Every Pair of Shoes Needs a Home

If we limited 3 pairs of shoes for each one of us, our family of 5 would end up with 15 pairs of shoes. Come on, how is it possible to have ONLY three pairs of shoes per person?! Our house doesn’t have a foyer. It leads directly to our living room when opening the door. The shoes storage has always been a problem for us.

My Recent Miniature Lego Collection

This picture has nothing to do with my Lego collection but the fireplace mantel behind us is where I display my miniature sets of Lego.

Recently, I’ve acquired a few small Lego sets into my collection :)

First Attempt at Wainscoting

查理斯逮到了一個機會試試他的新工具和手藝 -- wainscoting 裝飾牆

由於這不是我們家, 我並沒有參與到任何程序或意見, 完全出自查理斯說服屋主採用的想法和他的純手工, 當然第一次的嘗試很難達到百分百完美, 但是屋主很滿意, 查理斯的木工手藝又更上一層樓!

Besta System Touch Up

We didn’t plan anything for memorial weekend so Charles decided to finish up some “unfinished business.” Back in 2013 after our home theater was done, we added a shoe cabinet next to our Ikea Besta system. It was not the best purchase because we found this kind of shoe cabinet hard to use and its poor capacity was not able to fit all the shoes we own. “Why don’t you complete the whole thing with the same system, make it symmetric?” One of our architect friends suggested. So we did, and THAT was in 2015.

Wood Anniversary

查理斯問, 今年結婚紀念可以做點什麼紀念物品? 我愣了一下, 等等...已經第五年了?!

第五年, 木婚, 看來他等這年等了一會兒, 要來發揮一下他的木工手藝

查理斯想做個相框之類的木製品, 於是我推薦了部落客 Power Bower 的這個相片架, 比起普通的木頭框有創意多了, 還可以任意更換位置和裝飾

More Light for the Home Office

查理斯在台灣測量視力, 發現兩眼都高升了一百度, 懷疑是不是我們工作的 Home Office 燈光太少太暗, 回家後查理斯搬了一座檯燈, 既不美觀又占桌面位, 於是動起了 under cabinet lighting 的主意...

通常 under cabinet lighting 是用在廚房上, 廚房廚櫃都會留個一吋左右的厚度, 可遮住光源;

Give Mantel a Crown

話說有了"門面"的壁爐, 該是給壁爐台一點點綴了; Small project No.3: Give mantel a crown:

Step 1. 先用 baseboard 把底先填滿; 電鑽 (hammer drill) 栓入磚頭內

Fireplace Makeover

一開始是冬天天氣冷, 缺少 Central air system 的情況下最冷的就是後來最常待的客廳影院了, 壁爐的大缺口是一大風口, 每每寒風中回到"溫暖"的家還要另加外套... 為了實現壁爐的真正作用, 又減低爐火燒的危險性, 終於砸下百元購入此款壁爐玻璃安全門:

 

玻璃門還可活動開關

Mr. Fix-It

After the big renovation for our bathroom, Charles can finally get back to his small project list. Small Project No.1: the handle bars for the pocket doors:

Our pocket doors had been like this since we were “mostly” done with the living room. (Wow, that was back in February, 2013!)

It Begins to Look a Lot Like Christmas

I should have done this post two weeks ago because Christmas is just around the corner! Anyhow, we are really excited about this year not only because this is little en’s first Christmas but also we bought thechusweethome the very first Christmas tree!

We bought it last year in after-christmas-sales. The original price $279.99, 7.5ft pre-lit floor displayed, was knock down to $83.99. It spins by the way!

Mirror Mirror On the Wall

The first project that is done by using the custom workbench:

We wanted to hang a full length mirror above the mantel and Ikea MONGSTAD was on the list of my living room inspiration last year. We never really put too much thought into it and a few months ago, we got these salvaged mirrors for free:

Cozy Up the Living Room

Little en is growing so fast that we are thinking about changing the family room into a semi-playroom for him to explore. The area rug we bought from RugsUSA is in good size but sheds too much. We moved it to the living room:

Home Office in the Living Room

當初計劃 Living room/Home Theater 的時候, 就設想了一個 Home Office 的空間 (Original Inspiration); 由於 Baby Chu 的到來, 原以為這項計劃將會遙遙無期, 上個月搭上 Ikea Besta 15% on sale, 趕緊先買下儲藏櫃, 查理斯為了客人的到來, 幾天晚上的時間就通通裝上了!

除了工作桌, 我們希望可以善加利用客廳背後的一大片白牆, 具有儲藏空間, 又美觀,

A Little Little This, A Little Little That

難得週間假日沒去看國慶煙火, 倒是在家裡完成了許多需要彌補的小工程

找出下圖缺陷:

1. 原本的空隙, 裡面用木頭, 外面借用收納櫃其中一層的擱板填補起來; 靠牆的空隙也用木飾條加了邊, 形成一個完整的 built-in

All Kinds of Seating Furniture

Recently, we are digging all kinds of seating furniture for our “forever-almost-finished” living room slash home theater. Sadly, good furniture doesn’t come cheap so we budget the money month by month to spread out the cost. We first found this swivel club chair in TJ Maxx and fell in love with its soft grain leather.

For the big sofa, we were looking for a white one, which gives more modern look like this:

After seating bazillion of couches and sofas, we changed our minds along the way:

• From White to Brown → white may get dirty easily 
• From Fabric to Bonded Leather to Grain Leather → given a reasonable price, a few bucks make a lot different 
• From Sectional to Recliner → Sectional in the middle of the room makes the space much smaller. In addition, a set of recliner just seems so right for the home theater.

We found it here with a little discount

We try to fit a working area in the same room. A pair of office chairs is our next move. Currently, we are looking at this white high back office chair which we originally found a black one in Intercontinental New York Hotel. Although it is a bit stiffer than I expected, both of us love everything else about this chair.

I wish I can have a good picture to show the overall look but now the living room is full of boxes of lego XD !!

Built-in Bench in Progress

連續幾個禮拜貪玩 "不務正業," 該是好好待在家收拾收拾, 繼續專心打造客廳... 

猜猜他在做什麼?

先前想像中的 Built-in Bench 終於有了新的進展, Ikea Besta 系列比想像中的小, 得買下兩套長47.25 吋的矮櫃; 由於門的設計緊貼著邊框, 查理斯做了一個基底墊高, 防止開關門時與地板磨擦, 同時可以把櫃子固定起來, 成為名副其實的 Built-in!

另外一個長形的 Besta 則是用來當收納櫃使用, 也是要來藏接受器和雜亂電線的地方; 於是查理斯使用小型電鋸, 精準地切割出插座的大小; 就是這麼一切, Ikea 又露餡了...

雖然矮櫃剛剛好是窗檻的長度, 卻也不是那麼剛剛好能延伸到牆壁, 距離旁邊的收納櫃還缺了這麼一小節, 還得另外買材料補起來...

另外, 查理斯想要的大螢幕送達!! 利用兩個托架把它給吊起來~

和想像中的模樣又拉近了一段距離~

from this...

to this!

This is Not Final

期待已久的投影機終於抵達!!

BenQ Projector - W1070

查理斯大發腦筋, 想盡辦法把投影機安在這支從天花板而降的塑膠柱 - this is not final - 安全起見, 為了不讓它有任何掉下來的風險, 還得想更好的法子牢固, 另外為了美觀, 塑膠柱也要拆下來噴漆, 還有天花板上那兩個洞, 都要填補起來

終於把遮掩的紙撕去, 再把前屋主的遮陽屏幕裝回去 - this is not final - 查理斯堅持使用真正給投影機投射的屏幕, 就再等等下一個 billing cycle 吧!

先來看看效果如何? (真的很過癮, 期待一組舒服的沙發... 慵懶地躺在沙發上看電影~)

MV 播放中: Adele - Rolling in the Deep

四個喇叭, 一個低音喇叭, 目前已有4.1音頻系統 - this is not final - 查理斯的理想是6.1, 目標看好了大折扣, 還要再裝兩個後背喇叭; 另外這樣亂糟糟的線路還得想個辦法藏起來...

沒想到當初兩人隨口說說的 Home Theater 想法, 竟一點一滴地實現中...

Keep the Shoes Off the Floor

如今新建的房子都將車庫與房子連結, 停了車後即可直接入屋, 鞋子自然而然都可收拾在車庫裡; 我們的老房子和車庫是分離的, 只能乖乖地從大門入室, 又沒有玄關的設計, 門一開直接就是個大客廳, 鞋子該怎麼辦呢?

IKEA 真的很貼心, 許多款的 shoes cabinets 不但可以遮掩凌亂的鞋堆又具有設計感:

Stick a Fork in the Floor

IT’S ALL DONE! Three days of work and here’s our shining glossy hardwood floor!

We emptied the rooms where the floors are made of hardwood: Living room/ Family room/ Hallway/ Guest bedroom; Such a rare opportunity to see thechusweethome all empty:

Almost There

“Is your living room done yet?” people asked. Well, yes and no. To me, it is not completely done unless I get to sit on a couch and watch a movie on the projector screen. We still have a few more steps to get there. Although the pictures may not show much difference, we have made a lot of progress since last update in February:

• Finish the other side of the cove lighting
• Two more speakers built-in in the ceiling
• Projector pole and its electric work
• Finish and paint all the trims
• Clean up and mop the dusty floor  

 

It seems that we can start to enjoy the living room, but there is one more thing, quite important thing that I really want to do before any further moves -- REFINISHING THE FLOOR!! Our hardwood floor has scratches all over the place with yellowish old stained color. Especially after the renovation, there are more stains and paint that won't come off if we do nothing about it. :( That means we still need to endure it a little bit longer to say "DONE."