2 Projects for the Fall
2 big life changes since the beer tour. First, I’ve been eating those vegetables for breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day. And second, the joy of NOT working on the house isn’t strong enough to get me to shrug off certain glaringly unfinished pieces anymore. An aside, the Philly shrug is an important part of this city’s identity. I’m not sure if I can explain why it’s endearing at the same time when it also gives us trash strewn streets, a grand city hall with window unit air conditioners, and a robust transit system that still uses tokens. (Okay, that last one might also have something to do with rabidly anti-urban state legislators.)
So as for what I don’t want to shrug off anymore? Did you notice the marble I was ignoring just to the right of the steps? Yikes.
I let this go because the whole façade needs to be stripped and there’s only 7 ½ feet of sidewalk separating it from parked cars and I need to save up for somebody with liability insurance to do the deed. But now that the steps look so good and the rest of the marble base looks so bad… I went out for the masonry paint stripper the GSA recommends for historic masonry. So yeah, maybe my house (left) won’t look so gross anymore. (But remember, the brick to the right was not restored correctly.)
Yep, that goes against all of my old sensible plans. I decided that this is happening Saturday, and I’ll just have to find a way to protect the stranger’s car that will be parked right out front of my house. The idea of splashing harsh chemicals terrifies me. I’ll probably put a tarp over the cars.
I called the Irishman asking what to do about this. He told me, “Don’t worry about it. I put the most caustic things there are in the street just yesterday. If anyone gives you shit about it, come to me and I’ll take care of ’em.”
So wish me luck.
Then there are 2 pigtail lights in my house even though I’ve owned real light fixtures all along. Neither is usable right now but I’m eager to get them working. I’m having some work done to this pan light, so the next time you see it, it’ll be actually be safe to use and I’ll tell you more about it then.
Then, do you remember this chrome chandelier?
I bought it early on and it’s been at my parents’ house until this week. I knew from the beginning that it needs a new chain and ceiling canopy and that the center wire is too short. At the lighting place I went to, the lady also straightened out the bent arms and sold me nice chain and the paper insulators it needs. This was great but I balked at the cost of having it rewired and took it home to do it myself. I felt a little bad not to give them the job after she was very nice and helpful, but decided that it’s good enough that I’m already spending good money on the other one.
And plus, I have a lingering fear that this chandelier will never be my style and will stick out like a sore thumb in my house. We’ll see though – I’ve played it safe with most of my decorating choices and maybe something jarringly blingy and modern will be fun.
Speaking of blingy, this piece used to have 30 crystals hanging from the arms that don’t have lights. What do you think about these?
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Oh wow, I love the crystal drop – seems like you could do some fabulous hanging creation with these – not on a light fixture, just in a starring role by themselves.
FYI, if you love them here’s where to get them. http://www.chandelierparts.com/collections/clear-colored-raindrops/products/copy-of-3-clear-raindrop-w-top-bead?variant=1201868668
Well, as you know I went right out on a limb and hung an albeitly small bling chandelier in our low key country diner and it worked. My other fittings in the house include art deco wall lights, French gilt 19thc wall lights, an battered enamel wall light with a Chinese glass shade, acute glass and chrome bathroom light, two ceiling fans (necessity) a French lantern, a Tiffany style fitting and a Moroccan lantern….
Chad, put up what you like, don’t over think it, don’t worry about matching up and remember it’s your house. It mat not be grand, neither is mine, but it’s stylish and characterful and can take any of the above
NB- that should read”cut glass”
I agree with Barbara–use the crystals in some other place. I can’t imagine that they were part of the original Sputnik lamp, but I could be wrong. I just can’t picture how it would look right.
As for putting in the missing marble and cleaning the facade, I say go for it. I like your plan of covering the cars before you get going with chemicals–be sure you cover your face and eyes as well with protective gear. (As for McStagger’s* advice, I generally don’t go for pugilism when prevention is easier.) One thought would be to put notices on all the cars that generally park in front of your home warning them that cleaning chemicals will be spilling onto the walk on such and such a date, and to avoid damage to their cars’ finishes they might wish to park elsewhere. Then if there are no cars there in the morning, you can put traffic cones out front or get friends to park an old junkheap or two there to discourage newcomers from parking there for the duration. I don’t know about you, but I’ve always had a friend with an old junkheap, if in that particular phase of my life I didn’t have one. (My favorite and most reliable junkheaps were a restored 1960 404 Peugeot wagon, the floor of which had holes through which you could see the road, and a 1973 red Dodge Colt wagon that developed a rust hole in the front right fender after only two years on the road. It ran really well, however, for 10 years.)
I said I’d pry the letters off and rename my car the Bondoville if the body starts rusting. Luckily, I know the owners of both cars parked in front of my house right now so I should be good tomorrow.
And as for the chandelier crystals, I agree that adding them would take away from the Sputnik look, but it really did have them originally. I’m leaning towards leaving them off even though I am curious about what it would look like. Just not $112 curious.
*Forgot to say that McStagger is my nickname for the Irishman.
“I put the most caustic things there are in the street just yesterday.” – LMAOOMFG!!! wow… good luck with your marble cleaning venture!
i love sputnik just how it is. when i try to image it with 30 crystals i get the Dynasty theme song running through my head. the fact sputnik has 30 hanging holes opens up a whole new world of possibilities!
I noticed that you took down the blog post that you published yesterday, and I just wanted to check in to make sure that you are ok. I looked for a way to contact you via email, but I did not see one. If you would like to write back in a more private forum, you can email me at jessvzla@hotmail.com