Tuesday, July 3, 2012

"I'd totally do this if I was single!"

On June 2nd, Alan's parents threw a graduation party for Alan's brother. With about 60 people here, most of whom had not seen the house in person, we did a lot of tours! The positive response was almost overwhelming, it was very nice not to be called crazy people! But what we did hear (mostly from people our age) is that they couldn't see how two people could live here peacefully. Well, we have a dirty little secret, and I'm going to show you some pictures of what hides in our cupboards and drawers. But first, some nice pictures and garden updates.

I made curtains. This is in the kitchen!
The hop bine that was just a little green smudge in the last update has grown! There were supposed to be 4, but they never took off. Next year!
This fabric is in the living room and the hallway. They don't really block any light, it just makes things look more finished.
The front door has been painted!
My catnip, chives, and artichoke planter sprouted a flamingo.
A tiny little nest in the honeysuckle, with three eggs. 



And now, the personal stuff. Here's where everything goes, and this is how we do maintain a separation-- our stuff is in our own storage areas, and mixed ownership items also have their own areas.
The junk drawer in the entertainment center. the other drawer has candles in it.

My craft bin-- yarn, embroidery floss, cross-stitch fabric, and some unfinished knitting and crochet projects.

This is an 'us' area-- scrabble board, a scanner we use for scanning film, some craft hardware, Alan's 360 controller for his computer.

Clockwise from left- school stuff, cookbooks, my yarn and fiber bin, knitting supply train case and patterns.


The bedroom cabinets! The vertical part has our toilet paper, our hanging items, towels, and shoes. On top of it is my film development chemicals/gear, and our camera bags. Left to right in the smaller cabinets: Alan's personal stuff, pet stuff and tools/hardware, my personal stuff.

And the dirtiest secret of all.... There's a room out in the shop that's about 10'x10'. And...we use it. 



All of the stuff on the floor in front is going to Goodwill later today. The table has two snakes and a tortoise living on it, and the other tank you can see to the left holds Ralph, my immortal leopard gecko.

Our old futon that we can't bear to get rid of.

The other small secret to living in harmony is that we're not in the house all the time-- we do quite a bit outdoors, and that gives us a sometimes much-needed break.

Alan's desk that was his great grandfather's, so we're keeping it, is now my sewing area. It's a mess right now because I'm in the middle of making a purse. 

 
This is Alan's rock saw/lapidary machine.

And his workbench and toolbox, both of which are very messy right now, as he's also in the middle of a project.

The house from the front. The fence is done, and this area is how a secondary pen for the horse and goats so they can be out with everyone  but still safe. The chair is my reading in the afternoon spot!


The long-awaited and probably underwhelming...

bathroom pictures!

Here it is! Yes, the sink plumbing is exposed on purpose. Since we don't have any small children to worry about, it doesn't present a safety issue, and enabled us to tuck the drawers in there.

This little guy holds headbands/hair coverings/reading materials



The flooring extends up the wall and ceiling of the shower. The rest of the bathroom ceiling/walls are conventional.

The shower pan is 3'x4', and has a custom leg-shaving foot rest.

The sink/fixture is from IKEA, as is the red set of drawers.
The bathroom as a whole is 8'x4'(approx). It was a priority of ours to make the bathroom a nice place to be/look at first thing in the morning, because that really does set the tone for your whole day.

  • The door/enclosure is custom by a local company. A
  • I love the riverrock, it's very easy to clean and doesn't show hard water spots.
  • No, I didn't clean up very much for these pictures, I wanted it to look like it does every day so people can see how useable it is.
  • Yes, two people can be in here brushing teeth/shaving/doing morning rituals, if you're friendly!
  • We love it!