Tag: diy

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Tune Up Time: Mid-Century Modern Living room Renovation

So I have a problem; I like going on real estate websites and looking at fixer uppers, and then thinking what would I do if this was my place. That’s how I found this 1970s condo living room. This space has a lot to love, but it also needs some work mostly due to the space just being dated and lacking defining features.

There are two big features of this space that I love. I love the huge window, which brings in so much natural light. This windows helps make the space brighter and more welcoming. The second feature I love is the fairly open floor plan which allows for a nice flow in an out of the living room. Together these two features are good bones to build off to create a unified space.

Since this is a condo I am making a big assumption that the space is owned. So change the floor (which you most likely won’t be able to do if you rent) to some kind of hardwood, laminate, or wood-look vinyl in a grey, which should be continued through the entire first floor. The brown carpet is dated and it is reflecting an off white light onto the otherwise white walls. The floor also changes midway through the stairwell which divides the space up oddly and makes the floor seem out of level. By changing out the floor the space will feel more unified and larger.

The next element this room needs is a low visual impact partition wall to take attention away from the stairs. In some spaces, this division can be achieved with the stair railing, but in this space the railing doesn’t do enough and feels odd. This division, however, can be achieved by taking inexpensive furring strips, painting them black, and attaching it to the soffit at the top and to another furring strip on the floor to keep them up straight. Then take a 1”x12” that is painted white and attach it to the furring strips so it looks like the landing is extended to the end of the room divider. This partition will give some division between the room and the stairs but it won’t prevent the light from entering the stairs which will preserve the open feel of the space.

The popcorn ceiling is also ugly and needs to be changed. Again, if the space is owned, have the ceiling scraped off and replaced by a professional. It is worth the cost since it probably contains asbestos, but if the space is a rental just be careful not create a large amount of dust and wear a mask. Take more of the black furring strips and have them go across the entire ceiling to seem like they are beams which will dress up the ceiling and give us a place to hide cords for the lights later on.

Since we are taking away the two biggest acoustic elements of the space, we need to add some new ones in. While fabric furniture will provide a large amount of sound deadening, a large floor rug and curtains will provide even more. A circular floor rug will help define the space create defined traffic flow. Flat curtain panels hung from a track system will also cut down on echo as long as the track is attached to the ceiling. A curtain track system will also look cleaner and more modern since the curtains are flat panels instead of bunching up when pushed to the sides.

The next piece is the creation of a conversation pit in the living room. In the center of the room would be the perfect place for a circular coffee table which would preserve the open feel and allow people to move around easily. In the back corner by the partition would be the perfect place for a tuxedo couch like the IKEA Norsborg Sofa, just be sure to change out the legs to something more modern and less stubby. In the front corner by the window would be the perfect place to put a media center and TV that is understated and out of the way but still usable. Finally, on the other side of the pit would be the perfect place for two wingback chairs like the Strandmon from IKEA. Just make sure the furniture isn’t all the same color or else it will look too much like a set which is boring.

On the back wall, would be the perfect place for a gallery wall. This area needs something that will fill the space nicely but won’t be overly heavy since the room is so open. This rules out any kind of shelving or built-ins, since those would be too visually heavy. A gallery wall is a nice place to display things that are important to you, without being too in your face. There is no right or wrong way to create a gallery wall, and they can be as simple or complex as you want. This wall will be a feature and it will finish up the room.

Finally, lighting will put the finishing touches on the room. IKEA has amazing plug in spot lights, which would be perfect to use on the gallery wall. They can be screwed into the ceiling to wash the gallery wall with light and then the cords are run along faux beams and the partition wall to a receiver for a wireless switch and they will look like they are permanent lights, but they won’t be. Then on the partition next to the couch would be the perfect place for clamp on light. This light will provide task lighting when on the couch. Finally, in between the two wingback chairs, would be the perfect place for a streamlined cigar shaped floor lamp which will provide task lighting at the chairs without being too intrusive. The lighting is the final touch for bringing together the room.

Together these details come together and create a cohesive mid century modern look for the space which uses the light and the openness of the space to its advantage, instead of fighting it. By making these few changes the space is now more cosy and functional; exactly how a living room should be.

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Canning

Canning can help make your produce last all year. My grandmother, who was a cafeteria lady at the local school, was an avid canner. In her basement, she had an entire wall of deep shelves that were shoved full of well organized canned products in the root cellar. During the growing season, my grandparents would eat the produce they were growing by starting with the what was picked first and then going toward the new pickings. Eventually, they would have so much produce, however, that my grandmother would take her mason jars and her pressure cooker and go to town with all of the fresh produce her husband had brought in. Following the pressure cooking, she would put reasonable expiration dates on the jars and take them down into the root cellar. Then, even in the dead of winter, their home grown produce could be enjoyed.

Preserving your own food can be a good way to make yourself partially or fully self-sufficient. Recipes can easily be found online for how to can your favorite food, but the basics are similar for most foods. When you use the pressure cooking method, you have to get above 240oF for a length of time, which depends on the food and typically ranges from 10 minutes to as much as 30 minutes. There are many things factored into this time limit but it’s best to follow it and adjust accordingly if the instructions differ at your altitude.

The time limit on canning comes from the amount of time required to kill off the bacteria that occurs naturally on fresh produce. In normal conditions these bacteria will just cause the food to spoil over time, but when the bacteria are heated to the boiling point of water (212oF) they form spores. These spores are then dormant until the seal is broken between the lid and jar by opening. Once you open it, these spores are released and ingested. These bacteria then can cause serious illnesses like botulism.

Canning can be a great way to preserve the foods your grow at home. Depending on the model you get, the pressure cooker may not be very expensive (under $100) and can be used for many years to come. The mason jars can also be bought new and reused inexpensively or purchased second hand and reused. Don’t feel weird about reusing old jars either because you will be completely sanitizing them when you can your foods anyway.

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DIY Antique Sketchbook

Have you ever seen the antique-looking sketchbooks or journals at art supply or crafts stores and wanted to buy one? Then, have you looked at the price? These sketchbooks have a high cost and many of them don’t have paper as nice as a more traditional sketchbook. This article was written to teach you how to take an antique book and turn it into a modern sketchbook with high quality sketch paper and the antique look most people love.

Advice on Finding a Book

The best places to find antique books tend to be yard sales, thrift stores, or any kind of used book sale. I personally found the book I used in the demo at a used book sale at my university, but I have seen many older books at various thrift stores and people are always trying to get rid of the books they have in their attics. You just need to make sure the cover and spine is intact and not damaged. These two parts are the whole reason why you are doing this project so I recommend subscribing to the VW Bug restoration rule. There are plenty of inexpensive antique books that are in perfect condition, so unless it is special to you I recommend not using a book that is in bad shape.

Finally, when choosing a book make sure you don’t use a first edition. On the library of congress page there should be printing information and if this page says “first edition” don’t use it for this project. If you do come across a first edition book in good condition it is wisest to purchase the book and then sell it on the internet; there is a huge group of people who are willing to pay large amounts of money for a first edition book of any kind, so become an entrepreneur make money off of this market.

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Garden For Victory!

I hope every American who possibly can will grow a victory garden this year.

–Franklin Delano Roosevelt 1 April 1944 Statement on Victory Gardens

President Franklin Delano Roosevelt was talking about the system of growing some of your own food that was popularized during the world wars. These gardens popped up on private and public lands to alleviate resource strains in the United States food supply. Today in the face of avaricious agricultural conglomerates, we must have our own victory gardens to supplant the poisons they willfully put into our foods.

My grandfather prior to his passing always had a giant 30 by 100 foot garden in his backyard. It was so big, in fact, that you can see it in older satellite pictures of his town and in more recent pictures you can still see the outline of where the garden used to be. Growing up during the depression, he helped relatives who had a farm even though he lived in town. Even though he was sent overseas during WWII, he still did some work on growing plants when he was at home. Once the economy began to boom in the post-WWII era, he still had his own garden in his backyard in addition to working at an aluminum factory that was almost an hour away. And, he cultivated that same garden up until a few years before he passed.

While he was able to do that much (I blame the German work-ethic), even a small corner in your backyard is suitable. If you eat large amounts of tomatoes, peppers, or strawberries, consider growing a few plants of your own. Not only will it be much cheaper to buy a plant and grow it at home for several years than constantly purchasing new produce from the store, it will also be much healthier. There are charts online that show which plants should be put next to each other to get rid of pests without the use of any pesticides. You can also use compounds that are nontoxic or low-toxic like garlic or borax (yes the laundry powder). These plants can be grown completely organically with little to no extra effort except one extra trip to your nursery to get the plants.

Chickens can be incorporated for an organic symbiotic relationship. Chickens eat bugs, and chickens eat weeds. This benefit of your feathered friends will cause you less work and save you money because you won’t have to feed them as much or pull out the weeds and any pesticides you do use, won’t need to be applied as often or as heavily. Then, the chickens will fertilize your garden through their excrement. This benefit will require you to use less fertilizer, less often while not requiring any extra cleanup work. Finally, the chickens (as long as you have a few females) will produce eggs. The eggs are a benefit because not only do fresh eggs taste better but if you have a rooster you can keep the circle of life going by hatching more eggs. So really the chickens would become a part of your garden and only make your job a little easier.

Today is a great day to get started! Think about how you can make your own food at home instead of relying on the agricultural conglomerates who are just there to take your money. Work on your own victory garden today!