The Estate of Things

There is a serious topic being discussed in my house right now. That topic is moving. In five years I have moved three times, only one of those houses was a rental.

I’ve become a chronic mover. I don’t move to different cities just around the same county, sometimes moving right next door. Its an interesting affliction considering my parents have lived in the same house since 1977 and I don’t think they’ll ever move. But here’s the kicker, the entire time I lived in my parent’s house it was constantly being remodeled. I’m addicted to remodeling and living in new spaces. Sometimes I try to picture my dream house and I end up with a house that looks like a NYC loft crossed with a sprawling lake cottage blended with a craftsman bungalow topped with a modern glass house for garnish. I’m not sure if I’ll ever be content.

I told the carpenters that are currently working on another remodel for me that I was thinking about moving again and they all groan and laugh, they know how much I like to move. Which house, they ask. And then they smile because it might mean more work for them in a slumped economy. Sorry fellas, not this time.

Here’s what has caught my attention and made the wheels spin almost 24 hours a day.

I snapped a few photos before my camera battery died.

This house has a very English cottage feel and its a great family house.

Interestingly enough Erika just wrote a post about Martha’s kitchen which included the detailing of the adjustable shelf system and low and behold whats in the china closet but the same adjustable shelving.

I really want to make this happen, what deals may come?

Wicked expensive Los Feliz Rental at $1770/month, but if you and your successful responsible and upstanding boyfriend wanna move in - you could split the rent and kitty makes three - you’ll be a happy happy family.

Emily is apartment hunting in Los Angeles. Someone always is around here!?

So, here we go. Emily is well aware of the rental market situation, so she fully intends to see what a landlord might do for her in terms of discounted security deposit and first month’s rent. (as anyone who is looking for an apartment in LA should right now!)

Emily is looking for a relatively affordable 1br. She currently lives in a apartment in Silverlake that I can only think to describe as PHAT. Sorry for the indulgence with that aged term, but seriously. The Silverlake place ($1950/month between her and a roomate), is sick to death. Its on a hill, with a view, situated in a neighborhood just above my favorite road in all of LA (Hyperion). It sprawls, it has early century spanish bungalow charm, a brick patio with a fireplace and brick oven, and a bamboo garden that leads into A YARD… (Man, I miss grass). However, besides the fact that her and her roomate are parting ways - they decided to get out initially cause of the noise factor of the upstairs neighbors. (These are the kinds of things that you just can’t always get a feel for in your apt hunt.) Even with all the yard, they feel that the price tag is too high for a basement apartment.

Let’s help Emily flesh out the pros and cons of the option below, its in West Hollywood near all of the great furniture thrift stores that we went to this weekend!!! (and the Target shopping center at La Brea & SM). ((and kinda near the Farmer’s Market which is near that place where the chick from The Hills lives if you watch TV and otherwise don’t have any reference for how much of a wasteland of concrete LA is.)) I’ve mapped it above for ya. Her current commute from Silverlake to work is probly bout 30 mins w/ Traffic.

It’s a little Guest House, which immediately fairs well in assessment. A guest house means no shared walls, so hopefully that means quiet times. It’s way closer to work. Its little face is cute, and I think immediately that it suits her in charm. The front porch is beggin for a brightly painted metal glider. It’s NOT a studio!  Hardwood floors are a must have for decor freedom, so that’s a go. Parking, Laundry and an included refrigerator are all pluses. And for a girl that loves outdoor coffee and privacy to sit back and think on a Sunday morning - the french doors/back deck is happening in a major way.

The only downsides I can see:
Could be some decades old grime to contend with, and without seeing it, I’d carefully inspect the windows, bathroom and kitchen faucets to make sure you can feel at home.
Also, It’s important to try to get a grasp on if the front house tenants are cool (she describes them as 12 year old hipsters, so this could go either way.)
It’s $50/mo over budget.

Emily, I kinda love it. I’d go ahead and man up and ask them if they’d consider knocking that extra $50/mo. off too. It never hurts to ask.

We worked hard Saturday in the 90 degree heat on the landscaping and fine tuning the lot at the Indiana project. There is a lot to be done. When a house is under construction for many months and work trucks are driving all over what was already a poor excuse for a lawn, you’ve got your work cut out for you.

Construction debris has to be raked away, dead limbs have to be cut, existing shrubs have to be pruned/shaped, a lawn may have to be installed.

We purchased our plant stock back in January, so it was transported over, unloaded and ready to be placed. My Mom and I typically do the layouts and we shoot from the hip when it comes to landscape design.

We are far from done after this weekend but its a start.

Some friendly neighbors came over and asked to tour the house and we obliged. They spent a while inside and emerged with some pretty positive feedback. I happen to know which house is theirs in town and I’m pretty impressed with their home but they want to move to Indiana! They described our renovation as “breathtaking”…this makes me feel great. After all, this is a huge risk and to hear something like that gives you a tiny bit of relief.

Some of you might be wondering what the outcome of the exterior lighting deliberation was for the Indiana project.  I did make my selections and here’s what we ended up with,

Restoration Hardware’s Rutherford sconces for the back of the house. I know, it wasn’t on the list.

And for the front, the Sea Gull fixtures (#13).  Right now I’m having second thoughts about the Sea Gull, its a little small.  I’m considering ordering the Rutherford for the front too.

Also purchased was #3, the swan neck will be mounted over the back door. Its a pretty big fixture in the box, the electrician will hold it up in place tomorrow so we can see if it will work.

Its been a busy couple of days as the Indiana project nears completion.  I have to make sure that I have all of the materials in place for the different sub-contractors that are there now finishing up. On Monday I drove a big Ford Super Duty truck to a city an hour away to visit the granite wholesaler in person. My goal was to bring my own granite slab back to avoid waiting on it to be delivered.  I failed, the folks in the warehouse said it was far too dangerous for me to haul it myself even though I borrowed the stone fabricators A-frame.  

I’ve been running around a lot balancing my real job with finishing this project.  I’m sorry for the scant posting, things will pick back up soon.

I did manage to squeeze in a visit to Karen’s Attic recently to help my friend Amanda in her search for all sorts of furniture.

While I was there I snapped a few pictures and sent them to her.

Vintage school lockers, great for storage in her son’s room 

A surfboard to mount on the wall in her son’s room and yes that is a fish tail in the right of the frame. That tail belongs to a pretty amazing looking swordfish. How awesome would that be mounted over a sofa!?!

a candidate for a breakfast area table, paint it white!

With all of the exterior painting done with the exception of deck stain and touch up, we turned to selecting an accent color for the front door.

After considering blue/grays, white, greens and gray (boring!) we gravitated towards red, deep coral or a gold.

My Mom suggested the gold, both she and my Dad really like Benjamin Moore’s Goldfield. I like Spanish Red.

My goal here is to find a color that is both fun and sophisticated. I want to totally distance myself from the dreaded “whimsical”.

Samples are up,

And your vote is?

During the course of the Indiana project a curious neighbor has frequented the job site.  She has readily offered her opinion to the carpenters working at the house and they in turn share those opinions with me.

In the beginning she shared a lot of praise, saying that the family that lived there would be bursting with happiness to see what we had done with the house.  These days she serves up opinions on paint colors and a little criticism.

Last week she walked in for her weekly tour. Upon entering the master bath, she exclaimed “oh mistake” and added “no tub in the master!”

Chesterfield tub, Waterworks, $10,197

Ms. Neighbor should know after research and deliberation we chose not to squeeze a tub in to that space. She might also like to know that most people that I questioned never used their jetted garden tubs.  The real estate agent assured me that it was not a deal breaker. 

Maybe Ms. Neighbor was comforted when her tour continued upstairs and she found a tub in the bath up there.

For the sake of comedy and a little irony, you might like to know that Ms. Neighbor’s house resembles the creepy Klopek house from the movie The Burbs.

Whats your take on the tub in the master? Necessary, obligatory, unneeded amenity? And I already know what your answer is Betsy!

It is time to select the outdoor lighting for both the front and back of the Indiana house.  As we approach completion, finish electrical and plumbing work are next on the list.

I usually purchase both the interior and exterior lighting from various online sources. One retailer that I often return to is CSN Lighting. CSN Lighting offers a variety of lighting ranging from landscape lighting to interior track lighting.

I’d like for the fixture to have a little of the craftsman element but not too obvious. Do you have a favorite here?

1. Sea Gull Lighting 2. Craftmade Outdoor 3. World Imports 4. Kichler Alameda 5. Progress Lighting Aberdeen 6. Minka Lavery Townsend 7. Maxim Lighting Cubes 8. Maxim Lighting Craftsman 9. Martha Stewart Arts & Crafts 10. Thomas Lighting Mission 11. Arroyo Raymond 12 Arroyo Berkeley 13. Sea Gull

Gonna have to do some weeding through the resources. There are tons of apartments on the market. No need to rush into buying a Westside Rentals account though. Seriously. I say don’t do it until you’ve exhausted yourself with the free ones. Even if you do pay for it you’ll likely find your place from Craigslist, or a driveby. Personal Opinion, but I don’t really care for Westside Rentals.

Most of the time I just hit up Craig and do a keyword search for “bungalow” and pick through. Then “cottage” and pick through, emailing myself the ones to think about further. (I’m a recent fan of padmapper which pulls craigslist listings that input the address correctly, and displays them on a map.) But have had my best luck with clicking through various searches on Craigslist. Once you’ve perfected your search terms, hit the RSS icon in your browser bar to subscribe to new listings that match if you wanna.

Let’s pretend you know you wanna live on the Eastside.

I’d immediately suggest living here on this hill somewhere near Montecito/Lincoln Heights. I don’t know anything about the neighborhood, but could you care with that view/balcony/lightfixture(the nelson)/moulding? $1575/month

Or here, for $1850. Not cheap but super interesting. Note fun tile and Hobbitish ambiance. Plus its in Silverlak/Los Feliz area, so you can totally be Modern Bohemian.

Actually, that black tile in the kitchen is the sickest thing I’ve seen in a craigslist kitchen image.

If you are concentrated on a specific neighborhood, it might be less frustrating for you to use a map option like PadMapper. OR search by neighborhood using a service called Rental Girl.  This fantastic genius group of women got together and each pretty lady represents a different area of town. They specialize in finding rental options with character and appear to cover a wide budget (including a little one like mine). I checked out the Pasadena page b/c sometimes that’s where I live when I close my eyes real tight.

Here’s a steal at $1,000/mo. (Um…… MARGARET!!! Margaret wrote in and said she’s scared she’s gonna get stuck renting a room in a box b/c she’s had a hard time finding character). This place is super cozy.