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.

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.

Restore Finds

It's no secret that I have an addiction to our local Habitat Restore. And lately they have not been letting me down. Here are few pics of the coolness that I have been finding.

This chair is 10 bucks and it is actually a rocker/glider dealio. A fresh new stain or paint and modded out fabric would make this rocker rock.

This table can get huge if you let it. My idea is chop the legs down, clean it up, and it would make an awesome coffee table. Oh and its 30 bucks. It's also got these x shaped ivory like inlays that are right above the legs from the top view. Awesome

As I was leaving I walked past a box that said furniture legs, I opened it up and HOLY CRAP......look at these legs. 8 bucks. Now the idea is to salvage the legs from the table and use a set of these instead. Genius?....yeah I know.

My "Console"ation Prize

Remember a while back when I saw that console, record player, stereo cabinet thing with the louvered sides. Well I ended up buying it for $20 bucks. Killer right? Right! I Got it home and instantly got to work on it. Mainly just cleaning it up, but I also sanded down the top to get some of the real deep scratches out of it and then gave it a mix of espresso and walnut stain all over to bring back it back to life. I am extremely happy with it and love the way it has helped me change my design ways to a more collective approach, rather than a matchy matchy box store vibe.

Here is the before, I think it felt kind of like the new kid in school that everybody talked about because it didn't quite fit in.

And here it is all cleaned up, looking so fresh and so clean clean (outkast). Check out those legs, so choice.

     

It has already made so many new friends including a new sectional, some RUSH and Willie Nelson vinyl, some family pics, a new lamp ( dope lamp right?), and an Ipod which took some getting used to. It couldn't figure out how all those songs could fit on a little black and silver gizmo and be played by hooking it up to two dusty inputs on the back. Welcome to the future my friend, you're going to love it here. 

More to come.........

Dude....Nice

This pretty much sums up the way it feels to build and work with wood. I think for this year I am going to focus on learning the old styles of building, less paint and more grain. We'll see how it goes.

Enjoy -

Grain & Gram: Blair Sligar, Woodworker from Grain & Gram on Vimeo.

I Wonder How It's Made

I've always wondered how skate decks are made. I never realized how many are made at a single given time. If you are ever in a place that sells decks, just take a look at the design and artistry that goes into them. As a woodworker and someone who is constantly wondering about how things are produced by mass or by one off's, I'm pretty amazed by this.

I Think I Want This Room

I think I like the floors the best. Time to start looking for some old barns to tear down and reclaim the wood.

Photo - Courtesy of Crate & Barrel

Last Weekends Projects

We have been wanting to do away with the 10 year old honey oak that was in our kitchen for quite some time. After painting our cabinets a few years ago I finally got around to changing the handrail. Our house is a split level or split level(s) as our master bedroom is on one level. Kitchen, Ki's room, spare bedroom and bathroom is on another level. The living room and entryway on another level. The basement living room, bathroom, and office on another level. Each level had honey oak railings to accompany the stairs. I went back and forth on staining vs painting. I decided on black to match our cabinets and other decor througout the house. We are still debating on changing the spindles or I may just do some sort of paint treatment or may just leave them as they are. Next up is the floors which I am not looking forward to, but it will be nice to bring them into the present day.

That same weekend I painted the hallway and stairway the same as the rest of the living room. It was a chocolate brown color from a previous era that I was just so done with. With the help of a few nics and hand prints from my son it was a perfect time to change it. I also stumbled across a board and batten treatment for an otherwise useless hallway wall. Thank you http://www.centsationalgirl.com/ for the killer idea. It makes the hallway so much brighter and clean. Eventually I will find some hooks or knobs and hang some cool framed pics from them, but until then this is what it looks like.

Have a nice weekend and try to stay warm.

The 98% Finished Feature Wall

Well here it is. The 98% finished reclaimed wood feature wall in the basement. Gone are the red walls, gone is the beer decor, and gone is the old school big screen television. I think it turned out pretty cool. I'm yet to find a media cabinet for the tv, sooooo it looks like a new project will be firing up soon.

So I Jumped The Fence And Yelled To The House, Hey What Gives You The Right

A good friend of mine owns a fence building company and builds beautiful fences. Mainly residential, at times a commercial one comes along, and my favorite of all the tear downs. Some people have old fences that need to be torn down to have a nice new shiny one put in it's place. I occasionally stop by his house to say hi or let the kids play and occasionally he has a trailer full of old scrap wood. If this was cartoon you would see a lightbulb go on above my head. As soon as I see old barns, heaps of old wood waiting to get burned, or in most recent cases, trailers full of old wood I get all excited. I start thinking how can I use this again, re purpose it, rebirth it, re-whatever else I can re-create with it. I have built a few things lately out of reclaimed wood and I think it is my new favorite material to build with. Everyone that knows me knows I like modern design, but this old new wood gives a different look to the modern world of design. I love the clean lines of a room and then a haggard old re purposed piece of furniture or art that makes a statement. As for now a few projects are being finished and pics are soon to follow. Stay tuned as I am working as fast as I can.

"Signs, signs, everywhere signs, blocking up the scenery, breaking up my mind, do this don't do that can't you read the signs."

" Throw another log on the fire "

A while back I was drooling through one of my favorite modern mags called DWELL. They had a feature story on an architects modern home that had a fireplace surround that caught my eye. Of course his was built out of a brazillian reclaimed hardwood that he had to fight villagers off with homeade spears while carving it to fit his newly built modern home. Mine however is basically a cover that fits over an existing mantle. With a little birch ply, black stain, and a few head scratching headaches this is what I came up with.