Can I have your vote?

As many of you know, there are always several online contests going on this time of year. I've entered one through Repair-Home.com and could use your help.

In order to be the winner in each category, you need to have the most votes.
I would really appreciate your rating, votes and any comments on my entries.

I've included the links below for your convenience.

Dining Room Disaster

Modern Kitchen

Just Tear It Down

Electrical Gone Awry

A Garden Brought To Life

Wonderful Windows

KnockDown Texture

I'll just start by saying that this post was written for Houseblogs.net as part of a sweepstakes sponsored by True Value, and their StartRightStartHere contest.

For readers of my blog you may remember when I was talking about my Studio and the unconvential way I fixed one of the nagging problems, I discovered when tearing out these hideous closets.

You see, this was my Studio on Move-In Day. The photo below shows one of the two closets that bordered the center window. I knew the closets needed to come down...or rather, finish coming down, as the doors were just a screw away from falling off anyway. My brother took to this task with his favorite job of demo...and about a half hour later, the closets were no more.


That is when we discovered that the "knockdown" ceiling texture had been applied AFTER the closets were built, leaving an enormous expanse of raw drywall. The photo below, taken a few months later, clearly shows the difference in surfaces. My previous home was filled with different textures and I was always able to somewhat replicate small areas; but this was too big to try and do by myself.

Almost two years had passed when I came across some reclaimed wood at my local ReStore. I bought and cut the pieces in half, securing them to the wall. While figuring out the angles was a challenge, I succeeded in finding a solution. Now, the studio has a unique feature; which gives it a doll-house charm.

Day Off

I'm still here, just haven't been writing since my job has been keeping me extremely busy lately.

Although yesterday and today was a nice release, two vacation days to try and keep the mind off of deadlines, email, etc.

Today my sister was off too, so we headed out without much of a plan. We ended up at the St. Louis Zoo, and what a day for it too...low 60s, with a mild breeze. I haven't visited our zoo for a few years now, and each time I go it brings back memories and sometimes new ones are made.

Okay, first let's talk about the fact that here in St. Louis, our Zoo is AWESOME. It was created in 1910 by the city; which set aside 77 acres in Forest Park. State legislation stated "the zoo shall be forever free", and it continues to be free 100 years later. Parking is free too, if you do like other St. Louisians and park along the winding streets of Forest Park.

My sister and I spent about two hours strolling around, catching glimpses of animals along the way.

I hope wherever you are, the day was as beautiful as this.

Garden IS Done

It is rare, I think, to be able to say that something is done-complete-finished. Yet, this is the case with my garden. Saturday we put the finishing touches on it; which included the following

• Installing timber frame along north side


• Relayed landscape fabric


• Bought 1-inch clean rock


• Covered all areas not occupied by raised beds with above rock

It looks so good now.

BEFORE (from May '09)

AFTER (from Aug '09)

Quilt on the cheap

This past Sunday, my Dad and I went to an Antique Mall in St. Charles, Missouri. It was a decent size and had some interesting finds; most of which were a little too pricey for my taste. Having visited nearly all of the antique malls around the St. Louis area, I always find it interesting how varied the prices are for similar products. Yet, if you look long and hard enough, you can come across a great deal once in a while.

So, one can imagine my amazement when I stumbled across a handmade quilt folded up in one of the booths. I love looking at the handmade quilts found in Antique Malls, being a quilter, their intricacies amaze me. Yet the going rate is usually about $75 and up...and usually, the $75 ones can be pretty ratty.

You can believe I took a double take and even asked my Dad what the pricetag said, when I read $24.99

Yep, that's right folks. A penny under $25. Here are some pictures.

It does have a few small tears in the topcloth and the fabric is gently worn along the edges; but it's old, and that adds character. It measures approx. 6ft x 6ft.

Don't know when I'll find another quilt that cheap; but it just goes to show you that there are still deals out there.

Second Anniversary

Okay so technically I'm a day late; but I don't think anyone minds. Monday, August 17th was the 2nd anniversary of owning my old house. You can certainly take a trip down memory lane by viewing any of my older posts. I won't relive them here.

In these uncertain times, it's nice to know that I have a place to call home. Even if the place leaks, has strange noises and keeps my wallet empty.

I think we've had a good two years and I hope for many, many more to come.

Brick Patio is Done

It was tough work (way more Dad then me), but after 2 days work we were able to finish laying the patio brickwork. While I'm not exactly sure how I'll be using this area, at least I have a solid surface to start.

This was the first time either of us had really layed a brick anything and I think it turned out perfect. I think my favorite part is the fact that this brick came from my yard. It is old, has slightly worn edges and small chips which make the patio look like it's been around for years.

Suprisingly, I still have piles and piles of brick around my yard, this hardly put a dent in what I have. Looks like I'll (okay, really we'll) be able to build a few more patios and walkways down the road.

Retaining Wall = New Patio

Now that I had a garden started and a tiny part of my 1/2 acre figured out, I couldn't let the nice weather go to waste. Directly adjacent to the garden was an awful slope, which led to the back yard. I knew eventually I wanted to create steps; but in the meantime, I needed to figure out the slope since it was in the way of my plans. So as the saying goes, I killed two birds with one stone.

About $100 later, we had built a small retaining wall, backfilled it with dirt and put the start to the patio. As fate would have it, the first brick pattern I tried was a perfect fit.

Yet, mother nature got in the way. This past weekend, we had hoped to start laying some of the brick; but after 2 rows the rain poured down and we were left with a muddy mess.

At least I have a plan.

It all started innocent enough

I certainly wasn't looking for trouble, well okay...maybe I was bored. So, as my post title suggest, it all started innocent enough. In my bedroom, the walls are covered with a nasty texture. While textured walls is a pet peeve of mine, at least have the courtesy to make it look nice. This room looked like a 3 year old was given free-reign. Needless to say whenever the time comes, the texture is certainly going to go.

Well, I was curious this past week so I grabbed a flat-head screwdriver (as the scraper was outside in the garage) and began chipping away in one corner of the room. To my surprise, the texture looked like it was put directly to the fiber board underneath. Then the itch got the best of me and I went outside to get the scrapper. The first area I was curious about was this abnormal bump near the east window. I grabbed a damp sponge, soaked the wall and got to work with the scrapper.

10 minutes later and I have this. Several layers of wallpaper which were "oh so nicely" covered over by the textured plaster.


Then it happened, I stood up and figured I would take a look to see what was at eye level, so once again with scrapper in hand...this happened.

By now you are probably wondering what I was going to do next, well I had planned on stopping for the evening when I came across this. It is a little fuzzy; but the wallpaper shows a woman and man in mid-nineteenth century clothing. Of course when you find something like this, you owe it to history to seek out the truth.

Yet, it was about 11 in the evening and I was tired. So, I cleaned up what mess I could and went to bed. When I got home the following evening though that stupid scraper was calling my name.

About a half hour later, I had exposed a 5ft wide by 4ft tall area of the same wall. Whoopsie!!

Yet, what I did find along the way was more of the wallpaper print, albeit it missing some key elements. This time it was a similiar scene with a man and woman; but I could also make out a tree, boat and part of a house in the background.

The best surprise came when I reached the corner of the room. The same wallpaper print was exposed; but this time was in glorious color. Take a look and see what I mean.

The blue dress, red fan and headpiece, goodness, if those were the colors throughout the entire wall, that certainly was a colorful room.

I know that this wallpaper is not the first layer, it's actually like the 3rd; but even if it is from the 30s or 40s, that's still quite old.

I'd love to find an image of the actual wallpaper somewhere on the internet; but I know that's like finding a needle in a haystack. So, to all you home remodelers out there, if you come across something that looks like this on your walls or in your research, could you take a picture for me.

Studio Pics - Big Reveal

It's been months in the making and I've shown you glimpses of certain parts throughout the process. I am happy to say that this wonderful holiday weekend, I was able to finish the Studio.

Here is a quick look back at what I had to start with...

Back in August of '07 (taken during my closing walkthrough)

Here is the space with a new floor from Sept. '07.

Here is the studio in January '08. Definately useable; but not proper for a creative environment.

And here is the studio today...

Definately more my style. Thoughts?