North Fork Project

This weekend, we picked up an MCM-style daybed at the West Elm outlet in Riverhead (it had a 50 percent off sale!). With comfy seating, a stocked bar, and a host of instruments, this music room is ready for some jam sessions..

The sliding barn door is up, and it’s fantastic. Jim bought a high-quality—and reasonably priced—hardware kit on Amazon. To create the door itself, he cut out “windows” in two slabs of wood, placed frosted plexyglass in between, then glued and nailed the doors together. Finished with a few coats of a glossy gray paint (Benjamin Moore’s French Beret to match the bookcase), it was ready for hanging.

Hudson, Jim’s groupie, enjoys the easy access.

What to do with the wall that had a water pipe behind it? Jim left that area open so that we could access it if there ever was a problem. He considered covering the area with a bi-fold or accordian door, but that felt like a silly use of space. The solution was brilliant: a “built-in bookshelf” that could be unbolted easily. 

After Jim built the frame for the bookshelf, I stained it, Jim painted large pieces of plywood in a dark gray hue (Benjamin Moore’s French beret) and nailed it to the back of the shelf.

To finish, we attached trim pieces (which were also stained) all around. 

Our neighbor Jimmy Bevers gave us some “shelf help.”

Why have we never tried carpet tiles before? They’re so easy to install (just peel and stick), durable, and they can be replaced in seconds. (We did just that after Hudson “marked” one of the squares.) 

My idea for this doorway is a sliding “barn” door that combines smoked glass with metal or wood so it won’t feel so claustrophobic. Unfortunately, this type of hardware requires some mounting space at the top of the doorway. That means that if you’re 6′ or taller, you may have to duck to get into this room. We will also have to DIY the door since standard heights are 80″ and our opening measures about 73″. 

In early September, Jim and I asked our landscaper, Octavio, to apply some type of herbicide to kill all the clover, ground ivy, crabgrass, dandelions, and chickweed that was blanketing our yard.

Big. Mistake. Apparently, those weeds were the only greenery on our property. Without them, all we had was a field of clay and sandy dirt.

About a month ago, Octavio came back to aerate and seed the entire lawn, and then returned two weeks later to fill in spots that hadn’t taken. In the meantime, we made good use of our irrigation system, watering every zone for 15 minutes twice a day. (Later, watering deeply and infrequently is recommended to help grass grow deeper roots.)

While new grass sprouted almost immediately, I was dismayed to see that clover and dandelions were popping up as well. I’d read that it’s easiest to hand-pull weeds when they’re young and the soil is moist. Plus, it’s crucial to get them out before they go to seed—the dandelion plant, for example, makes up to 15,000 seeds, each of which can survive six years in the soil.

That sent me into a weeding frenzy, filling several grocery bags a day with the tangled roots of these unwanted plants. Initially, I found the process to be cathartic—sort of a moving meditation. But even now, it’s a compulsion I can’t shake; while walking my dogs or heading to my car, I’ll stop to uproot more of the invaders. My hands and fingernails are perpetually dirty, and  neighbors driving by have stopped making eye contact. It’s occurred to me, too, that I’ll need a 12-step program (Overweeders Anonymous, perhaps?) to quit.

Anyway, here’s a shot of our front yard right now. The grass is green, lush, and thick—which is an unwelcoming environment for those weeds to grow. Here’s hoping for a late frost!

Jim and I had been talking about getting a small-ish tree for the front yard for a while. We recently found one we loved—a Bloodgood Japanese Maple—and had it delivered today. It fit our color and size criteria, with burgundy-red foliage year-round, and a height and spread of about 20 feet. One of the hardier of the Japanese maples, the Bloodgood has good sun tolerance and is forgiving of our challenging soil conditions.

Our upstairs is finally complete and we couldn’t be happier with the results. In addition to a spacious walk-in closet, we gained an office, a windowed reading nook, and more wall space for hanging art. Taking down walls also gave us the chance to recess the TV and medicine cabinet in the bathroom, and to reconfigure our duct work so the space would be warmer. Sure, the reno cost more and took longer than expected, but I know we’d both do it again.

Jim and I were hoping that Moises, who stained our floors originally, could match the hardwood in the new “annex” to them. But after looking at them, he said he couldn’t guarantee there wouldn’t be a noticeable difference between old and new. The stain we’d chosen was a combination of two shades and there had been some fading as well. 

So even though we’re feeling desperate to move out of the guest room downstairs (where we’ve been since before Thanksgiving), we’ll just have to wait a little longer. Fortunately for us, Moises moved another job to the following week so he could get our sanding and staining done over one weekend.

The sight of these freshly sanded floors made Jim and I wish we had gone for a more natural look (also a faster and cheaper option), but then the upstairs wouldn’t match the downstairs. Live and learn...

New office space

Walk-in closet

Skylights back in place