HOME IMPR0VEMENT CONTRACTORS

The crew was in town this week for some filming and on-camera installation work. The Marmoleum linoleum tiles for the kitchen in our top floor, 2-bedroom apartment was actually laid down by an amazing pair of carpenters, Mario and Mike. The retro checkerboard patterns on both kitchen floors look very sharp. Thanks to Carole Freehauf, they also serve to visually increase the size of the rooms, since the tiles have been arranged on a diagonal and draw your eye wider into the adjoining living rooms.

Next, comes the cabinetry.

Installation of the American Woodmark cherry-stained cabinets by Oliver Earl and crew was completed on the garden level yesterday with beautiful results. Upstairs, the cabinets will have a more traditional, but simple design in an antique-white finish. The Caesarstone countertops (cream-colored downstairs and black upstairs) will go in next week and spectacularly complete these two kitchens. Appliances (stainless downstairs and white upstairs), including stackable front-loading washer and dryers, also arrive next week.

These two apartments are going to be fabulous! Despite the fact that they are rental units, Carole ensured that every detail was carefully considered, both aesthetically and functionally. We will get to see the satisfying results shortly.

I actually took a break from choosing ceiling fans and window blinds/shades for the apartments to write this tonight. We look forward to welcoming our new tenants in about 6 weeks!

This should be subtitled To Divide or Not to Divide. The room that will be our master bedroom and nursery is very spacious and brightly lit by four large windows. Since Day One we adored the space and the bird's-eye maple woodwork that defined it: the mirrored mantelpiece and the two dramatic, wide door frames (one now shrunken, and one for the built-in cabinetry). It would be an incredible master bedroom…more than enough room for a big bed, a chaise by the window, a mirrored vanity table, even a large desk.

It's been a big dilemma for us and Mike Streaman, who has been adamantly trying to convince us to keep the room open.

He even offered to build a triple bunk bed for the boys in the other bedroom (just kidding). We certainly were tempted to consider other options and, up until a few days ago, were dreaming up a plan for sliding panels on tracks instead of a real wall. Unfortunately, the reality right now is that our baby needs a separate bedroom and the only sound-proof option is to divide our ideal master bedroom into two rooms.

Our five-year plan is to take over the top floor of the house, giving our kids enough time to enjoy the extra space and their own rooms, if they want, before they start leaving the nest to go to college―boo hoo! So, at that time when we are able to spread out on three whole floors, the thought is that we will restore our room to its original glory and remove the wall. We feel very fortunate that these large brownstone houses offer so much flexibility for growing families.

I don't have a photo of the divided room yet since Mike is postponing the dreaded event as long as possible, maybe in the hope that we will still come to our senses and preserve the whole room (also, the new floor needs to be laid down first). We would love to hear of any creative solutions out there!

I don't know if you would call this a toleration that I've dealt with, but last week I finally put up these beautiful copper plant markers so I'd know what the heck was coming out of the ground come spring.

Every year, I start to see little growths popping up in my plant beds, but I can never remember if they're something I put there deliberately or if they're weeds I should dispense with immediately. These markers are meant to remind me of what's coming up, and what I need to do to encourage growth in the coming months. I've had them for almost two years now, but could never find a moment to just sit down and write them out.

You etch the words on the flat, soft copper with a pointy object, and it embosses your writing directly into the metal. I'm hoping that with weathering and patination, the writing will begin to emerge more clearly. But in any case, I think they're beautiful to look at, a great bit of shiny decoration in an otherwise dreary winter garden.

This weekend I discovered my newest superpower: I can melt metal with my mere touch!

I discovered this wonderful talent on Sunday afternoon, as I was cooking for a dinner party. I reached under the sink, where I keep the plastic wrap, gently brushing the drain pipes as I did. Suddenly, a torrent of water started pouring out of the drain elbow. Wait, what is that? Is that a HUGE HOLE in the pipe? But I barely touched it!

Yes, I managed to provide the proverbial last straw: My gentle hand-graze collapsed what was likely a long-rusting portion of the drain. And of course it all happened when I had guests coming and the sink would be in constant use!

So I quickly taped up the pipe as best I could and the next day headed off to the hardware store.

Returning with my nice long brass waste elbow, I hooked it up, and noticed that it was an inch short. Lesson number one: Never guess at the hardware store. Sure, I had measured, but I should have taken the pipe off and brought it with me.

Then, in trying to make the new pipe work temporarily, I somehow managed to punch a hole in the next elbow, which, apparently, was rusted worse than the first. Seems I was just making my way down the line, creating plumbing disasters as I went. Of course, it was Monday evening―a holiday―after the hardware stores were closed. Which brings me to lesson number two: Never start a plumbing project (or an electrical one, for that matter) after the stores have closed.

Last night I picked up another pipe and set to work. Now I have a lovely new drain, and I even corrected the pitch of the pipes so they actually head downhill. But what a comedy of errors. I may have been cursed, but I emerged victorious!!