Windowdrama

It took four entire months to convince the carpenter that not having a backsplash was a viable option for the kitchen renovation. That's not four months for the project by the way, that took six months from the moment Contractor 1 mismeasured the windows to last Friday when Contractor 2 finally gave up trying to convince me that a windowsill four inches up the window was the way to go and put in what I'd asked him for on June 15th. To allay his fears over the whole water/wood issue I sent him up to the guest bathroom to see what three years of continuous water have done to the window in the shower - it looks as good as it did the day I finished the polyurethane coat - no damage at all. He still wasn't happy so I showed him my inspiration shots:

image by Caesarstone

image by Caesarstone

Eventually, after going back and forth for months with the countertop fabricator and much muttering under his breath he agreed to trim out what I wanted. And what did he say when he stepped back and looked at the work? "That turned out really well..."

new kitchen window

Weather Wednesday

Listing to Port

Console Lust

LOT61 Lola Credenza via Design Public. I have just the place for this...

Outlets (or Sockets) & LEDs

We decided to replace twenty-three electrical outlets along the baseboard - all the new baseboard, around the first floor - because nothing says tacky like forty year-old black 'n' greasy outlets on spanking new baseboard. We could do this ourselves but we decided to get the electrician in. I keep referring to them as sockets and he's all "What? Oh, you mean outlets". Every. Single. Time. I swear if he does it one more time I will refer to it as the "female electrical connector". My only revenge is that it's him lying on the hardwood floor sighing deeply and not me.


As a floodlight in the mud room had blown I decided to fork over the $50 to see what kind of light the LED would give me. I won't lie that there's a nano second delay but the light is so clear and bright it won me over immediately - the contrast with the first generation yellowish CFLs is astounding. So much so that I dove back to Home Depot to get two more. Unfortunately they only had one - so someone must be spending the fifty bucks for eco-friendliness. I'll have to increase my carbon footprint by driving to another store a few miles further or bite the bullet and order the fourteen bulbs online for the kitchen while I'm at it.

Cryptic

The message I received from The Guy this morning. Is it a subtle reference to a fiscal program? An invitation to join a secret society in Quebec or the equivalent of making a phone call with your butt?

Baseboards and rodents

Or the pretty and the pretty disgusting.
I joked about it being fall before we finished the kitchen but it's five months since I started moving things out ahead of demolition and yesterday the baseboards finally went back on. And then the contractor dude smelled what I've been griping about for the past few weeks and opened up the wall. Again. No sign of ratty or his corpse but plenty of urine soaked insulation and wallboard, all of which has been bagged and hauled out. We'll leave it open for a while to make sure the smell is gone and then we can patch it and get the room painted. And that will be the official end of the renovation.

Contrasts

Sunshine and dark clouds. Sand and trees. Beach chalet and new construction. Huntington Bay 2010.

Caffeinated

Seduction - I may have to invest. The SoftBrew coffee pot by George Sowden. More details here.

Touches of Gold

Well Antique Brass, really.

The new sconces arrived - after a lot of thought I finally went with the Jonathan Adler Parker Half-round Sconces for their retro design and gold tone that picks up the design and color of the rug, a couple of paintings and the original track lighting.

This room is going to look so much better with baseboards and a coat of Benjamin Moore Bronzed Beige. We're getting there!

That was then, this is now

It's raining, the lock on the new back door has failed (old lock, new door) and I'm waiting for it to dry out so I can install one the new one (actually bought in 2007. I knew it would come in handy one day). All the constant maintenance got me thinking about what I'd been up to in previous Octobers since we moved here. For example, a year ago we were anticipating the start of the big projects we've undertaken this year: remodeling the master bed, bath and the kitchen. While looking forward I was also ticking things off the to-do list and I'm pleased to report that with the exception of one of the replacement windows and the hall that will be decorated this autumn, we are back on schedule - we've even tackled the 2011 items and taken care of a couple things that didn't appear on that list.
It's not always about The Cool House and renovations, though. For three straight years I posted about things other than dust, debris and demolition. On this day in 2008 I was more obsessed about the Presidential election than the house, a year earlier I had been concerned about where I was going to eat in town and in 2006 we were mourning a truly great kitty.
In the early days of this blog I didn't write so much but the topics were confined to the house and the Incorporated Village. In October 2005 there was only one post. I'd finally finished the back stairs - only to have the big dog fall down and "distress" them for me. The flooring guy was supposed to fix those for me this summer but I guess the only way they will be redone is if I get down on my knees and DO IT MYSELF!
Finally, all the way back in October 2004 I was eagerly awaiting the berm that would keep the water running down the street from flooding our yard. And ironically, here I am six years later watching the remains of Tropical Storm Nicole pour down and the torrent of water pass by on its way to the newly installed drains at the end of the road. Progress!

Blend it

Now that the kitchen is up and running there is one small appliance I miss. About a zillion years ago I tried to make some margaritas and my KitchenAid blender could not cope with the task, it stalled and died. I was very negative about the whole experience and didn't want to spend a couple hundred dollars on something that couldn't even make a drink so I got an immersion bender for sauces, soups and purees and gave up on the whole crushed ice thing. I've since heard that it isn't just me mistreating the appliance - others have had the same experience. Now I'd like to make the occasional smoothie and figure this would be a good time to go ahead and splurge but I want to make sure I'm buying the best heavy-duty blender out there. Amazon has a couple of 900 watt models that should be able to mash bananas and crush ice and a super expensive one that I would expect, for that price, could mix concrete! Do you have any recommendations?

Anniversary Night

Me (waking up with a start and glancing at the clock): Get up! It's 5:35! You have 10 minutes to get out of the house
Him (jumping out of bed): #%*!.
Me (a couple of minutes later, actually awake enough to look at the clock and process information): Did you check the time?
Him: No!
Me: It's 2:37, not 5:37.
Him (pulling off socks and shirt): #%*!

I'm surprised we're still married.

Double Faucets

I used to think the Kohler Karbon faucet reminded me of an 80s Italian car manufacturer but this image reminds me of storks at the waterhole.
I really wanted to find out why I would need dual Karbons in the kitchen, after all it articulates so surely it will reach to every corner of the sink, no? Unfortunately as usual with Kohler when you click on the photo it takes you to an article that DOESN"T MENTION THE FAUCET AT ALL. Does Kohler know how infuriating this is? If you're gonna make me look you'd better be sure I'm satisfied with what I see. Anyway, it looks as though one is for washing up or maybe rinsing vegetables and the other is for... soaking the chips 'n' dip??? Please guys at Kohler, link the images to the relevant articles in the future and put me out of my misery by telling me what to do with the second Karbon faucet.

Done, done, done

and tick! All those things on the Fall list were completed... and because we had some leftover mortar The Guy decided to re-grout the patio where it had cracked after those extremely heavy kitchen appliances had beaten a path to the kitchen door. A reprise of this, in fact. No mess, no fuss - just a couple of hours graft (although I could have done without the high humidity) and we are good to go for the next few months.

Catching up

The kitchen floor has been sanded and resealed. There's a 3'x4' piece I'm unhappy with - it looks like it was missed or wiped over while still wet - but I'm undecided whether to get it done for the third time, after all in a few months people will be tramping snow through the kitchen and the animals will have given it a not-so-gently-distressed look. The wallpaper backing came off with a 1/1 solution of fabric softener and water. This was the first time I'd bought fabric softener since 1990 and I'm sure I paid $1 for a bottle back then. Big sticker shock but the kitchen smelled snuggly for a couple of days. And a decision was made on the baseboards. That's all I'm saying. Watch this space.


And we finally changed the lightbulb on the balcony after ::cough:: eighteen months. These are all good things. On the rest of the renovation promises have been made. On the last day of September the kitchen punch-list will be checked, rechecked and the items will be tackled methodically and purposefully until every last one is done.
Then there is the Fall list. That's the list you get when you walk around the house one coolish day in September making sure everything is ready for the six months of ice, snow and freezing temperatures that make up a Long Island winter and discover a whole bunch of things you are sure weren't there a couple of months ago. Like the paint that peeled off the front door step... and the basement windows... and the chunk of window that's fallen off the latter. Off the window mind, not the trim. And not through rot either. This piece is clean and smooth and hard, it just isn't attached to the window any longer. Then you realise there's a hole in the mortar under the sliding door in the great room that's big enough to shove a baby's fist through - or for a whole nest of mice to crawl in and out of and a gap in the slate that will allow all that snow to melt though to the subfloor and you'd better fix that pronto.
At this point the idea of selling up and moving to a condo with a very friendly and super handy on-site maintenance person seems a very attractive idea. And if you could make that condo somewhere dry and warm with a mid-century vibe it would be almost irresistible.


The only other option would be to take a very long nap...

Inspirational Decor

One of my favorite inspiartion rooms. Black & White Salon from Marie Claire Maison featuring the "Bouquet" chair by designer Yoshioka Tokujin. I love the way all the black elements in this tall room bring your eye down to ground level and that the ethereal quality of the chair is balanced by the weighty ceramic bird. Beautiful.

The downside of induction

I love, no I LOVE my new Electrolux induction top, it's fast and controllable and I've been cooking up a storm since I got back from Europe, mostly soups and other one-pot meals. On Sunday though, since The Guy finally made it home, I planned on making a giant pancake-just the one-to serve with a bottle of Blueberry maple syrup we bought in Maine (and which I have saved these past two months as it's been too darn hot for cooked breakfast). I grabbed my trusty cheapo Belgian pancake pan, turned on the heat and the blue light flashed at me. I knew what this meant as I'd already had to consign one sauté pan to the recycle box when it proved to be non-magnetic - it meant no pancakes. We had cereal.
Later that day I started to chop veggies for stir-fry when it occurred to me to test the wok before I got too committed. The wok didn't work either. At that stage it seemed prudent to test all the pans. The majority of my cookware is Le Creuset and cast iron is induction friendly, so at least I can make casseroles and soup. The big pasta pot from ikea works fine, the small deep-sided frypan from the same store? Not so much. Of course the copper pans don't conduct, nor did an All-Clad omelette pan. I ended up retiring five pans, all ones I had used frequently.
Today I purchased a Cuisinart saucepan that I'll have to return tomorrow; not all stainless steel is created equal. The lesson I learnt from this experience is to take a magnet with me when I go cookware shopping!

Looking outside

Warm days, cold nights, falling leaves, rain showers and the occasional tornado - the transition from summer to autumn on Long Island.

Name Your Price

I like to keep my eye on what's for sale in the Incorporated Village - call me nosey, I can take it.


I get an email alert every time a house comes on the market.


Sometimes I get a bonus.


The same house 40% off. Pick one!

Feeling Creative? Support Seatuck!

When Long Island schoolgirl Olivia Bouler heard about the Gulf oil disaster she set out to help and she did it big time raising over $175,000 to help affected wildlife. Now she is fundraising again - this time locally. She and her family are holding a fundraiser on September 4th for the Seatuck National Wildlife Refuge in Islip, New York. She is asking all artists - and would-be artists - to submit a 5x7 postcard-sized bird image (painting, drawing, photograph, collage, mixed media) which will be displayed at the center and sold for $5.
The event will also include a concert by The Sea Tuckers a group of jazz musicians that includes Olivia, her brother Jackson and their friends. Not only is Olivia a "decent drawer" she's also an extremely talented saxophone player and Jackson will wow you with his cool! More information here

Olivia's Fundraiser
Saturday, September 4th
12:30 to 4:00 p.m.
Suffolk County Environmental Center
550 South Bay Avenue, Islip
Admission - $5

Remember artists of all abilities are welcomed so send your postcards in advance to Seatuck, PO Box 31, Islip, NY 11751.