Apartment 205

Impressionist Chair

2009-07-14T19:56:00.001-07:00

These metal outdoor chairs are very much an Austin staple. We’ve found them at flea markets, garage sales and consignment stores. Without fail, they are always $40-$45. That’s why we jumped when we found this one for $20. Bad news: it was this heinous color.

Attaching a wire brush to the drill, Tim took off the cloud-like color, only to find it had quite a few other coats hiding. You can see from the close ups below that the finish looks like an impressionist painting. What was interesting to us was that by removing layers of paint, it revealed more depth – reverse painting, if you will.

Nicole’s Crazy Succulent Project

2009-07-14T19:31:00.001-07:00

Saturday morning at a garage sale, Nicole discovered two of the most gnarly succulent plants imaginable – paying $3 for each of them.

Carefully cutting them up and replanting, it took her 3 tries, 2 days and a total of 7 hours to replant these guys. Check out the process pics:

Drilling holes in the bottom of a cast iron pot (purchased at the same garage sale for $4.50)

Taking apart the larger plant took careful cutting.

Close up of the roots. They grew crazy directions, which is why it took hours to replant them.

Doing this in the over 100 degree heat only serves to prove that the “weird plant lady” moniker is slowly approaching.

Many pots of succulents later. The bread tray planters are for cultivating more in the kitchen, the little pots are for gifts and the big pot is for the balcony.

Oh, and one last thing to note: this is the first project Nicole has completed solo… so, round of applause here people.

The Couch

2009-07-14T19:11:00.001-07:00

This couch is the culmination of hours (and hours) of shopping around town and 7 weeks of waiting for it to be delivered. We picked the color slate because it was neutral without being boring.

It’s the Button Sectional from Urban Living. From the start we set out to find a sectional (not a chase lounge), and this is the only “petite” section we could find. We were relieved that it looked great, too.

Cardboard Art

2009-07-06T18:10:00.001-07:00

This honeycomb looking piece of art is actually cardboard packing corners which have been glued to a flattened box.

This is what Nicole saw when she walked in to the apartment. Looking at Tim disapprovingly, he said, “Can you believe someone wanted to throw these away?” her answer, “Yes.” (But, of course, as with most things, she loves the cardboard creation).

This next piece is a Frank Gehry inspired chair. Tim took a bunch of flat pieces of cardboard and cut out the shape of a chair (over and over). Using Elmer's glue, he made this little piece of wonder by gluing all the cutouts side by side.

It is very sturdy and can support almost 300 pounds (we haven’t tried much more than that…)

The Boudoir

2009-06-25T16:57:00.001-07:00

Oh yes, that’s a sink in the middle of our extra bedroom. This little piece of plumbing marked this area from day #1 as Nicole’s space.

Of course, when the picture above is the vintage fan, vase and flowers and jewelry box that were all gifts from Tim, you can see who wears the design pants in this household.

This is a great little reading corner. The mini-sofa and curtains are from Urban Outfitters, the shelves are refurbished drawers. Notice the little bitty pots in the windows? Those are Nicole’s baby succulents = awesome.

Balcony at Night

2009-06-25T16:38:00.001-07:00

We love our balcony, but let’s be real – you can’t enjoy it during the (100 degree) summer days in Austin. That was a big driver of our inspiration for the space. And, it looks pretty damn good.

The pole in the far corner is actually a small trolley rail that Tim welded a little hook on the top to hold the lights.

In this top and bottom picture you get a good look at our seating. Tim built a little wooden bench to rest on top of the filing cabinet, and he rebuilt an old wooden bench in the below photo by spray painting it yellow and putting in nice Rosewood slats.

Things we didn’t make

2009-06-14T19:52:00.001-07:00

Ok, so Tim makes most everything around the house. But, we aren’t 100% do-it-yourself-ers. Here are a couple store-bought things we just love.

The first is the N & T cup. It is ridiculously cute hanging in the kitchen side by side.

To balance out the cup’s love fest, here is the knife holder.

Last are the curtain tie backs from Urban Outfitters. They are actually hooks, but we turned them at an angle for their new use. The white ceramic pairs well with the earthy shape for a refreshing, modern look.

Lockers as Shelves

2009-06-14T18:38:00.001-07:00

We have 3 sets of lockers in the living room. These are a great way to hide clutter, but still have storage close by (locker full of candles: check, flashlights: check…). Tim scored these years ago at an online auction that sells municipal surplus.

The 3rd set we turned on it’s side so that it would become a long desk. The end was exposed, so Tim bought an old foundry mold and installed it to the end.

Drawers as Shelves

2009-05-25T08:10:00.001-07:00

Just above our bed and in the boudoir hangs the shelves from Tim’s old (funky) dresser. Instead of getting rid of it completely when he was ready for a new one, we pulled them out, stained and put mounting key holes on the back.

Here are some before shots and process pics:

We then took the old dresser’s frame and Tim installed 3 pieces of plywood. The new shelves are now in the shop and hold all of Tim’s tools.

Also in the shop is one of the old drawers from the filing cabinet (that’s now full of succulents). Tim put all the drawer separators into 1 drawer and then mounted it in to the wall.

Here is the full-effect of the shop:

Let there be Light

2009-05-24T08:43:00.000-07:00

Nicole likes to talk a lot about “lighting solutions,” which is some term she picked up from too much HGTV. This first light is in the kitchen above the dining table. Tim made it using a pendant light. He drilled holes all around the plastic lip just above the socket. From there, he wrapped wire around bulbs and weaved them through the holes.

Tim rigged this pull system so he could be sure to hang it at the perfect level above the table. Ridiculous and awesome at the same time.

The second “lighting solution” is in the bedroom. Instead of two lamps on either side of the bed (clutter), Tim uninstalled the ceiling fan and put more pendant lights.

This is Henry. We paid $5 for him at an estate sale and could probably sell him for a lot more. But, we’ll never know because it’s Nicole’s favorite piece in the house (hence the name). He bends at every joint, the lamp can turn 360 degrees and the on/off switch is the little knob on the back of his head (so cleverly placed).

The next guy is our constellation lamp. We found a cast-iron base at the Goodwill for 6 bucks. Because of the heavy base, we were able to screw together a bunch of Y-sockets. It is a very intense glow when it is on.

And, no blog about our lights would be complete without the horse lamp.

Your name’s on the Chalkboard

2009-05-20T05:52:00.000-07:00

We had a perfect little indention in the side of our kitchen cabinet for a chalkboard (see right). Tim also installed a small rail using a small piece of crown molding that is a perfect place to rest the chalk.

Bloomin’ Cactus

2009-05-13T20:41:00.001-07:00

Apartment 205 loves us some succulents. Most of our guys were bought when we first moved in March. Well, it’s now early May – and we can’t believe how amazing these Cactus blooms are.

This little pinky is funny, he opens and closes all day long.

This before and after is great. Check out the squatty guy on the far left.

This guy’s little yellow flower is a night club for ants.

This last guy was amazing. We couldn’t believe how such a small plant (smaller than Nicole’s fist) made such a HUGE flower:

Stick a Fork In It

2009-05-03T14:46:00.000-07:00

These are perfectly interesting kitchen hooks. Nicole got this idea from Real Simple Magazine a few years ago, but could never execute it because she didn't have a drill that could go through silverware. That's when Tim came along.

We found all of these utensils for 50 cents a piece at the Round Top flea market. Nicole had to rub them all with tarnish remover twice to get the gunk off. From there, Tim bent them, drilled holes and screwed them in to the side of the cupboard.

Making Pies

2009-04-26T18:46:00.001-07:00

25 years ago, Tim’s parents salvaged a sign that said, “Hannah’s Pies” in Dallas. At the time, they thought it would go in their game room, but turns out it didn’t fit.

The metal signs have been sitting behind a shed ever since. Tim salvaged and popped off the plastic covers and broken neon bulbs. From there he scrubbed, primed and painted. We decided to use the two-tones because we wanted them to pop without overwhelming the space.

This is the before picture where we mounted them on the wall with the original paint, and to the right are the letters with their spiffy white.

What makes the "”PIES” so great is that they sit over the dining table facing the kitchen. Nicole had been trying to track down letters or a sign to say, “OPEN” so we were really happy when we found these in Tim’s parent’s yard – they had an interesting story and they were free.

Here is a great song Nicole loves that just seems to fit, too.

Awwww, Horse Lamp!

2009-04-23T19:07:00.000-07:00

We found this plastic horse leg at the Round Top flea market. It is from a Tack shop, but we have no idea what it must have been modeling.

We paid $10 bucks for it and we kept it the original brown, too.

This photo is Horse Lamp in the sunlight. The big hole in it must have been where it was filled with something heavy to stablize the base, but in Tim’s very clever fashion, that’s where he inserted the switch for the lamp – and the dimmer fit perfectly.

Don’t ask how much we spent on the lamp shade. Let’s just say if we tried to sell the lamp for the amount we’ve invested, we’d be laughed at. Oh, and we’re not offended if you compare it to the Christmas Story lamp.

Table and Chairs.

2009-04-21T18:44:00.001-07:00

The kitchen table we found at Next2New (a great consignment furniture and home goods store) was a gem with lots of potential – a bench on one side, 2 chairs and a leaf. (We added another miss-matched chair from Goodwill that costs $6, and are in the market for another…)

But as you can see from the close up below, the original colors were pretty bad. We knew we had to strip, sand, stain, seal and spray paint… and those five words took quite a bit of energy.

Here are some action shots of the work:

For those curious, Ron Hazelton has a great tutorial and video.

Unexpected Vintage Art

2009-04-15T19:14:00.000-07:00

We’re not sure what it is, but we are drawn to old-time images and hanging them as art. This first one is from a music book. Nicole loves it because it says “deuce” and hangs in the bathroom. Classy, we know.

The second is 3 images are mounted side by side in Nicole’s boudoir. These are sketches from a designer that she matted and framed. See the close-ups below':

The last is in the living room. The most interesting of the 3 is a wedding gift from 1979. The bride and groom’s name make up their images.

Our Big South Austin Sun

2009-04-12T21:44:00.000-07:00

We were inspired by Big Red Sun to create a file-cabinet-turned garden. Filled with succulents, this is a great option for Austin’s climate.

First we bought two file cabinets. After removing all the drawers*, we laid one its side (the mint colored) and then we laid the other on its back. This created a nice lip that we are using as a table. Tim then drilled holes to create drainage.

We next installed a small shelf hidden inside the brown cabinet to elevate what would be the bottom and filled it with rocks and dirt (with no shelf, you’re looking at a lot of dirt).

Tim also welded a small disk and post. The disk is filled with more succulents and the post holds a humming bird feeder. Although, we don’t know how many birds make their way through downtown. As for the plants – we got them from friends’ yards, Big Red Sun, Great Outdoors, the Zilker succulent show and Home Depot.

*Inside the vintage brown cabinet, we found the sweetest letter dated August 9, 1935 from a brother to his sister. It’s still on our fridge because Nicole can’t bare to throw it away.

Succulents

2009-04-02T20:22:00.000-07:00

These are just the sweetest.

These guys are planted in an old metal slide tray. I took the top off and removed some of the hardware. It was the perfect thing to make this centerpiece. There are no drainage holes in the bottom since it'll always be inside and we can regulate how little water it gets.

Tim's Tips:

1. Contrast. Pick plants with contrasting size, texture and color, they'll play off each other and keep the eye moving
2. Non-living object. I threw in an old trailer hitch ball I found in the street. Lots of gardens use large stones or old wood. It adds a bit of visual interest and steps the aesthetic up a notch.
3. Finishing Touches. The white rocks make everything pop and look way better than dirty ol' dirt.

Carafe hunt.

2009-04-01T20:27:00.000-07:00

We searched everywhere for a carafe that we could use for Listerine. I mean, months… which we would agree with what you are probably thinking – that’s a little weird.

But, good cool things take time. Instead of that sticky, bulky, plastic behemoth...

...we finally found the perfect one at Crate and Barrel.

Welcome

2009-03-31T20:14:00.001-07:00

Our home-made welcome mat. Well, Tim made it.

This is an easy project, just make a stencil and spray paint away. There's some good info/inspiration here.

Inspiration

2009-03-26T20:11:00.000-07:00

Much of our colors were taken from this fan and these paper flowers. The fan was a gift on my birthday from Tim, and the flowers are ones he made for me out of an old map and mixed with the pages of a book of love poems.

Tim Allen

2009-03-25T10:16:00.001-07:00

Tim Allen “The Tool Man” Delger?

Table and Chairs (and Bench)

2009-03-16T15:46:00.001-07:00

Here is the new table – it has two chairs and a bench. You can’t tell from the picture, but the colors are pretty bad. We need to sand it, stain it darker and spray paint the chairs and the legs with a great TBD color.

Time Lapse Painting

2009-03-05T11:48:00.001-08:00

Watch us turn our living room into a blue masterpiece.

This video was made on my iPhone with an app called "TimeLapse"

The Move in Begins

2009-03-05T09:33:00.001-08:00

Clutter

Humble Abode

2009-03-05T09:31:00.001-08:00

Here is the empty apartment. But upgrading from 600 sq. feet, we prefer to call it a mansion.

Dining Room/Kitchen/Balcony

Kitchen