Victorian House Renovation in Bloomingdale, DC
Nope, we aren’t building planes. Though that would be pretty sweet. Just sprucing up the upstairs bath (note the floor tiles, shower tiles, and sink – outdated).
Its almost been a year since we purchased a house and did a quick diy job on the bathtub. It wasn’t the greatest looking tub, but it was a big improvement and worked for the first 11 months, while we decided where on the list of priorities the bathroom is – turns out not very high.… Read the rest
with all the time i spend these days in thrift stores and flea markets, its obviously hard for me to resist picking up an extra good treasure when it surfaces. such as this one:
The National Geographic 1966 Map of Asia. $14, Ruff and Ready.
Sergey says that the water damage looks like the iron curtain from the cold war.
I love the map’s color pallet and its the perfect size for the wall.… Read the rest
Tissus Tartares. “a Eurasian aesthetic for a fabric house, one which would reflect the rich and sophisticated interplay between East and West as it is found in Russian, Persian and Central Asian designs.”
Source: WSJ Magazine (PS – I missed out on the print edition, if anyone has it please please if you are willing to part with it, I would be oh so happy!)
I have been slightly obsessed with Tissus Tartares since Olya Thompson’s brownstone was photographed for Vogue in January 2010.… Read the rest
hey, we should get at least some credit for even keeping up with the board. And even though most of the stuff isn’t completed we are making some progress on the VIB agenda. Like the patio door molding. I have actually spent some time on that last weekend, stripping paint from bottom pieces of the frame. I am going to call it right now – we actually finish in March.… Read the rest
i came across this article today and actually was quite stunned to learn that our choice to buy in the city is actually *probably* lowering our taxes! without getting into discussion about personal views on taxes and government, i just want to point out that it seems, at least to me, that there is a common misconception out there that by living outside the district, in say VA or MD one would save on paying the tax man.… Read the rest
my latest project is not directly for or about the vib. although, its got the same vibe
i am collecting tea cups and saucers for our wedding this summer. the color scheme for the event is red and white, and i am trying to collect tea cups in the same pallet, around 120 of these.
it also means that i get to discover new thrift and antique places in DC (and elsewhere) in addition to tried and true ruff and ready (on my last trip i got 8 cups there!)… Read the rest
How to train climbing roses for many, many blooms )… Read the rest
When and how to prune climbing roses.
Time flies by. It wasn’t too long ago that we planted our climbing roses. This year’s winter wasn’t too bad, so I think they made it out ok. Last weekend, Sergey and I took about 30 minutes to prune and train the bushes onto the fence. This should be done at the end of winter, before plants start budding for spring.
This is how we started out. The plants didn’t even loose all of their leaves,
which I thought should go, to make way for fresh blooms.… Read the rest
while i am on a “dreaming about new kitchen” roll, i figure I might as well share pictures that I have been taking everywhere for inspiration.
The plan is to have exposed brick in the kitchen. i am not sure how that will work with insulation, so that may have to be scrapped. but for now, the idea is that the wall that houses the fridge/built-ins/bench will be exposed brick.and… Read the rest