Archive for October, 2009
I’m Kind Of A Big Deal
Hey guys, Burger here. I’m commandeering my parents’ blog to announce that as of quite recently, I too have a blog (and I’m not gonna get catty or anything but mine’s better).
Because the most requested addition to Young House Love (according to mom and dad’s recent blogiversary survey, completed by over 1000 people!) was “more Burger” I was inspired to get my lazy duff off the sofa/armchair/daybed and begin chronicling my very own adventures for all to enjoy. In the words of Susan Lucci: you like me, you really really like me.
Wait, that wasn’t Susan Lucci? It was Sally Field? Oh well, what do you expect? I’m a dog- I can’t retain useless human information like that. Anyway, without further ado I present Hamburger’s House. You’ll always be able to access it easily by clicking the little green button with my mug on it on the sidebar of this blog (assuming you even want to continue visiting this blog after you get a load of mine). Or you can just type in www.hamburgershouse.com to get there directly. My goal is simple. Give the world what it wants. More me. (I’m nothing if not humble). And instead of interspersing photos of yours truly among all the DIY and home improvement chatter here on YHL, you’ll be able to get your daily dose of dog all in one place.
Honestly, I don’t think you’re ready for this jelly. I’ll be sharing photos, opinions, and other pup related musings over there every day along with pooch travel tips and much more. And I even hope to branch out into pet-related giveaways and do some volunteer work to get four-legged friends of mine adopted (if you know of a dog who needs a home, drop me a line and I’ll spread the word!). Just trying to use my animal magnetism for good.
Oh and don’t forget to check out my little video section (by clicking the “Lights, Camera, Action” tab under the header). I’m kind of a charmer when I’m in motion. As demonstrated by gems like this old my-parents-put-a-shirt-on-me-and-I’m-mad-about-it rebellion:
And this cold-air-makes-my-legs-and-arms-instinctively-paddle-like-I’m-about-to-be-dropped-in-a-river moment (recently enjoyed with Katie and Jeremy Bower while we were in Nashville with them).
So whaddya say? Wanna see the world according to Burger? Just drop in on my blog and see how I spend my days, how I charm the ladies and how my parents manage to mortify me every now and then. It’s guaranteed to be more fun than a poodle in heat.
First image found here (ok, ok, I slightly altered it)
Reader Redesign: Facade Facelift
When Casey sent us these almost unbelievable photos of his home’s exterior makeover we couldn’t wait to share the goods. Here’s his letter:
I’m a huge fan of your website and your remodeling. It’s simply awesome. I just bought my first house, and it was built in 1925. It’s in Dallas, Texas, and was completely remodeled in 2006. While I can’t take credit for everything that was done, I wanted to share the exterior before and after pictures. They’re pretty cool, I think. Urban Strong is the name of the company that did the renovations. They are based out of Dallas, TX. I’m just the lucky beneficiary of their fine work. Best regards and many thanks for keeping your readers so entertained with quality writing and insightful advice! -Casey
Is you mouth hanging open right now? Because ours is. Isn’t it amazing what a little love can do for a home that once appeared to be wayyy past its prime? Now it’s current and welcoming and oh so pristine. What do you guys think? Are you digging the light and airy color scheme as much as we are? Any ideas you’re going to steal for an impending exterior overhaul? Do tell. And thanks so much to Casey for sending the amazing before and after photos our way!
What’s The (Floor) Plan Stan?
We had so much fun showing you the ins and outs of our house’s exterior layout back in June, that we’re back to share Casa Petersik’s actual interior floor plan. We know it’s pretty hard to picture how rooms flow into one another when you’re looking at a series of photos (like the before & afters on our House Tour page), so here’s hoping this makes some sense out of the three bedroom, one and a half bathroom brick ranch that we call home…
Of course the house didn’t start out as a three bedroom (remember we moved our dining area into the living room and converted the formal dining room into a third bedroom by closing off the old door to the kitchen- which gained us a heckova lot more cabinet space?). Ah those were the days. Just for fun here’s the old dining room we inherited (see that doorway on the left that led into the old kitchen?)
And here’s the same room as a bedroom, with that doorway sealed off and drywalled (it already had a closet so it was practically begging to be converted):
And because we sealed off that doorway from the old dining room that led to the kitchen (see it there on the right in the picture below?) we were able to take an old room that looked like this…
… to an updated kitch with over 50% more counter space & storage now that the door on the right wall was replaced by an entire wall of cabinetry and appliances (including a dishwasher that the original floor plan never would have accommodated).
That’s one of the reasons we always encourage people to live in a space for a while before renovating, since it’s a solution we never would have thought of off the bat. Not in a million years. We also probably never would have had the guts to tear down the bifold doors and the wall in the laundry area to create a nice little exposed laundry nook that’s a lot less closed in (as you can see from the floor plan above, that hallway was a bit claustrophibic before we opened things up- just imagine a line where the bifold doors once were). Here are things mid-demo (so you can see where the old doors and upper wall were):
And here are things now, more open and functional (plus you can actually do laundry and have access to the back door which leads to the sunroom (back in the days of the bifold doors, if they were open they blocked access to the back door- frustrating, no?).
As you can see, a workable floor plan really does make all the difference. Not only can it make for a seamless feeling and effortless flow, but it can actually make day to day life easier and your entire house more functional for you and your family. And the glorious thing is that while others might consider a formal dining room a necessity or want to keep their washer and dryer behind closed doors, owning a home is all about personalizing it for the way you live so you love coming home to it every single day. So don’t be afraid to tailor your house to best meet your needs (unless you’re planning to sell, say, next week)… after all you’re the one paying the mortgage!
So what about you guys. Have you altered your floor plan in any way to accommodate something that the original layout was missing? Are you planning any restructuring to add functionality or just plain beauty to your home? Do tell.
Update- Due to tons of room size requests, we’ve added each of our room’s approximate measurements: sunroom: 18′ x 13′, half bathroom: 3.5′ x 5.5′, laundry nook: 6′ x 7′, den: 19′ x 10′, kitchen: 13′ x 10′, living/dining room: 22′ x 12′, third bedroom/nursery: 8′ x 10′, full bathroom: 7′ x 6′, guest bedroom: 10′ x 10.5′, master bedroom: 12.5′ x 11.5′.
Allyson’s Design Dilemma
Allyson’s bedroom is ready to be transformed. Here’s her letter:
I absolutely adore your blog, I read it every day. I am so excited to get one of your mood boards and to finally love the look of our master bedroom. We really love a modern clean look. I hate clutter. So simple lines and geometric patterns are the way to go. I would say Ikea and CB2 reflect our design aesthetic most. Simple, modern, budget friendly pieces, how can you go wrong? I have a pretty tight budget for this room (pretty much everything furniture wise needs to stay – the bed, nightstands and dresser). I would also like to keep our wedding pictures as well and the TV needs to stay. We’d like to keep the blinds, but would love to get curtains hung although I’m just not sure how/where to hang them with the semi circle window. The current wall color needs to go! I was trying to highlight some colors in the slate we have in the bathroom that I love, unfortunately I think the bedroom/bath looks like a circus now. I love, love, love bold colors and I want to have something that coordinates with the slate. I’m open to all colors except blue. I love the color green so if you can include that in the design as an accent, that would be great. Thanks! – Allyson
Here’s the plan:
And now for the mood board breakdown.
Read the rest of this entry »
We’ve Gone Batty (& Doggy)
Last week’s Halloween fun didn’t end with that post. In fact we had a few more easy (and cheap!) ideas up our sleeves so we’re back to share the goods. First we took another little Martha Stewart trick and added black bat silhouettes to the insides of our living room lamps:
And it was really easy. Here’s how we did it in under ten minutes using stuff we already had around the house (total cost: $0.00). First I sketched out bat shapes (inspired by a quick google search) on small white pieces of paper (tip: it helps to cut the paper into rectangles that are about the size that you want your finished bats to be just keep you on track):
Then I cut those sketches out and created little white stencils that I could trace (with a pencil) onto black construction paper (black cardstock also works if you have that laying around). After they’re traced you simply cut them out and you’re left with awesome little bat shaped pieces of paper (feel free to print this photo out, blow it up and use it as a stencil if you’d like the same bat shapes that we sketched):
We especially like that we got three bat shapes for the time that it took to make two since the one bat that’s flying to the left can be flipped over to look like he’s also flying to the right, just to keep things looking a little less formulaic.
Then we just used two loops of scotch tape (one on each wing) to stick each one of them inside the two lamp shades in our living room for a bit of eerie ambiance when the lights are on (of course the obligatory warning here is to make sure they’re firmly in place and nowhere near the hot bulb so they don’t start a fire; CFL bulbs burn a lot cooler so they’re a nice bit of added insurance). Oh and we wondered if you’d see the tape through the shade but you really don’t- just the silhouette of each bat. It’s a super polished look for not much effort. Gotta love that.
And the funny thing is that when the lights are off our linen shades make the bats completely invisible, so they look pretty run of the mill…
… until you switch them on for some Halloween fun. We can’t wait to have them glowing in our front window when trick-or-treaters approach on the 31st. It’s like a modern take on carving a pumpkin (don’t worry, we did that too and we’ll share those pics in a bit…). And adding an orange bulb would be the icing on the cake (our shades just happen to cast a yellowy-orange glow as-is).
And of course we had to decorate my beloved concrete greyhound for the occasion too. We used an old necklace I already had laying around for a bit of a dark chain-y look around his neck along with some ever-so-thin spiderwebs (leftover from the porch spookifying project that we have yet to share).
Easy and free! The only downside is that we think Burger’s a little jealous at all the attention we paid to the faux dog in the house, so of course we have a costume for him too. Stay tuned for that along with our spooky little porch project and some pumpkin carving pics coming soon. And speaking of soon, we’re going to blink our eyes and it’ll be Christmas so Halloween really is right around the corner. Anyone have any fun costume ideas (for themselves or their dogs)? Any pumpkin carving or porch spookifying projects in the hopper? Do tell.
