DIY Woodworking, Home Improvement, and Art Projects

Thanks to the mountain of spam comments that have been flowing in here in recent weeks, I have disabled the commenting option on this blog.  Now, I know what you’re thinking…there weren’t too many ‘real’ comments to begin with!  That’s partially true, but I did appreciate the few comments that there were, and I wanted this thing to continue to grow.  Until I find a suitable way to get rid of all the spam from those assfaces who pummel the DIY Blog everyday, without spending a ton of time manually removing it all, then it will go on sans comments.

Sorry about that folks, spammers ruin another good thing, once more, and all we can do is take it on the chin.

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As you can see, I decided to update the theme for the DIY Blog. It took awhile to get it just right, but I think it looks cool. It’s certainly more stylish then the previous theme. I also think that it adds usability as well because there is less clutter, offers direct access to the categories, has clearer post formatting, and is in a generally more pleasing color pallette.

Let me know what you think. If you have problems with it, if you don’t like it, if you can think of additional things I can do to make it better–please add comments if you’re so inclined–thank you!

So far I’ve posted more in January than I had in the previous three months combined I think. I am back in the DIY spirit again, and I want to make 2007 a very productive year. I also want to be able to share more of my journey with you, so that’s why I am making more of an effort to update and revise this blog. Thanks for coming by!

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Sometimes I catch myself daydreaming of wonderful things that could never be: I imagine fanciful scenarios that never could, nor should, exist.  Though like in my nighttime dreams about houses, my daydreams about houses are mostly fun, and hopefully will exist eventually.  This post will be about some of the things that I imagine for my home someday.

Probably the biggest and best thing that I could want would be a massive open area with a four sided balcony above.  The airy space above would be about 20-25 feet tall and probably have some skylights with remote shades.  The balcony would wrap all the way around the space and offer a generous view to the space below.  The walls and columns would either be made from invisible mortar joint stacked stone.  I love the look of that thin, horizontal stacked stone.  It reminds me a lot of the materials that Frank Lloyd Wright used in many of his Prairie/Crafstman-style homes.

Open, soaring, uncluttered spaces really make me happy for some reason.  When I walk into a room that has high ceilings and imaginitive architecture that allows for unbroken, tall spaces, I just feel different.  Many restaurants have this effect in spades.  I was just in an Italian place in Utah and they had tall ceilings, amber globes casting a romantic glow around the room, and these high wooden racks that wrapped around the walls just beneath the exposed beams of the ceiling.  On the racks were a few knick knacks and also some half-barrels of wine made to look like they were stacked in rows above your head.  In this case the atmosphere was much better than the food.

So give me wide-open spaces with exposed beams and expansive windows to open the space up even further.  I’d sacrafice overall square footage just to have a feature like that…it gives you all the drama and individuality that you could want for an interior without the extra floors to vacuum or miscellaneous stuff to dust.  Now throw some Brazilian hardwood floors with a dark wood stain and you’re really talkin’.  I also like the idea of combining travertine tiles with that stacked horizontal stone, especially around a fireplace.  There would be a nice wide stripe of stone that surrounds the fireplace and follows it all the way up to the peak of the ceiling.  Then on either side would be this nice, earthen travertine.  Add a couple of wrought iron sconces on the walls, a good, hefty rough-hewn beam for a mantle, and hang some fun contemporary art above it and I’d be all set!

Then I’d bring the same motif — open space, rich earthy materials, and an eye-catching fireplace — into the adjoining library.  I’ve been collecting books for a long time now and I have quite a few volumes that I’m proud of and deserve to reside in their own beautiful, private library.  There would be tall cherry bookshelves built in to the walls and then that travertine tile on the walls above the shelves, following them all the way to the crown molding on the twenty foot ceilings.  There would also be a little reading area above, accessible by an iron spiral staircase.  Nestled between the bookcases would be another ample fireplace in stacked stone.  Clerestory windows would line the walls just below the ceiling, while indirect lighting, and hanging pendant lights, would illuminate the space dramatically.

Well that’s a little bit of my home daydream.  They’re all a series of images and ideas in my head that I keep around to inspire me and help me to reach my goals.  Everyone wants nice things of course, but part of my philosophy is that if I have to give up too much to have a home like this, then it’s not worth it.  If I can live comfortably and not have an overwhelming heap of debt, then I’d want a house like this.  But I wouldn’t want to stretch myself thin just to live there…and then not be able to afford to heat or cool it.

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The first time I drove by this house that matched what I dreamt I didn’t have my camera with me. Also since I was lost, I wasn’t sure I’d be able to find it again…on purpose. So I went out with my camera later in the week and I cruised around the beautiful neighborhoods at the foot of the mountains. After about ten minutes I came across the house! I parked nearby and snapped some pics to share and to be able to show my future architect how to construct my future dream home.

My dream home - image 1

My dream home - view 2

My dream home - view 3

As I mentioned in my previous post, this house is for sale, but for some reason I couldn’t find it for sure in the listings at the time. It’s on Skyline Dr. in Orem, UT. But as I said, it wasn’t apparent in the real estate offerings I found on the interenet last week. Oh well, it’s not like I’ve got 1/2 a million right now anyway. If anybody has a house like this in your neighborhood let me know. It’s fun to collect pictures of architecture or designs that inspire you. It all contributes to defining your style and what you’d like for your own dwelling. Cheers!

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The other day I was dreaming, and in that dream I came upon a house.  This isn’t altogether unusual because I dream of houses all the time.  I also dream of particular neighborhoods again and again.  When I came upon this neighborhood I recognized it, and I even recognized the house.  In a previous dream it was just starting to be built, it was only foundation and structural components.  When I came back to it in last week’s dream, it was almost complete with only a few final pieces missing.

So I went in through the front door and started to explore.  I didn’t remember the inside from my previous dream, so it was all new to me.  Inside it was beautiful, spacious, and lavish.  The expansive foyer led right into the massive, open great room.  The ceilings were at least 12 feet high and there was a large fireplace with a marble surround.  Instead of just plain crown molding, there was a 45 degree angle where the walls met the ceiling and there were two rows of molding at each intersection.  I walked around that area for a while, then I went to the stairs leading up the second floor.

When I began walking up the stairs I felt like something was out of place.  One section of the staircase led around a tight corner and down through a semi-false passage.  The main staircase continued up to the main area of the second floor.  I decided to take the offshoot staircase that led down and around.  It curved and dipped and came out on a small landing.  Then another staircase led further into the basement.  Here’s where things got interesting.  The basement was absolutely amazing.  The ceilings were about 25 feet high and in the process of being covered with carved walnut panels.  It’s the kind of rich, beautiful wood you’d find lining the walls of a study or library in an old mansion.

There was also a large, open kitchen filled with commercial-grade appliances.  Everything was finished in a brushed stainless steel and the accent colors were earth tones.  Opposite the kitchen was a large lounge with a wall from floor to ceiling of little shelf cubbies filled with bottles of liqour and wine.  There had to be 600 bottles on the entire wall.  In front of the bottle wall there was a wide, long bar with a deep brown granite top, six or seven beer taps lined up behind that, and there was even a bartender in a tux cleaning up glasses and polishing the granite counter.  In the lounge area itself there was about 600 square feet of space with leather club chairs, cool lamps, little serving trays, and gorgeous hard-wood flooring.

I didn’t get to explore the entire basement level in this dream, but from what I saw this time, and the glimpses I got of the rest of the floor, it seemed like it had to around 3,000 square feet at least; in just the basement!  Who knows how many SF in the rest of the house.  I hope I get to go back in another dream and explore the remaining areas in detail.

I am in Utah this week on a business trip.  As I was driving from my hotel to the business complex where I am going for training, I passed through a nice, quiet suburb of Provo.  It’s a wonderful, clean, colorful place with nice architecture, wide streets, and smiling faces all around.  As I was driving along, actually lost, I came across an amazing home perched on a corner lot.  It was majestic and it commanded the attention of everyone passing by.  Other homes on that street were nice, but this house was king.  I am guessing that it was around 5,000 square feet.  It was covered in cinnamon-colored cedar siding and had exposed exterior beams framing the entryway, and large windows to drink in the view outside.  This view I should say is of this breathtaking mountain range less than 5 miles away.  As I passed this house I said to myself, “That’s it…that’s my dream house, and I’ll have one like it someday.”  I just knew that it was exactly what I had been privately scheming about for years as my ideal, elaborate dream home.  The saying goes that sometimes dreams do come true…well the first part did; I found the house in my dreams; the rest of it will hopefully come true as well where I get to actually own that house, or one like it, someday.

Cheers!

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Yeah, it’s kind of a corny and cliched title for a first post, right? Well, I’m just excited to get this going. I’ve been doing a lot of projects lately, taking pictures, working on tutorials, organizing my thoughts, etc. The site is starting to take shape, and now, after much hard work, the blog is live!

Well, I don’t want to get greedy and go for the glory on the first thing here. So, hopefully you’ll come back as I am going to be adding new stuff all the time.

Cheers!

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