CasaSugar

How-To: Installing a Flag Pole

CasaSugar — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 08:30:43 -0700

It may no longer be Independence Day, but flags add Summer style to your home year-round. So if you haven't already, consider hanging a flag on the exterior of your home to cheer up the neighborhood — be it an American flag, a state flag, or the flag of your favorite sports team! To learn how to install one, read more.

Position the bracket on an exterior wall of your home.
Mark the holes for the screws with a pencil.
Drill the holes that you marked. If your home is brick, drill with a masonry bit into the brick.
Screw the bracket into the wall, making sure you get the bracket on straight. Otherwise, the flag will not hang straight. Most brackets will require three screws.
Insert the flag into the pole, and unroll it.
Voilà! Instant curb appeal.

Source

Primer: Hang Wallpaper Like a Pro, Part II

CasaSugar — Wed, 01 Aug 2007 15:57:00 -0700

Wallpaper is back in a big way, but I'm still very intimidated by the idea of hanging it. But after reading some great tips in Blueprint and online at This Old House and Lowe's how-to section, I'm feeling up to the task. Earlier today, I gave you my pre-installation pointers, and now, we're ready to hang. Here's Part II of my wallpaper primer: installation. If you have more tips, please tell me in the comments!

The Installation

Cut strips of wallpaper about four inches longer than the height of your walls, then lay the pieces on the floor to make sure the patterns match up.
Flip the pieces over, so the back is facing up. Fill a paint tray with wallpaper glue. Using a paint roller, apply it quickly and comprehensively to the back of the paper, all the way to the edges.

For the rest of the pointers, read more

Using a stepladder, hold once piece of wallpaper at the top of the wall and have someone hold the bottom so it's straight.
Starting at the top and working outwards from the center, pull (don't push) an 8-inch plastic smoothing tool to press the paper against the wall.
Holding a razor knife nearly parallel to the wall, trim the excess paper off the bottom, and wipe any adhesive off of the paper with a wet sponge.
Hang each subsequent strip, making sure the pattern matches up and that the edges of the paper butt up against each other, rather than overlap. Corners are the only place where strips should overlap slightly.
Repeat steps 5 and 6 for each strip.

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Cool Idea: A Car Turned Planter

CasaSugar — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 11:00:32 -0700

I stopped by Flora Grubb the other morning to grab some delicious Ritual coffee and to check out the amazing garden store for inspiration and ideas. Before picking up a gorgeous spear-like Sansaveria, I wandered around the gardens, taking in all of the beautiful plants. I was particularly taken with the way Flora Grubb had reimagined this classic car. I love the way it's been "reclaimed" by nature in a rather Land of the Lost fashion. While this project is definitely more art installation than practical idea for your backyard garden, I do love the idea of creatively reusing unexpected materials as planters. What's around your house that you could re-use as a planter? Could you use an old candelabra to display air plants? How about using cracked bowls as flower pots? Tell me, what have you used around your home as an unexpected garden or indoor-plant vessel?

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Link Time!

CasaSugar — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 13:30:34 -0800

Check out these contemporary Thanksgiving tablescapes. - Simply Stated
Decorate with leafy greens. - AT:Chicago
Install a deadbolt. - Charles and Hudson
Make a retro felt holiday tree. - Craft
Tour this awesome office. - Shelterrific
Try this smart eco solution for sink clogs. - Danny Seo
Invest a few bucks in a blissful bedroom. - ShelterPop

Cool Idea: Swords Into Ploughshares, Planting the Piece

CasaSugar — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 11:00:57 -0700

Richmond, VA, artists Christopher Humes and Noah Scalin have taken the Bible literally in their art installation strong>Planting the Piece. The artists interpret the Book of Isaiah quote, "And they will hammer their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks" in a wholly 21^st century - and absolutely inspirational - manner.

The artists molded a 9mm 910 pistol, and then filled the mold with red clay powder, organic humus compost, water, and a seed mixture of annual and perennial flowers, including cornflower, daisies, blazing stars, lupines, poppies, and many other flowers. After these pieces of growable art have been exhibited, they are then planted, sometimes in garden boxes, and sometimes in abandoned city lots. As the "gun" decomposes into the landscape, flowers grow from it, echoing an iconic antiwar image from the '60s.

To find out how you can get your own seed gun or seed bomb, as well as to see a gallery of photos, read more.
In their artist's statement, they write:

Over time and with the appropriate amount of nurturing, the simple act of planting a seed can create life; sustenance and beauty. Applying a dedication to the act, or prayer, we can unite the audience and promote a discussion for change. With our literal sowing of these "swords into plowshares" we visually eliminate the violence from our community and pay respect to the lives lost and affected. . . . And in nurturing the "piece" to flower or fruition we are then committed to change and at the same time giving something back to the community.

To order your own seed gun, seed bomb, or donate to the project, go here.

Source

Midday Muse: Light in the Dark

CasaSugar — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 11:30:20 -0800

“Nest One” by Simon Husslein is a light installation in a tree in Burgundy, France. It's a nice tribute to the recent time change and a lovely symbol of hope and regeneration in this season of hibernation.

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Room Therapy: Help Me Choose Paint Colors!

Casa Community — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 11:00:14 -0800

Just in time for Color Theory month, Hvenbnd needs your help in choosing colors for her home! Read on to find out what she's looking for. Hi CasaSugar Readers,

I need your help ASAP! I recently experienced some water damage to my 1942 custom bungalow. As a result the wonderful insurance company has come through and has agreed to re-install new hardwood floors in my dining room and living room, paint the entire kitchen (including cabinets) laundry room, dining room, living room and to install a new kitchen floor.

My problem is choosing paint color for my rooms! I am so overwhelmed with all the options I have been researching. We are eclectic in our tastes, and have mixed antiques and modern midcentury pieces in our home. I collect Shag prints, which are bold and bright with lots of oranges and greens. I also collect tikis but hate the beachy thing. My husband is an airbrush artist and tends toward bold deep color.

For more pictures of this reader's home, and to hear more about what she's looking for,
Now, the house: We have 8 foot ceilings in the living area and dining area with coved ceilings and curved walls. I am installing recessed lighting in all three rooms. The red kitchen island that sits in the dining room in the pictures obviously belongs in the kitchen and will be painted as well. The house has lots of nooks and crannies and built in cabinets and bookcases. Can you help me pick some amazing paint colors? I will post the finished result for your viewing pleasure!

P.S. I am looking for a chesterfield sofa for the living room in what I envision to be olive green leather. Any ideas?

Thanks in advance!
Hvenbnd

Do you have advice for Hvenbnd? Leave a comment! Have interesting photos of your home to share? Then post them in the Su Casa group.

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Link Time!

CasaSugar — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 13:00:08 -0800

Get inspired by these table settings. - AT:Chicago
Find out about a super-easy backsplash installation. - Charles and Hudson
Get lost in Maura McEvoy's photos. - Desire to Inspire
Start compiling some gift inspiration. - PoppyTalk
How about some bowling lane furniture? - Re-Nest
Keep calm, and carry on (through the holidays). - Simply Stated
Get the scoop on mums. - ShelterPop

Former Fixer-Upper of DJ AM Is For Sale

CasaSugar — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 12:00:30 -0800

The former Beverly Hills home of the late DJ AM has been listed for $3.8 million. The 4-bedroom, 4.5-bath midcentury home is private and gated with both canyon and city views. It boasts "rich mahogany floors, custom built-in theater, Crestron system, and flat-screen TVs throughout, two-sided fireplace, office, large kitchen with stainless steel appliances and carrerra marble countertops," according to the listing.

AM purchased the property for $1.9 million in the Spring of 2007, and made some wonderful changes to it before his death. I love how he landscaped the pool with grass and slate tiles to complement its prismatic shape and chime in on its modern aesthetic. When he bought the property there were also some awful Ionic columns out front, which were completely amiss with the midcentury architecture, and it looks like he replaced them with something simple or just covered them up with shrubbery. He also added one and one-half bathrooms. He modernized the two-sided fireplace in the living room and had a custom built-in theater built above it. And I suspect he installed a television which rises from the foot of bed. It's unfortunate that he wasn't able to see the profits of his terrific renovations.

To look at photos from before and after he renovated, read more.

Before:

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After:

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Cool Idea: Garage Door Façade

CasaSugar — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 07:00:16 -0700

When architect Bill Peterson decided to renovate his 16-foot-wide brownstone in Manhattan's East Village, he was determined not to be drastically modern. He wanted to maintain some of the circa-1869 building's history, but at the same time, wanted to use new technologies. The result? Trickery.

He built a façade for the structure's second floor, which can be raised like a garage door in just a few minutes, opening up to its modern living room. The feature offers a Manhattanite a rare thing: private outdoor space (well, semi-private). For safety, an ultra clear glass barrier was installed as a barrier. And to keep bugs and heat out, an air curtain wall system shooting high velocity air from the ceiling was used. Pretty clever, eh? Since the revealing façade is on the second floor, pedestrians can't really see in, and the trees across the street block some neighbors from seeing inside. But really, it's a living room, not a bedroom, so who really cares? See a photo of the living room with "the door" closed.