After



Aug
9
2006
 15

This Is Not My Beautiful House


IMG_Ribbon Cutting Originally uploaded by daviderwin. We're in! We're in! We're in! We're in! It's official. As of Sunday evening, we're in the Erwin House. Welcome home, family. And I feel a little like David Byrne. Who's refrigerator is this? This isn't my vaulted ceiling! I might as well enjoy the deck...


Aug
14
2006
 4

Moving In


IMG_9161 Originally uploaded by cmwoodley. There is no time for blogging when curtains need to be hung, shelves mounted, cabinets assembled, boxes emptied, linens washed, tchotchkies organized, and appliances appreciated. The coffee nook was one of the first areas to be finished and used. The game room (we were...


Aug
21
2006
 5

First Impressions


I've been taking notes on my first impressions of the house over the first two weeks. Here they are. Appliances: I have always had bottom-of-the-line appliances. I haven't had a refrigerator with an ice machine since I was in high school (except for the rental we had while renovating). So having crushed ice in the door...


Aug
22
2006
 6

Everybody Must Get Stoned


Last Wednesday, the mason finally showed up to install the stone wall. No joke, I hadn't felt like blogging because the stone wall was unfinished. I know that sounds pretty lame, but it is true. There was something about that wall that felt monumental to me. It felt like the last thing, even though it wasn't--isn't. Anyway,...


Aug
23
2006
 1

It’s All Over But the Financing


Tomorrow we make the final payment to our contractor. That means it's time for a real mortgage. Here's a re-cap of our past experience with our bank (affectionately called "Hakuna Matata Federal Credit Union"). From January 26 ...our bank put the wrong amount on the loan. Lame. And too late to fix it today. Better luck...


Sep
5
2006
 2

Two Rooms Finished


I've been on home tours where the kids' rooms are a little over done. Stuffed animals arranged on hooks on the wall in the girl's room, or a perfect display of antique sporting goods in the boy's room. It's like the kids are just another accessory for their parents to decorate with. We let the boys decorate their own rooms....


Sep
7
2006
 0

Things I’d Do Different #1


Vaulted Ceiling Originally uploaded by cmwoodley. True, Erwin House is practically perfect. It is certainly my dream house. Still... there are some things I would change. Here's numero uno in the ongoing list of Things I'd Do Different. Originally, we talked about painting each room in the house a different...


Sep
8
2006
 4

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.


Can Lights Originally uploaded by daviderwin. We had such a hard time deciding what to buy from Rejuvenation. After all, it would be easy to deplete a savings account or two with even a small spending spree there. One of the items we loved was the Enterprise. It is shiny and edgy and can be used outdoors. But,...


Sep
13
2006
 4

Let There Be Art


Christiane has a moving rule. Move the art first. That way the old house no longer feels like home, and you get your butt over to the new one as fast as possible. (My rule is move the stereo first, same reason.) We had an unusual moving experience and did not follow the rule. In fact, all our art sat in a closet for nearly...


Sep
21
2006
 4

Slide Show


Throughout the project we have been taking picture from the same vantage points. Last week I put them together in a Flickr Slide Show. Below is a preview of some of the shots.


Sep
27
2006
 1

Erwin House is brought to you by the letter ‘M’


It isn't that there is nothing interesting going on at the Erwin House. If you consider cleaning, organizing, and purging interesting, then it is a regular kegger around here. Actually, we've been going 20 rounds with Hakuna Matata, our friendly community credit union. And it hasn't been pretty. The good news is that,...


Oct
20
2006
 6

It Was a Very Good Year


Last September, David and I finally made our plans official: we called a few contractors and started getting bids based on the hundred-fifty-something draft we had created using the Better Homes and Gardens software. After multiple calls and interviews, we settled on Ace Bridwell and his company, Superior Renovations. Within...


Oct
29
2006
 7

House-o-Lantern


I had this idea to turn the whole house into a jack-o-lantern. I picked up some poster board at the grocery store, and the boys and I blocked out the windows. 7yo designed the teeth, carefully sketching them on paper before getting out the ruler and scissors. I wonder if we'll do this every year. Happy Halloween!


Nov
10
2006
 3

jelly jars…movie stars…


Long story about the jelly jar lights. We wanted the Otis from Rejuvenation, but it would have cost over $1k for all the lights we have. And we didn't like it that much, so we spec'ed cheap ($2.71) jelly jar lights for some of the lights and kept shopping for the others. The electrician installed the jelly jar lights in all the wrong...


Dec
30
2006
 3

Time to Get a Driveway


[15:32] thismetalife: there? [15:32] dmetx1969: yup [15:32] thismetalife: um [15:32] thismetalife: i made a boo boo [15:32] dmetx1969: waiting [15:32] thismetalife: does AAA tow? [15:33] dmetx1969: yeah [15:33] dmetx1969: flat tire? [15:33] thismetalife: um... from your own yard? [15:33] dmetx1969: stuck in mud? [15:33]...


Jan
12
2007
 6

Nailed


We've had to tell the kids to wear shoes outside the house. That they should look out for screws, staples, knife blades, saw blades, broken glass, staples, and rusty nails. We had a guy go over our whole yard with a magnet, twice. Each time filling buckets with these items. So yesterday 4yo walks in with this thing. I...


Jan
19
2007
 5

Ladybug Invasion


About a year ago, when we moved out of the house in preparation for the remodel, ladybugs swarmed our bathroom. By "swarmed" I mean there were about a dozen. Which is a lot of ladybugs in an 830 square foot house. Now that we are back, so are the ladybugs, only in much higher numbers. They buzz the lights in the kitchen,...


Jan
26
2007
 1

Welcome to Bar Life


Before Erwin House, I had never lived in a house with a bar. When we were designing it, I kept thinking about the Sopranos hanging out with their teenagers at their bar. It took us 3 months after moving in to find the perfect bar stools, and for that time the bar was a surface that collected paper, dirty glasses, and stuff....


Jan
27
2007
 7

Our New Midcentury Modern Door


Our front door is finally finished. We stained it to match the stairs and with that last coat of varnish it looks glorious. The first photo is a mid century ranch house around the corner from our house. I love this entry door and we decided to copy it for our front door. Our little neighborhood is full of these mid-century...


Feb
1
2007
 0

Like a Lazy River of Concrete


Having to call AAA to tow the minivan out of our backyard was the last straw. So we ordered up a driveway. You know what it's like when you go to the grocery store hungry and you buy, like, a lot of food? Well, we're getting a lot of driveway. And a new sidewalk to boot. The driveway starts out two cars wide, swoops around...


Feb
9
2007
 1

A Pox on Our House


Chickenpox is here. We are going through it with typical Erwin House efficiency. 7 year old got it about 3 weeks ago and now 7 month old and 4 year old are synchronized. Both produced spots this afternoon. We know the drill and it should be over (forever) in about 7 days. Hu-boy. Family vacation in 8 days. Hope we can go because...


Jun
15
2007
 2

More Busy


In the past two weeks we have had one car wreck, one case of German measles, one outer ear infection, one dead owl, one dead squirrel, and two dead fledglings. We built a fence, shipped 2 doors, and built an e-commerce website. Last weekend I got all fearless with a 20" chainsaw rented from the local Big Box. I took out 4 dead...