COB Curious?...

Playing in the mud is of course good times, throw in some straw and sand and you've got cob, a building material you can make a house out of. Cob is different from Pise, in that there are no blocks or cement used Continued here: COB...

Cache-ing Clunkers...

Wondering what to make of the Cash for Clunkers initiative that’s been sweeping the news ranks and has just been extended by Congress with another $2B to total $3B?  Green Builder Media’s most recent newsletter thinks that it’s a step in the right direction but should be accompanied by numerous other wholistic initiatives in parallel to drive systemic change, rather than just a one-time band-aid. The program is...

Bedroom chic...

So I am addicted to all these decorating programs on TV, so what? At least I learn something from them. Magazines help too – they are great to get ideas! I noticed a kind of trend recently – those picture frame moldings. They were everywhere I looked. I like the look! It was time for a bedroom reno, and I decided that I can do it myself – nothing to it! Right? Wrong!!!!! If you don’t have the right...

Window treatment...

Well, the curtains were a bit of meticulous work.You see, the room has southern exposure and all the curtains I had there before were bleached by the sun in one season.I got tired of it. So I decided that I need to line this curtain to prolong its life. Plus, it should serve as an insulator from the draft in the winter and a very good darkening device if you want to take a nap in the daytime (for those who work shifts,for...

Can anybody suggest a more elegant way to anchor t...

The umbrella is free standing, which I love – we can move it around according to our needs.And we put it away into the garage for the winter.But it’s quite heavy and when open tends to flip.The temporary solution we came up with was the sand filled bags. They seem to do the job, but are not very sightly or esthetically pleasing. Any suggestions to remedy this? See more here: Can anybody suggest a more elegant...

Old headboard reused...

This old headboard had a new lease on life with this application in the garden.After 8 years in use it might need a fresh coat of spray paint – other than that it’s great, adds a nice touch and contrast to the fragile flowers, and serves as a little fence. Go here to see the original:  Old headboard...

Moving Made Easy, Keep It Simple...

The moving industry is complicated. It uses a lot of lingo that most consumers don’t understand: You get your estimates as “binding” or “non-binding”; movers use a “tariff” to determine rates; when the mover ships your goods, you receive a “bill of lading.” And when you go to check out your mover, you run into a mass of regulations. Read the original here:  Moving Made...

Priming the hated chairs…...

My original intention was to strip the finish off these chairs and then re-stain them. However, they have quite a bit of fine detail to them, and very few flat areas, so stripping them by hand ended up being time-consuming and painful ( see here for my thoughts on that… ). So after about 3 years of procrastination on finishing the chairs, I decided to just give up and paint them. To keep things as simple as possible,...

Before…...

It is hard to believe how hideous this structure was when we bought the property in 2004. There was only one 12" x 24" (non-opening) window in the whole structure! The garage doors were half-rotten, and they no longer swung freely on the rusted hinges. There was no garden, simply a huge, old apple tree + some grape vines. The apple tree was immediately removed and the vines moved to the edge of the future garden....

Moving in… and setting-up shop…...

I scored a large L-shaped desk unit last year. It’s a beautiful birch wood with classic black legs. The MacBook Pro has great wireless broadband from the Airport Express. And pictures of some of my favourite projects accent the walls. My workspace looks out to a brick patio and garden. For me, it’s the perfect workspace! See the rest here:  Moving in… and setting-up...