“...so I
wait for you like a lonely house
till you will see me again and
live in me.
Till then my windows ache.” Pablo Neruda
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| salvaged doors and windows yard |
We went to nearby Albion to look for an old window. We have six salvaged windows in the interior to let light into the bedrooms. Our shower looked a bit dark so I asked Tim if we could put in a small, rectangular window in the interior wall. The sink and mirror is on the other side. If you stand at the sink you can peek into the shower or vice versa. Herr, at first, thought it should be frosted. Huh? As if I would sneak a peek? So clearly, he needed some disillusionment. I wanted an old window with clear glass. I looked all over at Urban Ore and Omega Salvage in Berkeley, but all were too big. Surprise! Tim found one nearby, in the coastal town of Albion. Perfect in its imperfections. We loved it. It even had lavender paint painted over its once turquoise frame.
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| the outside facing is lavender, the inside is painted white |
Well, Herr broke the glass when he was trying to photograph it. He felt so bad that we immediately drove up to Albion to see if they had another. We were in luck as there was only one more in that size. We got it and returned to the house. Then we started thinking how easily the glass shattered. Not so good for a shower. Herr took the glass bits out of the first window. It is now at the glass shop getting tempered glass. It was a good thing after all the window fell and the glass broke. I think the house was telling us something.
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| a small kitchen makes one think about function, utility and paring down to essentials |
Now to decide on the wall color in the kitchen area. The cabinets are in and I forgot to pick out hardware. We have no upper cabinets on the window side as we plan to put up shelves for our daily dishes. I don't know what's with all the outlets, but apparently it's code. Tim put up 3 plaster swatches. They are all too dark. And I think it needs a bit more ohhhh. It even seems like the house is saying, "No dull clouds, no drabby fog---make it thunderous! Have an adventure in purple gray of driftwood and wet sand." I say okay, lighten up the swatches and the house will say AHHH!
Finally. We went around and around about the front door. The door's framing was on hold until the plaster color was done. It was too pale and blah. Then just yellow. Tim wasn't happy with the color. I wasn't happy. Definitely the house wasn't showing a happy face. So finally I asked if he could just do a wash of green pigment with a bit of blue on top and ta-dah---there was the color and texture we were looking for........
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| just the right green and now the door frame is next |
From the road it appears more mossy green. Up close more verdigris with chalky straw streaks. It has depth and hidden character now. It gives this passive solar house a voice. Enough to say:
| Happy New Year! | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
