Trigger warning: to follow is what can only be described as Via Corona navel gazing. The good thing is that since this blog hasn’t been updated in nearly a year, chances are high it’ll just be me gazing at my own navel. But, we’ve made some updates around the house in the last year and I like to document such things. So, onward.
In April, we will have owned Via Corona for six years. When we last left off our documentation (here is the landing page: Via Corona the Remodel), it was as done as it was going to be at the moment. Of course, no house is ever done. And sometimes it feels like the list of what still needs to be addressed is longer than the original renovation list. Ah, such is home ownership.
First up: the reading chair. After storing (neglecting) my reading chair for many years, I finally had her reupholstered. If it looks familiar, you’ve met before. We had this chair in our townhouse in Westchester.
Oversized and comfortable, it fell prey to the feline mafia. Almost immediately after installing it in our last house, it became a very expensive scratching post. Alas, I didn’t realize what was going on until after they’d staked their claim and done significant damage. We kept it because the bones are good. And knowing that someday we’d be ready to reupholster, we wrapped her up and stored her.
It took me another couple of years to measure her and realize the chair was the exact depth and height of the sectional in our living room. No longer able to deny that it really was meant to be in the house, I finally sponsored a facelift in a charcoal velvet. I like the texture of velvet and was hoping that unlike the original wool basketweave it was done in, the velvet would not attract cat scratching. It’s been over a year and, at least on the scratching, so far so good. What I didn’t anticipate is that the synthetic velvet would attract cat fur like crazy. Seriously, sometimes I’ll look over at her and there is so much fur gently blowing in the breeze that she resemble Pig Pen from the Peanuts cartoons. The lesser of evils I suppose.
When the house was ‘done’, we bought and added feet to a couple of IKEA Kallax shelving units for temporary storage in what has become a sort of sitting area (see photo below). The space is meant to be a dining ‘room.’ But for our purposes, we didn’t want to waste the view with furniture that is only used once or twice a week. As you can see, there is a natural set-back perfect for some kind of storage that would disrupt the flow. The challenge was scale–that wall is really long–like more than 12 feet. Over the years we entertained a number of options for that spot from built-ins to double credenzas but nothing really felt right for what we were willing to spend.
Until I came across an extra long, iron credenza that somehow manages to be a large piece of furniture that doesn’t feel large or heavy. I credit the class doors and white interior for that bit of witch craft.
At 90+ inches, the piece serves up plenty of space for bar and other related storage.
As happens, once I found it, I began seeing it all over the inter webs. Here are two sources if this looks like something you’d be interested in.
I still haven’t figured out what kind of art to hang above it. I am hesitant to add or invest in anything of meaning because even though the North-facing space never gets direct sunlight, it does get a ton of light. All of the book spines that were in the Kallax shelves faded considerably. And even with treated art glass, whatever goes on that wall will likely fade. I’m in no rush, I figure that in time the wall will tell me what it wants.
And finally, in a move so subtle you’ll fall asleep looking for the difference, we replaced the old plantation shutters in the dining room with…new plantation shutters that look exactly the same. They aren’t though. The old ones were, well, old, yellowed and had several many slats that couldn’t be repaired. As a result we couldn’t close them all the way. They were also wood–not a great material to use when you live close to a ginormous body of water (humidity, swelling, you get the point). I learned when we had plantation shutters installed in our last house that this is one of the few times where a vote for synthetic over natural is the smart way to go.
We also had plantation shutters installed in both of our offices upstairs, which I’m now realizing should be their own update.
Another day.
For more house stuff, click here: Via Corona Remodel
