Batten Down the Hatches!

We're hunkering down here in MD waiting for Hurricane Sandy aka "Frankenstorm" bears down on the region. I was going to get up and drive to DE this morning, being the dedicated trainee that I am, but my division chief said stay home and stay safe. So now we're watching 24 hour coverage of Sandy and doing a little bit to prepare.

Preparing for Hurricane Sandy:

1. Obviously you want to make sure your cell phones are charged (and keeping things plugged in) - but I came up with the idea to charge my old cell phones as well.


That way, if we lose power and my phone runs out of power I can just switch the sim card to my old phone!

2. I'm making chili :) and plan to put the leftovers in the freezer, since we have a gas stove I can heat it up on the stove out of the freezer if the power goes out.


3. "Non-perishable" foods - When I went to the store they were out of water and RAMEN!! Okay, seriously people, I understand that Ramen is technically "non-perishable" but if you have access to boiling water (i.e. have a gas stove) you could do so much better!

• New bottle of spaghetti sauce (no refrigeration needed!) and spaghetti
• Canned Tuna and/or Chicken - as soon as power goes out, make chicken/tuna salad with your MW or Mayo before it goes bad. Or get packets.
• Make a green leafy salad with your Tuna and/or Chicken, fruits and veggies will last a few days after the power goes out.
• Again, if you have a gas stove, get some of the dried tortellini from the pasta section, small bottle of sauce. Voila!
• Buy some nuts. Protein!

4. Water - We're using the Brita to fill the water containers in our house. I'm really not that worried about losing access to potable water, so I'm not brawling in the store over jugs of water, but might as well fill up what I've got.

5. Laundry - We did all the laundry before the power goes out. Gotta have clean britches!

6. Stationed candles where we would need them throughout the house.

7. Downloaded audio books to my tablet for entertainment if the power goes out.

Right now it's just raining and is kinda windy, but they keep reminding us, it hasn't missed us, it just hasn't hit yet.

>.

We'll definitely have to use the new leaf blower once Frankenstorm retreats though!


We'll keep you posted! - Kari

Seen at an Estate Sale

I've decided to add a new category to the F2F posts...Seen at an Estate Sale. In the past several weeks we have seen numerous questionable design choices in the houses having estate sales, many of which defy a simple description. 

This weekend we were dazzled by the wallpaper in this bathroom, then we turned to see the recessed bathtub. This immediately elicited a "WTF... were they thinking." Maybe it's the result of seeing these tubs on a few bathroom renovation shows where the TV host is always dumbstruck when they see one, but I fail to understand the benefit of a recessed tub. Maybe they wanted to be able to sit on the side with their feet in the tub but didn't have enough marble to encase a standard "elevated" bathtub; or maybe, they wanted to maximize wall space for the floral wallpaper. Your guess is likely better than mine, so if you think of a reasonable or equally snarky explanation let us know. 

Mid Century Wishlist - The Arco Floor Lamp

Designed by Achille Castiglioni and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni as a freestanding interior version of a street lamp, the aim was to produce a lamp so stunning that fixed lights would become obsolete. The Arco lamp has remained unchanged and the current production is exactly the same as the ones produced in 1962 with exception of an upgraded electrical system.

Achille Castiglioni in his Milan studio in the late '60s, reading under the Arco lamp he designed
with his brother, Pier Giacomo, in 1962

Love the skull and butterflies painting in the background and the chair and ottoman set

The curved stem of the Arco lamp is made of three pieces, all made out of stainless steel with a U profile that slide inside each other, like a fishing rod, the telescopic movement also conceals the electric leads. This gives more span to the arc, and enables the lamp to be set at three different heights. 

The bullet planters look familiar

The Arco lamp is available through Design Within Reach for $2,950, which is why it sits at the top our wishlist.

The Perils of Estate Sale Shopping

Hit and run :-(

Sneak Peek of Things To Come

Craigslist Roundup!

I can't let Micheal show me up with posts!! Hi honey!

So I'll drop some mid-century beauty from DC on ya - addiction, thy name is craigslist!

Beautiful Bedside Tables - $250
Love these guys, especially the little lip on the back. It would keep Moshe from pushing stuff off behind them...

Squatty Green Chair - $175
No cat scratching, looks clean, SCORE!

Bamboo and Glass Side Table - $50
This is a nice price and I would spray paint it, but some people love that vintage gold. :)

Someone needs to buy these next two!! Separated at birth!!

Put your clothes away...
Sculptura Dresser - $350

and then go to bed!
Sculptura Bed - $200
If I weren't cheap, I would totally buy this. Today. Yesterday.

Brasilia Credenza - $325
I need this. That is all.

Mirror, Mirror on the Wall

We dug this trifold mirror out of an attic at an estate sale in the District a few months ago. The mirror was filthy, and the hinges were bent and tweaked. I began by disassembling the mirrors from the frames, starting with removing the 1/4" thick wood panels holding the mirrors in place. I set the mirrors to the side, cleaning off the old tape "x" across the mirrors and the untold years of dirt, the cool thing is once they were cleaned you could see the antiquing of the mirrors. Next I separated the frame sections and straightened the hinges. I used a small piece of wood as a buffer when straightening the hinges with a hammer, this prevents any damage to the hinge and maintains the "antique" finish.

We decided not to sand the frame because I didn't want to lose the "aged" appearance of the wood. Instead we restored the finish using fine steel wool (0000) and Restor-A-Finish. The result is amazing, I really like how it brought out the grain of the wood and its "aged" appearance. I reassembled the frame, which lined up perfectly with the repaired hinges. The panels on the back of the mirrors were discarded. Instead I stained a few feet of 1/8" quarter round trim to hold the mirrors in the frame. I cut the sections to fit the entire perimeter and the Ridgid brad nailer to attach them to the frame. We haven't decided where it will go yet, but it looks great propped up on my desk for now.    

The second mirror we found at a thrift store in Pennsylvania. It had a dark blonde finish that diminished the appearance of the wood grain. I spent an obscene amount of time sanding the fine details of the frame (while Indi took up temporary residence in her new fort). 

Once the sanding was finished I started experimenting with the stain. After testing a few shades, I decided on the Minwax dark walnut stain. I think refinishing furniture is exposure therapy for my obsessive leanings because I've learned to embrace how the different sections of wood react differently to stain.

The variations were a little drastic at first, but after adding a couple coats of tung oil and buffing the finish it looks amazing. Tung oil penetrates the wood, evens out the finish adding a deeper matte finish. After applying tung oil, let it set for 5-10 minutes before buffing out the finish. Let set 24-hours before applying a second coat, lightly sanding between coats and following each coat by buffing out the finish.