Reclaimed Home Archives - Page 8 of 15

Garage Face Lift

August 30, 2010 RH

So, the Beacon house has been on the market for nearly four months now and we are freaking out, man! We’ve decided to give it one more month (maybe two) since the summer was sort of a dead zone and then we’ll have to think about renting it out until the market picks up again. That being said, just when we’re about to give up, it looks as if we may have a few interested parties. Fingers crossed!

The plan over the weekend was to go up to Beacon and ready the exterior for winter, should we end up keeping it or should the new owner take over during the cold months. The front of the house was painted when the new porch was put in, but the rest of the house is screaming for a paint job. (BTW, what ever happened to people who think it’s romantic to work on an old home? Are we the only ones left?) No, the two of us didn’t repaint our entire house over the weekend. We did scrape and touch up the worst bits. Now it just looks patchy but maintained, instead of neglected. At least this way, if it doesn’t get painted until next Spring, the clapboard isn’t rotting away.

The garage face lift was just that. Like an aged has-been getting her face pulled tight when her neck remains wrinkled and saggy, the garage now looks better at first glance. We’re not trying to fool anyone. The structure needs complete rehabilitation at best or needs to be torn down and rebuilt. The waste of half a day and the leftover paint was decided upon when we realized that this is the first thing people see when they pull into the driveway. So, now at least it looks like a charming dilapidated shed instead of a total eyesore. Smoke and mirrors. Curb appeal. Whatev.

Weekend in New England

August 19, 2010 RH 5 Comments

We’re off to Stowe, Vermont for a (hopefully) relaxing weekend. Staying at this place, which looks quite nice. If you know of any summer festivities in that area, let us know! Flea markets? Thrift shops? Wonderful veg-friendly restaurants? Good dog hikes?

Happy Monday….MY BIRTHDAY!!!

Need a Good Psychic?

August 10, 2010 RH 1 Comment

Psychic medium Bobbi Allison is based in NY and Florida. My mother and I chose to visit her in Wantagh, Long Island, where she works out of a suburban apartment in a private home. She came highly recommended by a cousin. Not to be confused with the other cousins whom suggested the other psychic two years ago. Let’s just say that my family likes to keep up with deceased loved ones.

Bobbi charges $150 for a full hour. She’ll tape the session for you if you bring a cassette. This woman is gifted. She read three people back to back and although her energy was totally drained, she was right on target.

Ms. Allison crams a bunch into her sessions too. She fires off information quickly. Who’s M? Why did you have a falling out with J? Oh, I see a birthday coming up. So, who is your nurse friend with the children? I couldn’t keep up, but it’s on the tape and she takes notes so she can just keep going and her clients can figure it out later. About 45 minutes into the session I finally figured out who this M was (full name not given to protect the innocent) she kept talking about. Once I did, what he had to say really fell into place.

Bobbi asks the spirits not to see death, so no worries about really scary predictions. She sprinkles tips here and there on how to manifest goals and stay protected. The reading validations are fairly personal, meaning not things she can pick up from a google search or by asking too many questions. My husband’s family dominated part of my reading and she gave details, so I’m saying this chick is the real deal.

You want a reading? I think she gets pretty booked up, so do it waaaay in advance. You won’t be sorry!

Entertaining Mom

August 6, 2010 RH

Apologies if I skip a day of blogging here or there. Me mum is in town and it’s tough to juggle everything. Like right now…she’s yapping away while I’m typing. So yeah, this is me saying “No post today.” It’s summer anyway. Vacation time.

Ancient Artifact Unearthed

July 6, 2010 RH

The hubby was cleaning out the basement over the holiday weekend (What, did you expect us to barbecue?) and discovered a vintage wedding cake. It was a very eew moment. The cake was sitting in a plastic bag in a freezer that hasn’t been plugged in at least since we got the place in 2005.

See all the black gunk? Yup, the icing.

After careful evaluation, we’ve dated the artifact around the 1980’s.

This is one salvaged item that ended up in the trash.

There’s No Place Like Home

June 30, 2010 RH 2 Comments

I’ve always wondered what it’s like to step foot in New York for the first time. Must be pretty cool. The energy. The lights. The people whizzing by. Being born here, I’ve always taken it for granted.

Returning home after 7 years upstate is as close as I’m gonna get to losing my New York virginity. Ok, so I lived less than two hours away and came here all the time, but I didn’t get to take it all in when I was just visiting.

I’m back two months now and I feel a bit like Austin Powers having missed nearly a decade. But it’s all good. I’ve got some catching up to do, so….oops….not being too productive lately. Just seeing old friends and eating at restaurants I’ve missed and feeling like myself again.

I don’t regret moving away. I needed it at the time and it was lovely and pleasant and I met some great people in Beacon. I’ve always had a love/hate relationship with New York. I leave for a bit. I come back.

I always come back.

But this time around, I think I’ll stay for awhile.

The Hester Street Fair

June 18, 2010 RH

Gonna be hawking my wares at a new (ish) market this Sunday. The Hester Street Fair is only a few months young, but both shoppers and vendors seem to be happy enough with it so far.

Like the Brooklyn Flea (Hello, I’ll be there on Saturday!), it’s semi-curated with a mix of vintage, crafts and not-your-average-sausage-fair-food. Hester has about 60 vendors on a given weekend and is open on Saturdays and Sundays.

My grandfather was a rag man on the Lower East Side when he arrived in this country. Looks like I’m taking the family history back a step. Wait till you hear about the seltzer delivery I’m hooking up…..

My grandparents are in their graves ROFLTAO.

The Porch is Coming Along!

April 14, 2010 RH 3 Comments

We’re seeing a light at the end of the tunnel with this porch rebuild. Look!

Above is the porch prior to demo. We were going to put balusters instead of shingles, but we’re sticking with the original design.

It was taken down to the foundation. We had plywood flooring for 2 years.

Look! Rotted columns repaired! It was being held up by 2×6’s for the longest time.

Look! Interior framing done and columns back up!

Look! Gorgeous floor and wainscoting!

Recycling Posts: Funky Finds

April 13, 2010 RH

Now that we’re getting down to the wire on the renovation, I’ve been too tired, busy and stressed to blog effectively. I may have to throw in some cheater posts (like this one). Reclaimed Post, if you will.

Not Your Average Stencils.

Coolest Furniture Ever.

Barbi’s Dream House.

Upcycled Furniture.

Lighting Countertops.

Purge.

April 8, 2010 RH

Hey, didjya hear we’re having a moving sale this Saturday? Ok, so here’s the latest:

Address: North Avenue in Beacon. This is Rt. 9-D South. Busy road. No street parking. You’ll have to park around the corner on a side street and walk (heaven forbid!) back to the house. It’s within walking distance to Metro North and we will consider delivering large (ticket) items to the 4 boros. Sorry, Staten Island doesn’t count. Hopefully we’ll remember to put signs up, but you’ll see the house by the 2×6’s holding it up. Big peeling gray Victorian, stone wall, turret. That’s us. The one in the logo.

Time: April 10. 10am-5pm. If you’re gonna try to be cheeky and come early, we will put you to work. Stuff needs to be hauled and priced. We’re soooo not prepared for the sale. Go on, make my day. Come early. Oh, it’s rain or shine. We’ll set up in the house if weather is nasty.

RSVP: There’s a Facebook page that looks pathetic because nobody is actually RSVPing. I feel kind of sad and lame.

What we have:

Small tschotskes are mainly around $3 to $5 apiece. I’ll have some stuff on hand that I sell for more money at markets, but that will be discounted. Like you can have a $15 piece for $10.

Furniture: This is the sale where we get rid of crap. The second sale will be once the house is in contract and we really need to move. That will be the better stuff. The good news is the crap is priced to sell! These are items I picked up and wanted to restore, but never got around to it. Chairs for $10 to $15. Dressers $50. Bed frames starting at $30.

Old hand tools

Complete Darkroom and some other photo stuff

Books

Clothes I’ll never fit into again but I hang onto

Bits and pieces for the crafty upcycler

Architectural salvage including a slate mantel, newel post, sink vanities, 50’s wood kitchen cabinets, antique cast iron wood burning stove, doors, molding, concrete sinks and tiles, antique double cast iron sink

Just…tons more. Tons. Hope to see you Saturday!

Antique Potty with porcelain knob and wheels. Come on, who doesn’t need one of these? Huh, huh? Yours for $40.

3 lovely Get Real Surfaces concrete sinks @ $ 65 apiece. Don’t need a sink? They make nice bird baths!

Completely scratched, but totally sturdy Pier 1 picnic table and benches. We paid $850 just so our dogs could tear into it. Make an offer (that’s around $225).

Chair Portraits

April 6, 2010 RH

Over the weekend I started pulling furniture out of my garage to get ready for the yard sale. I set up a little makeshift outdoor “studio” to shoot the merch.

It’s kind of cool how the chairs almost seem lifelike as they sit waiting for some tlc. All of them are old and raggedy and have seen better days. The chippy paint and cracks are like human wrinkles that tell the story of life’s experiences.

Yeah, I know it’s a load of crap. I’m just too tired to write anything else.

So….The Beacon 2 BK Moving Sale is this Saturday, April 10th. 10-5pm. Sure, come early, but that means we’re putting you to work hauling things. Don’t think you’re gonna come early to shop, bee-atches!

Address: 1189 North Avenue. That’s Rt. 9-D, south side. Park around the corner as there is no street parking and this is a driveway sale. The house is walking distance from Metro North and we may just be open to delivery.

101 Unfinished Projects

April 5, 2010 RH

We can’t finish a single project. Every room in our house is 90% done, but we get bored before finishing. Wanna see what I mean? Loads of before and during shots. No afters. 🙁

Fugly made-in-China chandelier. Hubby wanted to throw it in the trash. I said…..

“Paint it pink!” Inspired by the Jonathan Adler. It’s still sitting there with the tape though.

Exterior needs a ton of work. We’re doing the best we can with money and time constraints. Instead of stripping it down to bare wood, we’re scraping and patching. And when I say “we” I mean the contractor in this case.

Now that the wood is protected, it’s time to get back to building the porch. Doug Fir tongue and groove is nearly finished. It should be in by the end of the day. FYI, that’s plywood in the photo, case you didn’t know.

The wall in our driveway needs repointing. Grooves have been cleaned and it now awaits the cement. It’s in such bad condition that some stones came loose and fell on my husband. I LMAOROFL just as any good wife would do.

So, that’s where it’s at. Maybe I’ll get an after shot of something by the end of the week, but probably not. It’s mission: “Get rid of clutter” this week. Hence the tag sale.

Best Place You’ve Ever Lived?

March 29, 2010 RH 3 Comments

As I start to pack and plan my move, I’m getting a bit sentimental. The house I’m leaving is my dream home and by far the best house I’ve ever lived in (finished or not). Makes my dream brownstone pale in comparison. Unfortunately, small town Beacon isn’t a perfect fit for me and I can’t take the house with me.

I’ve lived in a gazillion places in my lifetime. My parents moved more than a few times, then I followed in their footsteps. We lived in East Flatbush during my childhood, then Wurtsboro, NY for a few years while keeping the Brooklyn apartment. When my parents moved back to Brooklyn (I told you I’m following in their footsteps!) we lived in Midwood. Then Coney Island.

As soon as I was old enough to move out, I went to the city, then chose to live in brownstone Brooklyn. A bunch of different neighborhoods over the years. I’ve also lived in London, Bavaria, Kingston, NY and The Castro in San Fransisco. None of the long distance places for longer than a year. I always come back to NYC.

So, what makes me smile most when I look back?

Nicest apartment ever: The first apartment my husband and I shared alone, minus roommates, in Ft. Greene. Circa 1988. It was a gorgeous brownstone parlor floor with a young, first time landlord. In other words, he cared about the place.

Best neighborhood I’ve ever lived: Coney Island. Maybe it was because I was at that carefree age, but I loved living in Coney Island! The amusements, the beach, the aquarium, the handball, the flea markets, the boardwalk. It was a trek on the subway, but if the city hadn’t been calling my name at all hours, there would have been plenty to do right in the neighborhood.

So, that’s my story. What about you???

Dining Room Done

March 18, 2010 RH 7 Comments

The dining room renovation was finished about two weeks ago, but I just grabbed some snappies of it yesterday. Last you checked in, the restoration looked something like this. And before that, even worse.

It’s kind of a non-event since we didn’t change anything drastically. It just needed a lot of repairs. The plaster. The wood. Even the light fixture needed to be rewired. We lived with all that for five years and only finished it for someone else.

The adjoining living room has been finished for quite some time, but the wood still needs sprucing up.

There is still something to do in every single room, but we’re getting there! We finally have more help. This weekend there will be 7 different people working on our house. Woo-hoo!

More Shopping for Haiti.

January 20, 2010 RH 2 Comments

Bored of all the talk about Haiti donations yet? Well, stop your bitching. You’re alive and well and you have a home and family. Or at least a computer.

Congratulations to Laura of Shore Chic for placing the winning bid on the necklace I was auctioning off. Yeah, she’s the same Laura I stole the idea from. It went for $50 and I’m matching her $50. Sooo,$50+$50=$100.

But I was thinking. I could’ve done more.

Etsy doesn’t have the wonderful software that allows the seller to automatically donate a percentage of the sale to a charity of their choice. But Ebay does! And so yesterday I performed the excruciating task of opening an Ebay store. I spent most of the day working on it and ended up posting only 10 listings. Plus, it doesn’t look pretty yet.

It. Is. The. Most. Boring. Thing. In. The. World. To. Do.

Anyway, 15% of any Ebay sale goes to Doctors Without Borders. Furthermore, since it’s going to take me forever to upload everything, so check out the Etsy or Reclaimed Store and let me know if there’s anything you want me to post on Ebay.

Oh, but wait! There’s more! Check out Jean’s auction over at Renovation Therapy! She’s auctioning off a handmade bad, a Pucci journal and a Grey Gardens keychain. All to benefit Red Cross.

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