Reuse. Rehabilitate. Restore. Architectural salvage and repurposed pieces for the home.
This is a few years old, but I’ve just discovered it so it’s new to me.
Hollywood is full of environmentalists. So you would think the movie industry should be green, right? Well, a film production company tried to shoot a movie that was entirely green and it didn’t go so well. Check out the trailer for “Greenlit“, a documentary on the eco-filming of “The River Why”.
Doesn’t matter if you’re a big drinker or not. Home bars are pretty darn cool. Whether it’s a tiki bar or Mad Men version, what better way to entertain your guests than pretend you’re a bartender?
Who needs a tiki bar when you can have an entire tiki room?
This cute pink bar was in a home for sale in St. Louise, MO. Entire home was listed at $55k.
Outdoor pallet bar. How much does this cost? Oh yeah, free.
Ok, so the house is a bit McMansiony but the idea of putting the bar under the stairs is great. Plus, they have a pool table.
Please check out the IndieGogo campaign raising funds for Sandy victims through Children’s Movement for Creative Education. The one year projects helps the youngins of Far Rockaway, Gerritsen Beach, Coney Island and Red Hook heal through artistic expression.
What do to:
1. Watch video.
2. Give money.
It’s been six months since renovations started on the Rockaway house. Yeah, I thought I’d be finished within three. Although most of the big, nasty damage was dealt with immediately, I ignored the worst problem until recently.
The rear deck was built into the house without thought of water infiltration. One stair stringer was supported by the house with vinyl siding cut around it and caulking to fill gaps. Gutters on the second floor were not properly cut and pulled away from the siding. Both the first and second floor rear mudrooms had mold and wood rot.
It’s not that the problem was ignored so much as put off. The two rooms were gutted and the deck was repaired to a point months ago. The tough thing was figuring out what to do with those stairs that were part of the house. Just patch it up the way it was?
Nah. Here’s where I needed an experienced company to come in. This wasn’t a DIY or jack of all trades handyman job. After a few phone calls, I went with Topline who does windows, siding and doors. We agreed that the best thing to do would be to take the stairs out completely and redo the entire back wall of siding and gutters, then rebuild self-supported stairs.
(Funny story. I left the room for 10 minutes and my husband created a “skylight”. Totally rotted ceiling/side replaced.)
But this isn’t about the vinyl siding or deck stairs. This is about the two mud rooms that can finally be dealt with because there are no longer leaks.
The entire house was not gutted. Probably should have been, but there were things I wanted to salvage, such as the floors. Anyway, whatever WAS gutted, we took great pains to repair properly.
What does that mean? It means replacing rotted wood. It means adding extra support where there wasn’t any before, including wall studs and flooring joists. It means new insulation.
It’s almost easier to rip everything out and start from scratch but if I did that, I would have to call this blog “Newly Renovated Home” rather than “Reclaimed Home”, now wouldn’t I?
It’s far from from being back to normal but after struggling through the devastation of Sandy all winter, it looks like there will be a light at the end of the tunnel for Rockaway come this summer.
The summer brings only temporary fixes. The beach won’t be secured to ensure flooding doesn’t happen again. This band aid method makes residents nervous but at least the area will experience “life” anew, whether temporary or not. It will bring business to the shops that remain open despite residents not being able to spend the way they once did. It will be “alive” with surfers and children playing in the sand, people walking their dogs on the boardwalk. Think of it as a summer vacation before going back to properly rebuilding the area.
Not only will the boardwalk and concessions be up and running but the A train will be repaired by June. Any yes, as God(dess) is my witness, my house will be ready by then too!
*BTW, how much do I love that photo above with the ghost of Rockaway past looking upon the future? It gives me goosebumps.
So, your floors are finished, sheetrock is up, you’ve painted and the molding is installed. Think you’re done? Think again. The finish work is one of the most tedious and time consuming parts of the job. It doesn’t really take much skill but it does take patience.
The above photo is my before caulking window casing shot. I don’t have an after because I didn’t finish. Spent the morning vacuuming and wet-wiping dust. Caulked some, filled nail holes. Didn’t get to paint it.
Unfortunately, I had to save those old vinyl windows because it wasn’t in my budget to replace them. After cleaning them up (I forget whether this is the before or after clean shot) it looks like I’ll have to paint them. That’s the thing about adding even one new element to a room. Then everything else looks horrendous next to it.
Anyhoo, a few rooms in the house are so close to being finished. So close and yet so far.
Researching History of Home. Old House Guy
Vintage Mosaic Tile Patterns. Retro Renovation
Electric Car Charging in NYC? Tree Hugger
New Sawzall Blades. Charles and Hudson
10 Architectural Salvage Stores. Apartment Therapy
Van Dyke’s Restorers is one of those go-to places when you can’t find original hardware. As with most restoration catalogs, they can get pricey. But here’s a tip. They always have great sales.
Case in point are the cabinet pulls above. The current sale is 80% off, bringing the price down to $4.99 for a set of six. The black and gold is the actual pull but while taking them apart to cut the screws which are too long for my cabinets, I discovered that I preferred the back side and they match the cabinets better too. So I reversed them. The “flower” you are seeing on the reverse is the area that wasn’t painted and glazed. I sealed it up so it should be fine. Hey, if not, I can always switch it to the correct side.
I also purchased the yellow ones for the upstairs kitchen which will be a bright Mexican theme.
For more antique reproduction hardware sources, check out the post from the year this blog was born.
280 Washington
Happy Valentine’s, y’all! Doing anything special? Very exciting morning over here in the Reclaimed residence. Hubby went to work reeeealllyyyy early (the usual time) before his romantic date with jury duty. I’m doing something a bit more in tune with the holiday. I shall be looking into a couple of places to hold our 25th anniversary party this year. The 8/8/88 date was lucky enough after all.
When we got married, all I really wanted was a big ole’ loft party. Gosh, that was back when even Soho had unfinished loft spaces. My mother said the relatives wouldn’t appreciate my beer keg wedding so we compromised on an over the top kitsch Russian restaurant called Primorski in Brighton Beach. The friends loved it. Free flowing vodka and a heavily accented Russian band singing top 40. What’s not to love? I think the relatives didn’t quite understand the kitsch factor and just thought we were tacky.
Oh well. Fast forward 25 years and now I’m gonna have the non-wedding I’ve always wanted. Actually, I’ve graduated from the loft space to something with an outdoor area as well. So, what is a person to do when they want a completely laid back alternative party space with absolutely no structure?
My first thoughts were to rent a huge house upstate and have folks stay the weekend. The best wedding I ever shot as a photographer was on Fire Island. Couple rented a house on the beach for the week and held a lovely, casual “hang-out” wedding. They danced. They swam. They kayaked. They picnicked on the beach. Doesn’t that sound so much better than a party at a wedding factory? But alas, I was outvoted on an out-of-town party.
Anyhoo, enough rambling. Here’s what I found:
The Moran Victorian Mansion is actually a residence. A beautifully restored detached brownstone mansion with a garden and even a bar. If you scroll back a few days to the post about a contractor looking for a work/housing exchange, this is the very same place! What I love about this place is 1. It’s gorgeous. 2. It’s right around the corner from my house. and 3. The price isn’t cray-cray. Basically, it’s $500 per hour for the event.
The Akwaaba Mansion is also located in Bed Stuy. Prices are lower than The Moran, coming in at $400 per hour including the courtyard but if you factor in the mandatory gratuity plus the fact that you must rent all guest rooms for evening events, it comes out to more. The room rentals may be a plus for moi if people come from out of town, but then there’s the added chore of getting them to pay for their own rooms.
280 Washington (photo at top) in Clinton Hill is a great deal for smaller parties. Jessica got back to me immediately but informed me that the party limit is 50 people and since I just want to casually invite people off the street to pretend I have friends, this wasn’t a good match. She was extremely helpful though, pointing me in the direction of other venues and caterers. The rates are about $200 per hour plus insurance. All of the guest rooms can be rented.
Then there’s Shell’s loft space. A 5000 square foot, four bedroom in Clinton Hill that can be rented overnight for $1200. Guests can stay for the entire weekend for the price of one of the other places that has outdoor space. It’s everything I wanted for my own wedding but I’m stuck on that damn outdoor space these days!
Here’s a list of awesome venues that were out of my budget. We’re talking $6000-10000 for space rental alone. Worth it for a wedding but not an anniversary.
Coney Island Museum and Sideshow would have been my number one choice but if it’s a weekend party, you have to compensate for their lack of performance tickets as well so it would have gotten pricey. Besides, I’m sure there will be enough freaks at my party. Who needs to hire more? Currently undergoing renovation due to Sandy but will be ready by June.
TBD in Greenpoint has a great indoor/outdoor party space. A beer garden with picnic tables? Can’t get more casual than that.
There were also some amazing places in Manhattan and Queens. Shout out to Gary’s Loft, Queen’s County Farm Museum and The Foundry.
*Update: Was just outside. As of 8:10am there is nothing to plow. It’s not sticking. Go to work.
Remember the year of that bad snow storm and people in the boroughs were complaining how Bloomberg took care of Manhattan but forget about us? Maybe it was the 2010 snow storm.
Anyhoo, now you can track the plow situation on NYC’s government site. Sit home in your jammies today and play with this interactive map. Or clean your house like I just might do. Maybe.
Back in December I did a post about DIY concrete countertops. The method doesn’t involve any complicated pouring of concrete so I decided to give it a shot. Whaddya think? Not bad.
The photo above was taken before the sealer was dry so any dark areas you’re seeing are actually still wet. Also, pay no attention to the dirty sink that had been sitting in the backyard since the hurricane.
Would I recommend the Ardex Feather Finish that my husband said was basically thin set? Yes. For 30 bucks including shipping, I got myself a new counter and backsplash. The 10 pound bag wasn’t quite enough to smooth it out completely so I’d suggest getting more. I left the backsplash decidedly rough (I decided that I couldn’t be bothered) and the counter wasn’t completely flawless. This material can be sanded but again, because I didn’t have extra on hand, I didn’t want to go crazy sanding it.
I applied three coats of Ardex and three coats of Aqua Mix sealer, letting them dry thoroughly each time. Does this take any less time than pouring? No, but if you don’t feel like building the form, this is easier.
Started with plywood and hardibacker.
First coat. Thought this would never disappear but it was gone once dry.
Pre-sanded second coat. The counter is much smoother now but I left the lines and patches in the backsplash. Even thought it would be a cool idea to add fossils! But I didn’t have any on hand. Next time.
Kitchen
Hallway
Dining Room
Bedroom
Bathroom
Living Area
Contractors can eat away at a renovation budget until there’s hardly anything left for materials. Wouldn’t it be a great idea to have a barter system? The idea itself isn’t new to me. I’ve often said “I wish I can find a decent contractor who needs a place to live while working on my house.”
Decent being the operative word. I’ve seen Craigslist barter ads from hacks who probably couldn’t get real work anyway.
Enter Ben Erickson. I received an email from the furniture designer/builder saying he will be looking for a new place to live and work within the next year. He currently has a five year lease at one of the most gorgeous mansions in Bed Stuy and with a year left to go, he’s planning ahead.
247 Hancock
Ben’s current situation is as follows: “Four years ago, as some of you know, I gutted and renovated the top floor of this very unique freestanding brownstone at 247 Hancock St. in exchange for reduced fixed rent on a 5 year lease. I invested approx $60,000 upfront and we divided that over the 60 months of my lease. The landlord and I assessed the current market value of the apt at $2250 and simply subtracted the $1000/mo. making my rent $1250. “
So, what makes Ben different from these Craigslist guys? Um, he’s got mad skills. Check out his website.
This time around Ben would like to work on a raw loft space. He seems really into Bed Stuy but perhaps he would consider other neighborhoods if it’s the right project.
Know of anything?
Red Hook, Brooklyn
Whether you loved him or hated him, nobody who lived in NYC in the 70’s could ever imagine a New York without Mayor Koch. That’s because Ed Koch WAS New York.
Born in The Bronx to Jewish Eastern European immigrant parents, his story was much the same as my parents, your parents or any other New Yorker you might find riding the subway. But that’s not why he was NYC. Ed Koch was New York personified because he took on the characteristics of the city at that time. The guy had chutzpah that you don’t find these days.
A few words to sum up Koch/NYC.
Bold
Loud
Outspoken
Funny
Eccentric
Rude
Aggressive
Arrogant
Motivated
No-bullshit
Defiant
Headstrong
Sarcastic
Non-conformist
RIP, Mayor Koch. I may not have always agreed with you, but your years running this joint will always be my favorite ones.