The Mushroom Factor

I have to admit, my husband and I usually base our house renovation decisions on budget, artistry or simple nostalgia. But living green is all the rage these days and, for the sake of appearing hip, I’m going to write about us using yellow to be green.

Southern Yellow Pine, that is.

Recently my husband dismantled our “lovely” pantry (said with great facetiousness). This was the 8×9′ room we used as our kitchen for 20 years. The cabinetry was limited. And it was falling apart. But much it was constructed with clear Southern Yellow Pine, a strong, glorious wood that, believe me, you won’t find in your neighborhood Home Depot or Menards stores.

At one time, forests of  Southern Yellow Pine were prolific all along the southeastern coasts of North America. Also known as Longleaf Pine, this resinous wood was used by 19th century craftsmen for everything from furniture, flooring, woodwork and cabinetry, to the actual building construction.

Of course, we over-harvested and under-replenished. Why do we always do that?

According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, the Longleaf Pine was “a once-abundant tree which has reduced in area of occupancy from 24 million ha to 1.6 million ha in 1985″ (from 59 million acres to 3.95 million acres). Thankfully, organizations such as the Longleaf Alliance are striving to restore such forests.

Nowadays, Southern Yellow Pine is a valuable treasure and we certainly don’t want to throw any out. That’s not how my husband does things anyway. Instead, he stripped the wood of it’s painted finish and used it as side and back pieces for our new kitchen cabinets.

We’re being green and we’re saving money. Best of all, we’re saving one more bit of our house’s heritage.

Aside from a new sink, perhaps the most life-altering event in our kitchen renovation was the completion of my spice drawer. I realize this sounds a bit dramatic but, in reality, there’s a lot of truth to this statement.

Historically, cooking has not been my greatest forté. I’d like to be a good cook and sometimes I even put a little effort into it. But for the most part, cooking is a chore I try to finish as quickly as I can. Obviously.

If you look back at our original kitchen floor plan, you’ll see for 20 years we operated basically out of a 9′ x 7′ pantry. Needless to say, there wasn’t much room for efficiency and organization, two things that also are not my forté. So, like many people, I jammed all my spices together in miscellaneous plastic containers and shoved them in one of the few cupboards available. They were always a mess. A huge mess. A meal I should’ve been able to throw together in five minutes usually took 20 because 15 of them were spent rummaging through a gazillion spices (other people in our family actually get into cooking things that take longer than five minutes—thus the large collection of spices).

Enter the Universal Spice Tray by Ovis Online!

This simple piece of molded plastic has transformed my cooking and my organization! Note the fairly tidy and semi-alphabetized arrangement of spice jars in the heading photo. I lovingly refer to this as stadium seating. What used to be a gazillion jars are now only 30-40 because we assess our inventory and don’t buy spices we already have. And best of all, cooking is actually becoming fun! I pull open the drawer and easily choose a spice that will creatively enhance the culinary delights I’ve now mastered.

Okay, well, now maybe I’m over-dramatizing. But someday…

I subscribe to the wise adage that says the sign of a good marriage is a well-bitten tongue. My husband probably doesn’t agree that I subscribe to this, but, oh, I really do. I think I do even more when it comes to home renovation.

My husband and I have been married for almost thirty years. He is my soul mate. But, yes, we are different people and, no, we don’t always agree on how things should be done. Of course, I’m always right. And, of course, he never listens.

And so I bite my tongue. Well, I try to.

Here’s an example.

We’re working on this kitchen renovation project. We’ve been at it for more than a year and it’s coming along great. When I say “we’re working on it,” I mean I’m the creative brain and my husband is the mechanical brawn. In other words, I tell him what to do and he does it. How can it get any better than that?

So, the latest phase is cabinetry, specifically some cool cubbies customized to fit at 45-degree angles around the microwave positioned in the corner (not exactly calculation-free construction). My husband’s first response is, “No, that’s not going to work.” I come back with, “Sure, we’ll just do this and we’ll just do that…” We, meaning he. He obligingly builds the cabinets, hoists them into place, stains and varnishes them.

My contribution to this project, beyond the creative instruction? Not much…aside from gleefully filling the cubbies with cute little apothecary jars that, when all totaled, will probably cost more than the oak wood for the cabinetry because my husband cut down the trees himself and planed the wood. Are you getting the picture here just how much of this kitchen he’s actually doing?

So, when he inadvertently slathers polyurethane on my new microwave because five minutes of prep work seems unreasonable, should I say anything? Or, if his idea of a finely sanded finish is slightly rougher than mine, dare I criticize? Not if I want this cool kitchen project to continue.

Instead, while he’s off to his day job, I whip out the 800-grit paper for a few extra buffs and I apply protective masking tape before the next coat of finish. And I bite my tongue.

Finally, I write about it here, because as private as the Internet is, I doubt he’ll ever see it.

Ah, relief for the well-bitten tongue.

Several years ago my husband decided he’d heard enough of my whining. He decided that, perhaps, if he helped me work from home rather than the office I continuously whined about, I’d shut my mouth and give him some peace.

And so, he built me a home office.

There are many factors to a successful office, all of which can determine the productivity of staying home to work. Typical to my husband, he covered these factors well. The office he built is beautiful, functional and offers an inviting work environment to come to every day.

Definition of Home Office

The IRS defines a home office as “a room used exclusively and regularly as the principal place of business.” I’m certainly no accountant and won’t get into the minutia of what exactly this means, but if you work from a home and keep meticulously accurate records, a home office can mean substantial deductions on your annual income taxes.

The room we chose for our office is an 11′x12′ space on our first floor. We previously used it as a TV room, which, of course, we now no longer do. As a graphic designer and writer, I don’t need a lot of square footage and I don’t entertain an endless stream of inhouse clients. On the rare occasion I do receive someone, I appreciate that the room is located near an outside entrance. This access is important. I don’t have to traipse clients through the whole house, which inevitably is a mess and belies my otherwise meticulous nature (said with great satire).

Decor

The great thing about a home office is the ownership it offers and the chance to decorate as one wishes. Mine has become an extension of myself. Design and art books are an obsession so my husband made an oak built-in system with shelves, cupboards and filing drawers. They’re an arms-reach from my desk and keep information organized and available.

Office-grey walls? Not here! I spend eight to ten hours a day in this room and it’s important I like its look and feel. An office needs to promote creativity and a positive attitude, yet it also needs to be cozy. I went with bold oranges and greens, colors I like and perhaps didn’t have the moxie to use elsewhere in my house.

Lighting

Along with color comes lighting. Whether you’re a secluded cave dweller who loves the intimacy of darkness, or a sunny window person who needs access to the outdoors, adequate lighting is a must in the home office. There are two double hung windows on each of the two exterior walls in my office. They offer plenty of natural light during the day and wonderful views of the rural setting in which we live.

This, however, leads to my next point: accessiblity vs. distraction.

Location

I love my windows. It’s important to know I’m not completely removed from the outside world and the inspiration it offers. Yet, depending on what’s outside, a room with a view certainly can be diversion. I made nice window shades that, when necessary, block the glaring sun or distracting view.

There are pros and cons to location as well. That easy-to-access office I described above is also smack in the middle of every day family life. For me, it’s not a problem. My kids are grown and have, theoretically, moved out of the house. On the occasions they do return, however, I find it’s far too easy to interest myself with them in the other room or for them to hang out in my office. My office likely wouldn’t work if I had younger children still at home.

Furnishings

And now to my final factor of a home office: its furniture. Again, consider the amount of time spent in an office: a good desk and chair are essential. My desk is huge. My husband built it according to my specifications and work habits. It’s L-shaped and holds my computers, scanner-printer-fax machine, telephone, adding machine, Rolodex, file folders and so much more. It’s amazing how many necessary office supplies one accumulates! He also made the desk with slide-out work panels, which I use whenever my desk becomes too messy and I need more space. Yes, I always am using those panels!

My chair? It’s nice as well. A good philosophy is to buy the highest quality chair one can afford. As we all know, those chairs start to feel pretty hard and uncomfortable after a while. A good chair not only provides comfort and support but it also looks professional when the client comes visiting.

So, have I stopped whining? Well, I never really was a whiner. I just wanted a cool office and the chance to work in my pajamas.

Okay, I admit I’m the spoiled brat. But it’s not my fault! When your husband is a talented craftsman and a nice one at that, you become accustomed to the idea that whatever you want built, can and will be built.

What? Not everyone gets cabinetry customized to their fancy and whims?

I suppose this catering carries through to drawer slides, as well. We’re building the new cabinetry in our kitchen…well, I decide what I want and my husband builds what I want. In doing so, we’re experiencing the joys and challenges of drawer slides.

From past experience, we know when it comes to drawer slides, what you pay is what you get. If you plan on carrying any bit of weight, like more than two spoons in your silverware drawer, it’s best to spend money on a quality ball-bearing slide. We’ve been buying Accuride, from Rockler, and are pleased. Well, sort of…

I keep hot pads and placemats in an 8×28” drawer under the double ovens. Nothing too heavy, no? Because it’s a drawer that doesn’t get extensive use, which says a lot about my cooking, we chose to skimp a bit on the slides. We went with Belwith Mount Euro side slide from Menards. Guess what, the drawer slides like butter.

On the other hand, when it came time to build drawers for the trash and recyclables, we figured a more solid, weight-bearing slide was in order. We chose Accuride full extension side slides and paid a significantly higher price.

But have you installed drawer slides? They can be very frustrating. Accuride, or not, the drawer will not slide smoothly if the drawer or supporting cabinet is even slightly skewed (kitty-wampus, as my husband tends to say). Jigs, such as the Kreg Universal Mounting Jig, help with this.

Then came the silverware and gadget drawers. I decided since he does such a beautiful job with dovetail joinery, why hide them under drawer slides? For these drawers, we went with the Accuride extension center mount, which keeps the slide underneath the drawer and out of view. Ah, the catch with under mount slides? That which isn’t completely satisfactory to the spoiled brat? An under mount allows only a two-thirds extension of the drawer. It will work for these drawers but not the spice drawer.

So, now comes the spice drawer. We haven’t gotten to this one yet, but when we do, I have specific needs (wants). For this drawer, I need complete access. I need full view of the dove tails. And, because we’ll use it often —yes, I do cook once in a while—I need a quality, heavy duty slide. For this, we plan to use the Accuride Eclipse Undermount, which fully extends and carries a price tag that extends as well.

I’ll let you know how it goes.