Porch, Projects and Problems
I put together my brand new grill this afternoon. I don't have a photo because the one I took was really blurry, but it's the Weber Smokey Joe, the small one that's about 15 inches across or so. I'm really pleased - it's small but versatile. I might be able to figure out how to rig it up to smoke smallish things. I was going to go out to the porch and figure out where to put it, and I ended up deciding to clean.
We'll start with a tour of my newly cleaned porch.
Clockwise from the back left - Echeveria "wavy curls", Crassula agentea "Gollum Jade", hindu rope and an aloe.
This is my pride and joy, my giant kalanchoe. I got her when she was just a little girl, less than a foot tall, and her pups were really tiny.
This has half chives, half parsley seeds. I can only hope they will sprout. If you've got any tips I'd love to hear them.
The legs to the dining table I went home this past weekend to refinish. We found it in my aunt's garage and I stripped it, refinished the top and had to paint the legs because they were a cheaper wood.
Here's the top. It's got one more layer of polyurethane on it now, since my dad said he added one more coat after I left.
In here is the chair that my dad used to watch TV in when he was a kid - scrubbed clean, refinished the arms with another layer of varnish. And his old nightstand, also cleaned and refinished. I'm going to reupholster the seat pad for the chair and make a new back cushion and neck roll, since the old ones are dingy and dirty and very loved by many many cats.
This is the fabric I chose for the chair. I have to measure the yardage and order it in. Took this photo on my phone, hence the graininess.
And now for my design problem. My actual APARTMENT is great, very quickly being pulled together. But the layout lends itself to a little problem. I'm on the second floor, and my door is on the first floor. That means there's a tiny alcove at the bottom of the stairs that looks completely unfinished. There's NOTHING down there. I don't really want to paint, I REALLY want to wallpaper, but I can't, because that's a thousand times more of a pain than painting, and I'm considering drawing on it with a paint pen. Does anyone else have any other ideas?
I put my keys and stuff on a table at the top of the stairs, so a true landing strip is tough. All I can think is an umbrella holder, a coat hanger on the wall, and some big statement art thing. And a wall lamp.
We'll start with a tour of my newly cleaned porch.
Clockwise from the back left - Echeveria "wavy curls", Crassula agentea "Gollum Jade", hindu rope and an aloe.
This is my pride and joy, my giant kalanchoe. I got her when she was just a little girl, less than a foot tall, and her pups were really tiny.
This has half chives, half parsley seeds. I can only hope they will sprout. If you've got any tips I'd love to hear them.
The legs to the dining table I went home this past weekend to refinish. We found it in my aunt's garage and I stripped it, refinished the top and had to paint the legs because they were a cheaper wood.
Here's the top. It's got one more layer of polyurethane on it now, since my dad said he added one more coat after I left.
In here is the chair that my dad used to watch TV in when he was a kid - scrubbed clean, refinished the arms with another layer of varnish. And his old nightstand, also cleaned and refinished. I'm going to reupholster the seat pad for the chair and make a new back cushion and neck roll, since the old ones are dingy and dirty and very loved by many many cats.
This is the fabric I chose for the chair. I have to measure the yardage and order it in. Took this photo on my phone, hence the graininess.
And now for my design problem. My actual APARTMENT is great, very quickly being pulled together. But the layout lends itself to a little problem. I'm on the second floor, and my door is on the first floor. That means there's a tiny alcove at the bottom of the stairs that looks completely unfinished. There's NOTHING down there. I don't really want to paint, I REALLY want to wallpaper, but I can't, because that's a thousand times more of a pain than painting, and I'm considering drawing on it with a paint pen. Does anyone else have any other ideas?
I put my keys and stuff on a table at the top of the stairs, so a true landing strip is tough. All I can think is an umbrella holder, a coat hanger on the wall, and some big statement art thing. And a wall lamp.