An Urban Cottage

Around Here

2013-05-21T21:24:00.000-04:00

All photos from my Instagram

It's almost summertime. When the warm and humid

air meets the cold ocean air, we can get really foggy mornings.

And a 75 degree day can suddenly turn to 55 degrees when

the sea breeze backs in. It's hard to judge what to wear.

But it's planting time. All the garden centers and

nurseries are packed with urban gardeners looking for

something new to plant in their little plots of earth.

All the lilacs, Lily of the Valley and tulips

have yielded to Spirea...

...and allium...

...hosta...

...and bearded iris.

Remember the weeping spruce Christmas tree

I had in my dining room?

I'm happy to see it thriving outside.

What I'm not happy about is my bathroom floor tile.

It looked beautiful in the store. I even took a little piece of

floor that had been taken up from the hallway so I could match the color.

I think I was just so impressed with how real it looked.

But when I have the tile juxtaposed against the real wood floor,

it looks...well, really fake.

I'd say it's a faux bois faux pas. But better to figure it out before it's installed.

I'm hoping to pay a restocking fee and get something different.

Finally, it's been a really challenging week.

Angus, one of my three cats, has had a problem with his eyes that's

gotten progressively worse. It's called entropion which is a turning

in of the eyelids. Can you imagine what it would feel like having all of

eyelashes growing in your eyes. It seemed to have gotten significantly

worse over the past few weeks so he finally had his surgery last Thursday.

When I went to pick him up on Thursday night, he got his e-collar off and

immediately rubbed his eye against the carrier and ripped out a stitch.

I decided to readmit him and pick him up the next day after the eye

doctor had a chance to look at him.

This is what he looked like when he got home.

It was a tough few days with an upset, hurting little boy

that could get his cone off in a second and didn't want to sleep.

The pain meds seemed to make him only more agitated.

It's hard when they don't understand what's going on.

But I'm happy to say that after five days, he's healed very quickly

and as the swelling goes down his big almond eyes are coming back.

He still wears the cone at night and while he's unattended but

he's able to enjoy a few moments without it when I can watch him constantly.

He seems much happier and hopefully this will be the end of the problem.

That's what's going on around here.

* * * * *

Thoughts and prayers to the people of Oklahoma!

Silent Paint Remover

2013-05-15T11:20:00.002-04:00

Two Christmases ago, I asked Santa for a new toy: a Silent Paint Remover.

It's an infrared lamp that heats up old paint allowing it to be scraped off. I have a

lot of old doors and trim and although it's a pretty expensive toy, I thought it would

be a good investment especially since it was on Santa's dime.

I decided to start with the salvaged door I bought for the bathroom. I had already

taken off the little lock and stripped it so it's all set to go back on the finished door.

The lamp gets really hot so I set myself up on the back porch where

I could set the lamp down on the old mill stone table. I don't know what

the manufacturer recommends doing with the hot lamp. I put the instructions

in a safe place and as soon as I can remember where that is, I'll let you know.

The tool with the red handle is a three-sided scraper that comes with the kit.

You hold the lamp up to the painted surface and in 20 to 60 seconds, the

paint bubbles up. It does emit some smoke so I'd probably work outside if at

all possible. If you had to work indoors you could certainly set a good

ventilation system with a few fans directing the smoke to and out a window.

Once the paint bubbles up, you just scrape it off. I counted five layers

of paint in this side of the door and the majority of it came off with one scrape...

...right to the bare wood for the most part.

You can reheat an area if all the paint doesn't come off but you

do risk scorching the bare wood. You can see a little scorched area on

this panel but I think it's pretty superficial and it should sand out.

You can also see I had a little trouble with the panel moldings. The basic

kit only comes with a straight edged scraper so I didn't really have a good

tool to get into the curves. The company does sell curved and oval

scrapers and I'll probably buy a few to see if those help.

Initially, I wasn't sure what to do with the paint scrapings.

I have to assume that there's lead in any paint in my house and

I wanted to properly dispose of the waste. We have a pretty good recycling

system so I contacted the city to explain what I was doing and

they said that I could bag up the shavings and bring them in to the recycling

center on one of the hazardous waste days. Perfect! So I put

down a plastic tarp so I could easily gather them up.

This side of the door took about two hours' work which

I think is pretty fast. With more practice and better scrapers, I'm

sure I'll get better it. And it's definitely faster than using chemical strippers.

And a lot less mess. Its $395 price tag isn't for the faint of wallet

but the only local salvage place that still does chemical

dipping and stripping charges $100 to strip a door so

it should pay off in the end.

I just don't think there's any easy way to tackle this job

but if you have a lot of stripping that doesn't involve detailed

carvings, and you have some way of safely disposing of the shavings,

I would recommend the Silent Paint Remover.

Happy Mother's Day

2013-05-12T08:05:00.000-04:00

The past few weeks have provided the most stunning

spring flowers we've seen around here in a long time.

I thought I'd send a few Instagram flowers

your way for Mother's Day.

According to Saipua, this is a quince called Cameo.

Tulips at the Boston Marathon Memorial.

I didn't think you'd mind a little chocolate.

White lilacs grew outside just between our

back door and my grandmother's house.

They're always special.

Dogwood.

After a heavy overnight rain, the lilacs

were hanging like clusters of grapes.

And the maple and cherry flowers were left

in colorful puddles on my neighbor's driveway.

A massive white Wisteria.

And my my favorite nostalgic Mother's Day flower.

No matter where I am, the scent turns me into a 7-year-old

playing outside my grandmother's house.

Happy Mother's Day.

Changing Plans and a Pillow Winner!

2013-05-05T19:48:00.004-04:00

It's been almost five years since I first hired architects to make a renovation plan

for me. A lot has changed since then. I wasn't really looking at magazines, blogs

or Pinterest--there WAS no Pinterest!--to assemble my vision for the house.

The architects, who have since closed up shop, applied their own "cottage" vision

to the plans. They chose beadboard which was certainly one of the details I talked about

in our discussions and they applied a double chair rail. I'm not sure if this is one

of their signature details but I was never really excited by it.

When I saw this bathroom with the horizontal planking, I thought it was perfect.

But how do I deal with the faucet on the wall? It seems like the chair rail would

hit right at the same place.

This sink that has the faucet on the wall uses a "bump up" in

planking and chair rail to incorporate the faucet. It's a great idea and

a rather nice detail but since my sink will be in a corner,

I thought the bump up would lose its impact.

So, spreadsheet geek that I am, I whipped out my favorite design tool,

Microsoft Excel, and set up the cells into a grid of squares

and started to lay everything out to see what it would look like.

I thought if I made the bump up smaller and integrated the

mirror into it with details to make it look like a vintage medicine cabinet

it would all look like one custom built-in unit.

I should probably find a better design tool but it was a great way to

communicate this change in the architect's plan to my contractor.

* * * * *

At 6:00 tonight, I had 121 comments for the 6 Wilson pillow giveaway.

Carol had left the first comment so I ran a random number generator

for 2 through 121 and got the number 76.

Comment #76 came from Webb. Congratulations, Webb!

Carol will contact you to choose your pillow and it will soon be on its way.

Thank you everyone for your comments!

Moving Day

2013-05-03T12:30:00.000-04:00

Saturday was moving day. Well, sort of.

I rented a U-Haul to make the rounds and pick up everything for the bathroom.

If you follow me on Instagram, you may have seen some of these photos.

The warehouse for the plumbing supplies is in a really industrial area

alongside the Mass. Turnpike in a wonky building that seems held together

only by the 100 layers of paint.

Inside, you're taken to another time and location...

a place you might go to buy plumbing supplies if you lived

in "The Secret Life of Bees." May might have hidden her

notes in the cracks of this old knotty pine wall.

It even had the girly calendar. Who knew they still made them?!

I packed up my toilet, and sink, and faucets and lights...

...and was off to Darby Road to pick up my vanity table

where I admired the details of this beautiful pine chest.

And then buzzed back into Boston to look for a salvaged door

for the bathroom at Olde Bostonian. It's not nearly as large as

Old House Parts in Maine but you might get lucky and

the prices are much better. I found the perfect door

with the perfect little lock for the bathroom.

And I drove home with my new bathroom packed in the van

and unloaded it into my dining room.

I couldn't wait to set the sink up on the table to see

what it might look like when it's done.

The wooden top will come off to make a lower shelf for

a basket or two of towels and I'll have a new top made out

of marble. I still need to go look for a remnant.

(The sink will sit flat on the surface but there's a drain that's

holding it right now.)

And remember the toilet I chose with the clipped corners?

This is the top of the toilet tank that shows that detail matches the clipped

corners on the vanity table. I'll have that replicated on the new stone top as well.

It's either utter genius or complete overkill. I'm not sure which.

If you haven't already don't forget to leave a comment for the 6 Wilson pillow giveaway.

We will pick a winner at 6:00 Sunday Eastern time and will announce a winner Sunday evening.

6 Wilson Pillow Giveaway

2013-04-28T18:44:00.000-04:00

I don't know about you but I love Etsy. I've found some wonderful vintage items

as well as handmade products from shops around the world. So when friend, fellow blogger and interior decorator Carol Beck told me she was opening a shop, I couldn't wait to visit

and get a behind the scenes tour of her new virtual pillow shop called 6 Wilson.

Carol had her own custom drapery business so has great sewing chops. She now works

full-time with an interior design firm in Rhode Island, handles her own design clients and has

now turned her dining room into a workroom to supply her Etsy shop. Her sewing machine

is set up on one side of the dining table and her serger is on the other side.

The rest of the table has all of Carol's supplies, trims and tools all set up and ready to go.

I would say Carol is a connoisseur of fabrics. I tagged along on a shopping trip

to the fabric shop and I learned a lot about fabrics. All of the fabrics she's using

are beautiful high-end, designer fabrics. And no corners are being cut

in their construction. All of the edges are serged, constructed with

invisible zippers and the corners are tapered to minimize dog ears.

Most of the pillow covers use the same fabric on the front and back but if

the back is different, it's an equally beautiful coordinating fabric on the back.

Let me a show you a few of my favorites and then you can head

over to Carol's 6Wilson etsy shop and choose your own favorite.

Aren't they gorgeous?

I just couldn't resist bringing one home to liven up my guest room.

So now it's your turn to choose. Carol has generously offered to give away

one of her beautiful pillow covers to one of you. And you get to pick your own!

All you have to do is visit 6 Wilson, choose the pillow cover you'd love to have

and come back tell me which one in your comment. If you're an anonymous

commenter please leave an e-mail address or your name AND the city/state you're

from so we can properly identify you if you're chosen.

For a second chance, follow 6 Wilson on Instagram or "like" 6 Wilson on

Facebook and leave your Instagram/FB moniker in a second comment.

This offer is open to anyone worldwide.

I'll choose the winner next Sunday, May 5th, and your beautiful

pillow cover will soon be on its way.

Visit 6 Wilson and good luck!

Flowers of Remembrance

2013-04-22T06:47:00.000-04:00

What a week!

With the capture and end of our lockdown came the rain as if right on cue. The rain felt like the perfect end to a horrible week. It washed away the anxiety of our city. But once our own safety is taken care of, it was hard not to refocus on the others that are left hurting.

Here are some flowers for those people.

Vinca for the victims of the bombings and policemen killed and injured in the apprehension

of the terrorists. My thoughts and prayers are with them, their families and friends.

Nothing is blooming in the garden right now so these few blooms are very precious.

Tulips for Texas whose tragedy seemed to take a back seat to the events in Boston.

White Ranunculus for Biscuit.

I hope these flowers will be some relief or joy to anyone needing it.

Spring has come very late, like it was waiting for something. Perhaps for our undivided attention.

And it seems especially sweet this year.

Take a moment to enjoy other spring flowers at Janes' Flowers in the House party.

* * * * *

If you would like to help the victims of the Boston Marathon bombings:

The One Fund was set up by the governor of Massachusetts

and the Mayor of Boston to help the people must affected by

the tragic events that occurred in Boston on April 15, 2013.

Locked Down

2013-04-19T11:17:00.001-04:00

If you saw the news this morning, you know that things heated up in Cambridge last night.

The Boston Marathon bombers lived here. One is dead and other is on the loose. We are

presently under lock down, advised not to leave our homes and all forms of public

transportation have been shut down. Hopefully all of this madness will come to an

end soon and everyone can get on with the process of getting back

to our new normal. Thank you again everyone for your e-mails of concern.

Olive-Walnut Relish

2013-04-18T16:05:00.000-04:00

How can you not love any appetizer or meal that's quickly prepared?

Olive and Walnut Relish is a quick and versatile appetizer and has quickly

become one of my favorites since having it a local restaurant.

I use Mt. Athos green olives from Whole Food that have a little

mustard seed, herbs and crushed red pepper. Any good quality pitted olive

will do just add a few shakes of oregano and crushed red pepper to taste.

I used about two parts olives to one part walnuts.

Chop both the olives and walnuts rather coarsely...

...and combine in a bowl. I mix in a little extra virgin olive oil and

add a little lemon zest to brighten the whole thing up.

I served it atop fresh mozzarella and crostini but I think it would

also be nice as a condiment with something like grilled fish or chicken.

Wasn't that easy?

Safe, Sound and Sad

2013-04-16T20:33:00.000-04:00

Thank you all for your e-mails expressing concern

for me and my fellow Bostonians. I was safe at home

watching the events unfold as many of you did.

What happened is terrible, the details horrifying, and

although we're all sad, we are resilient.

People say Bostonians aren't friendly but when we're

challenged, we pull together and help each other.

Events like this make us wonder what's wrong with

mankind. After receiving scores of e-mails from around

the world checking on my well-being, offering prayers

for the city of Boston, I have faith

that there are many still on the right track.

Thank you.

Tile

2013-04-14T21:47:00.001-04:00

I love going to tile stores. It's just fun walking around and

imagining all the possible combinations for various imaginary rooms.

It seems like every time you go, there's something different.

I wish I could say picking out the tile was as much fun as the Bathroom Goddess

made picking out the fixtures. At this store, the salesperson sucked every bit of joy

out of the process. No creativity, no suggestions on alternatives for the tile I wanted

that was $60 per tile. I felt like I was just the next person she was stuck dealing with

and she couldn't wait to get my order taken care of so she could move on the next victim.

My next bathroom tile will come from Home Depot or Amazon.

Anyway, back to the tile.

There seems to be a lot of subway tile variations right now. I think

the crocodile pattern is great but many of these seem juvenile.

And who's going to clean all those little bumps?

My favorite are the marbles.

Hexagons, basket weaves, greek keys...I love them all.

One of the most unique things I saw was this "braided" marble tile. Each of

little pieces is about one inch by two inches. Really, really beautiful.

I decided to go with a 4-inch by 12-inch subway tile on tub surround.

I think it strikes a nice balance of a classic tile in a more modern shape.

And 40% off.

It doesn't hurt that bigger tile = less grout to clean.

On the rest of the walls, I'm going to be doing a horizontal planking

of some kind capped off with a chair rail.

In the tub/shower surround I continued that chair rail with a Greek key mosaic.

The floor.

I was planning to use wood on the floor to provide continuity of

color and material but once I started talking to Sam, my contractor, about

radiant heating in the floor, I quickly changed my mind to tile.

So I chose this faux wood porcelain tile in 9x36 inch "planks."

This is Ergon Wood Talk in Beige Digue.

It's incredibly realistic and it's apparently quite popular because it's

backordered a little bit.

I have to admit, I'm a little nervous about this choice. I'm usually VERY

definitive about my choices and I'm a little ambivalent about this one.

I just joined the 21st Century and got an iPhone.

If you already found me on Instagram, you'd know my

Greek key border arrived yesterday. Follow along if you'd like!

I'm really enjoying Instagram. It gets me out and about a lot more and

makes me pay more attention to my surroundings. I think Instagram is best

to show details, textures, shapes and contrasts. Close up and personal. It's amazing

the things you can find when you're really paying attention.

Bathroom Fixtures

2013-04-05T16:27:00.002-04:00

After buying the Swedish console table for my bathroom vanity,

I headed to the kitchen and bath showroom to select some fixtures.

We have quite a few options locally for kitchen and bathroom fixtures but

after visiting a few, I chose Waterspot in Natick. I'm not being compensated

by them in way but I really liked them and I'm happy to share that experience.

I had made a reconnaissance mission a few weeks before and I really liked

the products they had in the showroom and the staff seemed really friendly.

On my second visit, I went in and asked to speak to their bathroom goddess.

It's fun to play around with people sometimes just to see how they react.

The young woman at the front desk went over and whispered to a group

of salespeople/designers and one of them said "Oh, that would be me!"

Mary Ann was my bathroom goddess.

I went in with my Pinterest photos which I'm finding is a really

helpful to communicate your vision to other people. It's so much easier to say,

"I'll doing a vanity table like this but I want a square basin sink..."

Maryann got my vision and was excited about it.

Okay, can we talk toilets for a minute? This is the toilet in my ca. 1940

bathroom upstairs. The tank, or cistern, is hung on the wall

and is separate from the bowl. I've always loved the look of it but I swear

it takes about 17 gallons of water to fill it. It's huge!

So when I found this photo on local designer Julieann Covino's blog CreateGirl,

it was toilet love at first sight. I found them in the Perrin & Rowe catalog

as well as on the webistes of some other English companies.

I took this photo to Maryann and she loved it too. She got my vision!

The problem is this particular model isn't imported into the States.

Okay, I thought, I'll have it shipped myself.

But it's not code approved for use in Massachusetts.

We both cried for a minute. And then regrouped.

Here are the choices I made.

Yes, the sink is modern but I think the rounded edges soften it.

Some of you had concerns or problems with basin sinks, first, that they would be

dated in a few years and, two, functionality in terms of splashing, toothpaste sticking to

the bottom and/or water running down your arms when you wash your face.

My goal is to please you all and these were all things I considered as well

but I chose this sink for a reason I didn't discuss.

When I renovate my kitchen, the second bathroom will be taken out of commission to

restructure plumbing that passes through the kitchen. So during that the time I have no

kitchen, I'll be grilling all of my meals outside and washing whatever dishes I have in this sink.

So I wanted a nice big sink for my red Solo cups.

The Horus faucet was a splurge. But I thought it was oh so sexy.

I also thought the "knuckles" on the faucet and the cross handles...

...paired nicely with the legs of the vanity table.

Even though I couldn't have my dream toilet, the Porcher Lutezia

has a detail that I think makes it work perfectly. Can you see what it is?

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Now on to tile. This is fun!

Happy Easter

2013-03-30T18:48:00.000-04:00

Amaryllis Picotee

Although we think of amaryllis as a Christmas flower, we're celebrating

Easter with one last flourish from Amaryllis Picotee.

Amaryllis Picotee

Picotee's lovely white flower has a green center and fine red penciled edge.

I love how the red defines its very sculptural edges.

We'll be enjoying a quiet Easter hanging out with a few good friends, enjoying

good food, and sitting on the chairs we're not normally allowed to.

Whatever you do, however you celebrate, I hope you have a wonderful day!

Tomato Soup and Grilled Cheese

2013-03-28T14:44:00.000-04:00

There's a new color scheme being served up all over the neighborhood.

I call it Tomato Soup and Grilled Cheese.

When I was at lunch at Sam's in South Boston recently and saw it on the menu,

I just couldn't resist ordering it so I could juxtapose the photos.

This is a two-family house I wanted to buy several years ago. It was about as crusty as

a grilled cheese sandwich back then and I decided it was too scary of the project.

Someone bought it, fixed it up and flipped half of the house for the same price

as they paid for the entire house.

It was then I learned, don't be afraid of crustiness.

via

This house was the first in the neighborhood to use TS&GC color scheme

about three years ago. The others all quickly jumped on board.

via

This one switched things up a little bit with bronze window sashes.

photo: me

I think I like it better with black accents.

What do you think? Could you warm up to TS&GC on your house?

Appraisers and Roofers

2013-03-24T11:52:00.002-04:00

It was 7:30 in the morning. The house was all spic and span and

the morning sun poured in the front of the house.

The yellow paperwhites brought their own sunshine to

the dining room we all waited for the appraisers to arrive.

There had even been a dusting of snow overnight that

perfectly covered my missing shingles.

Everything was perfect....

...until I looked out the window to see...

...the roofers had arrived unannounced.

I nearly had a heart attack. All I could envision was the

appraisers arriving to find my roof...

...looking like this.

Fortunately, they were just stopping by to accept delivery of the

roofing materials. It would have been nice to have gotten this done

before the appraisal but at least they could see that it was actually going

to happen in the near future.

The roof was replaced the next day.

So here's the before.

And here's the after. It's not a huge impact but it does look a lot better.

They also added a ridge vent which will provide better ventilation in the attic.

(The shingles are Certainteed architectural shingles in Colonial Gray color.)

The appraisal went well I think. It's hard to judge and a lot of the outcome will

be the comparison of my house and its finishes to comparable properties

in the neighborhood based on recent sales.

They did say that it was apparent that everything was well maintained

and that a lot of the finish work looked new. That subjective data gets

offset by the fact that I don't have a garbage disposal, a dishwasher and

a microwave, butcher block counters versus granite, etc. etc. etc.

A porch adds X dollars to the price, a patio adds X dollars

and off-street parking adds X dollars. Good information.

They did drawings of the floor plans and took photos of only of

the kitchen and bathrooms, hot water heater and furnace.

Not too invasive and it took less than a half hour.

I don't have any concern about where the appraisal will come in but I'm more interested in

how the work I've done to the house has affected the value. I think it's important when you're

renovating to know the value of your house as well as understanding your local real estate

market. I don't want to overshoot on installing high end finishes if I won't be able to recoup

that investment if I decide to sell the house at some point.

Is there another renovation in my future? I don't know. But it's good to be educated.

Keeping Track

2013-03-20T14:05:00.000-04:00

When you're renovating and/or decorating a house, you come across a lot

of details. Pinterest has proven to be an invaluable tool to keep track of ideas

and products that I may want to go back and look at later. I wanted to share my secret for

keeping track of information when I'm out and about on the road searching for

furniture, salvage and details I may want to look at down the road.

My secret is a Moleskine. They come in a lot of different forms but

I like the plain notebook. It's 5 x 8.25 inches which is about a half sheet of regular

copy/printer printer paper so it's not really pocket size but small enough that

I can carry the notebook and a point-and-shoot camera in the same hand.

(Although maybe that's why I keep dropping my cameras!) They're available

at most art supply stores and also on the internet.

It's also got a handy pocket in back to stuff business cards and receipts.

I'm famous for losing receipts and this has helped a lot.

As I was out, for example, looking for vanity options,

I started a new page and noted where I was.

Adding the date wouldn't have been a bad idea either.

Even though I usually document things I like with my camera,

the notebook is a perfect place to make a little sketch so you can note the

measurements. Here you'll see my drawing of the Swedish chest in the lead

photo and its measurements. It's not a perfect drawing but there are enough

details--the scrolly edge on the middle drawer and the bun feet--that refresh

my recollection. It provides details that a photograph doesn't.

I knew at the time this wasn't an option for my downstairs bathroom

but having all the details allows me to go back later to see if it might be

an option, for example, for the upstairs bathroom or maybe a kitchen island.

Another thing that's really helpful is having the dimensions of all

your rooms. I can't tell you how many times I've been out somewhere and

see a table or chest and really can't tell if it's the right size for a certain spot

in the house. If you have all these measurements, you'll immediately know

if the antique sofa will fit through the den door or if the salvaged doors

are the right size for bathrooms. I try to measure as much as possible; e.g., the

height and width of windows and doors, the height and width of walls as well

as each space between doors and windows, and the placement of light switches

and outlets.

Of course, the secret is making sure you have your notebook when you need it.

It's never a problem remembering if I'm making a road trip to Maine or Cape Cod,

but sometimes I find myself stopping somewhere when I'm closer to home.

It doesn't always work out but I find the best place to keep it is in the car!

* * * * *

For you art lovers, I thought it might be fun for you to read a few pages of

my notes from my meeting with Jeanne Bultman which I talked about in

my post Why I Love Provincetown. I sat down immediately following our

meeting and wrote down as much as I could remember. It's amazing how

certains details can fade after time and I knew these were details that I wanted

to get down for posterity. I've masked a small portion of my

notes just to protect the family's privacy. I hope you enjoy!

Vanity

2013-03-17T19:13:00.000-04:00

Plans are moving along nicely. My refinancing has been approved and

I expect to have my appraisal this week.

I've also started plans for the new downstairs bathroom. I've always thought my biggest challange for both bathrooms would be to find a unique and interesting solution for the sink. I've always envisioned something old paired with something modern.

I stopped by Darby Road in Waltham to see what I could find.

The gray Swedish chest would be beautiful.

I'd pair it with a modern rectangular vessel mounted on the top. I'm not a huge fan of the bowl vessel sinks; they just seem a little precious. This nice chunky one that would allow you to wash your face without losing half the water onto the counter.

This is one of Darby Road's custom pieces. I like the idea of cabinet doors better than a piece that has drawers. You could get a shelf or two inside without having to deal with shortening the drawers.

It's got some nice details and can be painted in any color so it

could fit in to almost any design scheme.

I love the corner detail on this chest. Really different hardware too.

This is another Darby Road piece that could be transformed

into a handsome country vanity...

...that you've maybe seen on my Bathrooms Pinterest board.

This isn't at all an option but isn't this amazing? The sink and

counter sections are all porcelain. Perfect for your country house!

Not for my house, but I love this Chinese chest. It's got a beautiful patina.

And I think it would be gorgeous with a copper basin on the top.

A table is another option. I love the turned legs on this Swedish piece.

It could look like this only with one large sink. Yes, it lack storage but I love

how little visual space it takes up.

It's unfortunate that every one of these pieces is too big. The architect's plan shows a 30-inch sink. I think I could push that to 32 inches for the sink but all of these are 36" or larger.

This table could be fairly easily modified. If the top were removed, the front and back rails

could be trimmed down. I used my photo editor to add a shelf to the bottom.

Kind of like this. It's no much better than

having a basket of towels sitting on the floor.

I like the marble top too.

So I think this is the one. I've drawn up plans to alter the piece

so it fits and I'm heading to the bath store to figure out the sink and other fixtures.

See you there.

Note: I regret that I had to put the word verification back on. I was getting overwhelmed with all the spam comments. It was either add add word verification or turn off anonymous comments.

I know it's a pain; I'm sorry.

Antique Maps

2013-03-10T10:20:00.001-04:00

I recently came across a collection of antique maps and couldn't resist

bringing some of them home.

There was quite a large collection that included locations all over the United States

but I pulled out as many Massachusetts towns as I could find, especially cities

and villages along the ocean.

I would assume each map was a page in a large book but each one

has been cut into perfect rectangles and mounted on cotton so they can

fold into a little booklet. Many of them are signed "F.H. Silsbee, Lawrence, Mass."

and a few are dated 1899. I googled F.H. Silsbee and found he was a graduate

of MIT and a member of the New England Cotton Manufacturer's Association

You can see faintly on the back of the Falmouth, Mass. map the text on the back

that reads "Desription of Topographic Map of the United States."

Let me show you a few.

Beverly and Salem, Mass.

Plymouth, Mass.

Yarmouth, Mass.

And I love that some of the maps

of seaside towns are mainly open water leaving an irregular edge

that make abstract shapes.

Provincetown, Mass.

Truro and Wellfleet, Mass.

The maps have a very soft red, white, blue and black color palette

that would fit very easily in almost room.

Fall River, Mass.

(Of Lizzie Bordon fame.)

Since each map has a grid of nine panes, I think they would look great framed

and hung in a grid of nine.

A project that would certainly drive me crazy

getting hung perfectly.

* BY REQUEST *

For present and former Salem residents, historians, witches and warlocks, I'm adding an enlarged image of the Salem map. It's too bad there's not more detail but I'm sure some of you (Donna Seger) will see some things that have changed.

(It seems it won't enlarge when you click so I'm making it as large as possible.)

This and That

2013-03-03T21:03:00.000-05:00

Amaryllis Lemon Star

I've really enjoyed having bulbs in the house for the winter. I'm not sure why

but the amaryllis got a really slow start and even though I planted them a week before

Thanksgiving, the first one didn't bloom until the end of January.

This Lemon Star variety put on an amazing show with two stalks

blooming at the same time. The other amaryllis bloomed while I was sick so I didn't get a photo but it's sending up a second shoot so I have another chance.

I started the yellow paperwhites at the beginning of February

and they should be opening in the next week.

The snow has melted away and the Endless Summer hydrangea are starting

to reveal themselves... a little crushed.

Since this is the first winter we've had a heavy snow since planting them, it'll

be a good test to see how they handle the heavy snow pack.

I dropped my Lumix camera when I was out taking pictures during Hurricane Sandy. It limped along, with grinding sound each time I turned it on and the lens extended itself. It finally succumbed to its injuries after taking pictures of the Christmas tree. I've been on an austerity program trying to save money for the house so I borrowed a camera from a friend...which I proceeded to drop after doing the door knocker photos. Oops. It's doing okay but I'm going to have to buy two cameras now.

Then my computer died in January. I'm hoping I can get all of my photos off the old hard drive but they may be lost. When the computer started to act up, I was at least smart enough to e-mail myself some of the photos I had taken for future posts (like the last soup post).

I thought I might hang it up but I decided I'd miss you all so much. I got a new MacBook Air (which I love) but I'm having a terrible time with iPhoto. Does anyone use iPhoto '11 and have trouble with cropping? It's driving me crazy.

I'm trying to get the house spruced up for an appraisal and I'm going to try to refinance. If you have a mortgage, have you looked at interest rates? Lenders have gotten much more strict since I bought the house but I'm going to give it a go.

You may recall I had taken off the bathroom door to strip it and I never got to it before the weather turned cold. There sat the door in the bedroom all winter. I had stripped to this hinges, door knobs and backplates so I rehung the door and replaced the hardware.

I kind of like the crusty backplate and I'm love with the Bennington knob

I found under about 10 layers of paint.

See the damage to the ceiling from the roof leak? Not too bad but it's the first thing

I notice when I walk in the room.

I'll do a better repair later but I just painted it and it's barely noticeable.

I just hope the appraiser isn't a follower!

I'm embarrassed to show this. When I painted the bedroom floor,

I had to keep the door closed to keep the cats out so I wasn't able to paint the threshold.

And I did nothing about it until today!

Ahhh. So much better!

I don't why it took me five years to figure out I should add some track lights to the kitchen.

I have only one light in the middle of the room and it's sometimes difficult to see what I'm cooking when it's dark outside. What an inexpensive way to add a lot of light.

Some of you noticed the modern chair in the photo of my nautical inspired Christmas tree.

The chair is one of a pair that a friend gave me when he was buying new furniture. I thought

the modern pieces would be an interesting addition to the living room but it's unfortunate they're too deep to have them at opposite ends of the coffee table. I'd have to buy a smaller coffee table. When something free requires buying something to make it work, I'm not sure it makes sense.

Toward the end of last summer, my neighbors had a fire in their house. It was a scary day but it was nice to see neighbors pull together to offer whatever they could to help them get through it. When I found out they needed a bed, I offered my guest bed. While it seems like a big sacrifice, I had been considering getting a new bed for the guest room so it seemed like a perfect fit. All of this goes to explain why the twin spindle bed has been moved to the guest room. I love how it looks and would like to get a new queen-sized version in this style. Do you know anyone who makes one?

That's what I've been up to. How 'bout you?

Tom Ka Soup II

2013-02-24T13:04:00.001-05:00

To celebrate 100,000 hits on my first Tom Ka soup post, I thought I would do a sequel.

This Tom Ka recipe is vegan but don't be scared! It's just as delicious as the first version.

I didn't attempt to replace the flavor of the fish sauce with something else--it's just not possible--I've totally reworked the recipe. I think it still has a very "Thai" flavor profile and is every bit as delicious.

Tom Ka Vegan

1 carton vegetable stock (4 cups)

1 14 oz. can coconut milk

1 stalk lemongrass

1 4-inch piece fresh ginger

1 bunch cilantro

1/2 large yellow onion

1 lime, juiced

1 tablespoon sriracha or red curry paste (+/- to taste)

Use any combination of your favorite chopped vegetables including:

Pea pods, sweet peppers, mushrooms, zucchini, yellow squash, bean sprouts, cherry tomatoes,

broccoli, carrots, sliced onions, scallions, baby corn, cilantro, basil, fresh ginger, etc.

For more substance you could also add tofu or rice vermicelli.

I used the lemon grass and ginger...

...the stems of a cilantro bunch and one half an onion to flavor the

vegetable broth as the base for the soup. I've made this three time using three different vegetable stocks and they're all a little different. The best version was the Pacific vegetable stock that was heavy on the carrots which made it sweeter.

Peel and slice the ginger, chop the lemon grass, onions, cilantro stems and simmer them in the vegetable stock for about 30 minutes. Turn off heat and let cool before straining the broth.

When you're ready to serve the soup, return the broth to the pot, heat to a simmer and add coconut milk, sriracha (or chili paste) and lime juice.

While the broth is heating, chop up your vegetables and add them to serving bowls. Here I've used pea pods, button and oyster mushrooms, sweet yellow papers, baby corn and julienned ginger. I would guess it's about 1-1/2 cups of vegetables.

This amount of broth will make four good sized bowls of soup (using a little more than one cup of broth per serving).

To garnish, I mixed some sriracha with some toasted sesame oil and drizzled the red oil on top of the soup and topped with some micro basil.

The broth is really aromatic and feels very restorative. The spice from the sriracha feels great on the throat if you're feeling a little under the weather.

I hope you enjoy!

The Roof

2013-02-12T11:44:00.001-05:00

Before getting up on the roof to do the hard work, I spent a few minutes walking around with my camera to find a few pristine bits of snow. They don't last long in the city so they're precious. These were two drifts along the fence just off my back porch. Despite the hassle caused by so much snow in one night, it's nice to stop and see the beauty that nature can create.

At the back end of my attic there's a little trap door that provides access to a flat roof over my bedroom and the bathroom with the claw foot tub. The door is about 1-1/2 feet above the roof and the opening was almost completely occluded with a snow drift. So there was about four feet of snow on the roof.

It's always scary getting out there with so much snow already there. All I can think is that I'm

going to be the straw that breaks the camel's back. But with rain in forecast, I can't risk letting any additional weight sit up there.

There's just no graceful way to get out there. It's usually kind of dive.

Just as a safety measure, I try to stay in the middle and throw the snow into my

yard on both sides.

As I get within six feet of the edge, I kneel down just push the snow over the edge.

And it's nice to take a few minutes to enjoy a view of the neighborhood

that I otherwise never get to see.

I signed a contract a few weeks ago to replace the roof. It's an expense I wasn't

anticipating and unfortuantely the bathroom budget is being partially reallocated.

I've known the roof was at the end of its life since I moved in. It's never leaked until

recently and as you can see there are shingles missing.

I had a few shingles missing but the winds from Hurricane Sandy tore off several

more and I had a leak in the middle bedroom upstairs.

I was hoping to avoid this job because it sets off a chain of events that I just can't tackle

all at once. This old chimney that goes through the edge of the roof will eventually come down to make way for new kitchen windows. But taking down the chimney to do the roof means work on the siding and new kitchen windows. To add new windows, I need a variance. The variance also includes plans for a new window outside the new bathroom and new french doors on the back porches. If I apply for and get a variance, I have one year to complete the work. So until I have the savings for all that, I've not wanted to do it. But the roofer and I debated the problem and we agreed that the chimney will be lowered just enough to repair the eave and finish the new roof. It'll look stupid until I can finish the job but what's wrong with looking a little stupid?

I'm going to be using architectural shingles--the roofer uses

Certainteed--and they dropped off the samples so I could pick a color.

There are several nice grays so it was harder than I thought to pick one.

I chose Colonial Slate that has little bits of both red and green.

I think it'll look nice.

A few weeks ago, I had a second leak during a heavy wind and rainstorm so

I'm glad this is a project that's going to get taken care of in the short term.

I just need the weather to cooperate.

Blizzard

2013-02-09T19:27:00.001-05:00

Thanks to everyone for the get-well wishes. I was down with the flu for about five days.

It wasn't the sickest I've ever been but I guess I was lucky. I've heard from people who were sick for a few weeks.

We got about 28 inches of snow literally overnight and I was feeling well enough to get

myself shoveled out today. I took some before and after photos to share.

This was the first time I've ever seen a front-end loader plowing the streets.

We were lucky compared to many who have no power and others on the waterfront whose

homes were flooded and/or destroyed by astronomically high tides last night and this morning.

We're expecting rain on Monday which will add a lot of additional weight to the snow that's up there so I have to get up my roof tomorrow to shovel it off.

Just another winter day in New England.

Please Excuse Me

2013-02-04T11:05:00.000-05:00

It got me.

The flu hit on Wednesday. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone.

I'm just starting to feel normal again so please excuse me while I convalesce.

Photo from one of the topairy houses at Snug Harbor Farm in Maine.

I'm pretty sure it's tea tree and it just makes me happy.

Boston Design Center

2013-01-27T19:27:00.001-05:00

The Boston Design Center, normally only open to "the trade," opened its doors this past weekend

to commoners. Some showrooms were having floor sample sales while others were

simply "open for viewing."

While I don't understand the concept of severely limiting your client base, it didn't matter to me.

I was just excited to see what design and decorating delicacies were behind

the forbidden post-modern facade.

I was most excited about going to Schumacher. I've seen many beautiful Schumacher patterns and I wanted to see and feel the Martyn Lawrence Bullard and Mary McDonald collections. I was disappointed to find that Schumacher was closed. So lame!

Ralph Lauren was also closed but I was able to get these photos with

my crying face pressed to the glass.

Stark Carpets was open and I was happy to see their beautiful carpets in person. I've seen some on One King's Lane and many of them appeal to me. I was surprised to see that they also had a nice collection of antique thread-bare orientals and vintage Moroccans. I'm on the edge of declaring Moroccans "over" because there are so many knock-offs but the real thing is still gorgeous.

In my mind, Stark is best known for their antelope carpet seen in this fantastic Jan Showers room.

The Kravet showroom was beautiful. I didn't even know they sold furniture. Their upholstered pieces are very elegant and some their case pieces are surprisingly modern.

Their fabrics are all soft to the touch and seem quite luxe.

You could spend weeks going through all of the fabric showrooms. Weeks!

It would be easy to get overwhelmed in just one.

Here are few that appealed to me.

1. Gaston y Daniela, Segovia pattern, Gris colorway

2. Gaston y Daniela, Matsuyama pattern,verde colorway

3. Brunschwig & Fils, Le Jardin Chinois, Aqua/Green colorway

4. Gaston y Daniela, Regencia, Chocolate colorway

One of my favorite places was Janus et Cie, a beautiful showroom

that focuses on indoor and outdoor seating.

I was totally in love with the boxwood clad walls.

...their beautifully designed space and their great products.

I would love to have four of the wicker chairs around a small table on

my back porch when that gets replaced.

I was recently reading about this beautiful kitchen via this Tokyo Jinja post and noticed that the

subway tile was from Ann Sacks so I psyched to see it at the design center.

What a beautiful showroom. I'm not one for glitz but this patinated gold tile

was pretty amazing.

Also very cool was their selection of their porcelain tile made to look like plank flooring.

What a great choice this would be for a kitchen.

VERY cool!

I have a very photographic memory and I was sure this yellow tile (I neglected to get the name) looked very familiar to me.

Does it look familiar to you?

I'm pretty sure it's the tile that Kathryn Ireland used in her Ojai makeover in the most

recent season of Million Dollar Decorators.

There was so much beautiful tile, I couldn't begin to show it all but I took great interest in the

mosaics at the Ann Sacks showroom which I'll show in another post.

Despite my disappointment at missing Schumacher, I had a great time having access to the

showrooms at the Boston Design Center. I would love to have more time to see everything and educate myself better on the products that are available if only through the trade.

PTMD Collection Foam Plants

2013-01-21T20:27:00.001-05:00

I was out and about last weekend and came across some amazing "flowers" from PTMD Collection and I wanted to share them with you. They immediately reminded me of...

Six Swans Entry, Designer: Steven Gambrel

...the foyer of the Six Swans house designed by Steven Gambrel that I highlighted in the

A Room with Two Views post I did with Camille from The Vintique Object.

I thought it would be fun to take a look at these faux "flowers," made from some kind of foam,

and juxtapose those against some other rooms in the Six Swans house.

The connection seems to go beyond color palette; many of the plants seem like

they have come from under water.

I've been admiring this bathroom since I first saw it.

I love the wave pattern on the sink.

These "flowers" reminded me most of sea creatures, resembling something

of a cross between oysters and barnacles...

...can almost be seen growing in the pattern on the chairs that are

sitting on a sandy sea floor.

The "flowers" come in black, brown, white, blue, purple, green and gray.

The ones I've shown are all gray.

To see more of the Six Swans house visit Steven Gambrel's website and

or the Frank Greenwald Architect website for the exterior shots.

PTMD Collection flowers are available locally at Winston's

or from the PTMD (Netherlands) website.

I thought they were really unusual. Have you seen anything like them before?