Drywall

I have walls and ceilings in the Bungalow!

Art for the Bungalow

Art is so personal, as "they" say.  The pieces I select usually represent not just a love of the artwork, but often serve as a means of capturing a great trip, a nice engagement with the artist, or an outing with family and friends.  I don't have a broad collection, but one friend described my taste as "eclectic".  I've learned from the best - looking at you AS.

Few who visit come away underestimating how much I've enjoyed travelling, with artwork and household goods in the home from Marrakech, London, Prague, Shanghai, Beijing, Mumbai, Nice, NYC, Santa Fe, S. Florida, Napa, Chicago, rural Zimbabwe, Cape Town, Paris, Newport, Frankfurt, Istanbul, Prague, Santorini, St. Petersburg, Capri, Cyprus, Southern Spain, Sao Paolo…and on and on...and then there's Christmas, when an even broader array of international ornaments show up on the tree.

My first gallery purchase was a tiny $275 3D Fazzino in Soho, NYC , with the World Trade Towers in the foreground forever dating the small piece.  It was my first time in the city.  On this trip I also bought a $25 print from an young artist trying to make a dollar on the Soho sidewalks with his brightly colored Harlem jazz paintings.  I remember hemming and hawing, indecisive, young and poor, but AS said "go for it."  About a decade later, I was living on the UWS, and saw the same artist at a weekend fair downtown - I introduced myself, and bought another print (now $250).  The artist offered to reframe my original and clean it up a bit - gratis, as I was "an established client", and I picked both up in Washington Square a week later.  It was the perfect bookend to that first wonderful, memorable trip to NYC.  I can't look at the art without thinking of the lunch we had that day with my college roommate Alexis and my Aunt's (and now my) friend Dee Ann, the wandering of the city streets, the lovely hotel, the show that night, etc.  You'll find both jazzy prints in the basement family room in the new home.  And there is a story for almost every other piece going up in the Bungalow.

Long-time blog readers will know most of my home is to be fairly monochromatic (grays, whites) with the color coming through in the artwork and a bit of upholstery and textiles.  The nice thing about a small house - the artwork really shines!  And a good thing about having moved so often - you don't buy for a room, or a wall, as the rooms and walls change frequently - so one learns to buy what is really liked!

Some of the artwork has been gifted - making it even more treasured.

Below, a subset of the "Bungalow Collection"… "collection" used with a bit of a wink and a nod - there are pieces from great galleries and known artists, and others from street fairs and small villages purchased for under $50.  I've also been known to fill an entire wall with framed postcards from my travels.

Peter Kutner - a great 34th birthday present.  Loved this the moment I saw it at Studio E Gallery.  Reminds me of Greece. 

Carie Henrie - Sante Fe - wonderful trip

Petr Weigl - London - uber tallented, super nice - commissioned after seeing his work at AAF London

Leslie Emery - Cocanut Grove Art Fair

A Ron Witherspoon woven - Stuart Art Fair

Jim Lewk - Juno Beach Art Fair (another "bookend" - I have a $50 bicycle from this artist circa 1998 - all I could swing at the time.

a tiny 14 inch Kwang Cha - W. Palm Beach

London - Artist unknown

Studio Renya - Santa Fe - Christmas Gift 2012.  Love how the petals just jump off the canvas, and the frame was a great addition.  What a wonderful surprise under the tree.

A stunning Kim Schussler - Christmas gift 2012 (it was a really good Christmas!)  I love KS.

Candra Boggs - Chicago (but she is the art teacher at my PHS alma matter - a LARGE conincidence - I had no idea of the connection when I picked this out of at a tremendously good art fair)

Chinese embroidery - amazing detail

Chicago - artist unknown - but the piece is 3d woven, composed from the artist's husband's MBA text books.  To this I could relate.   The blue is clearly Finance 804

The Gates - birthday gift from a dear friend; I toured this exhibit with Aunt Sue (on accident - we literally walked into it), and he knew how much I enjoyed the trip.

Gaston - Fla and Chicago Art Fairs

This little crystal creature was a gift commemorating a family trip to Paris

Cyprus - the detail in the clay sculpture is pretty terrific

Art Fair - Nice, France, artist unknown

Brazil - artist unknown

Hardwood Floors

The Bungalow had old oak floors in the living room/dining room/powder room and foyer.  But the kitchen had a slate tile, and the stairs and upper bedrooms were carpeted.  In the new world order, all of the ground and upper floors will have oak floors to match/splice in with that which existed.  All of the hardwood will be finished in a lovely, rich medium-dark color called "Expresso" - selected last week.

My floors will be finished next week!

John "the Floor Guy" laying out the options in the "dark, but not TOO dark family".

The winner - Expresso (bottom)

my new floors - curing

A picture of a floor finished in "Expresso"

A Rug Dilemma - Upstairs Guest Room

For the upstairs guest room (Planning: A Navy and White Guest Room) I've been looking for an under-bed rug to complement the navy and white color scheme.

I've narrowed it to two, and ordered both so I can select on site.

Option 1 - a soft, muted lightweight cotton in a lovely herringbone pattern by Dash and Albert ($300):

Option 2:  a zig-zag pattern by Madeline Weinrib from ABC Carpet and Home ($950):

the navy is the same color as the walls

Feel free to cast a vote!

Insulation!

OK - we are now one step closer to WALLS and CEILINGS!

Donating during Renovation

Some of you have asked where I donated the things I couldn't use in the Bungalow:  kitchen cabinets, lighting, doors, vanities, old toilets, sinks, etc.

I sold some items on Craig's List - including all of the doors, a ceiling fan, bathroom vanity, etc.  Folks were asked to bring their tools, and removed and hauled away what they wished to purchase.

The rest - I donated to the Rebuilding Exchange in Chicago.

"The Rebuilding Exchange is a local non-profit retail warehouse which accepts donations of usable building materials and makes them available at affordable prices to renovators, diyers, homeowners, artists etc. Our mission is to create a market for reclaimed building materials. We do this by diverting materials from landfills and making them accessible for reuse through our retail warehouse, by promoting sustainable deconstruction practices, by providing education and job training programs, and by creating innovative models for sustainable reuse." - Alex @ RE

See more at http://rebuildingexchange.org/about

Here's a link to their donation page, http://rebuildingexchange.org/donate.

It was very convenient and professionally operated.  I called, emailed an outline of what was available with pictures, and they picked it all up.  I get a tax write off for the donated items, saved a bit on demo, and everything goes to a good new home.

New Rug for The Basement Family Room

I found a terrific rug at ABC Carpet and Home, marked more than 1/2 off.  I negotiated an extra discount, so for $1350 (vs. retail of about $4k), this fun accent will soon be in the bungalow basement family room.  Those who read the earlier post (Basement Furniture and Layout) know this room will be fun, with an accidental mid-century vibe thanks to the Found/Restored vintage pieces picked up along the way.   I have a feeling those red-matted prints are going to get a new blue or gold matte.

All of the furniture for this space is either owned, or "found" for peanuts.

I told you we'd inject color into this gray space!