Words to the Cosmos

The new entry bell (Feng Shui) at the HOC

// May 1st, 2010 // No Comments » // life the universe and everything

HOC: Breezeway

// December 19th, 2009 // No Comments » // House-of-Chaos, Tiny House Projects

HOC: Breezeway

The weather is turning cold and I’ve finally gotten the breezeway into good condition.  I have, in the past five months:

1. stripped and refinished the windows
2. replaced the back storm door
3. painted the ugly gray paneling to a blue (extra paint I had from Mia’s bedroom project)
4. painted the molding and ceiling
5. replaced the front storm door
6. installed a new, push-button lock on the entry door.
7. installed a new lampshade and painted the old light fixture

That’s a lot!  Yay!

If you would like to see more photos from the breezeway projects:

Flick’r Breezeway Tiny-House-Projects for the House-of-Chaos

Red Lantern lampshade for Breezeway

// December 19th, 2009 // 1 Comment » // House-of-Chaos, Tiny House Projects

Red Lantern lampshade for Breezeway

Originally uploaded by chinagrrrl

This is the red paper lantern lampshade that I used to cover the bare bulb fixture in the center of the breezeway at the Tiny House-of-Chaos.

I got it at Cost Plus World Market for $19.99:

Yoko Red Square Paper Lantern (SKU #381930)

It’s hip to be square. The signature lighting in Asian homes and festivals for centuries, paper lanterns today provide casual lighting solutions for everyday decor as well as special occasion illuminations. Triple square silhouette with in crushed red paper with wire framing. Use with World Market cord kit. 15″Wx16″L.

HOC: Breezeway – Simplex Pushbutton Lock

// December 6th, 2009 // 1 Comment » // House-of-Chaos, Tiny House Projects

We installed a new Simplex push-button lock onto the entry door from the breezeway.  Nice.  That way we don’t need to hustle with a key to get in.  Just know the uber-secret pass-code and clicky-click you’re in!

This is what we ordered (but in nickle):

Simplex 7000

The Kaba Ilco Simplex  7108 Lock is Stylish, Compact, and adds the security that you are looking for. Because of it’s sleek body and wide variety of finishes, Simplex 7000 makes for the best residential push button lock that Kaba Ilco has to offer. Fully Mechanical with a rugged housing that is also weather-resistant. The dead-latching feature locks every time the door is closed, while the deadbolt lock is locked manually.

Features:

• Rugged all-metal construction is weather resistant, providing added strength and durability.
• Easy to maintain – no batteries to replace.
• Optional model features include spring latch and deadbolt.
• Easy Installation and Code Changing Instructions

and this is how it looks installed:

HOC: Breezeway – Front Storm Door

// November 24th, 2009 // 1 Comment » // House-of-Chaos, Tiny House Projects

After replacing the back storm door first, I felt confident enough to tackle replacing the front storm door all by myself.  I decided that white would be a better color for the front.  So I didn’t have to special order this door.

I selected the same model door I did for the back storm door; the Larson Tradewinds I picked it up from Lowe’s and brought it home, ready to hang.  I set up some sawhorses in the breezeway and went to town:

Just for reference, this is what I was working with:

Original Storm Door - Front Breezeway

and this is my set-up for working inside the breezeway to avoid rain:

Chinagrrrl’s always read the instructions and work with the proper tools before starting:

Instructions

and then we go to town hanging that sucker:

Click on any of the thumbnail images to go to the Flick’r page detailing my door hanging extravaganza.

HOC: Breezeway – Painting the Ceiling & Molding

// November 24th, 2009 // No Comments » // House-of-Chaos, Tiny House Projects

After painting the ugly gray paneling to a light-blue color I noticed that the ceiling and molding of the Tiny House-of-Chaos breezeway was cracked and dingy.  It needed a coat of paint too and there was a can of low-quality white paint left in the garage from whoever painted the Tiny House before we moved in.  Not the optimal choice, but would it do in a pinch?

Yes it would:

HOC: Breezeway – Painting the Paneling

// November 24th, 2009 // 1 Comment » // House-of-Chaos, Tiny House Projects

So when we moved in the Tiny House-of-Chaos had this dirty, dingy gray paneling in the breezeway.  After I finished painting the 2nd bedroom for Mia I had some light-blue paint left over and I thought that would be a good experiment to lighten up that room.

This is how that room looked before we moved in:

So I gave it a coat of paint and it lightened right up:

The Light Blue Breezeway

The Leaky Cauldron

HOC: Stripping and refinishing breezeway windows

// August 27th, 2009 // 1 Comment » // House-of-Chaos, Tiny House Projects

Ugh…20 layers of nasty paint.  13 coats of paint stripper.  A Dremel tool and sandpaper.  And a little wire brush.  I’ve used a heat gun and a scraper.  I’ve sanded of my fingernails MANY times.  But we’re almost there.

My breezeway has five windows and four doors.  Two front windows, on one either side of a door and two back windows, one on either side of the door.  I’ve already replaced the back storm door with a new lovely Larson door which I’m quite pleased with.  I want the same door on the front breezeway ASAP, but as always money is tight and it can wait.

There are two entry doors on from the garage and on going into the house.  A full-sized window peeks-in from the breezeway to our living room.  All-in-all that a LOT of stripping I have to do.  Inside and outsides of the sashes.

I’ll update as my progress continues…

Tiny House Project: Back Storm Door

// August 27th, 2009 // 1 Comment » // House-of-Chaos, Tiny House Projects

It’s finished and it’s in.  It looks and works great!  The Larson Storm door that we installed on the back breezeway entrance is on the House of Chaos.

Larson Storm Door on the Back Breezeway

You can read about the selection of the door at our earlier post, but the installation went pretty smooth.  I needed to strip, sand and refinish the inner sash of the door to make it look nice, and there was a tiny bit of planing needed to one vertical board to make it fit perfectly square.

I like it!