Using old Wood

I'm excited to upcycle materials in a new house. To date, I have a lot of projects attempted, and next to nothing completed. I blame my space. Like Virginia Woolf said, a woman needs "a space of her own", and that is very important to me on a philosophical note. I think I have only survived this long without one because I consider my jogging routes to be "my spaces" which is way too abstract and intangible for what Woolf meant, but I do think it is how I define my sense of place living in small and smaller apartments for 10 years. Laying down on the same bluff stretching after a run grounds me and fills me with awe. I just don't have a way to give that creative energy an outlet because I get home and the kitchen is also the sewing room.

Now that we will have more than enough room to barely squeeze by each other, I am attracted to future projects, even though I may still have 3 boxes full of fabric because I can't sew, but at least I will have a way to have a creative outlet, and that's good, isn't it? Hmm, right?

J is on the same wavelength. But I feel guilty for having more space, and I don't even have it yet. I'm really confused between wanting to have a small footprint in life (living in small spaces) and having the ability to turn junk into art/functional purposes, grow more of our own food, etc,  but with that, usually having to buy and live in bigger spaces.

Nonetheless, moral dilemnas aside, J is also stoked to have his own space and "build things" from benches with trees we're cutting down to using old wood  we find (maybe unusable original wood siding under the metal crap) to make stuff.

On that note, here are some ideas for some future failure of a project for me and the Jman to attempt:

Design by Sarah Richardson and Thomas Smythe. Photograph by Stacey Brandford

Design by Claire Archambault, Photograph by Monic Richard for Maison & Demeure

Personally I hate this much rustic as seen below, but the bench is probably what we will end with, lacking the necessary design/building skills to make it into something cooler. 

Source: http://henninghouse.com/2011/07/how-to-build-your-own-rustic-wood-benches/

Of course, it works outdoors, but he imagines building benches for our dinner table, not to scrape off muddy boots, ya know?

Crazyass Sellers and Blue Ideas

Wow, this blog was supposed to be about the beauty of restoring an old home's character, but today, I can't help but make the subject about the latest goings-ons with the SALE of the home.
As you read in the last blog, the owner has been up to no-good, and the current renter is letting me know. However, I found out last night that the tenant has been playing both sides, telling my agent I promised him he could stay in the house longer than the end of the month, then telling the seller that I keep showing up, cutting up floors, etc.
It's getting a little tense. Our agent is walking on egg shells to make sure this deal goes through. She can't mention the missing play structure and she can only abstractly insinuate that there was a minor flood in the basement. Why? Because the seller is so on edge that she is threatening to back out, sell it to others who "offered more", or keep it, put in some fixes and sell for "hundreds of thousands more". What?!
It really ticks me off. She also said the neigbhour, in no uncertain terms, "hates her" ever since he put up his fence and told her he would never like her and to stay away. Well duh. I work with the neighbour and from what I have seen, I can't blame him an iota.

It's all too much.

Meanwhile, I've been pinteresting away all sorts of ideas and themes for rooms that I won't even know are mine for another few weeks.

But here goes anyways. First there is this marvellous room I am starting to tire of, which is crazy. I thought I would copy this to a tee, but now I'm starting to find it a little boring.

Source: apartmenttherapy.com via Jacqueline on Pinterest

Then there is this more cheery version of a blue room:

Source: Uploaded by user via Jacqueline on Pinterest

And lastly, a little over-the-top but at least not just blue:

Source: countryliving.com via Jacqueline on Pinterest

I'm really digging yellow these days. Well, navy, bright blues, red and yellow. I guess I am loving primary colours? I guess this is why you make inspiration boards and such. You can go through a phase. I have to narrow down what I truly, truly love, and it will probably be red and blue. Or pinks and navies? Sitting in my office with a red sweater, red coffee mug and gold jewellery, this is probably a good idea.

A new headboard from "the DIY files"

Found this fab blog called the DIY files written by Gemma and she had photos of a new headboard they, of course, DIYed.

 Doesn't this look fabulous? I want to do this!!! Here is our current bed.

Isn't it more than boring? And this photo is meant to SELL it! It meaning the condo.

So the Ikea bed hasn't stood the test of time. Not only is it college-era stuff, which is normally fine, but seeing every single tenant in our own building moving this same bed in and out over the years started to depress us. But more importantly, when we roll, or sit on the bed, it collapses underneath. The slats aren't long enough (YES, J bought the right sized slats, but they're obviously defunct).
So we need a new bed. I'm in love with the cast-iron look ala Anthro or Pottery Barn/Restoration Hardware:

Source: houzz.com via Jacqueline on Pinterest

I love white ones like above. But I also love having a headboard, grr...I can't seem to decide whether I love the romantic french style or the clean, crisp, bold style (called...???) more.

My mom especially hates the duvet cover. She thinks it looks faded. I think that was the point. She was there when it was purchased years ago (in fact, she probably did the purchasing since I'm pathetic) so she has dibs on the negative comments in this case.

I fantasize about this type of duvet from Anthro, but when I took J there to look, he was confused. Some of the bedding is really just quilts, and thin quilts. Especially the really colourful, and on-sale bedding. So I moped and pouted around the store for awhile until I realized he was right. But I can still fantasize.

This one was on sale in purple. But it happens to be the one that J poo-pooed.

Source: anthropologie.com via Jacqueline on Pinterest

Or this one, not on sale, also thin:

If only I could live somewhere that had warm summers, this quilt-y bed covering would be mine, all mine!

Source: anthropologie.com via Jacqueline on Pinterest

Gardens

I got a call from the current tenant at the house this last week. He let me know that the old tenant (as in, YEARS ago tenant) had come by to take back her (broken) washer and dryer from the basement. I think the owner of the house conned her into it, knowing that 1. this woman, like herself, is slightly insane, and 2. she did want the stuff back 2 years ago, so maybe she would come. Apparently it worked. However, they managed to break the plumbing and left a nice lake for the current tenant, thus the call to me. In actuality, the tenant really called hoping I could help him out with his move, by letting him store his stuff a couple days into July. But after seeing the pigsty that is their house last time I was there, there is no longer any way I could do this and still legally say the house was in the a liveable condition.
SO! Long story short, the w/d is gone, which is fine. There may be water damage, so we'll need to see the house pre-possession. And, he let me know that the same tenant returned, dug up a bunch of perennials AND took down and loaded up "her" play structure in the backyard. Which was in our contract. Yeah. Now we have a firepit, which was hidden by the structure. This is all so crazy right?
Here is the new backyard, taken by me as "evidence" that the structure was taken by this old tenant.

And here is a cute inspiration photo from Houzz to give this negative post a happy dream ending.

Landscape design by New York The New York Botanical Garden