bathroom redo (2)

those of you following me on instagram may have noticed our smaller bathroom is currently demoed down to the studs. d decided to take on this project, and now we are in the throes of a remodel. luckily we spent some time mulling over choices some years back, and have our master bath to base it on. (i love it still, after all these years!)

there are only a few variations. this bathroom has a stall shower - and we will add a glass door to the list of changes. other than that, the fixtures, for the most part, are staying the same as the other bathroom. (i'm a big proponent to design continuity, especially in a smaller house. i like seeing the same color palette, light fixtures, faucets, tile, etc stretching through the space.)

will keep you posted. (or hop over to instagram for more day to day progress - or not ;) )

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made in the shade

we do a lot of time poolside. more than ever now with our investment in a new shade.



we purchased it back in may - but alas, i was being cheap frugal and didn't invest in the stand that was recommended. i thought we could make do with what we already had, but our ikea stand couldn't handle the cantilever + weight of the new "umbrella". of course d came up with a brilliant and beautiful solution after i showed him this inspiration.



he prepared a bendy board mold and used the old stand as a base, retrofitting the tube to stand higher. after the cement cured, he created a slat top out of redwood scrap.



now to build up the pool & area redo fund ;) in the meantime, this is the perfect spot for a morning cup of coffee. and just enough shade for the afternoon lifeguard.

shelved!

another project checked off the list. d made a beautiful little walnut bedside table and matching shelving. here's a peek as we get the final touches on the room complete.





we went back and forth on the finish for the shelf brackets. we finally settled on white (from here), and i'm so glad we did. they aren't too noticeable, match the finish on the bed frame and d pulled in the white on the grommet for the drawer pull (love!) he also helped reduce the brackets visual presence by using deeper boards for the shelves, and hiding the bracket tips in a hole on the underside. he secured each bracket/shelf so there is no wiggle (something inherent in this style of shelving and an important consideration in earthquake country - especially bedside).

i'm very happy with how these turned out. especially the table. its d's design and i think so lovely with our bed.




oh, and in case you're wondering about the kangaroo. it was one of the first gifts i ever gave d. probably 17 years ago? it is a vintage ceramic wallet caddy. we'd watched pulp fiction together, and then i spotted it at the pasadena rose bowl flea market. i couldn't find a clip showing it online - but it is mentioned here. and the artwork: an early piece by lisa congdon, purchased at a show here in L.A. many moons ago! It is a wonderful ink drawing on a page of text - winnie the pooh, in french (winnie l'ourson).

wallpaper 101

there's stuff still to do, but i couldnt resist sharing where we are at!

we were a little nervous about this DIY project. in preparation we watched a lot of videos including:

this one

and

read up about it on good old msl








in the end (and d may beg to differ) i thought it went up rather smoothly (no pun intended!) i had experience, a long long time ago, putting up pre-pasted wallpaper with my mom. the kind you soak in a tray then apply to the wall. i must say, though my memory may be failing me, i think this was a much easier, and cleaner process. we had to search a bit for a paste (we found it at Lowe's) but it was easy to work with and set-up and clean-up were quite basic.

items of note:

* have a long clean smooth table top surface to work on. this made applying the paste a great deal easier
* wipe down said smooth surface between paste applications. we did have a minor mishap with the paper sticking to the table and tearing. luckily we had ordered extra.
* order extra (see above). we used the calculator on the wallpaper direct site. glad we did.
* it is a two-person job. sure one person could have done it. but it was great having an extra pair of hands (especially as first-timers). d did the cutting, paste-up, application to the wall and trimming; while i was his spotter, and followed him with the tools to push out any bubbles, roll the seams and sponge down. (it was a great team-building exercise!)
* invest in a good roller. we had a cheap one that came with the kit d picked-up. we ended up using a clean brayer which worked much better.
* prep prep prep! d's careful preparation of the wall (sanding, patching, sanding, priming, and sealing) made a huge difference to the outcome.



i really love how it looks. (d is getting tired of hearing me go on about it!) it ties into the theme of the house in color and its retro vibe. the natural wood furnishings keep it warm and inviting. our chaotic neglected bedroom has turned into a "crisp clean space" and a "cozy refuge".

wallpaper: dandelion mobile in porcelain with powder blue by miss print purchased at wallpaperdirect.com (but sadly no longer available).

still to do: walnut shelving, bedside built-ins, baseboards and having ceiling painted. we are close!

this just happened!

throwback Thursday!

2001


today

rain rain

california is experiencing the worst drought in recent history. with rain in the forecast we are celebrating - but also cautiously aware of the dangers that can come with it. we are lucky to live in a very safe spot - with no fear of flooding or mudslides. our ground is thirsty - and the rain is quickly absorbed. we need it so very badly - and know that even a full few days of rain will not be enough. water conservation is at the forefront. we have worked with our local school to reduce the asphalt substantially to have the little rain we get enhance groundwater levels. at home, we have removed our lawn and replaced it with drought tolerant native plants.

and in anticipation of the rain, we have installed a rain barrel on one corner of the house. (the first of a series we hope to install.) it is convenient to our bedroom patio, where i have my collection of potted succulents. the goal is to use this convenient captured rain to water them. it will also help offset pooling in the chicken run, adjacent to this area. (we wouldn't use this water on edibles. i'm not confident about what other particulates might be captured, along with the water, off our tar and rock roof.)



we purchased this kit, and were gifted a food grade barrel from our friend john, an expert in water-wise systems.

installation was easy. d completed the project in about 20 minutes. (installation instructions can be found on the la stormwater site.)

in theory, we could capture 3,738 gallons of water with this storm! (roof footprint sqft x rainfall inches x 0.623) in our dreams, we install these.

now bring on the rain...






how to capture rainwater

rainwater harvesting

room to grow con't

we are still working away on e's room. converting from home office to bedroom has had a couple of challenges. first off - what to do with all the books that were stored in this room, and two - how to maximize the small space to allow her to have room to hang-out and study. when d first started with this room, he tore out the closet to add built in book cases, and an area for a flat file. you can read about it, and see it here. (2006!!!) he now has converted the flat file space with drawers so e won't need a dresser. it is perfect.

here are some in progress shots before we get to the big reveal. soon!

...for like ever

k made these for her class - while e did some hand lettering for her "bffles".

for the girls, d and i ordered these...


banquet workshop fluoro heart print via mlle





for like ever pink & red poster by super rural


d framed them in lovely, simple white frames. can't wait to see them in their new rooms!

happy valentine's day!

master piece

i am dreadfully behind in posting. lots in the queue...


for our bedroom I had a vision of a crisp, clean space that felt bright and airy. but after reading your wallpaper comments, I hesitated, and was pulled in to the idea of a cozy refuge from the rest of the house. I've come around again though, and am back to embracing the nature of our house - large bright open spaces and going with my original plan.



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d has hardwired two lovely tolomeo wall lights on each side of the bed (bought years ago at an artemide parking lot sale), and we are taking advantage of the dwr bedroom sale to order our new bed. (any advice on mattresses?) the desk, bedding, and chair are already all in place. this lounge chair is on the wish list for the patio off the bedroom.


I think we are close. I'll caveat that though, with the fact that I haven't yet ordered the wallpaper! so here we go...

closet case

our bedroom closet is the last in the house to be customized by d. as part of our bedroom redo, and moving e to her own room, it moved to the top of the queue. it is almost finished and i couldn't resist sharing this shot. i wish i had a before of the chaos that was. needless to say, i'm not in a huge rush for him to finish and hang the new doors. (the original sliders are worn and limit access. d is replacing them with two sets of beautiful double-hung doors that will allow up both to get to our stuff at the same time.) here's our inspiration. (as much as i love pinterest, i am still a victim of paper and files full of inspiration shots that i've been carrying around for years. its lovely to see that pile dwindle as projects get checked off the list!)



thanks for the wallpaper input. of course, i thought i knew what i wanted but you've made me reconsider. final decision this weekend! (and in cleaning up around here, found this old post with original choices. glad to see we haven't wavered much!)

all decked out

i'd been looking for a large teak doormat for the backdoor for a while. everything seemed a little more than i wanted to pay - and a little smaller than i wanted to buy.

when d was repairing the deck outside the modern shed over the weekend (we planted a new tree in it and had to cut a section away) we had an "aha!" moment and used the scrap to fashion two doormat / transitions.

i love how it is big enough to keep a pair of shoes dry on (its the length of our extra-wide slider) - and not so precious that i'll be shoo-ing the chooks away.

(i also love the contrast between the weathered redwood and the new on the deck... looking for a natural sealant to try and keep it this way.)

new doors!

D likes to take on a project while the girls and i take our annual summer break.

this year - it was the doors. he put in all new birch veneer doors. beauties. it wasn't easy. our home is far from the right angles that make hanging doors easy.



these have been on our list for a long time. (we also celebrated 11 years of being in this house in july!) the old doors were original to the house - and showed their age badly. they had been refinished without washing first and had dirt embedded in their surface, along with dings and dents that drove me crazy.

i loved the old brass handles, but most of them were unsalvageable. so we got new hardware too.



a little change that makes a huge difference.



before back-to-school: the closet doors.

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The girls sleep in the bed D and his brother shared as children. It is amazingly well-made, solid wood, and with a coat of white paint and some new knobs for the attached dresser it is perfect. But given its age, it was without the standard guardrail now found on bunkbeds. We had been improvising with a portable bedrail but were not at all happy with the aesthetics.



D quickly whipped up a permanent solution this weekend.

And I am at ease that no one will be rolling out of bed. (I totally remember that happening as a kid! As a result, I never wanted to sleep on the top bunk.)

(Please excuse the crappy photo up top. I should know better than to shoot at night!)

everybody's doing it.

the "fauxdenza"





a much needed boost to our dining room.

we are on a roll!

and tomorrow...

paint the baseboards!

on deck

our new table has arrived. eating outside as much as possible.





this morning :: pancakes with orange rind and walnuts, fresh fruit and too much coffee.

d's next project... extending our deck & a chicken run is underway.

thanks for your backpack feedback. in our school district all school supplies are pretty much supplied to the kids. so buying a backpack, lunchbag and a folder is our back-to-school shopping. it had become a habit. we did order new lunchbags. (last years' were in pretty poor shape.) and picked up folders. i feel good about our backpack decision moving forward.

backyard tour pt2

my home office



on days i work from home, once the kids head out to school, i head to our modern shed. (once they are home i tend to move back onto the dining room table.) the space is small. cool and comfortable. d has started a deck extension that will integrate it more into our space. this is the summer we dial things in!



CA modern came yesterday to take a few shots for an upcoming article - so the space was looking extra shiny.



thought i'd take a few snaps myself.



older pics here

getting there

coming home to a 7 x 5 ft hole in our livingroom wall was never such a thrill.

homework this weekend

the poppies really swung into bloom. did some weeding.


attended tomatomania with j. purchased chika; red pear heirlooms; and yellow brandywine varieties. thought about clearing the garden beds - but so loving all the greens gone to seed. the ground is too wet still anyway. should be perfect to plant this weekend.


last of the new windows and doors arrived. did a happy dance! (this has been a labour of love. started by d with the kitchen redo in 2006. we are half-way through five years later with custom mulled aluminium windows on the front-side of the house. the original windows were wood framed bottoms with aluminium tops. cheap and easy off-the-shelf circa 1955. we said no-way to vinyl. so glad. these are beautiful. so excited to be finishing this project up.)

we live here.

we've been looking for quite some time for a work to hang in the kitchen. i had originally planned to enlarge a photograph - but this is a very sunny corner - and the cost of an enlargement coupled with the inevitable fading that would take place, put that idea to rest. when i saw this poster (also available as a screenprint) i knew we had found a perfect fit. (and the price couldn't be beat!) d put together a frame, and we sprung for UV plexi. we will see how it lasts.

the girls love finding home on it. i love that it includes all these neighborhoods that i have recently discovered (after living here 12 years!).

ork posters has a whole series around this concept. fun stuff.

my plan to paint the kitchen myself has also been waylaid. april.

hanging this on our puttied and unpainted wall might be putting the cart before the horse, but we couldn't resist.