scormeny's Profile

Melt With You by Modern English is the eighties love song I love the most. The Loved Ones by Elvis Costello is my favorite ironic love song.

The washroom mosaic! So glad to oblige with information. Rachael took an EXCELLENT photo, it looks nice in real life but nothing as nice as it looks in the picture.

I worked on the initial design idea with an artist/muralist here in DC -- Jarrett Ferrier. I had been obsessing over old advertisements for bathing and bathroom products as I was working with our architect on the elaborate master-bathroom renovation, and so this was designed to look like it could have been a 1910s or 1920s magazine ad for a soap called "Kleen" -- we just made up the name. Based on my imagined Kleen soap, the elements I wanted in the picture -- soap bar, hand, washcloth, bubbles -- and some examples of ads from the period, Jarrett came up with the design and did all the mosaic work in glass tiles.

The installation was done separately by a wonderful tile guy, Davis Holland Leichsenring of Holland Tile, and his crew.

Our architect was Alan Batson, such a talented man and he was involved with decisions on many of the fits and finishes.

Our master carpenter was Rob Farrie, and he did wonderful work that really brought the whole renovation to life. Along with the great team at Ideal Tile, our general contractors.

Yeah, I vote with the people who don't bring a lot with them on vacation. If I do not have any clothes with me that need to be hung up, most often I'll leave the clothes in my suitcase. I usually bring along a laundry bag, so that I can keep dirty clothes separate during my stay (and, if it's a longer stay, so I can take them to the laundromat easily).

I do like to put my books and magazines on the bedside table just like at home! And I do carry too many books on vacation, I think.

My main rituals are checking that the in-room alarm clock is off and that the wi-fi is working and that I understand how I'll get online, if it's offered.

Pretty much all my travel is vacation-related; if I had to travel for work I'd probably get more into setting up my room to be comfortable and relaxing.

The Obama Factor is definitely making DC a reality-TV magnet! Real Housewives, Real World, and CW's Blonde Charity Mafia are all making shows here.

I'm kinda curious to see what sort of jobs they give these kids -- the Real Worlders have jobs, right? Hopefully the show will partner with some great charity org like PETA or PIRG or Greenpeace and get these kids walking the halls of Congress and doing other outreach and advocacy work, that would make their jobs like those of most other newbies in group houses in DC.

I think they'll be hanging in U Street, Georgetown and Columbia Heights. Adams Morgan is really "over" and there aren't any brightshiny clubs or restaurants that are big enough for a film crew. (RIP Felix.) Commonwealth in ColHts, Mie N Yu in Georgetown, and BBAP (Busboys and Poets) at 14th and V Streets -- that's where I'd be hanging if I wanted to see the Real Worlders! (Which I don't). They may make it over to one of the big nightclubs off New York Ave ... I feel out of it but I haven't kept up with what's over there.

First, I would totally second the movingscam.com recommendation. The cross-country moving business is FULL of scammers. On my cross-country move in 2005 the less-than-reputable movers held our things for nearly a month, it was awful.

United Van Lines is very reputable and also very expensive, but given the alternatives it was worth it to me. We had a great move with them in 2007.

I always get the movers to pack, even the small stuff. My one caveat is that long-haul movers will usually put your stuff on an 18-wheeler where it will share the move with many other peoples' stuff. So, you need to make sure that there's a place to park that 18 wheeler, and that everything is super-securely packed so that your things won't migrate to another person's storage area (since they're usually separated by webbing, or even just a tape line, in the truck's body).

I was lucky in my 2007 move that I was moving "back home" so my sister was able to meet the movers and get everything taken care of for the move-in, without needing to be there myself. Therefore, my partner and I were able to drive our little Honda hatchback for the journey from Portland, Oregon to Washington, DC, over the course of about 3 weeks. It was an amazing trip that included several days in southern Utah and in the Smoky Mountains, stops to visit a friend in Memphis and family in Virginia, and Friday Night football games in small towns in Utah and Oklahoma. I loved it all!

The whole thing was great, if you ever have the opportunity to travel or move this way, I strongly, strongly recommend it.

I think Violetsrose is right. One problem I've had with the silicone blanket thing is that you usually store it folded, and those folds become impossible to smooth out, and then you've got an inferior ironing surface.

I use a regular ironing board, and since I also sew I have a tailor's ham and a sleeve board -- more to store, but it makes ironing almost sexy when you have so many gadgets!

I couldn't find a better picture than this one in my brief search, but I think that hanging a fairly stiff curtain at a height about six inches above the door, from a wire, would be a good choice (and do get rid of the vertical blinds!).

The muslin idea is good for stiffness, but basically any fabric that is medium-stiff would work. Either grommets in the curtain fabric, or clips, would work. I've also sewn 3/4" brass rings that I got in the plumbing store, to my curtains, and that's a good and cheap look, I think.

As for the self-cleaning feature, a recent story in the Washington Post Home (or maybe Food?) section suggests using it sparingly, because the extreme incinerating heat of the self-cleaning cycle shortens the life of the oven (a problem that owners, rather than renters, probably take more to heart).

Also, in the summertime, heating up the house with the self-cleaning cycle seems like it would be a real waste! So I encourage you to keep hunting for a good solution that doesn't involve the self-cleaning cycle.

oooh, I saw this earlier today on another design website, thanks for sharing it! I haven't really done cardboard construction before but would love to give it a whirl. Where would you go to buy large sheets of corrugated cardboard at these dimensions? I would prefer to buy locally then get it shipped if possible.

Thanks!

I like both of them and think the shapes complement each other well. You could do really fashion-forward upholstery for them that matches, or you could do a plainer linen-type upholstery and use pillows and/or blankets to jazz it up.

I think the print pattern blog does a good job of showcasing modernist-friendly fabrics - http://printpattern.blogspot.com/

Anthropologie also has some suggesting prints on their website, under their "for home" section. For example, Astrid Chair