As saavy blog-readers, you have likely noticed the pitfalls of out Tumblr home. No article archive. A not so adept search function. No tags from the bloggers to help find similar content.

Well, after 18 months of blogging, we are transitioning to our own domain, where we have the ability to increase the blog functionality:

schenckingtons.com

Isn’t that catchier?

I know you are as excited as we are! Diana mimicked the look from Tumblr for now, so it will still feel like home, cozy and yellow. All of the posts have been moved over, tagged and categorized for improved enjoyment and perusal.

One thing lost in the move was your amazing comments, but they will remain on Tumblr for posterity!  And we will be remapping some of the links as we go through all 240 posts!

Check it out, and update your bookmarks!

I realized that I keep posting views of the new kitchen plan looking to the southwest.  Here’s a glimpse northeast, showing a potential full wall of cabinets to one side that will have glass-fronts for our stemware and serving platters.  Diana’s collection of turquoise Fiestaware will finally get to show off!  The drawers will hold linens, and the middle cabinets are an appliance garage for the mixer and toaster.  The lower cabinets will house baking supplies, some vented drawers for root vegetables, and infrequently used appliances.

I also dropped in a window seat, with a cat since it will obviously be a cozy place.  This built-in will be a second phase of the kitchen construction, once we determine that there is ample room over there behind the stools at the peninsula.

Here is an update on my current obsession: kitchen ventilation. Why is it so exciting to me? Because poor ventilation is everywhere, which I have only just realized.

1. Good ventilation means no greasy film. Every apartment I have lived in had the same terrible system: you cook something, it makes some grease, you turn on the puny fan above the range, the air… vanishes? There is no ductwork, so the air gets mysteriously filtered and recirculated back into the room. This may be the only option in a small apartment. If you are renting, you may not ever think to clean the filter, which is probably a horrow show. And when you pack up to move you will discover a disgusting film on everything you stored on the uppermost cabinets.

2. Hood-based fans are noisy. Think back to that apartment system. So you flick the switch on the hood. The speed can be adjusted with the little plastic dial. On the low setting, the steam boiling off your pot barely wavers. On the high setting, you can no longer hear the traffic outside on your street, nor the airplanes flying over, or the police sirens, or ANYTHING.

3. See you later, food odors. Two of my favorite things, aside from kitchen ventilation of course, are garlic and onions. I cook dozens of these at a time, apparently, since Diana notices the lingering smell long after we have eaten. I’m not about to cut back on garlic and onions!

So, this is where great kitchen ventilation comes in. It ducts the grease away from the cooktop and out of the house. Completely out! It can be conducted with a remote blower on the roof that will be powerful enough to get the job done but far enough away to allow kitchen conversation. And where did the lingering onion smell go? Why, out through the exhaust system, my dear.

I’m constantly imaging how to fit new exhaust into the kitchen scheme. I even took out the light fixture in the bathroom, so I could investigate the floor construction, and find a pathway.  This one is perfect, as long as I move the bathroom light fixture.

I made a sketch, investigating how I might be able to chase the duct in between the joists above the powder room, and into a new shaft. This was also to help my kitchen ventilation expert (Sean) visualize the path and order some pretty sweet ductwork that I can assemble without welding, which is tricky, or tape, which is lousy.

Lastly, I added the route to the 3D model, and included a commercial upblast fan at the top!  Yes, that’s what it is called, and it will change my life. Fortunately, the spot where I’ve located it on the roof is not visible from the street.  But it is pretty cool-looking.

As part of last winter’s living room yellow-ification, we bought these two yellow euro pillows.

I liked the pattern and thought at first we’d use them as throw pillows on the couch. But in place they were so big they looked out of scale, so I moved them down to the ground where they served as floor cushions.  While it is great to have floor cushions - for gathering around the coffee table playing cards, or sitting directly in front of the fire with Gus - these pillows were not all that comfortable.  So, when I bought a new duvet cover for the guest room, and West Elm recommended layering Euro-sized pillows instead of standard ones, I said, sure why not.  The euro pillows from the living room would go upstairs, and then I’d do something else to replace them, like sew up some real floor cushions. Yes, real floor cushions.

Over the years, I’ve sewn a lot of pillows - for myself and for others.  It used to be that I’d make normal pillows regardless of whether they were going to be used on the couch or floor. Then a couple years ago, I made two floor cushions for my friend Karen using high-density foam, and let me tell you, they were so comfortable. Foam is really the only way to go for floor cushions.

For fabric, I figured I could use some wool that I kettle dyed last summer.

Originally I’d intended to use this wool layered on the couch, like a throw blanket. But when I tried it out, it looked like some college frat house grateful dead tribute… not exactly the look I was going for.  Maybe it could work as floor cushions instead?

After doing some measuring of the existing pillows, and the available storage space under the coffee table, I decided on 18x24x5 for the new cushions.  Getting even more savvy about foam, I ordered from the dubiously-named buyfoam.com, where they’ll cut the foam to size and the normal prices were just as good as a sale at Joann’s.

A week or so later, the foam arrived, and I started sewing, using my standard reference Sewing for the Home as a guide. I chose the most basic box cushions, just a top and bottom connected with “boxing” strips, no piping or anything fancy.

After considering skipping zippers and just sewing the pillows closed, I decided that with two cats, it is probably wise to include zips so the covers can be removed for cleaning. Since the wool had been washed and partially felted already, the easiest way to insert zippers was to just cut a slit in the fabric and sew the zipper in place… Normally you’d need to hem the edges, but felted wool won’t fray, so I could skip that step. Doesn’t it look sleek?

Once the zippers were in, the rest of the sewing went pretty smoothly. The trickiest part was figuring which way to iron the seams at the end. This wool is thick, so bulky seams would be visible in the finished cushions.  I experimented with ironing them towards the boxing or towards the top/bottom, and ironing towards the boxing looked better.  I also trimmed the half-inch seam allowance back to about a quarter inch with pinking shears to remove more bulk.

And there you have it, floor cushions!

Much more comfortable than those flat euro pillows for sitting in front of the fire. Gus is still getting used to them, but I think he’ll come around.

If you are thinking of making these yourself, you could probably get away with 4-inch foam instead of the 5-inch I used. I measured one of our couch cushions to get that depth, but it is just a little bit tall.  Plus, they’ll be less expensive that way.

Turns out, tie dye doesn’t look so much like a frat house on the floor and the cushions fit right in to the living room.

Wool might be too warm for year-round use, so maybe I’ll start planning some cotton or linen covers for the summer…

In the overgrown yew tree outside the sun room windows, there are a couple bird feeders which Lars and Betsy gave us for Christmas last year. One is for seed and one for thistle, each attracting different types of birds. 

Before moving to the country, I never knew much about birds, and I still don’t, aside from identifying basic varieties like cardinals, blue jays, and gold finches. One thing I have learned is that having feeders nearby means you get to enjoy a little bit of bustling nature even in a frozen winter landscape.  Winter weekend breakfasts and lunches come complete with bird friends. 

Of course, Sam and Gus enjoy some bird watching too. At the sight of them, Gus forgets all the house rules and jumps onto the counter in hunting mode, crouched down and moving slowly, as if he could pounce through the windows.

We do our best to keep the feeders full, but in the winter when snow is on the ground, the voracious neighborhood birds easily empty the seed feeder in one day. Since we have to get on the ladder for refills, the birds mostly get food on the weekends.

Ever since seeing this photo of Martha Stewart’s bird feeder set up, I had the idea to install a row of tube feeders under the eaves outside the sun room (the current kitchen), for even more bird-watching entertainment.


(Not our house - this is Martha Stewart’s garage.)

So, one Sunday afternoon, I set about some internet sleuthing, determined to find out exactly which brand of bird feeder Martha uses.  I expected the search would be long and arduous, but it turns out the answer is quite easy.  Droll Yankees is the maker of all the feeders in Martha’s photo, and they are widely known for their high-quality bird feeders. Plus, they are made in the USA.  Done and done.

The only question that remained was whether to order the 18-inch or 24-inch versions.  Reminding myself that our house is a cottage, I decided to go with the smaller ones and see how they did.  Later, maybe we’ll order more and by the time we have a whole row of them, we can mix and match sizes and types.

As a bonus, these feeders hold a lot more seed, apparently 3 pounds in one refill. Here’s hoping the birds can have more than one weekly feeding frenzy.

To hang the feeders, we found a metal hook that would screw into the eaves. 

We decided to place one feeder on each side of the kitchen doors to start. Brian had to do some balancing in order to install them..

The best part is that the feeders are close enough to the steps that I can just reach out and refill them.  The birds might get mid-week snacks now!

That is, if only the neighborhood birds would stop by and sample the great bird seed we got them. 

It has been more than two weeks, and the feeders are still as full as day one. The birds do tend to eat more when snow is on the ground, and it has been a mild winter.  Or are the feeders too close to the house?  Hmmm…  time for some more investigating..

During the quiet time at the beginning of the year after the holidays, I find I like to go through my list of to-do’s and finish up projects in progress, to clear my slate for the rest of the year. It is a way to make mental space for new ideas.  In January I made some progress on finishing up old projects, like finally making that headboard for the guest room and hanging a bunch of artwork.

Next up are the living room curtains. Remember a few months ago, when I bought new curtains for the living room and was all ready to start hemming them?  Well, I finished the hidden tabs, but the hems have been pooling on the floor for months.

The first step was attaching the curtain hardware to the walls. Until now, the new curtain rods have just been resting on the old hardware.  One evening, Brian happily tried out his new screwdriver/drill and we attached the rods to the wall.

Then, I started experimenting with different hem lengths.  Actually, first I sent all 10 panels through the wash.  It is one of those rules of sewing - wash your fabric first if the final product will get washed.  The last thing I want to happen is hem them now, only to have them all shrink when they get washed someday.  So into the wash they went, and out they came, very very wrinkly.  I am not even kidding when I say that it took at least an hour per panel on ironing alone - a first pass to remove most of the wrinkles, then a second pass once the hem was sewn. Multiply that by 10 panels, and that is 10 hours of ironing!  Phew. All I can say is, at least it is done now. 

And, on a positive note, all that ironing time was an opportunity to enjoy some new-to-me tunes.  Mumford & Sons, My Morning Jacket, and Josh Ritter were in constant ironing board rotation.

Let me offer one tip, in case you too find yourself hemming Ikea curtains: Measure from the top down.  I thought that coming out of a factory, all the panels would be the same length, and I could just measure up from the bottoms to get a new hem.  Um, no. About 3 panels in to this method, I had 3 panels of different lengths and just couldn’t figure out what was out of level - the floor, the curtain rod?  Turns out, the curtains.

I hemmed them all about one inch longer than floor length.  This gives them a bit of a relaxed look, and hides any inconsistencies in rod height.





Next up for the living room are some real floor cushions. Hmm, is that a 2011 project?  I think I might have added this in 2012..

Ok, blogreaders. Here is your direct invitation to post some comments! I need some kitchen-fixture feedback. The subject: pot faucets.

The pot faucet sure seems like a practical luxury. Anytime a huge cauldron of water is needed on the stovetop (for cooking pasta, or for dyeing yarn perhaps), you turn on this special spigot and voila! No need to haul 20+ pounds if water from the sink. Need some water to quickly deglaze some sautéing gone awry? Pot faucet to the rescue.

Then I read up on them online, and there isn’t much enthusiasm. HGTV’s staff believes that few people actually use their pot faucets with any frequency, their large batches of pasta too seldom to merit the extra expense. A former coworker told me that he did install one, but he never uses it since his doesn’t work quite right. Interesting, and unfortunate.  Maybe it’s awesome!

Here is a slight update of our kitchen plan. The pot faucet is shown, and is strangely close to the sink itself! Would it really be a big deal to move a pot of water from the sink? What if the sink is really really deep, like 10”? Let us know what you think!

I have paid surprisingly little attention to sinks in my lifetime. Not enough time to have an opinion prior to my current kitchen scheming. I recall having a stainless sink that looked amazing, when I got around to cleaning it. There was some type of ceramic sink in our last apartment, which ended up with a stain from when I soaked a cast-iron pan overnight. And currently we have a stainless steel sink with two separate sides, which I remember being very excited about when we moved in.

Now, the double-basin sink is the opposite of ideal. The divider is basically an obstacle, cramping the cleaning space. Even our small skillets won’t sit flat on the bottom, and it is tricky to get a pot into place to fill. So for the new kitchen, a single, large basin is the goal.

Diana and I both like farmhouse-style sinks, where the edge of the sink is right at the edge of the counter. The bigger the sink, the further you have to reach, so every inch helps.

What I am not sure about is how bulky the fireclay sinks appear. They beg to be the focal point, heavy and sedate, and they might be especially ominous in the center of our peninsula. We are also planning for off-white cabinetry with clean lines, so a chubby white sink could be out of place. The above photo shows how the white contrasts nicely with dark surfaces, such as the black countertops we envision.

You can also get a farmhouse-style sink in stainless steel, which would pair well with appliances elsewhere in our new kitchen. Thicker stainless steel is highly recommended, both to prevent dents and reduce tinny sounds.  Some have grooves formed into the base to help drain water away, and curvier apron-fronts.

I particularly like the offset drains, which allow clear access for drainage even if there is something large soaking in the sink. Soaking pots and pans is apparently the most important thing for me! Some manufacturers also sell racks that fit into the bottom, to protect the sink from accidental drops.

Ours would obviously be wider than the one pictured above!  By about a foot.  Can’t wait to find a showroom so see some examples close up.

Diana just made an attempt to fry my brain. She nearly succeeded. Her point: brainstorming ALL ideas, good and bad, helps to generate elements that could work.

The kitchen is a runaway train. I think about it constantly. Even after making the jump from graph paper to 3D, I’m still sketching possible cabinet configurations on paper to make sure that all our kitchen “stuff” will have a cozy home. After thinking about it so much, I took for granted that we must be on the right track. But what if…

- we move the range. We could block up the small window in the room, use a lower profile hood, and vent into the unused chimney adjacent. Sure, the work on the window will be significant, but light wouldn’t be lost because we are adding a door nearby to connect to the sun room/dining area. And the exhaust fan would need to be in the hood, unless we change the chimney cap…

- or we change the two windows on the east side of the room. Right now they are too low to permit a counter. By making them one pane shorter,  a counter and bottom cabinets would fit on the far wall. This would create a more typical layout, where you walk parallel to the cooking area, not through it to get to another room. But there would be no overhead cabinets over there, and modifying those windows is no small job.

- or we move the kitchen to a completely different room!

I sure hope she was kidding about that last one. My brain nearly exploded. Brainstorming is crucial, but decisions based on the best brainstorming nuggets are the only way to move forward, building up the good ideas into a complete plan. My problem is that I grab those nuggets of info and race for the finish line!

I’m going to devote a little time to re-opening the idea file, and halting the locomotive that is Brian’s “kitchen mission.” Maybe it will turn out that our current idea is on the right path, with some minor corrections. Or perhaps there is a greater idea out there that needs to be built upon.

Regardless, the point is taken. And although I like to think about getting everything done at once (like outfitting the two bathrooms for future renovation while I have portions of them demolished to install an exhaust duct I am in love with), I can settle for making provisions to ensure that I haven’t made my future bathroom renovations more difficult.

But who can anticipate a fraction of the future? Seriously. I was supposed to renovate the master bathroom last winter. Think about how badly that would have screwed up my master duct plan.

Our beautiful new basement tile is getting the royal treatment.  We have temporarily concealed it with yards of red rosin paper, notched with care at the corners and door frames. 

From our 18 months and 40+ gallons of joint compound experience, there is no such thing as “low dust” from sanding, and the dust goes absolutely EVERYWHERE.  The intent of the paper is to keep it off the tiles as must as possible, and primarily to keep our heels from grinding the dust particles into the tile sealer.  The upstairs wood floors seemed to need perpetual scrubbing to get the dust off, and I want to avoid that downstairs.

Since we removed the door from the family room, we put up plastic to close that room off.  Diana also taped plastic at the laundry room intersection to keep that zone dust-free, and I shoved towels and draft snakes under the other five doors in the hallway. This has worked with varying degrees of success.

The sanding of coat #1 took four hours without a break, and I was dehydrated enough and so dust-covered that as I stood outside shaking out my clothes, my wedding ring slipped off!  That never happens!  Thank goodness I found it and it didn’t end up in the creek. 

Next weekend, I suppose it will be time to put up coat #2.