city boys, decorating, house tour, thrifty

A Final Tour: Saying Goodbye to the City Condo

01/14/2018

Rogers Park Chicago Condo

On February 20, 2007, The Mister and I signed the closing documents for our first home together – a modest vintage condo on the far north side of the city. It was the Mister’s big birthday (I won’t say which but it ended in a zero) and we were confident that by purchasing property we were taking our first big step toward financial security. The housing market had been going gangbusters for the first few years of the early 2000’s and this small, rehabbed condo in an up-and-coming neighborhood was what we could comfortably afford. We reasoned that with the strong housing market we’d be able to trade up to a larger condo within a few years. Continue Reading…


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kitchen, renovation

Kitchen Mini-Renovation: We’re Going to Need a Backsplash

01/12/2018

Here’s a little don’t-always-believe-what-you-see lesson for the internet age. Note how nice the wall looks in the photo above. The space above the newly installed countertop looks smooth and cleanly painted, right? You might even think that if I would just touch up that little bit of door frame to the left in the photo, I’d be all good to go. If this were a photo on Instagram, you might comment with something like, “Wow! It looks like you’re almost done!”

Well, what you see online and in social media posts may not always be as it seems. Take this wall for instance. While some patchwork and a fresh coat of paint has it looking “internet good,” reality is a totally different story.

Continue Reading…


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before & after, kitchen, renovation

Kitchen Mini-Renovation: Countertop and Sink

12/10/2017

The kitchen rehab continues! This time, countertop and sink. We’re saying goodbye to the stainless steel sink and formica countertop that had been painted silver. In their place, we’re installing IKEA HAMMARP butcher block countertops to warm up the kitchen and a Kohler white cast iron sink to bring back some vintage farmhouse flair.

Continue Reading…


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before & after, kitchen, making do

Kitchen Mini-Renovation: Painting the Cabinets

11/29/2017

Previously on This American House: We kicked off the kitchen mini-renovation by rehabbing a small corner of the kitchen. Now the time has come to finish the other 3/4 of the kitchen. First up, painting the cabinets.

Continue Reading…


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Frank Lloyd Wright

Through the (Drinking and Looking) Glass

11/05/2017

Frank Lloyd Wright Drinking Glass

The very first Frank Lloyd Wright-designed glass I ever looked through was a highball containing a vodka soda. We’d bought a beautiful set of Miller Rogaska barware (made for the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation) at the Frank Lloyd Wright Visitor Center on our very first visit to Spring Green back in 1999. Alas, much of that barware hasn’t survived the years, but we still have a few existing glasses, a decanter, and an ice bucket in regular service. As I look out now through our genuine Frank Lloyd Wright-designed windows – sometimes with a highball in hand – I often reflect upon our journey “through the looking-glass” into our own Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Wonderland here at the Delbert Meier House. And it all started with these drinking glasses. Bottoms up, Mr. Wright!


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