Some Home Remodeler's Blogs to look at

Lauren and Kyle Zerbey from Seattle

Morgan Satterfield in Hemet California

Vilde in Norway

Anna and Evan Dorfman in New York's Hudson Valley

Wood and Relations

My father was a cabinet maker for 36 years. We lived in a house with exotic woods. I joke with my siblings that we should "part out" the house when we sell it, because the wood is now so precious and who could love it as much as we did? ( my siblings are horrified by this suggestion, by the way).

Here is an article in Dwell magazine about a guy who kept all the wood (plywood, mostly, not very exotic) from his grandmother's house in Poland.

Fences

Some interesting fences. So much better than those six foot tall solid cedar fences that we had everywhere in the 1980's...

Garden Chairs

These are a couple of fabulous chairs! One with the willow twigs so tall they disappear into the trees they sit under...the other with fish head and fish tails as part of the design.

Neighborhood Treasures

Taking a walk the other day came upon several interesting art pieces in/on people's homes. This looks like a birdbath installed upside-down, with a bronze bird and beach glass living on it.

This was a little wood/metal yard angel.

This is a bronze installed on a stucco wall. Orcas and waves.

Holiday Traditions

Gingerbread houses? Not at my childhood home. I was born a few days after Christmas, so the birthday cake idea seemed silly after overeating from Thanksgiving through Christmas. We started making "candy houses". I think it may have started with gingerbread, but my mother didn't care for the flavor of gingerbread. It was a tradition got to help stick the candy on, with a thick fast drying icing. I got to rip the candy off and eat it on my birthday. Eventually the cardboard boxes we made the houses out of became a sturdy, wooden house, including a wooden yard, and a wooden fence, and...of course, an outhouse. (including the opening door with a crescent moon on it). One year my father brought this contraption home from his cabinet shop. It has survived all the years (40 or so) and all the candy stuck on over foil.

What is your holiday tradition that has survived?

Green Furniture

These really cool people are making art out of reclaimed wood. Gudrun and Eric work in Ballard and have some furniture and cabinets on display around town. See this. What is green?

Furniture as Art

I recently went out furniture shopping with a friend. We went to the usual places. Crate and Barrel in University Village won our choice for several pieces, including dining room ad living room furniture. When shopping through Ballard, we stumbled into Collective and saw some cool wooden pieces made from reclaimed wood. They were truly beautiful. Check this out.