April 2009

When we designed our house, we included a piano niche. So literally from the ground up, we designed music into the house. The piano in the niche is a 1973 Rhodes 88 suitcase piano. I bought it on eBay after wanting one for 15 years. Austin is a music city. The kind of place where a Saturday afternoon gig at a book store...

David picked up these groovy Sherwin Williams paint color palettes a while ago and I have been meaning to scan and post them. Of course, scanning means the colors are off a bit.  They are greyer for sure, the yellows not so yellow-y, in real life. The line is called the "Suburban Modern Preservation Palette"...

A while ago, I spotted this pic on Retro Renovation: As luck would have it, I found a similar retractable Moe hanging light fixture down at my fave resale shop, Room Service: Sadly, the retractable portion was busted.  The Light Fixture Shoppe on Burnet (now closed, wah!) put it on a swank brass chain for me, but I'm actively...

Ideas, anyone?  I tried denatured alcohol and steel wool as a friend suggested, and then a mesh scrubber. Some of the old varnish came right off, but much didn't, and I don't want to scratch the veneer.  I hate to take it in to someone... or use intensely nasty chemicals while preggers....  I'm open :-)

Thinking about buying, renovating, and somehow keeping it green at the same time?  You might want to check out this article on Bankrate: Green mortgages save on energy, loan costs Excerpt: "Most energy-efficient mortgage, or EEM, programs let you qualify for bigger loans than you would otherwise by folding...