My Elfa-ed closet

I was working on a post about installing closet systems and wasn't getting a good photo with my "real" camera last night. The whole lack of natural light thing put a damper on it, and I realized I should just use my new(ish) phone and add a filter. Shazam, here's my closet for you, looking ready for the internet. This photo has made me realize I own a lot of striped tops.

Well Suited: Gray, Black, and White

While it's not about something like curtains or paint, I can justify this post for falling within the general "style" realm. The wedding progress made last night was a decision about what the groomsmen will wear. I found these photos after we came to a conclusion, but I guess subconsciously I was referencing them. Anyway, they make me feel very good about our choice: dudes will be in good company (e.g. Cary Grant, Gregory Peck, and Sean Connery/Bond...oh, and Don Draper).

 Images: 1. via Murray Mitchell 2. via Style Ledger 3. via Icebox Movies 4. via Clothes on Film

Fixing a Hole

In a post last month I mentioned that there was a mysterious hole in our front door. Just some one-by-two-inch hole, you know, there to keep things breezy. After some brainstorming with my mom, I decided I could plug it up with wine corks and wood putty.

When it came down to it, yesterday, I only had one cork so I also squeezed some wooden molding and pieces of wooden paint stirrers in there (getting resourceful). In the photo you see how wonky it looked mid-process. I puttied over the filler, and I still need to sand and paint. Combined with the privacy curtain I sewed, these improvements have cost me less than $3 (price of the cafe curtain rod).

Photos of the completed door, with actual wind protection and privacy, to come.

Home is Where the Hearth Is

I'm recycling that title (a punny one I enjoy) from an AT post I wrote the other week while I had our fireplace on the brain. The mantel basically sold me on the house, but the hearth used to be closed off with gray plaster over brick (ugly).

Eventually I'll do a proper "Before & After," but here's an in-progress shot. It's the guy who sold us our house and who, as this photo shows, has been cool enough to help us with some things after the keys switched hands. It was a dusty mess.

Our plumber ran the gas line to the fireplace, and the floor of the hearth had to be re-bricked because there was a hole down to the basement. The gas still has to be hooked up to our ventless heater, and I am trying to get over the fake log look. We're ordering a fireplace screen. Aaand, to round things out on a cute note, here's a close-up of that fox ornament from the top photo. 

Images: Charm City Home

All a Facade, and Debating the Front Door

Our house is at once very old (110 years, give or take) and mostly brand new. Despite undergoing serious renovation, the house has certain things, such as our front door, that are still just a little off.

The door is missing an escutcheon, which leaves open a hole for cold air to gush through. The other problems are how the door is hung (poorly) and painted (poorly). We've also been debating the glass, which is great for natural light but not for privacy. I had added some window film for a compromise, but that didn't go over well. We got a quote for a new, all-wood door, and the total including installation was ridiculous. I think we'll just end up adding a curtain.

I want to paint the door, but, for now, this is what the front of the house looks like. Clearly the best thing about the facade is the brick, which is in great shape and about a thousand times better than the awful, awful formstone. 


Image: Charm City Home

Bedroom Decoration Progress

Our bedroom is one of my favorite places in the house so far because of its high ceilings and original pine floors. It feels nice and airy but grounded, to me, and I surprised myself by adding some pink (lamp, pillow). My mom and I painted the room pale gray back in September (Martha Stewart's "Nimbus Cloud"), and slowly I've gotten around to adding things like black-out shades, some curtains, etc.

The little table with baskets (above) is an Ikea hack that'll be a "Before & After" post on Apartment Therapy tomorrow (update: link here). The bedside table (below) is also from Ikea's cheapo-o "RAST" line, personalized with leftover teal paint and some on-sale Anthropologie knobs. I still need some art for over the bed; I think I want a tall black and white photograph. Finally, please disregard how bizarrely lumpy our new comforter is. Calvin Klein steered me wrong with that one.

Images: Charm City Home

Festive in the Front

My mom is in town for a quick visit, and she brought clippings from the giant, decades-old evergreens in front of our PA house. In the past I haven't take the time to decorate for holidays, but greenery is another story. We made a little swag for the front banister, and Kojo approved.

Image: Charm City Home