Drapes for winter November 22, 2009

I have been making heavy drapes for all of my doors and windows over the past few years. It gets pretty cold here in the winter, and my doors are especially drafty. When I re-did the downstairs (stripey) hallway this summer, I got a remnant of a gorgeous teal fabric ($28), and yesterday I found some lavender silk that was remaindered ($18), and dug up some liner from my fabric archives and sewed up a nice heavy drape for the front door.

Drape with liner installed.

Drape puller thingy.

Drape in daylight (look how well it blocks the sun)

Sewing the layers

Jerome inspecting the sewing machine.

Guess who is hiding behind the curtain?

Skunkie inspects the installed curtain (okay, she doesn’t care, she’s just eating)

Lining

Look at that face!

Please pass the scissors.

Such a help.

Door and window sans curtains.

I found this fabulous burnt orange fabric on ebay, but ran out of lining fabric, so I need a trip to the sewing store to complete them. These are to keep the icy winds from blowing into the kitchen. Brrr!

My kitchen September 9, 2009

My kitchen is really nice. My house had been a boarding house for single men since at least the 1930s. Each room had its own gas stove and sink. Hence, no need for a kitchen. In the room that has become my lovely kitchen, there was a barely-used all-in-one sink-stove-fridge dealie (now in the butler’s pantry, q.v.). And a table. That’s it! So, flush with money from the sale of my old house, I hired a very inexpensive contractor and bought a lot of nice stuff. It took six months for the ground floor of my house to be redone, but it was worth every minute of agony, microwaved popcorn, and drinking out of the bathroom sink.

This is the only white ceiling in the house… it’s definitely time for a fresh coat of paint on the walls, and I think the ceiling may need to get some color when that happens (next summer though, I’m done with painting for the year).

Jerome and window (curved wall), Skunkie’s orange couch in front of window.

Jerome and window (curved wall), Skunkie’s orange couch in front of window.

Art work, brick fireplace (doesn’t work), and stark white ceiling.

Fridge, sink, cabinets, dishwasher, cooktop and stove all in a row.

View towards back door, which leads to courtyard.