front+corner.jpg" /></a></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt;"><br />
</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02857548705786175606noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4317705807750366493.post-78870664070120041372011-07-15T00:11:00.000-07:002011-11-11T12:53:03.665-08:00Let there be light!<div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">In the 3 months "off" after finishing the powder room and office nook and before starting the main bathroom, Andi has been scouring our apartment for small "projects" for us to do. Because this is our "down-time". Luckily for her (and especially luckily for me), the chandelier in our back hallway needed some attention.</span></span></div><div mce_style="text-align: justify;" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">For months we have not had light in our back hallway. The old, cheap, knock-off of a Scandinavian-made chandelier gave out in our first week after moving in. Until recently, it swung from its old faux-brass chain like a pathetic, undecorated global piñata, filled with healthy and innocent things like lima beans, broccoli, and athletic socks, gently whacked a few times to ensure its contents would NOT spill all over the ground and spare all the "unlucky" children from obesity and athlete's foot. It needed to come down.</span></span></div><div mce_style="text-align: justify;" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wPookDhDVso/Tr1sTZ6FqKI/AAAAAAAAAyE/6kpTr-gkxaM/s1600/hall2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" nda="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wPookDhDVso/Tr1sTZ6FqKI/AAAAAAAAAyE/6kpTr-gkxaM/s1600/hall2.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="color: #181818;"><span class="thumbnail-caption1"><span style="font-size: 7pt;">The back hallway the day we moved in.</span></span><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"></span></span></span></div></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div mce_style="text-align: justify;" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;"></span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">While I clambered up our rickety 10-foot ladder and disassembled the chandelier, Andi spent time on her hobby: dissecting the internet for home improvement products. In this case, a new ceiling light. She found one at </span><a href="http://www.rejuvenation.com/" mce_href="http://www.rejuvenation.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Rejuvenation – Classic American Lighting & House Parts</span></a><span style="color: #181818;">. Since the back hallway chandelier does not have a wall-mounted light switch—it's activated only by a pull switch with a 6-foot long chain—and hardly anyone makes a ceiling light with a pull switch anymore, we placed a custom order to have our new pendant built with one.</span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"> </div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Bq7vaAmFW5k/Tr1rvzciakI/AAAAAAAAAxg/Znw4KHU5YRs/s1600/rose+city+pendant.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" nda="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Bq7vaAmFW5k/Tr1rvzciakI/AAAAAAAAAxg/Znw4KHU5YRs/s320/rose+city+pendant.png" width="136" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="color: #181818;"><span class="thumbnail-caption1"><span style="font-size: 7pt;">Our choice: the Rose City </span></span></span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="color: #181818;"><span class="thumbnail-caption1"><span style="font-size: 7pt;">pendant.</span></span><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"></span></span></span></div></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<div mce_style="text-align: justify;" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;"></span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">I'm not always confident in my construction abilities, even after all of the spectacular B- work I've completed on our house so far. I get a bit queasy when I think about playing in Benjamin Franklin's toy box, especially since I’ve been zapped with a sizeable amount of electricity once before in my life. Andi, as always, is supportive and helps me to see the brighter side of things. "You can do it," she encourages. "Besides, I don't want to pay an electrician $300 to do this work." VERY convincing.</span></span></div><div mce_style="text-align: justify;" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">After switching off the breaker for the hallway lights and verifying 3 times that it was actually off (once with my eyes and twice with my electrical test meter), I disconnected the existing chandelier. It was pretty easy. I was surprised.</span></span></div><div mce_style="text-align: justify;" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">I uncovered something interesting after disassembly: a long black pipe the jutted out of the plaster ceiling like a thick black whisker. Consequently, our HOA hired an electrician to tidy up the cables on the exterior of the house because it’s being painted and we want it to look pretty, so I showed him this pipe sticking out of our ceiling. He explained that when the apartment was switched from gas lamps to electricity, the contractor retrofitted the gas pipe to accept the new electrical lights by adding threading to the inside of the old gas pipe. “You better hope the gas line is not active,” he giggled as I chuckled nervously with him. It’s not. I checked.</span></span></div><div mce_style="text-align: justify;" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">While we waited for the new light to arrive, we headed to Home Depot to buy a </span><a href="http://www.google.com/search?um=1&hl=en&safe=active&rls=com.microsoft:en-us&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=rygfTtSGLYLcgQfJwd3GAw&ved=0CEAQvwUoAQ&q=ceiling+medallions&spell=1&biw=1327&bih=769" mce_href="http://www.google.com/search?um=1&hl=en&safe=active&rls=com.microsoft:en-us&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=rygfTtSGLYLcgQfJwd3GAw&ved=0CEAQvwUoAQ&q=ceiling+medallions&spell=1&biw=1327&bih=769" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">ceiling medallion</span></a><span style="color: #181818;">, a ceiling trim piece that served three purposes: 1) it’s a decorative element that is consistent with most of the other ceiling lighting in the apartment, 2) it covered the large hole that remained from the non-functioning hard-wired smoke detector that I removed from the chandelier base, and 3) it covered the phallic gas pipe.</span></span></div><div mce_style="text-align: justify;" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">About a week later, the new pendant light arrived. We unpacked it, fawned over its sleek curves and shiny trim like it was a </span><a href="http://www.forbes.com/2010/11/11/hottest-cars-2011-new-releases-lifestyle-vehicles-gift-guide-10-autos_slide_4.html" mce_href="http://www.forbes.com/2010/11/11/hottest-cars-2011-new-releases-lifestyle-vehicles-gift-guide-10-autos_slide_4.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Super Sport</span></a><span style="color: #181818;"> and I scurried up the ladder to commence Step 2: Assembly. I connected the wires with wire nuts (after turning off the breaker, obviously) with a little more confidence than my original fumbling of the wires during disassembly and began to screw the pendant pipe into the existing gas pipe.</span></span></div><div mce_style="text-align: justify;" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">Square peg, round hole. Actually small round peg with thinner thread spacing and large round hole with wider thread spacing. I needed some kind part that would reduce the size and thread from the gas pipe to the size and thread of the pendant pipe. I headed over to </span><a href="http://www.yelp.com/biz/victors-lighting-san-francisco-2" mce_href="http://www.yelp.com/biz/victors-lighting-san-francisco-2" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Victor’s Lighting</span></a><span style="color: #181818;"> to see if they had this miracle contraption. “You need a thread reducer,” the guy behind the desk at Victor’s told me. (Thread reducer. Huh. ) “I have some because this is a popular issue in old Victorian homes.” One dollar later I was on my way home.</span></span></div><div mce_style="text-align: justify;" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">Once I had the thread reducer, installation was easy. I installed the ceiling medallion with Liquid Nails and a few screws to keep it in place with until dry. I screwed the pipe of the pendant light into the gas pipe through the thread reducer. I connected the wires with wire nuts (again making sure the breaker was off). Finally, I flipped the breaker back on and pulled the switch.</span></span></div><div mce_style="text-align: justify;" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">Voila!</span></span></div><div mce_style="text-align: justify;" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PqZApIlv8uY/Tr1rwKbSBKI/AAAAAAAAAxo/PXJKAhB3o6A/s1600/after.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" nda="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PqZApIlv8uY/Tr1rwKbSBKI/AAAAAAAAAxo/PXJKAhB3o6A/s1600/after.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div mce_style="text-align: justify;" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="color: #181818;"><span class="thumbnail-caption1"><span style="font-size: 7pt;">And I'm spent...</span></span><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"></span></span></span></div></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;"></span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">(Except that the pull chain was a little short and Andi had to stand on her tippy-toes to pull it. The next day she brought home a chain extension, so voila again!)</span></span></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02857548705786175606noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4317705807750366493.post-53290966749284707982011-06-08T21:47:00.000-07:002011-11-11T12:51:41.621-08:00The Powder Room - Dean's Story<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Phase 2 is finally over. Well, almost. 99.8% over. We still need to get custom door trim for the hall, but other than that, place a ‘check’ in the boxes next to the ‘Powder Room’ and the ‘Office Nook’. We’re due for an extended vacay—maybe until August or September—and then it’s on to the main bathroom.</span><span style="color: #181818; font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div> <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vfTZaAUwqgw/Trx2FpkipUI/AAAAAAAAAs8/2mPNUk3T_pw/s1600/toilet.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" nda="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vfTZaAUwqgw/Trx2FpkipUI/AAAAAAAAAs8/2mPNUk3T_pw/s200/toilet.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The 99.8% completed powder </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">room.</span></div></td></tr>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Phase 2 increased my limited DIY knowledge base. Phase 2 was the first time I framed a door, the first time I finished gyp board, the first time I laid tile, and the first time I hung crown molding. Phase 2 also humbled my DIY capabilities—it was the first time I framed a door, the first time I finished gyp board, the first time I laid tile, and the first time I hung crown molding.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Everything about Phase 2 was an experience for us, good or bad. But now that it is finally over, we’re happy with our accomplishments and the final product. Andi grades the projects as a B+ for the powder room and an A- for the office nook. I grade them “tear my hair out” and “a minor pain in the ass” respectively.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I noted the difficulties I had framing the door and alcove in an earlier blog. Not only did I contend with double wall and 2x3 actual stud size issues, but I learned rough framing plays a huge part in finishing walls (duh). Out-of-level studs made attaching gyp board extremely messy. Once I screwed the gyp board to the studs, the gyp rolled and dipped like the Marin headlands, which made finishing the gyp board sketchy at best.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Taping the gyp board was simple. Mudding (spreading the joint compound over the taped joints and filling the screw holes) and sanding was not so much. Applying the joint compound consistently and evenly was a skillset I barely learned, partially because the gyp board was never flat enough for an even coat of the compound and mostly because I struggled at it. And I never really mastered the <a href="http://www.ehow.com/how_4854065_wet-sand-drywall.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">“wet sand”</span></a> technique so it seemed like I spent hours sanding, re-applying the compound after we over-sanded, and sanding again. So I asked Andi to do it instead. She fared better (much better) but also shared in my frustrations.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Typically architects specify <a href="http://www.gypsum.org/pdf/GA-214-M-97.pdf" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">gyp board finish on a rating system</span></a>. Our rating system looked like this:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 40.6pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-size: 7.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="color: #181818; font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Level 1 - total crap</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 40.6pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-size: 7.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="color: #181818; font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Level 2 - OK if it’s behind something or above eye level</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 40.6pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-size: 7.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="color: #181818; font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Level 3 - acceptable if you squint your eyes slightly</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 40.6pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-size: 7.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="color: #181818; font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Level 4 - done because I’m not doing it again</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 40.6pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-size: 7.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="color: #181818; font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Level 5 - not bad; almost professional</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Our gyp board finish usually fell in the 2-4 range, leaning toward Level 4. But there was a fair share of Level 5 and we pretty much got rid of all of the Level 1 areas.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Our powder room is not a rectangle—there is an alcove where the existing door frame used to reside. Although the alcove looks pretty cool now that the bathroom is finished, and gives the user a nice cozy feeling when inside, installing base molding was difficult—mostly because I routinely made incorrect measurements. In truth, installation is a simple process if you have the right tools: a miter saw, a tape measure, a pencil, some finish nails… yep, that’s about it. Unfortunately I am still an apprentice with the complicated tool called the tape measure. I poorly measured and incorrectly cut numerous lengths of base molding incorrectly and made multiple trips to the garage to re-cut new pieces.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-J_5LuqIbGw0/Tr1kPRX4aPI/AAAAAAAAAwQ/hxv4IUIs3J4/s1600/after.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" nda="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-J_5LuqIbGw0/Tr1kPRX4aPI/AAAAAAAAAwQ/hxv4IUIs3J4/s1600/after.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The completed office nook.</span></div></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The crown molding installation was even more exciting. In addition to struggling with the tape measure, I struggled with the compound miter saw too. Crown molding is finicky—not only do you have to set the miter angle, you have to set the bevel angle on the miter saw as well. Miter angle? Bevel angle?! Complicated. I knew the potential difficulties with crown molding going into the project so I selected a brand of crown molding that makes installation easier—Flipface. The Flipface website has <a href="http://www.flipface.com/?entry=beginner_compound_mitre_saw" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">step-by-step instructions</span></a> on how to install their product correctly. I followed them on the whole, but not well enough to avoid some minor errors. First, I incorrectly read the <a href="http://www.flipface.com/files/crown_angle_chart_en.pdf#Chart" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Crown Angle Chart</span></a>—mostly because I did know which product I actually purchased (R7048) and cut the first few pieces with the cutting angles for a different product (R5180). Once that was discovered, I cut the lengths successfully and relied on Andi to do her caulk magic to make it pretty.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The one area of the powder room project in which we succeeded completely was the budget. Our original goal, a long, long time ago, was to complete the space under the $8,000 mark (our first-time home buyer tax credit). When we started designing the project, and after we completed a few other projects, we realized that goal might be difficult since we underestimated the costs of certain materials and fixtures so we raised our budget to $10,000. We still wanted to be as frugal as we could be, but there is so much cool stuff out there that we splurged on a few things. Well, the final numbers are in… the total project cost was <a href="https://spreadsheets.google.com/spreadsheet/pub?hl=en_US&hl=en_US&key=0Ag4fmRVljlb-dGY2ZXRrbzZzc1FyUEo0R01MZWRyVlE&output=html" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">$8,624.21</span></a>! We came in way under budget! <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rmL5s3k9o9U" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Three snaps in the z-formation for us!</span></a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">(FYI, there is a new “Budgets” link on the blog titlebar above where you can see the final costs of all of our projects to date.)</span></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02857548705786175606noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4317705807750366493.post-53898225008743326862011-05-12T15:35:00.000-07:002011-11-11T12:50:49.395-08:00Office and Library in 8 Square Feet <br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HWMdXADhA3s/Tr1kQAooAFI/AAAAAAAAAww/YZ9mMLU-PYc/s1600/precedent.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" nda="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HWMdXADhA3s/Tr1kQAooAFI/AAAAAAAAAww/YZ9mMLU-PYc/s1600/precedent.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="thumbnail-caption1"><span style="font-size: 7pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="color: #181818;">My inspiration for our office.</span></span></span></span></div></td></tr>
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<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">Part of the charm of our apartment is the long hallway that has lots of nooks and irregular corners. We recently turned one of these nooks into an office/library.</span></span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="thumbnail-caption1"><span style="font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Verdana;"></span></span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">This photo from <em><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif";">Metropolitan Home</span></em> was my inspiration. This Manhattan apartment, home of architect Jeffery Povero, has walls in Benjamin Moore’s “Iron Mountain.” I love how the dark walls contrast with the white shelves. I also love the way that the orange storage boxes provide visual organization.</span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">Dean might say that I “copied” this photo and that I “lack imagination” (in fact, he has said those exact things). Copying is antithetical to his architectural moral code. I say this office was my “inspiration.” In the end I got the shelves I wanted, and our hallway was already painted dark gray (Farrow & Ball’s Down Pipe). The desk is different from the picture. We are both happy with the outcome.</span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-dKoAptAdoP4/Tr1kPF30CvI/AAAAAAAAAwE/tZcWRU2TdqA/s1600/before.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" nda="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-dKoAptAdoP4/Tr1kPF30CvI/AAAAAAAAAwE/tZcWRU2TdqA/s1600/before.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="thumbnail-caption1"><span style="font-size: 7pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="color: #181818;">The office nook became possible when we moved this gigantic door to the adjacent wall in the hallway. </span></span></span></span></div></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2ztiVH91MHU/Tr1kPqT3jkI/AAAAAAAAAwk/Q2ayCW3clxs/s1600/during.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" nda="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2ztiVH91MHU/Tr1kPqT3jkI/AAAAAAAAAwk/Q2ayCW3clxs/s1600/during.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="thumbnail-caption1"><span style="font-size: 7pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="color: #181818;">Dean screws together the shelves. The wall on the right on the office nook is new--built to expend the </span></span></span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="thumbnail-caption1"><span style="font-size: 7pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="color: #181818;">bathroom by 8 inches.</span></span></span></span></div></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="thumbnail-caption1"><span style="font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Verdana;"></span></span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="thumbnail-caption1"><span style="font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Verdana;"></span></span></span></div><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;"></span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-CSpXdeTdHc4/Tr1kQRqDZXI/AAAAAAAAAw4/dp-tyGqUHKY/s1600/shelves.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" nda="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-CSpXdeTdHc4/Tr1kQRqDZXI/AAAAAAAAAw4/dp-tyGqUHKY/s1600/shelves.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="thumbnail-caption1"><span style="font-size: 7pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="color: #181818;">Looking up at the shelves.</span></span></span></span></div></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;">After getting a quote from a cabinet-maker-friend for $1,600 to build the shelves, Dean decided to build them himself. (No offense to our friend, I am sure he would have done a spectacular job, but we are on a budget).</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">Dean bought $200 in wood at Home Depot and bolted 1x2”’s into the walls on three sides of the nook to create a structural frame. Then he cut plywood to fit, and screwed it on top and bottom of the 3-sided frames he already installed. He cut 2.5 inch strips of smooth architectural plywood and affixed those strips to the front of the shelves with Liquid Nails as the faceplates. I was the master sander and painter (the shelves are the same color as all woodwork in our apartment—<em><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif";">Halo</span></em> by C2 Paint). We puttied screw holes and little gaps between the faceplates and plywood with acrylic putty, then sanded it down and re-painted. It took two full days to cut, build, sand, paint, putty, re-sand and re-paint these 4 shelves.</span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-J_5LuqIbGw0/Tr1kPRX4aPI/AAAAAAAAAwQ/hxv4IUIs3J4/s1600/after.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" nda="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-J_5LuqIbGw0/Tr1kPRX4aPI/AAAAAAAAAwQ/hxv4IUIs3J4/s1600/after.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="thumbnail-caption1"><span style="font-size: 7pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="color: #181818;">The completed office. The top shelf turns a corner and rests on top of the new bathroom bump-out. Dean </span></span></span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="thumbnail-caption1"><span style="font-size: 7pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="color: #181818;">"styled" it in red.</span></span></span></span></div></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="thumbnail-caption1"><span style="font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Verdana;"></span></span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">Some elements of the office are responses to the bathroom right next door. For example, the top shelf wraps around the corner. It rests on a new bumped-out wall we built to make the bathroom large enough for a sink and toilet. The wrapped shelf hopefully makes that wall, which is the height of the door that used to be there, seem more incorporated with the overall design. In addition, when we built the bathroom we needed to add an exposed, industrial-looking vent pipe that runs across the office nook. Our second hope was that our modern office design would make that pipe look less jarring. </span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1e1InzBYwyQ/Tr1kQReExiI/AAAAAAAAAw8/hhXTOwxCeTA/s1600/sconce.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" nda="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1e1InzBYwyQ/Tr1kQReExiI/AAAAAAAAAw8/hhXTOwxCeTA/s1600/sconce.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="thumbnail-caption1"><span style="font-size: 7pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="color: #181818;">The lighthouse light.</span></span></span></span></div></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="thumbnail-caption1"><span style="font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Verdana;"></span></span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">We hired an electrician to work on the bathroom, and while he was here we had him add the </span><a href="http://www.shadesoflight.com/lighthouse-wall-sconce-white.html" mce_href="http://www.shadesoflight.com/lighthouse-wall-sconce-white.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">white lighthouse wall sconce</span></a><span style="color: #181818;"> in the office area (cost: $112 with dimmer switch). We also had the electrician add electrical outlets near the floor for our laptops and printer. The cost of the electrician for this job was $842.</span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ajIwFF1YX7o/Tr1kPpFK0bI/AAAAAAAAAwU/vDdlsfUPiVk/s1600/desk.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" nda="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ajIwFF1YX7o/Tr1kPpFK0bI/AAAAAAAAAwU/vDdlsfUPiVk/s1600/desk.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0pt;"><span class="thumbnail-caption1"><span style="font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Our carrera marble desk. It is a really cozy and luxurious place to check email.</span></span></span></span></div></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="thumbnail-caption1"><span style="font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Verdana;"></span></span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">In every project I have to break the budget in some way. Our custom Carerra marble desk is definitely the splurge in this project. A few weekends ago we went down to </span><a href="http://www.imperialmarble.com/" mce_href="http://www.imperialmarble.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Imperial Marble Kitchen & Bath</span></a><span style="color: #181818;"> in South San Francisco and picked out a stone remnant for our 42” x 25” desk (cost for marble: $270). We asked for a special mitered edge that mimics the 2.5” square edges of our bookshelves and a hole drilled for laptop cords. We asked them to come to our house, create a custom template to our irregular plaster walls, and come back to install and caulk the marble slab (cost: $470 for all cuts and custom installation). We are DIYers, but we do not care to mess with stone and curvy walls. Total cost: $765 with tax. Dean built the structural frame for the marble slab himself, using a similar technique as the shelves.</span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-lYv2r33CrvI/Tr1kPLTvzYI/AAAAAAAAAwA/RFy73iVgO34/s1600/books.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" nda="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-lYv2r33CrvI/Tr1kPLTvzYI/AAAAAAAAAwA/RFy73iVgO34/s1600/books.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="thumbnail-caption1"><span style="font-size: 7pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="color: #181818;">Semikolon storage boxes come in amazing colors.</span></span></span></span></div></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="thumbnail-caption1"><span style="font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Verdana;"></span></span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">I bought six </span><a href="http://www.containerstore.com/shop?productId=10025070&N=&Ntt=red+picture+storage+box" mce_href="http://www.containerstore.com/shop?productId=10025070&N=&Ntt=red+picture+storage+box" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">red storage boxes</span></a><span style="color: #181818;"> at Container Store ($130) and Dean bought the black filing cube under the desk at Office Max for $67.88. The chair is from Ikea and I already had it from the kitchen in our last apartment. </span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-t1uYO_nkauc/Tr1kP7Pdf9I/AAAAAAAAAwg/bITsLxeDSzM/s1600/pig.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" nda="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-t1uYO_nkauc/Tr1kP7Pdf9I/AAAAAAAAAwg/bITsLxeDSzM/s1600/pig.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="thumbnail-caption1"><span style="font-size: 7pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="color: #181818;">Piggy.</span></span></span></span></div></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="thumbnail-caption1"><span style="font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Verdana;"></span></span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">It is so nice to have all of our papers organized and our books accessible, and have a landing spot for our laptops so they are not strewn around the house. We are very happy with the result.</span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">Total project cost: $2,117.</span></span></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02857548705786175606noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4317705807750366493.post-89823431565752211862011-05-03T22:14:00.000-07:002011-11-11T12:48:21.420-08:00Tick Up the Bathroom Count to... 1.5!<div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">This blog is about the design and finishes of our new ½ bath. Later Dean will regale you with construction stories.</span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-iFrzAsVx55E/Trx2FSS6qyI/AAAAAAAAAss/Slx4EUwSFNc/s1600/PR+detail.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" nda="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-iFrzAsVx55E/Trx2FSS6qyI/AAAAAAAAAss/Slx4EUwSFNc/s1600/PR+detail.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="thumbnail-caption1"><span style="font-size: 7pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="color: #181818;">Our new half bath! (Thanks to my sister Val for these towels--a gift!)</span></span></span></span></div></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="thumbnail-caption1"><span style="font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Verdana;"></span></span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">The big news: we are done with the inside of the bathroom! It took a long time to turn a closet into a ½ bath and was not heaps of fun at different points in the project. We worked on it for 8 weekends in January, February and March, and on every one of those Saturdays I would wake up and think, “I wish I could go on a hike/to brunch/to yoga today.” But it is finished and we think it is the most beautiful ½ bath on the planet. Sometimes I open the bathroom door and just stand there and admire it, like a prize pony or precious gem. This is definitely a result of building the bathroom with our own four hands. Very satisfying.</span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UweRbq2RzZM/Trx2Eq433MI/AAAAAAAAAsI/03WBYE7gwLU/s1600/demo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" nda="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UweRbq2RzZM/Trx2Eq433MI/AAAAAAAAAsI/03WBYE7gwLU/s200/demo.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="thumbnail-caption1"><span style="font-size: 7pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="color: #181818;">The closet before we turned it into a </span></span></span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="thumbnail-caption1"><span style="font-size: 7pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="color: #181818;">bathroom. Yes, this is the same space!</span></span></span></span></div></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="thumbnail-caption1"><span style="font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Verdana;"></span></span></span></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CgdkufmeGnY/Trx2F0EaEPI/AAAAAAAAAtA/AzaV4L3TNZQ/s1600/V%2526B+sink.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="196" nda="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CgdkufmeGnY/Trx2F0EaEPI/AAAAAAAAAtA/AzaV4L3TNZQ/s200/V%2526B+sink.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div align="left"><span style="color: #181818;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="font-size: 7pt;">The Villeroy & Boch sink.</span><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"> </span></span></span></div></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">The ½ bath is a mix of high and low. We were on a budget and so we had to pick our splurges judiciously.</span></span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">The “Highs”:</span></span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;"><strong>The Sink:</strong> We found this white porcelain </span><a href="http://www.villeroy-boch.com/en/us/professionals/bathroom-and-wellness/products/product-search.html?vb_product2%5bcolkey%5d=62.1.66689.1&vb_product2%5bsubproductgroupkey%5d=53.1.42952.1&vb_product2%5bsubcollectionkey%5d=62.1.70926.1&vb_product2%5baction%5d=detail&vb_produ" mce_href="http://www.villeroy-boch.com/en/us/professionals/bathroom-and-wellness/products/product-search.html?vb_product2%5bcolkey%5d=62.1.66689.1&vb_product2%5bsubproductgroupkey%5d=53.1.42952.1&vb_product2%5bsubcollectionkey%5d=62.1.70926.1&vb_product2%5baction%5d=detail&vb_produ" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Villeroy & Boch sink</span></a><span style="color: #181818;"> online for $510.30 (on sale, regularly it is around $760). In case you ever want a similar sink, I think our Google search term was “very small sink.” It had to be no more than 15 inches deep to preserve the 24 inches of clearance to the toilet that San Francisco building code requires.</span></span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">It was a leap of faith to order the most expensive bathroom element sight-unseen (at $510.30, the sink was over 30% of our budget for fixtures and finishes). But honestly there were not many choices on the teeny-tiny sink market and this one is unusual, well-proportioned and modern all at the same time. It reminds me of a bubble, a lily pad or </span><a href="http://tlc.discovery.com/tv/royal-wedding/pictures/royal-wedding-hat-pictures.html" mce_href="http://tlc.discovery.com/tv/royal-wedding/pictures/royal-wedding-hat-pictures.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Camilla Parker’s hat</span></a><span style="color: #181818;"> at the Royal Wedding. We get lots of compliments on it. We added a </span><a href="http://www.homeclick.com/kohler-k-9033-cp-contemporary-round-brass-bottle-p-trap-polished-chrome/p-359645.aspx" mce_href="http://www.homeclick.com/kohler-k-9033-cp-contemporary-round-brass-bottle-p-trap-polished-chrome/p-359645.aspx" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">contemporary exposed plumbing</span></a><span style="color: #181818;"> below the sink for $75 in parts.</span></span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">Shopping Tip: I always did Google Image searches when shopping for bathroom finishes. It is much easier to scan pages of images rather than click through hundreds of links to see the actual sink, faucet, tile etc. I imagine this technique would be good for shopping for many different items.</span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="thumbnail-caption1"><b><span style="font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Verdana;"></span></span></b></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RWKCoQ6DEnc/Trx2FB8SFlI/AAAAAAAAAsg/GrjAlv68L9U/s1600/F%2526B+colors.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="146" nda="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RWKCoQ6DEnc/Trx2FB8SFlI/AAAAAAAAAsg/GrjAlv68L9U/s200/F%2526B+colors.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="thumbnail-caption1"><span style="font-size: 7pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="color: #181818;">Farrow & Ball colors: Borrowed Light and O</span></span></span></span><span class="thumbnail-caption1"><span style="font-size: 7pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="color: #181818;">val </span></span></span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="thumbnail-caption1"><span style="font-size: 7pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="color: #181818;">Room Blue for the ceiling.</span></span></span></span></div></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><strong><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">The paint:</span></span></strong><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;"> We splurged on Farrow & Ball’s </span><a href="http://us.farrow-ball.com/borrowed-light/colours/fcp-product/100235" mce_href="http://us.farrow-ball.com/borrowed-light/colours//fcp-product/100235" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Borrowed Light</span></a><span style="color: #181818;"> for the walls and </span><a href="http://us.farrow-ball.com/oval-room-blue/colours/fcp-product/100085" mce_href="http://us.farrow-ball.com/oval-room-blue/colours//fcp-product/100085" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Oval Room Blue</span></a><span style="color: #181818;"> for the ceiling. They are absolutely beautiful. In <em><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif";">House Beautiful</span></em> one designer said, “Borrowed Light feels as if you've taken the roof off the room and the sky and the clouds have mixed together.” After my fiasco in the hallway trying to match Farrow & Ball paint, I went straight for the brand name in the bathroom. We are super happy with the result. Cost: $100 for a small room.</span></span><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"></span></div> <br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">The “Middles”:</span></span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><strong><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;"></span></span></strong></div> <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vfTZaAUwqgw/Trx2FpkipUI/AAAAAAAAAs8/2mPNUk3T_pw/s1600/toilet.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" nda="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vfTZaAUwqgw/Trx2FpkipUI/AAAAAAAAAs8/2mPNUk3T_pw/s320/toilet.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div align="left"><span class="thumbnail-caption1"><span style="font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Verdana;">The "Santa Rosa"</span></span></span></div></td></tr>
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<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><strong><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">The faucet: </span></span></strong><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">We bought this </span><a href="http://www.efaucets.com/detail.asp?Product_Id=D221558" mce_href="http://www.efaucets.com/detail.asp?Product_Id=D221558" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Danze faucet</span></a><span style="color: #181818;"> for $159. We needed a single handle faucet and liked the lines on this one. It is a good compliment to the circular sink and floor tiles, and provides good contrast with the boxy mirror and light fixture. Faucets can be really expensive ($500+ at </span><a href="http://www.waterworks.com/" mce_href="http://www.waterworks.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Waterworks</span></a><span style="color: #181818;">) and really cheap ($30 at Home Depot). We thought this was a good compromise.</span></span><span class="thumbnail-caption1"><b><span style="font-size: 7pt;"></span></b></span></div> <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Kk1o1kEZJWA/Trx2FYlP2lI/AAAAAAAAAs0/bICqRIfwiwk/s1600/tile.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" nda="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Kk1o1kEZJWA/Trx2FYlP2lI/AAAAAAAAAs0/bICqRIfwiwk/s200/tile.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div align="left"><span class="thumbnail-caption1"><span style="font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Verdana;">Ann Sacks Savoy Cottonwood penny tile.</span></span></span></div></td></tr>
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<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="color: #181818;"><strong><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;">The toilet: </span></strong></span></span><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;"> We picked the </span><a href="http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1v/R-202493972/h_d2/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053" mce_href="http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1v/R-202493972/h_d2/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Kohler “Santa Rosa”</span></a><span style="color: #181818;"> and paid $293 at Home Depot. I don’t think too much about toilet design. I didn’t even know toilets had names like the Santa Rosa. To me, it is utilitarian. We choose Kohler’s Santa Rosa because it is on the modern side of things and it meets San Francisco’s strict environmental requirements for low water flow. It also accommodated the clearance space we needed between the toilet and sink.</span></span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="color: #181818;"><strong><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;">The tile: </span></strong></span></span><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">For the floor we picked a </span><a href="http://www.annsacks.com/onlinecatalog/program.jsp?cat=268004&coll=268104&prg=1380504&tab=5&startrow=21" mce_href="http://www.annsacks.com/onlinecatalog/program.jsp?cat=268004&coll=268104&prg=1380504&tab=5&startrow=21" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">penny tile from Ann Sacks</span></a><span style="color: #181818;"> at $10.98 a square foot. It is called the Savoy Cottonwood penny tile. You can certainly get cheaper penny tile, but this tile has a ring of faded blue and brown on the outer edges, which is an important design element in the room. Total tile price was $179.48.</span></span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">We love that the tile is a traditional shape for an old Victorian home but the faded border brings a pop of modernity. Also, we decided not to tile the walls—a cost-savings measure and it seemed unnecessary in such a small room with no possibility of steam. Dean laid the tile himself and he will tell you more about that adventure. His takeaway was that anyone can lay tile and achieve a B+ product! Good enough for us.</span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">The “Lows”:</span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #181818;"><strong><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;">The mirror:</span></strong><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"> It is from Ikea and was hanging in the bedroom in our old apartment. The wood frame brings nature into the room, which is important. Without the touch of natural wood the room could feel more like a pharmacy and less like a spa. Cost: Nothing because we already owned it.</span></span><span class="thumbnail-caption1"><span style="font-size: 7pt;"></span></span></div> <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zHGq4gOhGbc/Trx2EzJxFKI/AAAAAAAAAsU/BPBDuf55zwI/s1600/detail.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" nda="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zHGq4gOhGbc/Trx2EzJxFKI/AAAAAAAAAsU/BPBDuf55zwI/s200/detail.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="color: #181818;"><span class="thumbnail-caption1"><span style="font-size: 7pt;">The mirror and Dean's work of nature art.</span></span><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"></span></span></span></div></td></tr>
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="thumbnail-caption1"><b><span style="font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Verdana;"></span></span></b></span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="thumbnail-caption1"><b><span style="font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Verdana;"></span></span></b></span></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HJk7QB7KKbk/Trx2E6In9yI/AAAAAAAAAsY/ZeBMG_G0moM/s1600/door.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" nda="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HJk7QB7KKbk/Trx2E6In9yI/AAAAAAAAAsY/ZeBMG_G0moM/s200/door.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="thumbnail-caption1"><span style="font-size: 7pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="color: #181818;">The vintage door, salvaged from another </span></span></span></span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="thumbnail-caption1"><span style="font-size: 7pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="color: #181818;">Victorian.</span></span></span></span></div></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><strong><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">The door:</span></span></strong><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;"> This is a long story, but the Victorian four-panel door that was originally on the closet could not be reused when we moved the door to the adjacent wall. It had to do with the stud spacing and the giganticness of that door. So we took that door to the architectural salvage yard (</span><a href="http://www.yelp.com/biz/building-resources-san-francisco#query:salvage%20yard" mce_href="http://www.yelp.com/biz/building-resources-san-francisco#query:salvage%20yard" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Building Resources</span></a><span style="color: #181818;">) and picked a smaller used door, also Victorian and four-paneled. Total cost: $75.</span></span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #181818;"><strong><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;">The light fixture:</span></strong><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"> It is from Lamps Plus and cost $92.44. Nobody is going to write home about this light. I had a hard time picking a light fixture and decided that I would buy this as a placeholder. I might upgrade the light in the future if I decide this one is too boring. Switching a light fixture is simple, unlike ripping out tile, a sink, or a toilet. For now I think it is fine—not the highlight of the room, but it also does not compete with the design elements that are more important to me.</span></span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-q3HFECxfyh0/Trx2EW-5GDI/AAAAAAAAAsE/9p-MCbbyNqs/s1600/ceiling.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" nda="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-q3HFECxfyh0/Trx2EW-5GDI/AAAAAAAAAsE/9p-MCbbyNqs/s320/ceiling.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="color: #181818;"><span class="thumbnail-caption1"><span style="font-size: 7pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">The light fixture and ceiling design.</span></span><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"></span></span></span></div></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><strong><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;"></span></span></strong></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><strong><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">The hardware:</span></span></strong><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;"> I love the </span><a href="http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1v/R-100471386/h_d2/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053" mce_href="http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1v/R-100471386/h_d2/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">towel bar</span></a><span style="color: #181818;">, </span><a href="http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1v/R-100471388/h_d2/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053" mce_href="http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1v/R-100471388/h_d2/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">toilet paper holder</span></a><span style="color: #181818;">, and </span><a href="http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1v/R-100471390/h_d2/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053" mce_href="http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1v/R-100471390/h_d2/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">little glass shelf</span></a><span style="color: #181818;"> we bought at Home Depot. They are from the Innova Jameson line, and seriously look as nice as products from Restoration Hardware that cost 3X as much. Total Cost: $80.00.</span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #181818;"><strong><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;">The ceiling fan:</span></strong><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"> I qualify this as more of a mechanical element than a décor feature. There is a plastic cover on the ceiling that hides the fan, so it is visual in some way. A fan is required for every bathroom per building code. We chose this charcoal ductless fan—the used-Hyundai of fans (Nutone 682NT). It is fine, necessary, whatever. Dean bought it on Amazon.com for $32.57 because I am not that interested in it.</span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><strong><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">The Trim:</span></span></strong><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;"> Dean bought the </span><a href="http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1v/R-100648152/h_d2/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053" mce_href="http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1v/R-100648152/h_d2/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">trim and crown molding</span></a><span style="color: #181818;"> at Home Depot. It is a good size for the room and covers the craggy corners. Cost: $60.</span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #181818;"><strong><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;">The staging:</span></strong><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"> I put a candle in a cool saucer that was my Grandmother’s. Cost: Free.</span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">Dean picked up some rocks on Baker Beach and stacked them himself to create a rock sculpture. Again, bringing nature into the bath is soothing and exudes a spa feeling. Cost: Free.</span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">I stacked some toilet paper on the shelf. Cost: Not pertinent because it is functional.</span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">I hung a watercolor that I painted of Dean on a hiking trip to Tamarac Lake in the Desolation Wilderness. Cost: Free because I already had the frame.</span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="thumbnail-caption1"><span style="font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Verdana;"></span></span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">And there you have it! All of our bathroom fixtures and finishes. Total cost: $1,656.89. It is astonishing how many design choices you have to make for a room that is 15 square feet. </span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wmqU-igBgmA/Trx2EXPfkZI/AAAAAAAAAr4/7QZWBLmtke4/s1600/alcove.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" nda="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wmqU-igBgmA/Trx2EXPfkZI/AAAAAAAAAr4/7QZWBLmtke4/s320/alcove.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="thumbnail-caption1"><span style="font-size: 7pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="color: #181818;">Architectural detail in the spot where the former </span></span></span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="thumbnail-caption1"><span style="font-size: 7pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="color: #181818;">door was placed.</span></span></span></span></div></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-31KMU_pSONE/Trx2FRqTv3I/AAAAAAAAAsw/8roL1yLLXd4/s1600/sink+%2526+mirror.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" nda="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-31KMU_pSONE/Trx2FRqTv3I/AAAAAAAAAsw/8roL1yLLXd4/s320/sink+%2526+mirror.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="color: #181818;"><span class="thumbnail-caption1"><span style="font-size: 7pt;">The 1/2 bath!</span></span></span></span></div></td></tr>
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<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">We love our new bathroom and it has already brought more harmony to our home. Dean and I no longer get in arguments when one person spends way too much time in the bathroom. And now we can renovate our main bathroom in August without running to </span><a href="http://www.yelp.com/biz/popeyes-chicken-and-biscuits-san-francisco-2" mce_href="http://www.yelp.com/biz/popeyes-chicken-and-biscuits-san-francisco-2" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Popeye’s</span></a><span style="color: #181818;"> every time we need the loo!</span></span><span style="color: #181818;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"> <span class="thumbnail-caption1"><span style="mso-ansi-font-size: 7.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 7.0pt;"> </span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ztu_n8H4Q_U/Trx2EaEhU1I/AAAAAAAAAr0/w-QkGNyrhBA/s1600/candle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" nda="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ztu_n8H4Q_U/Trx2EaEhU1I/AAAAAAAAAr0/w-QkGNyrhBA/s1600/candle.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div align="left"><span class="thumbnail-caption1"><span style="mso-ansi-font-size: 7.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 7.0pt;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Verdana; font-size: xx-small;">Staging and our cute new shelf ($39.99).</span></span></span></div></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZA7dwYQuP5k/Trx2F7afxlI/AAAAAAAAAtU/oVxwqg97tBY/s1600/towels.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" nda="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZA7dwYQuP5k/Trx2F7afxlI/AAAAAAAAAtU/oVxwqg97tBY/s320/towels.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div align="left"><span class="thumbnail-caption1"><span style="font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Verdana;">Clearance between sink and toilet: very important to San </span></span></span></div><div align="left"><span class="thumbnail-caption1"><span style="font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Verdana;">Francisco building department.</span></span></span></div></td></tr>
</tbody></table>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02857548705786175606noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4317705807750366493.post-10840048478578472062011-03-06T15:17:00.000-08:002011-11-11T12:46:05.278-08:00Picking Paint Colors for a Challenging Space<div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">I tested 12 different paint colors for our hallway over the past 4 months. Nothing seemed quite right.</span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">The hallway is long—about 70 feet from the front door to back bedroom. Every room in the apartment is off this hallway, so it has to be complementary to the other rooms. We didn’t want the hallway to be boring either. I took my time with the decision.</span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">Adding to the conundrum is the textured, floral wall covering that decks the halls from wainscot to baseboard. Grandma has arrived, and she is floral and textured and in my hall! Any paint with the slightest tint of rose or peach or cream channels a Poconos B&B when applied on this surface. </span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">Don’t get me wrong—I like the textured stuff. But it is a design element that needs to be properly handled.</span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">When we demo-ed the powder room door, this textured material appeared to be pressed cardboard. A recent </span><a href="http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/how-to/intro/0,,20456817,00.html" mce_href="http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/how-to/intro/0,,20456817,00.html" target="_blank" title="http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/how-to/intro/0,,20456817,00."><span style="color: blue;">This Old House article</span></a><span style="color: #181818;"> proved it to be Lincrusta, a mix of linseed oil, wood paste, and other natural products. Covered with ~10 layers of paint. In Victorian times they would also make this product out of tin or pressed leather.</span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CV1l66j_M8k/Trxv7gXMQqI/AAAAAAAAAq8/ZM7L9rZNpbU/s1600/hall.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" nda="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CV1l66j_M8k/Trxv7gXMQqI/AAAAAAAAAq8/ZM7L9rZNpbU/s1600/hall.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div align="left"><span class="thumbnail-caption1"><span style="font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Verdana;">White paint samples on the wall and textured flowers.</span></span></span></div></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="color: #181818;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;">First I tested a bunch of neutral whites (Benjamin Moore’s China White, Powder Sand, Linen White, and Ivory White). All were too drab in our narrow & dark hallway. It was astonishing how whites could be so different, though. Side by side you saw that some had startling yellow undertones, other whites were pink, others were grayish or bluish or brown.</span></span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UfLQI9-kBa8/Trxv61ToVPI/AAAAAAAAAqU/8XFvHTOaUX8/s1600/BM+whites.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" nda="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UfLQI9-kBa8/Trxv61ToVPI/AAAAAAAAAqU/8XFvHTOaUX8/s1600/BM+whites.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="color: #181818;"><span class="thumbnail-caption1"><span style="font-size: 7pt;">Benjamin Moore Colors: China White, Linen and Powder Sand respectively.</span></span><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"></span></span></span></div></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;"></span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">I went back to my favorite blog, </span><a href="http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/" mce_href="http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/" target="_blank" title="http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/"><span style="color: blue;">Apartment Therapy</span></a><span style="color: #181818;">. I read that if you have a small space and you paint it white, then you have a small white room. If you paint a small space a more unexpected color, however, then you have something different on your hands. I also watched an </span><a href="http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/sf/inspiration/tour-the-home-of-farrow-balls-joa-studholme-098474" mce_href="http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/sf/inspiration/tour-the-home-of-farrow-balls-joa-studholme-098474" target="_blank" title="http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/sf/inspiration/tour-the-home-of-farrow-balls-joa-studholme-098474"><span style="color: blue;">online tour of Farrow & Ball Color Consultant Joa Studholme’s home</span></a><span style="color: #181818;">. Inspiration!</span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">Next I tried some deep brownish-greens that the color consultant at G&R Paint recommended. They were nice, but the look was too camouflage for me. The flowers had a military moment.</span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-V24OvUpslVY/Trxv67j5GbI/AAAAAAAAAqY/_3e3LJKurIo/s1600/F%2526G+colors.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" nda="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-V24OvUpslVY/Trxv67j5GbI/AAAAAAAAAqY/_3e3LJKurIo/s1600/F%2526G+colors.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="thumbnail-caption1"><span style="font-size: 7pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="color: #181818;">Farrow & Ball Colors: Down Pipe, Lamp Room Gray, Green Smoke and Fawn respectively.</span></span></span></span></div></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="thumbnail-caption1"><span style="font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Verdana;"></span></span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">Finally I went to San Francisco’s only Farrow & Ball dealer, </span><a href="http://www.yelp.com/biz/fregosi-and-company-paint-san-francisco" mce_href="http://www.yelp.com/biz/fregosi-and-company-paint-san-francisco" target="_blank" title="http://www.yelp.com/biz/fregosi-and-company-paint-san-francisco"><span style="color: blue;">Fregosi Paint</span></a><span style="color: #181818;"> in SoMa. There we took home samples of four paints (Down Pipe, Green Smoke, Fawn, and Lamp Room Gray). The color consultant at Fregosi advised us on the choices and gave us some sound advice: In a room that is divided by a wainscot or trim, paint the upper field the darker color. It will make your artwork pop. Dark colors also visually recede, making the room feel bigger at eye-level. Farrow & Ball paint is not cheap ($85/gallon, and you need multiple coats) but it is clay-based and touted for its rich color and high-quality finish.</span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">We went home and tested the colors. Together, Dean and I picked the boldest combination: Down Pipe—a dark charcoal—and Lamp Room Gray— a light gray for the textured flowers on the bottom. The grays are really modern so Granny will not take up permanent residence in the hall. And they match the off-white trim we have been using throughout the house: C2 Paint’s <em><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif";">Halo</span></em>.</span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">Painting a room Down Pipe is a plunge—it is essentially one shade lighter than black. I went online and searched for Down Pipe, hoping to see some images of rooms painted that color. I came across </span><a href="http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/ny/colortherapy/colortherapy-j-m-w-turner-farrow-ball-at-the-met-063923" mce_href="http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/ny/colortherapy/colortherapy-j-m-w-turner-farrow-ball-at-the-met-063923" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">these images</span></a><span style="color: #181818;"> at the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s <em><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif";">J.M.</span></em> <em><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif";">Turner </span></em>exhibition. I was sold.</span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">The adventure did not end here, sadly. I went back to Fregosi and ordered 2 gallons of paint. Unfortunately, they did not have those Farrow & Ball colors in stock, and we had to wait 5 days to receive them. Drat. I started thinking about our upcoming weekends (A weekend in Tahoe, followed by two weekends in Mexico, followed by a weekend visit from Dean’s parents from Michigan, followed by another weekend in Tahoe).</span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">We have some major schedule issues, of our own creation. I needed that paint now, so I could use it that weekend—my last free weekend in over a month.</span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">This was a mistake. Listen here: Never rush renovations! Renovations always take 3x longer than you think.</span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">The paint guy at Fregosi offered to “match” the Farrow & Ball colors, using Benjamin Moore Aura paint ($65/gallon). I used Ben Moore Aura in the living room and really loved how easily it went on, and have enjoyed its finish and depth ever since. So I agreed to this solution.</span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FqlDldJcc1A/Trxv76BDHaI/AAAAAAAAArU/QQ_6-pXz-10/s1600/wainscot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" nda="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FqlDldJcc1A/Trxv76BDHaI/AAAAAAAAArU/QQ_6-pXz-10/s1600/wainscot.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="color: #181818;"><span class="thumbnail-caption1"><span style="font-size: 7pt;">The Gray on the left is the Farrow & Ball sample, and the field on the right is the "matched" paint that </span></span></span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="color: #181818;"><span class="thumbnail-caption1"><span style="font-size: 7pt;">I bought. The tan background is the hall's original color. </span></span></span></span></div></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="color: #181818;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;">Alas, I brought the paint home and realized that the paint did not look anything like the F&B sample that we tested and chose. Three shades darker and way muddier. Drat again! A weekend lost.</span></span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">I went over to Fregosi at lunchtime to return the paint and extend some constructive criticism on their color matching. Much to my surprise, the paint that they mixed for me matched the color card, which matched their sample pot. So why does the sample on my wall not match these other identical paints? Did I get the wrong sample pot? Was my sample pot defective? Are those flowers plotting against me? Who wants to deal with this anyway.</span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">I will wind up a long story now: My sample pot was Lamp Room Gray, but the differences between the textures of the two paints caused a huge color difference when on the wall. With the Farrow & Ball, the white primer shined through two coats of paint. So the effect was much lighter than the thick Benjamin Moore stuff. On their website, Farrow and Ball recommends a specific “undercoat” to this paint, which may have made it match the color card more precisely. </span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">Lesson learned: If I want the color to precisely match the sample pot, buy the same brand. “Matching” colors is a inexact science.</span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">The hallway looks good—we are happy with the end result.</span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsyIs3lfTlAiL7mvKzcZVbWDjQQzwPL9sXM5q5Y4hYDO_1vQhyphenhyphenbKQgqvTdv5P_QSdBffRAlp2byzGsbkjI-GV4Mrkh1jebO4Q9J0aIX3r69l3l9ikZQ8xa5D89p4nMkszIfyIsno3JXtA/s1600/hall+painted.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" nda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsyIs3lfTlAiL7mvKzcZVbWDjQQzwPL9sXM5q5Y4hYDO_1vQhyphenhyphenbKQgqvTdv5P_QSdBffRAlp2byzGsbkjI-GV4Mrkh1jebO4Q9J0aIX3r69l3l9ikZQ8xa5D89p4nMkszIfyIsno3JXtA/s1600/hall+painted.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="color: #181818;"><span class="thumbnail-caption1"><span style="font-size: 7pt;">Where the hallway bends toward the back of the apartment. One reason the dark gray works so well is </span></span></span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="color: #181818;"><span class="thumbnail-caption1"><span style="font-size: 7pt;">that the ceiling is still white and there is lots of white trim.</span></span><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"></span></span></span></div></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="thumbnail-caption1"><span style="font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Verdana;"></span></span></span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wFVdhEC0ut8/Trxv7hGYuqI/AAAAAAAAArI/0wnS09570rE/s1600/wainscot+painted.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" nda="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wFVdhEC0ut8/Trxv7hGYuqI/AAAAAAAAArI/0wnS09570rE/s1600/wainscot+painted.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="color: #181818;"><span class="thumbnail-caption1"><span style="font-size: 7pt;">The flowers are a little more modern in Lamp Room Gray.</span></span><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"></span></span></span></div></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8cAPfNoMGKk/Trxv7KblpsI/AAAAAAAAAqo/483v4uCqddA/s1600/hall+painted2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" nda="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8cAPfNoMGKk/Trxv7KblpsI/AAAAAAAAAqo/483v4uCqddA/s1600/hall+painted2.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="thumbnail-caption1"><span style="font-size: 7pt;"></span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="color: #181818;"><span class="thumbnail-caption1"><span style="font-size: 7pt;">The front hall.</span></span><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"></span></span></span></div></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="thumbnail-caption1"><span style="font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Verdana;"></span></span></span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Fv1b2dUBuSM/Trxv7E-Eh8I/AAAAAAAAAqk/hFIA6Li-0wU/s1600/door.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" nda="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Fv1b2dUBuSM/Trxv7E-Eh8I/AAAAAAAAAqk/hFIA6Li-0wU/s1600/door.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="color: #181818;"><span class="thumbnail-caption1"><span style="font-size: 7pt;">The view to the front hall from the living room.</span></span><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"></span></span></span></div></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="thumbnail-caption1"><span style="font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Verdana;"></span></span></span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5lSd1DcRtHs/Trxv7Xvj41I/AAAAAAAAAq4/jTXxMdSW_Qg/s1600/painting.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" nda="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5lSd1DcRtHs/Trxv7Xvj41I/AAAAAAAAAq4/jTXxMdSW_Qg/s1600/painting.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="color: #181818;"><span class="thumbnail-caption1"><span style="font-size: 7pt;">Dark colors make your artwork "pop."</span></span><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"></span></span></span></div></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;"></span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">-Andi</span></span></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02857548705786175606noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4317705807750366493.post-4927030437167091442011-02-02T09:06:00.000-08:002011-11-11T12:45:10.169-08:00Potential Paint Tips<div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">Andi and I have now painted about half of our apartment. We've used a spray gun, rollers, brushes, little detailed paintbrushes, fingers, etc. to paint different portions of the unit. As a result, we've learned a thing or two that may or may not help someone who is about to paint their own apartment and who may or may not be looking for tips. I am going to err on the side of too much information is a good thing and do my part to overload the information super-highway. Here are 10 painting tips that may or may not be useful. Or even applicable to painting.</span></span></div><div mce_style="text-align: justify;" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">Tip #1: Spray guns are finicky. Theoretically they paint a surface smoothly and quickly. Practically, they paint a surface. And not always smoothly and quickly. Most commonly, the paint is too thick and clogs the spray nozzle—especially primer. </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Primer_(paint)" mce_href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Primer_(paint)" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Primer</span></a><span style="color: #181818;"> usually contains filling and binding agents that make spraying through fine spray nozzles very difficult. I was told that you could “thin” paint and/or primer with water, but I also read water reduces the effectiveness of the paint and/or primer. What to do?!?! So I loaded the gun sans thinner and hoped for the best. That meant I stopped and cleaned the gun about every 50sf of wall area or so. Or about 5 minutes of solid spray time before the gun started spitting like a llama.</span></span></div><div mce_style="text-align: justify;" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">Tip #2: Spray guns cover a lot of stuff. Pipes, conduit, ducts, sheet metal, mouse traps, redwood siding, cloth and windows are no match for a spray gun. If the target surface is properly prepared, the spray gun will give you the best, and quickest, paint cover over odd obstructions. Painting nooks and crannies with a brush is labor intensive, and pretty much just sucks.</span></span></div><div mce_style="text-align: justify;" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LVZX4kdNnFQ/TrxqB-wd8XI/AAAAAAAAAp8/lHxNpruIEAc/s1600/pipes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" nda="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LVZX4kdNnFQ/TrxqB-wd8XI/AAAAAAAAAp8/lHxNpruIEAc/s1600/pipes.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="color: #181818;"><span class="thumbnail-caption1"><span style="font-size: 7pt;">The painted pipes, duct, sheet metal and redwood siding.</span></span><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"></span></span></span></div></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div mce_style="text-align: justify;" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;"></span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">Tip #3: Latex paint does NOT bind to oil-based paint very well. When we prepped the trim for new paint, the existing uppermost layer of latex paint pealed away in large swaths of failure and disappointment since it was applied directly to a layer of oil-based paint. To avoid this feeling of paint rejection you need to remove the top layer of latex paint with a scraper or your finger nails, sand the jagged edges or corners and areas where the latex was too stupidly stubborn to peel off, and prime. That is the only way you’ll get the final coat of latex paint to bind to the existing surface adequately. And look decent. Painting over areas where the original paint has peeled looks like you painted over areas where the original paint has peeled.</span></span></div><div mce_style="text-align: justify;" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">Tip #4: Oil-based paint works best on trim since it goes on in one coat and self-levels itself, removing any indication of brush strokes. We did not learn this from experience—I saw it on a 30-second infomercial on </span><a href="http://www.hgtv.com/" mce_href="http://www.hgtv.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">HGTV</span></a><span style="color: #181818;">. That tip would have really come in handy when we painted our trim.</span></span></div><div mce_style="text-align: justify;" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">Tip #5: When using a roller, first brush the paint out 6” from any trim, corners, and areas where the color changes. This allows you roll away with little repercussions, kind of like high-roller on a hot craps table. In addition, a brush stroke looks a lot different than a rolled stroke. I prefer the aesthetic of a rolled stroke so rolling after brushing blends the two techniques better.</span></span></div><div mce_style="text-align: justify;" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">Tip #6: When painting with a brush, apply the paint in long horizontal or vertical strokes. Follow these directions:</span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana; mso-fareast-font-family: Verdana;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="color: #181818; font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;">Apply copious amounts of paint to the brush but not too much that you’re dripping all over your hand, the floor, or anything else that you want to avoid getting paint on (maybe your Harry Potter book collection?).</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana; mso-fareast-font-family: Verdana;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="color: #181818; font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;">Apply the paint evenly in one direction (maybe a 3’ length).</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana; mso-fareast-font-family: Verdana;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="color: #181818; font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;">Flip the brush over and apply the paint <strong><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">over the same area</span></strong> in the opposite direction, starting just past where you ended your first stroke and extending just past the spot where your first stroke started.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana; mso-fareast-font-family: Verdana;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">4.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="color: #181818; font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;">Repeat steps 2 & 3 about 1-2 more times until you need more paint on the brush.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana; mso-fareast-font-family: Verdana;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">5.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="color: #181818; font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;">GOTO 1 (and move down, up or over on the wall).</span></div><div mce_style="text-align: justify;" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">Do not start a stroke in the middle of a wet area. Latex paint starts drying pretty quickly. You will just remove some of the paint from the area and will have to touch it up later.</span></span></div><div mce_style="text-align: justify;" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/R37pbIySnjg?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div mce_style="text-align: justify;" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">And don’t forget to breath, Daniel-san.</span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;">Tip #7: This may be obvious to most but was somewhat of a surprise to us: rolling uses a helluva lot more material than brushing.</div><div mce_style="text-align: justify;" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">Tip #8: Paintbrushes and roller covers have a shelf life. They are not immortal, like the great </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gary_Busey" mce_href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gary_Busey" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Gary Busey</span></a><span style="color: #181818;">, especially if cared for poorly. So take care of them! Wash thoroughly.</span></span></div><div mce_style="text-align: justify;" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">Tip #9: Everything always looks better after a second coat.</span></span></div><div mce_style="text-align: justify;" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">Tip #10: Blue painter’s tape does little to stop the paint from creeping under the tape. Touch up at edges is always necessary. If someone has a tip on how to seal the tape to an edge better, we’re all ears.</span></span></div><div mce_style="text-align: justify;" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">Dean</span></span></div></span></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02857548705786175606noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4317705807750366493.post-85057832123807620302011-01-25T19:23:00.000-08:002011-11-11T12:44:21.359-08:00Show You The Door<div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">The grossest area of our apartment was the laundry room. We took care of that. This brings me to the second grossest thing in our apartment: the front door. These are defining features:</span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IMm-dvu2ME0/TrxlAuETb7I/AAAAAAAAAog/aw8qUI-TpWs/s1600/door+old.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" nda="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IMm-dvu2ME0/TrxlAuETb7I/AAAAAAAAAog/aw8qUI-TpWs/s1600/door+old.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="color: #181818;"><span class="thumbnail-caption1"><span style="font-size: 7pt;">The front door with the dirty curtain. </span></span><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"></span></span></span></div></td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;"><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 7pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;">Dirty smudges everywhere that we cannot wipe off</span></div><div mce_style="text-align: justify;" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 7pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;">A jagged mail slot (cut with a hatchet?). Also dirty.</span></div><div mce_style="text-align: justify;" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 7pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;">A dingy curtain, dabbled with what appears to be soy sauce and also exhaust from the street</span></div><div mce_style="text-align: justify;" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 7pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;">Numerous broken locks hanging on it</span></div><div mce_style="text-align: justify;" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">Key descriptive terms are “dirty” and “unsettling.” In the threshold where we welcome guests and pass through after long days out in the world! It will not do.</span></span></div><div mce_style="text-align: justify;" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-SNyEwCAvshA/TrxlAvTRmjI/AAAAAAAAAos/DrxK7CtOKfc/s1600/door+slot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" nda="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-SNyEwCAvshA/TrxlAvTRmjI/AAAAAAAAAos/DrxK7CtOKfc/s200/door+slot.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="color: #181818;"><span class="thumbnail-caption1"><span style="font-size: 7pt;">The jagged mailslot and dirty door, </span></span></span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="color: #181818;"><span class="thumbnail-caption1"><span style="font-size: 7pt;">after </span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="color: #181818;"><span class="thumbnail-caption1"><span style="font-size: 7pt;">I </span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="color: #181818;"><span class="thumbnail-caption1"><span style="font-size: 7pt;">started </span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="color: #181818;"><span class="thumbnail-caption1"><span style="font-size: 7pt;">painting it in C2 </span></span></span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="color: #181818;"><span class="thumbnail-caption1"><span style="font-size: 7pt;">Paint's </span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="color: #181818;"><span class="thumbnail-caption1"><span style="font-size: 7pt;">Nightspot.</span></span><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"></span></span></span></div></td></tr>
</tbody></table> <div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">We took the door off the hinges (well, Dean did it. The door is about 9 feet tall and weighs a hundred pounds). I taped off the window, removed the hardware, and painted it in high gloss deep blue (</span><a href="http://www.c2color.com/color-tools/colorPalette.php" mce_href="http://www.c2color.com/color-tools/colorPalette.php" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">C2 Paint in Nightspot</span></a><span style="color: #181818;">). It is very elegant and unexpected.</span></span></div><div mce_style="text-align: justify;" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div mce_style="text-align: justify;" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">I went online to find a metal plate to frame the jagged mail slot. We did not want to cut a bigger slot, nor did we want our </span><a href="http://www.sunset.com/" mce_href="http://www.sunset.com/" target="_blank"><em><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif";"><span style="color: blue;">Sunset</span></span></em></a><span style="color: #181818;"> magazines and frequent flier statements to get caught on a plate that was too small. It was very difficult to find in 8.25” x 1.25”, and the few I found were $75+. I prefer to spend that amount of money on sushi and haircuts.</span></span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;"></span></span></div><div mce_style="text-align: justify;" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;"></span></span></div> <div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">So I went back to my fav spot: the salvage yard. There, in a giant box of mail slot plates, I found the right size for $1.50. It needed a coat of paint because the metal was not shiny, nor did it look like it ever would be again. But that was fine by me. I painted and installed it and it looks sleek.</span></span></div><div mce_style="text-align: justify;" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">The final step was curtains. Dean and I prefer window coverings to be inconspicuous, allowing the architecture to shine. However, all of our neighbors have white curtains on their front doors, and we wanted our door to be visually congruous from the outside.</span></span><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"></span> <div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="thumbnail-caption1"><span style="font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Verdana;"></span></span></span></div> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LDn6-pqtcEw/TrxlA0Sd__I/AAAAAAAAAow/JCozQHOVIgY/s1600/hall.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" nda="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LDn6-pqtcEw/TrxlA0Sd__I/AAAAAAAAAow/JCozQHOVIgY/s200/hall.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="thumbnail-caption1"><span style="font-size: 7pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="color: #181818;">A finished door with faux frosted </span></span></span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="thumbnail-caption1"><span style="font-size: 7pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="color: #181818;">glass.</span></span></span></span></div></td></tr>
</tbody></table> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8rSVr9GJwG8/TrxlAiSIXLI/AAAAAAAAAoc/-4ctQRHSXoY/s1600/door+slot+finished.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" nda="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8rSVr9GJwG8/TrxlAiSIXLI/AAAAAAAAAoc/-4ctQRHSXoY/s200/door+slot+finished.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="color: #181818;"><span class="thumbnail-caption1"><span style="font-size: 7pt;"></span></span></span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="color: #181818;"><span class="thumbnail-caption1"><span style="font-size: 7pt;"></span></span></span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="color: #181818;"><span class="thumbnail-caption1"><span style="font-size: 7pt;">After: Mail slot with painted frame.</span></span></span></span></div></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">We picked a product at Home Depot called </span><a href="http://www.lighteffects.com/index.php" mce_href="http://www.lighteffects.com/index.php" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Light Effects Textured Window Film</span></a><span style="color: #181818;">. It is a plastic film that gives the illusion of frosted glass, but you can remove it at any time because there are no adhesives used to affix it to the window. There are many similar products that are permanent, but we wanted a low level of commitment. Because, again, we were not sure how it would jive with the neighbors’ doors until tested.</span></span></div><div mce_style="text-align: justify;" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">We applied this product by cutting a piece to the exact size of the window with a straight edge and razor blade. Next we sprayed soapy water on the window. Then we put the custom-cut plastic film on, and smoothed out bubbles with the edge of a credit card (or a putty knife, if you want to be professional about it). It looks pretty good!</span></span></div><div mce_style="text-align: justify;" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div> <div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">Question: Do you think it is visually cohesive with our neighbors’ doors? There is some debate in the building, but everyone seems ok with it.</span></span></div> <div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1znCmFz6jxI/TrxlAeGPOQI/AAAAAAAAAoQ/f3nhErVnJkA/s1600/door+exterior.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" nda="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1znCmFz6jxI/TrxlAeGPOQI/AAAAAAAAAoQ/f3nhErVnJkA/s1600/door+exterior.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="color: #181818;"><span class="thumbnail-caption1"><span style="font-size: 7pt;">The door from the outside, on the left. What do you think of the frosted glass?</span></span><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"></span></span></span></div></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div mce_style="text-align: justify;" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;"></span></span></div> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-aKujY4g6lZ4/TrxlAVh6fHI/AAAAAAAAAoM/UM8yPnmARz0/s1600/door+hinge.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" nda="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-aKujY4g6lZ4/TrxlAVh6fHI/AAAAAAAAAoM/UM8yPnmARz0/s200/door+hinge.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="thumbnail-caption1"><span style="font-size: 7pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="color: #181818;">The unrenovated hinges :(</span></span></span></span></div></td></tr>
</tbody></table> <div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">The final step in the door renovation will be to do something about the hinges. They are painted over and, while still functional, need to be freshened up.</span></span><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"></span></div> <div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">Throughout the house I have removed hinges from built-in cabinets. I boil the hinges in water with baking soda. Layers and layers of old paint easily comes off in globs, much like the consistency of dead vampires on </span><a href="http://www.hbo.com/true-blood/index.html" mce_href="http://www.hbo.com/true-blood/index.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">True Blood</span></a><span style="color: #181818;">. Then it is a cinch to polish up the hinges with </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brasso" mce_href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brasso" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Brasso</span></a><span style="color: #181818;">, and re-attach them to the cabinet, fresh and shiny.</span></span></div><div mce_style="text-align: justify;" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="thumbnail-caption1"><span style="font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Verdana;"></span></span></span></div> <div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">Dean is a little concerned about removing the hinges from the front door. If we do not re-attach them with precision, the door will not open and close well. We noticed this problem on one of our china cabinet cupboards after I boiled and re-attached the hinges, but it is not a critical because we rarely open that cabinet.</span></span></div> <div mce_style="text-align: justify;" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">Has anyone ever re-hung a heavy door after removing the hinges? Any tips? Or should we just paint over the hinges and call it a day?</span></span></div><div mce_style="text-align: justify;" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">Andi</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div></span></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02857548705786175606noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4317705807750366493.post-23358540185739467242011-01-17T18:27:00.000-08:002011-11-11T12:43:26.379-08:00Powder Room Progress<div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">I have been ignoring my loyal readers of Project: Nest. I blame the holidays and writer's block (read: laziness). The new, and more frequent, blog posting begins today!</span></span></div><div mce_style="text-align: justify;" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">Soon after after Andi's last blog post, we found out that our plumbers were stuck at another job site and postponed the work on our project until after the holidays. I hoped to have fixtures installed before our guests arrived for our Christmas shindig (you know, to show off a little bit). Oh well. Since the plumbing was delayed, we had to delay our electrician as well. Electricians generally prefer to do their work after the plumbing is installed because plumbers are like bulldozers and plow stuff out of the way of their pipes if needed.</span></span></div><div mce_style="text-align: justify;" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">Yet there was still work to be done. I demo-ed the plaster on the wall where the sink will be hung because I need to install a backing plate for the sink. (A backing plate is a dimensioned lumber member that spans from stud-to-stud that I can bolt the sink to using lag bolts.) I certainly don't want someone ripping it off the wall in the midst of a drunken escapade during one of our wild parties. Because we have SO many of them. I also installed the door frame, enclosed the powder room in gyp board, and built the bathroom soffit with the help from Project: Nest friend Chris May--our first returning character!</span></span></div><div mce_style="text-align: justify;" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yEGuYF3AJKs/TrxirPwcAfI/AAAAAAAAAnA/yi5BG4yWMKE/s1600/door.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" nda="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yEGuYF3AJKs/TrxirPwcAfI/AAAAAAAAAnA/yi5BG4yWMKE/s1600/door.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="thumbnail-caption1"><span style="font-size: 7pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="color: #181818;">Chris's and my handiwork.</span></span></span></span></div></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="thumbnail-caption1"><span style="font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Verdana;"></span></span></span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-dB9wxj2Koh4/Trxiqv0wTVI/AAAAAAAAAmw/QFCHsdMud44/s1600/bump+out.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" nda="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-dB9wxj2Koh4/Trxiqv0wTVI/AAAAAAAAAmw/QFCHsdMud44/s1600/bump+out.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="color: #181818;"><span class="thumbnail-caption1"><span style="font-size: 7pt;">The powder room is ready for wandering Christmas eyes.</span></span><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"></span></span></span></div></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div mce_style="text-align: justify;" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;"></span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">Christmas came and went and we had a wonderful time hosting Andi's family. Our apartment proved very capable of handling families during the holiday season and will undoubtedly host many more Christmases and Thanksgivings. And maybe a New Year's Eve party or two. And a Sweetest Day card exchange.</span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">The hired plumbers showed up for work on January 3. After our walk-through of the project, and some exploratory drilling for pipe placement, we realized that we were not on the same page financially as the plumber. Apparently the plumber did not bid the job as we asked him to and we did not understand his quote well enough to pick up on the discrepancy. A miscommunication, really. But we had to part ways with him because his revised quote became significantly greater than the other quotes.</span></span></div><div mce_style="text-align: justify;" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">So we hired a different plumber: </span><a href="http://www.yelp.com/biz/nigel-mulgrew-plumbing-pacifica" mce_href="http://www.yelp.com/biz/nigel-mulgrew-plumbing-pacifica" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Nigel Mulgrew Plumbing</span></a><span style="color: #181818;">. Nigel, the charasmatic Irish-born faceman of the company, and Mervyn, the smiley, efficient, Guatemalan plumber, began the work January 12 and are a fantastic team. They (meaning Mervyn and his helper Julio) have done excellent work so far. Mervyn has installed the waste and vent pipes in our unit. Additionally, our upstairs neighbors decided to expedite their own powder room, and Nigel was happy to increase the scope of the project, so Mervyn has installed their waste and vent as well.</span></span></div><div mce_style="text-align: justify;" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-iX17xmCoP-0/TrxisKGfezI/AAAAAAAAAnY/5qs8xznNK4Q/s1600/waste+pipes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" nda="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-iX17xmCoP-0/TrxisKGfezI/AAAAAAAAAnY/5qs8xznNK4Q/s1600/waste+pipes.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="thumbnail-caption1"><span style="font-size: 7pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="color: #181818;">The waste and vent pipes in our garage.</span></span></span></span></div></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="thumbnail-caption1"><span style="font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Verdana;"></span></span></span></div> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OFR4h2u2BrA/TrxisNFem1I/AAAAAAAAAnc/0GbNzyLFv1g/s1600/waste+%2526+vent.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" nda="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OFR4h2u2BrA/TrxisNFem1I/AAAAAAAAAnc/0GbNzyLFv1g/s1600/waste+%2526+vent.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="color: #181818;"><span class="thumbnail-caption1"><span style="font-size: 7pt;">Our neighbors' waste line and our vent line in our utility room. Our vent continues up into our </span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="color: #181818;"><span class="thumbnail-caption1"><span style="font-size: 7pt;">neighbors' </span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="color: #181818;"><span class="thumbnail-caption1"><span style="font-size: 7pt;">unit and connects with an existing vent line in their utility room. Their waste continues down into the garage and connects with the existing sanitary sewer.</span></span><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"></span></span></span></div></td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-eyYGIcKnf94/Trxirl4TtEI/AAAAAAAAAns/CPuVseiEMQA/s1600/vent.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" nda="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-eyYGIcKnf94/Trxirl4TtEI/AAAAAAAAAns/CPuVseiEMQA/s1600/vent.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div mce_style="text-align: justify;" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="color: #181818;"><span class="thumbnail-caption1"><span style="font-size: 7pt;">The waste and vent pipes in the powder room. The rag is stuffed in the waste pipe for the sink.</span></span><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"></span></span></span></div></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div mce_style="text-align: justify;" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;"></span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">While Mervyn hung the pipes, I finished hanging the gypsum board in the exterior of the new wall, taped, mudded, and sanded the wall. Not an easy thing to do well, but Andi and I think we did ok (she helped me sand). I installed metal corner strips to protect the delicate gyp board corners and taped and mudded them in place as well.</span></span></div><div mce_style="text-align: justify;" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_ahKiNdUXXQ/Trxiro9Ml3I/AAAAAAAAAnQ/HXV7EkZaSTs/s1600/drywall+finishing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" nda="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_ahKiNdUXXQ/Trxiro9Ml3I/AAAAAAAAAnQ/HXV7EkZaSTs/s1600/drywall+finishing.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="color: #181818;"><span class="thumbnail-caption1"><span style="font-size: 7pt;">Feast your eyes on our gyp board finishing skillz!</span></span><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"></span></span></span></div></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div mce_style="text-align: justify;" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;"></span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">I also hung the new door. Earlier, Andi and I visited </span><a href="http://www.buildingresources.org/index.html" mce_href="http://www.buildingresources.org/index.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Building REsources</span></a><span style="color: #181818;"> (where we also donated our old door and frame) and found some brass screws, hinges and a door strike for the new door. I used a wood chisel to mortise the hinges into the door frame--almost perfectly (I was a little bit off on the bottom hinge so the mortise is a little large). Finally, Andi and I patched the plaster around the new door by installing gyp board inside the gaps between the demo-ed plaster and new door frame and mudded and taped the areas that might not get covered by the new door trim. We made a visit to </span><a href="http://www.sfvictoriana.com/" mce_href="http://www.sfvictoriana.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">SF Victoriana</span></a><span style="color: #181818;">, a shop that specializes in Victorian trim and ornamentation, to buy trim for the door, but they don't have our trim in stock. We will have to have it custom made.</span></span></div><div mce_style="text-align: justify;" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">Does anyone know of a good carpenter that could make our trim?</span></span></div><div mce_style="text-align: justify;" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LUWZ98TDBEc/TrxirHdDUHI/AAAAAAAAAm8/lllrexxy4Z4/s1600/door+hung.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" nda="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LUWZ98TDBEc/TrxirHdDUHI/AAAAAAAAAm8/lllrexxy4Z4/s1600/door+hung.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="color: #181818;"><span class="thumbnail-caption1"><span style="font-size: 7pt;">The rescued $75 door in all of its glory.</span></span><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"></span></span></span></div></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div mce_style="text-align: justify;" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="thumbnail-caption1"><span style="font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Verdana;"></span></span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="thumbnail-caption1"><span style="font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Verdana;">The mortised hinge.</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">Finally, I got the architectural permit! It was freakin' expensive. $382.14 for me to sit in their office for 2.5 hours and have 4 different people look at the plans for a grand total of 15 minutes. This is why the </span><a href="http://www.yelp.com/biz/department-of-building-inspection-san-francisco" mce_href="http://www.yelp.com/biz/department-of-building-inspection-san-francisco" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">San Francisco Department of Building Inspections gets bad *yelp ratings</span></a><span style="color: #181818;">.</span></span></div><div mce_style="text-align: justify;" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OK8KLm-tANk/Trxirq1oPMI/AAAAAAAAAnM/ZAKUjONlY_8/s1600/approved+plans.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" nda="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OK8KLm-tANk/Trxirq1oPMI/AAAAAAAAAnM/ZAKUjONlY_8/s400/approved+plans.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="color: #181818;"><span class="thumbnail-caption1"><span style="font-size: 7pt;">Check out our wonderfully expensive building permit drawings. Now we only have to pay $250/inspection.</span></span><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"></span></span></span></div></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div mce_style="text-align: justify;" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;"></span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">Oh yeah, we bought the </span><a href="http://www.us.kohler.com/onlinecatalog/detail.jsp?prod_num=3323" mce_href="http://www.us.kohler.com/onlinecatalog/detail.jsp?prod_num=3323" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">toilet</span></a><span style="color: #181818;"> too.</span></span></div><div mce_style="text-align: justify;" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">Dean</span></span></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02857548705786175606noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4317705807750366493.post-71081252314101643332010-12-12T17:35:00.000-08:002011-11-11T12:42:53.318-08:00A Table for Big Parties<div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">Dean and I are hosting my family for Xmas this year. It is not a big whoop: just seven people. Other than our apartment being under construction, the only catch is that our table only seats four people.</span></span><span class="thumbnail-caption1"><span style="font-size: 7pt;"></span></span></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6174zTCKcv8/TrxfDKV4pmI/AAAAAAAAAmM/MhZxsO0E59k/s1600/X-Pand.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" nda="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6174zTCKcv8/TrxfDKV4pmI/AAAAAAAAAmM/MhZxsO0E59k/s200/X-Pand.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="color: #181818;"><span class="thumbnail-caption1"><span style="font-size: 7pt;">The X-Pand: our dream table</span></span><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"></span></span></span></div></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div mce_style="text-align: justify;" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;"></span></span></div> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ZYucE58vUSs/TrxfCEj6jGI/AAAAAAAAAlg/t0NDCyRrCEU/s1600/Portica.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="111" nda="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ZYucE58vUSs/TrxfCEj6jGI/AAAAAAAAAlg/t0NDCyRrCEU/s200/Portica.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="thumbnail-caption1"><span style="font-size: 7pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="color: #181818;">The Portica Table from Room and Board</span></span></span></span></div></td></tr>
</tbody></table> <div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">We looked around for a bigger table and only found a couple that we really liked. The X-Pand table from </span><a href="http://www.propellermodern.com/" mce_href="http://www.propellermodern.com/"><span style="color: blue;">Propeller Modern</span></a><span style="color: #181818;"> was what we really wanted. It does not have a leaf, but a built in accordion-like function that allows you to pull the table out to be 18” longer. Super cool. Also $3,500. We debated splurging on it, but decided that we have been splurging on quite a few things lately and have to draw the line somewhere.</span></span></div><div mce_style="text-align: justify;" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="thumbnail-caption1"><span style="font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Verdana;"></span></span></span></div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="thumbnail-caption1"><span style="font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Verdana;"></span></span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">Another one that we really liked was the </span><a href="http://www.roomandboard.com/rnb/product/detail.do?productGroup=19632" mce_href="http://www.roomandboard.com/rnb/product/detail.do?productGroup=19632"><span style="color: blue;">Portica table</span></a><span style="color: #181818;"> from Room and Board, with a white stone top. This one was $2,400 in the size and finish we wanted. We liked the idea of a stone top because, like many city dwellers, we have one table where every meal goes down. That table has to be durable and look nice despite heavy use.</span></span></div><div mce_style="text-align: justify;" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">In the end we could not decide on an expensive table under time pressure. So I turned to craigslist. It is my numero uno favorite hobby to troll craigslist for furniture, so I was fine with this solution.</span></span></div><div mce_style="text-align: justify;" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WXeohqy9hN8/TrxfCQaCeiI/AAAAAAAAAlw/aHB2AR1Nq_U/s1600/table1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" nda="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WXeohqy9hN8/TrxfCQaCeiI/AAAAAAAAAlw/aHB2AR1Nq_U/s1600/table1.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="thumbnail-caption1"><span style="font-size: 7pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="color: #181818;">The spindled legs that sold me on the antique table. We plan on buying white, modern chairs for the </span></span></span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="thumbnail-caption1"><span style="font-size: 7pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="color: #181818;">table, and set rid of the current mismash of chairs.</span></span></span></span></div></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="thumbnail-caption1"><span style="font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Verdana;"></span></span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">The table I choose was $200, an antique from someone’s great aunt’s house in Staten Island. I really loved the spindle legs, which is what propelled me to reserve a </span><a href="http://www.citycarshare.org/" mce_href="http://www.citycarshare.org/"><span style="color: blue;">City Car Share</span></a><span style="color: #181818;"> truck on a Tuesday night and drive 35 miles to Los Gatos, after work, to pick up this very heavy behemoth. Dean was not super charmed by this situation or the table, but he was a sport and acknowledged its attractive economic qualities.</span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2ApXEEIGheA/TrxfCCg4S3I/AAAAAAAAAlk/smb2hWBHX6M/s1600/mismatched+leaf.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="134" nda="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2ApXEEIGheA/TrxfCCg4S3I/AAAAAAAAAlk/smb2hWBHX6M/s200/mismatched+leaf.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="thumbnail-caption1"><span style="font-size: 7pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="color: #181818;">We forgot to take a "before" picture, but the </span></span></span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="thumbnail-caption1"><span style="font-size: 7pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="color: #181818;">mismatched leaf was as garrish as this one.</span></span></span></span></div></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="thumbnail-caption1"><span style="font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Verdana;"></span></span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">The table’s big flaw was that the leaf was obviously not original to the table. The leaf was a different color wood, and the grain ran in a different direction than the wood on the table. Which makes no sense to me: if you are going to have a custom leaf made, shouldn’t it match the existing table? Or maybe the granny who owned the table always used tablecloths, as grannies do. Who knows.</span></span></div><div mce_style="text-align: justify;" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">Our solution was to paint the table top a dark brown, to complement our dining room walls, and then put 3 coats of polyurethane lacquer on the top. </span></span></div><div mce_style="text-align: justify;" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">It was pretty simple, as long as you remember to let it dry for 6 hours between coats. The “self-leveling” polyurethane did not dry to be glassine smooth, like a still lake, but they are good enough for me (except one paintbrush bristle is fossilized in the lacquer on the north end of the table. I choose to sit on the south end because it is bothering me). </span></span></div><div mce_style="text-align: justify;" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="thumbnail-caption1"><span style="font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Verdana;"></span></span></span></div> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ZhG-Mjg42Yk/TrxfCkp-UXI/AAAAAAAAAl4/0QCzKAb-Nok/s1600/table2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" nda="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ZhG-Mjg42Yk/TrxfCkp-UXI/AAAAAAAAAl4/0QCzKAb-Nok/s1600/table2.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="thumbnail-caption1"><span style="font-size: 7pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="color: #181818;">The table and reflecting tree!</span></span></span></span></div></td></tr>
</tbody></table> <div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">The best part is the shiny surface reflects the architecture of the apartment beautifully. Depending on where I sit I see the built-in china cabinet, the lights from our Christmas tree, or the amazing front windows reflected on my table.</span></span></div><div mce_style="text-align: justify;" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NNbOm9tY4TU/TrxfCsYlXKI/AAAAAAAAAl8/J57o2ps3loE/s1600/table3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" nda="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NNbOm9tY4TU/TrxfCsYlXKI/AAAAAAAAAl8/J57o2ps3loE/s1600/table3.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="thumbnail-caption1"><span style="font-size: 7pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="color: #181818;">The reflecting table with our new window coverings from Ikea. Another recent accomplishment: we took </span></span></span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="thumbnail-caption1"><span style="font-size: 7pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="color: #181818;">down all of the metal mini blinds throughout the house and replaced them with better window treatments.</span></span></span></span></div></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-uYmCxDiITQk/TrxfC44Ih8I/AAAAAAAAAmI/e7udrGwiwhg/s1600/table4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" nda="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-uYmCxDiITQk/TrxfC44Ih8I/AAAAAAAAAmI/e7udrGwiwhg/s1600/table4.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="thumbnail-caption1"><span style="font-size: 7pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="color: #181818;">David's bum, and our table.</span></span></span></span></div></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="thumbnail-caption1"><span style="font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Verdana;"></span></span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">This week Dean and I also hired a cleaning lady for the first time in our lives. The construction dust has gotten the best of us. Ernestina, our amazing new cleaning professional, walked into our house, pointed to the shiny table, and said “me gusta!” Excellent first review!</span></span></div><div mce_style="text-align: justify;" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">-Andi</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02857548705786175606noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4317705807750366493.post-13316282110041917622010-11-30T22:05:00.000-08:002011-11-11T12:41:07.361-08:00The Powder Room in Under 1,100 Words, Not Including Footnotes<div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">Well, it’s been a long time. Not because we haven’t been involved in any home improvements</span><a href="http://projectnest.squarespace.com/display/admin/CreateOrModifyJournalEntry?moduleId=7349853&entryId=9608751&SSScrollPosition=91#_ftn1" mce_href="#_ftn1"><span style="color: blue;">[1]</span></a><span style="color: #181818;">, but mostly because I’ve been busy (Andi’s Note: lazy) and haven’t had (AN: taken) the time to write a new blog (AN: it’s his turn). Andi and I are on vacay in Michigan for the Thanksgiving holiday and, at the moment, we’re sitting on Rocco’s couch in The D watching <em><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif";">Eat, Pray, Love</span></em> so I figure I have about 140 minutes to write a blog entry</span><a href="http://projectnest.squarespace.com/display/admin/CreateOrModifyJournalEntry?moduleId=7349853&entryId=9608751&SSScrollPosition=91#_ftn2" mce_href="#_ftn2"><span style="color: blue;">[2]</span></a><span style="color: #181818;">.</span></span></div><div mce_style="text-align: justify;" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">Where to start… about six weeks ago we began the powder room renovation. And when I say “began” I mean I called a couple of plumbers and scheduled some times for a free estimate. That snowballed into demo of some of the interior walls of the existing closet that is being changed into the powder room</span><a href="http://projectnest.squarespace.com/display/admin/CreateOrModifyJournalEntry?moduleId=7349853&entryId=9608751&SSScrollPosition=91#_ftn3" mce_href="#_ftn3"><span style="color: blue;">[3]</span></a><span style="color: #181818;">, demo of the existing disgusting vinyl floor, removal of the existing door and frame for reuse in a different location (we’re moving the door—see the new plans), new framing for a new ceiling</span><a href="http://projectnest.squarespace.com/display/admin/CreateOrModifyJournalEntry?moduleId=7349853&entryId=9608751&SSScrollPosition=91#_ftn4" mce_href="#_ftn4"><span style="color: blue;">[4]</span></a><span style="color: #181818;">, and the beginnings of some new wall framing to extend the room about 8” so that we achieve the full 24” of clearance required by the city from the front edge of the toilet to any obstruction directly in front of the toilet (read: sink).</span><a href="http://projectnest.squarespace.com/display/admin/CreateOrModifyJournalEntry?moduleId=7349853&entryId=9608751&SSScrollPosition=91#_ftn5" mce_href="#_ftn5"><span style="color: blue;">[5]</span></a></span></div><div mce_style="text-align: justify;" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5oUmsYgfH1Q/Trxb6vBYTZI/AAAAAAAAAkg/zYXAY5LAETw/s1600/darth+dean.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" nda="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5oUmsYgfH1Q/Trxb6vBYTZI/AAAAAAAAAkg/zYXAY5LAETw/s1600/darth+dean.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="color: #181818;"><span class="thumbnail-caption1"><span style="font-size: 7pt;">Is this door demo or has there been a nuclear fall-out?</span></span><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"></span></span></span></div></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div mce_style="text-align: justify;" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="thumbnail-caption1"><span style="font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Verdana;"></span></span></span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vol6fZ79yl0/Trxb6hl7EKI/AAAAAAAAAkk/7N1ibDw-KDs/s1600/dean+screwing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" nda="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vol6fZ79yl0/Trxb6hl7EKI/AAAAAAAAAkk/7N1ibDw-KDs/s1600/dean+screwing.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="color: #181818;"><span class="thumbnail-caption1"><span style="font-size: 7pt;">Framing the wall that extends the bathroom 8".</span></span><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"></span></span></span></div></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div mce_style="text-align: justify;" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;"></span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">Then we got a knock on our door. It was our neighbors. From upstairs. They heard the pounding and the cutting and the demolition and read the note that we left for all of the tenants in the building outlining our renovation. They wanted in. They are updating their apartment as well and will eventually add a powder room to their unit. They wanted to split the cost of the rough plumbing and extend it to their apartment so that it’s A) cheaper as a package deal and B) less of a disturbance to us at a later date. We agreed.</span></span></div><div mce_style="text-align: justify;" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div mce_style="text-align: justify;" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">So we started the bid process over again. I quickly (AN: not so quickly) revised our floor plan, drew one up for our neighbor’s apartment, and sent the two new plans back to the plumbers for review and update their quote if needed</span><a href="http://projectnest.squarespace.com/display/admin/CreateOrModifyJournalEntry?moduleId=7349853&entryId=9608751&SSScrollPosition=91#_ftn6" mce_href="#_ftn6"><span style="color: blue;">[6]</span></a><span style="color: #181818;">. Then I headed to the </span><a href="http://www.yelp.com/biz/department-of-building-inspection-san-francisco#query:san%20francisco%20building%20inspections" mce_href="http://www.yelp.com/biz/department-of-building-inspection-san-francisco#query:san%20francisco%20building%20inspections" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">San Francisco Department of Building Inspections</span></a><span style="color: #181818;"> to get a permit for our plumbing and electrical work where I was told 1) that the licensed plumbing and electrical contractor must pull the permit for the work if I am not a licensed contractor myself, 2) that I need a architectural permit since I am changing the Use of the space from a Closet to a Bathroom, and 3) that I need a stamp and signature from a licensed Architect in the state of California on the drawings since I am moving the door from one wall to another and that wall <em><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif";">might </span></em>be a Structural Wall. That was the biggest kick in the jewels. I am an architect—by effort and trade, not officially by title since I need to pass 9 national registration exams (which I have) and 1 additional statewide exam (which I have not) to become a licensed Architect in the state of California. If I were in Michigan, I would be a delinquent paying member of the </span><a href="http://www.aia.org/" mce_href="http://www.aia.org/" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">AIA</span></a><span style="color: #181818;">. So I can’t even stamp and sign my own drawings. Ugh.</span></span></div><div mce_style="text-align: justify;" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">Luckily for me, I know a lot of Architects with a capital ‘A’. I spammed them all with the following email:</span></span></div><div mce_style="padding-left: 30px; text-align: justify;" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;"><em>“Help! I’m officially not an Architect in the state of California and I can’t stamp and sign my own drawings, as required by the city of San Francisco, for a powder room renovation in my own apartment. Which one of you is willing to risk their professional reputation and registration for my silly little renovation?”</em></span></span></div><div mce_style="text-align: justify;" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">Two people responded. One favorably; one asking, “why in the hell are you not licensed ~?!~” (Don’t ask about the punctuation.) My boss asks me the same question at work every day. I tell him the world has enough Architects.</span></span></div><div mce_style="text-align: justify;" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">In all seriousness, thanks to my friend Paul for stepping up and offering to help us out with the permit. He graciously stopped by the apartment, reviewed the plans, observed the construction site, listened to my non-sensical babbling about door framing, and agreed to stamp and sign the drawings for permit with minimal fee.</span></span></div><div mce_style="text-align: justify;" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">With Paul’s blessing I felt comfortable continuing with the renovation. Andi and I selected a plumber, </span><a href="http://www.yelp.com/biz/professor-plumb-san-francisco" mce_href="http://www.yelp.com/biz/professor-plumb-san-francisco" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Professor Plumb</span></a><span style="color: #181818;">, and scheduled them for their first available slot. Unfortunately that slot is not for two weeks. (It’s amazing that the world does not revolve around my powder room.) In the meantime there is much work to be done before the plumbers arrive: get an architectural permit, rough frame the new door, finish the framing of the alcove ceiling, and frame a new soffit for the toilet alcove. My friend and old roommate Steve offered his muscle for a day and we pounded out items 2 and 3 in the previous sentence while battling power shortages (we had to juggle rechargeable batteries all day because neither of my batteries were fully charged even though they were in the recharging dock for the last 10 days), broken tools (Steve sheered one side of my #2 Phillips head screw driver bit off completely while screwing our boxed header together and we wore down the teeth of the reciprocating saw so badly that we basically burned the studs in half until we trudged down to our Local Hardware Store and bought new blades), and general scratch-our-head-because-we-were-not-really-sure-what-to-do-next-itus (a tough thing to overcome, kind of like writer’s block or </span><a href="http://familydoctor.org/online/famdocen/home/men/reproductive/109.html" mce_href="http://familydoctor.org/online/famdocen/home/men/reproductive/109.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">ED</span></a><span style="color: #181818;">—we used </span><a href="http://www.yelp.com/biz/pizza-orgasmica-and-brewing-company-san-francisco" mce_href="http://www.yelp.com/biz/pizza-orgasmica-and-brewing-company-san-francisco" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">pizza</span></a><span style="color: #181818;"> and alcohol). But the rough opening for the door is framed</span><a href="http://projectnest.squarespace.com/display/admin/CreateOrModifyJournalEntry?moduleId=7349853&entryId=9608751&SSScrollPosition=91#_ftn7" mce_href="#_ftn7"><span style="color: blue;">[7]</span></a><span style="color: #181818;">. And the alcove ceiling too. And a question was raised for our plumbing contractor: do I need to demo the plaster on the entire wall with the wall-hung sink in order to install the plumbing waste and vent pipes or can they install the pipes with minimal demo?</span></span></div><div mce_style="text-align: justify;" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-W44FjLrp_Ls/Trxb63CGSSI/AAAAAAAAAk0/CcwGP5_bkII/s1600/door+header.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" nda="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-W44FjLrp_Ls/Trxb63CGSSI/AAAAAAAAAk0/CcwGP5_bkII/s1600/door+header.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="color: #181818;"><span class="thumbnail-caption1"><span style="font-size: 7pt;">The magnificent door header.</span></span><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"></span></span></span></div></td></tr>
</tbody></table> <div mce_style="text-align: justify;" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="thumbnail-caption1"><span style="font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Verdana;"></span></span></span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cphM8bivEUQ/Trxb63uJd5I/AAAAAAAAAkw/_Y4K2gL5Vew/s1600/dean+%2526+steve.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" nda="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cphM8bivEUQ/Trxb63uJd5I/AAAAAAAAAkw/_Y4K2gL5Vew/s1600/dean+%2526+steve.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="color: #181818;"><span class="thumbnail-caption1"><span style="font-size: 7pt;">Steve and me and our semi-handy work.</span></span><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"></span></span></span></div></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div mce_style="text-align: justify;" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;"></span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">So that’s where we are. Our schedule remains somewhat in tact. The next step is to call the plumber and ask him about the plaster demo. If he requires additional space to install his rough plumbing, I will demo the existing plaster in the wall with the wall-hung sink. Then frame the soffit in the toilet alcove. Then hang the door and frame (after I purchase new/used hinges and re-rout the door and frame for the hinges). Then drywall. Then paint, floor finishes, plumbing and electrical finishes, and finally trim.</span></span></div><div mce_style="text-align: justify;" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">Dean</span></span></div><div mce_style="text-align: justify;" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt; line-height: 115%;"><hr size="1" width="100%" /></span></div><div mce_style="text-align: justify;" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><a href="http://projectnest.squarespace.com/display/admin/CreateOrModifyJournalEntry?moduleId=7349853&entryId=9608751&SSScrollPosition=91#_ftnref" mce_href="#_ftnref"><span style="color: blue;">[1]</span></a><span style="color: #181818;"> We’ve purchased and installed translucent </span><a href="http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/20093574" mce_href="http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/20093574" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">blinds</span></a><span style="color: #181818;"> for the windows around the lightwell; we’ve purchased floor tiles for the powder room; we’ve purchased and received the </span><a href="http://www.villeroy-boch.com/en/us/professionals/bathroom-and-wellness/products/suche.html?vb_product2%5Bcolkey%5D=62.1.66689.1&vb_product2%5Baction%5D=detail&vb_product2%5Bsubcollectionkey%5D=62.1.70926.1&vb_product2%5Bsubproductgroupkey%5D=53.1.42952.1" mce_href="http://www.villeroy-boch.com/en/us/professionals/bathroom-and-wellness/products/suche.html?vb_product2%5Bcolkey%5D=62.1.66689.1&vb_product2%5Baction%5D=detail&vb_product2%5Bsubcollectionkey%5D=62.1.70926.1&vb_product2%5Bsubproductgroupkey%5D=53.1.42952.1" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">sink</span></a><span style="color: #181818;">, light fixture, and </span><a href="http://www.nutone.com/product-detail.asp?ProductID=10161" mce_href="http://www.nutone.com/product-detail.asp?ProductID=10161" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">ductless exhaust fan</span></a><span style="color: #181818;"> for the powder room; we’ve tendered bids for the electrical work for the powder room, office, and living room as well as a bid for the custom shelving and desk in the office; we’ve purchased, received, and partially installed blinds for the bedrooms and kitchen; we’ve purchased and received the </span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000WL6YY8/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_3?pf_rd_p=486539851&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B0012S4APK&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=0RTKEH3WXX9C80PDT71A" mce_href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000WL6YY8/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_3?pf_rd_p=486539851&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B0012S4APK&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=0RTKEH3WXX9C80PDT71A" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">wall mount</span></a><span style="color: #181818;"> for our tv; we purchased </span><a href="http://www.potterybarn.com/products/chunky-wool-jute-rug/?pkey=csolid-rugs" mce_href="http://www.potterybarn.com/products/chunky-wool-jute-rug/?pkey=csolid-rugs" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">rug</span></a><span style="color: #181818;">(</span><a href="http://www.potterybarn.com/products/diamond-jute-rug/?pkey=csolid-rugs" mce_href="http://www.potterybarn.com/products/diamond-jute-rug/?pkey=csolid-rugs" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">s</span></a><span style="color: #181818;">) for our living room; and we’ve purchased, picked up, disassembled, moved in, reassembled, and partially painted our new/used dining room table.</span></span></div><div mce_style="text-align: justify;" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><a href="http://projectnest.squarespace.com/display/admin/CreateOrModifyJournalEntry?moduleId=7349853&entryId=9608751&SSScrollPosition=91#_ftnref"><span style="color: blue;">[2]</span></a><span style="color: #181818;"> I actually didn’t finish this blog during the movie. I got too wrapped up in Julia Robert’s quest for balance.</span></span></div><div mce_style="text-align: justify;" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><a href="http://projectnest.squarespace.com/display/admin/CreateOrModifyJournalEntry?moduleId=7349853&entryId=9608751&SSScrollPosition=91#_ftnref"><span style="color: blue;">[3]</span></a><span style="color: #181818;"> Interesting discovery while demo-ing the plaster walls—the wall between the closet and the hallway is actually two stud walls with three layers of plaster (finish on exterior side of outer wall, finish on exterior side of inner wall, and finish on interior side of inner wall—if that makes sense). The REALLY interesting find was that the exterior finish on the interior wall actually had a wainscot, which means that the inner wall was the original wall and the outer wall was added at a later date, most likely when the electricity was added to the unit. In addition, I found an old gas line capped and sticking out of the inner wall. I’m guessing this was for a gas lamp back in the olden days.</span></span></div><div mce_style="text-align: justify;" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_oaUpWkWVjM/Trxb7TSPpgI/AAAAAAAAAlI/LPEjFvXYYqY/s1600/old+wainscot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" nda="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_oaUpWkWVjM/Trxb7TSPpgI/AAAAAAAAAlI/LPEjFvXYYqY/s1600/old+wainscot.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="color: #181818;"><span class="thumbnail-caption1"><span style="font-size: 7pt;">A sample cut of the inner wall wainscot.</span></span><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"></span></span></span></div></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div mce_style="text-align: justify;" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;"></span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><a href="http://projectnest.squarespace.com/display/admin/CreateOrModifyJournalEntry?moduleId=7349853&entryId=9608751&SSScrollPosition=91#_ftnref"><span style="color: blue;">[4]</span></a><span style="color: #181818;"> This went poorly until I bought joist hangers from our </span><a href="http://www.yelp.com/biz/sf-hardware-san-francisco" mce_href="http://www.yelp.com/biz/sf-hardware-san-francisco" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Local Hardware Store</span></a><span style="color: #181818;">.</span></span></div><div mce_style="text-align: justify;" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wftaKAI7Pfg/Trxb675sgBI/AAAAAAAAAk4/tuNNcHuJ184/s1600/difficult+ceiling.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" nda="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wftaKAI7Pfg/Trxb675sgBI/AAAAAAAAAk4/tuNNcHuJ184/s1600/difficult+ceiling.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="color: #181818;"><span class="thumbnail-caption1"><span style="font-size: 7pt;">Framing the ceiling. I desperately needed joist hangers. You can still see the back of the exterior finish </span></span></span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="color: #181818;"><span class="thumbnail-caption1"><span style="font-size: 7pt;">of the inner wall on the right side of the pic.</span></span><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"></span></span></span></div></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div mce_style="text-align: justify;" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;"></span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><a href="http://projectnest.squarespace.com/display/admin/CreateOrModifyJournalEntry?moduleId=7349853&entryId=9608751&SSScrollPosition=91#_ftnref"><span style="color: blue;">[5]</span></a><span style="color: #181818;"> Both plumbers donated this little junket of info in their free estimate.</span></span></div><div mce_style="text-align: justify;" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><a href="http://projectnest.squarespace.com/display/admin/CreateOrModifyJournalEntry?moduleId=7349853&entryId=9608751&SSScrollPosition=91#_ftnref"><span style="color: blue;">[6]</span></a><span style="color: #181818;"> In the process of revising the plan for our powder room I realized that I could not reuse the existing door from the closet because of two reasons. First, I wanted to keep plaster damage to a minimum in the hallway since plaster repair is difficult and expensive to do correctly, especially when the plaster dates to the turn of the 20<sup>th</sup> century. Therefore I wanted to limit the amount of studs I removed from the outer layer of the powder room wall to one stud (that stud would be interior to the opening of the door frame). Since the existing studs are spaced at approximately 16” on-center, the spacing between the first and third studs is exactly 30 ½”. After adding 2x4 king studs inside the remaining existing studs for the door framing, the rough opening is 27 ½”. As a rule, the rough opening for a door is 2” greater than the width of the door. The existing door is a 28” door. For a 28” door I need a rough opening of 30”. Secondly, the existing door is 8’-2” tall. 8’-2”! That is a tall door (although 9” shorter than the </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Wadlow" mce_href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Wadlow" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">tallest man in the world</span></a><span style="color: #181818;">) and the tallest in our apartment. (For a closet? Really?) When I lowered the ceiling from 9’-6” to 8’-4” (one of the plumbers mentioned that high ceilings in small spaces accentual sound in the space—not desirable in a bathroom, if you know what I mean), I inadvertently made framing an 8’-2” door almost impossible without removing some of the ceiling framing already in place. In addition, and 8’-2” door in a room with an 8’-4” ceiling height would look weird. After much discussion, and convincing, we bought a new/used 24” wide, 6’-7” tall, 4-panel Victorian door from </span><a href="http://www.buildingresources.org/index.html" mce_href="http://www.buildingresources.org/index.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Building REsources</span></a><span style="color: #181818;"> for $75 for our powder room door. Rough opening dimension required: 26” x 6’-10”.</span></span></div><div mce_style="text-align: justify;" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><a href="http://projectnest.squarespace.com/display/admin/CreateOrModifyJournalEntry?moduleId=7349853&entryId=9608751&SSScrollPosition=91#_ftnref"><span style="color: blue;">[7]</span></a><span style="color: #181818;"> Our biggest challenge came from the removal of the existing wall sill and baseboard trim. The sill was nailed to the floor with humungous nails and the baseboard trim was difficult to cut through without damaging the floors. We had to pry the sill off the floor with a pry bar and we used the reciprocating saw to cut the baseboard to the floor. Carefully.</span></span></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02857548705786175606noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4317705807750366493.post-35299551128701902232010-10-22T09:24:00.000-07:002011-11-11T12:40:28.513-08:00Clustering Paintings<div style="margin-bottom: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">Visually, there is a lot going in our living room (zig-zag sofa, donut painting, cheerful yellow walls, “spider” chandelier). Consequently we decided to only hang pictures on one additional wall in the room (besides the donut painting wall).</span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">I clipped these images from Vogue eons ago—they are designer Kate Spade’s Park Avenue apartment. I love how Kate mixes artwork of different mediums and framing styles on one wall. It is such a great way to display your treasured pieces.</span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gbOBEbMX6fA/TrxYcaxAmlI/AAAAAAAAAjY/6JPXp9fm5wg/s1600/bedroom.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" nda="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gbOBEbMX6fA/TrxYcaxAmlI/AAAAAAAAAjY/6JPXp9fm5wg/s400/bedroom.jpg" width="292" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0pt;"><span class="thumbnail-caption1"><span style="font-size: 7pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="color: #181818;">Kate Spade's guest bedroom.</span></span></span></span></div></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RDMLwVn1K00/TrxYcimTYMI/AAAAAAAAAjk/HGSCTzeWlg8/s1600/corner+with+chairs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" nda="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RDMLwVn1K00/TrxYcimTYMI/AAAAAAAAAjk/HGSCTzeWlg8/s400/corner+with+chairs.jpg" width="314" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0pt;"><span class="thumbnail-caption1"><span style="font-size: 7pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="color: #181818;">Kate Spade's sitting room.</span></span></span></span></div></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt;"><span class="thumbnail-caption1"><span style="font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Verdana;"></span></span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">I also recently read </span><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/23/garden/23cheap.html" mce_href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/23/garden/23cheap.html"><span style="color: blue;">an article on NY Times</span></a><span style="color: #181818;"> about a professional art installer, David Kassel, who helped a woman display an extensive photography collection in an 800-square foot apartment. His client said, “I have such an eclectic mix of stuff — flea market pictures, fine art photographs and old mirrors. If I put it up in the wrong way or don’t group it well, it would be a mess.” I thought he did an inspiring job.</span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9oWrswJUDe0/TrxZHWZzpOI/AAAAAAAAAkE/cAPkeJJRWPs/s1600/clustered+paintings2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" nda="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9oWrswJUDe0/TrxZHWZzpOI/AAAAAAAAAkE/cAPkeJJRWPs/s1600/clustered+paintings2.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0pt;"><span class="thumbnail-caption1"><span style="font-size: 7pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="color: #181818;">David Kassel and his client, in her 800 sf Jersey City apartment.</span></span></span></span></div></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt;"><span class="thumbnail-caption1"><span style="font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Verdana;"></span></span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">Because I do watercolor and oil paintings, and also have a soft spot for collecting artwork, Dean and I decided to attempt something similar. We had seen an HGTV episode of “The Antonio Treatment” where Antonio organized his framed artwork on a giant piece of butcher paper on the floor, just as he would like them to hang on the wall. Then he traced the frames, taped the paper to the wall, and knew exactly where to drive all of the nails. This seems like a very precise and proper way to hang pictures. Knowing that this was the best way to do it, Dean and I threw method to the wind and just eyeballed it!</span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">And it turned out beautifully! Over time we may add one or two more pieces to our art wall, which gives us room to collect (my fav activity). Because the art wall is very representative of my artwork and my “finds”, I was happy to have a little room for Dean to add to it when he finds something that strikes his fancy.</span></span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NpKNkwpUWDE/TrxYcblCwDI/AAAAAAAAAjU/2drtw32UWAU/s1600/clustered+paintings.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" nda="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NpKNkwpUWDE/TrxYcblCwDI/AAAAAAAAAjU/2drtw32UWAU/s1600/clustered+paintings.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0pt;"><span class="thumbnail-caption1"><span style="font-size: 7pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="color: #181818;">Our clustered paintings wall.</span></span></span></span></div></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;">-Andi</span></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02857548705786175606noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4317705807750366493.post-12178981340548954752010-10-15T12:31:00.000-07:002011-11-11T12:39:19.657-08:00Welcome Home, Mr. Eero Saarinen<div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">Being an architect, Dean appreciates modern designers and their product. So he is thrilled to have one of </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eero_Saarinen" mce_href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eero_Saarinen" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Eero Saarinen</span></a><span style="color: #181818;">’s vintage pieces in our home! This week I scored a 1960s Saarinen tulip side table on craigslist for $350, with the original Knoll sticker on the bottom.</span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WskY6HGedMc/TrxWlWBFbLI/AAAAAAAAAic/EfxJEPyOC20/s1600/saarinen+side+table.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" nda="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WskY6HGedMc/TrxWlWBFbLI/AAAAAAAAAic/EfxJEPyOC20/s1600/saarinen+side+table.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div align="left"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="color: #181818;"><span class="thumbnail-caption1"><span style="font-size: 7pt;">The marble top has both gray and tan marbelized lines. Which makes it easy to match to stuff. Ignore </span></span></span></span></div><div align="left"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="color: #181818;"><span class="thumbnail-caption1"><span style="font-size: 7pt;">the unfinished loveseat!</span></span><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"> </span></span></span></div></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="color: #181818;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;">It has a sturdy iron base and weighs about 50 lbs. The marble top and lines of the base give it a floating sensation. It is so pretty that I am hesitant to put anything on it. Maybe that is why the modernists have clutter-less interiors—their furniture is too beautiful to cover with books and lamps and miniature dog figurines. </span></span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ybJYnlIuKdk/TrxWo4OTUyI/AAAAAAAAAik/_DwgdpGZQzs/s1600/living+room.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" nda="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ybJYnlIuKdk/TrxWo4OTUyI/AAAAAAAAAik/_DwgdpGZQzs/s1600/living+room.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="thumbnail-caption1"><span style="font-size: 7pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="color: #181818;">Also note our new Ikea nesting coffee tables: KLUBBO. $69.99.</span></span></span></span></div></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">Eero was a mid-century Finnish American designer known for his “machine-like rationalism,” according to Wikipedia. Like Dean, Eero grew up in Michigan. Unlike Dean, Eero hung out with kids like Ray and Charles Eames and Florence Knoll.</span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">-Andi</span></span></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02857548705786175606noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4317705807750366493.post-5074374553237285552010-10-13T22:02:00.000-07:002011-11-11T12:38:17.965-08:00Meet Our Garden<div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">Mark Twain famously said, “The coldest winter I ever spent was a <em><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif";">summer </span></em>in <em><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif";">San Francisco.” </span></em>It’s true—the summers are foooogggy, and the tourists all look miserable on their double-decker buses. But the fall is glorious. This week it has been around 75 degrees and sunny every day.</span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">This weather is thrilling because about a month ago I decided to do a second planting of vegetables in our garden, hoping to harvest by early November. We planted radishes, turnips, butter lettuce, red leaf lettuce, kale, spinach, and more carrots.</span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">Last time we planted seedlings I unwittingly confused many of the sprouts for weeds and yanked them. So this time I drew a garden map for our plot, which is about 4 by 15 feet.</span></span><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_U1V-PraYo0/TrxTeDD1D-I/AAAAAAAAAhs/zKOgVzbLrhc/s1600/garden+map.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="264" nda="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_U1V-PraYo0/TrxTeDD1D-I/AAAAAAAAAhs/zKOgVzbLrhc/s320/garden+map.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #181818;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;">The turnips and butter lettuce are coming up rapidly, as is the kale. </span><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana;">Stay tuned to see how those turn out. Tonight Dean made homemade mint chip ice cream (his specialty) with mint fr</span><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;">om our garden. We will eat it this weekend when we have friends over to enjoy it with us.</span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qOVJOqYzWFE/TrxTeWiodbI/AAAAAAAAAhw/Nrc5eeARLKg/s1600/dean+%2526+chard.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" nda="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qOVJOqYzWFE/TrxTeWiodbI/AAAAAAAAAhw/Nrc5eeARLKg/s1600/dean+%2526+chard.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="thumbnail-caption1"><span style="font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Giant chard! Though we are not huge chard fans we have figured out how to make chard & sausage fritatta, </span></span></span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="thumbnail-caption1"><span style="font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">halibut fillets wrapped in chard, and chard risotto.</span></span></span></span></div></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-c1xE5wdrCuw/TrxTeTJ2ARI/AAAAAAAAAh8/5p9eJZLNJrg/s1600/dean+%2526+garden.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" nda="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-c1xE5wdrCuw/TrxTeTJ2ARI/AAAAAAAAAh8/5p9eJZLNJrg/s1600/dean+%2526+garden.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="thumbnail-caption1"><span style="font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Dean really wanted to try growing corn. All in all, the stalks produced two very sweet ears of corn. </span></span></span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="thumbnail-caption1"><span style="font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Yummy, but not a big yield in the foggy Inner Richmond.</span></span></span></span></div></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0k2QxfUezHY/TrxTe2iz9rI/AAAAAAAAAiE/m9kwFRQCQqo/s1600/kale.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" nda="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0k2QxfUezHY/TrxTe2iz9rI/AAAAAAAAAiE/m9kwFRQCQqo/s1600/kale.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="thumbnail-caption1"><span style="font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Verdana;">Our baby kale is sprouting! Notice the summer broccoli behind it, which has been picked and sauteed </span></span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="thumbnail-caption1"><span style="font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Verdana;">already, with some red pepper flakes and olive oil.</span></span></span></div></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="thumbnail-caption1"><span style="font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Verdana;">-Andi</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"></span></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02857548705786175606noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4317705807750366493.post-81883796077607093622010-10-01T17:31:00.000-07:002011-11-11T12:37:20.247-08:00Color Schemes for Victorians<div style="margin-bottom: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;"></span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">The paint on our building is chipping and old. Unfortunately there are 14 different paint colors on our building, and estimates range from $60,000 - $100,000 to repaint! Who knew it was so expensive?</span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NtFYigwI7n4/TrxNRlPCqSI/AAAAAAAAAe0/JT96a5jnxxE/s1600/ext1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" nda="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NtFYigwI7n4/TrxNRlPCqSI/AAAAAAAAAe0/JT96a5jnxxE/s1600/ext1.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="color: #181818;"><span class="thumbnail-caption1"><span style="font-size: 7pt;">Our building. There are greens, purples, blues, whites, creams, golds. It all adds up to 14 colors.</span></span><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"></span></span></span></div></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">Luckily there are four apartment owners, so we get to split the cost four ways. Consensus is that if we are going to drop $100K, we might as well pick a color that we like. One of my neighbors identifies the current color as “blue-green-gray” and another said we need to “bring the building color out of the early 90s.” Dean and I agree.</span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">Because Victorian homes have so many colors, and painting is so expensive, it behooves everyone involved to hire a color consultant. These people help pick your color palette and painting plan, preventing a $100,000 disaster. I have heard that color consultants charge a one-time fee of about $500. Seems like a bargain, but I guess we will find out!</span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">A few weekends ago Dean and I took a walk in our neighborhood to look at other Victorians and see how they are painted. We identified some that we like.</span></span></div></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-V5jnYMAIxqk/TrxQLboTpbI/AAAAAAAAAgk/L8216uD8-PE/s1600/victorian1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" nda="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-V5jnYMAIxqk/TrxQLboTpbI/AAAAAAAAAgk/L8216uD8-PE/s1600/victorian1.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div align="left"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Verdana; font-size: xx-small;">This home is a simple seafoam green with white trim and gold accents. I like.</span></div></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MGYdPfFnQv8/TrxQLbxue2I/AAAAAAAAAgo/lb26ppukHec/s1600/victorian2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" nda="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MGYdPfFnQv8/TrxQLbxue2I/AAAAAAAAAgo/lb26ppukHec/s1600/victorian2.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div align="left" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin-bottom: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="color: #181818;"><span class="thumbnail-caption1"><span style="font-size: 7pt;">A light gray house with lots of white and ivory trim, and a navy blue crown. Very tasteful.</span></span></span></span></div></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-S3u8h512yac/TrxQLVtFtwI/AAAAAAAAAg0/uGOXv39jbJ0/s1600/victorian3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" nda="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-S3u8h512yac/TrxQLVtFtwI/AAAAAAAAAg0/uGOXv39jbJ0/s1600/victorian3.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div align="left" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin-bottom: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="color: #181818;"><span class="thumbnail-caption1"><span style="font-size: 7pt;">Simple whites and creams. A timeless way to go.</span></span><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"></span></span></span></div></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5R_hKMRGmeM/TrxQL1Z6rBI/AAAAAAAAAg4/LnQXxNqp5oM/s1600/victorian4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" nda="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5R_hKMRGmeM/TrxQL1Z6rBI/AAAAAAAAAg4/LnQXxNqp5oM/s1600/victorian4.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana;"><span style="color: #181818;"></span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="color: #181818;"><span class="thumbnail-caption1"><span style="font-size: 7pt;">Yellow with coral accents is so cheerful. But I worry that I would grow tired of it. Maybe in lighter shades </span></span></span></span></div><div align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="color: #181818;"><span class="thumbnail-caption1"><span style="font-size: 7pt;">it would have more longevity?</span></span><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"></span></span></span></div></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sQKYUcJDlLo/TrxQLz-keyI/AAAAAAAAAhE/qqi65KKWf6M/s1600/victorian5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" nda="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sQKYUcJDlLo/TrxQLz-keyI/AAAAAAAAAhE/qqi65KKWf6M/s1600/victorian5.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="color: #181818;"><span class="thumbnail-caption1"><span style="font-size: 7pt;">Navy blue seems to be the only dark color I gravitate toward.</span></span><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"></span></span></span></div></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KODe-rgGo_o/TrxQMOhJOJI/AAAAAAAAAhI/HObtRG9fgGw/s1600/victorian6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" nda="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KODe-rgGo_o/TrxQMOhJOJI/AAAAAAAAAhI/HObtRG9fgGw/s1600/victorian6.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="color: #181818;"><span class="thumbnail-caption1"><span style="font-size: 7pt;">Everyone likes light blue.</span></span><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"></span></span></span></div></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ITfjlSCwBSc/TrxQMG4ObqI/AAAAAAAAAhM/wneXptxokck/s1600/victorian7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" nda="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ITfjlSCwBSc/TrxQMG4ObqI/AAAAAAAAAhM/wneXptxokck/s1600/victorian7.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="color: #181818;"><span class="thumbnail-caption1"><span style="font-size: 7pt;">Tan, red, brown and white is attractive. But this is the road to 14 colors on your home!</span></span><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"></span></span></span></div></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">What colors do you like on ornate Victorian homes? If you have pictures, send them our way!</span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt;"></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 7pt;"><span style="color: #181818;">-Andi</span></span></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02857548705786175606noreply@blogger.com2