House in Progress

Florian Kräutli » Magnetic Curtain

Mon, 01 Mar 2010 19:10:08 PST

Having lived with paper curtains for the last six years while the house has been under renovation, I think I should just embrace the crinkled look and get some of these.

At least I could get cool points for it.

Um, gee, 20th Century Fox, thanks?

Tue, 19 Jan 2010 05:33:19 PST

Grace's new obsession is Alvin and the Chipmunks (sigh). I have to admit to a certain fondness for the Chipmunks when I was her age and begged my parents to play that crazy Christmas song over and over and over again. Now that I am a parent, I feel their pain.

The only thing that has made watching this movie more than once even slightly bearable is a powerful, sexy presence in the film. Every time this presence comes on screen, I perk up and squirm to the edge of my seat, my eyes fixed on the screen.

I'm talking about Dave's bungalow neighborhood.

Basement

Wed, 13 Jan 2010 07:23:11 PST

After six years, we feel like we've reached the tipping point. As of this winter, every single room in our house has had SOMETHING done to it. They may not be finished, but we have messed with every room in one way or another. Including....

...the basement.

The basement was really a last frontier of sorts, the repository for everything we didn't want to deal with or wanted to keep away from Grace. We used to make it the last stop on house tours so we could say, "And HERE is what the house looked like BEFORE we did anything." It was effective in eliciting gasps of amazement from visitors who congratulated us on our bravery/masochism/stupidity for taking on such a crazy project.

No more, my friends, no more.

(Very!) Fine Remodeling

Mon, 04 Jan 2010 05:41:52 PST

Regular readers of the blog already know that I am a big, BIG fan of Fine Homebuilding. (And that I have fantasies of baking them muffins and showing up at their headquarters as a ploy to get them to autograph my Sawzall in silvery ink. Yeah, I'm crushing bad.)

Why are they so awesome? Practical and easy-to-read technical information on a well-designed website. A healthy respect for homeowners who like to use quality materials and who are interested in value over trendiness. Writers who got their hands dirty as craftspeople BEFORE they became writers. One of the best moderated and helpful forums (Breaktime) on the 'net to turn to for help and advice. Yeah, Fine Homebuilding is the gold standard in my opinion.

They've reorganized their Remodeling content into one clean and sleek section, which is happy news for those of us who are more about remodeling than building from the ground up.

They've also incorporated excellent guides for:

Dessert as a Metaphor for Life

Sat, 02 Jan 2010 13:52:11 PST

Just like last year's holiday gingerbread project, our little cookie house has become a metaphor for what is happening in our real house.

Right now, the top floor and front of the first floor are toasty warm and lovely. But the back two rooms on the first floor? Since we are still smack dab in the middle of the porch and basement project?

Big gaps in the walls. Freezing. Enter at your own risk.

Ephemera Project

Sat, 02 Jan 2010 13:46:03 PST

Earlier this week, I began a scanning project for the ephemera left behind in the house. I would love to post the results both here and on the LifeInProgress blog, but can't. The software for the LifeInProgress blog is better suited to entries with multiple photos and is more efficient. So, if you are interested in that project, you might want to keep checking in over there or on our Flickr feed. Thanks all!

I LOVE a Good Mystery, Especially When It Gets SOLVED

Sat, 02 Jan 2010 13:40:57 PST

It was exciting to open up my email this morning and get a note from Beth in Chicago (researcher par excellence, obvs) who has tracked down the identity of our vintage baby announcement family. And the story, as it unfolds, is pretty cool. I've omitted some of the more personal information she found.

The surname is spelled with an old style 's', so the name is actually Ressinger. Paul, the father was an executive with the American Typographical Society, which explains the fancy print. I believe that I found John A. Ressinger listed as an alum of Northwestern University. According to their records, he was from the Class of 1964. So, apparently he is still alive.

After receiving Beth's note, I did a little digging around regarding Paul M. Ressinger. Here's what I found:

Welcome to our neighborhood :)

Fri, 01 Jan 2010 07:52:01 PST

Back to the Boxes!

Fri, 01 Jan 2010 07:44:05 PST

Wow. I haven't used the word "boredom" for a looooooong time. I believe that the last time I used it was before we bought this house, and it was certainly before Grace was born. Therefore, after four days of an enjoyable stay-cation, after having finished scrubbing the basement floor on my hands and knees, and after having purged BOTH bathroom built-ins of expired over-the-counter medications, I was at a loss for how to entertain myself when Aaron offered to take Grace to an indoor playground. Leaving me all alone. Alone. Alone without any work (that needed to be done indoors or could be done in weather colder than 43 degrees Fahrenheit.)

What's a Type A girl to do? I had already caught up on all of my episodes of Glee.

Loft-Style Basement Inspiration

Tue, 29 Dec 2009 08:47:58 PST

CB2, Behind the Scenes

Mon, 28 Dec 2009 18:59:56 PST

via blog.cb2.com

Last summer, someone I used to work with (when I had a 9 am - 5 pm job instead of a 5 am - 9 pm job) contacted me about some of the stuff that was left behind in the house. He had a new gig working for CB2 and wanted to know if I had an old picture of a tchotchke that I could submit to the new CB2 blog. Oh boy! Did I! Even though we've unloaded lots of things, we still have quite a few items rattling around the old house. It was fun to see our little blue elephant up on their blog in August since he still brings a smile to my face when I pass the sideboard in the morning.

What designers do for fun :)

Thu, 10 Dec 2009 05:55:50 PST

This is one of my Design for America students, Mert Hilmi Iseri, and his solution for getting kids to clean up their rooms.

Forget kids! I WANT TO DO THIS!!!

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Simple machines for the win! Let's play!

Wed, 09 Dec 2009 07:06:35 PST

Over Thanksgiving, we had to quarantine ourselves because we all came down with the respiratory virus from hell. Grace recovered faster than her miserable parents, so we were desperate to keep her entertained while we tried to catch up.

Enter: the simple machine. Phooey on all those fancy, schmancy newfangled plastic toys. When we were young, we played with pulleys, inclines, levers, wheels and gears, AND WE LIKED IT. No, actually, we liked it. Simple machines are fun!

I was reminded of my pulley playing childhood in a barn in Ohio when we got back from visiting friends in Woodstock. They have pulleys in their playhouse for lifting things from the floor to the loft. Since we just finished the back porch, perfect for a new pulley!

Materials:

- 1 pulley from a hardware store
- 1 ceiling hook
- Some clothesline
- A bucket
- A small carabiner (optional)

Total cost: approximately $10 (we got all of this stuff cheaper at our local hardware store)

It is actually amazing how entertaining this is to kids of all ages. Before the weather got cold, Grace wanted to be on the porch all of the time, putting toys and animals in the bucket, sending them up and down, taking them out again. If she is anything like I was as a child, she will graduate to trading secret messages with friends, taking orders and delivering snacks, and sending her future hamster for an elevator ride (sorry in advance, future hamster!) Later on, we'll use it to lower a beer to Dad after he mows the lawn. That was all the encouragement Aaron needed to rig it up.

Voila!

(cross-posted at Life in Progress)

Stick 'em up.

Wed, 02 Dec 2009 07:22:10 PST

From the junk drawer this morning. Found while I was looking for a pen. It was left in the house.

From Kane County Sheriff's department. Heavy brass. Looks like some kind of seal in the center.

Anyone want to write a short story about how it ended up here or its history? Because this is the kind of thing that HAS to have a story. Possibly involving a doll or a dame, and a guy with a fedora.

Cross-posted at LifeinProgress

Flooring Ideas for the Basement

Sun, 29 Nov 2009 08:58:23 PST

A lot has been transpiring around here at the ol' HouseinProgress. Some house-related events, some not and we'll be sharing some crazy news soon. I set up this new blog to keep from boring the housebloggers with my tales of everything non-house, and I have to say, I'm loving the ease of Posterous. Thanks Posterous-people for creating an interface that lets me blather on to the world in .02 seconds, no HTML skillz needed! This could actually be a very bad thing in my case, as the slowness of Moveable Type forced me to rethink a blog post that shouldn't have made it on to the web more than a few times. So, um, here's to unedited rambling! I guess. I'll apologize to everyone in advance.

Anyway. How are y'all doing?

We've put a hold on refinishing the basement until we've made some more decisions about materials and design and such. And until our talented friend, TK, has time in his busy schedule to help us execute our ideas. TK has rescued us from a life of painfully slow work on the house that we'd entered into since the she-toddler was born. For that, we are extremely, EXTREMELY grateful. Plus, he is a designer at heart and is always willing to indulge us in our crazy ideas without rolling his eyes or sighing heavily. At least, not in front of us.

The basement is a puzzle for sure. We had never, ever, ever seen it empty. Because it was the MOST packed space in the house when we bought the place, we really had no idea of what the space looked like as a blank slate. So, when we finally emptied it out a few months ago, we were amazed at the size of it. It's ginormous. It is easily three times the size of my first Chicago apartment.

At first, we became dizzy with the possibilities. A refinished basement! Maybe a playroom? Workshop? Office?? INDOOR SWIMMING POOL??!!

Then we became practical and sized up what we were working with. A below-grade basement near a neighborhood that can get somewhat soggy. (Although we have had great luck in that respect.) Although dry 99% of the time, this basement will never be waterproof without a ton of money being thrown at it. So, although the swimming pool had potential by default, our shag carpet and bean bag chair dreams were dashed.

I researched flooring solutions frantically. I was leaning towards flexible membranes, but was less than enthusiastic about the high cost and need for professional installation. One day, as I was chatting with TK and Bryan about this (another friend who helps out TK on occassion), Bryan casually asked, "Why don't you consider deck tiles for the basement?"

Brilliant. Tiles that are raised up off of the floor allowing for tiny channels to divert any moisture should some get in, and allows air to circulate underneath (thus warming the floor surface). Individual tiles can be replaced if damaged, and they can be easily cleaned. I ordered a sample set from here and this is what they look like. Ironwood, flexible so that they can work with our slightly uneven floor. Strong, warm under foot. Can be installed by a regular Jane who only needs to have the skills to put a puzzle together. Currently, we're planning on painting the floor in garage epoxy and using these only in the spaces where we will have furniture and seating areas.

I'm a fan.

Cross-posted at: LifeinProgress