From the moment our new sofa was delivered and we figured out that it fit best in front of the bank of windows in the living room, I knew that I wanted a console table behind it. As a stop gap measure I placed a drop leaf table behind the sofa and then I started my search for a proper console table. In the four months since then, I’ve found a lot of console tables that I’ve liked but none within my price range (read: cheap!). So I did what I always do when I can’t find what I want – I built my own!
I long for the day when I can pull up the light brown flooring that lines the bathroom of the Dream House and install beautiful, vintage inspired hex tile. Until that day arrives, my gaze will fall longingly on any hex tile surface I encounter. The beautiful tile floor shown here is at a new coffee shop/bakery in the suburbs of Chicago. As I stood in line waiting to order my breakfast, I kept my eyes fixed on the flooring. While it’s a little busier than I envision for the bathroom, I love the design and detail. Oh how wonderful hex tile will look in the bathroom … someday.
Image: Mr. and Mr. Blandings
Our friends Edgar and Larry are an absolute inspiration. I first met the couple when I photographed their old apartment for Apartment Therapy back in 2011. I was amazed by the way they made great use of their 900 square foot space. Now in a much larger home, Edgar and Larry are still amazing me with their design sensibility. Today, Edgar is giving us a tour of the guest room. (Rumor has it their twin beds may have inspired the twin beds in the guest room of the Dream House.)
As a young boy in the Midwest, I was surrounded by skilled gardeners. I have a memory bank full of images of me standing in my grandfather’s garden as he reaped and sowed his way to a bountiful harvest. And, yet, I absorbed very little of that garden knowledge myself. I was always preoccupied with singing the latest Madonna tune and dreaming of my future as a famous celebrity correspondent for Entertainment Night to pay attention to what my grandpa was doing. Why the hell would I need to know how to farm?! I was going to go live in the city!
city boys, small town life, Uncategorized
Weather Alert: The City Boy’s Tornado Preparedness Plan
04/28/2014
As the wind howled outside the Dream House last night, I had a flashback to my youth in rural Indiana and Ohio. Tornado watches and warnings were a common occurrence along the flat landscape in that part of the Midwest. And they scared the hell out of me! When I moved to the city seventeen years ago, I knew that I had pretty much evaded twisters. After all, in the city you’re far more likely to have your iPhone stolen on the subway than to experience a tornado. Now that we’re back in the rural Midwest, I’m reminded that knowing what to do in the event of a tornado is not a bad idea.
