home improvement | kimberly ah

Feb 07 2013

home is a 1970s apartment, homemaking

Project Distraction…

You know those little home improvement projects that you finish and then say, “What took me so long??” Yeah, this was one of those. The Great Clean-Out unearthed a whole lot of art gathering dust in the closets and on the floors of our bedrooms. This week I decided to tackle the desk art.

On a giant piece of kraft paper, I tested my layout on the floor first (with Presley’s “help” of course) and traced the frames onto the paper. Then I cut out each “frame” and hopped on my ladder and taped them all up, readjusting a few times until I got them all where I wanted them. Then I measured for the picture hangers and hammered and hung each picture one at a time. I readjusted things as I went, based on tiny mis-measurements. It wasn’t an exact science (for instance, I’m not sure how I feel about the tiny cat floating away from everything at the top) but I’m pretty happy with my little collection up there. Eventually I’d love to take down my twine-o-postcards and have art hanging up across the entire desk unit, but I’m okay with this for now.

Finishing this was a nice distraction from the Great Clean-Out (which is still sprawled across the dining room table and the living room floor). Now back to putting things away and plotting the rest of the art in the apartment. Right now, I’m loving the haphazard collage look and I’m thinking I might need to “build” another one with some old family pictures in my stash.

Clockwise from the top left: Cat–postcard purchased in Japan//Girl on a Swing papercut–Tina Tarnoff//photo strip–taken at Fitzgeralds a few summers ago//You Are My Sunshine–purchased at Renegade a few years ago, but I can’t remember the seller//Presley–one of my first Instagrams, developed by PostalPix//Iron Head collage–Vivienne Strauss//Lord Byron Letter Writing quote–Bison Bookbinding & Letterpress

Tagged decorating, home, home improvement, homemaking, letterpress

Feb 01 2013

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home is a 1970s apartment, homemaking, Uncategorized

It’s Been Quiet Around Here…

…because I’m in the middle of the most depressing cleaning project ever. Depressing only because I’ve put it off for so long.

We’ve lived here for two and a half years, but in some ways, I feel like we’ve never settled in. Certain things have never had a “place” and the guest room has always been an easy home for clutter. So this week I’ve been making a “place” for the things I want to keep and bagging up the things that I don’t. On Wednesday I finished up in our bedroom and our closets. This makes me extremely happy because repainting our bedroom and finishing our bathroom (FYI: the big work is done and we’re using it, but we still have to hang our mirror, the hooks and some art) are the last two big things we have to do before I will feel completely settled here. (Full disclosure: Our bedroom is the first room I painted when we bought our apartment. I’ve hated the color since the first roll. Lesson: Life’s too short to live with a bad paint choice.) Now that the bedroom and the closets are decluttered, we can get in there and paint. (And when I say we, I mean me.)

Yesterday I started tearing apart the guest room…it’s a big job in there. It was already a disaster and then, while I was cleaning our bedroom, I used the guest bed as a place to hold the things I couldn’t decide about. Now it’s time to pay the piper and find that stuff a home, or send it out. The picture above is of my stationery drawer–which has gotten a little bit out of hand. (Just a little.) I’ve sifted through it and everything fits into a basket now, which will be much easier to transport into the living room for letter writing. Tonight, I’m tackling the craft stuff, getting rid of dead and uninspiring materials and organizing the stuff that’s left. I’m trying to consolidate all of the like items and find them a home once and for all.

As depressing as the Great Clean Out has been, it’s also like a mini surprise party! I’ve unearthed some amazing things that I’d forgotten about like letters from old college friends and my old work notebook, filled with haikus that I’d written during meetings. (I was a diligent employee.) I’m glad I’m taking the time to find a good home for these little treasures of my past. And, I’m glad that I’ll soon be able to see all the craft stuff so I can use it up and spend it out.

So, that’s what’s been keeping me away from doing anything fun. Hopefully I’ll be back next week with a finished project and some good stuff to share (like an old work haiku).

Tagged home, home improvement, homemaking, memories

Jan 25 2013

3 Comments

home is a 1970s apartment, homemaking

SNOW!

The last real snow we’ve seen in Chicago was 335 days ago. So today I am celebrating the freshly fallen 1.1 inch on my street. And I’m trying to pretend that you can’t see blades of grass peeking through the whiteness. This morning, I walked down the street to grab a cup of coffee in my oh-so-unstylish, but very practical winter boots. Now I’m off to spend the day finishing my closet clean-out, visiting the Hallmark store and maybe, just maybe hanging some art on the walls.

Tagged home, home improvement, homemaking

Nov 30 2012

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home is a 1970s apartment

Construction rolls on slowly…

The bathroom renovations seem to be coming along slowly because of the holiday, but things are happening…behind the walls. Last week the plumbers installed the shower base and this week they replaced and relocated our pipes. In our building–because it is filled with a bunch of retired people who are around all day, who never remodel their tired apartments and who like to find things to complain about–you become really popular when you have work done. (And by popular, I mean hated.) So I wasn’t surprised at all when the guy across the hall knocked on the door to tell me how I had basically ruined his day with my construction work…

Wednesday the electrician came to work on the wiring and yesterday we passed our inspections of the electric and plumbing work. Today, the drywalling begins…

I really need to pick a paint color…pronto.

Do you know how hard it is to choose a winning grey?

(The picture above shows our shiny new pipes and our nifty new pocket door frame.)

Tagged decorating, home improvement, homemaking, retirement community

Nov 17 2012

Master Bath Progress…Day 1

Thursday was demo day in the bathroom. I tried not to look–demolition mess makes me a little nuts. It always seems like an insurmountable disaster, even if I’m not the one cleaning it up. But, I did look, and it wasn’t too scary…

The crazy loud noises scared the bejeezus out of Presley, but after about an hour of hammering, sawing, beating and breaking, she got used to it and decided to take a nap on the couch (as opposed to staring wide-eyed from under the couch). And honestly, the sound of the bathtub being sawed (?) apart made me want to hide under the couch! (Please excuse the furry floor…my housekeeping is suffering this week…every week!)

It was a little awkward seeing our toilet being rolled out on a dolly…and even more awkward seeing it sitting in the middle of the (shared) garage…but these things happen, I guess.

Brett (our neighbor friend), Naoto & I went to the city for some tea and some lunch and by the time we got home, our contractor was gone and the place was all cleaned up. This is what remained of the bathroom.

Next up: the build out…

Tagged home, home improvement, renovations

Nov 15 2012

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home is a 1970s apartment

Home is a 1970s Apartment | the Master Bath

So this is the master bath in all of its 1970s glory. I’ll let you bask in some pictures. Take a deep breath…there’s a lot of shine!

That is basically the view from the door. LOTS of silver wallpaper with big blue and turquoise flowers, LOTS of gold accent, LOTS of mirror. And yes, that is a safety bar in the bath/shower. Just in case. (I have to admit that I used it once when I slipped in the tub…quite the lifesaver. But I also whacked my head on it when I was shaving one day…)

Some details:

The medicine cabinet has a slot for used razor blades. You just drop them in and the blade falls behind the wall. I want to be home when Shawn (our contractor) takes out that wall, just so I can see how many blades are back there!

The bathtub is a pale, pale shade of blue. (It’s also super grimy after forty years of showers.)

Like the kitchen, the bathroom ceiling is wallpapered. Unlike the kitchen, the bathroom ceiling wallpaper is a complementary choice–solid silver.

The side of the wooden vanity is rotting.

I kind of love the floor.

And, the original wallpapering job was so impeccable, the seams are hard to find, and even the outlet cover is decorated!

I have to admit, I’m a little sad to see this 70s goodness go…it’s so disco-fun! But of course I am ready to have a working shower and a non-rotting vanity…and the fresh start new construction brings. Unfortunately, new construction also means sharing a bathroom again and having someone invading our space every weekday for the next month…ugh. I’ll be keeping my eyes on the prize (a modern shower and a squeaky clean new toilet!) while I wait for the project to be done.

P.S. This was my 100th post! Yikes!

Tagged decorating, home, home improvement

Nov 14 2012

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home is a 1970s apartment

master bath ideas

Naoto & I spent yesterday choosing tiles and a toilet for our soon-to-be-remodeled master bath. Before I show you the “befores” (which, depending on your age, will make you laugh, cry or wonder why we are even remodeling) I’m going to show you our ideas and choices so far. That’s Naoto above posing with his dream Japanese-style washlet toilet. Sadly, condo regulations in our city make it financially impossible to add one in our bathroom. (It would add several thousand dollars to our remodeling project and involve an annual inspection. So sad.) But we picked out a really nice toilet…just not a fancy washing one…

There was a dog napping in the plumbing store. (See him on the bottom shelf in the middle.) I really wanted him to get up and greet us, but he seemed too drowsy.

Our contractor recommended a “mom & pop” store for our tiling needs. I was a hesitant at first because I thought the prices would be higher than the big hardware stores’ prices. I was pleasantly surprised that almost everything in the store was reasonable and wonderful! And, the tiles I fell in love with were both within the budget! I’ve had my mind made up from the beginning about the wall tile in our shower–white subway tile. It was a simple decision and an inexpensive one. I was afraid of the floor tiles though. I had no idea what I really wanted, or what would look good. With a little bit of searching, I found something that will hopefully be a wonderful balance with the rest of the choices. My pick is the fourth from the right, the dark greyish black one with the “texture”. Our walls are going to be some sort of light grey (like the rest of our home), so hopefully it will all tie together? (One never knows until it’s all said and done and too late, right?)

The only other thing we have chosen is our vanity and cabinet. I am a big fan of drawers (as opposed to cabinets with doors and shelves) and Ikea was the only place that had what I really liked.

Those are two big drawers and the sink is large and shallow (perfect for washing my messy mineral make-up down the drain). We are considering the tall cabinet as well, but we haven’t decided for sure. (I know…time is ticking…)

What we really don’t know about yet is lighting and a mirror (or medicine cabinet). I’ve been trolling lighting sites and looking in other people’s bathrooms (but not in their medicine cabinets!) for months now and I just haven’t seen anything I love. If you have any ideas, please share in the comments! Thanks!

I will be back later this week with “before” shots.

Tagged decorating, home, home improvement

Oct 24 2012

6 Comments

home is a 1970s apartment, homemaking

Our Hardware Cabinet Finds Its Home

Last week we finally bought our first grown-up TV. Actually this is the first television purchase for either one of us–both Naoto & I have lived on TV hand-me-downs (and my gifted college TV from this post) our whole lives. When I met Naoto, his TV was so old, it didn’t even have a remote control and mine was my parent’s old set that worked perfectly, except it occasionally made this sizzling noise. It was slightly alarming, but harmless, until one day, it sizzled out in the middle of a thrilling Law & Order episode. Sad. (Confession: We hopped in my car and sped over to Naoto’s apartment to finish the episode.)

We finally got everything set up with HD and all that fancy stuff (clearly, I have no idea what I’m talking about here) and here it is! And we are so excited that it fit on our vintage hardware cabinet from Yearbook. Even the HD cable box tucks nicely to the side! (Sidenote: Do you remember this Friends episode where Rachel randomly wears her old cheerleader uniform to woo Joshua?)

I love our little hardware drawers. Most of them are still labeled with the contents of each drawer. I have a vintage Dymo label maker, so I might break it out for the drawers that have lost their identification. But I’m keeping the original old labels on the others.

I still need to vacuum out the drawers and decide what we are putting in them (any suggestions?), but for now, we are really happy with our impulse furniture purchase.

P.S. I tried to wipe off the stuff on the bottom drawers, but it seems to be more permanent than dirt…just so you don’t think I didn’t try.

P.S. (Part 2) Thanks for all of the hair love last week! Every comment made me smile!

Tagged decorating, home, home improvement, homemaking, vintage

Oct 05 2012

2 Comments

crafty adventures, homemaking

when things fall apart…

I only took this picture to show you that I not only bought a frame for my letterpress project, but I also hung it up. But that is the extent of the home improvement projects around here…as a matter of fact, if you look closely at the background, you can see the remains of my mail call mess that still lives in the dining room. (You cannot see the mail call mess in the living room, kitchen, guest room, hallway and car, but it is there.)

So, in spite of living in a messy house, being behind on broken blog promises (The Little Red Toolbox will be back soon!), being behind on a boatload of mail, being behind in my party planning and Halloween decorating and being behind in my book club reading, I am still a happy and thankful girl…even when things fall apart.

Tagged decorating, diy, home, home improvement, Honor Flight Chicago

Sep 27 2012

4 Comments

gardening, home is a 1970s apartment, homemaking

Home is a 1970s Apartment | The Autumn Balcony

My friend Peggy gifted us her old wicker loveseat last week. I am in love with the thing…it will be a perfect spot to cozy into with a good book next summer (and hopefully a few times this fall). New furniture means musical chairs–moving things around to make it work on the balcony. Since the spring, we’ve had a separate dining and seating areas out there. The wicker seat gives us more seating options for guests and makes it feel a little more living room-y out there. I love it.

Saturday, Naoto and I spent some time outside in the breezy sunshine trying to spruce things up on the balcony for fall. It’s that awkward time in the season when you have fall mums mixing with summery blooms, but–to me–the more blooms the better. (My mom was saying that she hasn’t bought a mum yet because her pink and purple petunias are still blooming like crazy…I told her I solved that problem by killing my petunias off in August!) Next spring, I think we will move the bird feeder and switch around the chairs and loveseat, but for now, we’re going to keep things as is (since most of the furniture will be coming in soon for the winter). I would also love to paint the floor grey–it’s this weird pale hospital-y green now–and get an all-weather area rug and outdoor pillows to make things even more comfortable out there.

The balcony is five by twenty feet, which is both big and small to me…big for an “urban” apartment and small for a girl who dreams of a country home with a wraparound porch. But it works for us to have a little cafe table for two and a seating area out there.

We were super-lucky to furnish and decorate the whole balcony with second hand furniture (the love seat, the green chairs and the black plant cart), sale items (the cafe set, shepherds hooks and all of the pots and plants) and gifts (the bird feeder and all of the bird houses were all made by my dad). We almost bought some stuff at Ikea when we first moved in, but my parents found the green chairs and table on Craigslist for half the price of ONE Ikea chair…isn’t that crazy?! We are so thankful to them for keeping an eye out for good second hand stuff!

Just for good measure (because all of the other posts have before & afters), here is what the balcony looked like when we first moved in…isn’t it amazing what a few flowers and some furniture can do?