Landing 1.0

We've established our own language for talking about certain, easily-confused areas of the house. For instance, we refer to the stairwell landings as .5, 1.0 and 1.5 (the landing between the basement and first floors, the first floor, and between the first and second floors, respectively.) The 1.0 landing includes a broom closet and mail sorting center. We stole the last idea from Sarah Susanka's Not So Big House series. We used to sort our mail and drop our things in the kitchen, a practice that added to the clutter of the area. We now sort our mail, post important items, store letters and reference papers and the like at the sorting center.

The sorting center is comprised of an old school desk (formerly my sewing table). It's located near the back door and above the basement, which also has a entry. We intend to use this basement side-access door as our primary entry in the winter as the basement is spacious and has an unimproved concrete floor which will be great for muddy boats and wet coats. We can drop off our papers and mail as we pass the sorting center on the way up the stairs. It's all about location!

Switchplates and Switchplate Covers

Adding to our modern aesthetic are our Cooper Lighting "Aspire" series light switches and switchplate covers. The large rocker-type switches are easy to find and use, even in the dark. Certain switches are illuminated and/or dimmable. We tried to gang them up when possible to avoid too much "wall acne." The covers are sleek and streamlined and are made of flexible, crack-resistant grey plastic that looks like unpolished metal.

Bathroom Hardware

A remodel can be roughly split into big projects (demolition, framing, systems, cabinets, flooring etc.) and less-big projects (painting, door hardware, switch plate covers and so on.) There are no small projects, especially as you reach the point of burnout. Every job seems enormous, and every achievement monumental. One such example can be found in our downstairs bathroom. Just recently have we (Rude with some help from Justin) installed accessories like towel racks, a toilet paper holder, a mirror and even a few photographs on the wall. It's little things like this that make the house feel lived in.

House Numbers

We chose dark bronze house numbers that match our roof and gutters. They are art-deco in style and a vast improvement over the previous broken wooden numbers. We're unsure of the font name. Guesses?

Gutters and Bioswale Plans

Our dark bronze gutters (seen from above at bottom of photo) match our roof perfectly. We sprung for gutter covers, a good idea given the myriad large trees surrounding our property. Rachael was squeamish about the idea of Justin having to clean the second-story gutters each year.

Three of the four downspouts empty on to the East side (i.e. front) of our property. Our plan is excavate a large portion of the sidewalk-less easement in order to create a natural bioswale into which the stormwater can flow. We've already begun to collect water-loving plants to install in this wetlands-like natural drainage and filtering system. The city offers tax credits for this sort of project due to the prevalence of wintertime Combined Sewer Overflows (CSOs). These occur due to Portland's antiquated sewer system; All gray and black water (household water waste) is combined with the runoff from houses and streets into one large system. When the system reaches maximum capacity, surplus is dumped into the Willamette River. This means that, in the rainy months, biological and chemical waste enters the river nearly daily. Diverting the rainwater to permeable locations such as a bioswale helps to reduce the amount of water entering our pipes and, thus, the frequency of CSOs.

Concrete Countertops

Ah, Rude. How could we have done this remodel with out you? (Answer: We couldn't.) Not only are you a tile-laying master, but also a master of concrete. Our countertops and slate backsplash (leftovers from the floor) have turned out even better than we'd imagined.

Basement Bedroom, Repainted

Roy (Rachael's youthful dad) pointed out that dark brown was, perhaps, too dreary for a basement bedroom. We opted to paint the bedroom a warm cream color with two wall segments a pear-green. It really lightened up the room and made it feel more spacious. We may add a few more green accent walls down the line.

Pause...

An apology to our loyal readers: we burnt out. After a year and some change of planning and executing the remodel, we (and our weary bodies) needed a break. We declared August 11th our official "first day of summer break" and have regulated ourselves to optional, not obligatory, projects ever since. This has allowed Rachael to garden, Justin to fine tune, and both of us to enjoy some late-night barbecues, Rachael's 10-year reunion, visits with Luca and Enzo and Zoe and Maraena, some lazy days blueberry picking and, of course, the all-important PDX Adult Soapbox Derby. We're relishing reconnecting with our community, and are off to a great start to the school year. Meanwhile, look for updated posts in the days ahead.