tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32341829764712991532024-03-04T23:25:23.178-08:00Live from the 323Gabrielle Phttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04718386890606386212noreply@blogger.comBlogger57125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3234182976471299153.post-52897859123280563592018-04-18T13:12:00.002-07:002018-04-18T13:16:23.221-07:00Tree HuggerNot all trees last for centuries. Even some of the ones that are meant to.<br />
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One real point of pride with me is the number of trees I've planted. Just as part of this renovation project, I've been responsible for the planting of six trees (seven if you count the pomegranate, which borders on being a very tall bush.) And really, can you think of any single negative thing about a tree? They are majestic, and provide life-perpetuating oxygen, and shade, and beauty and jeez I could go on. And to plant one is to bring all that into the world for potentially a century or more.<br />
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At least that's what I had in mind when I went in search of a willow tree for our front yard. A tree that would grow to be formidable in size, but with a soft, weepy embrace. The tree of choice for romantic comedies set in the Deep South.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhNf1Nqbwu3VllqO3gS9ogSWn9cmf88i6HzmHOKwGkJUhgkNscezsp8BnMV1MtfHR_cInVu4ptdn6AR8W_DRY759f_TOZZ-IunGWjZr9s6DuOca5-ZS2p5FGoVWTV5E_1GnqtzVT355iI/s1600/cropped-willow-tree-on-lake-e1399900601773-1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="624" data-original-width="937" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhNf1Nqbwu3VllqO3gS9ogSWn9cmf88i6HzmHOKwGkJUhgkNscezsp8BnMV1MtfHR_cInVu4ptdn6AR8W_DRY759f_TOZZ-IunGWjZr9s6DuOca5-ZS2p5FGoVWTV5E_1GnqtzVT355iI/s400/cropped-willow-tree-on-lake-e1399900601773-1.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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"They're not native," they said. "They need a lot of water," they said. I got a lot of disparaging advice from professionals. Cut to me installing a lovely willow sapling in our otherwise low-water yard.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBIWfI2KpWOQpdiP9y3SNZorYNMQvSM6rTk5ooNXd2yZFEEVA2L4xyx3pq40e0y_X7vMGiAVUzDjs3rxiWKosBfshwOj-EfaWU4UcSYxARaYhI-dpFtgb7iZRzYw3CE8QdGZjXuYQIcKA/s1600/DSC_5896.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1065" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBIWfI2KpWOQpdiP9y3SNZorYNMQvSM6rTk5ooNXd2yZFEEVA2L4xyx3pq40e0y_X7vMGiAVUzDjs3rxiWKosBfshwOj-EfaWU4UcSYxARaYhI-dpFtgb7iZRzYw3CE8QdGZjXuYQIcKA/s320/DSC_5896.JPG" width="212" /></a></div>
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My hopes were high. I even took a picture of my son, who was just two at the time, next to the tree, because I had visions of him as an old man standing next to same tree reminiscing on his happy childhood climbing its branches.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7nvauNxR84OK6q7FrenQSd-vxkSJ3ME5uINfYwJ4KzFLh7m5TLJt4F0TiREffPdYItanmU2DTPHYAF1QAY3GtHB0XzfmF6puiFb935r58QhSiso0_vPygGXw9rV4kC8odeXJ0ytDmxpg/s1600/DSC_5900.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1065" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7nvauNxR84OK6q7FrenQSd-vxkSJ3ME5uINfYwJ4KzFLh7m5TLJt4F0TiREffPdYItanmU2DTPHYAF1QAY3GtHB0XzfmF6puiFb935r58QhSiso0_vPygGXw9rV4kC8odeXJ0ytDmxpg/s320/DSC_5900.JPG" width="212" /></a></div>
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And for a while the tree grew. And when I was really regular about deep soaking it like clockwork every two weeks, it did well. It came to be green. But there was one episode, which i don't have pictures of, when the tree came unbound from its supports and bent fully over. It really never recovered after that. It came to have an odd, unappealing shape and eventually, it died.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ-pEX6X3cwxcwMFI_md_XodPsHKiz0Mq6SWCDju3YYMm9PbUTdPdOpPyixNBr1OhR1sD27hk5KQqXy7_HcKu_SOMd074GRO0MJnjCYQHxXqXHPMD_0vjX3IB-fmv-lLTUPSP7d4bpVWI/s1600/IMG_4808_405IMG_4808_1000px.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="750" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ-pEX6X3cwxcwMFI_md_XodPsHKiz0Mq6SWCDju3YYMm9PbUTdPdOpPyixNBr1OhR1sD27hk5KQqXy7_HcKu_SOMd074GRO0MJnjCYQHxXqXHPMD_0vjX3IB-fmv-lLTUPSP7d4bpVWI/s320/IMG_4808_405IMG_4808_1000px.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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So, finally, we took the plunge and had the bad boy removed. Now it looks like a 5,000-lb. brick slammed into our front yard.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeRbJTAC1jAgLrpkWtNJ0sG9LVfIfoWeSJOz1dosdD90QJKCNN-yd2AKiQQ8dgkAVPEWsvCad-6_E3iI_31zuyEGKDA6PFMXF1XXM_lkpkahQFlXG3IU6Tmv3PSdNnCjqQodS-YOMvRGI/s1600/DSC_7914_79DSC_7914_1000px.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="668" data-original-width="1000" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeRbJTAC1jAgLrpkWtNJ0sG9LVfIfoWeSJOz1dosdD90QJKCNN-yd2AKiQQ8dgkAVPEWsvCad-6_E3iI_31zuyEGKDA6PFMXF1XXM_lkpkahQFlXG3IU6Tmv3PSdNnCjqQodS-YOMvRGI/s320/DSC_7914_79DSC_7914_1000px.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
Or like we're about to bury a small (but wide) coffin.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHYgUyme86l639fWktzfGqdcSfJZkjX4nEjNJ7v2MLHtHXEOPqG_uugYLJWu3h5jSue0_ifOlhUtkjVdaPdobGCibaOSmGr6vS0pkac_VWx836LUSmI_j89pMMQVHH6U7QsbHrwABO-48/s1600/DSC_7915_80DSC_7915_1000px.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="668" data-original-width="1000" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHYgUyme86l639fWktzfGqdcSfJZkjX4nEjNJ7v2MLHtHXEOPqG_uugYLJWu3h5jSue0_ifOlhUtkjVdaPdobGCibaOSmGr6vS0pkac_VWx836LUSmI_j89pMMQVHH6U7QsbHrwABO-48/s320/DSC_7915_80DSC_7915_1000px.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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I'm hoping when I get home from work tonight, this hole will be history and a peppy pepper tree will begin its reach from this location toward the sky. </div>
<br />Gabrielle Phttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04718386890606386212noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3234182976471299153.post-49812533916267876832017-05-25T11:29:00.001-07:002017-05-25T11:39:22.501-07:00Stagnation NationI'm writing this because I'm having a lot of feelings about our house and I have to put them somewhere. I think it might make me feel better.<br />
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The key feeling is frustration. But maybe something more -- something in the vein of unhappiness. And the source of these feelings is my back yard. Not the yard itself, exactly, because the space has a lot of potential. What is frustrating me is my inability to get the yard project moving.<br />
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One thing you learn when you embark on almost any house project is that elements of a house are often deeply intertwined with other elements of a house, and things have to be done in a certain order. Or you open up one project only to find you've opened up a Pandora's box of other projects. You go to buy a garage door and suddenly you realize the material on that door has to match the material on the side door of the garage, and that material, it turns out, has to match the material in the entryway, and now you're suddenly replacing $10,000 in stupid doors. This is the issue with our yard.<br />
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Before I get into the succession of changes that we don't seem to have any ability to make and why, let me just show you the thing that drives me the most crazy. Here it is:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtVtlnI7aS8-Flwh0etspjmmTuIW-tgPocOPZHr0KAxiYQddQQGvzvsB_cwtpJuRHIzznz422VRX3-4tdPj9qrN9AIZElvGwPt4ezTPFzqcNQnNRs4i7b7FFKTP4M9dQtcY93QM5mB3-8/s1600/DSC_1964_1000px.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtVtlnI7aS8-Flwh0etspjmmTuIW-tgPocOPZHr0KAxiYQddQQGvzvsB_cwtpJuRHIzznz422VRX3-4tdPj9qrN9AIZElvGwPt4ezTPFzqcNQnNRs4i7b7FFKTP4M9dQtcY93QM5mB3-8/s320/DSC_1964_1000px.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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This is dirt. It's what I stand in when I stand in my yard.</div>
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So, getting rid of dirt is easy, right? The answer is beautiful, creative landscaping. However, landscaping must be done in a certain order. You start with the hard-scaping -- the decks, the pathways, the fountains, whatever -- and then you do the plants. </div>
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For our hard-scaping, we knew we wanted a new deck off the back of the house. What we have right now is just sort of a cement slab -- though I've always kind of like how it curves. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyTt68h62h6dhIzd0QuwH4Bs0p83IOtMkOXAdSi1M08Rs_0Uiu9yBw6ZRCVT3FB_5PEciS-vEdGlJjeWfaJHLK6c2wC20YoKqStPefbGcNZ30bBr_kymwas5kmvNz2Z_JzqDDQplF9yYY/s1600/DSC_1963_1000px.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyTt68h62h6dhIzd0QuwH4Bs0p83IOtMkOXAdSi1M08Rs_0Uiu9yBw6ZRCVT3FB_5PEciS-vEdGlJjeWfaJHLK6c2wC20YoKqStPefbGcNZ30bBr_kymwas5kmvNz2Z_JzqDDQplF9yYY/s320/DSC_1963_1000px.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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So, here's where things get tricky. We had an idea that we would merge these two glass doors. It drives Jim crazy that the tops of the doors don't sit on the same plane. The bottoms don't either, and the reason is that the rooms they lead to have floors at two different heights. Our living room is somewhat sunken. Only by about four inches, and for no particular reason except that the front of the house is an addition that was made in the 60s.</div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmWGsR8k2-wP2HGuPRXxt-jTxtZUSuTHkyGhPUBbpPtjv1Pu2MVrywIufkERwCrhEO9osuPcR56KViFnyth-L8hGEp_5XzIexGDs9mns5Gz4frcYeOHQrkGOHpAapUG1qu-4jVn8sIzXU/s1600/DSC_1961_1000px.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmWGsR8k2-wP2HGuPRXxt-jTxtZUSuTHkyGhPUBbpPtjv1Pu2MVrywIufkERwCrhEO9osuPcR56KViFnyth-L8hGEp_5XzIexGDs9mns5Gz4frcYeOHQrkGOHpAapUG1qu-4jVn8sIzXU/s320/DSC_1961_1000px.JPG" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmWGsR8k2-wP2HGuPRXxt-jTxtZUSuTHkyGhPUBbpPtjv1Pu2MVrywIufkERwCrhEO9osuPcR56KViFnyth-L8hGEp_5XzIexGDs9mns5Gz4frcYeOHQrkGOHpAapUG1qu-4jVn8sIzXU/s1600/DSC_1961_1000px.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmWGsR8k2-wP2HGuPRXxt-jTxtZUSuTHkyGhPUBbpPtjv1Pu2MVrywIufkERwCrhEO9osuPcR56KViFnyth-L8hGEp_5XzIexGDs9mns5Gz4frcYeOHQrkGOHpAapUG1qu-4jVn8sIzXU/s1600/DSC_1961_1000px.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a><br />
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The decision to merge the doors brought us on a bit of an odyssey. We had a contractor to do the job, but he wouldn't do it without plans drawn up by an architect. I talked to friends who were architects, and none of them had any interest in a job this small. I won't bore you with the back-and-forth of finding and losing architects and engineers, but suffice it to say years have passed and the doors are not merged, and the deck is not built.<br />
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I actuallky started this post months ago, and though I published it just today, I don't really have more to say about it. Instead, I'll let the pictures from that moment tell the story of my frustration about the yard. Here they are:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOclQs5qX60QCmYVIUQAyMaY2HKmPsBTQffXy2UXAv04juBvXcqMyVu3P9Pr2kRSpsRM4B0qsDX2sLKSPvvX3pLWM4__yMQCG0mIP8SyFg8yn8OyEOx1qkBdHxGKINZaQyT0WAg42w6So/s1600/DSC_1958_1000px.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOclQs5qX60QCmYVIUQAyMaY2HKmPsBTQffXy2UXAv04juBvXcqMyVu3P9Pr2kRSpsRM4B0qsDX2sLKSPvvX3pLWM4__yMQCG0mIP8SyFg8yn8OyEOx1qkBdHxGKINZaQyT0WAg42w6So/s320/DSC_1958_1000px.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijW6_yJGl-KjAv-aWJsEAELaDIC8iOHoLXA1sZSuwTpKgY8n2eYyhcU-_7kWtnBscmZQoh5jh6wJNz-OdPmPCMVANmvnQNBV5nln_lBZmolt9takbgxGhhLpZcGQu7D3kB5Tpl-2c0eG8/s1600/DSC_1960_1000px.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijW6_yJGl-KjAv-aWJsEAELaDIC8iOHoLXA1sZSuwTpKgY8n2eYyhcU-_7kWtnBscmZQoh5jh6wJNz-OdPmPCMVANmvnQNBV5nln_lBZmolt9takbgxGhhLpZcGQu7D3kB5Tpl-2c0eG8/s320/DSC_1960_1000px.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoIV1rsY4jfK1iXr02k8sWu4Q-_39Y9lArRlozj-sGvcVgsabvFlpdUHC5Fu25oyuCj_noDufhGueoHvma9e1eJrblWfDuY4c92krQgifxz6rdiLLqZdGSexwyUP4_tNt0tAeXBsH-DQU/s1600/DSC_1966_1000px.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoIV1rsY4jfK1iXr02k8sWu4Q-_39Y9lArRlozj-sGvcVgsabvFlpdUHC5Fu25oyuCj_noDufhGueoHvma9e1eJrblWfDuY4c92krQgifxz6rdiLLqZdGSexwyUP4_tNt0tAeXBsH-DQU/s320/DSC_1966_1000px.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Gabrielle Phttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04718386890606386212noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3234182976471299153.post-9059028273007880932015-05-16T07:30:00.001-07:002015-05-17T06:01:15.681-07:00The $10,000 MistakeSo, this happened.<br />
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We tore out the entire floor of our bathroom. The shower floor, the stone kickboards, the cement float underneath, everything. Why, you ask? Well, it all goes back to 2009...<br />
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We had <a href="http://www.livefromthe323.blogspot.com/2009_09_01_archive.html">finished the bathroom</a>, and it was glorious. We had taken it from looking like this:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6pT16YYr8DV2g_4aWKrWUyPhvUl26GV2O6wjTG085cW3CC9o9NyVZQYhJgQ2UBvB7ODxc7Fpv1oj5ppE9v4qk2qewCx0dl58jCp8ksRnB99-Ox-IT8lka4CZFzg5w5GrMZLU0qQpzWQo/s1600/DSC01423.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6pT16YYr8DV2g_4aWKrWUyPhvUl26GV2O6wjTG085cW3CC9o9NyVZQYhJgQ2UBvB7ODxc7Fpv1oj5ppE9v4qk2qewCx0dl58jCp8ksRnB99-Ox-IT8lka4CZFzg5w5GrMZLU0qQpzWQo/s1600/DSC01423.JPG" width="150" /></a></div>
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To this:<br />
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There was only one problem. It didn't work. To start, the floor wasn't level. And we had installed a "gutterless shower" proposed by our designer at Home Expo. A beautiful design, but hard to execute. Our contractor didn't put the regulation 1/2" slope in the shower, so instead of the water staying in, it flowed out and then pooled on the other side of the bathroom. We always needed lots of towels to catch the flow.<br />
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At the end of every shower, I squeegied the glass walls, but then I also took to squeegying the water back into the shower.<br />
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I'd known since the very first shower that the floor had to be redone. I talked to my contractor, and he said he'd be willing to re-do the work if I just got him the materials. I began to gather them, and they collected in the space that was supposed to be a finished cabinet:<br />
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That junk pile sat in our bathroom for six years.<br />
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What happened in those six years??<br />
<ul>
<li>The economy collapsed.</li>
<li>Home Expo went under, taking our designer and the archives of all we had ordered with it.</li>
<li>I stockpiled stone tiles, picking whatever unchipped remnants I could find from the remaining stock at Solistone out in San Bernardino.</li>
<li>I searched for the shower floor tile. Didn't know it's name. Didn't have a sample of it to take around. I searched in vain for -- not exaggerating -- two years? Finally got lucky and stumbled across a leftover remnant in our back yard. Found a match at Mission Tile West in South Pasadena.</li>
<li>My contractor disappeared, never to be seen or heard from again.
<li>I tried to sue my contractor but could never find him to serve the summons. Learned about statutes of limitation on claims against contractors (2 years). </li>
<li>Got angry. Got frustrated. Got wide-ranging bids from other contractors to fix the problem ($3,500 on the low end, $10K on the high)</li></ul>
I became suspicious of every contractor. The ones with bids too high must be gouging me, while the ones on the low end must be incompetent. And I battled with myself over spending so much money on the same job twice. Yet every day the water spilled out. Every day the clutter pile grew bigger. It was a crazy circle. And it was me driving myself crazy because I just couldn't deal with how big a mistake it was.<br />
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Then I finally found someone to help me chuck the albatross off the deck. Enter Benjamin, a contractor recommended by some good friends who regularly re-do houses. Benjamin was their man, and I figured that gave me some additional leverage. He wouldn't want to screw me and have it get back to my friends.<br />
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So we dove in at long last. We set out to rebuild the shower basin, raising it up, giving it a dam to keep the water in, and making a couple additional changes along the way.<br />
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We installed an infinity drain, which hadn't even been invented when we started the project six years ago: </div>
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The first time around, because of the screw-up, we never really finished the bathroom. We never got to the finishing touches, such as towel racks and an actual toilet paper holder. For six years our roll just kicked stupidly around the bathroom space, usually in a puddle under the sink. But look! These small details made a huge difference! <br />
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And at Benjamin's recommendation, we installed a vent in the ceiling.<br />
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But most importantly, we built up the shower flower. And I don't really feel like we lost anything aesthetically in eliminating that smooth entry into the shower. Benjamin did a lovely job with the step, and it looks pretty slick. We also brought Aladdin Glass of Canoga Park back in. They did the shower walls the first time around, and this time they replaced the front panel and door to accommodate the new step up.<br /><br />And so, without further delay, here is the final result:<br />
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We never did build out the cabinet in the space that housed the six-year junk pile, but we're working on it.</div>
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</div>Gabrielle Phttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04718386890606386212noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3234182976471299153.post-73785538128097612682015-03-25T09:49:00.002-07:002015-03-25T13:04:26.738-07:00Target Eyesore in Hollywood: Blame the La Mirada Avenue Neighborhood Association<div class="MsoNormal">
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On the corner of Sunset and St. Andrews, directly across
from a bustling Home Depot sits the unfinished Hollywood Target. It's an
eyesore. It's a fiasco. And the blame for the construction stoppage falls
squarely on one group: The La Mirada Neighborhood Association. This highly
litigious organization filed the suit, along with a few other neighborhood
groups, that resulted in the cessation of work on the Target retail complex as
of August 2014. Their issue is that the building was designed to reach a height
of 74 feet, in an area where heights are limited to 35 feet. This is one of
many suits brought by these self-proclaimed saviors of Hollywood, who are
opposed to growth.</div>
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Their supporters talk a lot about the rule of law. They say
it's not the size of the structure that's the problem — it's that the city
council circumvented existing zoning laws to give special permission to Target.
To this, I have two things to say: YES they did.
And THANK YOU, City Council. Sometimes, to make progress, you have to push the limits of a
law — sometimes even violate it — to get the
change you want. I shudder to think where the civil rights movement would be
today without the courageous law-breakers who put their lives on the line toward the goal of changing the law.<br />
<o:p></o:p></div>
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The name and tag line of one of La Mirada's sister associations fighting for the same cause is
"Save Hollywood." What, the ugly, seedy, wonky, run-down Hollywood of
my youth? Back then the old 'hood was low-slung and sprawling with no reason to
walk the star-paved boulevard other than the sidewalk itself. Look at it now!
We are a pedestrian hub anchored by three glorious metro stops! Help me
understand what it is about the old Hollywood you are trying to recapture. Was
it the prostitutes or the drug dealers? The graffiti? What.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Sure, La Mirada would like you to blame the city council for
the work stoppage. They would like you to blame the mayor. And if by
"blame" you mean "give credit where credit is due," then in
fact, I do blame the mayor. I blame him for backing projects that are taller and not perpetuating the sprawl L.A. is known for. I blame him for bringing
retail shops to the sidewalks instead of pushed back behind an expanse of paved
parking lot, creating a more pedestrian-friendly streetscape. I blame him for
promoting density and making Hollywood more bike-able. I blame him for
improving my neighborhood in numerous ways. Shame on you, Mayor Garcetti! I
blame you! <o:p></o:p></div>
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But I'm not going to waste my time pointing fingers. I'm
going to spend my energy on fighting to get this development finished. I've written to
the mayor's office to ask what I can do to help. A petition? A protest? I’ll
jump in with both feet. The La Mirada Neighborhood Association may like to
think that they are the voice of the neighborhood, but they do not — DO NOT —
speak for me. <o:p></o:p></div>
Gabrielle Phttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04718386890606386212noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3234182976471299153.post-10832514234049838652015-03-06T13:09:00.000-08:002015-03-06T13:09:00.080-08:00Four Years Later ...OK, so it has been a little while since I last posted. Funny now to look back over my last few posts, which add up to a snapshot of a period in my life that was uncertain, scary and dark. I didn't know it at the time, but that last post about the garden was me at a threshold. After that, my world turned upside down. We halted all renovations on the house. My mom had been sick, and a year-and-a-half later she died of a lung condition that was never properly identified. I slid into a deep funk, accompanied by a long period of strenuous soul-searching. I kept trying to spin my situation -- our situation -- as temporary, like the dip in the economy. It would get better. But years go on, and it gets really hard to see what you're living as temporary.<br />
<br />
But a couple weird things happened. For one, we survived. While my career fortunes waned, my husband's ascended, and we ended up scraping by with change to spare. We never lost the house or anything else. And all that soul-searching I did? It changed me. It gave me a better understanding of myself than ever before. After 20 years as a desk jockey, I realized I'd hated every job I'd ever had and found a new appreciation for the life I was leading outside of my career. I had little kids and a sick mom and I was there for all of them at a time when they needed me. I reshaped how I lived -- Like, instead of waking up in the morning and saying "What do I have to do to get by?" I said, "This is your ideal world. You have no limitations. What are you going to do today?" And then I did them. And this attitude brought me to do some crazy, interesting, fun, weird, sometimes embarrassing stuff. But that's for a different blog post on a different blog. This is a renovation blog.<br />
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So the key thing that happened that is pertinent to our house project is that I started working again. Yes, this was the undoing of a lot of the self-discovery I'd just been through -- but again, different blog. Working again meant moving forward again with the house project.<br />
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Or you'd think it would -- but it's been a year-and-a-half since I went back to work and the number of renovations we've done amounts to zero. But that's OK, right? It takes a while to build up resources, to get plans together, to hire people, to get bids, to pick materials, to make decisions and to GO!<br />
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So here I am at another threshold (I hope). And if the months to come bring all the changes to this house that I am hoping for, I will be sure to document them here, for your consumption. Feels good to be back!<br />
<br />Gabrielle Phttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04718386890606386212noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3234182976471299153.post-11400803340181470512011-05-10T12:36:00.000-07:002011-05-10T13:43:15.085-07:00Brightness in the darkAs you already know, if you read my previous post, this hasn't been a particularly sunny period of my life. Since I lost my job in March, I've had the displeasure of watching our family sink into an ever-deeper financial abyss, bringing our home renovation to a screeching halt. But I don't want to dwell on that today. In fact, I'd like to do just the opposite. At times of darkness, sometimes that stupid cliche about looking on the bright side holds some merit. So I offer you a subject of brightness. Here it is:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMtTHWgB7s68QqIYZ_ugvB91dDAbijGbeZYyD0Buyl1MbUeuKflFth4b7T-sSE_U_D4IRCS59qYNdsMwDI4RFd96IMuOK2WPDxb_Eedgq_HGB6zxl5ecBm5GjFx1tH9Ry7sf__9oBDZbw/s1600/DSC_6918.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 133px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMtTHWgB7s68QqIYZ_ugvB91dDAbijGbeZYyD0Buyl1MbUeuKflFth4b7T-sSE_U_D4IRCS59qYNdsMwDI4RFd96IMuOK2WPDxb_Eedgq_HGB6zxl5ecBm5GjFx1tH9Ry7sf__9oBDZbw/s200/DSC_6918.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5605177779286307618" border="0" /></a>This is the parkway in front of our house as it looks today. At this size, it's probably kind of hard to see anyway, but this picture doesn't really do it justice. The flowers when you see them live and in person are pretty spectacular, and walking along side them makes you feel like you're strolling through a lush suburban garden. It is exactly as we intended it to be. But better. Just looking at these flowers brightens my mood. Just tracking their progress from little sprouts into glorious, bloom-happy full-sized plants has been an inkling of pleasure in a period where such delights are too few.<br /><br />This brings me to another bright spot: Our neighbors. With the spring and the explosion of flowers and blossoms all over our property, I've had the happy occasion to speak with numerous residents near to and far from our house. My encounters with them are not accidental. They stop me cold, usually as I'm climbing into my car, so they can rave to me about the work we've been doing on our property. It almost never fails. As soon as I walk out of the house, whatever person is there, walking by, walking a dog, delivering mail, jogging — whatever — that person feels compelled to come tell me that they love what we've done with the house. They wince as they describe the house as it was previously. A blight on the neighborhood. An eyesore. A shit hole. On one occasion, a woman ran nearly half a city block to get my attention. She said she lived up the way in Beachwood Canyon and had been hoping to catch me for a while.<br /><br />These encounters make me feel like a movie star who just appeared in that role that for some reason everyone connects with. I guess a renovation isn't only about what you get out of it. It can also be about what you give.<br /><br />If it sounds like I'm bragging, let me say here that I am fully aware that my husband and I can't take all the credit. It has taken a cast of thousands to get the front of our house looking the way it does from where it was when we started. Notable among the players are:<br /><ul><li>Pia Dominguez of Barefoot Landscaping who did our initial landscape design including choosing the plants on the front parkway — though not on the side parkway, which is fodder for another post.</li><li>Stumper Landscaping — They did the actual work on the landscaping. Bill Weber at Stumper, I must say, is a sprinkler genius and one of the nicest men I've ever worked with.</li></ul>I'll post a more thorough list if and when we ever finish the front of the house. For now, the parkway will have to suffice. I guess a dark side of this bright side is how crappy the curb looks, broken and crumbling in many places. With the city and its financial crisis, I'm not expecting any repairs soon.<br /><br />And at least I know with our own financial crisis we're in good company.Gabrielle Phttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04718386890606386212noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3234182976471299153.post-36387473280169271332011-03-22T11:31:00.000-07:002011-03-22T11:48:57.394-07:00The Money Talk<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlJDL7fNdqOAVoD6lV3oGCLDKQS9SmubzC_vrwSL696IZLrwWRJNwNutKfn42y3wSvL8gav9ApRl7Fcof1Q5M5Tn3BiWrhMVLbB8s7ewecrh_hCgLqfFYf5TOK5-IRrrYknfpPMW0Wivk/s1600/DSC_6516.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 133px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5586976388259311922" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlJDL7fNdqOAVoD6lV3oGCLDKQS9SmubzC_vrwSL696IZLrwWRJNwNutKfn42y3wSvL8gav9ApRl7Fcof1Q5M5Tn3BiWrhMVLbB8s7ewecrh_hCgLqfFYf5TOK5-IRrrYknfpPMW0Wivk/s200/DSC_6516.JPG" /></a> I’ve been fighting with myself over this post for a while now. Like a lot of people, I was raised to believe you don’t talk about money — at least not any of the money matters that actually <em>matter</em>. You don’t tell people how much you make, and you never, ever ask what they make. You don’t ask how much a person paid for their house, their car or really anything, though you are free to discuss whatever figures a person volunteers. But on the flip side, you don’t volunteer that information either. Money is sensitive and relative and can cause hurt feelings or jealousy or disrespect when people know the actual numbers. You’re just better off not talking about it.<br /><br />And yet, what is more crucial to a renovation project than money? And what benefit is this blog if it doesn’t help you through the big decisions in a renovation – and don’t so many decisions revolve around money?<br /><br />What makes me think about money today is that I lost my job again. It’s actually the second time I’ve been laid off in two years. Both lay-offs were not performance-related, just the economy doing what it’s want to do. But regardless of the reason, I’m out of work, which cuts our total household income almost exactly in half.<br /><br />After my first layoff, I was out of work 10 months. As frightening as that was, there was also a lot of joy in it. My previous job environment had been pretty ugly, and being free from it held some relief. I’d been burning to work on some of my own projects and potentially start a business. And as a working mom running a home renovation, I’d had so little down time that boxes from our move — two years earlier — still lurked in corners around our house, not yet unpacked. Having some time to cut through the household clutter was just a delight, whether or not we would sink like rocks financially. And don’t get me started on having more time to spend with my kids.<br /><br />This time around, the situation is different and more dire. I relied on my credit card a lot during my last lay-off, and in fact ran the card to its limit. And there at the limit it remains, leaving me without any credit cushion this time around. This time around the layoff was so sudden and so unexpected that it happened to catch us right in the middle of landscaping the front yard — a moment when we were particularly cash poor with all the payments to landscapers and fence-building contractors. In fact, my last conversation with the fence builder went a little bit like this:<br /><strong></strong><br /><strong>Fence-builder:</strong> So, we are finished with the fence and ready to take it for powder coating. Oh — we mentioned before the powder coating would be extra, right? That will be an extra $1,800.<br /><strong>Me:</strong> I don’t have that money.<br /><strong>Fence-builder:</strong> OK, then we won’t do the powder coating. That means the fence is finished, so you need to make the last payment it. That will be $2700.<br /><strong>Me:</strong> I don’t have that money. I can try to have it for you in a week.<br />Fence-builder: We need it today.<br /><strong>Me:</strong> I don’t have it today. I could write you a check, but it would be bad. Can you wait just a week so that I can gather my resources a bit? I just lost my job.<br />Fence-builder: You lost your job? Then we <em>definitely</em> need that money today.<br /><strong>Me:</strong> Well, I can give you blood. Perhaps that’s worth something on the open market? I do not have $2700 today, but I have blood.<br /><br />The fact that this conversation took place rather noisily in our front yard did not, I imagine, do wonders for our reputation around the neighborhood.<br /><br />If you don’t know me personally, perhaps this whole story sounds a little trite. The economy has, after all, been bad for a good, long time. How long, exactly? Let’s see — how long have we been in this house? Four years? Yes. The economy has been bad approximately four years. And maybe, if you don’t know me, you are thinking that I am irresponsible. I ordered the fence — how dare I order something that I don’t have the money to pay for?<br /><br />But my point is that this is a really integral, fundamental part of a renovation for any regular working person. There are times when your chips are up and other times when they are down, way down. For us, at this moment, the chips are so far down that it’s hard to imagine there is a place called up. It’s funny — I thought the chips were down back in 2007 when we spent six months without a kitchen and washed all our dishes in a decaying green pre-renovation bathroom sink. I thought they were down when we slept with our six-month-old baby on an air mattress in the only room in the house that had finished walls and an actual light fixture (but no curtains, mind you). I thought they were down when we had to have hydraulic pumps brought in to actually lift the entire house from its center because we learned a pipe had let sewage seep for nearly 20 years, causing the whole structure to sink. The list goes on and on. But the hardest of all to face is the idea that after suffering through trial after trial, our efforts may still be for naught. We could lose it all. Even if we don’t foreclose, if we have to sell (clearly at a loss in this market), it means some other person or family will reap the benefit of our efforts. The house we custom-designed for ourselves and our family will be someone else’s property.<br /><br />Standing where I stand today, I don’t know what’s going to happen. I have no job and no job prospects. Maybe some great job will come my way tomorrow — or maybe we will stop paying our bills and watch as the empire slowly crumbles around us. If you are reading this post because you stumbled across this blog while trying to decide for yourself whether to take on a renovation, I hope it does you some good. I hope it forces you into a gut check of sorts. If you found yourself in the same situation, would it all be worth it?<br /><br />This isn't my last post on this subject. There is a lot left to be said about the money issues surrounding a home purchase or renovation. And maybe if more people had put their manners aside and had these conversations five years ago, the housing crisis would never have happened, the economy would never have slowed to a near stand-still, and I'd still have a job.Gabrielle Phttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04718386890606386212noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3234182976471299153.post-44787788053343016702011-01-02T19:22:00.000-08:002011-01-02T19:33:59.893-08:00Instant GrassificationFor a while I was chasing my friend Alex's landscaper. Alex told me that the guy put a lawn in his yard and took a lot of pleasure in calling it "Instant grassification." That's kind of how it works with sod, though. It really is kind of instantly wonderful. Ours went in this week, along with a few plants, and I am enjoying this feeling like I suddenly live on a golf course.<br /><br />Here's what I see when I step out my front door:<br /><br /><table><tbody><tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBfpSq9UtrP2EvI-kG2yRXDi0m7wGq9i6r-vaE4VM2tk5Xzv3tZxJgM1VBI7Wz9Lj_HQYYcEzFbRMx-MJgBmVu6Fu7HVuVwYBAvTCmhk88wy-A2ajp3PT-irnq_bGUXL5olVDvKiz5GA8/s1600/DSC_5909.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 200px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 133px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5557796023969673778" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBfpSq9UtrP2EvI-kG2yRXDi0m7wGq9i6r-vaE4VM2tk5Xzv3tZxJgM1VBI7Wz9Lj_HQYYcEzFbRMx-MJgBmVu6Fu7HVuVwYBAvTCmhk88wy-A2ajp3PT-irnq_bGUXL5olVDvKiz5GA8/s200/DSC_5909.JPG" /></a></td><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxf-hLJ7Sx0UMzAkWDNdTHlok_Sp-FMHVG1Rm7vLSgttAuc4hG9zCP5MtIdPQzYDO6URNeQlzOEbunoIKPDTcFl7K1F4UKLrG9ESH-7MRRyAlYbv2eSg6lcTJrEUJW5g_sYX3fNMkVY-I/s1600/DSC_5910.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 133px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5557796033331325650" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxf-hLJ7Sx0UMzAkWDNdTHlok_Sp-FMHVG1Rm7vLSgttAuc4hG9zCP5MtIdPQzYDO6URNeQlzOEbunoIKPDTcFl7K1F4UKLrG9ESH-7MRRyAlYbv2eSg6lcTJrEUJW5g_sYX3fNMkVY-I/s200/DSC_5910.JPG" /></a></td><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZxKvmM-oBNumdtQqFycFXpkLhsxWE4a-qloYWRktx3G-0-fPvC-Qfq09EJ50icjRBFYsS9CuLPfoVixlNKaYg4lYhxWQpumqzXy8_OvTrE_m4GHY5ZXCvfepZNmrb4AZ0SJm5kc4zNoA/s1600/DSC_5911.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 200px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 133px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5557796036584942594" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZxKvmM-oBNumdtQqFycFXpkLhsxWE4a-qloYWRktx3G-0-fPvC-Qfq09EJ50icjRBFYsS9CuLPfoVixlNKaYg4lYhxWQpumqzXy8_OvTrE_m4GHY5ZXCvfepZNmrb4AZ0SJm5kc4zNoA/s200/DSC_5911.JPG" /></a></td></tr></tbody></table><br />I never did find that landscaper friend of mine. After about 3,000 calls, I gave up. But I'm glad I found Stumper Landscaping, because Bill is a true expert when it comes to lawns and sprinkler systems. I bet he could grow grass on the Mojave.Gabrielle Phttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04718386890606386212noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3234182976471299153.post-59080952104161155762010-12-29T07:18:00.000-08:002011-01-02T10:48:17.235-08:00Trees!<p align="left"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgSHsIiKxY32Z5sscnfUbxkYrSA7D3YTkpmVHSq1PmMMokipgo1vWmTPbXBwt3ZphwhRyGVXc7UReEoHe-V6jOAOjsc02QyWd4TT67JyFGt0jvBV_DIzV1GVwU8uXQPF7oMSfz-TETQec/s1600/DSC_5891.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 200px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 133px; CURSOR: pointer" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5556125273371672482" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgSHsIiKxY32Z5sscnfUbxkYrSA7D3YTkpmVHSq1PmMMokipgo1vWmTPbXBwt3ZphwhRyGVXc7UReEoHe-V6jOAOjsc02QyWd4TT67JyFGt0jvBV_DIzV1GVwU8uXQPF7oMSfz-TETQec/s200/DSC_5891.JPG" /></a></p><br />We planted a bunch of trees. Actually, I say "we," but I actually mean Stumper Landscaping, the little mom and pop operation that has taken our singular request for sprinklers into a full-fledged front yard makeover.<br /><br />But before we look at the trees we planted, I want to take a look back — pay homage, really — to the trees we removed from our property. I think they are worth documenting if for no other reason than their sheer weirdness. If trees were beauty queens, neither of the ones we removed would be a Miss America. But one of them was an arborial wonder so odd that it even stumped the Stumper, our landscaper, Bill. He — and just about every landscaping professional and non-professional alike — said he had never seen anything quite like the Chinese Elm that the previous owners of our property had trained to grow over the chicken wire fence that surrounded the property. If you look at the pictures below, you can see how the thing — at least a branch of the thing — had woven its way like a vine through the fence.<br /><br />I was a little sorry to part with this tree because with its great height it provided a modicum of privacy to the master bedroom on the second floor. But I have to say, once it was gone I was pleased with the change. The tree was simply planted too close to the house. The roots were growing under our front entryway and generally shrouding the area around our front door in shade and darkness. The zombie branch thing was weird and the variety of tree very common — nothing really special or worth saving. It just had to go. Here is a look at our house pre-tree removal:<br /><table><tbody><tr><td><center><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVLHqwRgi3DBNHZFctCzBfl_HVL94a6ff0XJwKvmEwAGZ67q2j6lkV_yBVAGB0_MtHHk57K43FVx96q70WPd2MMOGy48Yhbnr3_w-ylvoYD0TO3XL9oP1Bt5Ysjrzci9eNH4JQcX3B9Is/s1600/DSC_5096.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 200px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 133px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5557309553679735586" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVLHqwRgi3DBNHZFctCzBfl_HVL94a6ff0XJwKvmEwAGZ67q2j6lkV_yBVAGB0_MtHHk57K43FVx96q70WPd2MMOGy48Yhbnr3_w-ylvoYD0TO3XL9oP1Bt5Ysjrzci9eNH4JQcX3B9Is/s200/DSC_5096.JPG" /></a></p></center></td><td><center><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT_3C6-vTuppmq7vgSkxLCyGHVXFQ5PNeuP7vxnVa840rXP65SZdd1qXyAdOgLbTeyW7I3vWQo4hCOdjb6Xl5RpcTaVbyzMmIFAUoQR5fHwarZ3hAVMQgyTkF7Z2GolQs6f0Xy_xJeyLY/s1600/IMG_0080.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 200px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5557309569683828002" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT_3C6-vTuppmq7vgSkxLCyGHVXFQ5PNeuP7vxnVa840rXP65SZdd1qXyAdOgLbTeyW7I3vWQo4hCOdjb6Xl5RpcTaVbyzMmIFAUoQR5fHwarZ3hAVMQgyTkF7Z2GolQs6f0Xy_xJeyLY/s200/IMG_0080.jpg" /></a></center><br /></td><td><center><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXULr7CHRW2LgOYCYPmBzsMoxzKXy8PXtiJmW_hAt_cpuvtP5lSDWBZZ20tYMlP4Ta8_bc-XW23fnh-x4hWjhR1f70lC5iOcJ1wDKH47-LOjDgxvsvNh5w_DZQtBN1_A91utLrwPEGiKw/s1600/IMG_0078.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 150px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5557309566286147010" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXULr7CHRW2LgOYCYPmBzsMoxzKXy8PXtiJmW_hAt_cpuvtP5lSDWBZZ20tYMlP4Ta8_bc-XW23fnh-x4hWjhR1f70lC5iOcJ1wDKH47-LOjDgxvsvNh5w_DZQtBN1_A91utLrwPEGiKw/s200/IMG_0078.jpg" /></a></center></td></tr><tr><td><center><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9vo8g-qrAFzspi22Hc4ZI-J4i-vTBeHemEmpQiG2TibR5TTKbc-5K9E21wg25fatevNXby7Uzs7HBRFmfEjzB2Q40_ePX1S1pZ0mNuYNT2Z8IxpJHOktlmbQNw5Ba3E0NN8Ikt8vc2eM/s1600/IMG_0077.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 150px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5557309564437214850" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9vo8g-qrAFzspi22Hc4ZI-J4i-vTBeHemEmpQiG2TibR5TTKbc-5K9E21wg25fatevNXby7Uzs7HBRFmfEjzB2Q40_ePX1S1pZ0mNuYNT2Z8IxpJHOktlmbQNw5Ba3E0NN8Ikt8vc2eM/s200/IMG_0077.jpg" /></a></center></td><td><center><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXTQ81PbSoMZ_NWRUTpovP62_FqHWEzSDhaYe4kB8kfmTjUp1pdcB1fF060Xrx7G2oJk2NBHN9GZSsDk91ra4Wv_8VATggmeDo8hzIcQp7lVwXFJ9eeoj3NwcYbdaLw0UbcGWpIQ4e7ck/s1600/IMG_0076.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 150px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5557309556672914450" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXTQ81PbSoMZ_NWRUTpovP62_FqHWEzSDhaYe4kB8kfmTjUp1pdcB1fF060Xrx7G2oJk2NBHN9GZSsDk91ra4Wv_8VATggmeDo8hzIcQp7lVwXFJ9eeoj3NwcYbdaLw0UbcGWpIQ4e7ck/s200/IMG_0076.jpg" /></a></center></td><td><center><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaTFVWWNelyLzPhFFU2UAzz9s_sZXDjQNNZDTLFkt129vS2WpWoD8nEJdFbKh2yQp58P8WJr9EMbCMeANg_RaTCElvaoMCWVD8GnvvoG7n67CAaMisdo76zFKZ24Cf42WRdOSnYEhJUn4/s1600/IMG_0081.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 150px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5557309701792098098" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaTFVWWNelyLzPhFFU2UAzz9s_sZXDjQNNZDTLFkt129vS2WpWoD8nEJdFbKh2yQp58P8WJr9EMbCMeANg_RaTCElvaoMCWVD8GnvvoG7n67CAaMisdo76zFKZ24Cf42WRdOSnYEhJUn4/s200/IMG_0081.jpg" /></a></center></td></tr></tbody></table><p>That is not a hedge, it's a branch.<br /><br />My camera was out of batteries on the day I took these shots, so I just snapped a bunch with my phone.</p><p>That last tree is actually an ornamental pear that was right at the edge of the property. There was nothing really weird about it except that it was planted too close to the sidewalk, but other than that it was just untamed and scraggly and just your run-of-the-mill eyesore. It too had to go.<br /><br />Since we removed the trees we've actually done quite a lot of work on the yard. (Again, we being Stumper Bill.) We took out an entire dumpster full of soil, weeds and debris that had collected on the property over decades. We flattened and graded and laid weedblocker. We built a retaining wall at the corner to give shape to an area that will soon be a seating area.<br /><br />And we planted trees. Here they are:</p><table><tbody><tr><td><center><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1ZmYUt7UFse-_gjH91SiClwJ_L_FtKWzAyGsmIsYEIReU7C4_LINBrDAYw8vGdWEKyivzqAe4711aeVeFVEQ-u18qIA16DxFsDY9KjyZd55C-VXIXDGMenJVfFzMxKIj2guHvhEHjL6k/s1600/DSC_5894.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 133px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: pointer" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5556125293027442130" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1ZmYUt7UFse-_gjH91SiClwJ_L_FtKWzAyGsmIsYEIReU7C4_LINBrDAYw8vGdWEKyivzqAe4711aeVeFVEQ-u18qIA16DxFsDY9KjyZd55C-VXIXDGMenJVfFzMxKIj2guHvhEHjL6k/s200/DSC_5894.JPG" /></a>Dodonea Viscosa Purpurea<br />(Hopseed Bush)<br /></center></td><td><center><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUhiUqloxXXjOoT_a17L1Z251SNLRL8lXZWX8vOAcZHlO5N1cAHyI90WJKo0CKSjMWFIF2D4ymTFQWi3N4s7UysIB0OjQAZ7_0j0ra3Wkmit2uf-2lbA6zsUm1sN8aV4KmnQN8pKb7KQo/s1600/DSC_5893.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 133px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: pointer" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5556125288042822226" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUhiUqloxXXjOoT_a17L1Z251SNLRL8lXZWX8vOAcZHlO5N1cAHyI90WJKo0CKSjMWFIF2D4ymTFQWi3N4s7UysIB0OjQAZ7_0j0ra3Wkmit2uf-2lbA6zsUm1sN8aV4KmnQN8pKb7KQo/s200/DSC_5893.JPG" /></a><br />Ornamental Plum</center><br /></td><td><center><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7mpgAwUSMIBbOk0fStcUryQ2c9tLVfa-bBeGSEd6rPcGdqmHv7t7XVqctdZKtyIKUwNqtE7qJJYo9VS5E96tR6RkyYP-IYJNMuF1MP1aMYXuvtT-kIhuo2qvi5j_gxICSklUmXFe9800/s1600/DSC_5892.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 133px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: pointer" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5556125280674562290" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7mpgAwUSMIBbOk0fStcUryQ2c9tLVfa-bBeGSEd6rPcGdqmHv7t7XVqctdZKtyIKUwNqtE7qJJYo9VS5E96tR6RkyYP-IYJNMuF1MP1aMYXuvtT-kIhuo2qvi5j_gxICSklUmXFe9800/s200/DSC_5892.JPG" /></a> Pomegranate Wonderful<br /></center></td><td><center><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheKYfw4vNnV_KbOVOo26mb6Z22QYMFFgB_5a18QWAnmMzsV6m_UR8td-5NJU9wid6z7P27IDz_KbqWDoMIbRlDfl1NMQFc2XNMxQryj7-riF9wLYXtONHb-VXQAgXFhKy8b-BvUjYemwM/s1600/DSC_5895.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 133px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: pointer" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5556125301176089010" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheKYfw4vNnV_KbOVOo26mb6Z22QYMFFgB_5a18QWAnmMzsV6m_UR8td-5NJU9wid6z7P27IDz_KbqWDoMIbRlDfl1NMQFc2XNMxQryj7-riF9wLYXtONHb-VXQAgXFhKy8b-BvUjYemwM/s200/DSC_5895.JPG" /></a>Lagerstroemia<br />(Crape Myrtle)<br /></center></td></tr><tr><td><center><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7RKDFaTaU_nRe2b1HpgWXviOee6wHJuzRfIwiAsvGuosfdSwLccLxKpDKUVvSi4AWnDklC0NiQfix1GOZOUHdAPbfi1vVAhdjtmzX6gx9EMkjudaqHqiag3qzqJrOrfpVlEUl4F4PG-g/s1600/DSC_5896.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 133px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: pointer" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5556126091422308882" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7RKDFaTaU_nRe2b1HpgWXviOee6wHJuzRfIwiAsvGuosfdSwLccLxKpDKUVvSi4AWnDklC0NiQfix1GOZOUHdAPbfi1vVAhdjtmzX6gx9EMkjudaqHqiag3qzqJrOrfpVlEUl4F4PG-g/s200/DSC_5896.JPG" /></a>Willow tree</center></td><td><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKochAA2dNQAnANjdMKCoP534-oJvbrxIGltsAIEbV4PV739tpsloQcX9xi7aryWjWVGAdr8WNbnrw-XRjOmTgpt0FwXJvxTE_9qVPIt9CYNvREOkcFyPpzYiHZAKUpug9W3l3uLJt5Bc/s1600/DSC_5897.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 133px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: pointer" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5556126097764776306" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKochAA2dNQAnANjdMKCoP534-oJvbrxIGltsAIEbV4PV739tpsloQcX9xi7aryWjWVGAdr8WNbnrw-XRjOmTgpt0FwXJvxTE_9qVPIt9CYNvREOkcFyPpzYiHZAKUpug9W3l3uLJt5Bc/s200/DSC_5897.JPG" /></a> Eureka Lemon tree, came with a couple lemons already on it</center><br /></td><td><center><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2yY3NSXNZSsebBTiaQSOM4fyIFeg_FZZGcOwPQlJ5kZB0S-AIym4QRcg8LtBrOEx4A9nv7AnlCdykBj0iHhsguRkxJs-hk78c2o6eakaNOhb2A6u9Kj0kgYMOIrYecEisjq7nX00i_Kw/s1600/DSC_5898.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 133px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: pointer" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5556126102390449810" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2yY3NSXNZSsebBTiaQSOM4fyIFeg_FZZGcOwPQlJ5kZB0S-AIym4QRcg8LtBrOEx4A9nv7AnlCdykBj0iHhsguRkxJs-hk78c2o6eakaNOhb2A6u9Kj0kgYMOIrYecEisjq7nX00i_Kw/s200/DSC_5898.JPG" /></a>Tabebuia<br />(Pink Trumpet)<br />on the parkway<br /></center></td><td><center><br /></center><center></center><p></p><p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3BmouVzjD3UJJezYPEJleITeBJcljv0wj1M0lgCs7eGWmhx4jZ4lwTcAI1rsZNdT3EBqfPeTnb-o_uzN5d0ZHJK_TWfhm3eRVP2idSOtXdy1f0CnLM6GXlJe73dAqWB9dsGpr4lgB_Y8/s1600/DSC_5900.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 133px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: pointer" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5556126109932494962" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3BmouVzjD3UJJezYPEJleITeBJcljv0wj1M0lgCs7eGWmhx4jZ4lwTcAI1rsZNdT3EBqfPeTnb-o_uzN5d0ZHJK_TWfhm3eRVP2idSOtXdy1f0CnLM6GXlJe73dAqWB9dsGpr4lgB_Y8/s200/DSC_5900.JPG" /></a> The willow again, with 2-year-old Blaise.<br /></p></td></tr></tbody></table>They may not look like much now, when it's the dead of winter, but I am thrilled to know I don't have to go through another spring and summer with nothing green to show for it. I so look forward to seeing these things grow, take shape and bloom over the months to come.Gabrielle Phttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04718386890606386212noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3234182976471299153.post-60170175364042241472010-06-12T15:26:00.001-07:002010-06-12T16:38:15.533-07:00The Painted Lady<center><table><tbody><tr><td><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb65s0Gx1JOWaeHVony-SOp56oHQAj7kOzP5tWecJy3aW-DhWdZB9-ZEILSPLQG5W-2lKnup6lHlgLmjHZ0-DgwGtzplYc_7UfShqwWpqQQHYFyJNS-W5T8Ck4eSPo5Z1X2wN7ggNKnfc/s1600/DSC_4433.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 133px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb65s0Gx1JOWaeHVony-SOp56oHQAj7kOzP5tWecJy3aW-DhWdZB9-ZEILSPLQG5W-2lKnup6lHlgLmjHZ0-DgwGtzplYc_7UfShqwWpqQQHYFyJNS-W5T8Ck4eSPo5Z1X2wN7ggNKnfc/s200/DSC_4433.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5482017753576256402" border="0" /></a><center>Before</center></td><td><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7Orq_HInFB_8SePEG9oYtkKoW3NtPhIIcCsIgbwL0-mPm89PqRMwKhW4Vb0mfJf0bA9GRf8Vn-lcSc2nAiwl4BKm1ii63pBZ02fasg3nWI6WVVdU3FEHac26x2HVnLhprvROJkpxPx70/s1600/DSC_4721.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 133px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7Orq_HInFB_8SePEG9oYtkKoW3NtPhIIcCsIgbwL0-mPm89PqRMwKhW4Vb0mfJf0bA9GRf8Vn-lcSc2nAiwl4BKm1ii63pBZ02fasg3nWI6WVVdU3FEHac26x2HVnLhprvROJkpxPx70/s200/DSC_4721.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5482017769737544530" border="0" /></a><center>After</center></td></tr></tbody></table></center><br /><br />The house is painted! And there's not much more to say than that. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.<br /><br /><center><br /><table><tbody><tr><td><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX4rEXfETb1nCgF-FneGsKiF9Z3ZyA6jAeaCcMxVEFatbWhYJH-XQSC1nTJuop6wdV9P-HZ8ksODAffX8vkVlt_mPU2lTumWwO2GTwsAMPReKYITahJ-SX1X_E_LfB1T7cP0CaJoX20BM/s1600/DSC_4709.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 133px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX4rEXfETb1nCgF-FneGsKiF9Z3ZyA6jAeaCcMxVEFatbWhYJH-XQSC1nTJuop6wdV9P-HZ8ksODAffX8vkVlt_mPU2lTumWwO2GTwsAMPReKYITahJ-SX1X_E_LfB1T7cP0CaJoX20BM/s200/DSC_4709.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5482021040594999874" border="0" /></a><center>Before</center></td><td><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8Q4BjHuKrxNoLc1RCXjTSQzy35WnXCIOvmnEYiOB4TBrkzLX_Q7EI9zVEfNKeGDjUKBZW53gMza1IFrFF5GRXgt7X-a0COMUYyvTYZ4FyuFUrU50sBK1LCCJiLi6KNOB_qHEBatuDVhU/s1600/DSC_4724.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 133px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8Q4BjHuKrxNoLc1RCXjTSQzy35WnXCIOvmnEYiOB4TBrkzLX_Q7EI9zVEfNKeGDjUKBZW53gMza1IFrFF5GRXgt7X-a0COMUYyvTYZ4FyuFUrU50sBK1LCCJiLi6KNOB_qHEBatuDVhU/s200/DSC_4724.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5482021052387692802" border="0" /></a><center>After</center></td></tr></tbody></table></center><br /><br /><center><table><tbody><tr><td><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBzoJE_4w8aUMLh3V3ExCo6Z-sJf6NDt8vuSM9uw2ID9flz3JozjqwJmnb0jfIP7p42kLE8DhXZltN_fhrS5_Xs7u951ew7n1oA7knjXSnkDIV1MjLKO-CqscpBE-MCXY6dGfJRyf5xD8/s1600/DSC_4704.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 133px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBzoJE_4w8aUMLh3V3ExCo6Z-sJf6NDt8vuSM9uw2ID9flz3JozjqwJmnb0jfIP7p42kLE8DhXZltN_fhrS5_Xs7u951ew7n1oA7knjXSnkDIV1MjLKO-CqscpBE-MCXY6dGfJRyf5xD8/s200/DSC_4704.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5482024358696089554" border="0" /></a><center>Before</center></td><td><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4fVfdUyRBF4CbYZvKBS_EsmHhciZxUSHcRctcaZ4W9nVbQweihLRB8_Sylj-F-KuBXW8gOpSECz19QFJ48og94e2VXsq5lqG8rSv7U7Mfcj3iPLNNtqqgLvGvDWLbkofVrWD2OdWck_o/s1600/DSC_4726.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 133px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4fVfdUyRBF4CbYZvKBS_EsmHhciZxUSHcRctcaZ4W9nVbQweihLRB8_Sylj-F-KuBXW8gOpSECz19QFJ48og94e2VXsq5lqG8rSv7U7Mfcj3iPLNNtqqgLvGvDWLbkofVrWD2OdWck_o/s200/DSC_4726.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5482024369877683122" border="0" /></a><center>After</center></td></tr></tbody></table></center><br /><center><table><tbody><tr><td><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidNM-GdE0fEjIBlybC5N2RZ-7xxWOOsRasqLcWIPO-r_6shvsAegmkKa4pfPSDwksRCLAnhcx4u6Nd5Pj3JgB4LPCCRjpFajM2Sv8EewBSpgAFqz1ADY9Zc55lcWwPgf2ijJM1JnwCd0o/s1600/DSC_4713.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 133px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidNM-GdE0fEjIBlybC5N2RZ-7xxWOOsRasqLcWIPO-r_6shvsAegmkKa4pfPSDwksRCLAnhcx4u6Nd5Pj3JgB4LPCCRjpFajM2Sv8EewBSpgAFqz1ADY9Zc55lcWwPgf2ijJM1JnwCd0o/s200/DSC_4713.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5482025328581918306" border="0" /></a><center>Before</center></td><td><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5ucrYTKBE4e6ESyTwTbnZ1Z8m9lIgfnJsnW7_REQcCi_JZZxgL6MIey1KyuBaD5WtTO8BA17syVaQ6yhPDc7q23ky04S_hEcZM8dqGBKSjfgk5ldjQUQOnwXYXoHhyphenhyphenneLq1lJP0WL6vo/s1600/DSC_4731.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 133px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5ucrYTKBE4e6ESyTwTbnZ1Z8m9lIgfnJsnW7_REQcCi_JZZxgL6MIey1KyuBaD5WtTO8BA17syVaQ6yhPDc7q23ky04S_hEcZM8dqGBKSjfgk5ldjQUQOnwXYXoHhyphenhyphenneLq1lJP0WL6vo/s200/DSC_4731.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5482025315721922258" border="0" /></a><center>After</center></td></tr></tbody></table></center><br /><center><table><tbody><tr><td><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgu90dOSPWgnTcwaLIVoujcevVNzRHHMlLTzDOR4m12Oq-TzlezHdABiAXgfkDQxeMbAmd-96LygnaOOWXw5d6aCi_Pp_vyaJn4JAW7Df5S7er7b5RZSVpvb8P3LBarQdM3RY6y8BvaQ4/s1600/DSC_4700.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 133px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgu90dOSPWgnTcwaLIVoujcevVNzRHHMlLTzDOR4m12Oq-TzlezHdABiAXgfkDQxeMbAmd-96LygnaOOWXw5d6aCi_Pp_vyaJn4JAW7Df5S7er7b5RZSVpvb8P3LBarQdM3RY6y8BvaQ4/s200/DSC_4700.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5482028451329021634" border="0" /></a><center>Before</center></td><td><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUfFojBdGb3V_cVzubr5FssHTi2Lu70wmK5wcDY_8Ze0k1qRUh71balSiduurCSRSubHAx3gQpIuY61WuUKyDsj9ZlfO4fXs61fRsZmnhohaXnFOzKxXx-luwW9S3eiGXjBk1nNbRnMqc/s1600/DSC_4735.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 133px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUfFojBdGb3V_cVzubr5FssHTi2Lu70wmK5wcDY_8Ze0k1qRUh71balSiduurCSRSubHAx3gQpIuY61WuUKyDsj9ZlfO4fXs61fRsZmnhohaXnFOzKxXx-luwW9S3eiGXjBk1nNbRnMqc/s200/DSC_4735.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5482028458906654098" border="0" /></a><center>After</center></td></tr></tbody></table></center><br /><center><table><tbody><tr><td><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW7UGdTSeleoNTW0czDn9FN3hyphenhyphen62omay7PEwciSHbqhIBtv1ntf5QkmH2GK6ITHvM5_ZYkD2icvUYkApKA-pmv-rdiNHOJCJc70H0j5cXsGQAS6ALjCPKyLLHa9GTZQYBRKxOspgoEZtc/s1600/DSC_4699.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 133px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW7UGdTSeleoNTW0czDn9FN3hyphenhyphen62omay7PEwciSHbqhIBtv1ntf5QkmH2GK6ITHvM5_ZYkD2icvUYkApKA-pmv-rdiNHOJCJc70H0j5cXsGQAS6ALjCPKyLLHa9GTZQYBRKxOspgoEZtc/s200/DSC_4699.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5482033538948215458" border="0" /></a><center>Before</center></td><td><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1Uwf2IbN2pDfY2WtEjchyphenhyphen1GpJ8aMhdu5fHcUKejj39UGcUYL_lYiYGdNtaVfTunQ3bQwhhUOjZY3Dsj2zMRmbJNSJMDjprSP7rZjSCZlIeuRJb4Jpa-8rIckaZ0hCae54urlQ53QvfcI/s1600/DSC_4738.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 133px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1Uwf2IbN2pDfY2WtEjchyphenhyphen1GpJ8aMhdu5fHcUKejj39UGcUYL_lYiYGdNtaVfTunQ3bQwhhUOjZY3Dsj2zMRmbJNSJMDjprSP7rZjSCZlIeuRJb4Jpa-8rIckaZ0hCae54urlQ53QvfcI/s200/DSC_4738.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5482033528737231922" border="0" /></a><center>After</center></td></tr></tbody></table></center><br /><br /><center><table><tbody><tr><td><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdBzRsEY0zEDwp2gN5JRrtBjimWL1dIsdOnjZWW-SYHaeyffMs381B7zS2VCcGRn8Dyt9Ovg8aHDXe8ADVCiylbwSFBhIdmijtCNAJAjuGZBM3hW5Ly5lAFn7FvCEnqyS6Z2IvLlG4nn8/s1600/DSC_4707.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 133px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdBzRsEY0zEDwp2gN5JRrtBjimWL1dIsdOnjZWW-SYHaeyffMs381B7zS2VCcGRn8Dyt9Ovg8aHDXe8ADVCiylbwSFBhIdmijtCNAJAjuGZBM3hW5Ly5lAFn7FvCEnqyS6Z2IvLlG4nn8/s200/DSC_4707.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5482035161338989410" border="0" /></a><center>Before</center></td><td><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEienx5-TaCi4wXKDo7w2hy56vMDrpuiL7LttsDR0FMq8M_dnWUEwer1mQpEUgk5Cdg3dqwfJef41FG4vF8kvqHwci7tVEVfzp9DI0NO6IRr7sJOqLbgyYuix4RbYgTClKGsssgdJiMawBw/s1600/DSC_4746.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 133px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEienx5-TaCi4wXKDo7w2hy56vMDrpuiL7LttsDR0FMq8M_dnWUEwer1mQpEUgk5Cdg3dqwfJef41FG4vF8kvqHwci7tVEVfzp9DI0NO6IRr7sJOqLbgyYuix4RbYgTClKGsssgdJiMawBw/s200/DSC_4746.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5482035175972877410" border="0" /></a><center>After</center></td></tr></tbody></table></center><br /><br /><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden"><!--Session data--><input onclick="jsCall();" id="jsProxy" type="hidden"><div id="refHTML"></div><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden"><!--Session data--><input onclick="jsCall();" id="jsProxy" type="hidden"><div id="refHTML"></div><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden"><!--Session data--><input onclick="jsCall();" id="jsProxy" type="hidden"><div id="refHTML"></div>Gabrielle Phttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04718386890606386212noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3234182976471299153.post-50402520604489343342010-06-06T15:46:00.000-07:002010-06-06T17:10:46.904-07:00Painting CommencesI was going to begin this post by saying it was like Christmas morning here on Friday when the painters arrived to begin work on the exterior of the house — but then I realized I must have used that opening line before. The fact is that every time we begin a new project, the day the workers arrive is like Christmas morning. It's exciting. It's full of promise. And the biggest gift of all is to make progress.<br /><br />And so it was. The painters showed up and began their work. In case you're interested, we are using a company called <a href="http://www.detailpaintinginc.com/">Detail Painting, Inc.</a>, based in Hollywood not far from here. I chose them because their ratings on Angie's List were through the roof, and so far they have lived up to their reputation. They have gone over the house with a fine-toothed comb, repairing plaster, propping up rotted wood exterior beams, and scraping away the old to make way for the new.<br /><br />And what colors, you ask? Well, in the end we caved and got some professional help with the decision. A new but dear friend, Catherine, recommended Teresa Grow, who is the principal designer and owner of a company called <a href="http://www.madisonandgrow.com/">Madison and Grow</a>, which makes the most exquisite wallpaper. (She showed us her portfolio.) In fact, Jim and I liked both her and her wallpaper so much we are strongly considering using both inside the house. But that might take a while. I'm on a roll with this exterior stuff.<br /><br />So the colors we finally chose were all from Dunn Edwards, and they are:<br /><table><tbody><tr><td><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3R0pdZin6jTfE9Wq5yFU6eJrbmiSi9hBikEEPYy0x3fZvYCrdDF2j7RpjnwC0rVPVsWKSYdVpCA5H6xZy3hG4oPxTsZnGywbU-afMOfAItDmBB3vMeFs-ElvPWRFKf2xYIIn6vqSc4TQ/s1600/shakergrey.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 197px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3R0pdZin6jTfE9Wq5yFU6eJrbmiSi9hBikEEPYy0x3fZvYCrdDF2j7RpjnwC0rVPVsWKSYdVpCA5H6xZy3hG4oPxTsZnGywbU-afMOfAItDmBB3vMeFs-ElvPWRFKf2xYIIn6vqSc4TQ/s200/shakergrey.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5479803516956562450" border="0" /></a><strong>Dunn Edwards Paints DE6231 Shaker Gray</strong><br />LRV 13:<br /><br />Main body of the house</td><td><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhfGPRN9M0Aa9zy68cNHklxj0eAK9Hv-4ld63qNQy8x5vq9kJUT10zjmGC6qcn8KAeuZA2_150IXAjofyBVXLw-WqjZ3BUz_K8xX4j6txjT9p79tbDO-roipHe5tffErVVb8PEWo_wS4M/s1600/weatherboard.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 199px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhfGPRN9M0Aa9zy68cNHklxj0eAK9Hv-4ld63qNQy8x5vq9kJUT10zjmGC6qcn8KAeuZA2_150IXAjofyBVXLw-WqjZ3BUz_K8xX4j6txjT9p79tbDO-roipHe5tffErVVb8PEWo_wS4M/s200/weatherboard.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5479803521247500962" border="0" /></a><strong>Dunn Edwards Paints DE6222 Weather Board</strong><br />LRV 28:<br /><br />Garden walls, front door, garage door, side garage door</td><td><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX0GDEIpaEFK_8Nopgq5uaIr1xzxgIglsPX98yabakt884MOhcTKBhjLT52mG_Q7MquQgL2-P1zqdOj1HAIKBwQviY16EQ3ucodVEJMW3Q2GNZjn1NLsAdq7Yys08rjhJI-kSIPvllp7Q/s1600/chochise.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 197px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX0GDEIpaEFK_8Nopgq5uaIr1xzxgIglsPX98yabakt884MOhcTKBhjLT52mG_Q7MquQgL2-P1zqdOj1HAIKBwQviY16EQ3ucodVEJMW3Q2GNZjn1NLsAdq7Yys08rjhJI-kSIPvllp7Q/s200/chochise.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5479803527158962850" border="0" /></a><strong>Dunn Edwards Paints DEC761 Cochise</strong><br />LRV 58: <div><br />Soffit/Trim</div></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br />Now, despite what it might look like here, in all its digital glory, that Shaker Gray color is DARK. We put big swath of it on the front of the house, and I've seen caverns in New Mexico that refracted more light. But I'm both trying to keep an open mind and genuinely liking the contrast between the window frames and fireplace and this dark, rich color. We'll see how it looks when it's covering out entire house.<br /><br />Until then, I leave you with our house, as it looks today, as yet unpainted:<br /><br /><table><tbody><tr><td><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzGMnP-LNGxSZp9F7kSzsa1vsP5C3OG9zYwsUi2fbwkiT0a8uiW3mVCRk9cxwODlSBfZx1JIisa65gpwVkf5f26XeOK-m2YxI3mQzZEcgd6uetwSsC1Gm4nBpBCOnvW6t1-pEOjaQY5HA/s1600/DSC_4702.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 133px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzGMnP-LNGxSZp9F7kSzsa1vsP5C3OG9zYwsUi2fbwkiT0a8uiW3mVCRk9cxwODlSBfZx1JIisa65gpwVkf5f26XeOK-m2YxI3mQzZEcgd6uetwSsC1Gm4nBpBCOnvW6t1-pEOjaQY5HA/s200/DSC_4702.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5479807107436014098" border="0" /></a></td><td><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh31tMQdiRjdOQQXKykscnDlmbSV6zKMO89SnOyYEF-t4_8zfmYlRb-Mhp7aD8pqBAb3WwGgOJIwCPo-sbnKrPY08HbJ-Scs4eWAw2KzqIUo8I2auUYMNmB9kkMhKNXQT0wpYXE9CDNWSw/s1600/DSC_4707.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 133px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh31tMQdiRjdOQQXKykscnDlmbSV6zKMO89SnOyYEF-t4_8zfmYlRb-Mhp7aD8pqBAb3WwGgOJIwCPo-sbnKrPY08HbJ-Scs4eWAw2KzqIUo8I2auUYMNmB9kkMhKNXQT0wpYXE9CDNWSw/s200/DSC_4707.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5479807112071732850" border="0" /></a></td><td><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-bD8E-XFrFLzB7_9zM_FZZgt048Qgh_VSIi60r6iA3_Jg66CjXJeBSVC-Fi38Jg-RY1vUe_Chflm050Ny-AJBocuUSa4_HvM5yhT6NE9x6i6AghfrAmpWxrtR5V1IRtGpb1fTXcyUYPg/s1600/DSC_4704.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 133px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-bD8E-XFrFLzB7_9zM_FZZgt048Qgh_VSIi60r6iA3_Jg66CjXJeBSVC-Fi38Jg-RY1vUe_Chflm050Ny-AJBocuUSa4_HvM5yhT6NE9x6i6AghfrAmpWxrtR5V1IRtGpb1fTXcyUYPg/s200/DSC_4704.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5479807122228412530" border="0" /></a></td></tr><tr><td><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOzqZgBaIIsSFfS-YaGCivNRwMhY-oSn0dDdCT9tpKkgxFVUs9T4KQIjACj-dB07jJGo3o0nLnSy2w3OmfA9U4Rc8ghbA5edSYlGO3nQLnJmLAedESE2FkBqNSBmws8YrwMLhyphenhyphenavx8TJA/s1600/DSC_4698.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 133px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOzqZgBaIIsSFfS-YaGCivNRwMhY-oSn0dDdCT9tpKkgxFVUs9T4KQIjACj-dB07jJGo3o0nLnSy2w3OmfA9U4Rc8ghbA5edSYlGO3nQLnJmLAedESE2FkBqNSBmws8YrwMLhyphenhyphenavx8TJA/s200/DSC_4698.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5479814554381259874" border="0" /></a></td><td><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm197-fh-dh1-wyY_ewU9omKVddKREfrUkkK7fwmAIL40dgvF4qyXs8bWxqe8BhLSjXxpFxZRFibJ162nCt11bfvZN5TB_cxa_dEfUrimFpot4v_GzUmEK369Th5vNrHPOiM69UNq6Hrc/s1600/DSC_4709.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 133px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm197-fh-dh1-wyY_ewU9omKVddKREfrUkkK7fwmAIL40dgvF4qyXs8bWxqe8BhLSjXxpFxZRFibJ162nCt11bfvZN5TB_cxa_dEfUrimFpot4v_GzUmEK369Th5vNrHPOiM69UNq6Hrc/s200/DSC_4709.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5479807140221680562" border="0" /></a></td><td><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5grfhX67ORDxbpBrqEkPUsfe0Mk6H_Le9FLn-zQat9j2zMB7MtTfGxf1Q6ndTAqDgu3Bu4eNhoXhoiNg2ZpE5lEUhJ4rn84OOtA9tQ4N6gqcMd8Q0YPyhIIpQwkRPZwdf0neVDzocThM/s1600/DSC_4699.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 133px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5grfhX67ORDxbpBrqEkPUsfe0Mk6H_Le9FLn-zQat9j2zMB7MtTfGxf1Q6ndTAqDgu3Bu4eNhoXhoiNg2ZpE5lEUhJ4rn84OOtA9tQ4N6gqcMd8Q0YPyhIIpQwkRPZwdf0neVDzocThM/s200/DSC_4699.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5479807129514159986" border="0" /></a></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><br /><br /><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden"><!--Session data--><input onclick="jsCall();" id="jsProxy" type="hidden"><div id="refHTML"></div><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden"><!--Session data--><input onclick="jsCall();" id="jsProxy" type="hidden"><div id="refHTML"></div><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden"><!--Session data--><input onclick="jsCall();" id="jsProxy" type="hidden"><div id="refHTML"></div><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden"><!--Session data--><input onclick="jsCall();" id="jsProxy" type="hidden"><div id="refHTML"></div><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden"><!--Session data--><input onclick="jsCall();" id="jsProxy" type="hidden"><div id="refHTML"></div>Gabrielle Phttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04718386890606386212noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3234182976471299153.post-71119888903649156362010-05-03T07:30:00.000-07:002010-06-15T09:53:07.434-07:00What Color Should We Paint Our House?<center><table><tbody><tr><td align="middle"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglhWPmRBtlmV7JM-rqNfNFrIvDKx8QdbpFKyjLpJ2cAhm8YZ0U-1InU8-MyvoIwIYOoUzqxcDMhnsbMxQ3I50eIcqPSu-lYyJbXqT7Eia1loNzF-oiXlYn0JXJs82j2G-l4IJBey9IaI0/s1600/DSC_4494.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 133px; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: pointer" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5467056364203702578" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglhWPmRBtlmV7JM-rqNfNFrIvDKx8QdbpFKyjLpJ2cAhm8YZ0U-1InU8-MyvoIwIYOoUzqxcDMhnsbMxQ3I50eIcqPSu-lYyJbXqT7Eia1loNzF-oiXlYn0JXJs82j2G-l4IJBey9IaI0/s200/DSC_4494.JPG" /></a><br />Antique Earth (top) Manuscript (bottom)<br /></td><td align="middle"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVPPgGZNdw6vbZWzrSFHFFYZgw_9P61VHYXCv-xie5OyXrRro-R7zFL0qve12HIg1efZLqr7d6AEN7zdqJC_4h80bUZHv42W2FMU1KKL2Hhsyy6lboqcXfhZCD3gDX3iNb8O99jRJTXpc/s1600/DSC_4493.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 133px; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: pointer" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5467054561282050610" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVPPgGZNdw6vbZWzrSFHFFYZgw_9P61VHYXCv-xie5OyXrRro-R7zFL0qve12HIg1efZLqr7d6AEN7zdqJC_4h80bUZHv42W2FMU1KKL2Hhsyy6lboqcXfhZCD3gDX3iNb8O99jRJTXpc/s200/DSC_4493.JPG" /></a><br />Gargoyle (top) Dark Olive (bottom)</td></tr><tr><td align="middle"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqjsSomcWwOC7-ElGCCvrxjH5m2iE5XMb8h3i0QQxqV9GtZlzkW1Te-19PMF5-sp_jS-RAK5wGtD8U0xLz6dJpwdkhDRqF6USYEUM8T2hlytETgXkoC_10pqGzdvMGlzX4b2R-dHxlm3w/s1600/DSC_4495.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 200px; HEIGHT: 133px; CURSOR: pointer" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5467054584491268338" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqjsSomcWwOC7-ElGCCvrxjH5m2iE5XMb8h3i0QQxqV9GtZlzkW1Te-19PMF5-sp_jS-RAK5wGtD8U0xLz6dJpwdkhDRqF6USYEUM8T2hlytETgXkoC_10pqGzdvMGlzX4b2R-dHxlm3w/s200/DSC_4495.JPG" /></a><br />Samples on the garden wall<br /></td><td align="middle"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLYfObkh2qsze9CDTBASl-4HZm-oKhj2hM2lff7YE9-brGlje58PVQlYhRJepai6fnZ-gVOQ4aBYI8uwt0Yk07QyplNMK6yISi2hVP-EwAbJvP_YWynApANVui97TFV5Puyy98Ws7jhDA/s1600/DSC_4496.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 200px; HEIGHT: 133px; CURSOR: pointer" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5467054591473953538" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLYfObkh2qsze9CDTBASl-4HZm-oKhj2hM2lff7YE9-brGlje58PVQlYhRJepai6fnZ-gVOQ4aBYI8uwt0Yk07QyplNMK6yISi2hVP-EwAbJvP_YWynApANVui97TFV5Puyy98Ws7jhDA/s200/DSC_4496.JPG" /></a><br />Left to right: Antique Earth, Manuscript, Gargoyle, Dark Olive<br /></td></tr></tbody></table></center><br />So, our renovations took a bit of a hiatus. It gives me kind of a thrill to write that in the past tense, because it's nice to think of myself as looking back on it rather than seeing it as a scary part of my present life. I was unemployed for 10 months, but now I'm back to work with a steady income, which means that we can continue what we started with this house, now three years ago. The Great Recession may not be over, but it's over for me.<br /><br />One of the biggest challenges for a renovator in being unemployed is that suddenly you are spending so much time in your home space, and you have a chance to really contemplate all the things you want to do. But you don't have any money to do them, so you have to just sit on all those desires. I guess the silver lining is that during my time off, Jim and I had a lot of time to talk about the order of progression for the next steps in our renovation, and about which of the renovations top our list. I had lots of time to book contractors to come out and see the place and bid on various projects so that when I went back to work I could just hit the go button.<br /><br />We agreed that exterior paint needed to be the next big project, primarily because it's messy. If we waited to do it, we'd probably get paint on whatever other projects we would have done. So that's the plan. And we've narrowed our choices down to a range of colors, as you can see in the pictures above.<br /><br />Here is a picture of our house as it looks today:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLSlbFeCGwgzuxxO5-xX8QtlqLTkt_AqB5hOcODw-ytC0sBkB4NwPjosTP9Uy7uPFVoCSqBq8707YvKaUgqA4FWBf4mAeM26Rrimqo5LUOafzBtHHs-ryiPwkv7k6GS2AXt0m9qZgngWw/s1600/DSC_4433.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 200px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 133px; CURSOR: pointer" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5467057921681938898" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLSlbFeCGwgzuxxO5-xX8QtlqLTkt_AqB5hOcODw-ytC0sBkB4NwPjosTP9Uy7uPFVoCSqBq8707YvKaUgqA4FWBf4mAeM26Rrimqo5LUOafzBtHHs-ryiPwkv7k6GS2AXt0m9qZgngWw/s200/DSC_4433.JPG" /></a><br />(You can click on it for a closer look.)<br /><br />Our initial thought was that we wanted something dark. Our windows are a fixed color. They're almond vinyl and can't be painted. So we're going to make the color of the windows the accent color for the whole house and paint the trim the same color. So we're looking for something kind of dark, with a hint of green.<br /><br />And here are a few photo references from houses around West Hollywood:<br /><br /><center><table><tbody><tr></tr><tr><td><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH8q0gp-8OwBeT-L4K_bttJ4JwfrPlgbWHYja_3QDR2Txaudy3W6Lo-MlfQo01dLfpr6P5GsTbn884tHEZ1MazAK9aUwb4jbKwug4waZEhJXx_t9rbbD6F26Vs5eU1VGAInk_DDNTTs84/s1600/DSC_4475.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 200px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 133px; CURSOR: pointer" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5467059227576610450" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH8q0gp-8OwBeT-L4K_bttJ4JwfrPlgbWHYja_3QDR2Txaudy3W6Lo-MlfQo01dLfpr6P5GsTbn884tHEZ1MazAK9aUwb4jbKwug4waZEhJXx_t9rbbD6F26Vs5eU1VGAInk_DDNTTs84/s200/DSC_4475.JPG" /></a></td><td><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsfYUuwRhDEVOejk58H6xvNeAXUenk97qKSG-ATuZdz9Szi23SjxEB5Z3GWCQucIp1YZWLXMsVwBwV1ZvkX6vfCrxNaJ63M4iqHDL0eo5t7gJ_QeHLy2W2bFiaFhxFIqOhyphenhyphennExfnWVz6o/s1600/DSC_4476.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 133px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: pointer" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5467059234008704322" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsfYUuwRhDEVOejk58H6xvNeAXUenk97qKSG-ATuZdz9Szi23SjxEB5Z3GWCQucIp1YZWLXMsVwBwV1ZvkX6vfCrxNaJ63M4iqHDL0eo5t7gJ_QeHLy2W2bFiaFhxFIqOhyphenhyphennExfnWVz6o/s200/DSC_4476.JPG" /></a><br /></td></tr><tr><td><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ5XLON4F0rDDipYPKuaRm0xnnXQicwnTiO8lUCKMGwGXjVTkzT3yFubZKOz3-y5bLc2gxg3pAeK0uF2ibXs2yYRJu4VH4v8PNFnhvtjVmdqdL72oeS0ypXl0kt1iY_dHOprMvUDCfht0/s1600/DSC_4472.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 200px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 133px; CURSOR: pointer" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5467059222906694242" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ5XLON4F0rDDipYPKuaRm0xnnXQicwnTiO8lUCKMGwGXjVTkzT3yFubZKOz3-y5bLc2gxg3pAeK0uF2ibXs2yYRJu4VH4v8PNFnhvtjVmdqdL72oeS0ypXl0kt1iY_dHOprMvUDCfht0/s200/DSC_4472.JPG" /></a></td><td><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-A7bua9a_ion7uYiCuesgKZclK3tyUtMGSU9oInxpa7mrC8Eftq0eYklTvU-ieR05FBvVNNHPIhuvnh-Hia3TTd8gywsKKjZdupJwLynsmAs52oF6TOXDxaph-SHUxQVwpj3WHtkdzno/s1600/DSC_4473.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 200px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 133px; CURSOR: pointer" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5467059511779290274" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-A7bua9a_ion7uYiCuesgKZclK3tyUtMGSU9oInxpa7mrC8Eftq0eYklTvU-ieR05FBvVNNHPIhuvnh-Hia3TTd8gywsKKjZdupJwLynsmAs52oF6TOXDxaph-SHUxQVwpj3WHtkdzno/s200/DSC_4473.JPG" /></a></td><td><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgywpsIz01XU7PGujPDl5cgxOgY9UOlwolYowk-k3YV00cnQK0A3izpLg9XGetCdhEQyID2uePjKs28vLw0yfX-hTfCO019J-ypudCSqdlXqutR2HzDTWpylWPT5uzYw4s6Ip36Cud_zuk/s1600/DSC_4482.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 200px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 133px; CURSOR: pointer" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5467059249667348258" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgywpsIz01XU7PGujPDl5cgxOgY9UOlwolYowk-k3YV00cnQK0A3izpLg9XGetCdhEQyID2uePjKs28vLw0yfX-hTfCO019J-ypudCSqdlXqutR2HzDTWpylWPT5uzYw4s6Ip36Cud_zuk/s200/DSC_4482.JPG" /></a><br /></td></tr></tbody></table></center>What do you think? Which one works for you?Gabrielle Phttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04718386890606386212noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3234182976471299153.post-86906614385339629732009-09-24T19:11:00.001-07:002011-03-28T09:33:20.856-07:00Masterful Bath<center><br /><table><tbody><tr><td><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT15kk1anX8zJCZWvXGVO6UOimMhX7OqiG61e-wi7K3u2pzM-t2aZNMb-We41J57hqh0ij0ZN8LUZgIjrbH7GyZHHN34tOkH482cwltYLGBQe9dcNmmt7D_14o19ymdnPpnaWUyMTWTlc/s1600-h/DSC01429.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT15kk1anX8zJCZWvXGVO6UOimMhX7OqiG61e-wi7K3u2pzM-t2aZNMb-We41J57hqh0ij0ZN8LUZgIjrbH7GyZHHN34tOkH482cwltYLGBQe9dcNmmt7D_14o19ymdnPpnaWUyMTWTlc/s200/DSC01429.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5385222357653216770" border="0" /></a><br /></div><center>Before</center></td><td><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd09Rrf3bsgaglbPH__u6BIQWPPXyoDNrc1n3fMzfOY8yloItM33SSvcEEHXKfJjt12RI9tB6fhxLwMmjdWmVO_gwZ-CU2j3IPYHEV_Av1EgJTSGqweKY-3_XEuwgdpsPPourVvQAiyB8/s1600-h/DSC_3144.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 133px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd09Rrf3bsgaglbPH__u6BIQWPPXyoDNrc1n3fMzfOY8yloItM33SSvcEEHXKfJjt12RI9tB6fhxLwMmjdWmVO_gwZ-CU2j3IPYHEV_Av1EgJTSGqweKY-3_XEuwgdpsPPourVvQAiyB8/s200/DSC_3144.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5385222347893409522" border="0" /></a><center>After</center></td></tr></tbody></table></center>Oh, how long I did yearn to see this before and after photo with my own eyes.<br /><br />This toilet room in its "before" state was a nearly perfect representation of the previous owners' taste in decor. Not only did they like to use a lot of fancy wallpaper like what you see above, if something happened to the wallpaper — like, say, a stain or a tear — they just papered over it. Never mind that the paper didn't match. I mean, wallpaper's wallpaper, right?<br /><br />We lived with this look in our toilet room for close to 2 years. And as bad as it was, it beat the room next door, a full bath, which was reduced to a construction zone. We tore the room out within three months of moving in -- stripped the walls down to the studs, left gaping holes that led to the outside, tore linoleum off the floors. We never thought it would be that way so long.<br /><br />But this bathroom was our biggest challenge so far in this house. The shape was so awkward and the size, too, so strange, that it took us nearly a year just to design the thing. We didn't know where to start. All we had were a few simple goals: We wanted to keep it a full bath, which meant we didn't want to lose the bathtub. Losing the tub would mean the house wouldn't list as a 3 bedroom 2 bath should we ever decide to sell. But we're shower people, not bath people. We knew we wanted the shower to feel spacious and luxurious. That's where we would be spending our time. In a space as relatively small as this one, the obvious choice would be a built-in shower/bath combination, but something about that felt really downscale. After much debate, many trips to Expo in Westwood, several torn up copies of Dwell magazine, and hours spent trawling home decor Web sites, we arrived at a round Japanese soaking tub. Once that was settled, the other pieces began to fall into place.<br /><br />It has to be said that we got a lot of help on the designs for this room from the now defunct Expo, a subsidiary of Home Depot. They had a service where you could get a personal decorator to design your room, and you either pay $750 or spend over $5,000 and get it for free. I think our tile order alone put us over the $5K mark, so it was not a tough decision. It also has to be said that we blame a lot of the delay in our designing the space on the first designer Expo gave us. It wasn't until we asked and were switched to a designer by the name of Carmen that we started making some real progress.<br /><br />Other than tile, we knew we'd do better pricewise buying materials on the Internet. It kind of pains me to think of how much money we spent on hardware, until I factor in how much we saved not paying retail. I mean, if you want to know why Expo went out of business, all you have to do is look at those price differences.<br /><center><br /><br /><table><tbody><tr><td><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpDhuzQdLE9RuQy1QxockJhNHq17Y8dG8X1V-MS9XKjJleN6PZi6tJdycPZ8qcHjs2EmzFUqI0BJGJw97zCT-dX6FviD9c1Yn8UOM1WA2lvrtYfmokrUsMh3YPWgegX7bNXybKW3yeAxc/s1600-h/DSC01427.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpDhuzQdLE9RuQy1QxockJhNHq17Y8dG8X1V-MS9XKjJleN6PZi6tJdycPZ8qcHjs2EmzFUqI0BJGJw97zCT-dX6FviD9c1Yn8UOM1WA2lvrtYfmokrUsMh3YPWgegX7bNXybKW3yeAxc/s200/DSC01427.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5386680827216214770" border="0" /></a><br /><center>Before</center></td><td><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM688qcaeLb1nt3esf4zNAPHV9t4QBKgan_9TM_l_4vjPPZ8YlvhwX694Dh6x9y7bxaD7SKIEl8_dCVGtOJ9VN6KNgk5VdHiC1EUED2NGn1aqCZrf9qBA5vojDBmFPEJyBYMNdT-WVCBI/s1600-h/DSC_3091.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 133px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM688qcaeLb1nt3esf4zNAPHV9t4QBKgan_9TM_l_4vjPPZ8YlvhwX694Dh6x9y7bxaD7SKIEl8_dCVGtOJ9VN6KNgk5VdHiC1EUED2NGn1aqCZrf9qBA5vojDBmFPEJyBYMNdT-WVCBI/s200/DSC_3091.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5386682831816271090" border="0" /></a><br /><center>After</center></td></tr></tbody></table></center><br />Another interesting decorating device the previous owners employed was to paint over windows. Don't like that extra bit of light? Nothing that a little paint can't handle. That and decals. Damn, did it take me days to get the decals off of everything when we moved in. I worked the sliding glass doors with a scraper until my hands were worn and nicked. We replaced the louvered window above with a 40" X 67" picture window. The shade is a woven wood with taped edges from JustBlinds.com and cost $153.38. It has a privacy backing on it.<br /><center><br /><table><tbody><tr><td><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXgtRDEnNMqVj1U_BFwVkOX7lb85ZIFZnexX9IC1f2rYYl4x4BS38VO139JA9fi-jPnZIUti1iwZTdi0-SagS7HEhJ9yEWwj1ErxW4BdQsLfa3CJeE6pQALL65aIWdcKgL5TtqM0ZPXo4/s1600-h/DSC01426.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXgtRDEnNMqVj1U_BFwVkOX7lb85ZIFZnexX9IC1f2rYYl4x4BS38VO139JA9fi-jPnZIUti1iwZTdi0-SagS7HEhJ9yEWwj1ErxW4BdQsLfa3CJeE6pQALL65aIWdcKgL5TtqM0ZPXo4/s200/DSC01426.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5386680819512963026" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><center>Before</center></td><td> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK33ZxemcDoMkD9qwUSFH7YbL6vi2sKMcv67d9U-KxpX3FfDumoaq_toNXi4rVQfWJh32MuIEEsNatLhL-C8GqxuFgy79h_T8Yh3NqclRsZ9lealdV407Tc1zMRTfv2lzwMgra9xLNSQU/s1600-h/DSC_3124.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 133px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK33ZxemcDoMkD9qwUSFH7YbL6vi2sKMcv67d9U-KxpX3FfDumoaq_toNXi4rVQfWJh32MuIEEsNatLhL-C8GqxuFgy79h_T8Yh3NqclRsZ9lealdV407Tc1zMRTfv2lzwMgra9xLNSQU/s200/DSC_3124.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5386684039895338050" border="0" /></a><br /><center>After</center></td></tr></tbody></table></center>They loved their decals. Not sure if you can see how deep the new tub is, but it actually goes down into our floor. I think it's 34" deep, but it only rises 17" above our floor. We were able to do this because our house is on a raised foundation and there was ample room in the crawl space below. The tub filler is perfectly flat — kind of hard to see here — but if I had it to do again, I would put it in the ceiling. You'll see in the pictures below that we put one of the shower heads in the ceiling.<br /><br /><center><br /><table><tbody><tr><td><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin89XprI9hWOz6BG8sVAnlhlLWvZ3IREAhu5RZ-4nLWNsaLj1gWj_S7QMtNQkv7CQdbBu0NX1HZZVeLUpiG5j_AM4MOgb-A8uFh4gG5fvFokK_n-bxl6GyxAQzIrcPo1j3gP74RmkOCnI/s1600-h/DSC01425.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin89XprI9hWOz6BG8sVAnlhlLWvZ3IREAhu5RZ-4nLWNsaLj1gWj_S7QMtNQkv7CQdbBu0NX1HZZVeLUpiG5j_AM4MOgb-A8uFh4gG5fvFokK_n-bxl6GyxAQzIrcPo1j3gP74RmkOCnI/s200/DSC01425.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5386680811553855266" border="0" /></a><br /><center>Before</center></td><td><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4QKvddly6zpoG4sBKAVozAsCXKcM5iHxgKRMRAK2axw7WlNN_UOhaKumjCheCRJ__vWq1gkz4IeILB5QdwSLks9zufXgiqaIbOjMqkJbbYC5sd70C4NL2tf2GoNSK7bXk04_W463fUoo/s1600-h/DSC_3107.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 133px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4QKvddly6zpoG4sBKAVozAsCXKcM5iHxgKRMRAK2axw7WlNN_UOhaKumjCheCRJ__vWq1gkz4IeILB5QdwSLks9zufXgiqaIbOjMqkJbbYC5sd70C4NL2tf2GoNSK7bXk04_W463fUoo/s200/DSC_3107.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5386687092362136562" border="0" /></a><br /><center>After</center></td></tr></tbody></table></center>Previously, the bathroom had a double sink and smacked of 1950s luxury. Gold faucets. Ornate cabinets below. Yegh. In the "After" picture above you see the soaking tub on the left, and on the right you are looking directly into the shower. The square in the middle is an indentation in the wall for shampoos and soap. We installed a window above to let a little light in and moisture out.<br /><br /><center><table><tbody><tr><td><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipaAHWfx4ikIwebqPxC-o-jJVny1r-rcS8xezfLdi4CXMFyrX62rxae1fj11kLfOR-dfu7Kmm3M_eFbJ1FbHxNuNMPIfjrJXLFfrYObG7I37odxbNSlvzhKyD75xhhAFYN3OQmLilCYL4/s1600-h/DSC01423.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipaAHWfx4ikIwebqPxC-o-jJVny1r-rcS8xezfLdi4CXMFyrX62rxae1fj11kLfOR-dfu7Kmm3M_eFbJ1FbHxNuNMPIfjrJXLFfrYObG7I37odxbNSlvzhKyD75xhhAFYN3OQmLilCYL4/s200/DSC01423.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5386680839629272274" border="0" /></a><br /><center>Before</center></td><td><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_DwZPMHHW_x9THiSbeT-DhxBJeclLMRHbvZ2V8bfhmN5ogyuOrUDLajv3cMgHkXSJ9pDj8x0z6bliXk8Lc7ygFEA5jM_2VnihZgLliUu2kMN_VLnwRm3i1ipLMuYcUAj0-25hw0PEbCk/s1600-h/DSC_3314.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 133px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_DwZPMHHW_x9THiSbeT-DhxBJeclLMRHbvZ2V8bfhmN5ogyuOrUDLajv3cMgHkXSJ9pDj8x0z6bliXk8Lc7ygFEA5jM_2VnihZgLliUu2kMN_VLnwRm3i1ipLMuYcUAj0-25hw0PEbCk/s200/DSC_3314.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5386686028989581794" border="0" /></a><br /><center>After</center></td></tr></tbody></table></center><br />This is the view from the master bedroom, currently occupied by our au pair. We extended the wall and put in a true doorway, framed craftsman style. It's a slider.<br /><center><table><tbody><tr><td><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4_8D13bu5oATQTJ1q_FZvrLfOXc9pLEmxrSXG4WQ5EuGhM3lKYNQp1AebPWeL_RcyB1WO1lQvrRv-g1aJVD46_dj0dHPpnHe7tAOBHkdYz4Qt_-xyhYRyKvoccrafP8-nlOlgSYP5bjg/s1600-h/DSC01421.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4_8D13bu5oATQTJ1q_FZvrLfOXc9pLEmxrSXG4WQ5EuGhM3lKYNQp1AebPWeL_RcyB1WO1lQvrRv-g1aJVD46_dj0dHPpnHe7tAOBHkdYz4Qt_-xyhYRyKvoccrafP8-nlOlgSYP5bjg/s200/DSC01421.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5386680849784731874" border="0" /></a><br /><center>Before</center></td><td><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg6hUHIR8lD1zbzyKqNskZhElWXUXar3D2PixV8TmVUu91AZ-bYx6JpNsYE0Z1tBCZIURjxBmd8eq4Ua0sJZ9beddBq0s2LQ_05-LISiY6_WW1Pua29Q6ObzHRUx4P6Qa-CcQbz8Z91tQ/s1600-h/DSC_3311.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 133px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg6hUHIR8lD1zbzyKqNskZhElWXUXar3D2PixV8TmVUu91AZ-bYx6JpNsYE0Z1tBCZIURjxBmd8eq4Ua0sJZ9beddBq0s2LQ_05-LISiY6_WW1Pua29Q6ObzHRUx4P6Qa-CcQbz8Z91tQ/s200/DSC_3311.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5386687799888593010" border="0" /></a><br /><center>After</center></td></tr></tbody></table></center><br />Just another view from Karina's room. I only have so many "Before" pictures, so I gotta milk them.<br /><br />Here are some names and details for anyone who wants to geek out on them:<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Tub: </span>Americh Beverly 4040<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Tile:</span> 3 kinds<br />Coffee sandstone: polished — for the walls on the bathtub and shower side<br />Coffee Sandstone: honed — for the floors<br />Rhythm dark Glass — for the walls on the sink side<br /><br />There's a fourth tile on the floor of the shower but I can't find it in my records. We had to order it at the last minute because the designer didn't realize you couldn't have 10 x 20" tiles on a shower floor. You have to use a really small tile to prevent slippage.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Doors:</span> Valley Sash & Door in Burbank, stain-grade douglas fir<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Lights:</span> I'll have to get back to you on that.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Mirror: </span>Ikea. It's funny, but I bought this mirror used on Craig's List for $20, and it used to hang in the entryway of our old house. But that crazy round shape went so perfectly with the tub that we had to keep it. And by the way, I got ripped off at $20, because that's about what they sell it for new at Ikea.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Glass Shower Doors: </span>Alladin Glass <span id="ctl00_ContentPlaceHolderMainContent_ContactPhone1" class="allabel">in Canoga Park. tel: (818) 700-7833. I found them on Angie's List and thought they were great.</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Toilet:</span> Toto<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Construction:</span> Conger Construction. Call Oscar Conger at 323.327.3630. I highly recommend him. An honest man who does good work. I really enjoyed working with Oscar and his men. How many people can say that about their contractor?<br /><br />As I put this together, I'm realizing I'm missing a lot of details. So for now, I'll skip to the pictures. I'll try to do an update with more details when the hour is a little less late.<br /><br /><center><tralign="center"></tralign="center"><table><tbody><tr><td><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6k7tPenKaGsq3XGfc04Zzhulyo5mdhyNVnXj8XpW9-eZJQAjAa7AQsyAG7xoUbqNsNxHnN8PgchjVcjEuNULrYOeddlJlHRp6CYZva9I-a3Yvk52lp3iMSVRYVRw0E60D0mgwdsrnZuo/s1600-h/DSC_3163.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 133px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6k7tPenKaGsq3XGfc04Zzhulyo5mdhyNVnXj8XpW9-eZJQAjAa7AQsyAG7xoUbqNsNxHnN8PgchjVcjEuNULrYOeddlJlHRp6CYZva9I-a3Yvk52lp3iMSVRYVRw0E60D0mgwdsrnZuo/s200/DSC_3163.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5386693604763210978" border="0" /></a></td><td><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE4dUTcGLl2FjX45rvO78mpyzSxRVD4kzTCMUIo1Hm8otfrhkfW1C9jT2U1OswQPCx5uNzhHCOCvqKLUuRGX5-jeLNIwtCOEvr1lW7tTUrxiqwdcwMveElYttaMbSivIB_nigpjoujF_M/s1600-h/DSC_3160.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 133px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE4dUTcGLl2FjX45rvO78mpyzSxRVD4kzTCMUIo1Hm8otfrhkfW1C9jT2U1OswQPCx5uNzhHCOCvqKLUuRGX5-jeLNIwtCOEvr1lW7tTUrxiqwdcwMveElYttaMbSivIB_nigpjoujF_M/s200/DSC_3160.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5386693440999636994" border="0" /></a></td><td><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVEr30c5sEJsSuCfEGHKQVAPMaTLrn5KS55VbPuhm0-IfYVtSx3olUqK06wwgeszSeepVThs9SMXliPXKNE5D4QA3SZYFX39NL_WzWytwRQNbFVtJ2uLLhEPtu9XOLMyEgqTY8yg6EsGk/s1600-h/DSC_3146.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 133px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVEr30c5sEJsSuCfEGHKQVAPMaTLrn5KS55VbPuhm0-IfYVtSx3olUqK06wwgeszSeepVThs9SMXliPXKNE5D4QA3SZYFX39NL_WzWytwRQNbFVtJ2uLLhEPtu9XOLMyEgqTY8yg6EsGk/s200/DSC_3146.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5386693428081535506" border="0" /></a></td></tr><tr><td><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvvbv2PEh9aQC_tu2lOc3maWoMNgxWfHSiYCxEqDxgwz7S4rcfSMCL_L2vKUud8PmDMe6RBB-X3NXMJ7hXqNhhLIHRLwiw50RBm2jD8QrvDmaQdkfKCXdWDdQNSImbv9rgV8ayfolnVbQ/s1600-h/DSC_3141.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; 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float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 133px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZDxh0XenVMund2T1ViVUTwQI-TlaktWGcXqI9AV5HmVURwaSuJSke50czh6TqevtC9fL_XPXGb0NjQWHSsfUTATdatMZHd5mbIDv6ErRZfhUaEDYy3-34Ye_Wj8VbXw5ez69R3NWF2dU/s200/DSC_3108.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5386692606371685458" border="0" /></a></td><td><center><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEi6n6CrEsza8-BqRKTZFOQuw2ZGgrVrkGq8pAHg0Yz8M8ZA5i0xJqQngKZkdIdH1kHKsofkw23h7B-C8LsNaF11-fs3qxTwIqjsf5_WcD_6mMeUzNxKJ5pmRzDZM9QBvDybNI8vJBLX8/s1600-h/DSC_3101.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 133px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEi6n6CrEsza8-BqRKTZFOQuw2ZGgrVrkGq8pAHg0Yz8M8ZA5i0xJqQngKZkdIdH1kHKsofkw23h7B-C8LsNaF11-fs3qxTwIqjsf5_WcD_6mMeUzNxKJ5pmRzDZM9QBvDybNI8vJBLX8/s200/DSC_3101.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5386691805814834994" border="0" /></a></center></td><td><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvq_Nn4mE25XpNscdTaAOvV54fMMeBSUIWp6n0C0b898Zi_oRiblQT99IQn4FswqBGKYLi2OPDIXXPXmf2ZC7s5GQyM1x0-RWmvgMezhJbyPaZlOlF53xWwF1rUOZcpEaiHtrD1wpTtIc/s1600-h/DSC_3095.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 133px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvq_Nn4mE25XpNscdTaAOvV54fMMeBSUIWp6n0C0b898Zi_oRiblQT99IQn4FswqBGKYLi2OPDIXXPXmf2ZC7s5GQyM1x0-RWmvgMezhJbyPaZlOlF53xWwF1rUOZcpEaiHtrD1wpTtIc/s200/DSC_3095.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5386691797744140194" border="0" /></a></td></tr><tr><td><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQf6l6Z7O31ItumiPwX6NQyBTKx84TCBdr0BwbNZsX2baN7LIK7SltD1oUEXfrSrV-tAS-QdQV4sMbqVVd-Q7lDH32WjGoK6nI2nVeyQ13NS6VQcgx2r9Gi7rnFEeMuIT-Qn41NX0IDTU/s1600-h/DSC_3094.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 133px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQf6l6Z7O31ItumiPwX6NQyBTKx84TCBdr0BwbNZsX2baN7LIK7SltD1oUEXfrSrV-tAS-QdQV4sMbqVVd-Q7lDH32WjGoK6nI2nVeyQ13NS6VQcgx2r9Gi7rnFEeMuIT-Qn41NX0IDTU/s200/DSC_3094.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5386691788416349442" border="0" /></a></td><td><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP8jMO8caPi5fmvYMWhYJjEmh_RIB_Y7aYq4TK8G7ukXsCi_8Xanow1IWmMeCB4Hw3Ea_Hj3_o3vWrJVtirPINthrP8PIiA2mMSp7SEpdMglnZOjCkfVgdYDQWKG9xCAltgacbCLEuLz8/s1600-h/DSC_3088.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 133px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP8jMO8caPi5fmvYMWhYJjEmh_RIB_Y7aYq4TK8G7ukXsCi_8Xanow1IWmMeCB4Hw3Ea_Hj3_o3vWrJVtirPINthrP8PIiA2mMSp7SEpdMglnZOjCkfVgdYDQWKG9xCAltgacbCLEuLz8/s200/DSC_3088.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5386691781524440274" border="0" /></a></td><td><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghKet38T5Y9EFTDRZQKofSebTEtH_Myhj2NDIpveU4DLacYQcop4yM6WyLXVTI0fO8wxag5D5xccf9segFVaFDzSfP0kWyJY04i6Scfslbpm3uD0qdMyiMAhTCZtrRfprey7PCpnF3tNw/s1600-h/DSC_3087.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 133px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghKet38T5Y9EFTDRZQKofSebTEtH_Myhj2NDIpveU4DLacYQcop4yM6WyLXVTI0fO8wxag5D5xccf9segFVaFDzSfP0kWyJY04i6Scfslbpm3uD0qdMyiMAhTCZtrRfprey7PCpnF3tNw/s200/DSC_3087.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5386691769849452066" border="0" /></a></td></tr></tbody></table></center>Gabrielle Phttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04718386890606386212noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3234182976471299153.post-88028285447438515542008-12-27T13:14:00.000-08:002008-12-27T14:56:12.657-08:00Accidental Makeover<center><table><tbody><tr><td><center><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBPwxDRd2PTrUTV8AV3SgqseNsp-KpE3weRlrRIJ9pVCdzq1hwb83UtW-qtMYkKoCHNeiOTNMGUiFZRjhgRhdbzv0ppYXt65Bx6uSdgTeuIcP5HYCaO76HKsJUti2sE6ltw-9NmB1Q3SM/s1600-h/DSC01423.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5284582597883316754" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 150px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBPwxDRd2PTrUTV8AV3SgqseNsp-KpE3weRlrRIJ9pVCdzq1hwb83UtW-qtMYkKoCHNeiOTNMGUiFZRjhgRhdbzv0ppYXt65Bx6uSdgTeuIcP5HYCaO76HKsJUti2sE6ltw-9NmB1Q3SM/s200/DSC01423.JPG" border="0" /></a></center></td><td><p align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOhNuj_tHKJIWbrLnZK5i4z_uh-x-bT6_rek54mYQCnPFfM3if_y_q6VufCjN8Pz7ZJsmOJ1rpOE6Uqx0CrJeIol1mTxPDZMXLNFqyzLm_8ugglIHZj_OfyU99tbneCLbsTlyiLBQGafg/s1600-h/DSC_1960.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5284585017572475298" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 133px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOhNuj_tHKJIWbrLnZK5i4z_uh-x-bT6_rek54mYQCnPFfM3if_y_q6VufCjN8Pz7ZJsmOJ1rpOE6Uqx0CrJeIol1mTxPDZMXLNFqyzLm_8ugglIHZj_OfyU99tbneCLbsTlyiLBQGafg/s200/DSC_1960.JPG" border="0" /></a></p><br /><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center><br /></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center></td></tr><tr><td><center>Before</center></td><td><center>After</center></td></td></tr></tbody></table></center><div align="left">We finished one bathroom before ever moving into the house. It was the upstairs bathroom, and we needed it to be done before we moved in so that we would have at least one place to shower and pee. We did it black and white and in a style that fit with the Craftsman look of the back of the house, and for some reason it didn't take long at all for us to choose the look. By contrast, the second bathroom took almost a year to design. It has been under construction for well over a month now, and as I write this the workers are prepping the walls for tiling. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhiCYz6bgPXRxQnL7ml_-LqRVT3ZxiU5f13KPCB4TYWxww3CF8uMc7yHazETb5Gw-yYrE7EGOydVg76ATC0-0E0yZS5ybT5wCSenVaqkCU7QM7FBlNh3Qz5Qant6bh2fxXitVD_gcvy8w/s1600-h/DSC01421.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5284582616342435410" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhiCYz6bgPXRxQnL7ml_-LqRVT3ZxiU5f13KPCB4TYWxww3CF8uMc7yHazETb5Gw-yYrE7EGOydVg76ATC0-0E0yZS5ybT5wCSenVaqkCU7QM7FBlNh3Qz5Qant6bh2fxXitVD_gcvy8w/s200/DSC01421.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br />The construction of this last bathroom became a bit more pressing when we realized we would need the adjoining bedroom to house our new au pair, Karina. By a near miracle, our contractor managed to close off her room from the bathroom construction just in time for her arrival — truly a photo finish. Karina slept in Poppy's bedroom her first two nights while the paint in her own room dried.<br /><br />So, in finishing the bathroom, we managed to knock out another room in the process. This is the downstairs bedroom, and I think the pictures tell most of the story. What you can't see in the "before" pictures though is the smell. When I first came into this house, I was sure it was occupied by homeless people. This room in particular had a smell that packed a wollup. </div><center><table><tbody><tr><td><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDZD6Kw6CDLzpxocKp8t3vc0vP2Graw2Ht2DbHcSjBoJA7uLHmE2GpMJK1da1Pc6SP4C_5c_vQLk4Oih5rLZu9o9Jwr9DXLhI_XhRrJ6P8IOndEyZ9ZwGEwfy_DbsY2uacBdbl-KfZRwU/s1600-h/DSC01424.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5284582624797774386" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 150px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDZD6Kw6CDLzpxocKp8t3vc0vP2Graw2Ht2DbHcSjBoJA7uLHmE2GpMJK1da1Pc6SP4C_5c_vQLk4Oih5rLZu9o9Jwr9DXLhI_XhRrJ6P8IOndEyZ9ZwGEwfy_DbsY2uacBdbl-KfZRwU/s200/DSC01424.JPG" border="0" /></a> <center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center></td><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlyAs7uACyNoRet3e-GTHwdQ6htYV2OMu6Uenruz2uNvFM2nBh3dFFIDUnNlrVaFmBgLCFsiwe5ieKMRidv5RESVGPLBgfet0udKuhgCmy1d4VTCDvYh79iQN3mUiIfWTcAu7fAy2Ebzs/s1600-h/DSC_1962.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5284585027089469138" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 133px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlyAs7uACyNoRet3e-GTHwdQ6htYV2OMu6Uenruz2uNvFM2nBh3dFFIDUnNlrVaFmBgLCFsiwe5ieKMRidv5RESVGPLBgfet0udKuhgCmy1d4VTCDvYh79iQN3mUiIfWTcAu7fAy2Ebzs/s200/DSC_1962.JPG" border="0" /></a> <center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center></td></tr></tbody><tbody><tr><td><center>Window before</center></td><td><center>Window after</center></td></tr></tbody></table></center><div align="left">And the closet still doesn't have any doors on it, but we're working on that. It's an unusually deep closet, so I'm still considering adding some shelving. I read an ingenius tip for a deep closet in some shelter magazine. You put shelves in the back half of the space and hang clothes from a bar in the front half. Then if you need something from the shelves, you just reach through the hanging clothes. I'd like to try it. </div><center><br /></center><center><table><tbody><tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglcTltrA3KAkz7BXabWjc4hFFzO7doURrsIGLneXD6xNvIoGZmh3E2lbcWdW9OHDGwmZPCocnDeXTC09-knEe-JUINPJO6sHSOpr7z4YMsMvcz4hgpRisBauztQxtpkQtW5xIjpdy_GJo/s1600-h/DSC01422.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5284582604368795330" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 150px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglcTltrA3KAkz7BXabWjc4hFFzO7doURrsIGLneXD6xNvIoGZmh3E2lbcWdW9OHDGwmZPCocnDeXTC09-knEe-JUINPJO6sHSOpr7z4YMsMvcz4hgpRisBauztQxtpkQtW5xIjpdy_GJo/s200/DSC01422.JPG" border="0" /></a> <center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center></td><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5LwwoUKw8sSmZvUVmNmgqAHc819P2BT-Coi-oPsBdg-TyxHYfofUm5dz5uIJN2pfk6q5vDtTTbM1Vb29zH5gvJ1MNcIlOdb4BR_-e6RjjFANpejZB7P22Av-9mEdBbL_RRszu85Upj40/s1600-h/DSC_1966.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5284585036065348130" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 133px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5LwwoUKw8sSmZvUVmNmgqAHc819P2BT-Coi-oPsBdg-TyxHYfofUm5dz5uIJN2pfk6q5vDtTTbM1Vb29zH5gvJ1MNcIlOdb4BR_-e6RjjFANpejZB7P22Av-9mEdBbL_RRszu85Upj40/s200/DSC_1966.JPG" border="0" /></a> <center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center></td></tr></tbody><tbody><tr><td><center>Closet before</center></td><td><center>Closet after</center></td></tr></tbody></table></center><div align="left">Here is a quick breakdown of this room: </div><p>We replaced the window with the same Superior vinyl windows in the color Almond that we've used in the rest of the house. The door next to the window is a vintage door from architectural salvage stained dark and the frame is Craftsman style but new. The door to the bathroom is a single-light white lami from Valley Sash & Door in Burbank. We chose a modern door here because the rest of the bathroom doors are modern, as is the bathroom itself. The door frame is Craftsman style — but you know it's new because there wasn't really a doorway there before — just an open walkway with shutters and apparently some curtains. The light is a George Nelson knock-off from the annual Modernica sale. The bookshelves are Ikea and have been with us since Richard Drive. That's a whole other blog posting. The rug is from Home Depot. I went there looking for some industrial strength, kid-proof floor protectors and came away surprised at how many cool rug styles they have. The rug is thrown over hardwood floors — which we discovered under the old owners' carpeting and refinished along with the rest of the house before we moved in. </p><p>And here, a final pic of the room in use:<br /><table width="200" align="center" border="1"><tbody><tr><td align="middle"><center><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieTW40zxK59rRk73Cgy-gCULPukZnNWkgyq9PwfqJXex5r9RGmVh2qt6d98IXkpsDqkwxiQrYtB78iin4EJSpKRKyGb8qrk6iUwfyHBjYMThsN4yFy6sVXTQicvIYnLbQu9l3u1duDxdU/s1600-h/DSC_1970.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5284585041761244290" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 133px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieTW40zxK59rRk73Cgy-gCULPukZnNWkgyq9PwfqJXex5r9RGmVh2qt6d98IXkpsDqkwxiQrYtB78iin4EJSpKRKyGb8qrk6iUwfyHBjYMThsN4yFy6sVXTQicvIYnLbQu9l3u1duDxdU/s200/DSC_1970.JPG" border="0" /></a></center></td></tr><tr><td><center>Karina, unpacking in her new room with Poppy, the day of her arrival. </center></td></tr></tbody></table></p>Gabrielle Phttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04718386890606386212noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3234182976471299153.post-2091030833436286302008-12-10T15:09:00.000-08:002008-12-10T16:25:13.297-08:00Show Time<center><table><tbody><tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW_wVrVh2WxDNW-SXd_LlrFzNlszX0WypHgiCKONKD0sL-IhyphenhyphenQaKEX0AoPNZ3mvQKD3_23JgzLyEjrvcQzInY-gGKZsdTiHiBWdVqOacu4ZSZ3-1EOvQrLymb5HRgQUoxtb4c8pJYO3YQ/s1600-h/DSC01394.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5278303326770856690" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW_wVrVh2WxDNW-SXd_LlrFzNlszX0WypHgiCKONKD0sL-IhyphenhyphenQaKEX0AoPNZ3mvQKD3_23JgzLyEjrvcQzInY-gGKZsdTiHiBWdVqOacu4ZSZ3-1EOvQrLymb5HRgQUoxtb4c8pJYO3YQ/s200/DSC01394.JPG" border="0" /></a></td></tr><tr><td><center>Before</center></td></tr></tbody></table></center>You would think that being on maternity leave I would have all the time in the world to update my blog.<br /><br />Doesn't exactly work like that.<br /><br />In fact, I've been burning to post these pictures of our most dramatic makeover of all for a long time. Now that I'm about to return to work, I'm forcing myself to take advantage of Poppy's naptime to do something other than pick up toys.<br /><br />Hard to believe it has been almost a year since I first spoke to the folks at the shoe "Desperate Spaces" on HGTV. I came across their casting solicitation on Craigslist while perusing the TV listings. We have some friends who have done well renting their house out for shoots, and I figured some producer somewhere must be trying to find a house that looked like a crack den to use in his/her production. Among the ads was one that said "Do you have a room in your house that is so bad it makes you feel DESPERATE?" And I thought to myself, take your pick. You could do a whole series on the rooms in my house that make me feel that way. So I answered the ad, and after a lovely visit from segment director Art, Jim and I found ourselves — and our office — accepted to the show. Within months our space would be getting a TV-style makeover.<br /><br />I don't want to bore you with too many details, but here are a few that most people want to know when they hear we were part of a TV makeover. The show took 4 months to plan, but only 2 days to shoot — that's a full-blown makeover in two days. The budget for the room was supposed to be $2500, but we feel we got much more than that out of it. We were not only pleased with the result, we felt the whole process was very smooth and we had a good time doing it. The whole production team was very respectful of our home, and the designers went to great lengths to accomodate our desires. While we did not have a say in the final design, we were able to tell them about things we liked and disliked and challenges we were facing in desiging the room. They really came up with some interesting solutions. The production was pretty grand and made quite a spectacle of our house for those two days. For instance, here's how the front of our house looked during the shoot: <center><table><tbody><tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQEAqtJ2ZiW2v9IRz102R0FayKZqNDzoIsmBsrDy_t-AaeBFhCBurTKqkNTSFDnKFef-2IkRmDfKuYOooVjD5ot3PU62aZHEnaqrooBNQCv8XA-tjQ5_DofkKj2JWsxQjjz70ApSAt79U/s1600-h/DSC_0347.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5278308382223061730" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 133px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQEAqtJ2ZiW2v9IRz102R0FayKZqNDzoIsmBsrDy_t-AaeBFhCBurTKqkNTSFDnKFef-2IkRmDfKuYOooVjD5ot3PU62aZHEnaqrooBNQCv8XA-tjQ5_DofkKj2JWsxQjjz70ApSAt79U/s200/DSC_0347.JPG" border="0" /></a></td></tr><tr><td><center>During</center></td></tr></tbody></table></center>You'll find the "after" pictures below (remember, you can click on any image on this blog to see a much, much larger version of it), but here are just a couple things of note that they did: They took out the whole fireplace. That was huge. It wasn't a working fireplace, although there is a full-blown chimney on the other side of the wall. We think it probably got damaged in some long-ago earthquake, so they just sealed it up. It was a hideous hangover from the 60s, so good riddance. Here is a picture of the fireplace in process: <center><table><tbody><tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZZlj6DmIP1atVjWDcFcjsMGw28ocxd4T-hfHXn7_2KTLPSLZT8kFia-JYRDuW1U4KrIQQOtNN1c4OIXGriRUn12pUAhbJRq9zVZmdEkUvVsq0orYVYIa6LIS5RzWXJZu6EfWJ5p5ELm4/s1600-h/DSC_0336.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5278312604138056178" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 133px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZZlj6DmIP1atVjWDcFcjsMGw28ocxd4T-hfHXn7_2KTLPSLZT8kFia-JYRDuW1U4KrIQQOtNN1c4OIXGriRUn12pUAhbJRq9zVZmdEkUvVsq0orYVYIa6LIS5RzWXJZu6EfWJ5p5ELm4/s200/DSC_0336.JPG" border="0" /></a></td></tr><tr><td><center>During</center></td></tr></tbody></table></center>You'll also notice a brick wall in the "Before" Picture above (at the top of this post). That was not actually brick, but a faux brick — I don't even know what to call it — it was just faux brick that was hung on the wall. If you knocked on it, it actually rang hollow. Taking that out was one of the first things we did. You'll notice that the show replaced the 7 mis-matched bedposts that served as a stair railing with something much more cool and modern. And they hung a very heavy bookcase on the wall above our cold air return, making a wall that had previously been somewhat unusable (because you can't block a cold air return) suddenly usable again.<br /><br />OK, 'nuff said. Let's get to looking at the after shots. <center><table><tbody><tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvXwEOBpK6Y3Cm7d2tMVdn9DfxpEMYw1q5t2vZs0jvSbTohAZJOTAbRxhZTlabIIcQkYgDiHKi-LYxXsyhp9KzemT5S7Gba4IgRduR1htFi-Eux5zLtLDwNvt5AAQmApEx_Lv4sDiz3b4/s1600-h/DSC_0406.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5278314634009301314" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 133px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvXwEOBpK6Y3Cm7d2tMVdn9DfxpEMYw1q5t2vZs0jvSbTohAZJOTAbRxhZTlabIIcQkYgDiHKi-LYxXsyhp9KzemT5S7Gba4IgRduR1htFi-Eux5zLtLDwNvt5AAQmApEx_Lv4sDiz3b4/s200/DSC_0406.JPG" border="0" /></a></td><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7RiO-BMaDxet8dJfOPRhQEB2I-IBEuASw5o0gxOgwEiCF-0dH51WVTMMWBmn_FYGxmMNrrQIJ1nrNos-LGQ00m1J2VIJiYzODtQ7W-PnVXaESVyNldey8f6-K2IDsSpf8BbLqLR7_DUo/s1600-h/DSC_0358.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5278314664825553458" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 133px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7RiO-BMaDxet8dJfOPRhQEB2I-IBEuASw5o0gxOgwEiCF-0dH51WVTMMWBmn_FYGxmMNrrQIJ1nrNos-LGQ00m1J2VIJiYzODtQ7W-PnVXaESVyNldey8f6-K2IDsSpf8BbLqLR7_DUo/s200/DSC_0358.JPG" border="0" /></a> </td><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQTRxr9jqG9cOydLCVYxWPRA_IstUxIUSAzRLUpoYhYQWUnbHXCNI-eom255ZKfkb-nzePKkWYwf59ieR2E1dhRgCkEk9GtvhZ4B2nwdpUdE9NxOYc16Jav14o2JdCxn7hgwv4L4yL4vk/s1600-h/DSC_0393.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5278314656211380146" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 133px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQTRxr9jqG9cOydLCVYxWPRA_IstUxIUSAzRLUpoYhYQWUnbHXCNI-eom255ZKfkb-nzePKkWYwf59ieR2E1dhRgCkEk9GtvhZ4B2nwdpUdE9NxOYc16Jav14o2JdCxn7hgwv4L4yL4vk/s200/DSC_0393.JPG" border="0" /></a></td><td></td></tr><tr><td colspan="3"><center>After</center></td></tr></tbody></table></center><p>Just want to give a special thanks to the whole staff and crew of Desperate Spaces. The house really felt like it turned a corner after this re-do, and we are very appreciative. You can view just a tad more about this makeover on the HGTV Web site at <a href="http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/shows_hdesp/episode/0,3183,HGTV_30737_59868,00.html">http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/shows_hdesp/episode/0,3183,HGTV_30737_59868,00.html</a>.</p><strong></strong><center></center>Gabrielle Phttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04718386890606386212noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3234182976471299153.post-73630545113515951982008-09-11T04:59:00.000-07:002008-09-11T05:29:01.228-07:00Clearance<center><table><tbody><tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgACm0lIL82ydkcsC5GFo-B2ssQ3h1wZn9zQL5jZph_yEtnb7JYqoayLSUA7KXPE1qewDjhZ8Hlr0xaWoUihNlLVic9yY-eSgMPt7FLnMrz10MoioMjbds4GVAVZpGgXXuVU89I-BbEBiU/s1600-h/DSC01396.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5244734331562212434" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgACm0lIL82ydkcsC5GFo-B2ssQ3h1wZn9zQL5jZph_yEtnb7JYqoayLSUA7KXPE1qewDjhZ8Hlr0xaWoUihNlLVic9yY-eSgMPt7FLnMrz10MoioMjbds4GVAVZpGgXXuVU89I-BbEBiU/s200/DSC01396.JPG" border="0" /></a> </td><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSZSSkh60Z5Wanoc81eRijP2BP1c2tO7uK-XzwPYevMiBMfbKAhsJusrnccpmPS5QEXghl_n3bIdXCMaRIAPxh0kU0BI-i4dQMDi9OWVAfl55y0EwlS1DiM2DItAIWmNE_Dpo1Grlac2A/s1600-h/DSC01397.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5244734339662715762" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSZSSkh60Z5Wanoc81eRijP2BP1c2tO7uK-XzwPYevMiBMfbKAhsJusrnccpmPS5QEXghl_n3bIdXCMaRIAPxh0kU0BI-i4dQMDi9OWVAfl55y0EwlS1DiM2DItAIWmNE_Dpo1Grlac2A/s200/DSC01397.JPG" border="0" /></a> </td></tr></tbody></table></center><p>We cleared the yard. </p><p>This is one of those projects that definitely falls into the category of I Just Can't Take It Anymore. I couldn't tolerate another day living with the plants and leaves and crap we took out. You can't really see it in the before pictures here, but there were these five sort of tree-shrub plants that were just about human size scattered around the yard, and I found them really scary. They were like great zombies with raised arms and loose-hanging flesh. At the last minute we decided to take out a full-grown fig tree of sizable girth that hulked in fully half of the yard. I was torn over taking down a mature fruit tree which could bring, if nothing else, resale value to the house. But the fact is, the figs it produced were flavorless, and it attracted just about every kind of pest, from flies, to racoons to rats. I'm so pleased with the result, so good riddance. </p><p>We paid $550 to Rene at J&J Tree Service to do the job. He's the same tree pro we used last year to butcher the half-dead Chinese elms and extract the yucca monster from the front of the house. He's super quick and thorough and I think his prices would be hard to beat.<br /><br />No, the toys in the pictures below didn't come with the house. My mother has been on a Craigslist toy binge and picked up these two ugly little numbers for our 2-year-old daughter. They may be a bit of an assault on the eyes, but Poppy loves that little slide and boat-shaped sandbox. Until we put in landscaping, why not give her a little playground at home?</p><p>We're far from finished on this yard, but just clearing it made such an impact. </p><center><table><tbody><tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdpgMLNDrsMQYRL7agyogkZr762b2MnddXZbXJW9pPaAMer1AF9G9RZhyphenhyphenUIPDBKxGDb0FLwmsgv15uWSedseNQWvY2SVvP3p8CZNNAU7bq2sstRidXtmIvIdmcYC0cQKFFO9wO8B_CtfU/s1600-h/DSC_0754.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5244733031200130066" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdpgMLNDrsMQYRL7agyogkZr762b2MnddXZbXJW9pPaAMer1AF9G9RZhyphenhyphenUIPDBKxGDb0FLwmsgv15uWSedseNQWvY2SVvP3p8CZNNAU7bq2sstRidXtmIvIdmcYC0cQKFFO9wO8B_CtfU/s200/DSC_0754.JPG" border="0" /></a></td><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjihzd1OJs0JHx6iY4s1e3eJjQ822Pp3RDAE1Bm1x5ZpdkC6VlVd1r2A4eYH1o0GiDvqUs3KRGh-QdHtgj50qX8cbt8xLgzhD1DGnWUs8liTCTyvKaxb3sDlO1j-A11xSL3gjoz90iVuRA/s1600-h/DSC_0755.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5244733036629305026" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjihzd1OJs0JHx6iY4s1e3eJjQ822Pp3RDAE1Bm1x5ZpdkC6VlVd1r2A4eYH1o0GiDvqUs3KRGh-QdHtgj50qX8cbt8xLgzhD1DGnWUs8liTCTyvKaxb3sDlO1j-A11xSL3gjoz90iVuRA/s200/DSC_0755.JPG" border="0" /></a></td></tr></tbody></table></center>Gabrielle Phttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04718386890606386212noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3234182976471299153.post-74600049616516126632008-08-14T07:11:00.000-07:002008-09-10T07:41:55.265-07:00Dirty Laundry<center><table><tbody><tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlpwnONy2z_kYs0yw7Hlf0v_IfzQResNz3YO-b5NJORpCNvALj0GBp074rGeLXM8zAgDjtPtolRPxKjWuboemhwGjD5ZaGyvNj4HJigCSdE6GW8nkn1-q5TweUeg4FpU0CD9SZ0QpC-FA/s1600-h/DSC01430.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5234377197274025778" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlpwnONy2z_kYs0yw7Hlf0v_IfzQResNz3YO-b5NJORpCNvALj0GBp074rGeLXM8zAgDjtPtolRPxKjWuboemhwGjD5ZaGyvNj4HJigCSdE6GW8nkn1-q5TweUeg4FpU0CD9SZ0QpC-FA/s200/DSC01430.JPG" border="0" /></a></td><td><br /><p align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqBlMh8dyCzNFHS4PKo2E2_2GMVp8b_b9r3V9-3T7cyF5g4vcn67ECfckRItWRoxZg_FTmhw5vHiVnypRQvh_4ybpkbQ7M_BuqUww_CAV7p6U8mw4EzjbgunUXNtwCpd2F1noyVJTieTc/s1600-h/DSC01431.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5234377205465594082" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqBlMh8dyCzNFHS4PKo2E2_2GMVp8b_b9r3V9-3T7cyF5g4vcn67ECfckRItWRoxZg_FTmhw5vHiVnypRQvh_4ybpkbQ7M_BuqUww_CAV7p6U8mw4EzjbgunUXNtwCpd2F1noyVJTieTc/s200/DSC01431.JPG" border="0" /></a></p><br /><br /><p></p><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4ps2NFgvvPJ5WQNFp84WwlYaPGqOFt97e3A6el87859h378b8GTdebuQJg5F8rS3wfII6ulO2TbfSvqz1ydwoM_Fqv-HBlvhaJbhPVkNWyIr9jMIvW_G8sxFsrxv_-OYUYbagjE66wY4/s1600-h/DSC01391.JPG"></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuT7iTrpNjT3P83aIimATkUG2B6OAUVlsvRBU1ENhuRY34W5z6PKKx-r-Q44o2C3PYK-V-7HlZvEUM1ndvMdqg99eevxhU3IDdx3WRzSLS68NceGgK8NzMYZAqtacbmiTh1Dft3YVhyphenhyphenc8/s1600-h/DSC01428.JPG"></a><br /></td></tr></tbody></table></center><p>Never thought a laundry room could make me so happy. </p><p>Although I still haven't had a chance to sit down for the money talk with you, suffice it to say that the international credit crisis has put a damper on a lot of our renovation for the time. So instead of mapping out grand plans for what our next project will be, we've been choosing them based on what we absolutely under no circumstances can tollerate any more. Case in point: The laundry room. What made this room a particular nuisance before we redid it, was that it was adjacent to the kitchen and so visible from all the front rooms, and also that we tore the ugly linoleum floors out months ago to see what was underneath. The tar paper that we found below was torn up and mottled black and no matter how much cleaning we gave it, it still felt disgusting under your feet.</p><p>The reason we didn't do this room earlier is that we couldn't decide if the look of the room should be an extension of the kitchen, or of the back bathroom which has yet to be designed. Before our money issues cropped up we had visions of extending the room out and creating some space, but in the end we dumped those in favor of getting the project DONE. </p><br /><br /><p>Here's a breakdown of the project:<br /></p><p>Doors:</p><p>Home depot. The one leading outside is alderwood, which I love. Very little grain. I think it cost about $300. The one leading to the kitchen is oak, which I don't like nearly as much. Something about the grain gives a really traditional look to wherever you put it. We learned a thing or two about our own tastes in stain during this project. We've always leaned toward a really dark stain for the trim elements, but in this case we chose this light chestnut stain and were really happy with the result.</p><p>Window: </p><p>Believe it or not, that little bitty window cost about $400. Same brand and style of the rest of the windows in the house, Superior in vinyl purchased through Lowe's. I felt that it's small size and extremely high placement was a bit of a creative risk, but it was also the only way I could see to fit a window in there and also meet the practical needs of the room: A stacked washer and a large storage space, like a broom closet, pantry or even just a big rack full of supplies. Since I took these pictures we've gone with the rack option, and I couldn't be happier. The window really worked out. </p><p>Paint: </p><p>We found a color called "Butter" on sale at Restoration Hardware that we thought coordinated nicely with the Arabian Red of the kitchen. But they didn't have it in anything glossy enough for a laundry room. I took the paint chip/sample to home depot and they matched it perfectly in a paint texture called "kitchen and bath" which allegedly resists mildew.<br /></p><p>Tile: </p><p>Same we used in the kitchen. Porcelain tile from California Tile in Burbank. This turned out to be a good choice because extending the tile from the kitchen with that clear door makes the kitchen feel bigger. </p><p>Light:</p><p>Restoration Hardware, on sale for $79. You know, it's not that I'm a fan of Restoration Hardware. Those mall chain stores never thrill me. I hate Pottery Barn, and I might hate West Elm even more for posing as high design. But it just happens that I keep finding things at Restoration Hardware that work. </p><p>Labor:</p><p>Clearly the most expensive part at $3,500. Francisco, of Castro Construction went off the grid for a while, but thankfully returned just long enough to get us through this job. He's about to be a daddy, so congrats Francisco! </p><p>Door Hardware: </p><p>Omnia Industries, Inc. Style 32 Latchset in stainless steel purchased from ATG Stores online. We liked the way this style echoed the knobs on our kitchen cabinets.</p><p>And that's it for this room. Amazing how even a project as small as this can feel mammoth when you're going through it. The dust. The washer and dryer in your dining room. The parade of workers going in and out. But looking at the before and after shots, I'd say it was worth it. Take a look below for the after shots. <table><tbody><tr><td align="middle"><p align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7osyweXoxtJI8PCkp8WuFLFw2ZLKX6VUXRjHpcjzmqbivRfW1F78Jh4OprvaqI8kJ0EUFDX68omu3CCfN-q5MZrV2G7VZLFes1C3oWs_w9MuweUPMf3vu_WkcqXVE1YVGZ7eg-zla2_U/s1600-h/DSC_0749.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5234379080941331458" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7osyweXoxtJI8PCkp8WuFLFw2ZLKX6VUXRjHpcjzmqbivRfW1F78Jh4OprvaqI8kJ0EUFDX68omu3CCfN-q5MZrV2G7VZLFes1C3oWs_w9MuweUPMf3vu_WkcqXVE1YVGZ7eg-zla2_U/s200/DSC_0749.JPG" border="0" /></a></p><br /><br /><center></center></td><td><br /><br /><center><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfKtK06c5pH9ryStASVtvr1K-Nwa3XCBTTH67cJ-78fDG00iEJMSKb3Ibrvad3ShAHyQD60rFhcrdwWXSfhhi1aLVNGMcb47tOKVqu3_CixczqbkRb7yCXvTr6qNOWV4i_uOIt3_RZB2I/s1600-h/DSC_0750.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5234379084266437122" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfKtK06c5pH9ryStASVtvr1K-Nwa3XCBTTH67cJ-78fDG00iEJMSKb3Ibrvad3ShAHyQD60rFhcrdwWXSfhhi1aLVNGMcb47tOKVqu3_CixczqbkRb7yCXvTr6qNOWV4i_uOIt3_RZB2I/s200/DSC_0750.JPG" border="0" /></a></center></td><td><br /><br /><center><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi65uAcGHhyphenhyphenC9rj4OrSaLUmUHomX7mTcUpiNJuxgQVieVtS-tGHKfsHs_Ct2T7lel2PeZ1tMvcI-KTid8gv8nTTaHfwCHoF5IhBrMrz32MC_Bz3y1yWlBtyRlnvhIsZVvZoybH1cj_WAIA/s1600-h/DSC_0751.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5234379090156010658" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi65uAcGHhyphenhyphenC9rj4OrSaLUmUHomX7mTcUpiNJuxgQVieVtS-tGHKfsHs_Ct2T7lel2PeZ1tMvcI-KTid8gv8nTTaHfwCHoF5IhBrMrz32MC_Bz3y1yWlBtyRlnvhIsZVvZoybH1cj_WAIA/s200/DSC_0751.JPG" border="0" /></a> </center></td></tr><tr><td><br /><br /><center><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTvMu4eP42YO_3phcFy4eBhGBKnWrU6ikxAOJXIt9Me4dcsxCOSXZvi6preu9yem584xOyAp0bWCK_b5e1UDMo9Bn3D4JZISHsTkuthm9aSS7qS_6M__5ONrH0ZXcPyrwjTQlWJvSF2A0/s1600-h/DSC_0752.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5234379094900303122" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTvMu4eP42YO_3phcFy4eBhGBKnWrU6ikxAOJXIt9Me4dcsxCOSXZvi6preu9yem584xOyAp0bWCK_b5e1UDMo9Bn3D4JZISHsTkuthm9aSS7qS_6M__5ONrH0ZXcPyrwjTQlWJvSF2A0/s200/DSC_0752.JPG" border="0" /></a> </center></td><td colspan="2"><br /><br /><center><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8SXEPub4uJiy1BGHXs6uofhP31JZDAiw0ghqgSdxIX7aP3n0b7HbjvCPwEABN7cEv9v7O4hGwN2lrKrnOKuqj3W-USrbdSY_PTJxaeuFcvPG7lbU5B41YyugL-oAWhEQH0OzDxPzAMbI/s1600-h/DSC_0753.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5234379098994692626" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8SXEPub4uJiy1BGHXs6uofhP31JZDAiw0ghqgSdxIX7aP3n0b7HbjvCPwEABN7cEv9v7O4hGwN2lrKrnOKuqj3W-USrbdSY_PTJxaeuFcvPG7lbU5B41YyugL-oAWhEQH0OzDxPzAMbI/s200/DSC_0753.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /></center></td><p><p></p><p></p><p></p></tr></tbody></table><strong></strong></p>Gabrielle Phttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04718386890606386212noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3234182976471299153.post-75116224282860447742008-04-06T13:35:00.001-07:002008-12-08T14:58:07.533-08:00The Great Wall<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpgnXwowGQ96wF7mMFbLJ6m-Oqo5gb-vmlLnWzkdf5ZIY9v0JCY3sOLpZUde2NNR9yC8BPPGc6GUB9GNVbAW7TEHvcgt63s3eb9NEV3q8sL9tbXh20SH6EBjZ8_BYu8XzdOpsqApAz8rE/s1600-h/DSC_0237.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5186234295230483250" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpgnXwowGQ96wF7mMFbLJ6m-Oqo5gb-vmlLnWzkdf5ZIY9v0JCY3sOLpZUde2NNR9yC8BPPGc6GUB9GNVbAW7TEHvcgt63s3eb9NEV3q8sL9tbXh20SH6EBjZ8_BYu8XzdOpsqApAz8rE/s200/DSC_0237.JPG" border="0" /></a> Absolutely shameful, how long it's been since last I posted. What can I tell you that you don't already know? Just so busy!<br /><div></div><br /><div>The house, in fact, is stagnating due to financial circumstances outside of our control -- like, the collapse of the entire mortgage industry, to start.<br /></div><div>But before I go into that, I present you the last great change we made to the house before we ran completely out of money. Yes, we built a wall. </div><div></div><div>I didn't take great pictures of the wall before we enhanced it, but let me describe it to you: <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Cinder block</span>, about 4 1/2 feet high, painted <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Pepto-</span><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Bismol</span> pink. The previous owners had added some height to it by propping up about 2 feet of <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">press board</span> along the length of it -- but at least they painted it the same shade of pink. A few rains later, the <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">press board</span> had <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">disintegrated</span> in places, fallen down, and any passerby could just glance right into our living room. Add a couple <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">graffiti</span> tags and, well, you get the picture. <img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5186234299525450562" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV51-yynqmKUDb7tWOArBbaRUwQ8omro1Scw_dNLI8XLjzdzmGWrn52RfC0DfhoRRCa03nqD5NJaRaaxL3pfhWYGOboQTMerKt_8J_MgYFn_V5Ao8vKdAa-jCtLNI2AlMikqB_1b0hCBI/s200/DSC_0232.JPG" border="0" /></div><div></div><div>Since the base of the wall was actually pretty sturdy, we decided not to knock it down. Instead we brought it to the regulation height of 6 feet and covered it in the same stucco found on the rest of the house. I've never loved stucco, but at least it all matches. </div><div></div><div>Still needs a paint job, but happily, I can prance naked in the living room again without random people looking in on me.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div>Gabrielle Phttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04718386890606386212noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3234182976471299153.post-53361505817699669882008-02-03T08:05:00.000-08:002008-12-08T14:58:07.701-08:00Fan Mail<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHeNXSG0CqfaMO2mTNkrxZ_5HN0m9gMQXEVvd8sh86pMs1MpDRc8ljm7yHC8seSTOpJxaspUKtaTpOe0CvpReJyvLKnU_JMa5QmjQiPGPwAzJ03tgdsfcKnVCcBe5oSzTtRMYZgb0xUwY/s1600-h/hate-mail.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5162786098163076034" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHeNXSG0CqfaMO2mTNkrxZ_5HN0m9gMQXEVvd8sh86pMs1MpDRc8ljm7yHC8seSTOpJxaspUKtaTpOe0CvpReJyvLKnU_JMa5QmjQiPGPwAzJ03tgdsfcKnVCcBe5oSzTtRMYZgb0xUwY/s200/hate-mail.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div>Since we moved to this neighborhood, Jim and I have enjoyed so many encounters with our neighbors. We're such a local curiosity that it's been fun to invite our neighbors into the house and show them what all the construction has been about. We've received messages of support -- and often relief -- all the way around. Almost universarly, our neighbors have expressed how pleased they are that finally someone is fixing this eyesore up.</div><div></div><div>That said, I just wanted to share with you a lovely message left, purportedly, by one of our neighbors, on both our car windshields -- two copies, just to ensure we'd get the message: </div><div></div><div><span style="font-size:130%;color:#ffff99;"><strong>Dear Neighbor,</strong></span></div><div><span style="color:#ffff99;"></span></div><div><span style="font-size:130%;color:#ffff99;"><strong>I understand, that it is a huge undertaking to buy a house for your family, and try to refurbish it , all while trying to go out and earn a living for them.</strong></span></div><div><span style="color:#ffff99;"></span></div><div><span style="color:#ffff99;">I also understand that, you would want to refinish the inside of the house for your family's well being & comfort before tackling the outside ...</span></div><div><span style="color:#ffff99;"></span></div><div><span style="color:#ffff99;">BUT, Enough is Enough ... You have a RESPONSIBILITY to your neighbors to do something about the exterior of your home! It's a fucking scandal, and it's been like this for a long time.</span></div><div><span style="color:#ffff99;"></span></div><div><span style="color:#ffff99;">Again, I'm not telling you to spend your money outside, when there are important things to attend to inside. But, get your lazy ass out there and clean it up (get rid of the fence, the vine/branch, the foot tall weed-lawn). That doesn't cost a thing, it just requires you to put forth some effort. </span></div><div><span style="color:#ffff99;"></span></div><div><span style="color:#ffff99;">I know what it's like to be up til 1 or 2 am, everyday for a year, swinging hammers, and then get up and go to work the next day. But, I'm going to venture a guess and say ... YOU"RE NOT THAT GUY. I don't see it. I don't hear it. </span></div><div><span style="color:#ffff99;"></span></div><div><span style="color:#ffff99;"><span style="font-size:180%;"><strong>Show some self respect, and clean up your property.</strong></span> </span></div><div><span style="color:#000099;"></span></div><div>And a hand written message at the bottom: </div><div></div><div><span style="color:#ffff99;"><em>BTW. I wrote this only after listening to so many other neighbors complain.</em> </span></div><div></div><div>Didn't even sign his (or her) name. The coward.</div><div></div><div>Now, I'm not sure that I even want to do this message the honor of ridiculing it. I'll only say how much I love that last handwritten line -- an intimidation tactic that I, myself, mastered in high school. "It's not just me who thinks you're a bitch. Everybody's talking about it." </div><div></div><div>I'm thinking small person, down on himself, looking for someone to kick to make himself feel better. Wish I could tell him it just doesn't work like that. </div>Gabrielle Phttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04718386890606386212noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3234182976471299153.post-83680990396733453342008-01-15T23:11:00.000-08:002008-12-08T14:58:08.960-08:00Kitchen Completion<table><tbody><tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHWDCFwE4P2xVOQCqGI7_SxygOnHQrEpKEVJgh46uDFWjYkn7vk2XtcqgoO9NN24_yxZ2TZyreIyu-Jv-89wvcV0B19GmaZz4haQiBpSl-LnJAIDCHdl1e4Q8Qjq3mrlJfkSpbe9ihB1Q/s1600-h/Kitchen+After+014.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5155971015687109234" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHWDCFwE4P2xVOQCqGI7_SxygOnHQrEpKEVJgh46uDFWjYkn7vk2XtcqgoO9NN24_yxZ2TZyreIyu-Jv-89wvcV0B19GmaZz4haQiBpSl-LnJAIDCHdl1e4Q8Qjq3mrlJfkSpbe9ihB1Q/s200/Kitchen+After+014.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /></td><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgINd4aPbLJ0dEGJpFtINJuWfb8c0TENcJgduJQo3c7QwTMVQZ2e421BLR2cPC05NtFyQ78ImgAenuhi1pHrp2hyphenhyphen9meNSLD8WfimEhBfjark0dWMGRIBCa8Y7Q6yF4fbPT9d1T5BcKQ4Ig/s1600-h/Kitchen+After+015.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5155971024277043842" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgINd4aPbLJ0dEGJpFtINJuWfb8c0TENcJgduJQo3c7QwTMVQZ2e421BLR2cPC05NtFyQ78ImgAenuhi1pHrp2hyphenhyphen9meNSLD8WfimEhBfjark0dWMGRIBCa8Y7Q6yF4fbPT9d1T5BcKQ4Ig/s200/Kitchen+After+015.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /></td><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvl8UjBv-ffEYemlrvo249BdPIEXSoSMo7lIsmBfkLpZEvHhqmP2GHzYm473fKXmSlczW_dmIYGLePo9HVhwq00_5Ny8_nZhX_eFLVARtJRX4rEuzP1bGgydHckC8pD5fpCi5YJiKKduY/s1600-h/Kitchen+After+016.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5155971032866978450" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvl8UjBv-ffEYemlrvo249BdPIEXSoSMo7lIsmBfkLpZEvHhqmP2GHzYm473fKXmSlczW_dmIYGLePo9HVhwq00_5Ny8_nZhX_eFLVARtJRX4rEuzP1bGgydHckC8pD5fpCi5YJiKKduY/s200/Kitchen+After+016.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /></td></tr><tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7jKjxSoFzvDO3wmDnhfscB0UUucbm_myWaK2LJgOUt07hVe52N5NJuQuMWnBDGQYZ-BizgeN5Wwf_aspLa8KHpP4h6gJKAZKfrlty6nxnNgrqSzu2TCKB85bcgt8K-ppEKzEOc7p4FFs/s1600-h/Kitchen+After+006.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5155970324197374514" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7jKjxSoFzvDO3wmDnhfscB0UUucbm_myWaK2LJgOUt07hVe52N5NJuQuMWnBDGQYZ-BizgeN5Wwf_aspLa8KHpP4h6gJKAZKfrlty6nxnNgrqSzu2TCKB85bcgt8K-ppEKzEOc7p4FFs/s200/Kitchen+After+006.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /></td><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj96hPcAleDCy8qT0Dr2zr0RzSNnWu7tsIu5rlxhLQdKmIS8yD9Fn6PTmvA-ukeGmRrIGkBxZh5ovC9toWWEGGHfl7R7cir_oXnf0t2DzJ2RIWm7vaREmBG3yHMPMYKOpz_tsKxcgjhoRc/s1600-h/Kitchen+After+007.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5155970328492341826" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj96hPcAleDCy8qT0Dr2zr0RzSNnWu7tsIu5rlxhLQdKmIS8yD9Fn6PTmvA-ukeGmRrIGkBxZh5ovC9toWWEGGHfl7R7cir_oXnf0t2DzJ2RIWm7vaREmBG3yHMPMYKOpz_tsKxcgjhoRc/s200/Kitchen+After+007.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /></td><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh941GcuHcFOmq5NQ0HzGVn0ep7i43du_ITso_xUCvHHEZnjwDxZ0ChbVXBDLlFbBnE2EHYjBstvjM__br1-Aho5Fj0p-JlLI85vsZ8-WU5peIL2VwMuDOSckGwTh-dquHJfm32zDY3OwY/s1600-h/Kitchen+After+011.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5155970337082276434" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh941GcuHcFOmq5NQ0HzGVn0ep7i43du_ITso_xUCvHHEZnjwDxZ0ChbVXBDLlFbBnE2EHYjBstvjM__br1-Aho5Fj0p-JlLI85vsZ8-WU5peIL2VwMuDOSckGwTh-dquHJfm32zDY3OwY/s200/Kitchen+After+011.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /></td></tr><tr><td><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0OA9yN4yGeBgp8BWdJ-PMIwb_EzZ152sSP6P07SwVBYGAQKMtzAnlEWc_ZkXAyiKaSe1bj8KzGNkX1roZ_HopOsx8lr7RtgrwGXOZdXVfUC2SAFoOTqq8t_72uAM8ZGq9F7Dig_Hd_5o/s1600-h/Kitchen+After+004.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5155970315607439906" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0OA9yN4yGeBgp8BWdJ-PMIwb_EzZ152sSP6P07SwVBYGAQKMtzAnlEWc_ZkXAyiKaSe1bj8KzGNkX1roZ_HopOsx8lr7RtgrwGXOZdXVfUC2SAFoOTqq8t_72uAM8ZGq9F7Dig_Hd_5o/s200/Kitchen+After+004.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /></p></td><p>It's probably pretty boring to start every new post with "I know I haven't posted in a while ... " I'm sure you can guess at my excuses: Work, plus life with a toddler, plus not much progress on the house to write about. <p></p><p>But it did dawn on me that I never really posted the final pictures of the kitchen, so here they are!<br /></p><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFRfYFRGWSBfF5_cXF6xWb9ML1el4hlXIzJ2CDLsZ5qktR8MU8q7C3Sq1RhuGbQWCk7BcDQ-5MFq6jWo_wej1kkUKj1s9CrM77ztnxJDeEt1QqU2JCs-rEoOUZ9xnIJVw25xMu18dAVxY/s1600-h/Kitchen+After+018.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5155970341377243746" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFRfYFRGWSBfF5_cXF6xWb9ML1el4hlXIzJ2CDLsZ5qktR8MU8q7C3Sq1RhuGbQWCk7BcDQ-5MFq6jWo_wej1kkUKj1s9CrM77ztnxJDeEt1QqU2JCs-rEoOUZ9xnIJVw25xMu18dAVxY/s200/Kitchen+After+018.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /></td></p></tr></tbody></table><p><br />And because I feel this part is important here's a quick snapshot of the costs and resources: </p><p>Construction, by Castro Construction: $8,000 (includes tearing out old kitchen, tearing down walls, insulating, drywall/plaster, plumbing for sink, pot filler and gas range, under-cabinet lighting, installing garden window, tile installation, paint, hauling)</p><p>Garden window: $1,400 at Lowe's</p><p>Cabinetry: $5,000 (yay, Ikea!)</p><p>Kitchen layout/design by <a href="http://rfdesign-online.com/">RF Design</a>: $350 (highly recommended, if you're doing an Ikea kitchen!)</p><p>Cabinet installation by Richard Castedon (Ikea's recommended vendor -- they did our whole job in one day): $2,285</p><p>Granite Countertops (materials & labor) from Celestine Stone: $3,600 (must add here that I really enjoyed working with Scott Busse of Celestine, a dead-ringer for Puddy from Seinfeld.)</p><p>Viking Range and hood, purchased on Craigslist: $5,000</p><p>Fridge, purchased on Craigslist but replaced free-of-charge by G.E.: $1,000</p><p>SubZero wine refrigerator, Craigslist purchase from a homey in Montebello: $500</p><p>Siemens dishwasher, Craigslist purchase from an interior designer in Beverly Hills: $300</p><p>Panasonic Microwave from Cosco (Christmas gift from my folks): $129</p><p>Danze Parma Single Handle Pre-Rinse Kitchen Faucet, purchased from FaucetDirect.com: $285</p><p>Danze Parma Single Handle Wall Mount Pot Filler, purchased from FaucetDirect.com: $223</p><p>Danze Parma soap & lotion dispenser, from Faucet Direct: $50</p><p>Kitchen Sink, a Kohler aquired on Craigslist: Free! </p><p>Tiles, from California Tile Distributors in Burbank: $975</p><p>Pot rack, Craigslist: $100 (I was surprised at how expensive these can be)</p><p>OK, so looking over these numbers does give me minor heart palpitations. Especially now that we are bumping up against the ceiling of our credit line, it's hard to see those figures in black and white. But I think I'll save my money anxieties for another posting. For now, let's just take a moment to quietly, and a little belatedly, celebrate the completion of the kitchen. All the money and struggles and haggling, and moments of torturous indecision, the dust, the noise, the inconvenience of coming home to find NO SINK -- all of that -- has paid off. We are extremely happy with how this room turned out.</p><p>I must also add that we made a little money along the way. We sold the china cabinet for $700 on Craigslist, and we had purchased a whole suite of appliances for $2,000 which we later sold for $2,200. The guy who sold them to us also threw in a kitchen sink and faucet. I sold the faucet on eBay for $175 and the sink turned out to be the only thing we kept. We installed it, and we love it! Anyway, that's a net gain of $1,075 plus a sink. </p><p>Next up, one last area to redesign. The back bathroom and laundryroom. Once we get that done, we can move on to the exterior. Money gods willing.</p>Gabrielle Phttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04718386890606386212noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3234182976471299153.post-77650727046531683802007-11-17T13:09:00.000-08:002008-12-08T14:58:09.358-08:00Window Magic<center><table><tbody><tr><td><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5133919951682115410" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgahyL5VD6zUOUl9zSQ1RMH71z3YPPRhRyLbAfadcBP9f-DOd0HwYQxvnou-TD3e0ysOqJw7u3WTsyx38dZwL1VoF00WAdA3tjSjp6Dca2DqTgs8iHlAO2wIo9HfJARIaB5VnuyGykK6gQ/s200/DSC_0012.JPG" border="0" /></td><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwsJ6eouMfD6rQbgQsgDn_FLRL59uFqTcXijtZKzDa7zQ_O79T3WkdQE-p_HpBa-9215FPyfCYqG4kEsSDrqcurh7wVwudZ51jfiPKQqHO-Mn7dUk4ge1r7jVa_SCQlrd-L7J_us9C31o/s1600-h/DSC_0030.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5133919973156951906" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwsJ6eouMfD6rQbgQsgDn_FLRL59uFqTcXijtZKzDa7zQ_O79T3WkdQE-p_HpBa-9215FPyfCYqG4kEsSDrqcurh7wVwudZ51jfiPKQqHO-Mn7dUk4ge1r7jVa_SCQlrd-L7J_us9C31o/s200/DSC_0030.JPG" border="0" /></a></td></tr><tr><td><center>Before</center></td><td><center>After</center></td></tr></tbody></table></center><p>The new windows arrived this week, which added to the fun already going on in the kitchen. I don't know if you can tell from these pictures, but it's amazing what a difference they make to the look of the house. It looks a bit less like it's haunted or just abandoned. </p><p>Again, these are Superior brand vinyl windows in the color almond. The upstairs are all double hung, which makes them easier to clean, and the downstairs are single hung. They're all Low E, (whatever that means) but we didn't go for the Argon gas option because our rep at Lowes said it just doesn't make that much difference.</p><p>Behold! Windows!<br /></p>Gabrielle Phttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04718386890606386212noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3234182976471299153.post-36939484701631877302007-11-02T07:42:00.000-07:002008-12-08T14:58:09.686-08:00Taken for Granite<center><table><tbody><tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOHvj5myaI1f0HUkRfXbeWEYX5f2GzkKIiZraVxEmoiR-JTqSnjW9pyvK174C5L4bbg9QDgyetSavdI5nnMiH_fs-B_hgJilW7ITZ1d2HUVcSAAfSz-xKdhyphenhyphenltCRIesddIxSUsStkAFE8/s1600-h/DSC_0016.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5128254163660196962" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOHvj5myaI1f0HUkRfXbeWEYX5f2GzkKIiZraVxEmoiR-JTqSnjW9pyvK174C5L4bbg9QDgyetSavdI5nnMiH_fs-B_hgJilW7ITZ1d2HUVcSAAfSz-xKdhyphenhyphenltCRIesddIxSUsStkAFE8/s200/DSC_0016.JPG" border="0" /></a> </td><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuOmT4xN0qEY5295QGlq2ekp3cx92WIyP4LHNVTTkegBoHPra2VPKJX2rH5xWd_23OV3I8odSCvCI0ekiZYJDX07roT6c8BG0N5bKwL3w4B2VmKi2i4pogZEdvMInV4Bq_hXDxieObn3E/s1600-h/DSC_0015.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5128254150775295058" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuOmT4xN0qEY5295QGlq2ekp3cx92WIyP4LHNVTTkegBoHPra2VPKJX2rH5xWd_23OV3I8odSCvCI0ekiZYJDX07roT6c8BG0N5bKwL3w4B2VmKi2i4pogZEdvMInV4Bq_hXDxieObn3E/s200/DSC_0015.JPG" border="0" /></a></td><td><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXHdPWhtqEz1Z-PJqJjBCYwUZMCc3saYA6HJkSQPMSWcb8qp0wDsZGk1WgkEzdRj7CvfQLcdszhbLxfkCnHc3p26UUne6PiSIZz7VS91f0yf5qNKbTDMUSzIp5yDVlJpbg2lHYnhyX6aU/s1600-h/DSC_0017.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5128254172250131570" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXHdPWhtqEz1Z-PJqJjBCYwUZMCc3saYA6HJkSQPMSWcb8qp0wDsZGk1WgkEzdRj7CvfQLcdszhbLxfkCnHc3p26UUne6PiSIZz7VS91f0yf5qNKbTDMUSzIp5yDVlJpbg2lHYnhyX6aU/s200/DSC_0017.JPG" border="0" /></a></p></td></tr></tbody></table></center><div align="left">While you were celebrating Halloween, it was Christmas morning at the Pascoe residence. The installers came and put the cabinets into our kitchen. Poppy, dressed as a Ladybug, toured the space and made known her approval.</div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left">And now for a rude awakening. The next step is counter tops. We decided on Black Galaxy granite. Jim and I don't particularly like "noisy" granite with lots of flecks in it. Black Galaxy is deep black, but with a subtle coppery fleck. </div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left">Long story short, when Ikea priced out the granite for this not-very-humongous kitchen, I got sticker shock. At $6,000 these counters were going to cost more than most of the cars I've driven in my lifetime. Put together. I reluctantly surrendered my credit card, but while the Swedes had their way with it, I got to thinking. This is the age of the Internet. I don't pay retail. I buy on Craigslist. I never make a big purchase without first consulting eBay. Why should this be any different? </div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left">And as it turns out, the granite that at Ikea costs $83.50 per sq. ft. goes as low as $13.50 online. That's for the raw stuff, so it's not really fair to compare -- but even with "fabrication" as I'm coming to learn that it's called, I'm looking at a serious discount over the Ikea rate. What was I thinking? Luckily, Ikea gives you 48 hours to change your mind.</div><div align="left"> </div><div align="left">The downside is that the counters are unlikely to be installed in time for Thanksgiving. But at a savings of potentially thousands of dollars, it's seriously worth the wait.</div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div>Gabrielle Phttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04718386890606386212noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3234182976471299153.post-39144084451552246932007-10-29T10:06:00.000-07:002008-12-08T14:58:09.842-08:00Pssst. Hey, buddy. Wanna buy a china cabinet?<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGUPfVxs79FKhmJkCdWiz7aw50kUTq7-A-DNV1cRQq1m1iBMcsNoUjA9XTf3moZ-sKNlYDYxp55LP_YG_6N_PJE_Sp2bDJmMMswm7Eq0re4-qmg-vPAZj1QH_M5NeSLVDVY7TdQuUJ9bw/s1600-h/DSC_0004.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5126809675964238882" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGUPfVxs79FKhmJkCdWiz7aw50kUTq7-A-DNV1cRQq1m1iBMcsNoUjA9XTf3moZ-sKNlYDYxp55LP_YG_6N_PJE_Sp2bDJmMMswm7Eq0re4-qmg-vPAZj1QH_M5NeSLVDVY7TdQuUJ9bw/s200/DSC_0004.JPG" border="0" /></a>If you've read this blog for a while, you've probably realized that I'm a bit of a Craigslist addict. I've nearly furnished two entire houses all from Craigslist. I buy on it, sell on it, and usually I do pretty well (although my mother has been giving me a run for my money these days. Only this week she unloaded a hideous old chandelier from our house for close to $300. Go mom!)<br /><br />But even the experienced Craigslister can hit a wall. My wall is this china cabinet. I just can't seem to unload it. The thing is a monster. It's huge. I figure there's got to be a lot of value in just the materials alone. But beyond that, it's beautiful. Maybe my pictures don't do it justice, but it really is. The only problem is that it's a bitch to move.<br /><br />Anyway, I started posting it at $1000. I've been dropping steadily and am now at $750. At this point, I'm starting to feel like I could give it away. Our kitchen is nearly finished (Does anyone else hear that sound? Is that angels singing?) and I'm kind of ready to feel that space where we tore the wall down. How low do I have to go to unload this beloved monolith?<br /><br />For the next week at least, here's the ad on Craigslist: <a href="http://losangeles.craigslist.org/lac/fur/463004927.html">http://losangeles.craigslist.org/lac/fur/463004927.html</a> <div> </div><div>Anybody want to buy a china cabinet? </div>Gabrielle Phttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04718386890606386212noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3234182976471299153.post-84005236523499454612007-10-28T20:05:00.001-07:002008-12-08T14:58:10.188-08:00Red Room<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeZliiaq4CX00O29e97Wegf_GI4IvCMAG1vpxyQHXc5Kv62KRgbkOnPdICu-n3UucQLIFuALZg8T5TRvD0oAw-SZH3FMHa60KPYEOTZGaEGoCEJ-QW09_PZMXkTKsyUprdXVn7P82pdvM/s1600-h/DSC_0001.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeZliiaq4CX00O29e97Wegf_GI4IvCMAG1vpxyQHXc5Kv62KRgbkOnPdICu-n3UucQLIFuALZg8T5TRvD0oAw-SZH3FMHa60KPYEOTZGaEGoCEJ-QW09_PZMXkTKsyUprdXVn7P82pdvM/s200/DSC_0001.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5126589879329072146" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHvjAGXaBsSDe4Yuqn9NPxJSO79-YpSeKRNyfeFRdwEjfDmlV5WK6_XIPvULaT0CmNuYqxcJqK4zcHA_vD6eoRqtbLprw3bbJ5Xk36aNZtGPOjYuXpcggNvMUBd64jy3tstw03JX9uUWw/s1600-h/DSC_0002.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHvjAGXaBsSDe4Yuqn9NPxJSO79-YpSeKRNyfeFRdwEjfDmlV5WK6_XIPvULaT0CmNuYqxcJqK4zcHA_vD6eoRqtbLprw3bbJ5Xk36aNZtGPOjYuXpcggNvMUBd64jy3tstw03JX9uUWw/s200/DSC_0002.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5126589887919006754" /></a><br />The kitchen is red. <br /><br />'Nuff said.Gabrielle Phttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04718386890606386212noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3234182976471299153.post-36081948215818038272007-10-22T14:01:00.001-07:002008-12-08T14:58:11.326-08:00Buy G.E.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAEe-mQ_5JNrahI4LSdzwbIoVt6rx4ZxJ9hx5XJCmcNenUKDoR6wiZblwwlruARGHDRwo-o18i1EzeRugb-Fz9eTwPLekT7Pr8o1-AdbXquia7lKyNIz8zhfORyK9pr9We4MGpL2aMfdk/s1600-h/DSC_0005.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5124269491235193266" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAEe-mQ_5JNrahI4LSdzwbIoVt6rx4ZxJ9hx5XJCmcNenUKDoR6wiZblwwlruARGHDRwo-o18i1EzeRugb-Fz9eTwPLekT7Pr8o1-AdbXquia7lKyNIz8zhfORyK9pr9We4MGpL2aMfdk/s200/DSC_0005.JPG" border="0" /></a><br />I'd like to take a moment to herald the praises of one of America's fondest and most well-established brands. General Electric.<br /><br />These praises I sing because of a recent purchase I made on Craig's List. You might not believe it, but the fridge pictured at right retails for about $4000. It may look pretty average, (if you can see past its adhesive wrapper) but in fact it's counter depth. It's also wrapped in stainless. Where most fridge's have black sides, this one has stainless sides. And it's G.E. Monogram, the Monogram line being G.E.'s high, high-end line.<br /><br />So, I answered an ad on Craigslist and paid $1000 for said fridge. The seller told me it was only a year old and virtually unused. Long story short, I got it home and found that it did not work. The refrigerator did not refrigerate. (Quick aside: Why is there a D in fridge but not in refrigerator?) And beyond that, a lot of the parts in the freezer section appeared to be rusted. GE sent out a repairperson, and though the fridge turned out to be not one year old but three, its broken compressor happened to be under warranty. Before I had a chance to so much as raise my voice or make up a lie about how the fridge I paid thousands for was suddenly not working, before I could produce a single poison pen letter claiming to be the original owner, the G.E. rep said, "Well, I'll just get a new unit out to you. Is Tuesday OK for delivery? And because they no longer make that model, we'll have to give you the current model, is that OK with you? Oh, and by the way, the warranty will start over from the day your new fridge arrives." Did it matter to them that this broke-ass refrigerator was a Craig's List bargain basement find? If it did, they weren't telling.<br /><br />So that's why the fridge pictured above is wrapped. That's original packaging applied at the factory. That's evidence that his fridge is brand spanking new. Which is why I must say: New or used, buy G.E.<br /><br />So, I finish this post with a few pictures of our kitchen in its current state:<br /><table border="0"><tbody><tr><td><center><center><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5124270603631722946" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd_ONfeQ0M0JzKrXXjctGQj9sNEZD4Uvun0eFJhdEffENc9XAeh_ETdg5VnL-X32m8eoOyQxeqDvkZ2Ho2yZNFMFgT5D1yvquaBDrCZec6oNv-8bKCcV3YtRQLvZU67U4WTBTprTaw2eM/s200/DSC_0003.JPG" border="0" /><br /><br />A pile of boxes the size of a compact SUV piled in our living room, full of Ikea cabinetry waiting to be installed.<br /></center></center></td><td><center><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiScPmQuiBR8mT-rTzF_TPIEMgYL2H6ENnv5VMv1vvSnkQTPiLWe1Z7Ls9CtV1XUtVzpQV_ptSW6nFoXcZH7DMdJSFH1ms2pJcAL0wvT8BB5fO7BkZ9FQ0AshslDIQsIJFwklDsXsik9gg/s1600-h/DSC_0004.JPG"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz0Q8f2mY6hGj0CwfZ4cFFJdcDmG4bqkoZgpK83TQCnHkOP409KlBJUf7YeBBbTIFTq7s7R8t9KTnV5lqHHbfsXswo1gXCzNVM4RoZYrFSuo0lU9GNzUFifOE3B_cpBV5IlUNVRJEgeWo/s1600-h/DSC_0022.JPG"></a><center><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXHXMVeRkWAy20AJdYV8Xge1eXfEbbT2OJXhlN0m-0UjpqtxOSoFxDESJB8xGmoSP6ayz_1bTAf3fdHmlj20KmwHv7a9wQq8-2ML94GnrhTlELpt3n9FnGj3uBs6NPBi2u7eoBzmTJGEo/s1600-h/DSC_0021.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5124270633696494066" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXHXMVeRkWAy20AJdYV8Xge1eXfEbbT2OJXhlN0m-0UjpqtxOSoFxDESJB8xGmoSP6ayz_1bTAf3fdHmlj20KmwHv7a9wQq8-2ML94GnrhTlELpt3n9FnGj3uBs6NPBi2u7eoBzmTJGEo/s200/DSC_0021.JPG" border="0" /></a></center>The floor tiles have been installed -- but are papered over in preparation for painting. The walls will be Dunn-Edwards' Arabian Red.</center></td><td><center><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiuUiM6d9tj4ImVyoGQhJxDrVAq44bcZgLYEzJV6P2IEybZjdaVs6-Wad78GGd6FCsbK81AJ3hIJ-NLROaTFBKL2czCVNjT8MpOK99E1f-Z0j7fzYZIZK_IFAh5Ag8oib9-elaEFVnync/s1600-h/DSC_0022.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5124271127617733138" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiuUiM6d9tj4ImVyoGQhJxDrVAq44bcZgLYEzJV6P2IEybZjdaVs6-Wad78GGd6FCsbK81AJ3hIJ-NLROaTFBKL2czCVNjT8MpOK99E1f-Z0j7fzYZIZK_IFAh5Ag8oib9-elaEFVnync/s200/DSC_0022.JPG" border="0" /></a></center></td></tr><tr><td><center><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXUhMzskvvynm5c2bWDBw5LzIHpDxOTZKbpVX7R7xJE7U2-74nV9xfWfqobZ9LsRQaX37xU0BFO7xGNzxjegtx_REjEXTu4VWcT3zIyowf_k58dvw2piT5RfjLmYYZoceLEkP3hoMKR0w/s1600-h/DSC_0024.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5124271136207667762" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXUhMzskvvynm5c2bWDBw5LzIHpDxOTZKbpVX7R7xJE7U2-74nV9xfWfqobZ9LsRQaX37xU0BFO7xGNzxjegtx_REjEXTu4VWcT3zIyowf_k58dvw2piT5RfjLmYYZoceLEkP3hoMKR0w/s200/DSC_0024.JPG" border="0" /></a></center></td><td><center><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUpJ4OgafLk7_5NyxY8PqIkNyA0stDlozYjUyCH3lpnKRc0UHNsSn_jJwh4GAdnrezYkdvUApZwELicKcmG2uvqqb1-y8q6JgLjPleKg0o5Xu4oGvuk8Bp80jlLgCjhgKuoNNnPtjmnvg/s1600-h/DSC_0023.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5124271131912700450" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUpJ4OgafLk7_5NyxY8PqIkNyA0stDlozYjUyCH3lpnKRc0UHNsSn_jJwh4GAdnrezYkdvUApZwELicKcmG2uvqqb1-y8q6JgLjPleKg0o5Xu4oGvuk8Bp80jlLgCjhgKuoNNnPtjmnvg/s200/DSC_0023.JPG" border="0" /></a></center></td><td><center><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEOBD-0VXmD7CjPPX9z041JCm5v4EXRKVVpjOfRHIOee8ki8Q1gJyHi7Bz9VZdgKgvlzcWrTNTk4MX5PqKHFpU2KKIqCmtBSVbrRE9RsfyQHYE4BaiEi1oqPQalEasAh-w0MCD3j_e0bs/s1600-h/DSC_0020.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5124270625106559458" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEOBD-0VXmD7CjPPX9z041JCm5v4EXRKVVpjOfRHIOee8ki8Q1gJyHi7Bz9VZdgKgvlzcWrTNTk4MX5PqKHFpU2KKIqCmtBSVbrRE9RsfyQHYE4BaiEi1oqPQalEasAh-w0MCD3j_e0bs/s200/DSC_0020.JPG" border="0" /></a></center><br />View from the dining room of what would be looking into the kitchen — which is covered these days by a sheath of plastic.</td></tr></tbody></table>Gabrielle Phttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04718386890606386212noreply@blogger.com1