1923 Bungalow

New Couch!

The couch was actually purchased in October, after almost a year of consistent lust, a helpful coworker, and some really good luck.  It is the Room and Board Hutton Couch, 98" version.  I first saw it in the 2007 Room and Board catalog and immediately fell in love.  I ordered a swatch of the Vance Cloud fabric and draped it over our existing, really puffy, couch.  We visited the couch at Room and Board.  Twice.  But the price tag was a little steep.

Enter helpful coworker who happens to live 2 blocks away from the only existing Room and Board outlet in the world.  I showed her the couch of my dreams.  She offered to keep an eye out for our couch when she stopped at the outlet.  After a couple of months, she saw the couch!  Sure enough, when we got to the outlet the next weekend, there were FOUR Hutton couches in the Vance Cloud fabric at 50% off!!!

A little bit about the Room and Board outlet.  It is only open on Saturday and Sunday.  And it is VERY competitive.  People line up outside the outlet on Saturday morning, rush in when the doors open, sit on the furniture they want and raise their hand for a salesperson to come and write up the purchase.  For whatever reason (immense size, velvetness, multiple number available), we were without competition on the couches.  Which was okay by me.  We talked about it for a few minutes.  And then we bought the couch.  Amazingly enough, we were able to fit it into our car and take it home the same day!

Here's a picture of the couch in our actual living room.  Because our living room is long and narrow, a long couch works really well.  We also love that both of us can lie on the couch comfortably and we can sit 4-5 people on the couch.  Very happy with the purchase. 

Stenciling the Dining Room

As promised, a bat free post!  A couple of months ago, I finally stenciled our dining room.  This is a project that has been in the works for awhile.  I was lucky enough to take a stenciling class at the Minneapolis Technical College taught by Amy Miller, the owner of Trimbelle Studios a couple of years ago.  A few months later, I bought Amy's book "Stenciling the Arts and Crafts Home".  I was inspired by a picture in that book that showed a gold stencil on a brick red wall.  I thought the gold would look lovely on our green walls.

We bought our main stencil from  www.crafthome.com - the 5 1/2" Rebecca.  We ended up trimming the stencil at the top to center the design in the area above our arch - otherwise, the design wouldn't have fit.  Amazingly enough, it was shipped to us from Trimbelle Studios.  We bought all our paints, brushes, and the spot stencil (the 18 1/2" panel lily) from Trimbelle Studios directly. 

In the class, we were told to use the paint sparingly.  I did that at first on the walls and the stencil seemed barely visable.  From that point, I applied the paint thickly, almost ending up with a gold leaf effect.  It worked for me.  The plan is to stencil curtains as well - I already have a supply of unbleached muslin.  Just a matter of finding a free weekend!

Angry Bats

It has been pointed out by my SO that this should really be called the Bat Blog instead of a Bungalow Blog.  This has not prevented me from posting another bat entry, although I will try to balance the bat ennui with a stenciling post.  Because, yes, I have mad stencilling skillz and the dining room to prove it.

In my last bat post, I shared the bat encounters we dealt with during the late summer, including the naive belief that despite our absolute lack of reactive bat proofing, we were relatively certain our house was not inhabited by hibernating bats.  Well, we have at least one bat.  And he/she is pissed off.

A few weeks ago, we turned the heat on upstairs to record and watch a show.  By the time I made it upstairs, the heat had been on for more than an hour.  Suddenly, I heard a rustling accompanied by a screech.  At first, I thought it was imagined.  Then I heard it again.  By the time I was done with my show, there was constant screeching and rustling that was unmistakably bat-like and unmistakably upset.  I'm sure quite a bit of the anger was centered around the fact that I had disturbed bat slumber to record and watch "America's Next Top Model."  And a restrospective ANTM episode at that.  (I'll admit, it's a sickness...)  If this bat is a vampire, we are in serious trouble.

Since that evening, we have not run the heat upstairs.  Honestly, we've stayed out of the upstairs.  However, the rustling this year is in the wall opposite of last year's rustling.  Plus, the SO thinks he may have heard rustling last week in our downstairs sun room wall, which is directly under the screeching wall upstairs.  Ugh.

All the entension service bat stuff says you don't want to mess with bats in winter, as you will simply be forcing them outside to die.  So again, we wait.  This spring, I know my motivation will be a lot more bat removal oriented.  Wintering with the bats is just not my cup of tea.  Ugh.

Water Heater Repair

Well, after a post about bats and what we haven't done to get rid of them, I felt compelled to add a post detailing a finite problem that we actually fixed.  Just need a little bit of closure, thank you very much.

A few weeks ago, we found ourselves to be out of hot water.  We relit the pilot light and hoped that was the issue.  The next morning, the pilot light was again out.  Water was still cold. 

After a few minutes of devoted Internet research (honestly, how DID people own houses before the Internet?), it seemed the likely culprit was a faulty thermocouple.  We found the part at Dey Distributing and it was installed by the SO that evening.  Happy day!

It should be noted that we had some difficulty with determining the proper length for the thermocouple.  We found the only true way to determine the proper thermocouple length is to remove the old thermocouple and  measure.  Since I was the one at home, thermocouple removal wasn't in the cards.  We then found that thermocouple length really doesn't matter as long as the thermocouple can be looped and fit into the available space.  We ended up replacing our 18" thermocouple with a 36" thermocouple.  And it works just fine. 

Bats! Bats! Bats!

Well, the bats, they are a winning.  Not only have we done nothing to prevent them from accessing our walls, but we have had two instances of bats infiltrating our house!

The incidents were back to back in August.  One evening, we came back from a weekend out of town.  I went upstairs to our finished attic space to turn on a couple of fans.  From out of nowhere, a bat swooped down upon me. 

I bravely reacted by screaming like a little girl.  Repeatedly.  My significant other was unloading the car at the time and was unable to quite figure out where the screams were coming from.  Once he figured out we had a bat issue, I was allowed to cower in a room downstairs while he shepharded the bat through an open upstairs window.

Normally, I can handle wildlife.  I've trapped mice.  I can pick up a snake and get it outside.  I can kill most bugs (although really hairy centipedes must be killed by others while I flee).  But bats freak me the heck out. 

A week later, we had Bat Encounter #2.  This bat had made it downstairs and was cruising the living room when spotted by my SO.  This time, I managed to stay in the room while we shooed it out the front door.

Since that time, we almost made it on the roof to check out possible entrances.  Rather, I got on the roof after the SO, realized how unbelievably steep our roof is, and promptly had to get off the roof.  Except that I needed to be talked off the roof a step at a time (seriously thought we might have to call the fire department for a while there).  This took some time during which the weather shifted.  Then (well, not immediately, but sooner than we thought it would) we were in the middle of cold and snow.

I think we might not actually have hibernating bats this winter, however.  We have run the heat upstairs for extended periods of time without hearing wall rustlings.  And we haven't seen any further evidence of bats.

Really, the whole purpose of this post is to make me feel like a yellow bellied homeowner.  Jeez.  Scared of bats, hairy centipedes, and our 1 1/2 story high (albeit REALLY FREAKIN' STEEP) roof.  Good thing the SO fears nothing this bungalow can dish out.  Well, except for the blenderized bird in the furnace...

Waiting out the Vermin

Our solution to the suspected bats in our belfry is a time honored one -we are waiting them out.  Research indicates that the bats will leave on their own in spring.  At that time, careful observation should indicate where they entered the house and those holes can be plugged.  The last thing we want to do is trap any living thing in our walls.  Ick.

Once spring arrives and the two feet of snow we got last week is melted, we will begin The Bat Project.

Boom!!

There was an incident quite close to our house the other night.  At about 10:00 at night, there was a loud noise and the house shook.  We did a cursory inspection of the premises to try and determine the source - nothing seemed to have fallen off the house or crashed nearby.  Well, the next morning, we determined the cause of the noise.  The auto shop on the corner had exploded! 

This picture is from the Star Tribune.  The incident actually got major local media coverage - all the television stations covered the fire as well!  After seeing the picture in the paper and the attending coverage, we're rather sheepish we didn't investigate a little futher down the street.  The houses nearby actually suffered rather minor damage considering the force of the blast.

Apparently, the police haven't ruled out arson.  Loitering had apparently been an issue, and the police had been called about some loiterers a few minutes before the explosion.  It's actually very lucky that noone was hurt - the shop is right across the street from a big park.

Of course, we'd rather not have this flavor of excitement in our neighborhood.  But excitement there be. 

Possible Vermin

It has been quite awhile since my last post.  Work took a lot of time, and the house did not progress.  Planning for the house did not progress.  Other peoples' houses progressed.  We helped select and install tile for a sister's bungalow.  We finshed refinishing hardwood floors for a set of parents when their contractor disappeared in the dark of night after slapping on 2 coats of polyurethane of dubious quality.  We greatly improved the floors in 3 days of concentrated effort, proving beyond a doubt that we got skills. 

The house has taken our minor indifference quite well.  It had a minor bowel upset in November (conveniently backing up in the basement on Thanksgiving Day just before the relatives arrived).  Called in the sewer guy the next day and removed a few roots.

Tonight, however, we found a problem that I am finding quite a bit more disquieting.  We spend very little time in the attic during the winter.  While the space is finished, the heating ductwork doesn't run upstairs.  We have a space heater, but rarely take the time to turn on the heater.  However, tonight we turned on the heater and went upstairs to watch a movie on the bigger TV.  After watching the movie, we discovered that the walls were talking.  Speaky noises high up in the walls.  Critter noises.

Immediately, we took to the internet.  And we think we might have hibernating bats.  Or possibly squirrels.  A quick check of Angie's List indicates that bat removal is at least a $1000 proposition for a professional.  Squirrels are a few hundred.  And diagnosis is a hundred or two.  So the SO, armed with our new knowledge, will be addressing our freeloaders.  Mano e mano.  Considering that creepy crawlies usually get bus fare out of town instead of a squishing, the treatment will be humane.  We will keep you posted.  Really!

More About the Arts and Crafts Show

We were talking about our Arts and Crafts show experience and realized that the show was a let down in one key way.  Very little bathroom stuff!  In fact, we are fairly certain there was NO bathroom stuff whatsoever.  No plumbing catalogs.  No bathroom sconces.  No medicine cabinets.  And not a sink or fixture in sight.

Further discussion led to the realization that almost all Arts and Crafts erotica (meaning the pretty books with lots of interior pictures bathed in golden light) is living and dining room focused.  If other rooms get footage, it will usually be the kitchen.  Only bungalow bedrooms are ignored as heartily, and I believe that is because all you can fit in the average bungalow bedroom is a bed (queen sized if you are really lucky) and a nightstand.

However, there are a number of decisions to be made when designing a bathroom.  We have had to hunt and hunt for the resources we have found.  With the exception of "Bungalow Bathrooms", we have found most of the resources to be lacking.  In fact, many other resources reprint Bungalow Bathroom pictures, to the point where we sometimes think there are only 25 vintage bungalow baths in the United States available to be photographed!  And even Bungalow Bathrooms isn't giving us the details we crave. 

I guess we'll just keep buying vintage plumbing catalogs on eBay and researching, researching, researching until we find what we are seeking...

Stickley Chairs!

We went to the Arts and Crafts show at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds on Saturday and actually bought something!  Well, rather, we bought something SUBSTANTIAL.  We will usually buy books or magazines or other things under $20.  Everything else is usually most unaffordable.

A little bit of context - we are the proud owners of a non-vintage Canadel dining room table.  It has been described as the table neither of us wanted because we each compromised on the legs, finish, and such.  At its smallest, it is 40"x60".  It expands to 60"x60" with one leaf and 60"x80" with two leaves.  We bought it while we were living in our nicely sized rental duplex.  It was our first major purchase as a couple.  When we were looking for a house, one of our requirements was a dining room.  Not only that, but a dining room that would fit our gargantuan dining room table.  Many shotgun bungalows were out because the table would impede movement to the kitchen and the bathroom.

The table fits nicely in our dining room.  We have had dinners for up to eight people, but haven't yet expanded to full potential for entertaining.  The main reason for the delay?  A profound shortage of chairs.  We didn't buy chairs with the table.  The Canadel chairs started at $200 a piece and we just couldn't justify the expense.  We wanted solid oak.  We wanted all side chairs (since the table doesn't have a single "head" except at its smallest).  And we wanted a minimum of 8 each.

We have been looking at chair auctions at eBay off and on.  And we have gone to a few antiques stores.  I wouldn't say we have been hunting in earnest.  However, there were quite a few sets of chairs available without the table at the show.  Including a set of 8 oak side chairs manufactured by Stickley Brothers!  We refer to them as our mass produced, low value Stickley chairs but are still obnoxiously pleased that they are Stickley, albeit of an inferior vintage. 

The dealer had purchased them from UND Law School.  They are a little beat up, but are very solid little chairs.  And we purchased them for a price comparable to the chairs available at Pier One and Cost Plus World Market.  Where solid wood means pine.  So we couldn't be more pleased.