DIY Dirty Little Secrets

I have a little secret to tell and I'm a little embarassed.  Maybe it's not even a secret to all of you other DIY-ers out there, but it is definitely not something to be proud of.  Ok here goes....our DIY projects are NEVER 100% done...

[GASP]

As you may have already noticed in a recent post on my bathroom door, we tend to get a project to about 90% completion (A.K.A pretty much done) and then leave it for 2-3 weeks months until we have time to finish the last 10%.  The reason that a project lingers so long is because everything looks fine and works fine (emphasis on "fine") but there are little things here and there that need to be tweaked. 

Dirty Little Secret #1

The kitchen cabinets were painted and in working order by June/July (give or take a few weeks), but we didn't re-install the door magnets (which keep the doors closed tightly while not in use) until last month!  The cabinets looked and worked fine, but as you can see in this photo, they tend to pop back out and stay ajar a few inches after being "closed." 

But since it was not an urgent matter, we put it off....and off...and off....until one day we decided to install the magnets.  Finally!

Dirty Little Secret #2

I have painted ALL of the interior doors in my house.  Well, I should rephrase....I have painted all of the VISIBLE parts of the interior doors in my house.  The parts that you can't see....well, let's just say I was saving that project for a rainy day. 

And although it wasn't raining on Saturday, I painted anyway.  We are having our annual holiday party (the first one in the new house) next weekend, so I thought it was a pretty good excuse to wrap up these lingering loose ends (say that 5 times fast!)

Dirty Little Secret #3

Until all of the projects are totally done, we usually leave the tools/brushes/paint cans in the kitchen or in the entryway closet.  Ugh!  This is the worst, but it is also a darn good daily reminder that I need to finish the projects.  And if/when I do, all of this mess can go away.  Initiative, folks....that is what I need. 

Unfortunately, I forgot to take a picture of my mess, but I'm sure you can picture paint cans and brushes on my kitchen island and power tools left on the entryway bench.....lovely!  It's home improvement as decor.  How chic!  Ugh...

Dirty Little Secret #4

We haven't had doors on our master bedroom closets since March 1st, which is the day we officially moved into the house. 

I took them off the day we bought the house in an effort to finish all of the painting jobs before the guys came to refinish the floors (mid-February).  I got about halfway through them and gave up.  They have been in either the garage or the basement (I move them every so often to make it look like I am doing something with them) for 9 months....and our clothes have been exposed this whole time.  I am almost used to it by now.  I even thought the other day that it wouldn't be so bad to have open closet storage forever! 

But really, who am I kidding.  The only way to make our mess of a wardrobe any neater is to cover it all up with some nice doors.  I also need to work on the guest bedroom and office closet doors.  Those are painted (well, they really need another coat, but they are a lot closer to being done than the master bedroom ones), but I need to replace the metal track pieces along the top since they are old and a little warped from hitting them with the sander 1 too many times prior to painting.  So there is another project unfinished....

Dirty Little Secret #5

I bought curtains and curtain rods for my bedroom about two months ago (maybe more), but never got around to actually hanging them.  Granted, I did buy the same curtains for my dining room and living room and managed to get those up already (thanks, Mom!!), but the place that I really NEED curtains is still in the DIY queue.  Sorry, neighbors!!

Just waiting for someone to find them a home....which hopefully won't be the corner of my master bedroom for too much longer..

So there you have it.  A few of my DIY dirty little secrets.  I thought that maybe if I exposed them for all to see that it would motivate me to finish it.  Let's see how that works out....

Does anyone else out there have DIY projects left undone?  Any dirty little secrets you are hiding behind closed doors....or no doors for that matter?  Are you someone that stuffs everything under the bed or in a closet when you have company coming?  I've certainly been guilty of it in the past.  I would love to hear your experiences/confessions/thoughts.  It might make me feel a little better about my neglect....or at least human!

Essential Elegance

Earlier this week, I attended a lecture at the Corcoran given by Jose Solis & Paul Sherrill of Solis Betancourt in celebration of their new book, Essential Elegance. I know there are a LOT of beautiful books out this season but this one surely deserves its' place as a stocking stuffer (as said by Solis himself!).Solis Betancourt has been operating out of Washington, DC for 20 years and to celebrate that landmark, they decided to publish a book of some of their favorite projects. One of the first in the book is also one of my favorites (which I've loved ever since I first saw it published), an elegant french styled house here in DC they did in collaboration with Barnes Vanze Architects.Above is the living room. In this remarkable renovation, the team turned a pokey little house into an airy and spacious feeling masterpiece with amazing views. One of my favorite parts of the lecture was that they showed the 'befores' for every 'after' which got a lot of gasps from the audience! The master bedroom above benefited from the use of Portieres, or curtains to delineate space, a common element found in much of their work. The amazing mahogany windows and french doors from MQ windows which fill the house don't hurt either! Another ingenius element that often pops up in their work is decorative mouldings on the ceiling in which all of the ugly necessities are ganged; such as air vents, lighting fixtures and smoke detectors.

The use of natural materials and simple, modern furniture in a classical space was important to the client. Solis stated that their work at the firm is extremely client based and personal. This is evidenced by the broad range of styles seen throughout the book. He believes that the process should be 'amazingly fun' for everyone involved and that the client is the most important part of the process.In another more recently completed project just outside of NYC, Solis collaborated with architect Ward Welch to create a soothing environment for the client as an escape from the city. Solis believes his training as a painter (and also as an architect at Cornell) has trained him to see his interiors as still-lives and he excels at creating vignettes, as in this bedroom above. One of my favorite spaces was a bathroom in the same house. The modern glass sinks benefit from tons of natural light and the contrasting ornate mirrors add a little excitement to the room. I also love when bathrooms are finished like real rooms with pieces of furniture.
In the end, Solis and Paul left us with some great points. The earlier an interior designer is involved with a project, the better and smoother the end result. Solis believes his training as an architect helped his communication skills with clients, architects and the whole building team and believes that a team process is needed for a coherent project.

Editing is the most crucial part of design and Jose likes to work with existing furniture and architecture when possible, but in new ways; thinking outside of the box.

Jose said that entryways are the most important room of any house as they provide the introduction. He believes that no matter the size, it must give the 'story' of the entire house and he likes to include all of the main materials found throughout: stone,wood, iron, etc.

While Jose tends towards the modern and Paul towards traditional, their work together has created some stunning interiors as proved by this book. No matter whether the house is old or new, they like to provide a bit of wabi-sabi to the space by adding age and patina to give a sense of history. This one is a must in the fall line-up of interiors books!

principal photography throughout the book was provided by Marcos Galvany

December 3

No one lives in this house,

but for a quiet forest mouse.

He is nice and fat,

and sleeps in a comfy bed from an old hat.

He eats cheese from the larder,

every day it gets harder and harder...

As the cheese grows older,

the nights grow colder...

His wish is to find another mouse,

to move in and to share his house.

Someone during frosty nights to cuddle,

so he won't in the hat alone have to huddle...

December 3

Natural Resources 1: Ephemeral Connection

On a recent trip to Seattle, I found myself alone with a free afternoon to wander along Puget Sound toward the Olympic Sculpture Park, armed with my camera and a notebook. After several days of sunshine, the cloudy sky and occasional drizzling rain that has come to stereotype the region lay overhead -- and I loved it! Feeling stimulated by the sculpture, the crisp breeze, the water, the trees, and rocks around me, I took the opportunity to connect with the surrounding environment for a few hours inspired by one of my favorite contemporary artists, Andy Goldsworthy. The pictures in this blog are from some of the simple works I created from that experience.

Goldsworthy is a site-specific sculptor and photographer who utilizes natural materials gathered from their surrounding environment to form stunning works of temporary or permanent art. His approach to making art is sort of a revelation in these modern times. He reminds us of our connection to Nature and how available Its resources are, and have been to us all along, without the need of processing or artificial refinement (other than some simple arranging). If you haven't seen the documentary "Rivers and Tides" yet, do yourself a favor and watch it immediately. His philosophy and approach towards making art is simply sublime.

His works also urge us to accept the ephemeral state of our lives (a key element of Your ReBegin). His art often exists for just a brief window of time, which he captures by camera, before Nature reclaim Its materials.

"Each work grows, stays, decays – integral parts of a cycle which the photograph shows at its heights, marking the moment when the work is most alive. There is an intensity about a work at its peak that I hope is expressed in the image. Process and decay are implicit." - AG

Goldsworthy will work in a region for days/weeks/months learning to understand the environment well and has spent years mastering his craft. But we can learn to take his method and philosophy, applying it to all manner of shorter time spans for creative exercises. Perhaps you can make regular expeditions in your own neighborhood or explore a new area for just a few minutes.


I consider these photographs like sketches, and my process that afternoon like a little workout for my creative muscles that brought me in closer communion with nature. I tried to balance enough time to delve into the process and not feel rushed, yet be brisk enough to keep moving and never linger too long in one place or one piece (hence sketches).

Such expeditions are a matter of "listening" to your surroundings and creating with and for nature, rather than imposing upon it. You get to discover the natural resources around you and work with whatever your environment offers you. As with normal photography you have the beauty of nature to frame, but add in your response to working with the surrounding materials, and what you get is something like photographing your dialogue with Nature. 

The ReBegin logo made from litter and pebbles

More to come!

Flourish of orange leaves on log viewed at a distance

Beautiful Happy Lidded Cups

At last the lidded cups are back in stock with the addition of the Landsby design. Each design comes as a pair in a presentation box. The box has been designed to encourage you to use it as well as the cups. Each box is hand made, the inner packaging can be removed and recycled and the product information is all written on the underside so as not to spoil the appearance when it is sitting on your shelf full of little treasures...

Christmas Vignettes

I'm linking up today at Rhoda’s from Southern Hospitality.  There are some beautiful vignettes out there in blog land.  Here are a few of mine.

Silver & gold entryway table

The silver tray is from a Target after Christmas sale.  I filled it with green moss, 2 white Christmas tree candles & silver and gold ornaments- easy peasy.

 

 

The tree on the right is my tomato cage tree stuffed in a simple inexpensive urn.  EVERYTHING looks better in an urn. right?

 

Top of chest that sits in the corner of the family room.  Not fully liking this display-may have to do some more tweaking…….The feather tree was from last year.  The lacquer tray is from a garage sale.  I filled it with greenery, a glitter chapel ornament from Wal-Mart and some inexpensive Christmas balls in a garage sale brass pedestal urn (that I have yet to spray paint-in time……in time……) Oh and my “E” plate from Hob Lob!

Glass hurricane filled with candles and ornaments then wrapped with greenery- again easy-peasy.

 

The top of my antique hutch in the dining room.  Green branches that I spray painted white & tossed on glitter –then stuffed them in the large glass vase (LOVE that vase-Marshalls baby!)  A couple of metal trees that were ug-ly, ug-ly gold-spray painted silver, my Target mercury glass bird from last year (man-I wish Target had more mercury glass this year!) some greenery and done!

Now skip on over to Rhodas and check out all the other fun vignettes.  Merry Christmas!!

Together Again

Luckily the canine revolution was quelled yesterday.  I finally got a day off to spend with the Lab.  We were waiting for another repairman to come ( this is becoming a habit, but I'm not going into a rant about Sear's products here) and of course if your hours are 8:00am to 12:00pm, you can be sure no one will arrive until 11:30.  Who gets the 8:00am appointment do you think? 
                                               




After a rainy walk filled with squirrel sightings, but NO chasing, we came home and made breakfast.  I'm an oat eater, granola in the summer and baked oatmeal in the colder weather.  And believe me , that colder weather has arrived.  I've been fiddling around with this recipe for years and am happy with this latest version.

I use 1 cup of uncooked quick oats and 1 cup of mixed grain cereal, both from Trades Joe's.  I add 1/3 cup of dried fruit, this time raisins, sometimes, cranberries, often a mix of dried berries, 1 teaspoon of baking powder, a 1/2 a teaspoon of ground cinnamon and a dash of nutmeg.  The recipe calls for 1/2 cup of brown sugar but this is too sweet for me.  Yesterday I used a few maple sugar candies a friend had brought us from Canada,  Last week I used honey.  I melt 2 tablespoons of butter in the microwave and if using honey melt it along with butter.  In another bowl I have a beaten egg to which I add 1 and1/2 cups of skim milk, and a 1/2 cup of low fat french vanilla yogurt,  you could also use applesauce in lieu of yogurt.  When butter has cooled down I add it to liquid ingredients, stir and then add this to oat mixture.

I pour into an 8" square baking dish, coated with oil or butter.  Bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for 20 minutes.  I cut this up into 9 servings.  GG eats one in the morning with a splash of milk and a sprinkle of brown sugar, heated in the microwave.  I pack mine up and take it to work to be eaten with my work amigas and the Starbucks latte that awaits me every morning on the work table.

Cooking together is such a bonding experience that the Lab and I went on from there to make a delicious black bean soup, but that's a story for another day.

Suffice it to day, the house was filled with delicious smells all day, the dryer was finally fixed and  now I can stop showing up at my neighbor's houses bearing flowers or bowls of turkey noodle soup, and wet laundry.

Oh, and I promised the Lab her own blog later on this month as long as she promises to stop writing about our dirty laundry.