An Urban Cottage

Amazing Video

2012-02-06T20:00:00.000-05:00

I'm finally feeling better after a cold that seemed to come and go for about month. I hope to get back to my normal life soon.

I saw this video yesterday (tweeted by Kevin of Lettered Cottage) and not only is it amazing, I think it's just very well done. Beautifully filmed and edited so you feel like you're along for the ride, it gives me chills every time I watch it...which is like 20 times. No kidding.

Stencilled Floors

2012-02-03T12:35:00.003-05:00

Did you ever click on a commenter's link and get taken to an entirely new blog universe where you don't know anyone? That's just how I felt when I discovered the blog Lovely Etc. and found this post on these amazing stencilled floors that had 100 comments from people I've never met.

So, since I've been slacking off and have nothing to show you, why not go check out how Carrie ripped out her old carpet and transformed her subfloors into something really creative and beautiful on her Amazing Painted Floors post. Please let her know I sent you by leaving 100 more comments.

I'd really like to try this on a finished floor so the wood shows through. What do you think?

This seems like a pattern that would work well on a finished floor. It doesn't cover a lot of the wood. And what if you did it in stain or thin gel stain so the wood showed through. It might look like this:

Go ahead and try it and let me know how it works out, okay?

House and Home Giveaway

2012-01-31T07:08:00.000-05:00

Need help with a room in your home?

My blog buddy Carol Beck, interior decorator and window treatment expert from House and Home Defined is having a giveaway of a design board custom made for your home.

We all have a room that needs a little help so head on over and sign up!

Paperwhites and Gin Experiment

2012-01-29T21:28:00.003-05:00

Nothing pleases me more than to hear from people who read my blog and feel inspired to comment. I like getting e-mails with questions or people who want to share their experience in renovating an old house. But I was more than excited to get an e-mail from a follower named Ruth who performed an experiment with paperwhites using gin to keep them from getting too leggy. The left pot received just water; the pot on the right got an application of gin as described in the Yankee magazine article. As you can see, the right pot is nice and compact while in full boom.

As impressed as I am with the paperwhite experiment, can we just talk about this vignette? As eager as I was to see the result of Ruth's experiment, my attention was almost immediately drawn away to the composition of this grouping. I love how the textures of paperwhites, the fossil and the animal print book (I Married Adventure by Osa Johnson) all work beautifully together. The small frame and what I would guess is an antique compass complement the theme. And how perfect is the grasscloth?

I want to thank Ruth for sending the photo and for agreeing to share it with everyone!

The Vintique Object

2012-01-25T09:26:00.001-05:00

Hey, go check out The Vintique Object blog today. She's doing a post on our kitchens which we both redid with very little money. If you don't know Camille already, you may want to poke around her blog a little. She's very analytical about interior photos and has come up some great observations that will help you improve the photos for your blog. I enjoy it a lot.

Flowers in the House - Amaryllis La Paz

2012-01-23T06:37:00.000-05:00

Amaryllis La Paz

This La Paz amaryllis is a stunner. ¡Muy caliente!

Charo-does-the-Dance-of-the-Seven-Veils amaryllis.

Saucy, exotic and alluring.

Floral fireworks.

Amaryllis La Paz

Yesterday was our first measurable--and shovelable--snow. So much different than last year. But despite the mild winter we've had thus far, it's nice to have this reminder of spring that's still a few months away.

And how incredible that two stalks decided to put on their show at the same time!

I'm completely head over heels for this beauty and I'll be buying several of them next year.

The perfect flower for the first anniversary fiesta of Small but Charming's

Flowers in the House party. Stop in and say hi.

Have a great week!

Greek Revival Exterior Renovation - Before and After

2012-01-20T15:31:00.002-05:00

Greek Revival Exterior, Before and After

For those of you visiting for the first time, or if you missed the actual exterior renovation as it progressed on the blog, I thought it would helpful to summarize it all in one post and include all of the sources for those of you who might want to take on this project.

Although this project was a restoration to the home's original state, you could get this look with almost any house that has it's gable end facing the street. The Greek Revival is a great American style.

Here's my journey.

Here's the house when I bought it.

I never intended to document this process when I started

so I'm sorry it isn't the best photo.

Over the first few years, I did a lot of cleanup and removal of what I thought were the most unattractive and outdated details; specifically, I removed the chain link fence, the wrought iron posts on the front porch. I did add new cedar fencing which I'll show in another Back Porch and Garden Post and I added a few shrubs along the front of the house.

The house was sold as a "Greek Revival" but unless you were already aware of what a Greek Revival should look like, you would never know it. All of the details had been removed or were covered up by the vinyl siding.

My journey started with a trip to the Historical Commission to see if there was any information I could use to restore the house. I was hoping to find that my house had a porch across the front, typical of most Greek Revivals in the area.

I was thrilled to find a drawing of the outline of the house from the City's Field Engineers' book from 1856 showing my house with a 3.9-foot porch across the front.

Here's a cleaned up version of the drawing showing the house,

18.5 feet wide; the porch, 3.9 feet deep and the stairs positioned on the

right-hand side of the porch, 4.2 feet wide.

This was a VERY IMPORTANT find because current zoning laws

prohibit building with 10 feet of the property line.

I was going to have to apply for a variance showing

documentation that the porch was historically correct.

Since the application for a variance requires detailed plans, I had to hire an architect to do a plan for me. After studying all of the local Greek Revivals and well as all the details appropriate to 1842 this is the drawing we presented. After filing the lengthy applications, all of my neighbor's were informed of my intentions and invited to public hearing where they could support or object to my plan.

I talked to all of my neighbors in advance, asked for their support and arrived at the hearing with four letters of support. My variance was approved and after the three-month application and hearing process, we were ready to begin construction.

We startedby pulling off the vinyl siding that had been installed in mid-1980s.

For anyone with vinyl siding, there's a possibility that you could simply remove it and paint your house! I talked to a few of my neighbors who told me the former owner installed the vinyl siding because the house needed a paint job and adding vinyl siding made the house maintenance free for the elderly owner.

Here the vinyl is almost removed. Looks better already, right?

Just be cautioned, removing the vinyl siding leaves a lot of unknowns. If water has been seeping behind the vinyl for years, you could find a lot of damage that needs to be addressed. I was happy to find everything in relatively good condition and was able to keep the siding on two sides of the house that will receive later window changes. Removing the vinyl siding also removes a layer of insulation so it won't be as energy efficient.

As we peeled back the shingles, the original siding could be seen underneath.

On the back corner, we found the original clapboards and the cornerboards. We now knew exactly what size the new cornerboards should be.

But even without this find, there are other clues to these details.

Once the front of the house was stripped to the original sheathing, we could also see outlines of the original details. Let's take a closer look.

To the left you can see the vertical shadow of the cornerboard and just below the upstairs window you can see the angle of the porch roof line. These are a great references in the absence of old drawings and photographs when restoring a house.

I was planning to blow insulation in before putting the house together but we ran into a little bit of a roadblock. On the back side of the sheathing, lath and plaster had been applied from the inside. This was done as an early form of insulation.

This can impede good distribution of insulation so all of the sheathing needed to be removed so this material could be taken out.

The cats kept a careful eye on the work. This was both a scary and funny point in the project. Having your house opened up to the elements for several days left me feeling very vulnerable. At the same time, people would walk by and ask "Do you live in there?" to which I would look at them like they were crazy and ask "Yeah, why?"

This shows a closeup of the post and beam construction typical of homes built before 1845-1850.

This is the back corner of the dining room with the sheathing removed.

A closeup of the back side of the dining room wall. Notice how there are virtually no studs. A few horizontal studs provide support to wider vertical boards to which the lath and plaster are attached.

Once all the extra lath and plaster was taken out, the sheathing was all replaced and fiberglas insulation was blown in. I don't know why fiberglas as opposed to cellulose, it's what my atchitect specified. I did some research and found discussion boards with arguments as to the pros and cons of each.

After blowing in the insulation, the house was wrapped with Typar Housewrap.

The house is ready to be put back together.

My water, sewer and gas service all come in the from the front of the house so before digging for the porch posts, I called DigSafe and each utility service came to mark where the pipes were located. This is a free service.

Holes for the porch supports were dug four feet deep, the local requirement to get below the freeze line, the cement was poured and were covered to cure.

The new porch deck, the porch roof and the stair stringers were built. A slab of granite was used as the first stair to keep the wood off the ground.

Close up of the porch beam, also called the entablature.

The entablature was wrapped with cedar so it looks like on solid beam. The porch deck is mahogany.

This is one point when I was happy to have an experienced and smart contractor. The porch deck had to be slightly wider than the roof because you want the entire base of the column to sit on the porch but that the top, the beam sits back from the front of the column capital AND I think you have to take the taper of the column into consideration. It's tricky.

The cornerboards were replaced.

To reduce costs, I opted to keep the shingled surface that we found under the vinyl siding on the driveway saide so those shingles were trimmed back to meet the new cornerboard.

The shingles were scraped to prepare for the new paint job.

I wanted to enlarge the living room windows so removed the old windows...

...enlarged the openings...

...and put in the new windows.

These are Marvin Ultimate double-hung windows that are wood inside, aluminum clad in black which I believe they call ebony.

I chose cedar siding. I considered Hardiplank or Hardiboard but after seeing it up close, I just didn't think it was appropriate for a historical house. It's slightly thinner than cedar siding and has an impressed wood texture that just didn't feel appropriate. It was slightly cheaper but not significantly in the overall scheme of things.

Under the porch, I used tongue-and-groove cedar planks. It would have originally been ship-lapped boards but we used tongue and groove for a tighter more weatherproof joint.

A new Simpson six-panel door replaced the old door. This is also called a "cross and bible" style and is appropriate to the period of the house. I could not find a sidelight that was the right size. Simpson makes a sidelight but they're 12 inches wide. I had about 8 inches. Custom sidelights were quite expensive so my contractor Sam said he would make them.

For the skirt around the base of the porch, we repeated the size and pattern of the fence pickets. I'm not sure that's correct but I think it ties the yard in to the house.

Once the columns went in, the house finally looked like I thought it should.

The columns are a composite material from Pacific Columns. These are fluted Doric columns.

I used bead board on the porch ceiling.

You can see here what I was talking about earlier. The base of the columns sit fully on the porch but up top, the beam (entablature) rests centered on the capital.

Most of the trim work that made up the pediment (the triangle that forms the attic area) was in good shape and was reused. Just a few replacements were made. All the old nail holes were filled in and sanded down.

Being able to keep some of that trim work saved quite a lot of money so I was able to order new windows for the upstairs and attic. The house was primed with California oil-base primer in gray. Each can was a slightly different color which was weird.

We started work in July and this is obviously Halloween time.

Anything that didn't show from the street was left for another phase. I kept the old vinyl windows but all the old siding and trim that was under the vinyl was painted. The difference is barely noticeable.

The back porches got new light fixtures. These are Maxim, cast aluminum flush-mount ceiling fixtures from Arcadian Lighting. Item # MX-1027-EB.

This is driveway side where we kep the shingles and just painted everything to match. The old chimney is painted Benjamin Moore Brick Red. Isn't that a genius choice?

The remaining windows on the front and garden side of the house were then replaced, again the same Marvin windows, clad with ebony aluminum.

The final paint colors were:

House body: Benjamin More "Graystone"

House trim: Benjamin Moore "Silver Chain"

Here's a "before" of the entryway inside.

And the "after" with the new door and sidelights. Dont' they really open up that space?

Front door: Benjamin Moore "Black"

Porch Ceiling: Benjamin Moore "Clear Skies"

Porch Deck: Cabot Australian Timber Oil "Mahogany Flame" stain

The door hardware with by Schlage, oiled Bronze, from Home Depot.

The house number is from Ram Sign in Denmark. They've subsequently hosted a lot of blog giveaways. Their products are all custom made and take a few weeks but the quality is amazing. I've gotten so many compliments on it.

The mailbox was from ebay. Nothing fancy. I didn't want to detract from the door and sidelights.

Since the sidelight were custom made, I chose a seeded glass to be installed. It's an exagerrated distortion from period glass but I wanted something that would offer a little bit of privacy so I didn't need to install curtains. I love the effect. I can't remember the manufacturer but it's a German company and I got it at Burnham & LaRoche which is a local stained glass shop in Medford.

I think it works nicely with the light fixture I chose for the front porch. This is onion light made by Troy Lighting and is called their Portsmouth Traditional Outdoor Pendant and it's also from Arcadian Lighting.

Finally I added the railings at the front steps. It took a while for me to figure out how they should look and how they should tie in. I thought I wanted wrought iron but that can go wrong very quickly.

The rail pattern again echos the pattern of the fence and porch skirt. The rails tie in to the columns at what is a pretty difficult joint that's not only angled but that hugs the curve and flutes of the columns. But I really wanted those to line up so it was worth the trouble.

Exterior Before and After

There's still lot to do but this exterior transformation is one I'm really proud of.

If you have any questions, please leave a comment. I'll answer in the comments so everyone can see the answers.

Best of the Web

2012-01-19T14:16:00.000-05:00

The folks at Be @ Home were kind enough to feature me on their latest "Best of the Web" series.

How cool is that?

Check out this week's picks here.

Gardening: A Winter Pick-Me-Up

2012-01-17T16:30:00.001-05:00

Mother Nature has cooperated in my denial of winter until recently. Temps over the weekend dove to the single digits, there was snow overnight and with a head cold I can't shake, I thought it would be nice to take a virtual garden walk.

There's lot of good Pinspiration here.

It's a Greek Revival too!

I don't know about you but I feel better already.

Bedroom Makeover Ideas

2012-01-14T11:46:00.000-05:00

Thanks to Camille, I was able to round up a few more inspiration photos for my bedroom makeover.

I do love this headboard. And aren't the flags are cool?

This room is a little too rustic

but I do love a nice graphic quilt or blanket on a bed.

Remember Tommy Smythe's chevron quilt in the Black Walls post?

Another nice masculine bedroom. I love a headboard that has a fun shape.

Like this...

...antique headboard I saw at an online auction.

Aren't the turnings and headboard shapes wonderful?

Do you remember Furlow Gatewood's bedroom from Veranda? I love the warm gray walls with white trim and brown wood pieces. I think this gray-brown-cream color palette is my favorite color palette.

Did you notice the floors are painted white? Love them!

It's a little too fancy for my house and my taste but I love this room.

I love a nice iron bed too.

Here's another favorite room, again with white or ivory painted floors.

Swap out the wall color for a gray and it's a more

casual version of the Furlow Gatewood room.

Every time I redo a room and think about painting the walls, my mind goes back to the walls of John Derian's house in Provincetown. These look like old horsehair plaster that were perhaps painted white one time and then had layers and layers of wallpaper over them for year

This is another one of my favorite images where the crusty plaster walls are left exposed.

I wonder if there's anyway I could recreate this look by applying wet brown paper of some kind that stains the surface of the wall.

Or maybe some kind of paint technique that looks like raw plaster.

Maybe applying paint with a trowel?

Or maybe dark walls with lots of graphic black and white artwork to break it up.

Too many ideas; too few rooms.

Amaryllis Sweet Lilian

2012-01-12T20:03:00.001-05:00

It's been really dark here the past two days but one of my amaryllis bulbs is busting a move so I did the best I could with some photos this morning.

Amaryllis Sweet Lilian

Meet Sweet Lilian.

It looks like there's two more flowers on this stalk left to open and there's another stem in the works.

In the background is Amaryllis La Paz which should open this weekend so I'll try to take better photos of both of them this weekend.

Does everyone have a long weekend?

Winter Projects

2012-01-10T14:27:00.002-05:00

I wish I could say that I'm ready to move full steam ahead with my bathrooms and kitchen renovation but I'm not there yet. These are big ticket items and the bad economy hasn't really cooperated with my saving plans. Such is life.

I do have a few projects to keep me busy through the winter. First is a makeover of the back bedroom. When I first saw the house and the collection of little cottages that sit down the little alleyway along the garden side of my house, it reminded me Provincetown where cottage are packed tightly against the harbor. This bedroom started off with a painted floor like the ones I'd seen painted with marine paint on Cape Cod.

This photo from a Martha Stewart Long Island beach home tour has floors that are probably painted with marine paint.

I got the look by painting the floor with Benjamin Moore Calypso Blue which is a slightly toned down version of the electric marine paint. It's always gotten a great response but I can't help feel this Cape Cod B&B look doesn't quite fit in the house anymore.

The wallpaper has also been a problem. I originally did this room on a really low budget. The wallpaper was about $10 a roll, the sheers are from ebay and the blinds are from Home Depot. I don't know if it was the cheap wallpaper or the old paint but it's developed fairly large gaps at the seams. Before the photo shoot, I had to spackle the seams in a few places because I was afraid they would show. So that needs to come down. I think I'll just go with paint since I've acknowledged and embraced my affliction of needing to redo rooms every few years.

I love painted floors and I'm hoping a new color scheme will achieve a totally different look.

One of Christmas presents was one of these gadgets: a silent paint remover. I first saw one on This Old House and Katy Eliot has mentioned using one to strip paint in her Colonial house in Marblehead, so I thought I would give it a try. The device uses infrared bulbs to heat the paint and separate it from the wood surface. It's supposed to be safer for the environment than using chemical strippers and I believe I can turn the scrapings for proper disposal at my city's recycling center. It's probably best done on days when I can have windows open to exhaust any fumes. I'll let you know how it works.

I'd like to learn how to sew (better). As I've said in the past, my mother and aunt used to make many of their/our clothes so I grew up with a sewing machine set up somewhere in the house and am no stranger to using one but I've never done much more than a straight seam. I'd love to be able to whip up a pillow cover or make a slipcover so I hope to work on that. I had an old sewing machine that I used to make a lot projects for a course I took at Mass Art a few years ago and I ruined it sewing plastic and cardboard so I just bought a new one last year that's still in the box.

Further work on the kitchen and back porches call for window and door changes that require a variance from the city. In the kitchen, for example, I'll have double windows over the sink and on the porch side, the windows will become french glass doors. The kitchen window changes not only require a variance but they sit right where this old chimney is. The chimney is no longer used but removing it will also require a repair to the siding, the soffit and the roof. A lot of work for one window but winter will be a good time to get all the applications done and get that ball rolling since it takes a few months.

Recap posts and Advertising

I've been getting a lot e-mails from people asking about paint colors and sourcing for various things I've used in the house and it makes me realize I've not done a good job giving those details. I see quite a bit of traffic coming in on certain posts. People seem to like before and after images and I have quite a few so I'm going to be doing a series of before and after posts of each room in the house and try to give more sourcing information. At the same time -- and I've avoided doing this for a long time -- I realize that I've gone through, and continue to go through, a process and gained a lot of information that's valuable to people. As a result, I'm going to give advertising a try. I put a lot of time and effort into the blog and if ads are related to my content and they're useful useful to people, it would be nice to get some revenue from that.

If anyone has any tips or advice on advertisting, it would be appreciated.

* * * * *

Aside from these things, I really need to close the laptop and get my butt on the elliptical. I won't be blogging about it.

Red Curry Chicken and Biscuits

2012-01-05T14:44:00.001-05:00

I was going to say that this isn't your mama's Chicken and Biscuits but it really is with just little tweak in the flavors. Back when I made the highly pinterested Tom Ka Soup, I was thinking how close something like Tom Ka Gai is was to American chicken soup but with just a few different ingredients, it has an entirely different flavor profile.

So when a friend of mine dropped off a bag of parsley and chive biscuits from Flour Bakery, I thought I'd make Chicken and Biscuits -- a perfect winter comfort food in my mind -- only I'd put my own little twist on the old standard by adding red curry and coconut milk and a few other ingredients.

If you don't have the luxury of a Flour Bakery in the neighborhood, you should buy Joanne Chang's cookbook on Amazon (it's filled with awesome recipes!) but you can also find the recipe here. (Please note the recipe is for parsley and sage biscuits, but swap out the sage for chives.) Joanne Chang is best known nationally for her sticky bun Throwdown with Bobby Flay. (Joanne, won!) But locally, flour is a place we rush every Saturday morning, usually parking illegally, to stand in line hoping the almond croissants don't run out before we get to the head of the line. Sometimes we talk loudly about how good the Morning Glory Muffins look just to throw off the eavedroppers. But I digress.

The way I made this would serve about three:

1 whole chicken breast, roasted and cubed

1 carrot, sliced

1 medium onion, chopped

2 Tablespoons olive oil

3 tablespoons flour

2 cups of chicken stock

1/2 cup-ish frozen peas

6-8 mushrooms, sliced

2 Tablespoons red curry paste

1/3 cup of coconut milk

1/3 cup of chopped cilantro

Juice of half a lime

salt and pepper

Obviously you have to start out having your biscuits made and your chicken breast roasted. This would be a perfect dish if you have leftover chicken (maybe three cups?) or you could be lazy and buy a rotisserie chicken. I had a split breast so I removed the skin, seasoned with salt and pepper and roasted it a 375 for about 35-40 minutes.

Saute the onions and carrots in the olive oil, season with salt and pepper until soft. (I left out the celery because it didn't seem to fit the flavor profile but I think it would have been fine to add it.)

Add the flour and saute a few minutes just so it's not raw. Add the chicken broth and heat until it starts to thicken.

Add the red curry paste and coconut milk and stir until incorporated.

Add the mushrooms and peas and cook for a few more minutes.

Finally, add the chicken, cilantro and lime juice just to heat a few minutes before serving.

Cut the biscuit in half and ladle some of the stew over the bottom half of the biscuit. Top with the other half of the biscuit, garnish with a few more cilantro leaves and serve.

It was amazingly good!

As an alternative to biscuits, you could make a simple dumpling and add just a little coriander and/or ginger and chopped cilantro so they're a little different and boil on the top of the hot stew. You may want to make your own tweaks to the recipe. More curry, less curry, more coconut milk, no mushrooms, add pototoes...I think it's a very flexible recipe.

I can't wait to make it again.

** Clarification on the gin-drinking paperwhites **

I just wanted to make sure everyone had the correct details on applying gin to the paperwhites. Here's an important clarification from the Yankee Magazine article.

"When they're up about three inches, add about half a shot glass of gin to a cup of water and give it to them. Next time you water, repeat, and you'll find that they won't get so leggy. The gin stunts their growth, and they'll bloom more in scale with their stalks."

It also refers to vodka, whiskey, tequila and rubbing alcohol also working but the writer thought gin was the best. I'd almost like to do two new pots of paperwhites side by side to test out the theory.

* * * * *

Finally, I was goofing around with an animation software I found on line called Picasion. I made up this little animation on how to make crostini so I'm uploading it to see if it runs. These things always make my mind race with ideas on fun ways to use them.

Christmas is Packed Away

2012-01-02T19:18:00.001-05:00

I had the best weekend filled with rest and relaxation. How about you?

The living tree is planted outside although I can't help but feel guilty everytime I see it. It looks so sad and lonely out in the cold. Am I transferring?

I undecorated the pruned tree today. It took me about three days to decorate and about 15 minutes to take apart.

I don't know why it took me so many years to figure out I should just take all of the ornaments off and place them in a basket rather than wandering around the living room with ornament boxes laid out on every surface looking for the box each ornament came from.

And then I set up all the boxes on the dining room table to make quicker work of putting everything back in its place.

All the lights are neatly wound up and packed away ready for next year.

But the day wasn't without incident.

Broken item of the season.

And I was unpleasantly surprised to find a big patch of mold growing under the tree! I'm not sure what happened. Perhaps the tree stand leaked? I've scrubbed it up and there's a little stain but I swear I can smell it. I think it has to go. Thank god I'm too poor to have nice Persian carpets. I'd be more ill.

Everything is packed up and put away in the basement except the outside lights which I usually leave up until somewhere between the Epiphany and the date that a former neighbor left me a note in my mailbox that the lights should come down.

Hey, while I think of it, did you know you can keep paperwhites from getting too leggy by giving them a shot of gin?

Yup.

Read about it at Yankee Magazine.

Although we've been really lucky with warmer than average temperatures and no snow since October, there's cold weather coming. So we're all snuggling up and hunkering down for what we hope is a very short winter.

Still working on my damn goals for 2012.

How 'bout you?

Happy New Year 2012

2011-12-31T14:58:00.001-05:00

I'm just going to say it: I don't love New Year's Eve.

I never have.

For me it's more of a time of reflection than of celebration. I don't usually review what I've accomplished in the last year; rather, I set goals for the new year.

Tonight, I'm getting together with a few close friends for a casual dinner; in fact, a friend of mine said he will cook since I made Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner. I couldn't allow myself to do nothing so I thought I'd make a baked artichoke dip -- basically chopped artichokes with a bunch of fat -- and some homemade crostini.

I love crostini. They' so much better than any cracker. I use a ficelle which is a skinny baguette and slice them on an angle which makes the perfect little shovel to scoop up a dip. I just brush them with olive oil, dust them with salt and bake at 375 degrees...

...until they're golden brown.

You got to watch them like a hawk to get them perfect.

These are perfect.

Hot artichoke dip with homemade crostini will be perfect

with a bottle or two of champagne before dinner.

I might even stay in my pajamas.

Whatever you do this evening, I hope you have a safe and happy time.

And I wish you a happy, healthy and prosperous 2012!

Helen Frankenthaler

2011-12-27T22:23:00.004-05:00

Helen Frankenthaler in Life Magazine, 1956

When I went to MOMA a few years ago, there were a few artists' work that stopped me in my tracks. Robert Rauschenberg, Cy Twombly, Willem De Kooning and Helen Frankenthaler.

In case you've never heard of her, or seen any of her work, I wanted you to see a little bit.

Mountains and Sea, 1952

Frankenthaler worked much like Jackson Pollack in the way she poured paint onto the surface of the canvas. She was, however, unique in her use of thinned paint that soaked in and became part of the canvas rather than sit on top of it.

Jacob's Ladder, 1957

Mauve District, 1966

Robert Motherwell and Helen Frankenthaler in Provincetown.

Savage Breeze, woodcut, 1974

Green Thought in a Green Shade, 1981

Snow Pines, 2004

34-color Ukiyo-e woodcut, printed with 16 woodblocks

Amazing!

Helen Frankenthaler passed away today at the age of 83.

She was a true American gem.

- - - - - -

12/28/2011

I found more images of her and her work in real home settings so I thought I would add them.

This triptych is called Madame Butterfly from 2000.

Elle Decor

Helen in her NYC apartment, 1960s

Christmiscellany

2011-12-26T19:11:00.000-05:00

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday.

The cats were surprised by little gifts left in the tree by Santa. Three little mice were more exciting when wrapped and tied with twine than they were once they were open.

And speaking of surprises, look what I found in my mailbox on Christmas Eve: a personalized pillow cover made by Deb (from the Loyalist Cottage) and her husband just because I make them laugh. Isn't that sweet? I love it and it's just perfect in my living room.

Deb sells her handmade and hand printed pillow covers on etsy and was recently discovered by HGTV magazine who will be showing one of her alphabet pillows. If you want one, you should order now before she goes viral.

The Christmas table. I covered the table with a vintage linen laundry sack, totally unironed, so it's more casual. I wished I had a few green plates to pick up on the natural theme with the skinny tree and paperwhites as a centerpiece. Mix and match every day plates were used with my hodgepodge of brown transferware.

I saw my transferware on Pinterest with someone seemingly desperate to know the name of the pattern so I thought I would show the different patterns I have and list the makers and names in case anyone is interested.

This is one of my favorites. The most masculine of transferware if masculine could be applied to any transferware. This is J&G Meakin and I believe the pattern is called Romantic England. It says it's dishwasher safe so it can't be too old.

This one is Johnson Brothers, WindsorWare in the Dover pattern.

These plates were my grandmother's and it's another one of my favorites. It's Mason's ironstone in the Bow Bells pattern. It has an aesthethic movement feel and not too flowery.

I can't remember where I picked this one piece up but I really like the swirling scalloped edge. This is manufactured by Clarice Cliff of Royal Staffordshire and the pattern is called Charlotte.

The back is almost as beautiful as the front.

The "Other Tree" in the dining room is now only a memory. My research on living trees said the tree should only be in the house for 7 to 10 days. The weather today and tomorrow are supposed to be quite mild so it seemed the perfect time to get it conditioned to the outdoors again, to give a good watering and to get it planted before cold and snowy weather sets in. I dug a hole a few weeks ago before the ground froze so it's ready to be planted. It was feeling very dry so I hope it's okay.

The Boston fern still looks pretty good after being cut about nine days ago.

I got a lot of comments about the garland so I thought I would so a few closeup images. I bought this at a garden center but I think it would be a fairly easy DIY project. This one is two different kinds of pinecones, walnuts and sweet gum pods.

And the other one is slightly different using wood chips and little bundles of grapevine in lieu of walnuts.

I've had these for four years so it seems they would last at least several years.

I don't know about you but I'm beat. I'm happy this is a short week and New Year's is much easier holiday in terms of preparation; in fact, I hope to spend a lot of time in PJs, watching movies, and planning for new year's projects.

My Christmas Card to You

2011-12-21T21:10:00.000-05:00

I'm normally a very humble and self-effacing person so I hope you'll forgive me if I gloat for a moment about winning "Best Tree" in the Holiday Decorating Contest on Scot Meacham Wood's "The Adventures of Tartanscot" blog. The contest was judged by a panel of esteemed judges and prizes were awarded in three different categories. I'm excited to have won what I think is the best prize: Christmas ornaments from Gump's San Francisco that will be hand selected by Scot.

In all seriousness, I'm absolutely thrilled to have won. There were some really amazing submissions and being chosen is a real honor.

Thank you all again for following along during the Christmas season. It's been a lot of fun sharing the season with you and I'm blessed by all of your wonderful feedback. Here is my Christmas card to you.

Merry Christmas to all! May all the joys of the season be yours.

Steve

The Other Tree

2011-12-17T18:36:00.007-05:00

First of all, WOW, thank you for all the comments! This blog is a creative outlet for me but it's also a part-time job and your comments are my salary. I think it's safe to say I just got a Christmas bonus.

Thank you very much!

The second tree I bought is a Weeping White Spruce and it's a living tree. Since it will only grow about 10 feet tall and will stay quite narrow, I thought it would be perfect for my yard. I'll plant it on my driveway side of the house so that when I expand and renovate the kitchen, I'll have a view of it from the kitchen sink.

In case I ruined the other tree, this was my backup plan. But why not enjoy it in the house for a short time anyway?

It's the perfect size for the dining room (albeit a few inches too tall).

I'm continuing with the woodland theme I've used in a lot of recent posts and using materials that are natural for the most part.

I've added some grapevine ball lights (available from shopterrain.com), some blue-green eucalyptus, fronds from the back porch Boston fern (these live for weeks without water!), a few antlers...

...a garland of pinecones, sweet gum pods, wood chips, walnuts, a few little moss-covered nests into which I've placed a craft store partridge and few moss green floral ornaments for the little shimmer.

The tree is in a plastic container which I just placed in a large ceramic planter from the back porch and topped it off with some more moss.

Here's the kitty shot.

It wasn't until later that I noticed the other one

sitting on the refrigerator in the kitchen.

I think he's wondering, "Can I jump on this thing?"

Around the base of the tree I've borrowed a few baskets from around the house which could certainly be used as a creative and green way to wrap a few presents. These act as a base for some of the bulbs I'm growing. On the left is a piece of artwork by Massachusetts artist Dawn Southworth (remember the wrenches in the middle bedroom?). The artwork is diverting heat from a register in the floor but I kind of like how it looks too.

The table was made after I found the amazing antique pedestal seen below. It was missing its top so a new top was made that was covered with zinc to update it.

On the table I have a kuba cloth that a bought several years ago with the intention of making it into pillows. I might still but I think it looks great as a table runner. On top of that is my advent wreath of Great Grandma's candle clips, a silver bowl with beach wood I've collected in Maine and the brass pitcher with some of the trimmings from the other tree.

The Money Shot that'll end up on Pinterest

I love this little tree and I'm looking forward to having

Christmas dinner in here by tree and candlelight.

Now it's time to get all the boxes (hiding stage right) back down to the basement. Except for Christmas dinner, all the preparations are done and it's time to enjoy.

Talk to you later in the week before the big day but today I'm linking to Cottage & Vine's Room by Room.

Also linking up with Nita's Mod Mix Monday.

Check them out.

The Tree

2011-12-14T14:25:00.002-05:00

This post says a lot about me. I'll let you qualify that.

So here's my $24.50 tree. I forgot to take a picture of it before I started ~~hacking away~~ delicately pruning the branches at the top.

I knew the fresh cuts were going to stick out like a sore thumb and I planned ahead. I bought a bag of lichen at Mahoney's and I was going to hot glue the lichen over the fresh cuts to hide them. But rather than burn my fingers on the hot glue, I looked through mt collection of Benjamin Moore paint sample pots and found the perfect color. Just in case you ever wondered what color a Christmas tree trunk is, it's Benjamin Moore Willow CC-542.

The whole pruning process was very slow. I'd prune a branch, stand back, assess the tree's new chi and respond with the next cut. Very zen. Yin and Yang. Earth, Wind & Fire.

I tried to remove any portion of a branch that grew up or down so that I ended up with flat layers of branches. I thought I was done at this point but after a little more ~~eggnog~~ contemplation, I went back in.

And this was the result.

Hey, who's chuckling?

I added about 600 lights which took forever. No branches to conceal the cords.

Thank god for floral wire.

As I started to add the ornaments, I was seeing distinct horizontal layers

emerge like you would see in a Victorian feather tree.

I continued to add ornaments trying to get each layer perfectly horizontal, trimming

additional branches that deviated from that pattern.

And here is the result.

I'm not sure what it says about me that I wanted

an imperfect tree and then I needed to assert order and control by placing the ornaments

as perfectly as possible in their respective layers.

Does anyone find it difficult to take great pictures of a Christmas tree?

The layered effect is a little bit lost at the bottom. If it weren't for the lights, I would just trim more out to define the layers a little bit.

Almost all of the ornaments are vintage like me or gifts from family and friends. But this method of placement actually took a lot more ornaments so I had to supplement with some plastic ones from Target. The shapes were similar to many of the vintage ornaments so they blend really well.

So there it is. It's different and I love it.

And don't forget... I still have another tree!

I'm linking up to Thifty Decor Chick's Christmas Tree Party.

Expectation and Hope

2011-12-12T06:37:00.002-05:00

The tree pruning is coming along...

...and my helpers are on the job.

I was hoping to finish the tree for Jane's Flowers in the Holiday House and Centsational Girl's party today but you can't rush perfection so I'll have to show you some of what else is going on in the house.

The window seat in the dining room has become a planting bench for the winter.

A zinc planter is filled with paperwhites surrounded by small river rocks

and a few moss-colored ornaments.

Another pot has an amaryllis. The other zinc pots, leftover from Thanksgiving, are still filled with moss and I've top a few off with pine cones. I sprinkled a few rose hops on the moss just for a little variation in color. It's a very mellowed green and red color scheme.

This time leading up to Christmas is a season of expectation and hope. Growing up, as we went to church during advent, a candle was lit each week on the advent wreath with the final candle being lit on Christmas.

I have these candle clips that were my great grandmothers and since I don't use them on the tree, I came up with an idea that would use them to make an advent wreath-type centerpiece that I could use on the Christmas dinner table.

I just clipped the candle clips onto the edge of the silver compote, added some moss and a silver partridge (which is actually a salt shaker) and few small of the same moss-colored ornaments. I've also just added a few little loose petals from a perennial geranium just to break up all the green.

By using this on the Christmas table, it's a private nod to my family and our past traditions.

The clips on a silver compote could be used in a lot of different variations. A small floral arrangement or sugared fruit in the center would be quite beautiful.

In the kitchen, I've simply planted another Amaryllis in a vintage McCoy planter and topped it off with moss.

When I was at Mahoney's the other day, I say a lot of handpainted and dyed flowers. These reminded me of the overdyed rugs I showed a while back that Jane said she liked so I thought I'd pair up the flowers with some of the rugs as a hostess gift.

The pink is really lovely and feminine.

The purple orchids and rug are quite regal.

The blue is quite unique but feels a little more appropriate than summer.

And this powerful orange combination would make quite the statement.

I'm not really sure what color she would prefer and I don't want to embarrass her with a gift that's too extravagant.

So since this is the season of hope I should probably take a gift that would be a little more meaningful and appropriate to the season.

Season of Hope.

I know just the thing...

The Obama Chia Pet. Merry Christmas, Jane.

You're also invited!

For Jane's click here.

Or for CentsationalGirl's linky party.

A Different Tree

2011-12-10T18:21:00.001-05:00

For as long as I can remember, I've wanted a different kind of Christmas tree. A natural, unshaped, old-fashioned Christmas tree.

Maybe a little bit "It's a Wonderful Life"...

...or a little bit Victorian...

...or just one that isn't trimmed into a perfect cone.

Some of friends say, Oh, you mean a Charlie Brown Christmas tree!

I say, Good Grief, no.

Others say I'm just a sucker for the underdog.

What's wrong with rooting for the underdog?

Each year I set out to find my different tree. I've been to scores of Christmas tree places and as of yet, I've failed. I figure somewhere in New England they must grow trees like this so I searched on the internet.

I finally found the kind of tree I've been looking for on a blog called Frugal Luxuries by the Seasons on a post from a few years ago. These are from a place called Brita's Old Town Gardens in Seal Beach, California. The blogger's name is Tracey and she was kind enough to e-mail me. She believes it's a Noble Fir but they've always called it "The Night Before Christmas Tree." I e-mailed Brita's Garden and they believe based on my description it's a Silver Tip.

At least I know they exist and I have an idea what to ask for.

So I headed over to Mahoney's garden center in Brighton. They have several locations in Eastern Massachusetts but this one is just a few miles from my house.

For an urban garden center, they have a good selection of things and have a helpful, knowledgeable staff.

I immediately see something I like. It's a living tree and too big but let's take a closer look.

Turns out it's a rare specimen tree.

Here's a smaller one that's just about the perfect size. I'd be thrilled with something like this but at $399, it's out of the question.

Their opinion was these are natural growth trees that haven't been trimmed all their lives to go to market. They even thought the one on the left wasn't real. They even have Noble Firs but they're trimmed and look nothing like the one from Brita's. They didn't have what I was looking for but they couldn't have been more helpful. I think if I had pressed them, I think they would have made one for me.

I came home with two trees and a pair of these.

Stay tuned.

(If anyone know where they grow and/or sell trees like these in New England, leave me a comment or drop me an e-mail.)

The Lights are on...

2011-12-07T14:22:00.001-05:00

I swear...I just about had to do the limbo to get the cedar garland, the moon

and the attic window candle all in one shot.

But let's back up a bit.

On Sunday morning, I took a few swigs of courage, grabbed the ladder and cautiously popped my head up to make sure nothing was up there. I think it's scary because when I was buying the house, the inspector said there was bat poop up there and it totally freaked me out. The owner had an exterminator come who said no, absolutely no bats. When I moved in, I heard things running around up there and called an extreminator to come check it out. A family of squirrels had chewed their way in through the eaves and was running around under the floor boards. They were evicted and the hole was patched. But that's the whole story behind my irrational fear of the attic.

With a little bit of work, it could probably look like this...

...I'd put a ripped up Victorian sofa and several stacks of dusty books and The World of Interiors would be dying to get up there to do a photo shoot. But for now, it's just creepy.

But back to the magic of Christmas.

...I climbed up with my little helper spotting me on the ladder

and squeezed my butt through the tiny door...

...to place the candle in the window.

Thankfully I can turn it on from downstairs with a little remote.

Et Voila!

And as the sun set...

...the sky turned a brilliant heavenly blue...

...and the Angel Gabriel appeared in a bright -- Oh, I guess that's just the moon.

But I'm pretty sure that's the Star of Bethlehem to the left.

I just love white lights in the dark of winter.

Here you can see the scale of my house next to the three-story Victorian next door.

All I need is a little snow for the perfect picture, but I'm not asking for any right now.

On to do the tree!

Decking the Halls

2011-12-03T20:47:00.009-05:00

I took advantage of the warm weather last weekend.

It was 67 degrees (19 C for the rest of the world) last Sunday so I thought it would be the perfect day to deck the halls outside.

I love my Werner Ladder. I got it with American Express Reward Points. I swear it weighs 100 pounds and I pinch my finger at least once each time I use it, but it gets in to some really awkward places and I always feel safe.

I screwed really large cup hooks just above each of the porch columns from which I hung the cedar garland.

I think my house was made for Christmas.

We're quickly approaching the darkest days of winter--solstice is only two weeks away!-- so I love having white lights to brighten up the darkness.

Now I just need to get up the nerve to get up into the scary attic again to do my candles in the windows.

Someone asked if I was going to gussy up the wreath. I was really liking the simple green square on the black door so I added a black and white striped ribbon and called it done.

I think the ribbon is all the gussy it needs.

To stay with that reduced color palette, I flanked the door with pots of white pine and yellow dogwood twigs. No green and red. I think it's really refreshing.

I'll take a photo of the entire house as soon as there's no car parked in front.

I'll probably do a little decorating in the garden tomorrow and then I'll focus on the inside.

Holiday Season Kicks off with Color

2011-11-26T21:49:00.006-05:00

The sunrise nearly burned through my matchstick blinds this morning.

I'm so glad I was up to see this.

And as quickly as the color faded, Thanksgiving turned to Christmas...

...which meant hopping in the car and heading up to Wilson Farm in Lexington, Mass.

I don't know why I don't come out to this wonderful place more often.

It's a little bit nursery and greenhouse...

...a little bit farm stand...

....a little bit grocery store...

...with a whole lot a charm.

It's a great place to get your Christmas or pagan greenery, wreaths, Christmas trees...

...poinsettias in all the latest colors...

...and one of my winter favorites, winter berry.

I just hope it's hip to be square.

All of these colors...

...were a great way to kick off the holiday season.

I'm already in the spirit!