Observations of an Occasional Artist

Relocating

noreply@blogger.com (Lauren) — Fri, 17 Dec 2010 17:57:00 +0000

No, I'm not selling the house. Not without fixing it up so I can make a million bucks first. ;)

But the blog is relocating to Wordpress (so many shiny new buttons to play with)! And getting an official houseblog name and header. Check it out here:

http://portrichmondrow.wordpress.com/

And of course, you can direct your feed readers here to keep grabbing my posts:

http://portrichmondrow.wordpress.com/feed/

Thanks, and hope to see you there.

More Radio Silence

noreply@blogger.com (Lauren) — Thu, 02 Dec 2010 01:37:00 +0000

I haven't updated since September? Whoops.

In my defense, it has been a busy fall over here. In addition to the still semi-new job, I've been working on a bunch of non-house projects. Lots of them for my web design class (which is killing my free time, but I love it regardless). After the pipe project website, which you've seen, I redesigned an existing homepage:

Before

After

Then, I made this silly, interactive web art piece that pulls in tweets about bubbles and animates them like… bubbles (go tweet to it, it's fun to see your message pop up!):

For my final project, I'm thinking of giving this here blog a new home. I'd especially like to include a clickable floorplan of the house that allows you to explore a timeline of renovation-in-progress photos by room. And by you, I mean me. I need to see lots of "before" pictures to remind me of how far we've come. 'Cause it seems like nothing is getting done around here these days.

In other art an design news, I just finished up an Etsy commission – my first!

I was asked to create this graphite drawing of the architectural details of the buyer's seriously awesome house. This is more of a geometric style than what I typically draw for fun, but I enjoyed taking on the challenge.

For more of my Etsy work, you can always visit my shop. ;)

Distracted by Pipes. Again.

noreply@blogger.com (Lauren) — Sun, 26 Sep 2010 18:51:00 +0000

I owe you more 2-year update photos, but I’m distracted. By homework, of all things. Did I mention that I’m taking a web design course? I’ve wanted to get some proper instruction on mastering teh internets for a while, but it wasn’t until I got my new job that the cost issue was resolved (read: the course is free through my very generous employer).

I’ve spent some insane amount of time on my first project (11 hours and counting), so I wanted to share it. And it’s house related! Our assignment was to create a site in which the content exists on one page -– no links leading to longer urls allowed. Well, except for anchors. But you know what I mean.

So I designed a visual tutorial of how to assemble the pipe shelving unit project. Come check it out:

The class is designing using code only (no dragging page elements around -– actually, no visual editor period!), so I wrote the whole thing from scratch in what is basically a notepad file. And I made all the vector drawings, and the animation… and now I understand why I have a headache. Keeping up with these college kids is not easy. They run on Red Bull and require no sleep.

Speaking of web design, Ye Olde House Blogge could use a makeover… why is my header image broken?

Sigh. There’s always another project to tackle.

2 Years – Living Room

noreply@blogger.com (Lauren) — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 21:08:00 +0000

Whenever I feel depressed about the speed of progress around the house, I just drag out this picture. It was taken about 3 weeks after I moved in. The walls are blue, the kitchen is yellow, the curtains are lace, the floor is carpeted, and my stuff is everywhere.

I’m still not completely in love with my living room, but I’m certainly closer! Here’s a shot taken from the same position today:

And facing the opposite way:

If you guessed that the sculpture by my front door is there only because I’ve been avoiding carrying it back down the stairs into my basement, you get a sticker. Heavy sucker. If it stays there long enough, I might start using it as a coat hook.

I still love my cow rug, which is a relief considering how much of a presence it has in this room. It’s the easiest thing in the world to care for, though. Just sweep it off with a broom along the grain of the hair, or wash it with a sponge the same way.

The pipe shelving unit project is a favorite accomplishment. It has become something of a curio cabinet for me, attracting all kind of feathers, seeds, plants, shells, and art about feathers, seeds, plants and shells.

I do rotate items frequently, which keeps it fun. I’m trying not to bog this unit down with too much stuff.

Well, except for the gecko. He’ll be a permanent fixture once he’s big enough to move into the new vivarium.

Here’s the rest of the art collection:

These pieces also rotate. I’ll probably need to do some editing of the wall-o’-art in the near future; I’ve gathered a whole lot of stuff.

I like the effect for now, though.

If I were a real design blogger, with sponsors and advertisers and product reviews and fancy stuff, I would totally have styled this shot with some summer scarves and, like, a burlap grocery bag full of flowers. But hey, this is how the house actually looks. I hang coats on my coat hooks. And I never have money for flowers.

And now it’s time to talk about the lingering ugly bits. Because while I may have a cute end table on this side of the sofa…

… what the heck is this thing? A bland Ikea bookcase holding a yoga mat and a cricket cage? No good. This should obviously be some kind of low, modern side table/credenza with doors to hide all of the weirdness. Like this thing. Too bad all the good thrifting for such furniture is on the west coast.

I think I have settled on using two end tables, though, over a coffee table. My living room is a decent size for a small Philly rowhome, but the space is long and skinny. Having that coffee table in the dead center of the room really messes up the flow of traffic. Which is why my table is here:

Yeah. That’s… special. I’m also going to need a low, modern media storage system, aren’t I. Why is attractive furniture so hard to get? Can’t I just build it all with pipes?

Oh, and then there’s that thing. Right. Pipes won’t fix that nonsense.

Ooorrr that situation. The astute among you may have noticed that my cable box is hiding somewhere that is nowhere near my TV. Definitely need to fix the wiring and consolidate this mess within a media storage unit.

And then there’s this. Every time my heating contractor comes in here, he tells me not to paint the brick. I remain unconvinced. I’ve scrubbed the heck out of these floor-level puppies and that’s as clean as they get.

Something’s getting painted. I don’t know what and I don’t know what color it will be, but it needs to happen soon.

2 Years – Kitchen and Dining Room

noreply@blogger.com (Lauren) — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 17:51:00 +0000

My 2-year house anniversary post is very belated. Truthfully, I haven’t accomplished much this summer. Instead of painting and crafting, a lot of my time went into applying and interviewing for new jobs. It took 7 interviews, guys. It’s tough out there.

But that initial effort has resulted in a much happier, healthier blog author today. There’s even a little extra money kicking around for new projects (if I can manage to stop spending it on work-appropriate clothing!).

For this year’s entry, I’ve decided to go for honesty. I’ve made definite improvements to each room in the house, but lingering ugly spots remain. And ugly spots are entertaining, too, so I’m not gonna hide them from you.

Let’s start with The World’s Smallest Kitchen (tm)!

Man, every year I do this post I wish that my camera hadn’t been stolen, robbing me of all of my before pictures. These crappy inspection photos are worthless.

Anyway, that was then. Here’s where we are today:

The open shelving project has turned out to be one of my favorite things about this room. I had some concerns going in; people warned me that my dishes would get dusty or sticky, plus I cheaped out and went with some Ikea laminate shelves, so I was worried they might warp or peel. But so far, I have to say that the entire arrangement has been trouble-free.

And if you happen to have nice dishes (thanks, Mom!), it’s really lovely to see everything out in the open.

My second-favorite thing is this little window of bottles and plants. I rotate items in and out of this arrangement pretty frequently. Translation: sometimes I kill things.

I like the way the closed containers fog up in the morning.

And now for the ugly. I’ve pretty successfully rid this room of the ugly, except for one thing:

Sky. Blue. Countertops. I’ve lived with them long enough now that I no longer wonder WHY anyone would pick this color every time I peek at them. And that scares me.

Let’s move to the dining room!

Ouch. Let’s not. I’m looking at this now and wondering if the green (?!) countertop in this room was picked to match the green chairs. I can offer no other explanation.

Today we’re a little better off, color-wise:

We still have the green and it still needs to go, but at least there isn’t any yellow for it to fight with.

That thing in the corner is my gecko’s starter terrarium. He’s been living in this room because it has an air conditioner, and apparently I care more about moderating his temperature than I do my own.

I see you!

This is the first room I started working on, and it’s probably time to revisit it. I’d like to use this radiator cover space in a more interesting way. The room could use a rug, too.

Hulk smash green countertop! But that’s not even the ugliest bit:

Ah yes, the mouse hole that I plugged with steel wool, caulk, and a boat load of poison. Also, the electrical outlet that was stuffed into a hole far too big for it, and is therefore screwed to nothing.

I could fix most of this situation with baseboads, if I ever get around to baseboards. The kitchen had some that I saved when the floors were redone, but the living room had nothing. I don’t know if I can match the old ones so I haven’t reinstalled them.

Yeah. That’s a pretty poor effort.

Coming soon: the living room and more!

Wait, I bought this house when?

noreply@blogger.com (Lauren) — Sat, 14 Aug 2010 17:11:00 +0000

I thought that I moved into this glamorous abode on August 25th. It was July 25th? Crap. I'm late on my "The House, 2 Year Later" post. It's gonna have to wait for another week, too, because I'm beat. I spent all morning doing this:

Color coded closet!

Inspired by some style blogs, I've been trying to make better use of my closet's contents by finding more creative ways to combine pieces. Grouping everything by color family should help with that.

This is how fashion sneaks up on you, isn't it? It starts with a couple of pretty scarves, then suddenly you're color-coding your closet... before you know notice anything's changed, you start to see a certain logic in buying $950 "investment-piece" Gucci pants.

I hope I never reach that last stage of mania. I am pleased, though, that my efforts to dress myself in something more interesting than my jeans-and-a-black-tee-shirt college uniform have actually been noticed. I submit as evidence: 1. Someone asked me if I was "layering cutely or if the dress comes like that," and I was actually layering cutely. And 2. Someone else said that I had "such a nice work wardrobe."

Both times I nearly fell over backward in surprise. I'm not exaggerating -- I owned nothing but black shirts and jeans when I graduated college. My (brand new!) boyfriend tried to take me to the ballet and I had to buy a dress and an evening bag, because I did not own either. I suck at dressing myself. See, I used the present tense there because I still believe it.

Anyway, it felt good this morning to drag everything out of the closet, toss a few items, and give the remainder a good resorting. Now if I could only manage to do this for my basement...

Gecko Home Video

noreply@blogger.com (Lauren) — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 23:26:00 +0000

I should post something. Hmmm. How about this?

My gecko has a nutritional imbalance. Perhaps imbalance isn't quite the right word; maybe avoidance is better. He's got plenty of tasty scientifically-formulated fruit smoothie available, but he'll randomly turn his nose up and refuse to eat it for a week. And then his tail will get all wavy and weird-looking, and I'll spend tons of money and endless hours on the internet trying to figure out why he's being cranky.

Right now, I'm feeding him crickets more often. Because of this he's putting on weight -- yay! -- and I get to carry him around, which he hates. Too bad, so sad. Ox, we're not gonna sit here and play the "open wide, here comes the plane" game forever. Eat your dinner, young man!

First Friday Show

noreply@blogger.com (Lauren) — Sat, 03 Jul 2010 13:01:00 +0000

The Hollandia International showroom exhibited a perfect marriage between art and luxurious sleep systems last night. Here are a few images from the show!

Thanks to everyone who came out, and many thanks to Stefan for hosting me. If you’re ever near the store, drop by and have him demo an adjustable mattress for you. They’re incredibly fun and far too comfortable, plus Stefan really knows his stuff.

First Friday and more

noreply@blogger.com (Lauren) — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 10:49:00 +0000

This Friday (as in, two days from now — yipes!), the fine people at the Hollandia International showroom in Old City are hosting some of my art work. It's a rare opportunity to see Lauren pieces in the wild! Normally, I keep them cooped up in this little house.

I'm bringing sculptures and drawings and I'm showing alongside a painter, so there will be a nice variety of things to see. Also: very awesome, very innovative sleep systems. Also: wine.

Here's the address:

149 North 3rd Street
Old City, Philadelphia
Philadelphia, PA 19106

In preparation for the show (and in hopes of freeing some of those aforementioned pieces from captivity), I've launched an Etsy shop! I've only listed a few pieces, but I'll be adding more in the coming weeks. Check it out here:

etsy.com/shops/laurenhallden

OK, now off to finish the rest of my to-do list, which is, hmmmm... nine more items long. Including one line that says "finish that new piece you're working on." Right. See you on Friday!

Summer dress mess

noreply@blogger.com (Lauren) — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 01:05:00 +0000

I’ve been lamenting the absence of pretty, comfortable, work-appropriate summer dresses this season. I’m relying more and more on dresses as a staple of my wardrobe, both because they’re easy (getting ready in the morning requires putting on one article of clothing and maybe some accessories), yet dresses always seem to give off the impression that you’ve put extra effort into your appearance. They’re wonderfully deceptive.

However, lots of the junk that’s available to buy in stores these days really doesn’t suit my needs or my style. I like versatile clothing, so dresses that expose lots of back and thighs and chest really aren’t going to cut it for me; I’ve got a JOB to keep, people! I can’t be dressing like I’ve just thrown some cute scrap of colorful cotton over my bikini during a brief break between tanning sessions.

But it’s remarkably hard to find dresses that don’t violate the back-boobs-thigh rule. And forget about finding something that’s lined well enough that your coworkers won’t be able to see straight through it.

The fine people at Shabby Apple seem to agree, and I was delighted by their story when I was linked to their shop from another blog:

After years of not being able to find stylish dresses that covered enough skin to make you really feel comfortable (without wearing a tank top, cardigan or long slip), owners Emily and CK decided to do something about it.

They visited trade shows, marketplaces and designer studios only to discover the problem was not that department stores weren't buying the right dresses, but that designers weren't designing them.

Shabby Apple is proud to offer you fantastic dresses that allow you to look fabulous, without having to compromise anything else.

A return to what dresses were always meant to be — a one-piece outfit. No need to add anything...no tank tops, no cardigans, nothing (except accessories, of course!).

Exactly! Unfortunately, when the dress Boyfriend ordered for my birthday arrived, it was completely mis-sized. I was mystified; I had ordered the size that exactly fit my bust and waist measurements, which should have given my hips an inch or so of extra breathing room according to their dimensions chart (because I am built like a beanpole). Yet the top half of the dress fit with room to spare, while the bottom fit like a baaaaad pair of Spanx. The resulting fashion show was vaguely obscene. No problem, I’d just send it back and order the next size up — wait, there isn’t one? Oh.

OH.

There may have been some sniffling at this point, I’m ashamed to admit.

We’re sending the dress back and trying a new style (one ideal for “pear-shaped” women, just to be on the safe side) because I am not ready to give up on these seemingly-sensible people, but sheesh. “Happy Birthday, your thighs are too big”? You’re supposed to be making my life less fraught with body anxiety.*

Still, I think Shabby Apple has much greater potential than, say, Urban Outfitters, whose entire dress collection features hem lengths that can only be described as “crotch-grazing.” I wish, wish wish that one of their employees had not prevented me from taking this great picture of an itty bitty see-through negligee-like thing hanging on a rack marked “Dresses - $29.99”, because it would have so perfectly illustrated my point.

I’ve had slightly better luck at Anthropologie, where I recently tried on half of the dresses in the store before this one emerged as a favorite:

It didn’t cover quite as much skin as I’d like due to a scoop back, though, which seems to be my perpetual complaint with Anthropologie. A little exposed back is cute, yes, but again: I work in an office, not a club. Also: $138. So I reluctantly passed. But imagine my surprise when I accompanied Boyfriend on a shopping trip of his own today, and while killing time in Eddie Bauer I spotted this:

Hello, look-alike dress! Don’t let the Photoshopping fool you — this one has a full back. Knee-length, lightweight but fully lined, not clingy, comes in real dress sizes instead of S-M-L, and it was much cheaper than Anthro’s. And it is now mine.

It was one hard-earned dress, though, and I only stumbled upon it accidentally. Does anyone else out there share my frustration with the lack of good summer dresses? Any tips, sources, etc.? I’ve considered going vintage, but so much of that stuff is sized for much smaller (and shorter) girls. Also, where are the larger ladies shopping?

*To be fair, I think I originally picked an older style dress that maybe sold out in larger sizes. The SA fitting chart says they can accommodate up to 60” hips.

Alien bugs: the next generation

noreply@blogger.com (Lauren) — Sun, 06 Jun 2010 18:30:00 +0000

I had planned to take the dead sugar snap pea vines out of my garden this weekend, since they had produced their very modest harvest and were ready to call it quits in this heat. But the arrival of such high temperatures brought new garden tenants. The mantes are here!

These could very well be Carolina’s offspring, but not from any of my egg cases; they still appear unhatched to me.

Some mantis did lay a case in her territory before I adopted her, though. If not Carolina, perhaps a sister? Either way, I’ve got at least four little babies living in the snap peas. I suppose I’ll leave the vines alone and let my peppers grow up around them, so the bugs always have a perch.

Yeah, I know this is not a normal consideration for gardeners.

It’s 90 degrees; why not work on the fireplace?

noreply@blogger.com (Lauren) — Thu, 27 May 2010 17:52:00 +0000

I first decided to reclaim some space in my master bedroom by converting my wood-burning stove to gas, eliminating the need for the giant exhaust pipe running through the bedroom, back in September. The project didn’t get off the ground before winter came. And my bedroom has looked like this ever since:

Not cute. Not at all.
Today I finally got some guys in here to rip that whole mess out.

See ya later, pipe!

The hole in the floor is now covered with this nice vent, which will help control the flow of hot air from the gas stove in the living room below. And the hole in the ceiling, you may ask? Let’s pretend that doesn’t exist for now.

The guys tested the stove and it looks like it’s going to be nice and cozy when winter rolls around again. The fire is relatively realistic; the blue glow of the gas flames is mostly hidden within the stack of “firewood,” leaving the little yellow bits happily flickering away.

But here’s the thing I’m most excited about: now, instead of cramming my bed in a corner, there's enough space to treat this room like a real master bed!

Excuse the yellow paint. That’s going to get fixed. Right after I fix ceiling and the hole in the wall, and right before I re-carpet.

I need to start accepting donations.

A Gecko Named Ox

noreply@blogger.com (Lauren) — Sat, 08 May 2010 13:01:00 +0000

Ever since the passing of my pet praying mantis, Carolina, and my fish, Phineas, this ol' house has felt a little lonely. I decided that I wanted a pet that offered a bit more interaction, but could still be left to its own devices when I'm not around (read: no dogs! My parents have that covered. I'd link you to pictures, but both of their Flickr accounts have privacy settings, dammit.).

My thoughts drifted over to the reptile kingdom. Most species seem to require a lot of upkeep, which sounded like a bad idea to this newb. I'm not feeding anything baby mice, or clearing a section of my living room to make way for a 4' x 2' tank complete with replica desert. I needed something simpler and more foolproof. Finally, months of research and preparation culminated this week with the delivery of this little guy:

Meet Ox!

Ox (short for oxide, chosen because of his rust color), is a crested gecko. Cresties are perfect for new reptile owners; they stay fairly small, they prefer temperatures between 60-80 degrees, they don't need special lighting or heating, and in the wild they eat mostly fruit. A powder diet developed for pet cresties (that smells like a fruit smoothie when you mix it up) is all they need to eat. Some of them do like crickets, which make a good treat, but it's not a necessary part of their diet.

He's eating off of my finger!?

Ox here is just a baby, born last December. If I keep him happy and healthy he could live for 15 years. Actually, we're not really sure about the natural lifespan of a crested gecko. The species was once thought to be extinct until a population of them was found on an island in the mid-nineties. From some samples that were brought back to the US, a growing captive breeding program has sprung up thanks to their popularity with reptile keepers.

I especially like that this species is arboreal, so I got to make up a fancy planted vivarium for my little guy. But he's got some growing to do first before he'll be ready for his big cage. Right now he lives here, in his starter home:

If you look closely you can see his butt perched on top of the larger pant. Ox can climb anything; he's got sticky pads on his feet (and tail!):

What a character. I'm glad to have some life in here again.

Pipe Shelving Unit - Finished!

noreply@blogger.com (Lauren) — Sun, 28 Mar 2010 14:38:00 +0000

It has been a long time coming, but today I finally get to share with you some before...

...and after pictures!

90% of the pipe shelving unit project was preparation. After the measuring, planning, re-planning, struggling to find supplies, etc. was behind me, the project came together in just a few short hours. I had expected to spend all weekend assembling the unit, and later to sum up the experience with a blog entry that began, "No part of this project was simple — do not attempt!" And yet I found myself staring in bewilderment at a finished product sometime around 3:00pm on Saturday. But let's go back to the beginning.

The first step was to trim my longer two boards down a bit (I was too generous when estimating the size of my wall), and then to drill several 1" holes at specific points where the pipes would pass through.

This picture makes my basement "woodshop" look almost respectable. I assure you, it is not.

Once the cutting was finished and the boards were sanded a bit, I briefly considered patching up all their knot holes and staining them darker. But what I liked about this project was that it used only industrial materials — in keeping with the theme, I had purchased the cheapest utility-grade wood possible — so why not just embrace the imperfections? I decided to roll with the "scratch-and-dent section of Lowes-chic" look. This is probably what kept my assembly time down, and I don't regret it at all. You've gotta cut yourself a break when you can.

From that point on everything was easy as pie, as demonstrated in this adorable gif:

Here's a shot showing how the shelves are supported:

Since the elbow fittings are designed to have just the same height as the tee fittings, the boards sit very evenly on these two points. And since the majority of the weight of the unit rests right on the floor, all I had to do was secure the top flanges to the wall with a couple of drywall anchors. The unit is remarkably stable. I'll have to wait and see if the boards start to deflect over time, but if they do I can easily unscrew the whole thing and replace them.

And that's it! A 3-month project finally wraps up. I'm sure I'll be posting more pictures soon, particularly when that vivarium's new resident arrives...

Notes:

1) I'm sorry all of my pictures look like they're taken with a fish-eye lens. I'm working with a super cheap camera right now.

2) I'd post the final supply list, but I'm pretty sure it would only work for someone with a floor as sloped as mine. I believe the pipes on the left, starting from the bottom, are 18", 12", 24", 10", and 18" segments. The segments on the right are something like 29", 24", and 31", though 32" was probably ideal. Shelf supports are 8" each and the pieces that connect to the wall up top are 10", though if you can find 9" that might work better. BUT only if your wall is nice and flat!

3) Yes, I know, I still have no baseboards. It's been — what? — a year? I should really tackle that next.

noreply@blogger.com (Lauren) — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 15:53:00 +0000

After finally gathering all the supplies I need for the pipe shelving unit project, it was high time to start building the thing. But of course, it wasn't that easy. Painting comes first.

And washing comes before painting. I laboriously stripped the grease off of each part using a scrubbing pad and dish soap. And my bathtub. I was not as thorough as I should have been. Meh.

I arranged the pipes outside to dry, and also to eyeball their overall lengths. The one on the left (which will end up on the right of the unit) is a bit shorter. This should work out well. Should.

I'm not naive enough to think I'm out of the woods with these pipes yet.

I used upside-down tomato cages to hold up the pipes for spray painting. How much does this photograph resemble a Dalek?

Exterminate. Exterminate.

That's better. Glossy black paint can make anything look less janked up. This is another tip I learned from Morgan.

noreply@blogger.com (Lauren) — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 18:01:00 +0000

I was beginning to think that Project Pipe Shelving Unit was impossible. That the half dozen or so bloggers I'd run across who had made their own marvelous versions were just Photoshop-faking it. That there existed a vast conspiracy determined to prevent me from DIYing my own industrial-chic shelving.

Let me give you a run down of what it takes to get to this point — day 1 of construction — if you're anything like me:

First, you will be guided by Morgan's comment not to go with the 1/2"-thick pipe she used, but rather 1/4" or 3/8" for a sleeker look. You will show up at Home Depot and discover that they do not stock this kind of pipe. You will go to Lowes and find the same thing.

You will go home and log countless hours of internet research. You will discover that you can order 3/8" pipe online, but the online outlets won't cut the few custom lengths you need.

You will poll your internet friends, asking them if they know of a hardware store that a) stocks skinny pipes, and b) is willing to cut a few custom lengths for you. A friend will tell you yes, he knows of a place and he has already talked to the staff there for you. You will call this place yourself and be told over the phone that your request is not a problem. You will be elated.

You will show up in person, however, and be dismissed as a crazy lady. You will be hurt. You will wonder if you would have received the same treatment if you had been born male.

You will return to the internet, determined to order the pipes from a faceless corporation who cannot shame you with its "bitch, you want what?!" face. To achieve the custom cuts, you will consider buying the tools necessary to cut and thread lengths of pipe yourself.

You will discover that you can order close approximations of all the lengths of pipe you need — yay! — but not all of the fittings. Flanges, it turns out, are generally not made to accommodate pipe thicknesses under 1/2". You can buy adapters to make 1/2" flanges work with 3/8" pipe, but the adapters are $8 each. You need 6 of them. That plus the cost of the new cutting and threading tools...

You will put the project on hold.

Your father will talk you into trying again. Together, you will decide to settle for 1/2" pipe. You will go with your father to Lowes, pick out the pipe lengths you need, and get the nice staff there to make 2 customs cuts. You require a few more non-standard lengths, but you will discover that the staff will not cut pipes shorter than 18". So you will redesign the project on the fly. The store will run out of 1/2" 3-way-tee fittings, too, so you will go to a second Lowes to pick up the rest.

You will return home with your pipe and start to screw the pieces together to see how everything fits. You will discover that your floor is not level and you will need to shorten the right-most support.... somehow. You will redesign the project again, figuring out exactly where you can subtract length in that particular run of pipe without necessitating another custom cut. You will go to Lowes and purchase two shorter pieces of pipe. While there, you will finally buy the wood boards and paint to finish the project.

And then — only then! — will you have gathered the raw materials necessary to start building your own custom pipe shelving unit.

Flickr Pick: 3.09.10

noreply@blogger.com (Lauren) — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 00:39:00 +0000

From the new vivarium.

Have you ever looked at the digestive tract of a worm? I mean really looked at it?

noreply@blogger.com (Lauren) — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 20:31:00 +0000

I may have mentioned before that I'm looking to get a new pet. While my shelf project is temporarily on hold (sell me 3/8" pipe, damn you, big box hardware stores!), I'm pleased to say that the pet project is now underway.

I've settled on a reptile, although I think I'll keep the specific variety a secret until the pet arrives. I'm a tease, I know -- sorry. Gotta get those blog hits up somehow. But! The cage is here, at least!

Finding the perfect cage was tough because, of course, I make everything difficult by insisting that the things I buy must integrate into the design of my house. I don't want a secret reptile room where I shut the door to hide the ugly plastic tanks and electrical wires; this cage is going in the living room and it's gonna look like it belongs there.

Lizard cages are not, on the whole, very attractive-looking. Most of the ones I saw had doors that swung open in front, leaving seam lines and hardware and bits of plastic trimming obstructing the view of the wildlife. Plus they were all just a bit too wide to fit on the shelving unit I have planned. I needed something just shy of 11.5" deep. It quickly became apparent that I'd need to DIY a solution; either the shelf had to be made wider or I'd have to find a way to make a narrower cage. I went with plan B.

First, I ordered this cheap but attractive mesh cage on the internet. The mesh was impractical -- my future pet will need the humidity in the tank to elevate at least once a day -- but the cage had the right footprint.

So I started off by cutting out the mesh and enlisting Lowes' help to cut some sturdy acrylic walls. The cage came with a removabe glass bottom, but I needed this sucker to be water-tight so I glued it in. I popped all the acrylic walls into place and siliconed their seams together. And just like that, the cage was seaworthy. Or, um, mudworthy.

Next came the fun part: changing this boring (but attractive!) tank into a vivarium -- or, the fancy world for a terrarium housing living animals and plants. I filled the first few inches of the tank with "jungle earth" -- or, the fancy name for some dirt and peat moss packed in a bag featuring a picture of a reptile, selling for some insanely inflated price.

The future pet is arboreal, so it'll need plenty of things to climb. Instead of giving the pet supply people any more of my money for a stick, I went out and found something on my own.

Fancy! Fancy free.

Some quick cuts with a hacksaw later and I was well on my way to creating the perfect lizard jungle gym.

Next came the plants. I had a few suitable houseplants hanging around to take cuttings from, as well as some "terrarium plants" purchased from the pet store a week ago that I had been neglectfully dehydrating. I planted them along with some moss I cultivated during this project.

Throw a light on the whole thing and it really looks nice.

I expect it will take a month or two for the foliage to start filling in, at which point it might be warm enough to have my pet shipped in from a reputable breeder. Tune in next... season?... for the exciting conclusion!

noreply@blogger.com (Lauren) — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 18:12:00 +0000

I did not toss and turn last night, thinking about this shelving unit project. Nope. It did not occur to me that maybe the aquarium needs to be on the right side, because that's where all the outlets are.

I definitely didn't make a scale model of the unit in Illustrator from scratch. Why would I spend all that time estimating how much each fitting would add to the length of each pipe, overlapping all of the parts just right to show how far they'd twist into each other? A 90" tall Illustrator drawing with that level of detail? Insane.

And I really didn't shrink the finished scale model waaaaaay down so I could Photoshop it into my living room.

No way. I have a life, man!

noreply@blogger.com (Lauren) — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 18:57:00 +0000

Here are some hastily-photoshopped diagrams for putting together my own pipe shelving!

General dimensions:

Pipe lengths*:

I narrowed the The Brick House's version and altered the design to accommodate a new aquarium; this one will not be filled with water and therefore should not be too heavy [new pet hint!].

This leaves me with a dilemma, though: normal so-called 12" wood planks are actually about 11.25 inches wide, but aquariums take up the full foot. I may have to adjust the design a bit more to incorporate wider planks. Some Home Depot research is probably necessary for this part.

All that said, here's the notated supply list in progress:

Pipe (at 1/4" or 3/8"):
12": 4
18": 4
32": 2
30": 3 (Custom cut and threaded)
8" (maybe a bit longer?): 10
9" (maybe a bit longer?): 3

Fittings:
90º elbows: 13
3-way tees: 10
Base flanges: 6

Wood Shelves
1" x 12"(or wider) x 80" pine planks: 2
1" x 12"(or wider) x 31" pine planks: 2

Other Junk
Glossy black spray paint: 2-3 cans
Wood stain

*I know the math doesn't look right on some of these pipe lengths. I'm assuming that the extra the 3-way tees on the right side will add a bit of length to those joints, so I'm trying to compensate by increasing the length of pipes on the left side. We'll see if it works...

noreply@blogger.com (Lauren) — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 19:55:00 +0000

Happy 2010, everyone! Hope the first few weeks have shown a lot of improvement over last year.

The New Year's Eve party held at this old house went off pretty well. I always forget to snap pictures of the people, but at least I have blurry cell phone evidence of just how much we cooked:

And drank?

Missing from these pictures: the giant punch bowl of egg nog, even more spiced nuts, vanilla roasted pears, a veggie platter with homemade dip, and the crazy cannibal gingerbread cookies a guest brought with her.

As a side effect of actually having edible material in the house, I've now attracted a mouse. Those of you who follow me on Twitter probably know about my ongoing struggle to catch this fuzzy gray thing. But enough about that! On to some new projects.

The first major goal I'd like to accomplish in 2010 is to pull off some eye-catching DIY shelving for one wall of the living room. I've been inspired by Morgan of The Brick House, who is running her own awesome and very thrifty home improvement blog. She spotted some shelving in a hotel made completely of plumbing materials and wood planks, which she adapted for her own home.

The Brick House shelving unit.

Morgan researching the Ace Hotel's shelves.

Since then, I've seen a few other adaptations of the idea spring up:

From Apartment Therapy.

Is this not the best way to create your own customized shelving? A whole wall like Morgan's cost only $200. I think I'm going to scale it down a bit for this wall in my house:

(Old picture alert. God, was my house ever that bright? I miss summer.)

Now that I no longer have a fish (boo), and since my Ikea bookshelf is just a piece of crap anyway (double boo), why not put that wall to use? If things go well, I'm hoping to incorporate a home for a brand new pet into my design. But nothing is going to happen until February. I've vowed not to overspend any of my budgets this month.

Stay tuned...

noreply@blogger.com (Lauren) — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 18:29:00 +0000

I've been working through a backlog of projects I've meant to post about, but couldn't finish during the normal work week. I get home too late to photograph anything in decent lighting. But when I get vacation time, I'm free to barrage everyone with frequent blog updates!

Here's the last of my saved-up posts. Holiday decorations!

Using the time-honored fold and snip method, I made a curtain of paper snowflakes. I think I'll make more and use them in place of the to/from card on my holiday gifts.

Also, I was inspired to try my hand a wreath-making by all of the evergreen boughs we had to slice off of the Christmas tree to get it to sit in its holder.

Design Sponge has a nice tutorial. I wasn't about to go cutting the roots off of my succulent plants to add them to the wreath, although their version sure looks nice. My version includes some funky seed pods and lots of stuff collected near where I work.

That's it for me! I think the house is officially festive enough for a holiday party. Hope to see you all there.

noreply@blogger.com (Lauren) — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 21:09:00 +0000

The cowhide was talking to me. “Psst,” it said. “I don’t really match any of your stuff.”

It was right, of course. The funky pillows with the Moroccan print and the lampshade with the leaf silhouette (seen in the old photo above) didn’t make any sense sitting near the new rug – they were just not playing nicely together. A quick trip to IKEA was in order. Working from the colors of the hide, I grabbed two new pillow cases and a lampshade, and for $26 my living room now looks downright… intentional.

Did I ever mention the slipcovers for my sofa? They're from Bemz, a Swedish company that sells a huge variety of covers made to fit your IKEA furniture. So instead of black, white, or black & white floral, which were my IKEA choices, I now have Aubergine. Bemz is awesome.

I loved those funky Moroccan-inspired pillows, though, so I had to find a new use for them. Where did I need a splash of burnt orange color? Orange complements blue, and I just so happened to be in possession of a blue dining room. Chair cushions – perfect!

I took apart the old pillows and used the four resulting fabric squares as cushion tops. The bottoms were made with some tan fabric I had hanging around. Then I stuffed them, closed them up, and attached some tie straps made with tubes of more tan fabric (tutorial here).

Ta-da! Two pillows become four seat cushions. I’m rubbish at sewing, so I’m pretty darn proud.

noreply@blogger.com (Lauren) — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 17:06:00 +0000

This is a picture of my bathroom before I moved into the house:

Ah, we've come a long way. Still not quite there, yet, but I've cooked up a couple of improvements so far.

The thing I hated about this bathroom is the terrible matchy-matchyness of it all: the sink cabinet was the same color as the floor, which was the same color as the walls... oh, wait, here's some painter's tape-blue trim to shake things up!

No, no, no.

The fix, in progress. Still not good but getting better.

I have plans for the bathroom that involve installing a ventilation system, switching out some fixtures and upgrading the outlets, but so far all I've done is paint. Luckily, paint makes a huge difference.

Now we're talking!

Recognize those drawer pulls? I stole them off the kitchen cabinets that I took down this month.

noreply@blogger.com (Lauren) — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 15:15:00 +0000

I'm snowed in! Unleash the torrent of blog posts!

My open shelving project certainly improved the functionality of my kitchen, but something was still amiss.

Oh yeah. The one cabinet on that other wall looks really silly. Not only is it off center above my fridge, but it was placed there with a much larger fridge in mind -- a fact that I find confusing seeing as how I can barely walk around this unit, and it was the smallest I could buy.

So this wall got the same treatment as the one housing my dishes, and here are the results:

It's my collection of gardening supplies! Right by the back door, just where I need them.

(Yes, I have a trowel hanging from a pot rack. I am unapologetic about it.)