The Fixer Upper House and Garden

Knock, Knock

When we moved into The Fixer Upper House a year and a half ago, I got a note that went something like this: "Until you get a proper mailbox, the United States Postal Service will no longer deliver mail to this address."

This unwelcome letter made me gloomy, because I had to pick up our mail at the post office until I replaced the 2-inch mail slot next to the front door with a mail box big enough to handle today's volume of junk mail. I knew it would take months...and months to find a mailbox that met my standards. 

I had a vague idea about those standards: circa 1920s, wall-mount, brass with a brownish patina to go with the front door's 100-year-old lock and handle. And I knew I

didn't want art deco or arts & craft. Foreshadowing the level of effort I would put into finding other house fixtures, I searched ebay and craigslist; googled "mailboxes circa 1920;" looked through dozens of catalogs and magazines; and shopped malls, home-design stores, antique stores and flea markets. But I couldn't find the mailbox of my dreams.

Fortunately, about a year ago I got on good terms with Glen, my mail carrier. I think he felt sorry for me because the

On To The Next Thing: The Fireplace Surround

I am coping with the shock of the half-inch overhang fairly well today. Pushing up the leg posts is going to be an ordeal, given that they are nailed to the new floor, so we are going to fill the gaps with a strip of wood that's flush with the leg posts. This is different from placing scribes over the gaps, an earlier suggestion that left me colder than the ice on my front stoop because the scribes would stick all the way out to the edge of the overhang.

Enough about that.

Now it's time to focus on the fireplace surround. The lovely hand-glazed Motawi tiles arrived yesterday, so this morning I had another pow-wow with Bert and Miguel to go over the order. I think everyone was worried about one thing or another---that the tiles wouldn't fit within the just-built mantel, or that we wouldn't have enough pieces, or that Leon the installer wouldn't know what to do with them. Fortunately, our worst fears have not materialized and things are working out fine. Here are some pictures of the morning's progress.

Miguel examines options for the tile pattern beneath the soapstone hearth:

Here's Leon, the tile installer, making some suggestions:

As of about noon today, a work in progress. Leon was very busy!

A corner detail emerges. The photo really doesn't do that soapstone slab justice. It's black with a lot of green swirling around. Very cool:

Set In Stone

I bought my tile today: several hundred ceramic, porcelain and marble polygons from four retailers. Some people buy everything from one store. I'm not one of these people. This is partly because I needed different materials and designs for several rooms. It's also because not one store had everything I wanted for the price I needed. For example, I priced my job at several "stone and tile" stores that could have accomodated my entire job---from the hand-made fireplace tiles (pictured here) to the kitchen counters to the cheapo-porcelain 12x12s for the mudroom. But there was always a problem: at one store, the sales staff was snooty. At another, quality was great but prices were high. Another dealer offered reasonable prices but boring material.

I never said I was easy to please. And for what this stuff costs, you shouldn't be either.

So I shopped around a lot. Husband and budget necessitated that I seek the best prices, but I also shopped for quality material and interesting designs. And for the record I will say that when I was on the fence, I leaned in favor of sales people who were helpful and interested in my job.

I liked Beeta, who runs the desk at Stone Habitat in Mundelein. Her store has a great selection of marble and granite; she was helpful; she negotiated; and the price was right. I bought my kitchen counters (Santa Cecelia granite and Soapstone), fireplace hearth (Soapstone), and master bathroom counter and tiles (Italian carerra marble) from Stone Habitat. The installer, Joe, came to the house to measure before I made my decision. In fact, Stone Habitat and Expo were the only ones who sent installers to take accurate field measurements for the quote (Expo wanted to charge $200 for this service, but I wouldn't pay it). Stone Habitat sells stone and only stone...so I bought my marble and granite there and for ceramic I went elsewhere...

For ideas and selection of ceramic tiles, you can't beat Expo. Its tile department is expansive, brightly lit, and with moderate to higher prices. (I was surprised how bad the lighting was in many tile stores.) Getting someone to help you is a challenge--some of sales reps at my local Expo seem like they've been working the prison night shift for too many years. But a young rep named Katherine was a great help to me. I did the kids' bathroom at Expo: white ceramic subways with glass mosaic accent tiles the color of a Fresca bottle that's been in the ocean for 30 years; 2x2 octagonal white ceramic floor tiles, and Corian "whitecap" counter tops. Worth noting about Expo: its installation quote was outrageous; Donald Trump must buy his tile there. I bought the material, but not the labor. Also worth noting: they're having a tile sale--20% off. This helped a lot. Worth worrying about: I suspect delays.

I got my mud-room flooring at a heavily advertised chain called Century Tile. Originally, I planned on using brick-colored Marmoleum, but I went with 12x12 porcelain tiles that look like natural slate, per my decorator Jean's suggestion. These "NK-17" tiles are very durable (comes in handy with 2 dogs) and cost less than $4 a square foot. They'll be ready for pick-up tomorrow.

Because I shopped around and negotiated everything, I was able to splurge on the fireplace surround in the family room. I'm going with the handmade tiles pictured above from Motawi (www.motawi.com), which I bought at The Fine Line Tile Gallery in Chicago. They're expensive, and the installation is, too. But it's worth it.

While We Were Away ...

While we were away, GC and the subs were very busy. What fun it was to come back to a house with walls! Here's the 2nd floor "window nook:"

Behold, the fireplace wall:

A view down a hallway (please forgive the vertical nature of this photo!):

Happy Holidays

MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM THE FIXER UPPER HOUSE!

To the readers of this blog at this holy time of year: Thank you for sharing the highs and lows of renovation with me. Thank you for reading and listening and sharing your opinions. Thank you for praying for my loved ones who have been ill or unfortunate. Thank you for sending positive vibes my way. A year ago, I didn't know  beans about blogging. Now, I don't know how I would have survived this year with out it! Whatever your beliefs or rituals this time of year...I wish you all the very best.

Kitchen Counter: Dramatic Turn Of Events

Friends and readers may recall my obsession for finding the perfect kitchen counter. Over the past year I explored counters of every variety and material, and I was set to splurge on soapstone until a grey morning in October when I realized it was too dark for the new kitchen. At that moment--literally--my new friends George and Linda stopped by and suggested that I look at their counter, Sensa Perlado honed marble. I did, and for many weeks I was determined to go with this lovely cream and tan stone, which Husband and Miguel agreed would lighten up the kitchen and look swell with the cabinets.

Then reality set in.

One night last week, the darling and effervescent 10-year-old C did the dishes in the borrowed house and helped get the lunches ready for the next day. She whistled and sang and chatted and did a fine job on the chores save one thing: She forgot to wipe the counter. In the morning, raspberry jelly, chocolate frosting, orange juice and a chili-covered spoon were congealed to the Formica. Fortunately, the cleanup was a snap, and no one was worse for the wear, including the white Formica. Had the counter been marble, it would have had to be refinished.

I'll save honed marble for the empty nester years.

This brought me back to the beginning, much to Husband's dismay. An active participant in the counter hunt six months ago, he now was willing to agree to anything ... anything...so long as I made a decision.

"You've got to pull the trigger on this," he said.

"Please stop talking about counters," the children added.

By last week I had eliminated soapstone, marble, wood, tile and counters made of recycled paper, as well as Corian, Silestone, Ceasarstone and all other solid surfaces. Where did this leave me? It left me with granite. 

I don't like granite because it's overused, but I've realized there's a reason for this: It's durable, affordable and nature-made. If you can overcome an aversion to speckles, it's not even too ugly. So I went back to Stone Habitat in Mundelein (www.stonehabitat.com), which has the best prices in my area, and I picked out a light-colored, speckly granite in cream, grey, tan, brown and black that's called either Santa Cecelia or Venetian Gold, depending on the slab. (I later changed my mind ... again ... and went with Costa Esmerelda!) It looks good with the cabinet door sample, it coordinates well with the fireplace tiles and the best part: it costs less than soapstone and honed marble. To mix it up, I'm using soapstone for the butler's pantry and on the raised hearth in the family room ... and I'm still coming in under-budget.

In fact, the only things that are coming in under budget are those that I'm pricing out myself.

Fireplace Surround I

Given what I wrote previously about everything having to be just right before one goes tile shopping, it's been hard for me to undertake this task. Events, weather, health, karma, car woes, children, moving, social commitments...all have conspired against my efforts to pursue the absolute most wonderful fireplace surround for our new family room. But I haven't given up the faith that I'll find what I'm looking for...once I know what I'm looking for.

My idea is to do an arts & crafts tile surround a la bungalows from the 1920s. I'm presently exploring Motawi tiles, which can be found locally at just one retailer--The Fine Line tile gallery in Chicago (which is kindafar from both my owned and borrowed homes, and hence is hard for me to get to). Motawi tiles are hand-glazed and made from local clay in Ann Arbor, Michigan (www.motawi.com). I love the Midwest connection, and I like that the Motawis say they're inspired by the Arts & Crafts ideal that "art should be for the people, and by the people ..." However...at prices like $90/square foot, Motawi tiles are definately not for all the people.

There are ways to circumvent the extreme expense. For example, if I go with the willow border shown in the photo at left, I could get black and green field tiles from a different tile maker whose prices are more reasonable ($30-$40 square foot). But the color selection from the substitute company is limited, and you can't substitute tiles with justanyold tilemaker, because Motawi tiles are a funky size. For example, a 4x4 Motawi tile is really 3/16 of an inch less than 4 inches, and it's 5/8" thick, which is chunkier than most tiles. Another problem--significant--is that I don't love the green that's offered by the more reasonably priced tilemaker. Naturally, I prefer the expensive green that's offered by Motawi. 

The field tile is perhaps even more critical to the design than the willow border tile, as it will cover 80% of the surround. So I've really gotta love the color and glaze of the field tile (not to forget Husband--he must love it too, and does not); I've been carrying around a green 4x4 tile (that's really less than 4x4) everywhere I go, hoping the color will grow on me. So far, all it's doing is making me hungry for pea soup.

Here's Miguel's drawing of the fireplace wall:

And below is a photo of the fireplace in its present state. We bought "the royal superhearth" woodburning Majestic fireplace. Our GC is concerned about tiling over the black metal surround, but the guys at Chicago Furnace say this is doable:

Will report back when I've gathered more info on the fireplace surround issue!

Soapstone'd II

I posted this question at the kitchen forums at gardenweb.com: "Are Soapstone and Kids Compatible?" To view the many answers, click on this link:

http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/kitchbath/msg091318018636.html?5

Soapstone'd

Just when I convinced myself that I could manage a high-maintenance counter, my oldest daughter played the Milo card.

"MOM! Do Not Get Soapstone! It would be like having a puppy as a counter!" said Miss M last night as we were reviewing cabinet doors and counter samples. C and T had swiped a piece of soapstone with a child's scissors, leaving gouges that looked like comets streaking across the night sky. I dabbed on some extra virgin olive oil and the scratches went away.

"So what!" said M, who recently made the 7th grade volleyball team after a grueling week of try-outs in a non-air-conditioned gym during a heatwave when she kept forgetting her water bottle. "This is going to drive you nuts. You hated when Milo was a puppy!"

This is true. When we drove away from PetCo with Milo in an upside-down laundry basket, the pit in my gut weighed more than the 8-pound puppy. It was so much work, training that smart-alec dog! I hated the chewing, house-breaking, barking, nipping, scratching...the whining when we left him, his need to always be with me, the wedge he created between me and my zen-like walks with our labrador retriever, who was easier to care for than a Beta fish. Why did we get a second dog? Why didn't I realize it would be so much work? What was I thinking?

What am I thinking now? Soapstone is a non-porous, natural stone that has been used for generations in high school science labs. There are many varieties and shades, but in general it starts out blueish grey and darkens to almost black, while the white veins tend to brighten. That is, if you oil it regularly. Soapstone has a high talc content, which makes it feel silky. But this glory is also its burden--the talc makes soapstone soft and prone to dings and scratches. Still...I like the way it looks and feels, and (so, OK) I like that it's not widely used...yet. But that's bound to change because a lot of magazines and showrooms are featuring it. It's even on sale at Expo for $79/square (or linear? lineal?) foot.

I've weighed the pros and cons of soapstone until I'm --well--blueish-grey in the face. My children see only the cons. They've grown up in the kitchen and love to cook and prepare meals. My motto is: Good Cooks Make A Mess, and my three good cooks do this with abandon. They don't want to forfeit their freedom for a fickle, high-maintenance, expensive counter.

So the search continues. My friend Roxane---God Bless you for caring!---sent me this photo of her "tumbled granite" counter, which looks somewhat like aged soapstone. Another friend suggested concrete. I found a granite called "Lido" that's treated somehow to give it a nubby, concrete-like effect. I'm looking for a counter with some texture, and there are options out there.

But I'm not writing off soapstone...yet. Some people say it gets more durable and easier to care for in time. ... Like a dog.

Coming Clean On Soapstone

Based on the reactions stone dealers give when I inquire about soapstone, you'd think it was mined in Chernobyl.

"You don't want soapstone," said Sam who runs the stone dealership at an upscale kitchen design studio near my house. "Not unless you're building a museum kitchen. You're not building a museum kitchen, are you? You like to cook. You don't want soapstone."

(I wondered how he knew I like to cook; was there a spaghetti splotch on my shirt? Wait, we were talking on the phone.)

Like most of the dealers and design studios in my area, Sam doesn't even carry soapstone, but he can get it if a customer insists. He suggested Virginia Mist honed granite. "It looks just like soapstone," he said. "You're going to love it. Virginia. Mist. HONED."

I drove the 40 minutes it takes to get 10 miles to a stone distributor (which is different from a stone dealer) and checked out the Virginia Mist HONED granite. It's a muted grey stone that's not bad, but it's not soapstone. Oiled soapstone has a dark, stars-in-the-sky quality. It looks like the Milky Way on a warm night. It feels silkier than granite and warmer than marble, and after you oil it every day for three or four months, it develops a dark, textured patina. 

I went to Expo. "You don't want soapstone," said the counter-guy (repeating what another Expo counter-guy said to Husband and I a few months ago). "It's a nightmare! Remember the tables in your high school chemistry lab? Soapstone."

Husband said "If soapstone can survive decades of high school chemistry experiments, certainly you can stuff a turkey on it?

"It scratches," the Expo guy said.

At Chicago's Merchandise Mart, one of the stone dealers (I forget the name) displays a beautiful slab of soapstone that's marred by several gouges. It looks like it was used to line a kitty-litter box. "We just want people to know what they're buying," said the sales rep.

Beeta, who works at yet another stone dealership, said in careful English (she's Indian): "We do not like to sell it. It is too soft. You do not want to spend all this money and then to have your counter filled with scratches. No it is much better to chose the granite."

So you'd think I'd throw in the towel on soapstone. But I like the way it looks. My kitchen's going to have a beadboard ceiling and exposed brick wall with a little stained-glass window in it. There are a lot of natural, nubby-looking textures going on and I like the weight soapstone adds to the mix. I also like that it's been around forever---in the 1920s (when my house was built), soapstone was a popular material for kitchen sinks and fireplace surrounds. Also, Husband likes it.

If you're interested in learning more about this material, there's a lively and informative thread about the pros and cons of soapstone at: http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/kitchbath/?911

(Thanks "Becoming Home" for steering me to this site!)