BruceHartman.net

With the new arrival of a couple of 22″ Smasung LCD’s for my home office, I’ve finally decided to move forward on building the desk to replace the dining table that has served as my desk for the last ten years. Don’t get me wrong, the dining table has served me well, but it is a table, after all.

Here’s the concept:

The sketch is actually two views of the same thing, the top section is a front elevation, and the bottom is the overhead view.

Basically the finished desk will be two levels. The darker brown is the work surface/keyboard area, and the angular portion is a raised shelf for the monitors to sit on. There’s space underneath for peripherals and other storage. The slots at the back of the desk go through the monitor shelf and the desk underneath to allow for cable management. The dashed lines are the shelf support structure. To the left you see two cutouts. The one in the middle is to account for the trim work that’s in my office nook, and the one on the corner is to allow cables to go up to the wall mounted tv.

To keep cost down I’ll make this out of MDF with an acrylic laminate of some sort, probably black. I’m considering making the work surface double thick. All the edges will be rounded over after the laminate is glued down.

I talked to my brother the other night, and he’s going to rig up a power management system to mount on the underside of the desk so I can turn the monitors and other peripherals on and off with one switch.

I think it’ll be a pretty nice piece of furniture once it’s done.

Not that I’m even remotely prepared to begin remodeling the bathroom, I’ve gone ahead and drawn up some sketches to visualize what I think I want to do. All credit goes to SplatGirl at Modern In MN for the vanity detail. Her implementation is damn slick and I’ve stolen the idea for myself.

Bathroom - Overhead

Bathroom - Side View

The plan for the shower includes a seat and glass block on the back wall to allow light into the room. That wall is on the side of the house.

Here are the components that make up the vanity:

Ikea PS Cabinet (white) - 1 @ $99.00 ea

Ikea Numerar Countertop (Oak) 50″ Wide - 2 @ $89.00 ea
Ikea Numerar Countertop (Oak) 96″ wide - 1 @ $169.00 ea

Model CD7385VS - 1 @ $119.00 ea

I haven’t decided on the toilet, but I’m thinking something by Toto. Their products are consistently well reviewed and I don’t want to replace my budget builder special with an equally worthless piece of porcelain. I’d like something that actually flushes when you flush it… I know, what an original idea, right?

I need to research what it’ll take to build the shower itself. The surround will be tiled. Also, I’m planning to replace portions of the wall opposite the vanity and toilet with glass block to add more ambient light to the bathroom area without compromising privacy.

Ikea Hacker featured an interesting bathroom hack.

The wall-mounted vanity doesn’t turn me on, but the sink… man, that’s just plain sexy.

Pedestal sinks normally don’t do much for me. Some of them look okay, but whatever good looks they might have are generally offset by the how the crevice where the sink meets the countertop would be a bear to keep clean. This sink nullifies than concern and looks awesome to boot… sort of like the uber-chic apron front kitchen sinks that have been so in for the last couple of years. And the price? The original post at
GrassRootsModern called out a cost of $120, but the weblink he provides puts it at $213. I’m sure some more research might turn up something in the middle of that range.

I still don’t have a planned date to begin work on the upstairs bathroom, but this will go in the idea file for further consideration.

Being a large fella myself, I can totally appreciate these bookends. I mean, who can’t smile (at least to themselves) when they see such a cheerful little guy who appears to be so incredibly proud of his big, round belly.

Even if the product name isn’t very accurate (This is likely a representation of Hotei, and not Buddha).

I really wish someone would explain to me why HVAC installers would think it’s a good idea to put the thermostat right in the middle of a living room wall. There’s only two usable walls in my living room to begin with, and the one that faces the front door basically has a big wart right in the middle of it.

I’ve had pictures on that wall for a while, but there wasn’t much structure to the layout, so when I got some big prints made of a couple photos I took over Easter, I decided to finally get things right.

It took me about two hours. First I tried to do an unstructured layout, but it just looked bad. Then I finally decided to go with the symmetrical layout shown below.

The only problem was the damn thermostat. After a couple of nonstarters I ended up here. Rather than try to ignore the thermostat, I worked it in by making a fake one out of thick cardstock to ensure the layout was completely balanced (the thermostat on the left is the fake). It’s basically the same size and stands about 3/4 of an inch off the wall. The screen could be a little darker, but as doppelgangers go I think it looks pretty good. I still need to get some prints made for the 8×10 frames, and some 4×6s the quad frame in the center.

I’m pleased with the result, if not with the strafing of pin holes that now adorn the wall. I really need to get to work on the balcony addition so that I can finally patch and repaint the walls in the living room.