Monday, June 25, 2007

From the Outside

Here is my new little window - it came with the black finish on the outside and we will (probably not this year, but hopefully next) paint the rest of the windows black, with white trim and grayer house paint all over. New gutters are on the list too.

window

Saturday, June 23, 2007

I just have to say...

I just have to say... there is SOMETHING about a brand new window with double panes that comes with a screen that opens and closes and locks securely.... seriously, it's nice. It ALMOST makes me think Frank might be right about replacing some of our old, adorably charming drafty ones. Maybe...

Look! A Hole in the Wall!

look, a hole in the wall!

Tyger thinks this is just his kind of thing.

I like this very much!

strettttchhhhhh

OOOh fresh air...

No Mom, I'm fine, really, don't bother me.

And then there was a window (this is the future powder room):

new window

Friday, June 22, 2007

My Working Studio

Well... what a crazy week (or was it two?) since I last posted. First of all, my hood did not work and it was SUCH a disappointment. After several days of trying things, the best solution ended up being a sheet of metal acting as a baffle. It works fine now, but is definitely not as easy on the eyes as before. I will probably change it to something else, down the road...

But here it is, mostly done on the outside, it just needs a little patio and path so I don't have to walk in the mud to get to it.

It has a skirt

Inside, it still needs the trim painted, but we rushed getting the stuff out there because we have a house guest and needed to make some room in my old art room for a guest bed. So it will get painted eventually, and shouldn't be too much of a hassle to do it even though all my "junk" is now out there. I also need some storage, shelving, art on the walls... it's definitely not feeling homey yet, but it sure is NICE to hang out there and melt glass!

Here is my lampwork bead making side:

melting side

And here is my jewelry creation side:

beading side

Thank you everyone for all your nice comments along the way - it HAS been fun watching it go up! But I sure am glad it's just about done and I can get back to work again creating beautiful things. And Frank can get back to working on the house and all the bathroom remodel stuff. Yay! xoxo, Pam

Sunday, June 10, 2007

Lotsa Progress!!!

Oh, what a good weekend this was for the studio. Frank just about knocked himself out though - he had to dig this ditch so the electricians can come this week and electrify my studio -and he dug most of it in torrential downpours:

ditch

ditch done

Then he started hanging the trim inside:
trim hung

And while he was doing that, I painted some trim outside (just the corners - I think it looks better, don't you?):
painted corners white

AND THEN!!! We hung the hood - oh, we are SO close now!!! It's just too exciting!
hood up

Friday, June 08, 2007

Two more house plan ideas

This one keeps the greatroom theme - which would allow flexibility in dining room/living room placement. Maybe a wall of french doors instead of just the one?

houselayoutchimney3

This one has two tricky issues - one is that red chimney that would have to be moved (hot water tank exhaust) and the other is the roof line/ceiling levels. But it would leave a nice dining area by the fireplace and a bigger living room area. No separate office/den area though.

houselayoutideachimney

Oh, the decisions....

Thursday, June 07, 2007

Veggie Babies

Part of the dream - a real veggie garden. Only these will be in pots, rather than the ground. Hope they do well. Baby cukes, baby green beans, baby tomatoes. I also have strawberries and raspberries growing.

cukes

beans

tomats

The Latest Bright Idea

Not that I don't have enough going on here... but now I have another major remodel in mind. I swear when I bought this place I thought I wanted it "as is". But, a year later, it's not working out that way. I realized the other day, as I was getting a drink for a friend and she sat down on my only stool in my tiny kitchen and refused to get up and move to another spot in the house, leaving me standing as usual (as they all seem to do, no matter how much I hint about let's-go-sit-down-in-the-other-room), that I just need a bigger kitchen. One where people can sit and chat and drink and eat and relax. I admit, I was wrong... the small kitchen may be efficient and cozy, but it's not right for our real life.

SO. I've decided. I'm going to move the wall out to the edge of the dining room, stealing that space and doubling my kitchen size. Then I'll have room for a big island/table in the middle of the room.

This, of course, is not just as simple as moving one wall and redoing a kitchen... oh NO! Of course not. Now it leaves me without a dining room. Which means stealing the covered porch and capturing that space and making it part of the house. And moving the french doors. And putting another wall up to separate the living room from the dining room. And somehow out of all of this, we will end up, possibly, with a home offic/den/library room as well. Oh, and let's not forget the new foyer entryway that MUST go along with this remodel project. Sheesh. I do not know how to do anything SMALL, do I?

Ok, here are some illustrations so you can see what is going on in this brain of mine. This is the current main floor layout:

houselayout

The rooms in question currently look like this - kitchen first with the obviously TOO comfortable stool. The root of all my problems - maybe I should just remove it and that would be the end of it? Hah.

kitchen

The living room/dining room. Notice the loft - the wall I'm proposing will drop down there at the end of the loft, doubling my kitchen size:

livingroom

And from the other end - out those two windows by the buffet, is the covered porch I'm thinking of capturing as indoor space:

livingroom

And this is the current TV room - the room you walk into from the front door:

tvroom

OK now. The dreaming part. I am thinking of a farm kitchen. Or cottage/farm kitchen. Old fashioned, with modern appliances. Beautiful but practical. Usable. Roomy. Beautiful. Always beautiful. Must. Be. Beautiful.

Frank would like a kitchen/family room - you know the kind - all one big happy room. Like our old house. I would not like that as I think it gets too noisy when you combine the rooms. But I do sometimes see the appeal when it comes to entertaining. There ARE times that would be nice. And so part of the bright idea includes this compromise - a sliding barn-like door that opens the kitchen up to the living room, or closes it off. Where the door opens it reveals a bar with stools that tuck under. When it's closed it is just more counter space in the kitchen. Ingenious. Though I can't claim the idea as mine, I spotted it today in the new Sunset magazine. Here's their picture:

kitchenidea

If we did that... and the other ideas... then there would be walls to arrange furniture along in the fireplace room and I could put comfy couches, chairs and an entertainment center/armior in there for the TV. Which would free up the TV room to be an office/library/den/whatever. And the dining room could go at the end in the new captured space with a lovely view of the garden and yard.

So, with that in mind, here is a new, possible layout for the house. The dotted line in the kitchen wall indicates the sliding door. Note the new foyer, the new dinging room and the tv room turned office. The grey box in the new dining room is a chimney to the furnace/hotwater tank... but I think that's workable, perhaps some built-ins around it to disguise it? Something - it looks like the only snag to the whole project... besides the when, how, and how much, and where will that come from? Still very much in dream stages, but it could work, right? Even though the dining room is all the way across the other side of the house? How far is too far?

houseplan

Or would I just be better off if I took that comfy stool right out of the kitchen? Nah... that's no fun. A girl needs some dreams, after all.

Sunday, June 03, 2007

Painted

This is Big!! We got the studio painted and it's SO cute! I just love it, though the "cape cod grey" I picked out seems a little lighter than I was really thinking. I'm just not the best paint picker am I? I think it has something to do with lacking patience. Anyway.... It's done and I'm happy.

painted

Not too much left to do before I'm out there melting glass and creating again. Interior trim, hanging the hood, punching a hole for the propane hose, cleaning off the dusty grouted floor and sealing it, and getting the electrician back out to do the finish work. Outside just needs a lattice skirt and some plants!