The Mushroom Factor

Whether it’s in March or April, Easter in the Midwest is never predictable. This year certainly was an example. Various areas in southern Wisconsin received 7-12 inches of heavy, wet snow, which made for a true March Madness.

Unpredictable madness can also occur when living in an old house, especially a country house. Take for example, this Easter weekend. A houseful of company proved too much for our old, old septic system and it strategically chose to back up just as everyone was settling in for the weekend. Needless to say, they didn’t stay around too long!

So, what do you do when nasty, foul smelling you-know-what begins working its way up your lines and near to overflowing the toilet? 

Well, you act pretty darn fast. One unfortunate person—yeah, you got it, that handy husband of mine—had to remove the stuff while everyone else made less-than-handy suggestions such as “Uh, would you mind shutting the bathroom door so the odor doesn’t come through the rest of the house?” The same handy and now considerably less cheerful guy also had to dig an 18-inch hole to the expose the septic cover for pumping. Did I mention it’s still winter here in Wisconsin? 

Septic systems are definitely something to consider if you’re contemplating life in an old country house. Barry Chalofsky, in his article for Old House Journal, describes the ins and outs of old house septic system care. I won’t necessarily promote the article as fascinating—you have to remember the topic at hand here. But, as one who’s lived and cared for an old system for twenty years, or rather my husband has, I can vouch for the author’s informative advice: flush only biodegradable paper products, avoid planting invasive vegetation near the tank and disposal field, and have your tank pumped periodically.

So, you could say we had a crappy Easter. Well, not completely. Remember, we’re easy-going people and above all, Easter means a lot to us.

Jesus lives! 

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.

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 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).

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.

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.

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.

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 dove tail joinery, why hide them under drawer slides? For these drawers, we went with the Accuride low profile under 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. 

Probably the most repeated question we’re asked about redoing our kitchen is whether we’re getting stainless steel appliances. When I say no, I inevitably first get looks of surprise and then something on the order of “how strange are you?”

What is it with stainless steel?!

Don’t get me wrong. I don’t have anything against the glowing surface…except for the fact that everyone’s kitchen is done in it. For that reason, and because it doesn’t fit my kitchen’s style, I am NOT buying stainless steel appliances.

So, aside from stainless steel, what are the kitchen trends of today? And how far off, whether by intention or ignorance, are we as we renovate our kitchen?

The Top Five Kitchen Trends, according to This Old House online

1. Earth Friendly
“Green is in all over the house-perhaps most of all in the kitchen,” writes Kristin Mucci, of This Old House online.

I painted my walls green. Does that count?

Actually, we’re doing some fairly green things in our renovation project. One example is recycling the wood we saved from our porch ceiling when we rebuilt it 15 years ago. It’s fir pine and after stripping the white paint and finishing it in a clear varnish, it looks stunning in the sunporch section of our kitchen.

2. High Tech
“The kitchen of the future is here now, chock full of techie elements that meld functionality with fun.”

Okay, here’s where we fall a bit short. While some people are putting high definition television into their refrigerator doors and hood ventilations, we’re the last household on the face of the earth that doesn’t subscribe to viewing beyond the three majors, ABC, CBS, and NBC (or so our children tell us).

3. Colorful
“Stainless steel might never go out of style, but it’s sure losing some steam against this year’s bright appliance hues.”

Ah, what we lack in technology (and stainless steel), we make up for in color. Our white refrigerator was great in function but with the front of it rusting away, it lacked in form. We took it to an auto body paint shop and had it painted red. We love it!

4. Fresh and Healthy
“Companies are catering to nutrition-conscious consumers with products that help keep cooking healthy.”

No, we haven’t put in a copper sink with natural antibacterial qualities, as offered by Native Trails. But a new kitchen really brings out an enthusiasm for cooking and with that comes an interest in healthy, good quality food. Hey, the fact that we can now find our spices greatly enhances the success of our meal!

5. Convenient and Multifunctional
“This year’s products pack it in for multitasking, time-challenged consumers.”

I can’t begin to tell you how moving from cramped cooking quarters to an efficient triangular work zone makes life so much easier!

So there you have it. Our kitchen certainly isn’t keeping up with the latest trends, nor do we want it to. But it’s ours and it fits us perfectly. Can’t do better than that!

As I’ve mentioned, we’re in the midst of a big kitchen project.

We’ve been at this project for more than a year and may easily be for yet another. People are often horrified to hear this, but really, it’s not been that bad. It’s tolerable for two reasons. First and foremost, it’s not like we’ve been put out of a kitchen for a year. For the past twenty years, we’ve used our pantry as the kitchen and continue to do so during this project. Secondly, we’re pretty easy-going people. This is pretty important! Patience is a virtue, my dears, one will worth cultivating during home renovations.

An old house kitchen in its original state, such as ours is a rare find. To a kitchen designer, it’s a blank palette waiting for the first splash of renovation. To the layperson, it’s a bit of a challenge!

Neither of us are professional designers. While we did consult one initially, for the most part, we’re winging it on our own. We’re hoping our artistic and technical abilities are enough to carry us though—here’s where input is welcomed!

Our kitchen before

Our ideas: They’ve been evolving…

Our ideas have been contingent on two things: original design and budget. We want to maintain the simplistic, Craftsman style to which the house was originally built and, for budgetary reasons, we need to do the whole project ourselves with a minimum of purchases.

But, hey, we’ve been planning this project for twenty years! We want it to be good! I guess that makes three contingencies: design, budget and quality. Is this a feasible combination? We shall see.

Our kitchen: Our plans for after

1. Bring the cooking and storage into the kitchen where it belongs. Convert the pantry into a laundry/pantry room.
2. Combine the walk-in closet and sunporch into a breakfast nook—still to be called the sunporch because it’s such a cheerful, sunny room.
3. Keep the existing windows (they’re only ten years old and of original size). The counter underneath will have to be 1-2 inches less than standard height, but that’s okay because we’re short people.
4. Build a china cupboard on the kitchen side, a similar cupboard on the dining room side, and a pass-though opening in the wall between.

So this has been our project. I’ve been documenting it in greater detail at this site. But be warned, like our kitchen project, it’s usually running a bit behind.

We’re pretty easy-going people, don’t forget!