eggmountain

 

Shhh!  Be quiet.  Everyone else is sleeping but I'm too excited.  I awoke early with dreams swirling in my head, and after planning out the next two years while horizontal, I decided to get up and get started in the vertical realm.  Things are brewing on this end, but I'm not counting chickens just yet (or perhaps I am and just hoping, HOPING that they will hatch).  Maybe soon there will be news to report regarding me and a desk and an office, but until then I'm getting ready for a quick trip to Kansas City, MO.  I need to get away from this life of never-ending Saturdays.  Imagine - wanting to escape the "lightness of being" for stress and deadlines and constant interruption.  After seven months of attempting to embrace a casual existence, I'm very eager to begin a life of days with structure - days with expectations.

So many little things are happening at the garage - we're rolling into a giant snowball of completion.  Sheetrock is being finished, old wood and concrete block are finally accepting the last layers of paint, and the electricians have added the most beautiful white switches and receptacles and encased them in their galvanized covers.

Isn't that just the loveliest little receptacle you've ever seen?

 

Soon we'll be sleeping in here and listening to the neighbor's chickens.  Or we'll be attempting to sleep while being serenaded with the neighbor's electric guitar.

 It's all happening.

Nature Shows

 Oh my goodness - we have garage doors!  And really, they are the most spectacular additions to the garage.  Something about the glass and aluminum causes the light to bounce around the space in really dramatic and beautiful ways - I am totally smitten, as are Hank and Mable.  Yesterday, they spent the entire evening parked in front of the doors, just patiently watching the scene unfold.

Here are the doors from the interior.  Soon the construction gear will be replaced with kitchen cabinetry - the plan is to anchor an island there in the center of the space to divide the open kitchen + living room.  We're still trying to devise a way to hang drapes or shades in front of the garage doors in order to control the light and gain privacy.  Ideas are welcome - bring 'em if you've got 'em.

  

And here we're looking at the garage from the main house.  I feel like I should hold some of these images for the "big reveal," but what fun is that? 

Just for kicks, let's take a look at what we started working with just seven short months ago...

 

 

 

Progress Report

So while I've been in a funk, twiddling my thumbs and doing my very best impressions of Eeyore, very talented and devoted individuals have been busy working on the garage.  Which is really fantastic, because the Eeyore I knew never made a good carpenter.  (He was much too slow, and that bow on his tail might get caught in the table saw. Yikes.)  And for the last couple of weeks, Ethiel and I (with the help of my super generous mother-in-law) have been little elves, coming in on the weekends and evenings to paint or work on casement windows while admiring the work of people who really know what they're doing.  CRAFTSMEN.  I love them. 

Each evening when we arrive to put another three coats of white paint on the old wood that acts more like a sponge, we take time to marvel at the accomplishments of the day shift.  The concrete floor has been poured, the front door has been hung, and the skylight is magically lighting the tiny bathroom and stairwell.  Electrical conduit, plumbing lines, and HVAC ducts are all in place, just waiting patiently for the finishing touches.  We're currently making decisions on kitchen cabinets.  And keeping our fingers crossed that funds aren't depleted before the wood stove is installed...

Why don't we take a quick second for a progress report?

 

This is the current state of the main entrance.  It's not particularly inviting now, but it will be!  I've named the little tree in the foreground "Slingshot."  That was a mistake, because he'll be coming down soon.  I suppose then his name will be "Mulch."

This is the view from the front door.  We've started painting the rafters and will still be at it a year from now, because someone I know, (his name starts with "E" and ends with "thiel") refuses to rent a sprayer and so we have to do it all by hand. 

 

Hello, future new kitchen.  While I'm not excited about the prospect of hand-washing dishes again, it will be nice to enjoy the view out of that window while doing it.  Maybe.

 

Here we're in the living room looking out the imaginary garage door - to be installed VERY soon - how fantastic is that view?

 

And here is the upstairs bedroom, with my tiny closet there in the corner. 

I can't wait to have you over!  You can help me with the dishes.  I'll wash if you dry.

 

Tub!

Here is the new tub for the garage, which is actually a galvanized trough we salvaged from Ethiel's grandfather's farm.  We went back and forth about whether or not we should actually use it, but the dimensions were too perfect - it had to happen.  Now I'm more excited than I should be about bathing in a vintage farm implement.

So, we'll use leftover slate tiles from the main house to cover the floor, and the wall surrounding the shower and tub will be skim-coated with concrete.  We've selected an inexpensive white ceramic vessel sink for the lavatory, which will sit on a salvaged piece of black granite.  This weekend we scored an old mirror that will fit perfectly above the sink, and at 48"H it will help to visually enlarge the tiny little niche that surrounds the lavatory.

Now we just need to acquire a door, preferably vintage with textured glass, that we'll use to separate the bathroom and bedroom.  If I knew I could schlep a door from Athens to Knoxville on my own, I'd start my shopping here at the local Habitat Thrift Store.  However, I can already picture that scene in my head and it's not pretty.

I'll just be patient.

Maybe.

 

Silver Linings

So the last three weeks have been a little intense, but in that good way where you just don't know if you can stand to eat, drink, and be merry one minute longer!  There were several moments during the last few weeks when I thought I would surely die from leisure.  It's just not natural to have so little stress and such freedom from obligations.  My parents visited us here in Knoxville, which was wonderful, especially considering that my father always insists on driving.  For an entire week I had my own personal chauffeur.  I scouted out a couple of local design shops with my mom, and I finally acquired my very own copy of domino's Guide to Decorating.

You can tell it's mine because I've drooled on all the pages.  It's like licking a piece of chocolate when you don't want to share.  Although you're welcome to look at my book, just know that my genetic code is laced between each of the pages.

I really appreciate your wonderful comments and support through this tricky transitional stage.  I know I'm not the only one dealing with new moves and difficult job hunts, but sometimes it's hard not to take it personally.  I've decided to treat this time as the luxury it is - my own personal summer camp.  In the very near future there will be swimming, painting, and arts and crafts, and lots of time spent in flip-flops.

 

Proposed Kitchen Layout

 

Hi.  I'm just peeking in to share my first attempt at a Sketch-Up model.  This is what I've been doing while I should have been sleeping, or more importantly, getting final specifications out the door for a project that just won't end.  I can't get Vic Chesnutt's "Deadline" out of my head, which means that I should go now to wrap up loose ends.

Things to keep in mind when viewing the model above:  it was my first try, the color scheme is only approximate, and I think there should be floating shelves on the wall flanking the window.  Oh, and despite the best instructions, I can't figure out how to "close" the doors on the refrigerator and freezer.

Back soon with more updates!

We can't claim to be professionals.

 

This weekend we spent the majority of our time behind this door, removing wallpaper and repairing the drywall scars we inevitably left behind.  Saying that it was a gruesome adventure is an understatement, as I consider the task of sanding plaster compound to be one of my top ten least favorite things - right behind applying plaster compound. 

However, I do love the sense of renewal that occurs when reinvigorating historic spaces, and this is no exception.  In a few short weeks, this room is going to be BEAUTIFUL, but at the moment it looks like this:

 

Stay tuned!

A Tree Grows in South Knox.

In South Knox, safety orange collars are a necessity for dogs.  Our mutts will be properly outfitted soon.  For people, the required attire is dictated by anything impervious to dirt.  And so yesterday, I got my first pair of Wellies.  And the best part?  They were only $10.00 at Banana Republic.  Love that.

 

I'm also loving this - the dormer is taking shape!  Last night Eth and I measured knee walls and scoped out potential storage solutions, and this dormer has completely transformed the space.  What was just last week a dark attic is now a magical bedroom nestled in the tree tops.  Which might explain the dream I had last night, with a tree growing inside me...

 

 

Her actual words were "HOLY SHITOLA!"

So I only got this far down the driveway before I stopped in my tracks to grab the camera from my purse.  Silently, my biggest fear has been this dormer and its relationship, proportionally, to the existing structure.  But ladies and gentlemen, this is why we have architects.  Because they are geniuses and know how to design beautiful dormers.  Well played, Ben Garlington.

 

This is the view up close.  There will be two sets of casement windows.  I was so excited when I realized how much natural light penetrated the second level that I almost peed my pants. 

 

See?!  Isn't it MAGNIFICENT?  It's been hours since I've taken this photo and I'm still totally in awe.

If my sister-in-law were here, all she'd be able to say is "HOLY SH*T."

So, "Brown Dog" has a proper name.  Meet "Knox."  He's the best, and last night he hung out with us while we scouted out the recent excavation work.  This is the spot of the future back patio.  There will be retaining walls, but other details (such as landscaping, pavers, soil erosion control) have yet to be finalized.  We'll be sure to invite you over for Pimm's and Lemonade later this summer when the work is complete.

 

All I could do last night was walk around the garage saying, "It's SOOO A-MA-ZING." 

 

Because it totally is.