Cado Wall Shelf System

One piece of furniture that was an absolute must for this house was a Poul Cadovius Wall System. The Cado Wall System is a modular shelving system that allows you to create a limitless combination of cabinets and shelves. There is one wall in our family room that abuts the fireplace and ends in the kitchen. That space just screamed out for the Cado System. The wall isn't very wide, which meant we could only use two sections in the space. Barbara was looking on Ebay one day and came across an ad for a two section unit.  I looked to see where it was located and to my delight it was about 10 miles from our house.  I immediately e-mailed the sellers to ask if I could see it.  He responded that day and Barbara and I quickly went to see it.  Fortunately it was in great shape except for a minor split in the veneer on one of the larger cabinets.  Since I have a some cabinet making experience that didn't deter us.  We acted cool and made them a cash offer well below their listed price. The offer was accepted and we loaded up the pieces and brought them home.  I glued and clamped the split veneer and put new dowels in the back for hanging the cabinet. After the repairs were completed, I mounted the brackets and hung the cabinets. Barbara didn't like the way the shelves looked against the white wall, so we decided to change the wall color.  We agreed on Benjamin Moore's (#1656) Aspen Skies, in a Matte finish.  The wall now looks super clean and completely finished.

Against the white wall

Benjamin Moore's Aspen Skies

Fireplace cleaned and Cado System installed

Fireplace makeover

The fireplace was built using the same yellow brick that is on the exterior of the house.  I like the idea of continuity and since the exterior brick is visible throughout the house I didn't want to change the finish.  Barbara had a different opinion!  We were at a standoff over whether or not to paint the fireplace. I certainly don't like to paint brick, once you go down that road you never can return. So instead of acquiescing, Barbara and I worked out an agreement. We would first try to clean the brick. I am sure this brick has never been cleaned, as you can see from the photo below. But before Barbara could start to clean the brick I needed to remove the brass screen.  The one thing we both agreed on was the brass screen needed to be painted, it was dirty and tired and in need of a face lift.  I took it apart so I could spray paint it black.  I found a can of "high heat" matte black paint that's used on bbq grilles.  I sanded the brass then used a spray primer before applying 3 coats of the "high heat" paint. Barbara started cleaning the bricks with Simple Green and a brush, but that just wasn't strong enough.  She then used a clothes steamer to try and loosen the dirt in the cracks of the brick face.  That worked really well, although the water ran down the brick face and made a mess. The end result was a warmer, cleaner looking fireplace and we avoided painting the bricks. Victory!!

Before 

After 

Roof Drainage

One thing I've discovered about this property is the water from the roof is not transported away from the house.  There are only two gutters on the house and they just dump the water at the base of the downspout. I decided to try installing a drainage pipe from the corner of the patio to the back of the yard.  The yard is void of grass, by design, and in it's place are stones.  I had to dig through 18" of stones and dirt to get the pipe down far enough to pitch it towards the rear of the yard.  It took a few days to complete, but it's in and working and just in time for Hurricane Irene. Bring it on Bitch!

Snaking through the yard

I had to dig under the stone slab

I added an inlet for a future downspout

Flor Carpet Tiles

The easiest and quickest way to carpet your floor is with the Flor Carpet Tiles, http://www.flor.com/. I used these to cover the entire hallway floor.  I like that they are really thin and super easy to install.  I picked a single color and went wall to wall.  The style is Feelin' Groovy and the color is Pewter.

Wallpaper Hanging

The closets have been framed and sheet rocked and the new window has been installed. I primed and painted the walls in a Matte finish using Benjamin Moore's Decorators White. The hallway is long and narrow so I wanted to do something below the new window.  I thought of painting it a separate color but that seemed boring.  I wanted some kind of visual interest against the white walls.  Looking through Dwell Magazine I saw an ad for mid century wallpaper.  I checked out the site for Bradbury & Bradbury, http://www.bradbury.com/sixties.html, and ordered a bunch of samples.  They were all awesome, but I finally decided on the The Mod Generation, Grete pattern. Having never hung wallpaper I was a bit nervous about the project.  I followed the instructions and was patient and careful in the prep.  To my surprise it went on without any problems.  I am now considering wallpaper for the boys bedrooms.

Wallpaper tools

2 sheets up

Finished product

Boys Bedroom Closet Remodel

During the original demo I had the boys bedroom closets removed.  They had the typical God awful bi-fold doors that never work. The interiors were made from particle board melamine and each had a wood clothes pole. I contacted my old partner from the woodworking company and asked him to fabricate new interiors from pre-finished Maple plywood. I also wanted some type of wood door that would contrast the stark white walls. My first thought was Birch. I have seen Birch used in many mid century homes, for cabinetry, paneling and especially doors. I was able to get 8 Birch doors that had the same veneer on all the faces. I also splurged and bought solid brass Olive Knuckle hinges. As you can see in the photos the symmetry of the grain really makes a statement.

Previous owners stuff

After Demo

New Birch Doors

Demo and Rebuild of Hall Closets

One of the first jobs I tackled was demolishing the hall way closets and moving the washer and dryer. After the demolition I discovered an old entry way the was covered over. I removed the old door frame and glass which basically left half an exterior wall.  I decided to remove the entire wall and rebuild it with proper insulation a new sheetrock. I also removed the storm windows and replaced them with one large double paned insulated panel.

Original Hall

Hidden Doorway

Re-framing exterior wall

Window opening framed