Front Room Colors an Art Acquisiton and No Animal Pictures

Hello from K and C at the Texas State Fair 2010 with Big Tex!


BEFORE:







No animals? Well there is our little friend Cramer.


DURING:



AFTER:




The reading nook has a nice light yellow. There will be book shelves and other accessories in the future.

Our mission style dining set looked really fantastic in our old 1924 bungalow. But now it doesn't seem to work so we will be swapping it out some time in the future.





The main color is a light gray / blue. With the molding it looks a little French-ish but we like it way better than the off putty flat tone that was there before.

The Same can be said of the china cabinet that we inherited. It looked fantastic in our old home but we need to swap it out at some point we feel.



K's work bought some artwork from this individual's estate. After a bachelor's life spent wandering the orient he amassed a huge collection of chests, screens, pottery, and all things Asian. We went to the 'leftover' sale - 4 rooms full of the stuff and came away with this print. It is by Asano Takeji [b. 1900] from 1951. We picked it up for $30. There was some literature on the back of the frame that hinted it might be worth $450-650 but after some online research we found values closer to $200. Still, not bad for $30 and what is important is that we like it for what it is.

Our Nocturnal Raccoon Visitor

Well this is our little raccoon visitor who drops by from time to time. We have a stray cat - well not really a stray but more of a neighborhood cat that we've named 'Clarksdale' because, well, he/she hangs out in our neighborhood - and we put food out for him/her during the day. On days that Clarksdale doesn't finish his food and I forget to pick up the leftovers from our back patio area just outside the den door we often get a visitor. Sometimes it is the heinously homely o'possum Opie, but on this night it is the raccoon. We have yet to name him - I may do a 'name the raccoon' poll on here if we ever get around to giving him a name.
Raccoons are cute but you don't want them in the house ala Opie who would sneak in through the garage and into the kitchen to nibble on the cat food crack.
Anyway it is really funny when both the raccoon and the o'possum are hanging out, milling around, and the cats are out. There is no fighting just a great deal of concerned staring from our animals. But it is rather funny to watch them all interact.

New Light Fixture and an O'possum

Here is the new light fixture for the front room/reading nook area.

BEFORE:





K is working hard against gravity and electricity.


AFTER:

We really hoped that is would cover the plaster mold mandala ornamentation. We have a larger light cover salvaged from our old kitchen - very old school that we may swap out with this one eventually to try and hide the plaster work. But for now we are happy and I am exceedingly happy as I won't bonk my head on the chandelier ever again! Anyone want to buy a chandelier? Cheap - leave a comment if you're interested.





He's a little hard to see but if you look in the hole in the green cat food back you can see his snarling little countenance. If you click on the picture you can get a larger image.

We have an o'possum that hangs around our back yard along with a raccoon. I'll be sitting on the futon watching TV or something and the o'possum - Opie as K calls it - will saunter by like some oversize rat. They are really nasty looking critters.

Anyway we have discovered that cat food is like opium to these beasts and can smell it from miles away. I didn't think anyone could get into the garbage can - the lid is missing - as the can is very tall. Anyway this little guy found his way in, ate the remnants, and then couldn't get back out. We heard a weird sound outside all night - burglars? The next morning I went outside to try and discover the source of the noises and discovered Opie in the garbage can fast asleep. I tipped it over so he could leave but he was racked out until nightfall. Eventually he left. Ugly little bugger.

The Reading Nook Has Begun, Sorta

The reading nook area in the front room is now underway. We acquired two comfy chairs for the space. That is about it for now. We have been going to estate/yard sales in hopes of finding some comfy chairs that fit our style and our price range. But we haven't had any luck.

We decided that instead of waiting we would get a couple of chairs for the space and if we find ones we like more we will replace them down the line. We have to live in the house as we design it so things will take time.

So I know it isn't much but it is a start - the two chairs. We are deciding on colors and textures for each room. We are going deliberately to make sure we really do dig our choices and we don't have to go back and re-do things.


Of course some assembly is required. Fortunately things went off without a hitch, except for one small scratch on one of the arms. I won't go into the decline of quality and off on one of my 'these darn kids today,' rants.








K enjoying a beverage in the new space. The chairs will be moving around. I will be building half height bookshelves in the corner at some point. And the chandelier will be coming down as well. This was the area that the previous owners used as a dining area but frankly we feel it to be too small. So we have placed the dining table by the front window. I'll post some photos some other time.


Naturally Jerome wanted to help.