What do you use to start a fire? Those store-bought fire starting logs? Well, hello, Mr. and Mrs. Moneybags! Crumpled up newspaper? Yep, that’ll work (and will perhaps keep print media running). Top secret documents that you need to destroy? Um, yeah, that’ll work too (although I worry about the kinds of people you associate with). Have I got a better fire starter for you! And it’s two things you would throw into the garbage anyway!
This fireplace is a perfect example of how Mr. and Mr. Blandings make the best of what we have. We haven’t been able to get the fireplace inspected due to all the snow and cold so we’re not able to build a proper fire yet. Still, that dark boxy hole in the wall is just begging for some flames! Thank goodness for cheap IKEA candles and a cordless drill.
As a blizzard roared by the Dream House last night, I was hunkered down on the sofa, trying to stay warm. The winds last night were brutal. Sitting inside this big, old, quiet house, it sounded like a hurricane was raging outside. It was so windy, in fact, that if it were summer I would have been preparing my tornado evacuation plan.
Despite my multiple layers of clothes and two pairs of socks, I was still feeling the effects of the cold. It was almost as if I could feel the cold air drifting across the hardwood floors and right across my feet. And in some ways, I could! As I walked past the front door a little while later, I noticed that some snow was blowing through the crack under the door and collecting in a little puddle inside the house. No wonder it’s so damned cold in the living room!
I’ve been struggling a bit with how to cover the windows in the Dream House. Because the windows are so beautiful and since they’re such an integral part of the house’s design, I want to keep them as exposed as possible. However, we also want some privacy. Here in the entryway, for instance, there’s a window by the front door that faces the street. I love the light but I don’t like feeling like my house is wide open for all to see. I came up with a solution that honors the window, still allows in plenty of light and gives us privacy. Oh, and I did it all for free.
The lighting in the Dream House house leaves a lot to be desired. We could easily spend hundreds or even thousands of dollars replacing all of the ugly “boob lights” and ceiling fans with period specific fixtures appropriate to our American System Built home. Or, we could spend $10 per fixture and get a temporary measure that fits the house’s era and design, but doesn’t break the bank. And that’s exactly what we did.
