the door series: a pop of southwest pink
After last week’s decidedly handsome door, I decided to go a little girly today. This door, spotted on the Inside the Loop tumblr via Fabulous K, has completely filled my dreams. Sure, the exterior walls are stone gray, but vibrant fuchsia door topped with a chartreuse panel and a warm clay frame immediately tell us something creative is happening within. The cactus next door makes me think it might be in Santa Fe, or perhaps somewhere further afield like Mexico City or Old San Juan. I would love to see this color combo on a little suburban house like mine. I’m thinking gray siding, warm clay trim, with fuchsia shutters and door. Would I get kicked out of the neighborhood for being too wacky? I don’t care, I’m adding this one to file.
1Comment
the door series: handsome in hudson
I am obsessed with front doors. It is the place where a home’s personality is most projected outwards. My favorites are ones that are painted a bright color so they POP and let you know that something fun and quirky is within. This dandy door is in Hudson, New York, where we are lucky enough to hang out a weekend or two a month. Isn’t it perfection? The bright teal complements the gunmetal gray building color just right. The well tailored checked curtains are masculine and slightly retro. It’s also geniusly unsymmetrical: with a large potted plant to one side and a classic doormat on the left.
Have you seen a front door you love? Please let me know! We’ll do a series and show them off here.
Is it okay to switch the living room with the dining room?
I’ve been absent from these pages for a while, and here’s why: we just moved 2,000 miles from Seattle to Chicago! What a change – the biggest part of which, at the moment, is our living space. We went from 880 square feet in a 1940s cottage to 2,000+ in a giant 1800s-era two-story house. (Lest you think we suddenly came into some money, we’re renting.) When I first saw the house, the previous tenants were using the dining room as a living room.
I just chalked that up to their age – guys in their 20s don’t tend to value décor, in my experience. But now that we’re in the house, I confess we’re considering doing the exact same thing. Despite all the space, we’re having trouble setting up the living room to comfortably watch TV (and I can admit: we like TV). There’s a huge open archway, an awkward room off the entry through another archway, and a three-window nook. The only wall big enough for the TV is also the only wall big enough for the couch. Putting the couch against the windows looks weird. I am adamantly against putting a TV in front of a window. And floating the couch in the middle of the room messes up traffic flow. The dining room, on the other hand, has two good-sized walls for both TV and couch, as well as a lot more electrical outlets. So, what do you think: have you ever switched up the layout of the house like that? Will we be risking the wrath of the feng shui gods if we do?
panini-schamini: do you have a kitchen gadget that always lets you down?
The other day, I got a wild hair and decided to make myself a grilled PB&J for lunch. Sure, I could have just opted for a regular old frying pan, but I thought I’d go for gold. So, I unearthed my Le Creuset panini pan from the nether regions of my kitchen cabinet (no doubt banished there for good reason), got it smoking hot, popped my sandwich inside, and ended up with this:
Not exactly the delicious, satisfying lunch I had in mind. If anything, it conjured more of a gag reflex than hunger pains. As I scraped the sorry remnants out of the pan, a series of flashbacks of prior mishaps appeared before my eyes. In reality, this panini pan has plagued me since the day it arrived. I didn’t return it after the first stick-tastic catastrophe, thinking it was just a fluke, or I was doing something wrong. A year later, I’ve determined there’s just no amount of grease sufficient to prevent this pan from destroying everything it touches. And, as you might expect, clean-up is – well, not a breeze. But I spent so much money on it…you know how it goes.
We all have them. Those appliances, gadgets or tools in the kitchen that we absolutely despise. Something we probably shelled out a good chunk of change to buy, with hopes of it transforming our culinary lives. Only to discover, once we put it to use, that it’s an utter horror to have around. Yet for some reason, you just can’t bear to throw it out.
As for me, I’m finally ready to admit defeat. I’m sending this pan off to my local Goodwill, complete with the residual PB&J crud I couldn’t free from its clutches, where some poor sap will undoubtedly discover it and think they’ve hit the thrift store jackpot. That is, until they get it home.
Please…tell me I’m not alone. Do you have any gadget wreckage cluttering up your kitchen? –Becki S.
small space living: the tumbleweed tiny house company
Living in a city full of small spaces for big price tags has at times led me to scorn small-space living (remember my tiny bedroom, anyone?) but recently I’ve learned to value the unique challenges that frugal floor plans present. With the right furniture, some research and an inventive, enterprising attitude, anyone can make even the most miniscule space into a cozy, uncluttered haven. No one knows that better, perhaps, than Jay Shafer, owner of an 89 square foot home, and founder of the Tumbleweed Tiny House Company. Purveyor of adorable box bungalows, portable homes and cottages ranging in size from 65-837 square feet, the company specializes in small space living without skimping on style, detail or functionality. Perfect as (very) tiny weekend homes, the units also boast footprints small enough for use as guest houses on an existing property, or, my personal favorite, as free-standing office or studio spaces like the ones we’ve been dreaming about. How cute are these? — Sarah C.
