jbess101's Profile

PS- We still haven't figured out how to keep the many feral cats in the neighborhood from passing through the rest of our yard. It's a kitty highway and drives our two indoor cats crazy. We tried various predator urines and it didn't work, they just wash away and I didn't care to religiously maintain them. We hope to plant flowers and bushes that are natural repellants, at least near the basement windows. Good luck.

Thank you so much for sharing! The kitchen is full of inspiration! We live in SE Portland too (well, we are "deep SE") and it's fun to get a vicarious peak into another Portland home, especially one whose taste overlaps so much with our own. We have some of the same vintage finds in our own home! And, yep, that same ikea bamboo lamp that I both love and feel shamefaced about.

Another artist here- I make everything from little 4x4" to 48x48" paintings. Galleries (and many clients) frown on arbitrary pricing systems, so most of us artists find ourselves charging by the square inch or a similar system the more we deal with galleries and buyers. In addition to that, the cost of materials and the difficulty of creating the piece in your limited studio space and transporting (or even worse, shipping) those big ones add a lot to the cost. I have a guy selling my stuff for twice as much across the country as I charge locally, and I don't feel bad about that in the least, it's a lot of work to pack them up, and a lot of money to ship them. Which is another good reason to check out your local artists.

I love this so much it hurts a little!

Melmac's solution, wrapping it in tape sticky side out, is sure to help. I would bait Basil with a roll like that, and try to introduce a new toy at the same time.

If you are thinking of doing it definitely get crushed gravel over pea gravel! We put in plant beds and did the walkways and middle area with crushed gravel, it's dark gray and looks great. The crushed tamps down over time, something the pea gravel will never do. We got a few stone pavers- all we could afford- and artistically placed them in a walkway. Over time as we can afford more they will be easy to add.

I far prefer the After, I think this was beautifully done. However I wasn't immediately sure when I looked at that very first After shot- it was only after seeing the others which include your furniture and lovely arrangements. That very first shot reveals a spot that still asks for something- perhaps a kick of color via artwork or another table at the base of the stairs. Anyways I think it looks wonderful. I feel your modern tastes are well integrated into the house and it appears to me you were respectful of the traditional molding and details when you painted.

I've had this elaborate plan for ages- intending to construct and paint a box for hiding cords out of molding that will perfectly match the 8" tall molding that runs along the bottom of our walls. It's one of those projects I can never seem to get to with all the other work to be done. I never thought of just using some colorful boxes! I love this idea! So much easier :)

I love it because you see the beauty of the wood first and foremost. If I saw it for the first time in someone's home, with a lamp on top and whatnot, I probably wouldn't even realize the shape is CA. Which is a good thing.

An assortment of vintage mirrors and vintage hand mirrors could hang in a little grouping there, they wouldn't hide it but it would be less noticeable.