I Love You, and You, and You...

Yes, this post would have worked better yesterday. What can I say? I suck. In the spirit of Valentine's Week (ha! problem solved) I wanted to share the five blogs that inspire me daily.

Retro Renovation.
I've been reading Pam's genius site for YEARS. If you love or live in mid-century homes you'll love her site, it is a must read, chock full of archival images, how-tos, and just generally great ideas. I love that she coined the phrase mid-century modest to celebrate the vast majority of the housing stock available from the era. I mean, I adore Eichler homes and would love to have one, but I doubt it'll ever happen. Love the house you're in, indeed.

Young House Love.
What is there to say, really, about the duo recently dubbed the Brangelina of the home improvement bloggy world? Our styles aren't identical, but their blog is well-written, fun, and lovely. Plus, the fact that their new-to-them home is still a work a progress is a little beacon reminding me I don't have to have this house finished, like, yesterday.

The Wednesday Chef.
Look, I like to eat, okay? I love her writing style, wish she'd update more often, can't wait for her book, and have never made a bad meal from one of her recipes.

Manhattan Nest.
This kid is RIDICULOUSLY young. I felt so ancient when I realized he graduated from high school in 2008. However, he has an amazing eye for thrift store finds and his apartment is to die for.

The Brick House.
Here's another blogger with a definite talent for thrifting. Morgan's super-fantastic finds make me want to relocate to California. Right now.

What blogs inspire you guys? What should I be ogling on a regular basis?

Safety First

If the DIY gods smiled on us regularly we would be able to proceed through our project list in an orderly manner. Sadly, they stopped smiling. As soon as we moved in we knew one of our first projects, along with carpet ripping up and major cleaning, would be replacing the front door locks.


This was partly for aesthetic reasons (I understand some people like brass, but understanding how anyone likes that shade of brass is beyond me), but mostly because the locks were basically nonfunctional. That's right, the situation was worse than this picture makes it look!



This picture actually shows the huge dent in the doorknob. We have no idea how the previous residents inflicted this damage on this poor, already homely knob. What you can't see is that deadbolt doesn't actually have a bolt. That's right, they just attached the front and back of a locking mechanism together without bothering with actual part that makes the door lock. The mind, it boggles.

Now changing a lock set is usually a rather simply little procedure. As long as you pick a lock set that fits into the preexisting holes on your door, read the directions before hand, and know how to work a screwdriver you should be able to do this job quickly and well. So Jeremy set out to complete this little project while I went to make dinner (how stereotypical of us!).

Sailor language soon filled the air. Nothing about the previous locks were done correctly, meaning there was much drilling, chiseling, and undoing to get our new set in correctly. Hours passed. Many tools were used. Some neighbors learned new ways to string together blue language.

The end, though, is fantastic.



The much improved interior view, complete with a deadbolt that actually locks! We debated a bit over what we wanted our hardware to look like, but we went with something simple, befitting the overall style and scale of the house. The oil rubbed bronze finish goes with the house while still looking modern. It'll look even better when we paint the inside of the door a nice, soft khaki color to match the rest of the trim.


The exterior shot. I love seeing all of the colors our door has been. Currently it is hunter green, but apparently it has also been bluish-gray and yellow. We look forward to sanding some of those layers away and painting the door a nice terra cotta color.

Eventually. For now we are simply enjoying being able to lock the door behind us.

Feeling Stripey

So with a to-do list beginning to resemble War and Peace obviously what I need to do is focus on cool paint effects for the hallway.

The hallway must be perfect. It directly links every room in the house save for the kitchen. And it is tiny. Super, super tiny. So I want it to serve as a link between the other rooms in the house while also making an interesting design statement in its own right.

So...I've been thinking about horizontal stripes. This wouldn't be the first time painted stripes and I made friends. I went a tiny bit crazy with them in my first place back in the late nineties (purple and cream, friends, purple and cream).

So before all you think well, Tracie, welcome to the trend of 2008 consider this:


I found this picture in a 1976 decorating book I've had for ages (The New Complete Basic Book of Decorating by William E. Hague). The metallic stripes actually make me think of Martha Stewart's new line of metallic paints at Home Depot. Jeremy is itching to use them in our bedroom, but more about that later. I think this picture still looks fresh and modern...except for the silver vertical blinds.


 

 

Wall Stripes | Jonathan Klunk - Interior Design Blog |.

A newer picture. I love the scale of the stripes. I'm considering Martha Stewart's Burlap for the main color, and I think the darker Chocolate Ganache would look fabulous as the skinnier stripe.

 

 

Home Office Makeover for Mom by Jen Chu Professional Project | Apartment Therapy San Francisco.

This picture was actually the inspiration for this post. I've been meditating on stripes for awhile, but I liked this picture so much I realized I needed to talk about them. Obviously.

 

 

Our First House | Young House Love.

Love the crispness.

Has anyone played the stripe game at their abode?