DAILY DANNY

Spending a Day at Home

I took the day off recently to spend the day to just work on the house.   I've been running around the country like a crazy man and I guess I felt like I was neglecting the new house.   So I scheduled a day to polish things up, paint trim, and begin the long (but fun!) decorating process.

I took this snap shot because I loved the "work-in-progress" look of it all.    The vintage metal ladder was left behind in the house and it's been so wonderful to have on hand.    It's one of those unusual ladders that can be a five different ladders in one.   Here, it's the typical kind.   Flip a few switches, and it's a very long single ladder that I can use to change lightbulbs way up on the ceiling.   Flip a few more switches, and it's a mini ladder that I can to balance a piece of wood on for a quick work table.   

But I took this photo because I thought it actually looked cool in the room, standing next to a pile of artwork on the floor and my new JCPenney Studio "boardwalk" club chairs.    The breezy linen drapes and the dapple of daylight coming in from outside...  something felt just right about this total look.

 

This tablecloth is one of my favorites and I bought it in early January at a sample sale in NYC.   It's from designer John Robshaw and I am so happy I snatched it up.   It looks great on this table with the old wooden chairs and chandlestick.   I'm still hunting for the right dining table... but for now, this will do.

Hanging Art

I've been collecting art for the new house for a few weeks now.   I've grabbed a flea market find here and there.... swiped a painting from my current house and brought it over to the new house... and framed some "found art" that I found in the house when I moved in (like these squirrel drawings and some blueprints found in the hall closet).

I've hung artwork in all of my houses uses a very simple trick to get perfect results without having a million holes in the wall trying to get the layout right.   I use recycled paper brown paper to make templates and hang those up first for placement.

Just trace the art on paper and cut it out with scissors.  If you score the paper sharply enough, you might be able to fold the score marks and cleanly rip the template right out.

Here's a signed photograph portrait of Nelson Mandela.  This was shot by my friend Kwaku Alston, a famous photographer out in Los Angeles.   Kwaku and I worked together on a photo shoot in Australia years ago and he sent me this photograph as a thank you gift.   I love it. 

Here is a stack of finished templates.   On each one, be sure to write what type of artwork it is.   I've made the mistake of not doing this in the past and forgot which sheet went with what artwork.   

 

Here are all the templates taped onto the wall.    I used a low-tack painter's tape so it wouldn't take off paint from the walls when I moved the papers around the wall.   I think I moved it around 10 times before I was happy with the layout.

And voila!   

Squeaky Clean Crafting Idea

Out in bookstores now is a guide to creating a healthier home from the founders of Method cleaning products.     The book---Squeaky Green---covers everything you need to know how to thoroughly and properly clean your home, top to bottom, in the most non-toxic way possible.    I wrote the foreword to the book and threw in a couple of helpful tips here and there throughout.   The next time you're at your local bookstore, take a look!

One of the craft projects that made the cut was this adorable bird feeder.    If you shop at Costco, you can find the refill size for Method's popular hand soaps.    The tear drop bottle is so iconic and beautiful, that I thought once all the hand soap is used up, why not recycle the container itself?

To make this bird feeder, all you have to do is cut out a hole in the front and back of the bottle.  Then insert a plastic ring (this one is about 1 1/4" wide and I got it in the plumbing section of the hardware store).    If you cut the hole slightly smaller than the ring, it should be snug and hold without the need for glue.

Use a large cork to plug the top and twist some wire around the "ribs" at the top so you can easily hang the feeder.

Fill with feed, insert branch and hang!

Sure, it's not the most squirrel-proof feeder out there, but I think it's rather adorable.  And easy to make!    

Glass House Windows

I love Spring. 

One moment, the trees are barren.   You go away for a week, and you find a forest of green when you come home.

One of the big reasons I bought this new house was the amazing marriage of modern, clean lines of the house with the lush, green landscape surrounding the house.     I always thought of it as a glass house in the middle of the woods; big giant windows overlooking lush, green forests.   

In the winter time, when I was doing the renovations, it was hard to remember why I even bought the house.   It was cold, dark, and BLAH.     But now it's such a joy to be inside the house and looking out the big windows. 

A serene shot from the guest bedroom.   The gunmetal canopy bed has been set-up; all it needs is a new Simmons Natural Care by Danny Seo mattress!

And a corner shot from my master bedroom.   The room is totally undecorated.   But it overlooks a deep ravine of nothing by trees.  I can't wait to wake-up to the sunrise!    I can imagine sitting at a desk working on something while peeking out the window to see wildlife roaming around.   

Air Plant

I got a plant in the mail recently.   Yes, a live, living plant.

It was a gift from the Los Angeles nursery Rolling Greens.   If you're ever in the Los Angeles area, a visit to Rolling Green would turn even the biggest brown thumb into an aspiring green thumb.   It's so lush and mindblowing with the vast array of plants in all of their greenhouses.

But this plant arrangement is something totally different: an air plant.    It's a piece of driftwood with arid-loving plants embedded inside.   A black metal chain is screwed into the middle for easy hanging.

Here, I hung the air plant in my shower.   The directions say to mist it every week or so to keep it alive.  I figure the mist from the shower will be enough to keep it watered.   The directions also say the plant will live on nutrients from the air, too.

So, for anyone who really has a brown thumb, this air plant might be the trick to keeping plants alive at home.

And speaking of plants, I got this Magnolia tree at my home the other day.  What a surprise!  It was a birthday gift from my agent in Los Angeles.    Her name is Maggie... so I bet she figured MAGNOLIA would remind me of her!   I can't wait to plant it in my yard!

Plated Wall

A few posts back, I wrote about buying these metal plates at the Renninger's Antique Extravaganza.  I loved the plates because of their geometric shape and shiny, pewter-like finish.    And since I had a set of eight dishes in a number of sizes, I thought they would looked lovely hung on a wall in the new house.

Here's the finished result.    I originally hung them all up so the sides were all straight.  But I felt it looked TOO perfect.   So I just twisted some of the plates to make them more pinwheel in design, and I think the finished arrangement looks so much better.

Hanging plates is actually a very easy thing to do.  Just start with a center plates and start hanging plates to the left, right, top and bottom.  No measuring is needed; if you eyeball it to your best ability, you can actually achieve pretty perfect results!

Green Roof?

Here's a photo of a green roof example I saw at the GreenBuild show out in Chicago a few months ago.  I've had it saved on my digital camera for months now... because it has been a small obsession of mine to do the roof of my new house as a "living" roof.

Even as more and more contractors are embracing green, it's funny how I still get strange looks from people telling them I plan on doing a living roof.   I can only imagine they think I plan on hauling bags of peat moss and topsoil to the roof to grow corn or wheat or whatever...  not realizing that a green roof is something totally different.

One of the advantages of owning a home with a flat roof is that it can easily be adapted to a living roof.   What basically happens is that palettes of sedums are placed on top of the roof.   That's it.   The palettes are basically metal trays (with drainage) filled with lightweight lava rock with easy-to-maintain sedums tucked in here and there.   Over time, they grow and fill in the tray and basically take care of themselves.

The advantages of a living roof are many: a lush, green roof is one, of course.   But also, it helps maintain the longevity and life of the roof... cools during the summer (since the hot sun's rays aren't beating down on a black roof).... and, of course, the living plants help fight global warming, too.

So, I'm off to see what this little project is going to cost me... I'll keep you posted.

Plated Wall

Flea markets and antique fairs are always hit or miss.  Over the weekend, I stopped by the Renninger's Extravaganza in Kutztown, PA and had a whopping (sarcasm alert) 45 minutes to run through a few hundred stands looking for small treasures for my new house.   Since when do I have so many meetings on a Saturday?   But I digress...

One of my favorite finds were these octagonal metal plates I found at one of the last booths I stopped by.   There was a whole set of 32 plates broken down into (8) large dinner plates (8) salad plates (8) dessert size ones and (8) itty, bitty plates that I have no idea what they are supposed to be used for.  The dealer told me there were from the 1950's... never used... and could be mine for a bargain price. 

Here are some of the plates back home, all airtight sealed in plastic bags that look like were sealed at least a decade ago.    I took my scissors and opened up each package, picked at the price tag stickers, and threw them into the dishwasher.    There was a warning on one of the old, faded stickers saying to avoid using a dishwasher since it would fade and age the plates.... but that's exactly what I wanted... so into the Bosch washer they went....

When I get around to it, I'm planning to actually mount the plates to a wall in the new house.  I love the idea of pewter-y silver against dark gray walls.    In my other house, I've mounted plates to walls, too.  I love the look!    Here's my front porch with pie tins against a blue painted wall....

And here are my handmade reglazed silhouette plates in the craft room.  More plates, the better!    (PS-The metal stools in this room were moved to my new house into the craft room there.   They looks so much better in the new house!)

Backyard Eco Makeover

Okay, isn't this outdoor dining room set-up gorgeous?  When I took a look at my digital shots on the plane ride home from Los Angeles, I was so happy with this end result.

One of the other projects I worked on in LA was a makeover on the backyard of Access Hollywood co-anchor Maria Menounos.   It was filmed for a segment on the upcoming "Access Green" and was also shot for the pages of Life and Style magazine.   Because it was shot for the magazine, I can't share the "overall" images, but I couldn't resist sharing a detail shot with all of you.

This long farmhouse table was filled with a simple galvanized bucket from the hardware store and wildflowers.    JCPenney simple white dishes were stacked up (ready to be filled with yummy salads and sandwiches), pink glass JCPenney tumblers brimmed with organic lemonade, and my favorite JCP capiz shell lanterns were waiting to be lit up.

I loved the look of Maria's old deck chairs, so I thought all they needed was something fun to dress them up.  Our lead stylist Jules Moore came up with this clever idea using JCPenney bamboo throw rugs:

How fresh and modern does that look?    So simple and so perfect.

Anyway, that's all I can share.  I will say Maria was absolutely wonderful and engaging; we had so much fun shopping and shooting the segment at the JCpenney store in Glendale, CA.   Thank you to the professional and kind associates there; you made it easy!

Peg Board Holder

The previous owner set-up this peg board system in the craft room and I decided to leave it up and intact.

I've started to hang random crafting and home improvement tools on the wall.   And I just love how they take on a strong artistic look as the collection builds.   The pop of yellow from the hammer...the spiraly look of the hole puncher...even the deep red from the scraper.

I plan on painting the peg board a vibrant color---maybe Kelly Green?---as I add more hooks and tools.

Almost all of these tools are used or vintage in nature.   I really don't think it's terribly important to buy new hardware when you're planning on using it just sporadically. Believe it or not, flea markets are a great place to find a well-loved tool for very little money.  Plus, having splatters of paint here and there just adds charm and character.

Kitchen Re-Do

So, one of the things I loved about this house was all the original architectural touches left untouched throughout.    I loved this custom made metal vent hood in the kitchen: the clean lines, the simplicity of it, the bright pop of orange from the vent hood.

But as the tile went up and the color scheme in the house stayed consistent, this orange hood just began to stand out a bit too much.   It may not be obvious in the photo, but the orange did clash with the green tile.   So I decided to neutralize it by painting it black:

I bought one of those paint sample cans and put in 3 coats of black paint.   Yes, it's plain and simple.   And I know lots of you love color... but I think once all the "living" elements of the house are in place---large apothecary jars full of food, bowls and plates, etc---we'll have enough color and warm elements in the house.    So, for now, I am fond of the black vent hood.

I've begun painting the existing kitchen cabinets a steely gray.  They were all beat up wood cabinets (in good shape) that I thought needed some easy updating.  So I filled in the holes with wood putty, sanded them down, painted them with a coat of primer and added two coats of gray flat paint.  I swapped out the old knobs for simple black bronze ones and voila!   New cabinets.

Another shot of the repainted cabinets.   I love how the little black knobs just POP in the kitchen.  It's beginning to take on a cool, industrial look.

And for fun, my new library area in the craft room.   I kept the existing shelves and vintage light fixtures and even rescued the paint splattered ladder for this room.  I'm beginning to stack old books and magazines on the shelves.     Underneath will be going two Smith and Hawken wicker rockers, perfect for relaxing. 

Pot Kitchen Stool

You find the most unique ideas when you least expect it.

I was in New York City for some meetings and decided to stop by Crumbs Bakery and pick-up a dozen cupcakes for my next meeting.   On a side note: if you haven't been to Crumbs in NYC, pack your bag and go.   It's addictive.    And there's nothing healthy at all about it.   But worth every calorie.

Any way... as I was walking down Broadway with a tray of cupcakes, I stopped by this kitchenware store and saw this ingenious idea for a kitchen stool.   It's just a large stainless steel pot inverted on top of an old metal stool.   The existing seat was all worn and falling apart; adding the inverted pot on top cleaned it up and made it a functional stool.

Washing Bottles

I get so many comments about this bottle collection idea featured in the April issue of Body+Soul.  It was photographed at my house on the Delaware River and it's definitely one of my favorites: Just fill a square tray with a mix/match collection of vintage bottles and containers and fill them up with cuttings of wildflowers.

But lots of people have asked me, "how on Earth do you clean them?"    They seem to think I'm sitting here week in and week out dusting, polishing and scrubbing these bottles clean.   On the contrary: think dishwasher.

Just load the dishwasher with all the bottles and make sure they're spout side down; that way, water won't be collecting inside the bottles as they wash themselves clean.

The cutlery tray is perfect for smaller bottles.  They seem to fit snug inside and get really clean; no worry about small bottles slipping through and cracking.

20 minutes later, steamy cleaned bottles ready to be re-arranged on the tray.   How easy was that?

Wicker Boxed Gift Set

At a store called Gristie's near my house in Bucks County, PA, I found a couple of things that I think will make perfect gifts for my friends and business colleagues.   

In my company, I work with a number of people who help me in my day-to-day business, so it frees up times for me to think of creative projects and ideas for our TV shows, books, magazines and other projects.   There was a time where I spent all day long just focusing on the business of my company and never found time to be creative.   So, I am forever grateful to my team for helping me.  In other words, I am constantly thinking of creative ways to thank them for their help.

One of my agents out in Los Angeles will be getting this antique picnic basket full of delicious local treats.   Here's the vintage basket I found at Gristie's:

The basket was in remarkable shape and it was quite the steal at just $14.    So, off I stopped at the local farmer's market and picked up a selection of locally made treats:

Salsas, pickles, jellys and jams....  then I'll add a bunch of organic dried lavender and wonderful homemade soaps from a local farm nearby.   I'll wrap everything up carefully in eco-friendly recycled paper "packaging" wrap and tie the whole thing up with ribbon.

Hope he enjoys it!

Antique Shopping

I had a scavenger day a week ago and had so much fun seeking, searching, shopping and snapping away with my trusty digital camera.

One antique shop I decided to stop by was one of those that I constantly drove right on by.  It wasn't because I didn't want to stop inside, it was because it was never open when I drove by.  But this time, I saw the door open and pressed the brakes to a stop.

This store specializes in antique beds of all shapes and sizes.  I've been on the hunt for several beds for the new house and just completely overwhelmed by all the choices out there.    Do I want new?  Old? or no bed frame at all?   The hunt continues.     Above was a contender for the guest house: a solid antique rope bed with "acorn" finials.

Another one in Queen size (which is rare with older beds) was this one: I love the whimsical look of this one and the light tones in the wood.  I thought this would be fun in a guest room with one of my Simmons Natural Care by Danny Seo mattresses sans boxspring.   Two bamboo fiber bed pillows and the best organic cotton sheets from JCPenney.   Oh gosh, I'm getting sleepy... better continue...

Here's a great pic of row after row of antique beds.  So many fun styles to choose from...

Okay, so in a store full of beds, what do I fall in love with?   This bookcase.   I think it's Adirondack/Gustavian style... and it was in amazing condition.   It was a bit pricey (I won't say how much), but not terribly out of question.  Plus, it's definitely one-of-a-kind and the knowledgeable store owners would deliver and set it-up for free.   I thought this would look great in the master bedroom full of books, extra blankets, candles and a whole writing set of journals and pencils to write down thoughts...   

Hidden Treasures

What a surprise!

One of the fun things about owning an older home is that you never know what you're going to find.   Case in point: I was looking around the craft studio bathroom and decided to remove some things off the wall to give the room a good cleaning.   After I removed the mirror, I found this little box in the wall!   A safe! 

Oh, what treasures will I find in the safe?  Will it be a stack of cash?  Diamonds?  Gold?  Jewelry?   I actually felt a little excited at this moment...just wondering: What on Earth could be in there?   

Game over!   All that I found was this empty bank envelope for "First National Bank."   It looked old, but was empty.   

But still: how fun is this?   Restoring an old home can give you unexpected surprises here and there: some good, some bad.   All in all, it's worth it.

Loud and Clear...

I hear ya all loud and clear:  I won't paint the duct work in the craft room! 

Actually, standing in the room today, I was getting used to it.  I think what I will do is swap out the white vents and strip them down to the galvinized metal so it's all stainless steel.   

Thank you for your comments!  It really helped and it did change my mind!

Weekend Random Thoughts

I found this vintage chair in an antique store in Lambertville, NJ.   I ALMOST bought it, but decided I didn't quite want it.    But I love the unique design of the chair; it's a collapsible canvas chair with two belts as arms on the chair.   Yes, I realize it looks a bit dingy in the photo, but in person it had a great, well-loved patina to it.   But like I said, I passed. 

I thought this was a cool recycling center station at Los Angeles International Airport.   As I waited for my flight back to Philadelphia, I took this shot; I like how it looks modern and cool, but has just the right shaped slots for the various recyclables.   There's no way you can accidentally toss an aluminum can into the paper slot.    I actually stood there and cleaned out my bags of scrap paper and notes so I could recycle them.    Multi-tasking!

Speaking of notes, one of the most commonly asked questions I get when I give lectures is "where do you get your ideas?"   I get inspired all the time at totally different places, so I am constantly emailing myself notes and drawing on slips of paper here and there.   They all end up in an "inspiration" binder that is overflowing with paper.    I thought I'd share an idea that was jotted onto a piece of paper when I stayed at The Bowery Hotel in NYC.   This one is for a leather floor basket made from old belts.    I STILL have to make one...  hmm..note to self.

Polishing the new wood floors

I heart Method.   And I love their new OMOP wood floor care kit.

Originally, Method's eco-answer to the Swiffer was packaged in a clear, plastic box.  Great green product on the inside, not so green plastic on the outside.    Now, they've gone back to the eco drawing board and repackaged it in eco-friendly bamboo fiber.    Here's a close shot of the embossed messaging:

The packaging is totally biodegradable and compostable, so I took it with me back to my cottage house and shredded it for the compost bin (I don't have one yet at the new house.  Spring project!).

I love microfiber towels, so I was happy to see a removable and machine-washable microfiber pad for the OMOP.  Just attach to the velcro strips, squirt seom of the OMOP cleaning fluid onto the floor, and wipe away.   Shiny floors.    Correction: Shiny brand new floors!

Oh, and a shot of something that puts a smile on my face: my new bamboo cutting board.   It is designed to sit inside the Kohler designed sink.  So I can chop vegetables right in the sink and push the peels and skins into a compost bucket.  No mess and no fuss.   And it just looks cool, too.   I can't wait to cook in the new house!

Painted Duct Work?

The super energy efficient heating/cooling system is installed and up and running!   

In the craft room, we found the easiest and most efficient way to heat/cool the space was to install a strip of exposed duct work from the ceiling.   I have really tall ceilings in the house, so hanging this duct work from the ceiling does nothing to make it feel confined.  In fact, I think it actually accentuates the height!

Anyway, I have been looking at the shiny galvanized metal and now I'm thinking I'm going to paint the whole thing a matte, solid color.  So, I need your help choosing a color...

DARK BLUE

CHOCOLATE BROWN

LIGHT BLUE

MINTY GREEN

All of these colors are from Serena and Lily's eco-friendly paint line.    Thanks for your help and input!

Walls and Art

Okay, so I over-ordered too much glass tile from Shaw.  I admit it.   So I am going a bit crazy tiling things around the house.    At least we're in the final stretch now of this 3 month renovation.  Just the other day, I was on the phone with Comcast booking the day they'll turn on the TV, phone and high speed Internet.  I am still in denial that it's almost ready to move-in!

Above is the kitchen backsplash behind the stove.   I had the entire wall tiled with the same tile in the bathrooms.   In this very tall kitchen, it's so dramatic and beautiful.  I am beyond thrilled with the results. 

 

With the next fun step of decorating on my mind, I get to re-visit some of the pieces that were left behind in the house.   I love this large mobile artwork and have been racking my brain where to hang it in the house.  Originally, it was hung in the kitchen... but now I'm thinking it'll go into the living room.      

Luxe Eco Lab

The folks at Kohler had a sneak peek preview of an amazing new bath product in NYC recently.  They held the event at a studio space called Luxe Laboratory.  I thought there were some interesting things in the space, so I grabbed my digital camera and snapped away.   Above is a gorgeous top-of-the-line kitchen with white Icestone recycled glass/concrete countertops and backsplashes.   I love Icestone (it's in my own house) and love how it works as a massive backsplash.    For the look of rich marble but without the drilling, Icestone is a great way to go.

This tablebase is amazing.   In my book "Simply Green Parties" I took a tree trunk (since the tree fell down) and used it as a tablebase for an outdoor table.   Here's a similar idea using large driftwood with a very large piece of glass on top.  I love the marriage of wild natural with modern glass.

And no, your eyes are not fooling you: these flowers are arranged upside down.   Basically, a fresh cutting of hydrangea is inserted into the glass cap with water-soaked oasis.   Insert base and display.  A different way to show a simple flower.   

Belted Rug

I was virtual window shopping today and came across this interesting rug from Branch Home.

It's made entirely from vintage leather belts, all artfully arranged and stitched together to make a large area rug.  This one measures about 27.5" in diameter, and I think could be an interesting rug in an office or even a great tablecloth for a round table.

So, this has me thinking about vintage leather belts now:   one idea that I am absolutely obsessed with is buying a junkie stripped steel lounge chair and replacing the broken PVC strips with leather belts to create a leather lounge chair.  Confused?   You'll have to wait until I make it to see what I'm talking about....

Dryer Lint Use

The other day, I was cleaning around the house and thought, "you know, I should really clean out the lint trap in the dryer."  So I pulled out the trap and found a huge mass of lint.

I've written about different reuse ideas for dryer lint in the past.  You can place it in the yard, for example, and birds will come and pick it up and use it feather their nest. You can also use it as a firestarter in the fireplace or BBQ; just light it with a match and it'll get the fire roaring.  I've heard people who use it to stuff pillows, too.

Anyway, as I was holding the mound of dryer lint in my hands, I noticed how soft it was.    And here's what I discovered: It makes the absolute best buffing cloth for cleaning around the house.    I took it to the range where it soaked up greasy stains and polished up stainless steel to perfection.   Then I flipped it and buffed the countertops clean with just a few spritz of Method's Go Naked all-purpose cleaing spray.   

Before I knew it, the kitchen looked spotless and clean and I could toss the dryer lint away, full of dirt, grime and who knows what else.

Lettered Rocks

Back in the March issue of Country Home was a profile of designer Lily Kanter's house in Mill Valley, CA.   One of the craft projects I came up with for the shoot was to take a bowl full of simple river rocks and personalize them with stick on letters from an alphabet set.

For years, I've loved letting weekend guests go down to the river or woods and pick up rocks that they love, sign them with a Sharpie, and then add them to a large apothecary jar in the kitchen.

This is a fresher, cleaner and more modern approach.   You can find the alphabet stickers in most craft stores and just spell out whatever words you want on the rocks.

You can do all of your family's names....say a message of WELCOME to guests....or just number them 1-10 and use them all over the house when you need to keep things in order. 

Nested Centerpiece

So, the last week I've been putting together the layout for my new 2009 calendar called The Simply Green Home.   It's been a lot of fun choosing photos, writing tips and working with the calendar publisher to not only do a gorgeous calendar, but one that features minimal packaging (no plastic shrink wrapping) and recycled content (from really, truly recycled paper).   

One of the photos I'm particularly excited about is the one above: it's two green wreaths twisted together to make a giant "nest" of sorts as a centerpiece.   This was originally shot for an at-home Christmas story at my house for LIFE magazine about 2 years ago.   So I contacted the photographer to buy the rights for the calendar because I just loved everything about the shot.  And I also love the simplicity of the idea, too.

You can just place pomegranates inside and they'll dry out naturally.   It's one of those centerpiece ideas that lasts almost forever, so you set it out and forget about it.    

Two Decorating Ideas

I'm looking forward to the twice-annual Renninger's Antique Extravaganza outside of Kutztown, PA this Spring.    I always try to make it to this flea-market-on-steroids because you never know what amazing things you can find.   And with a new home in dire need of furniture and accessories, I have a more immediate need than ever before to go.       This year, it falls during the week of April 21st---Earth Week---and I am doing everything humanly possible to keep at least one day that week open so I can scavenge the market.    Earth Week, you see, is probably my busiest week of the year.   

Anyway, what I want to do for the hallway in the new house is do an eclectic mismatched gallery of different types of artwork: photographs, pencil drawing, oil painting, etc.    I love the one-of-a-kind look and I think I can achieve this by slowly picking up inexpensive flea market art here and there.     The above shot is the staircase in a Ralph Lauren store in Atlanta, GA.   

And here is a simple idea in taking mismatched vases, compotes and other dishes and doing a grouping of cut flowers.   Even floppy tulips look elegant by having them stay enclosed inside of vases.   Glass and crystal containers are SO EASY to find at flea markets, so I will defintely be stocking up.   Can anyone guess where I took this shot?

Water Smart Showerhead

I was recently in New York City for a party sponsored by Kohler and actually got to meet family members who actually had the last name Kohler!    I thought that was pretty cool, because you rarely meet people with bear the last name of the namesake company.    It would be like meeting someone named Fred Starbucks, if the company was started by someone with the last name Starbucks.  And you say, "oh, i Love Starbucks!"     So, here I am meeting a Kohler family heir and professing my love for (of all things) bathroom sinks.

In the gift bag was something I actually needed: a super water efficient massaging showerhead.   My showerhead that I've had in my bathroom was terrible; sure, it was water efficient and looked nice, but the water pressure felt like the shower was just spitting on you.      Before that, I had one of those inexpensive aerating showerheads that pumped lots of air into the water; it felt like millions of tiny aquatic nails were attacking you in the shower.     It had to go.

This WaterSense approved one from Kohler is amazing.   It uses just 1.5 gallons per minute, has numerous settings (although, I prefer just one setting), and it took just 20 seconds to install.   I wish I had grabbed extra gift bags at this event, so that I could give away extras as prizes on this blog.    But if you're in the market for one, look for Kohler WaterSense approved showerheads.   I definitely approve.

Good (Hardworking) Friday

Last Friday was a very long day.   It started with a 5AM wake-up call where I was walking down a quiet Fifth Avenue in New York City with a giant box of Easter props: dyed eggs, baskets, candy boxes, decorations and much more.  With the new set at CBS, we have to dress the set way before the 7AM show start, hence the super early morning rise and shine.    It was Good Friday and I was doing a segment on CBS The Early Show about throwing an eco-friendly Easter.    By 830AM, the props were boxed up and I was on my way back home to Pennsylvania.

I drove straight to the new house where I was met with crews on top of crews working on the house.  I like it when it's very busy at the house because I feel like a lot is getting accomplished.   And it also reminds me to remember who has keys to the house as well! 

It's so exciting that the kitchen floors are set and grouted.   I love how the faux wood grain pattern on top "warms" up the floor and gives it interest.   Here's a tighter shot:

   

A few blog posts back, I asked for some help in choosing a kitchen countertop.   Even though the overwhelming choice was to go with an apple green color, I decided to keep it simple and go with the Manhattan Gray in a microfine finish.   These countertops are from IceStone in Brooklyn and are made entirely out of recycled glass ands concrete.    Here's the undermounted Kohler kitchen sink and countertop!   

Now that the floors and countertops are installed, all I have to do is wait for my amazing plumber to come and install the water lines throughout the kitchen.  I can't wait to see the faucets installed and ready to go.    I love this very deep kitchen sink. 

Today, I'm going to start tackling the kitchen cabinets.  It's been my goal to refinish them by painting them myself and lining the inside with cork.   I think it'll take just one day to do this.   Somehow, I think I'm underestimating the this project...

Metal Firewood Cart

Internet shopping can be a dangerous thing.    Say, you want to find an all-metal, industrial cart that could long and deep enough to hold firewood.   So you google it and nothing come up.   So you try different variations, look at Google Images to see if the photo of something looks right, and then lo and behold, there it is.

I'm going for a pure, simple, straightforward design with the new house.   I'm going to have modern elements mixed with totally bohemian/eclectic elements to create a home environment that's totally comfortable modern.   I like the idea of stacks of organic firewood resting in an industrial cart.

I got this cart from a company called Gilmore Kramer.  I don't know who they normally sell to, but it may not be a residential market.     The reason I think this is because you can't just order things off their website; you have to fill out a form and a sales rep calls you to quote a price.    See, that should've been warning sign #1 that this may be an expensive venture.

But when the truck pulled up the other day with this large metal cart (I have no idea what it's SUPPOSED to be used for) and a small one for the kitchen to hold my kitchen supplies, I swooned.   I like them.   The driver of the truck asked me if there was a restaurant inside my home.    Ha!    Off I got to stack some wood in the cart now...

$4000 Patchwork Rug

So, I was recently down in Atlanta, GA for a lecture and some meetings and I decided to stop by the Lenox Square Mall right across the street from my hotel.   I needed some post-it notes for a project and decided to pop in.   Okay, wrong kind of mall to look for post-it notes.   It's a very very high-end mall.

So, to make the best of the situation, I decided to look around and window shop.  I stopped by the Shabby Chic store and to my surprise, I found something I liked.    I am not a Shabby Chic person at all (which the sales person seemed to agree with my dark jeans and gray t-shirt and camo baseball cap) and said this rug was not "very Shabby Chic either."   Must be why I liked it.

Anyway, I need a big area rug for my new living room and was told this rug was hand-stitched together in Turkey using vintage carpet remnants.   Cool!    Not cool:  the $4000 price tag.

I am going to be shopping flea markets and buying 3-4 vintage rugs that are worn out and well loved.  Then I'm going to cut them up into random squares and handstitch them together myself using hemp string and a large needle.   Sure, it's going to take extra work.   But then I'll probably save $3500 in the process, too.

I'll keep you posted on this project...

New Lighting

Today felt a little like Christmas at the house: I went through the many boxes of lighting that showed up and began to unpack and sort through them all.   I used the large table in the (future) craft room to sort and inspect the lights.   It was pretty fun, actually.

I chose really classic and timeless pieces made with bronze casings and milky glass finishes.   These are from a company called Visual Comfort from the Thomas O'brien collection.   

I chose a milky glass finish for the fixtures because this is a great way to use energy efficient compact fluorescent lightbulbs, but without seeing the harsh, white glare from them.    So I can swap in the lights and literally forget about them for many, many years.    I chose a CFL bulb from Sylvania that has a 1000 lumens rating; that's pretty much the closest "color" light output you can get with a CFL to mimic the light output of a traditional incandescent bulb.    Basically, it's not a clinical harsh white.    And with the milky glass cover, it'll be even softer and more pleasent. 

I can't wait to see this all installed.    It'll be like Christmas all over again!

Recycling Scrap Metal: Cash for Trash

Today, all the heating baseboards throughout the house---- correction: all the bulky baseboards---were gutted out of the house.  The new super efficient heat pump heating/cooling system is up and running and I couldn't be happier.  Ripping out the baseboards gives a much cleaner and bigger look to all the rooms.   I've been waiting patiently for this day!

All of the scrap metal that was gutted out is quite valuable.  Inside the steel and aluminum framing is a ton (not literally) of heavy copper piping.    Hundreds of pounds of it, in fact.

So, knowing the value of scrap metal, I called my friends over at 1-800-GOT-JUNK to come and pick up the last remaining demolition items and recyclables.    To my surprise, they agreed to work out a deal to reduce the cost of my pick-up by the money they received in return for the scrap metal.

So, up showed two trucks this morning: one for trash, one for recyclables.   

This entire truck filled up with scrap metal from the house, where it will be brought to the local scrap metal recycling yard to be sorted, separated, weighed and paid.     Hmm.. I like that: weighed and paid.    The total amount I was paid for the scrap metal?  $405.00.    NOT. BAD. AT. ALL. 

The old boiler used for the house will be cut out and taken away.   I've already gotten several people asking for it to use in their own home.  Like I said: One man's trash is another man's treasure.

New Ceiling Fans

Ceiling fans are great for any home, since they use very little energy to help cool the home in the hot summer months, and can help draw down heat in the cool winter months.    When shopping for a new ceiling fan, I wanted something that was simple, straightforward, a tad industrial looking and not terribly expensive.   I can't tell you how excited I was to find these ceiling fans at Lowe's.   Correction: I found them at Lowe's for $64 each.    Eco Bargain!

I had them installed in the living room and love the contrast of the cedar wood ceiling with the real, stainless steel blades.    It feels modern, yet appropriate at the same time.

Here's another shot.   See the balls on the ceiling?    Yeah, I wondered, too.   Turns out they are rolled up balls of wax in a variety of colors.   Back in the day, cheese was wrapped in real wax.   When they threw parties at the house, they would roll up the balls of wax and toss them on the ceiling.  Over time, there was a collection of these waxy balls.     I've been asked CONSTANTLY if I'm going to scrape them off.   No.   It's part of the house and I plan on finding some waxy cheese soon to add to the collection come this summer!

Recycling Scrap Metal

Thought this breakdown was interesting.  The good folks at 1-800-GOT-JUNK broke down what was recycled from my house recently and how much it was worth.   Who knew scrap metal could be so valuable?

900 lbs steel @ $.05 = $45
209 lbs alum fins @ $1.45 = $303.05
42 lbs alum @ $.60 = $25.20
11 lbs copper @ $2.9 = $31.90

Eco Heating & Cooling

It's the small things in a home renovation project that can be really exciting.

I've been installing a major eco heating/cooling system throughout the house called Acadia from Hallowell Systems.  It's an all-electric system that provides super efficient heating and cooling throughout the house, at efficiencies around 70% savings compared to traditional systems like oil heat. 

With the major fluctuations of heating costs and the ease in getting wind-sourced electricity for the home, I think this is a smart investment in the long run.

I love this digital thermostat.  It feels so high tech!

I'm just excited to see it coming to fruition.   Yes, it's the little things like heat pumps that make my day.

Tiled Tub

Here's a before shot of a bathroom at the house.   It looked like a scary demo zone.  I had such a hard time imagining anything but tears and rips in a wall with a giant Kohler tub plopped right in the middle.

Here one of the showers are totally tiled and grouted!   It just needs some hospital tracking on the ceiling and a PVC-free nylon curtain (oh, yeah, and faucets and drain covers and, um, plumbing):

When I was away in Palm Springs and San Francisco for work, the tile guys came in and set the mounting boards and tile in place.   I used dark green glass tile from Shaw for the bathrooms and I am having them tiled from floor to ceiling.   It is so fun to come home to see something totally completed.

Two Simple Ideas

Here are two simple ways to dress up a bedroom.    Find a small tray and load it up with sterilized moss from the craft store.    Place small glass bottles on top and insert sprigs of wildflowers or fern clippings in.  Evolve it and let it change and grow over time. 

Shop flea markets and antique stores for inexpensive, non-descript wooden baskets.    Then print out your initials or a word on 8 X 11 1/2 copy paper and tack it onto the basket.   Use a push pin to "dot" the outline of the letters onto the basket to create a stencil.   Then use a pen knife to carve out the letters right into the basket.  The more rustic, the more handmade it looks!

(The above basket is from Serenbe in Palmetto, GA.  I know I know... I keep blogging about that place... I promise, I'll stop!)

New Dining Room Table

I'm on the hunt for a new dining room table for the house.   I want something old and antique, but not too country and not too fancy.   Something, well, different.

I stopped by a store in Lambertville, NJ that specializes in British import antiques.   I've driven past the store a million times, but never stopped in... and I am glad that I finally did the other day.

I ended up with two different contenders for the dining room in the house.   I am installing that giant Design Within Reach pendant light (it's at least 36" wide), so I thought the contrast of a beat-up wood table with a clean, retro light and a mix of different chairs could look inviting, comfortable and cool.

So, here are my contenders:  A very very long pine table or a heavy circular one right behind it.

The cost for the table is around $2300, which is pricey I have to admit.    But if you shop through different furniture catalogs and stores, it's pretty comparative.  Plus, an antique is eco-friendly since it's not using new wood...definitely one of a kind....and the quality (we must all admit) is much better since it's solid wood through and through.  Plus,the store offered free delivery, which meant I could get it right away into my house.

Thoughts?

Totally Random Updates

I've been on the road so much lately for work, that I sometimes feel like a negligent parent when it comes to renovating my new house.   But I come home whenever I can and give the house as much attention as I possibly can.    I will say it is kinda fun to go away for a few days and come back to see progress.  What's not fun is not seeing progress....fortunately, I haven't experienced that yet!

Above is my shipment of beautiful ceramic tile from Shaw Flooring.    It's a large tile with a faux wood grain pattern embedded into the ceramic.    I love this tile and will be laying it down in the kitchen in a brick pattern.   

The new Hallowell Acadia heating and cooling pumps are here.  Man, am I glad I wasn't here when they delivered these heavy systems!    They were made right here in the US in Bangor, Maine and they are truly one of the most energy efficient systems for heating/cooling a home built today.   This was a major investment on my part for the house, but it's one that I thought was important and will ultimately go a long way in saving money.    I've already elected for wind energy from Peco Energy for the house, so that's one step closer...

This is 4,530 pieces of glass tile.   Holy moly.    I decided to stick to one simple color palette for the whole house: one type of engineered wood floors, one type of wood grain ceramic, one type of recycled nylon carpet and one color and shape of glass tile.   This tile will be used in all the bathrooms, in the kitchen backsplash and anywhere else down the road that needs tiling.   There's a small bathroom in the craft room that I haven't included as part of this remodel, so perhaps that's where I can have some fun down the road.

The 600 pound Kohler cast iron tub is in and ready for the glass tile.  I am installing shower doors and water-efficient showerheads in all the bathrooms; day-to-day use will be showers, I suspect, with the occasional soak in the tub.

 

New Lighting

My new house is starting to come together from torn-up war zone to the point that I can start to see the light beyond the horizon.   

Some big boxes of new lighting just showed up and I can not wait to see them installed.   I chose new lighting with a few goals in mind: timeless design, great quality, and an ability to conceal compact fluorescent lightbulbs well to help diffuse the light as much as possible.

Above is the living room BEFORE photo.  Right now, there was a simple paper lantern light fixture by the fireplace.    I decided to replace it with a Thomas O'brien designed Hicks pendant light:

In the dining room, there was a similar paper shade light, too:

 

I shopped around for weeks and weeks looking for the right chandelier.  Everything seemed too country, or too traditional or just too wrong.   I was poking around online at the Design Within Reach website and saw this light and fell in love:

I wanted something big, dramatic, clean-looking and modern.... so, this was the winner.  I like the fact it's made entirely from recyclable steel, so it's totally easy to recycle, too.  But I am hoping that day will never, ever come....

I have to say I did invest a lot more money into lighting than I thought it would cost.   But since permanent lighting fixtures are something you see everyday and are such an important part of the room, I felt it was key to invest.   At least that's what I'm going to say to myself repeatedly when the Visa bill shows up....

New Heating & Cooling

I know renovating a home is a long process and something that just doesn't happen with the flip of a switch.   I know that... and I was prepared for that.   But there's so disturbing to come home and see giant holes in your floors.      Ugh...   I know it's temporary, but here they are: big 'ol square holes all over the house.

I'm having a super efficient, super eco heating and cooling system installed.  Pricey, yes.  But I think it's worth the time and energy to replace the aging oil heating system and get something clean-burning and super efficient.   Did I mention it was efficient?

I'll do a whole blog post about the technology behind this new system, but for now... some lovely demolition photos.

New Beds for the House

As the flooring in the new house is about to be installed, I'm faced with the new dilemma (well, not dilemma... maybe "to do" list is better) of now decorating this brand new home. 

I always love to scour flea markets and antique shops for new pieces, but I still find new furniture here and there that I think will still work with the one-of-a-kind furnishings I drag into the house.

The above bed is from Viva Terra and is called a Gustavian bed because it's inspired by Swedish royalty King Gustav who favored ornate, neoclassical design.  It's made from reclaimed wood, so it's eco-friendly and I think it has such classic, timeless design that it will last forever in this new house.

So, that's that for one of the bedrooms.

Now, onto the living room:

I feel love with this bamboo "inspired" (I quote that on purpose) from Restoration Hardware.   It's a day bed that I think could work great in the living room as a sofa.   Can you imagine curling up in it and watching a movie?

My only problem is that A: it's bamboo inspired and not made from real bamboo and B: it uses mahogany veneer which means lots of glue and rainforest woods used to make it.    So, off I go to find an antique or eco version of this day bed.   But I can still swoon over it.

New Craft Room Countertops

I recently had a large countertop installed in my new "craft" room at the house.   It was exciting to see an instant transformation of the old countertop to the new one; it was literally just tearing up the old, stained wooden countertop and sliding in the new one.  (Well, four guys lifted the very heavy countertop and put it into place).

Here's the before photo and demolition shots of the countertop:

Demo'd by my trusty contractor JB Myers:

When the countertop was demo'd, some hidden art was discovered.  It was tucked away and left behind by the previous homeowner.  I was so thrilled to find signed illustrations.  How charming are they?

I'm planning on getting them framed.  There are a few dozen of these lithograph prints, so I'm going to give them away as thank you gifts to everyone who worked so hard on this house.   Hmm...I just hope they aren't reading this blog because that would totally take the surprise away!

And here's a shot of the finished countertop in a more detail-y way.    I chose Zodiaq countertops from Lowe's Home Improvement because they are very durable, are made from quarts and are---this is key- non-porous.  All the paint, stain