Red currant gin, this time, to give the black currant a break. And the more I drink the less we have to carry to Harlem, yes?
I sit amidst boxes, while the Frenchman goes for his run over the Brooklyn Bridge and down to Manhattan's southern tip, and back again. While I went for a walk this afternoon to straighten my head out about various things (it always works) Vince packed many books and clothes. When I came back there was a neat low wall of boxes in the living room, draped in a red kikoi. A new work surface, very intriguing to the cat. There is a tower of plastic bins in the bedroom. Our new apartment has no shelves and I'd love a wall that is a bookshelf. Nothing makes a room look as good as books. I wonder if a carpenter would be willing to barter. How many dinners is a wall of shelves worth?
Late this afternoon we lowered all the bags of dead plants and debris I have cleared from the roof farm's pots over the last week, and took down some empty and cleaned plastic pots that will not make the journey. While functional and light on the roof, I still can't bear to look at plastic that actually resembles plastic. It depresses me. No plastic looks good in a photo, either. So we will be buying a few more pots, I think - probably terra cotta, unless I snag some oldish or vintage metal planters or ambiguous containers that can have holes punched in them for drainage. Anyone have an old coal scuttle?
The wrap-around wooden planter boxes, maybe about 40 feet of them - on the new terrace's low wall will give a lot of built-in planting space. They are about 10" wide. I'll take photos. But I think they will take smaller perennials and herbs - maybe the strawberries. It will be fun to work out. I know already I'd like some Dicentra eximia, which blooms forever and will like the shadier bits. There will still be lilies, but they'll go on the deck level. I love hostas and will have a bit more space for their square-foot-consuming leaves, now.
Now, and I won't push this, but: I wonder if I could paint those wooden boxes...66 Square Feet pink?
Or should it be a clean break?
Live with it for a while and inspiration will strike!
ReplyDeleteDitto.
DeleteClean break. I think one needs to adapt to new place rather than new space adapting to one.
ReplyDeleteI'm looking forward to your new adventures.
I am so excited for you! Wish we lived there. Husband (a retired engineer) now makes his living as a carpenter and a wall of shelving would be right up his alley, so to speak. Sounds like a fun project. I bet you'll find someone willing to barter.
ReplyDeleteMmm... I think the real question is: how many walls of bookshelves is one of your dinners worth??
ReplyDeleteI need a carpenter who thinks like you do!
DeleteI think you should go with 66 sq. feet pink...while a clean break can be nice...having a familiar and nostalgic piece of an old place is quite nice.
ReplyDeleteIt's good to have touchstones. I think the pink will be nice.
ReplyDeletePretty in pink. A nod to the past is no bad thing : )
ReplyDeleteYou can also get a bunch of very plain bookshelves at some place like IKEA and add some crown molding to make it look like they were built ins. Probably a lot less expensive.
ReplyDeleteOr if attaching the bookshelves to the walls in a rental isn't possible, then an IKEA hack such as this would do the trick: http://www.ikeahackers.net/2013/09/fake-old-library.html
DeleteMarie, I have no idea if that bookcase fits your style, but I could picture you settled into a nearby couch with a great book and a gin cocktail. Enjoy this beautiful time of making a new space your home. Looking forward to your adventures!