Furniture cart

Yesterday we drove to Denver to pick up my two latest acquisitions. The first is this 1910 furniture cart from a Thomasville Furniture warehouse. I'm so excited. I've wanted one of these for years, but I never thought I'd find one near me.









Now I have to decide how to reconfigure all of my furniture to incorporate it as my new coffee table!

Day 422

The reinforcements arrived over the weekend. Tony, a good friend--who just happens to be a contractor who did considerable work on my 1920 Baltimore row house years ago--flew into town for 2 weeks. (Does anyone else think it's crazy that I bring people from Baltimore to help me with my house??)

On Sunday, Tony and the husband replaced our wimpy little white 4x4 porch posts with something with a little deeper voice. Specifically, they put in three old barn beams, probably chestnut, that came from a barn in Indiana.



I love them as much as a person can love an old wood beam.



Now I'm on the hunt for small gargoyles to stick in all the small holes cut out of the posts.

New old wood

Last night we drove to Southern Wood Imports to get three hand-hewn barn beams (probably chestnut) from a barn in Indiana and a big 'ol pile of oak siding from an Amish farm in Kentucky.





These bad boys will soon become part of our new front porch.

I need this table

The roofers are finally back to work after a brief hiatus for two and a half days due to very high winds and SNOW! Hopefully they will finish today.

I don't have much else to say because it's been a very long week for me, editing five very big proposals for a client of mine. My brain is now mush.

But through the mush, a small part of my brain lit up when it saw this photo.



I really, really, really want this table (and those beams and wood floors!), from an 18th century Amsterdam sugar warehouse, spotted over at seesaw.

Have a happy weekend!

Rusty metal

I have lots to show you, but I'm so busy with work right now that I haven't had a chance to take any pictures of the progress we've made!

In the meantime, here are some inspirational photos for what is right around the corner around here...







Images from Southern Wood Imports.

Tote bag sewing project

How gorgeous is this bag made from an old curtain? Jessica over at How about Orange is awesome.

See her post for a link to a tutorial on how to make one of these. I can't wait to get to the part of my list of things to do this year that involves learning how to sew. I'll have to keep an eye out for cool old curtains...

Factory 20

I almost fell off my chair this morning when I discovered Factory 20 via a post at Hello!Lucky.

Here is just a very small sampling of the items I am obsessed with. (Can you tell I love items for storage??)















I think that library two-sided bookcase table above is my favorite! So simple, but so functional.

Also, I had a request for directions on how to make the seed pots I posted yesterday, so I'll be posting a tutorial tomorrow. I had planned to do it today but I need to take a few more pictures in the good light this afternoon.

When I grow up

When my letterpress and I grow up and get our own place, I want it to be just like the world headquarters of Parliament.

Found via Design*Sponge. Check out Parliament's website for more photos of the before, during, and after of this awesome space.

New to follow

I'm already behind on all the blogs I follow, and now I've come across several more to add to my list!

First up is mossière, a photo blog of pure eye candy (in a style that is right up my alley!) by Alyson from Unruly Things. She has a growing collection of gorgeous photos in what she calls her scrapbook for scientific/industrial inspiration, including these great pics.

And then Times Online (from the UK) had to go and publish a list of the 50 best design blogs in the world. Many of those listed are already at home in my google reader, but there are so many new ones I'll have to check out. If you're looking for some new/fun/inspiring blogs to follow, here's a good list to start with.

Zeke Leonard bed

I discovered Zeke Leonard over at Design Sponge.

I am infatuated with his work, which uses reclaimed wood objects and things he finds in dumpsters. This bed is one of my favorite pieces, although some of his benches and lighting fixtures are pretty spectacular, too.



The bed is made of reclaimed red oak that had been church pews, and the headboard is an oak branch found in the woods. The legs of the bed and the reading lamp are made from reclaimed oak from hand-hewn square beams that were made more than a century ago. Love it.

Iron tool chest

I really like the idea of using salvaged items in new ways. This old iron tool chest would make a great little table at the end of a couch, or could even be used as a nightstand.



From Bobo Intriguing Objects.

Big Fork, Montana guest house

The outdoor "living room" at this Montana guest house is bigger than the indoor living room. That's my kind of place. The house was built using a lot of reclaimed material.



I could sit for hours on this porch.



Followed by hours on this daybed by the fireplace.



And here's a fun detail that shows how you can salvage just about anything. These wood baseboards come from an old corral. Anyone who's ever had a horse will recognize the half moon shapes in the top of the wood caused by a bored horse spending hours chewing on the boards. What a clever use of them!

From Mountain Living.

Katrin Arens

I am so in love with all the things that Katrin Arens creates using reclaimed wood. Here are a few of my favorites.