Urban Gardening

Yesterday we went and picked out some flowers for the yard and flower pots to get ready for spring. Ki ran across this strawberry plant and instantly went nuts over it. He asked if he could buy a small pot to plant it in, but like normal I seem to take it to the next level. I didn't take it too overboard though, just a little bigger than a small flower pot. I basically used cedar fence pickets and built a basic box and lined the bottom and edges with plastic. I thought it would be fun to make this little project truly his so I put his name and the year it was established on the box as well. He helped with the whole thing and already ate one strawberry from the plant (he made sure he found a plant with an already ripe strawberry on it)

This will be his little project so we'll get to see if he gets to enjoy the fruits of his labor.....get it, fruits of his labor, because strawberries are......nevermind. I'll keep you up to date.

February Happenings

When I started this whole blogging thing I thought " Man, this will be so fun and easy. Blogging everyday, showing pictures and projects. Blah Blah Blah!" It seems to be a little tougher than what I expected. The winter months are slow for projects, for me at least. I really have no excuse other than it's winter and it really hasn't dropped below 40 degrees and is hasn't snowed and it's been sunny for the most part. So basically I have no excuse except for pure laziness.

Here are a few things that have happened so far in February. Misty and I took a trip to Chicago for her birthday. It was a blast but guess what, the only pics I have are of an old fashioned made with lime, my new Red Wing boots, and the Carhartt store in Wicker Park which was amazing I might add.

Then it was Mistys "real birthday" and we came home to a fully decorated kitchen with streamers, a cake, and a little art from Ki. It was awesome and sweet and he could barely hold in the excitement.

We had parent/teacher conferences that week as well. I took a couple pics of the art that the kids do in class and it blows me away. The way each little brain interprets the way he or she draws or paints or glues or builds, its awesome.

Then it was Valentines day. Ki wanted to build a robot, but as we started I said "This kind of looks like an army tank." That's all it took to change the direction. Misty said the morning that she dropped him off for school he got real shy and worried about what the teacher and principal might say about having a tank at school. She assured him that it would be fine and it turned out to be a big hit. Here's the "Love Tank" and the soldier that was blowing up hearts (cheese) on Valentines day. He was giving me that Dad I'm tired and don't want my picture taken look.

Up The Stairs And Take A Left

I have visited a few blogs where people have put together house tours and taken pics of their "cribs". Well our crib is nothing spectacular, however it is ours and I have tried to make it different and trendier than what I feel the other houses in the neighborhood are like. I get a lot of inspiration from blogs and visiting hotels and restaurants and bathrooms and bars, the list goes on and on. Our master bedroom is pretty minimal, but that's the way we wanted it. I do want some nice artwork on the walls and eventually will add a sliding track door going into the bathroom as there is no door into the shower and vanity area. The color is Modern Gray from Sherwin Williams with dark, almost black stain on the bed, dresser, and floating nightstands. Oh by the way I built the bed and the nightstands. I got the tree tapestry from Urban Outfitters and had my Mom "quilt" it to a bedspread we already had. The pipe shelf is a recently finished project made from threaded galvanized pipe sprayed a flat black. The wood for the shelving is from a shelf that my dad built me when I was in like the 6th grade. I kept the wood almost the way it was dismantled with all the years of use and patina it had acquired. I sanded a few spots and filled in a few dings and knots but mostly just used it as is. It's a nice compliment to the dark stains and clean square lines.

As normal the pics aren't that great of quality, but I'm a builder not a photographer. So any of you photographer types that want to take awesome pics for your portfolio or trade services let me know, until then then you get what you get.

Second Hand Catch All

I've been all fired up with using wood tones and reclaimed wood and rustic pieces lately. Is it a trend? Maybe. Is it me getting older and trying to be more mature? Ummm could be and it's cheaper and not as dorky as a yellow convertible Corvette. Is it a true appreciation for repurposing and breathing new life into materials and pieces? I think that's most of it.

The basement has been a second hand room for as long as I can remember. Meaning we get new stuff up stairs and the basement gets the leftovers. However lately I have learned how to make these second hand and repurposed pieces work together. I was going for a modern lodge feel with wood tones and lighter colors. Sometimes it feels beachy and sometimes it feels lodgy(sp?). This coming weekend I am picking up a deer skull with antlers attached that will definitely drive home that lodge feel.

This a Restore find that my mom found for $20. It must have been from a hotel liquidation because you can tell it was a totally mass produced piece. I sprayed it a gloss steel gray color and it serves it's purpose well. You can't tell in the picture but it has a cool brass raised bar on the back of it, it's just hidden by the TV. I also made that little cabinet underneath to hold DVDs and whatever else. I put in on those furniture sliders because I couldn't find casters small enough to clear the bottom of the cabinet.

I know these aren't true mid century butterfly chairs but those are hard to come by and super expensive. I bought new canvas cream colored covers for them and painted the frames black.

Just a random view of the room. You've seen the wood wall on previous posts.

This is my weathered american flag find. It looks cool against the reclaimed wood on the wall.

The two pictures on the wall were from my parents. I remember these being around forever. My dad always had them in any of his designated rooms - office, instrument room, wood shop, etc. The other two are silhouettes of a moose. It's gloss black on flat black and I just outlined them with a gray colored pencil.

This chest was in out master bedroom for years. It works as a keepsake chest. Marriage stuff, Ki's stuff, just important memories stuff. Works so much better in the room though.

Kind of tough to see this picture to show this table. I made it from leftover 4x4 fence posts. I would love to make a dining table like this one day, though I would have to rent a small crane to move it.

This is some sort of army back pack. Not sure what it was used for, but now it used to hold blankets. One of those is my baby quilt and one of them is a quilt that the Hope Lodge made my dad while he was at Barnes in St Louis. The other is just a cool southwestern style blanket.

Flag again. I just really like this for some reason.

Here is a coffee table that my was given to me. I think it was used as a chicken coop back in the day. It has a glass top on it so none of it hidden and you can see the hinges door on top. I put some small steel casters on the bottom to get it off the floor.

Hopefully the next picture will be the deer head. Can't wait to get that nasty thing on the wall.

All Hands On Deck

This summer has been full of projects around the house. It seems that each one has revolved around the deck remodel though. After our big hail storm in April I figured it was time to redo the deck the way we always wanted to. We get afternoon sun that just beats on the back of the house and makes it uncomfortable to enjoy the deck until the sun goes down. We tried an outdoor steel/canvas canopy from Target that was nice but didn't quite cover the whole deck, however it did provide some relieve from the heat. I've been envious of pergola's and shade structures for a long time so decided it was time take back our deck from the big ball of fire. I researched different shade fabrics, sails, and solid top structures. I figured we wanted the versatility of shade, but aesthetically pleasing at the same time. I used all reclaimed wood from a friend of mine that was remodeling his deck and then just started building. I had an idea of a flat straight lined Manhattan terrace that you would see in a Manhattan penthouse loft. However this Kansas and this is what I came up with. Thanks to my father in law for the labor of the structure and two of my good friends for the wood donation.

This is an outdoor rug that I free handed a zebra pattern onto. I seamed two 6x9 rugs together to create a larger rug.

I used canvas drop cloths for the outdoor curtains hemmed about 6 inches on the top and bottom for a more finished look. The rods are galvanized conduit and the rings are just normal clip rings to hold the curtain. I plan on doing a chevron stripe on these soon.

That chandelier was made from a bradford pear that I trimmed up this summer. I chopped up some of the larger branches and stapled them together with my air nailer. The string light is just randomly wrapped around the branches and wired into the light outlet so it can be controlled from an inside switch.

I always liked the louvered look of steel awnings and wanted to somehow incorporate this into the design. I think this finishes off the slight overhang of the shade structure too.

I did the floor in a gray color to match the shade fabric and to break up the black.

I wanted some natural wood tones also. Reclaimed cedar pickets from a fence is what I used to wrapped the lower half. It provides shade and hides my sons toys and my lumber for other projects.

Another floor view with the rug.

A view of the shade structure and fabric. It cuts out about 80 to 90% of the sun and still allows good ventilation.

Now that the extreme heat is over it is time to enjoy this bad boy. No invitation needed, just stop by and relax.

Pipes, Pine, & Paint

Got a nice little project in the works with these 3 elements. Should finish it up this weekend.

What Did You Do This Weekend....

Well here is what I did. It was only 105 degrees out Saturday so I decided it would be a great day to pour a concrete countertop for a friend of mine. He is in the process of building an amazing deck and is putting in this huge bar equipped with a grill, small fridge, and sink to take full advantage of the outdoor living space that is so inviting and popular these days. He had been talking about different surfaces for the bar and I suggested concrete, after having fabricated a few bar tops, kitchen countertops, and vanities in the past. Soon it will be complete with a few shade structures, rock veneer wrapped bar, and lounge furniture. But until then here is how it started. A few pics of the forms and freshly poured and then the edge forming removed. More pics to come but it's starting to take shape.