Posts tagged: Decorating

Atlanta’s Rhodes Hall

By , May 8, 2005

I was in Atlanta for a few days, now I am in Washington, DC. While in Atlanta, I spent an afternoon at the High Museum of Art. I’d never taken a docent led tour of a museum before. Normally I just show up and wander around alone or with friends, but there happened to be a lonely docent waiting to give a tour just as I arrived, so I figured why not. It was actually a really neat experience. She offered many insights into the collection that I’d have otherwise never have learned. I’ll totally do the docent thing again.

I also visited a place called Rhodes Hall. I was walking around Atlanta just looking at things when I saw an impressive castle-like mansion. I’m a sucker for pretty buildings, and I wanted a closer look. When I got to the front door I discovered it’s a monument of sorts, and, as at the museum, there happened to be a tour about to start, so I joined in.

Rhodes Hall is sort of Atlanta’s version of Hearst Castle, though it is nowhere near as grand. It’s great for what it is though– a fully restored, lavish home built in 1904. I took a few pictures:

The first is of the grand staircase in the entrance hall. Nothing says decadence like a grand staircase. It’s hand carved out of African mahogany. Notice the history of the civil war depicted in the stained glass.

Rhodes Hall Stairs

A crazy cuckoo clock.

Rhodes Hall Cuckoo Clock

A not so great picture of a really cute room. They found a patch of the original pink silk wallpaper behind the mirror when they restored the room, and had it recreated.

Rhodes Hall Pink Room

Okay, I’m a furniture fan, so bear with me. But seriously– isn’t that great cabinetry? I love the curved sides.

Rhodes Hall Cabinet

Last but not least, what southern estate is complete without a Confederate flag? Actually, the story goes that at the end of the war, the Southerners respectfully folded their flags and stored them in a closet as a remembrance of times past. This window was hidden in a closet as a sort of visual representation of that tradition.

Rhodes Hall Flag

Well, that’s Atlanta, more or less. Oh, also, I ate some Chik-Fil-A, but that’s hardly worth reporting, though when I went the first time it was closed at like 4 PM. I looked at the hours: they are open from 1:30 am until 3:00 PM. That’s really weird. I came back later and ate some.

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The Satisfaction of Hard Work

By , February 11, 2005

People have been asking about the remodeling job, so I shot a quick video of Tim and I at work on my office.

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Hardwood Linoleum

By , February 10, 2005

I am currently remodeling the room in my apartment which I use for an office. One of the upgrades I have planned is to replace the carpeted floor with a hardwood floor. The first step in the process was to remove the carpet. Upon doing so, I discovered that beneath the carpet, some prior tenant had laid down faux hardwood linoleum tiles. I found that to be amusing, and began to chuckle at his feeble attempt to have hardwood, but I was stopped in mid-chuckle when I peeled away the linoleum.

Lo and behold, beneath the faux wood tile was a hardwood floor! In a positively Baudrillardian substitution, someone chose to cover an actual hardwood floor with a pretend hardwood floor. My feeling of superiority over the prior tenant rapidly shifted to one of inadequacy. He actually had hardwood, and purposely chose to hide it beneath a layer of faux hardwood linoleum. That takes confidence, and a steadfast commitment to one’s ideals and decorating philosophies. It is the interior decorating equivalent to sewing a Lacoste alligator onto a Prada shirt. Truly, this former tenant was a stalwart hero in the decorating realm.

Or maybe he was just a lunatic.

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Enchantment Under the Sea

By , January 4, 2005

I recently shared my living room with you, my gentle readers. Today I would like to invite you into a little place I like to call “Undersea Paradise.” A less fanciful name for it is “the bathroom,” but for the sake of not being weird and hitting up the bathroom together, let’s stick with my chosen moniker.

When I moved into my current apartment, the bathroom was just awful. I wish I’d taken more pictures to prove it, but I only have a few. Here is one of my wonderful sink. Nothing says dark ages better than separate taps for hot and cold water. Burn your hand, freeze your hand, burn your hand, freeze your hand. (I won’t even discuss the nastiness festering in the bottom of that sink, but you can see it in the picture.)

The brush, pink thing and jar came with the apartment.

Original Sink

The “decor” consisted entirely of this fixture below. The prior resident didn’t even leave me any paper on the roll.

Original Toilet Paper Holder

Here’s another “before” shot:

Original Wall

The first thing I did was bust out a crowbar and yank out the old sink. I swapped in a nice, lovely, new one. You will also notice that I put a mirror over the sink. Oddly, there was no mirror above the sink before. Just a plain white wall. I felt like a vampire in the mornings. Where am I?

New Sink

Much better– my hands are no longer simultaneously blistered and frostbitten– but I didn’t stop there. I decided to create an Undersea Paradise. Naturally, that attracted fish, so I had to put up some netting. Oh, look! It attracts crustaceans too:

Fishing Net

Here we see the catch of the day. He’ll be mighty yummy once he’s been basted with something spicy and grilled to perfection:

Catch of the Day

This little fellow insists he belongs; he claims he is a sea monkey:

Sea Monkey

When I moved in, the bathroom lighting consisted of a bare light bulb jutting from the ceiling at an odd angle, so I installed a new light fixture:

Light Fixture

But that wasn’t bright enough, especially for a pretty little Peasprout like me. I must make sure I am appropriately coiffed each day, so I added some vanity lighting:

Vanity Lights

Believe it or not, there was no electrical outlet in the bathroom, so I had to put one in. And yes, I put the main fixture on a dimmer, so I can set that romantic mood. Actually it’s so I can go in there at night and not blind myself once my eyes have grown accustomed to the dark, but it does make for nice bubble baths as well:

Light Switches

The room still wasn’t quite jazzy enough, but some pretty fishy lights around the door frame solved that in a hurry. Thanks Fizzy! You can get a glimpse of the jungle-themed foyer in the background; perhaps I’ll detail that in a future post.

Door Frame

You can’t really tell in any of these pictures, but I also tore down the shower and rebuilt it with new tiles, plaster and grout.

And finally, here is a nice overview of the Underwater Paradise:

Bathroom Overview

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My Living Room

By , December 8, 2004

I’ll show that Yale just who has an ugly apartment. Prepare yourselves for a virtual tour of my humble home. Today I give you, my readers, the opportunity to decide if an ugly blanket belongs in my pad.

I think the perfect place to begin is with my couch. Doesn’t it make you want to curl up with a nice book, or a martini? Or me?

Tiger Print Couch

Here we see what was once a plain, simple bookshelf. A nice coating of faux leopard fur jazzed it up nicely, don’t you think? Couple that with the faux giraffe drapery hanging from a bamboo pole and you have yourself a swanky soiree waiting to happen.

Giraffe Print Curtain

Here is a close-up of my bar. Cocktails, anyone?

Tiki Bar

Below the bar you can see my collection of lounge records and vintage board games. I’m always up for a game of Risk. You should totally come by some time and play me.

Vintage Boardgames

Let’s move along to the corner of the room now. Very lovely, isn’t it? Since this picture was taken the CD case has been moved across the room, but it looks lovely here, no?

Tiki Themed CD Shelf

Here are some DVDs.

Tiki Themed DVD Shelf

This next little beauty I built myself, from scratch. Just wood, screws, hinges and so forth. And of course, faux fur. Is there *anything* that doesn’t look better when draped in fur???

Fur Coated Entertainment Center

Did I mention that I hot-glued faux zebra to the television? Well, actually Fizzy did. Turns out she is far more adept with a glue gun than am I. She is responsible for most of the actual attachment of fur to the various items. You go, Fizzy!

Zebra Fur Television

The furry TV stand opens up to reveal the stereo, as well as many vintage Tiki coasters, matchbooks, menus, and ads.

Tiki Decorated Entertainment Center Left Side

This is the other side:

Tiki Decorated Entertainment Center Right Side

I am very proud of this next part. I was able to build a sliding tray to hold a turntable! It pulls out so I can put on a record, then slides back in real good like. I done good.

Turntable Shelf

The speakers, too, are covered in leopard fur. Oh, do you see the lovely blue palm frond serving dish? That dates back to the 1950s. I have no idea where those handcuffs came from. Who put those there?

Leopard Print Speakers

Overseeing everything is the great god Tiki.

Tiki God

We had some leftover leopard fur, and that lamp was practically *begging* to join in the fun.

Leopard Print Hanging Lamp

And now a nice shot that gives an overview of the entire living room. It’s that rug that really ties it all together. In the background you can sort of peek into my ’50s diner themed kitchen, but that is a post for another day.

Tiki Living Room

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