Latest Blog Entries tagged 'sources' [Remove Filter]

Puppy woke us up about 7:30 this morning needing to go out. Chris had to work today, so he was up and showered not much later. After enjoying a latte and bagel, I thought I would get dressed and venture out to the Habitat Re-Store---- Since it’s be [Read More]

I'm a child of the suburbs. Although born in Chicago, I grew up in the Northwest Suburbs, in a home built in 1977. Forced air heating was all I knew, and my first encounter with a radiator was in my college dorm. I had steam radiators in a few apartm [Read More]

This week I spent a little time in New York City and experienced first hand the magic of LED lighting as used in retail spaces. LED (light emitting diode) lighting technology has been around for awhile, but hasn’t been perfected for all residential [Read More]

I have been contemplating making curtains for quite awhile now....but I've always put it off because I didn't want to deal with the decisions. Sure, I'd glance at the curtain aisle for sales whenever we were at stores, but everything always seemed c [Read More]

My new favorite magazine is Shop Smart. It's a fairly new publication created by the ad-free, bias-free people at Consumer Reports. I've seen a few Shop Smart reps on the national morning news shows lately. They're usually running through "th [Read More]

The minute I saw the word "stockist" on the web site, I knew I was looking at a web site from a company located in England. I am very excited about Samuel Heathbecause they sell some great hardware which will complete my windows once installed. I a [Read More]

Matt did a perfect match on the wainscotting that was missing in the dining room. Here's some new (early) pics of the countertop as well. Yay! Super-Fug green faux-marble shit-tastic countertops are GONE-Baby-GONE. copyright 2007 iloveupstate.com [Read More]

I discovered a company which makes stainless steel door panels which can be used in outside applications such as grill areas. Their name is Lasertron, Inc. Their phone is 954-846-8600. [Read More]

Whether you are an apartment dweller with no room for a table saw or a novice with a desire to learn how to use a chop saw, if you live in Chicago, a wood shop may be available to you. The Chicago Park District runs seventeen wood shops in and aroun [Read More]

even though not a foot was stepped into the upstairs today, some progress was made. bought a pretty nice fixed curb mount Velux skylight from the portland rebuilding center. the dimensions are a bit odd, at 21″ x 50″… but i won& [Read More]

I gave my post a very upbeat title today because I have a hard time getting excited about plumbing. I want plumbing to work. I’m thrilled with myself when I can get plumbing to work. I absolutely abhor the process of getting plumbing to work [Read More]

Wood shops are disappearing from schools all over the country, along with art, home economics, drafting, and anything not considered to be directly related to standardized testing. This makes me deeply sad. Especially since DIY seems to be more cele [Read More]

Today was the day. All week long I couldn’t stop wondering if Eric down at Blue Ox Mill was going to come through for me. Three weeks ago I took him down a sample of casing and two weeks passed without me even getting a bid. Finally, last Friday I [Read More]

Some neighbors took pictures of the house for us this weekend. The second-floor rooms (master bedroom and bath) have been framed. The second floor on the left side of the house will be open to the living room on the main floor.I also picked out an an [Read More]

I swear, LA gives my eyes a sunburn even though I wear my sunglasses constantly. After I was done trolling around the convention and meeting the peeps I needed to meet...I went to the Hotel Surplus Outlet. I have been curious about this place for so [Read More]

[Read More]

Today, hundreds of blogs are uniting around the world to focus on environmental issues. As a house blog, I thought I'd highlight some of the environmentally friendly things that can be done to renovate a home. Rehabbing an old home is at the core of [Read More]

People ask us why we "went up" with the house, building on a second story when we could have just added a room onto the back. There are lots of different reasons... and one of them was because we didn't... [Read More]

Back in the roaring ’20s and early ’30s, Morton Grove was notorious for its roadhouses and speakeasies. It’s reputed that one of the bungalows on our block was a speakeasy. I’ve tried to find out the history on our house, but [Read More]

I have been searching for ideas for my kitchen and bath remodels. I spent (too much) time today looking at web sites which have great design ideas with extensive photo galleries. And to save you time, I have posted their web addresses below.Signatur [Read More]