Red Bird Cabin

I fell in love with a Murano red crystal chandelier that was way out of my price range, but refused to give up the dream of having one hanging over my small dining table.  After much searching, I found a wholesaler in NJ who sells this 4-light crystal chandelier for only $179. (Their eBay store is called chandelierliquidators and they have other styles & colors as well.) Comparable chandeliers are generally in the $2k and up price range.  Of course, this one’s made in China, not Italy…. and you have to assemble it yourself.  But, I love the design, and you won’t find a more affordable one (that isn’t Lucite).

Red Crystal Chandelier

You’ll notice that my chandelier looks a little simpler than the eBay photo. (I decided not to add the beaded strands that came with the chandelier when I was assembling it.) Oh, I should also mention that when you put the chandelier together, you’ll need someone handy to help with some basic electrical wiring.

My new art studio is coming together!  Adam, my partner-in-crime, has been painstakingly building it over the past 2 months (with my help here and there), and now we have the doors & windows in, the siding on, shingles on the roof, and sheetrock installed.  I haven’t tallied up the total cost of the project yet, but it was done on a tight budget.

Art Studio in Progress

We bought the windows & doors on craigslist, the stained glass window on Ebay (which had to be reframed), got the shingles for free, and bought the Board and Batten redwood siding from a local guy who sustainably harvested & milled a few trees on his property.  Board and Batten is one of the most inexpensive ways to cover a building, and is easy to install.  It also gives the studio that rustic, barn-like feel that I love.

Hours and hours of hard labor

Who knew that you could use shredded blue jeans as insulation?  I’m glad I found out… because the prickly, itchy, fiberglass insulation is gnarly to work with.  (It also leaves fiberglass dust all over your house which is hard to fully clean and isn’t good to inhale.)  I definitely recommend using Cotton Fiber Insulation instead. There are a few different brands out there. We used “UltraTouch” because we could buy it nearby, but they are all similar.

the joys of insulating

It’s safe, green and easy to work with. You just tear off chunks to fit snugly between the studs in the wall (the same way that you would with regular fiberglass insulation). Thick cotton insulation has a good R value too, so you can feel confident that it’s going to keep your house warm in the winter and cool in the summer. Here’s a helpful link you want more info on cotton versus fiberglass.  The cotton’s slightly more expensive than fiberglass, but so worth it if you have to touch the stuff yourself!

installing it is easy

It took us one day, amped on coffee and loud music, to tear out all the hideous green wall-to-wall carpeting.  And WOW, what a difference it’s made.  Tearing out carpet is easy, actually.  All you need is an exacto knife, needle nose pliers and some arm strength.  Begin with a corner and start pulling it loose.  When you get a manageable size chunk free (say 5 feet by 3 feet or so), use your exacto knife to slice that section off.  Throw it out the door so you have a clear workspace.  And continue carving off chunks.  If you’re comfortable removing bigger sections at a time, go for it.  Once you’re done, use your needle nose pliers to pry the carpet staples out of the floor.  Staple picking takes some time so you might want to sit/kneel on a pillow and have a good beer handy.

No more ugly carpet