Knock, knock

We started Saturday with a long list of things to do in the yard, things we'd been putting off until the weather got warmer and with temperatures in the mid-seventies we had no excuse not to get on with them.


First chore was for The Guy to jump on the roof and clean out the gutters while I stood below ready to call 911 if he fell off. Division of labour, if you will. I follow him around at ground level, taking the opportunity to check out the siding for any signs of carpenter bee activity and anything else on the exterior of the house that requires attention.


Often there's the start of a wasps' nest, or some other minor problem to take care of but this year had everything beat. Three huge holes an inch or so in diameter with the wood splintered around the side. This was no attack of the insects, this was woodpecker damage. Not only had he or she been drilling for carpenter bee lavae but it had been excavating roosting holes into the bargain.
We have a few woodpeckers in the trees and at this time of year there's usually one trying to bore holes in the siding. I shout at it, it flies off, comes back starts drumming, I run out, shout at it and we play this game ad nauseam. This one had managed to find itself a secluded spot on the corner of the garage and had obviously been at it for a while. I managed to restrain myself from screaming while The Guy was up on the roof and I tried to prepare him for the amount of damage but for someone who rarely curses he really let himself go when he saw those holes. Luckily we had a jumbo sized tube of wood filler handy (for the holes that is, not to shut The Guy up).


Even better we have the perfect solution for keeping the woodpecker away from that corner in the future. One of the Xmas presents we received was a spiral wind chime. I think the twirling shiny copper sphere should do the trick.


Unless it thinks I provided it a perch. During the entire time we were The Guy was repairing the holes and I was taking photos, the woodpecker was sitting in the oak tree chuntering at us. I know it was a just warning: we may have won this battle but the war will continue.

More Saturday Magnolias

It really is spectacular in the yard today, all yellow, white, pale pink and purple with a backdrop of bright green from the unfolding leaves. In between chores (more of that tomorrow) I had time to shoot some more magnolias.


These smaller magnolias are a double variety


The magnolia tree in full bloom
I also spotted a large magnolia in the back of the yard behind the pool that I hadn't noticed before. Unfortunately the blooms are all at the top of the tree and I couldn't get a decent shot but I know that its big pinky white blossoms are there. At least for a few more days.

Saturday Morning Magnolia

Wouldn't that make a great song title?


The magnolias are in full bloom. This is the small bush with the huge blossoms (the size of my hand) shot with the early morning sun behind the tree


close up of another blossom from the same position

Friday afternoon timewaster

More than you ever needed to know about cats...and engineers
Look for very important back-up kitchen appliance at about 1 minute 30 secs.


An Engineer's Guide to Cats

Sabotage

The den is getting a makeover. I have a spectacular new lamp and two new red pillows


two new fawn pillows


and two contrasting neutral pillows. I took some photos to document the upgrades and then I went to upload them. This is what greeted me when I got back


At least she nudged the cushion off the sofa so she didn't drool on it.
Sometimes I wonder why I bother trying to make the house look stylish.

Red Frame/White Light

Red frame, white light


The inspiration?


The music

Silver White Light*

*Today's light-themed playlist at the bottom of the webpage. Bragging rights for the reader who knows the artist who wrote/recorded this song, which is not on the playlist. Extra points if you know what he's doing now!


My prize arrived yesterday, the Jonathan Adler Carlyle Beaded Lamp I won last month over at ::Surrroundings:: and it's super, fabulous, lovely. Although the finish is Polished Nickel the colour is a subtle silver with a white shade. It's also extremely heavy. I had no idea it would weigh so much. I thought it would be nickel painted ceramic but it's too heavy to be that. This is a good thing as there is little chance a kitty will knock it off the end table.


It's a great design, a classic shape yet modern enough to fit into my den and I love the mix of metals we have going on in there now, the poished nickel with brass spotlights and a chrome and glass chandelier. It seems a lot but it all works together. I need a small accessory or two to sit next to it but it goes well with the new Hayward Red pillows I got from Crate and Barrel a couple of weeks ago. This room is starting to come together and I'm delighted I entered that competition.

My Superpower: Total Mastery of Water - Updated

Nearly 40% of the keyword analysis on my statcounter is coming from people searching "Kohler Karbon".* That's the new pot filler introduced by Kohler at K/BIS last week, which reminded me of the articulated robotic arms Fiat used to replace manual labour in its auto factories in the 70s.
To be helpful to those looking for more information on this revolutionary faucet I researched the product and here's what I have learnt: it is made from carbon fiber, that means it's very strong and yet flexible; you can move it into several different positions and then use it hands-free; you can place the control on the right or the left; it has a button for spray. In other words it's like many other kitchen faucets but it's made from a more unusual material and aesthetically it looks very different. A lot is made by the copywriters of its modern design; having looked at the faucet in more detail I now think it resembles a socket wrench as much as a robotic arm. That is not necessarily a negative, why shouldn't a "powerful kitchen tool" look like a powerful home improvement tool?
What I'd be buying it for, though, would be it's effect on my psyche, for the Karbon promises "a totally different experience with water at the sink" whereby I will "achieve mastery of water". Now that's a tagline I can get behind.
It won't be available for some months yet so to experience the faucet for yourself try it out virtually and be sure to check out the two videos Kohler have produced to promote their new product.

*and it would seem, Kohler themselves. Someone from Kohler has been visiting the blog regularly since I posted this .

Update: It would seem that I made a huge error in labeling the Kohler Karbon a pot filler. It is not. It is a faucet. I stand corrected. Its flexibility allows you to easily fill tall pots without having to place them in the sink but it is not designed to fit behind a range or cooktop. However, the wall-mounted model still looks like a pot filler, it folds back flat against the wall and extends out to, well, fill pots. So my question for M. Kohler is: Why not design a Karbon Pot Filler and extend the "mastery of water"?

Spring

There's lots of yellow


And the promise of more colour to come

The morning after

The Cool House is a great place to entertain and we love having company over for drinks or a casual supper, especially those who have never been here before or who haven't heard of Andrew Geller and his work. We show off the house and describe how we found it, hopefully without boring other people who have heard it all before. But the pressure is really on when another of the guests is a frequent visitor and loyal blog reader and his wife is an extremely talented interior designer.


I know I'm expected to blog something pithy and acerbic about last night's dinner but I'm going to throw this curve ball out of left field and present some shots of the spring flowers I received instead.


Fabulously beautiful, no?
I don't know why I'm feeling so mellow this morning. Perhaps I'm still relaxed from the marvellous company and conversation last night? Perhaps it has something to do with the seven hours uninterrupted sleep I had for the first time since we got the kittens?


Or perhaps it was the amount of wine I consumed?
Thanks to all concerned for making it such a great evening: the chicken carver, the bottle openers, the plate passers, the table clearers and the dishwasher stacker. The Guy and I really appreciate the way you worked for your dinner.

The current preoccupation

You can guess from yesterday's post and today's playlist (scroll to page end, press to play) that the economy, our economy that is, which is deeply affected by the real estate market, is my current #1 concern.
When we took on this house we knew it required a lot of work to correct the problems caused by years of deferred maintenance. We did everything necessary to make the house watertight, pest and rot free and we addressed certain things like removing carpets and landscaping that we thought would make the house more appealing and easier to live in. For the first two and a half years we were sure that every dollar we put into the house we would get back at least once. Now the market has turned and even though we didn't buy the house to flip (we bought because I was deeply in love with it) we have to consider carefully the level of investment we are prepared to make in the future.
I was therefore intrigued by an HGTV mail 30 Tips for Increasing Your Home's Value and I started to compare what we'd done with their checklist.
We started really well, a perfect score on things we could do for less than $100, and we are up to speed at the $100-$200 fixes, too. Things start to get a little wonky at the next level. I refuse to believe a "functional, decorative ceiling fan is a beautiful thing" even though my realtor told us to install ceiling fans in all the rooms as "buyers expect them". I've never met a ceiling fan I like and we have a HVAC system with a fan option so I hope I'm covered. Even more disturbing, though, is Tip #3: "Replace heavy closed draperies with vertical blinds or shutters to let light in — a sunny room feels larger and more open". Does this mean people keep their drapes closed all the time? What are they, troglodytes?
We ripped out all those vertical blinds the first week we were here. The same fan-loving realtor suggested it as an immediate way to increase the value of the house when we viewed the place and we took that advice. The rooms went from dark to light in the hour it took to pull the vertical vinyl from 10 windows. Did we do the right thing, or have we seriously compromised our real estate value?


Is this before shot really better than the image below?


Or should I give up reading the HGTV emails?

Recession, what recession?

While I'm trying to do each renovation project as frugally as possible in this uncertain housing market, some people don't have to worry. In an article in The New York Times Christopher Peacock talked about his booming business, why his kitchens command six-figures and how you can upgrade to difficult to clean sterling silver knobs and hinges
“The person who buys this kitchen isn’t polishing their own hardware,” said Mr. Peacock, stating the obvious. The Private Collection, he said, is an heirloom-quality room, with more detailing, hand-selected woods, those silver knobs, and a higher price, about 25 to 30 percent more than his other kitchens, he said, which on average, including the appliances and countertops he recommends, go for $185,000.
These kitchens are going into multi-million dollar quintessential estates so you would expect them to be outstanding quality and for the price to reflect that, but is it just me or does the featured kitchen look a little "standard"; it's like a lot of white kitchens I've seen for a lot less money. How are people to know I didn't get my fixtures from Restoration Hardware?
Finally, what is that TV doing stuck out on the right? It's surely an afterthought, and for all that money I'd want many hours of thoughtful planning to go into the design.

Fortunatissimo, family car

The new Karbon Articulating Kitchen faucet from Kohler featured in today's New York Times reminds me of something. I can't quite think of what.... oh, yes.......

The downside of wireless

When the keyboard batteries run out of juice in the middle of a post you're typing at 10 PM, that's the disadvantage to no unsightly wires in a de-cluttered office.
"You should always have spare batteries" I hear you cry.
Well, of course I keep spare batteries. In fact I'd just opened a new four pack but I'd put two into the wireless mouse and the iMac wireless keyboard takes three. Three AA batteries. That's so wrong. Thanks to Renovation Therapy (formerly Upstate) though, I managed to score a battery deal: money off plus a $2 coupon! I did have to argue with the sales assistant that the price on the register was not the price displayed, forcing her to walk half-way round the store to check, have a conversation with the manager who wanted to know where she was going, which turned a five minute pharmacy dash into a fifteen minute tussle. But hey, I was right and I saved $2.50, a dollar of which I promptly donated to this week's charity at the pharmacy.

Powder room progress

The garage is filling up with fixtures for the downstairs loo facelift. I have the tiles, grout and the faucet; the countertop will be ready by tomorrow; the vessel sink should be here by the end of the week. I have the towel bar we didn't use in the boys' bath redo, a new latch and new knob for the vanity. I even have new hand towels, liquid soap and hand cream from Floris of London (on sale in TJ Maxx). I'm missing just two things: a replacement for the saddle we cracked putting up the light fixture (HD is out of stock until April 10 and the place where the countertop is being fabricated wants $21 more!) and a start date from my very-much-in-demand handyman.
I'd really like to get this room finished before May when the summer guests start to arrive. Please. Pretty please. Thank you.

Want music?

Today's playlist is at the bottom of the page. Scroll down and click to enjoy.

Spring at the beach

The wind is coming from the north-east, which accounts for the chilliness but it's bringing the smell of the ocean to Long Island Sound. Two sailboats, a speedboat and a skiff are on the Bay, the sun is shining out of a bright blue sky and Jeff's Seafood has soft shell crabs so it must be Spring.

Design and the Elastic Mind

If you're watching my flickr box on the left side of the page you'll see some images from the other stellar exhibition currently at the Museum of Modern Art: Design and the Elastic Mind.


I blogged about it over here but it deserves to be mentioned again. It is awesome, fascinating, thought-provoking, exhilarating and sometimes simply beautiful. Everyone should have the opportunity to see it. If you can't make it to New York before the exhibition closes on May 12th visit the online catalogue and spend a couple of hours exploring the relationship between design and technology.

Postcards from Yo Momma

Nothing to do with beaches, houses or The Cool House, I just had to share. I'm still hysterically laughing at this one and this one, but my favorite is possibly this....

Paint Your own Wallpaper

If you think moving flagstones is hard work, just imagine the hours that went into getting the masking tape straight so you could achieve this effect. I came across this idea for a painted striped wallpaper effect by Modern Self. Totally in awe right now.
via Master of Your Domain