Balcony at Night

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

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

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

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

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.