The new house is a story-and-a-half. We're down; they're up. One room is just at the top of the stairs and the other is around the corner down this terrifying - terrifying - hallway. (It is actually not the door that you see, which is to the attic, but rather just at the end to the left. It is doubly terrifying because the door to the attic is right there. I think.)
With the light on is only slightly, well, worse. Eerier somehow. I practically skip down it. None of the boys have mentioned that they think it is scary, but I very nearly had to medicate the night I painted the room by myself while the house was still empty.
And while they haven't seen The Shining,
they have seen Harry Potter and, goodness knows, nothing good every happens in a long stretch of hallway like this. At least in the movies.
And, to finish off this series (and you have been incredibly game this week) here is my kitchen sink. It's lovely. The entire kitchen is lovely, if not exactly as I would have designed it, really lovely. Nothing to complain about. Yet, I never fully realized how much I need, and love (yes, love) my sprayer until I didn't have one.
Now, I can see myself as the kind of girl who would say, "I'd rather have a clean counter. No sprayer. They're silly."
But what I'm finding during clean-up is that I am chasing things around this increasingly large bowl.
The flow of the faucet and the slope of the sink are insufficiently corralling the ick (the same stuff that was delicious just five minutes before) and I am left chasing it around with cups of water. Pouring and sloshing first this side, then that side. For what seems like minutes, at least.
Hmmm..? Use my hand? Well, yes, I could, but, you see, I don't like to get my hands messy (maybe this is why I don't like to cook or garden) and, I hate to get wet.
Go ahead, Dr. Freud, and draw all the conclusions you want. Harken back to the shower post if you must, but these are just the facts, Jack.
My list of the things I love about this house (wait until you hear about the microwave) will play out over the next year. These things are minor. Tics. We're just getting acquainted.
I am now checking to make sure that I have sprayers at my new kitchen sink(s) - and thankfully I do.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was selecting a sink, a friend told me that the waterworks faucets, similar to this one, did not accommodate sprayers unless a separate valve was installed to turn the sprayer on - which seemed like a pain.
(I would find that long hall terrifying too!).
I have a sprayer and would much rather have a soap dispenser. (I know it's been four years, what are we waiting for, right?) Once my boys began playing the trick of occasionally rubber-banding the sprayer handle to the nozzle to "get" an unsuspecting me, I've been very wary of sprayers, especially on the first day of the fourth month--April showers, indeed! Oh, the hallway is kind of spooky, but the sink and marble look lovely!
ReplyDeleteYou have given me such laughs this week. I have enjoyed every single one! I am also excited to see what you do with the palette you have purchased. I know it's going to be fantastic! M.
ReplyDeleteI don't have a sprayer and don't want one because when I was a child my mother had a sprayer and wouldn't use it -- "because it might get broken" (I'm not sure what she was thinking-- water spewing up to the ceiling?) and so we never did.
ReplyDeleteI've lived in houses with them (and didn't use them) so when we changed out sinks and faucets at Linderhof . . .well, no sprayer because it wasn't worth the money not to use!!!!
So I can't imagine HAVING a sprayer!
Yes, they are minor tics. But since you would be using a sprayer several times a day, maybe installing a sprayer is in order. Glad that you are adjusting. Can't wait to see the solution for the hall.........HAPPY NEW YEAR!
ReplyDeleteThat hall actually DOES look scary but maybe the boys like it - who knows! And your sink, faucet and beautiful marble counter top are lovely - at least if you decide you can't live without a sprayer it's not a big fix!!
ReplyDeleteAdd directional "art" spot high hats along that long hall and lots of art or family picturs, an oriental rug- it will be beautiful!
ReplyDeleteLove,love ,love your kitchen counters! I guess you could change out the facuet for a sprayer/facet in one combo, but I love the bridge facet as is.
the Shining pic made me laugh out loud.
ReplyDeleteHave you ripped out the poor boys' ceiling fans yet?
what about a solatube or 2, or can you add a window in the wall? I had to laugh about the shower: Our new house is from the 60's and has a kind of japanese style bath w/ a lg shower & high ceiling. It's rather chilly in there. I put in a shower rod/curtain to temporarily shrink it's size& warm it up a bit. worked. No renovations for me till next summer so rt now just figuring out what I'll do. Best of luck!
ReplyDeleteNot having a sprayer does seem awkward, but then I look at the marble and chrome and the cup solution doesn't seem so bad.
ReplyDeleteDear Patricia,
ReplyDeleteI am so enjoying your posts on the new house, having just moved(well 6 months ago) into our new(old) one in Saint Louis. They do take some adjusting to!
The light switch post cracked me up. We still have ones that we don't know what they work. This after the former owner helpfully labelled the ones she thought were the oddest! Apparently the one in my daughter's bedroom closet that turns on the lights in the attic just wasn't crazy enough!
After a few months some of the quirks become merely interesting and you figure out which ones you must address and slowly the house becomes the home you can see in your mind's eye. Having friends and family over to eat, laugh and create happy memories makes it home much faster...although that does require more annoying rinsing of the sink...maybe you could wash the dishes in that big bad shower?
Happy New Year in your new home,
Leigh Ann
Your posts and your house(s) are fabulous! I am enjoying getting to know the quirks in your new house. And I find myself feeling a little compassion for the homeowners who determined light switch placement, for we just went through that whole exercise with our builder three years ago. There are times I need illumination and find myself wondering, "What were we thinking? I have to walk around the island!" It's the flaws that make us and our homes charming.
ReplyDeleteyou are tooo funny! looking forward to the other post! xx peggybraswelldesign.com
ReplyDeleteMrs. B,
ReplyDeleteJust catching up on several posts and I am truly enjoying the house tour. The shower story nearly had me spitting coffee on the keyboard!
As for the sprayer? I'm so glad you said this. In my kitchen, that I designed and should love everything-right?...the sprayer is my favorite thing! I made sure it was a pretty one. Get one drilled into the marble...true bliss will occur.
I'm with A&A: drill baby drill. Add that sprayer. Having said that, my tall husband who once broke a tortilla press—yes, you read that right—by squeezing the thing too hard is killer on my sprayers. My new kitchen will have that KWC industrial sprayer. Surely, he can't break that one! Love the idea of a children's art gallery in the long hall complete with gallery lighting.
ReplyDeleteyes - a sprayer is a MUST!
ReplyDeleteso odd they left that LONG hallway instead of incorporating it into the room adjacent? Unless you have a full attic or finished attic space (in which case, of course you need a public way to get there).
Just get one of these. They screw right on the faucet, they swivel anywhere, and they do the same thing a sprayer does.
ReplyDeleteI am really enjoying your house tours this week & just wanted to say, "thanks for the laughs" ... You are hilarious! xo Sherri
ReplyDeleteLove your white kitchen! It is a truly timeless look and an absolute favorite of mine.
ReplyDeleteThose bowling alley hallways are kind of scary, aren't they? We used several small canvases to break up the space in ours, and a few lanterns for extra light, but I still dreaded evenings alone.
Enjoying all of your hilarious posts this week!
I've been laughing all week. You are so funny and so right, just tics. Wishing you a Happy New Year filled with lots of house love!
ReplyDeleteI just bought a new house with a gorgeous kitchen and it too doesn't have a sprayer for the kitchen sink. I hate it but still haven't motivated to figure out how to replace the faucet with one that has a sprayer combo on it. So I'm with you!
ReplyDeleteLoving every bit of the house you are sharing. That marble in the kitchen with the bridge faucet...I die!! As for the scary hall...art and a rug will take care of that!
ReplyDeleteYes- that is one of the draw backs to the large sink and it is terrible to not have a sprayer to chase things around with. I have recently found a little dish scrub brush at TJ max that I chase things around with - without getting my hand wet. I hope that helps. It is really pretty!!!
ReplyDeleteBethany
Oh gosh, I see what you mean about the hallway. And the sink. I do like the colored sprinkles to demonstrate your point about the sprayer--very festive and appropriate for New Year's. Best wishes for 2011 in you new home.
ReplyDeleteI would get a sprayer...........right away.
ReplyDeleteAnd I would wallpaper the hall walls AND ceiling with Brunschwig and fils treillage wallpaper in either taupe and cream or green and cream and use the columns so you think you're in a bower ! 3 columns spaced down each side and going across the ceiling to break up that long skinny thing. (don't use the top capital, just the bases on each one at the baseboard)..... and it will feel like a garden pergola. I'll send you pictures of it!
Mrs. Blandings, "Take down that wall" (like architectdesign said)
ReplyDeleteI've never seen a scary movie, so I'm not bothered a bit by long hallways except, of course, in the decorating sense, and then, I'm sure we're all in agreement: they're killers.
ReplyDeleteBut a flat-bottomed sink with no sprayer would drive me crazy. Actually, it does drive me crazy. My sink doesn't have a sprayer, either, and what's worse, it's only five inches deep. Then again, my apartment was once part of a nicer & bigger apartment, and my kitchen started out life as the original butler's pantry. The real kitchen is now next door. After reading Town & Country Mom's comment, though, my biggest regret is not my sprayerless condition, but the fact that when I was a kid, the rubber-band-on-sprayer-handle trick never occurred to me. Up till now, I always thought I was a pretty clever kid.
This week's posts have cracked me up.
Patricia -- I can see I've fallen behind! Looks like the new adventures have just begun. (Loved seeing the familiar Blandings tree with the fresh white backdrop.) I need to set aside some time this weekend to get better acquainted with Dream House II.
ReplyDeleteCheers,
Courtney
Help is on the way! This you can do!
ReplyDeletehttp://www.mrshowardpersonalshopper.com/.a/6a0111683c7ee2970c0148c6add074970c-pi
Please consider lavender colored rubber gloves. They make dishwashing tolerable. Sturdy orange rubber gloves do the same for gardening. Once finished with chores, you can splurge on a pair of black lambskin elbow length zippered gloves, from Rome, of course.
ReplyDeleteMy very talented designer friend came to visit and ooohed and aahed over my sprayer. She is a detail woman with exquisite taste who designed her kitchen with all the finest and left out a sprayer. I think she chases sprinkles in her sink too!
ReplyDeletePatricia, I know you will do something so very creative with that hallway!!
ReplyDeleteXoxo
Karena
Art by Karena
your sink looks very similar to mine - one large farm sink, right? i do have a sprayer but it's of no use I warn you!!!! i still have to splash things with my hands even with the sprayer because the water doesn't drain into the hole fast at all. like the sink isn't sloped down to the drain. weird. but i really don't think a sprayer would help you at all. it doesn't me. things just linger at the bottom of the sink. that hall!!!! hehe. you need a series of lanterns or sconces and wallpaper and a great looking striped rug.
ReplyDeletePlease forgive me if this was mentioned (didn't read all 33 preceeding comments) but how about a squeege? I have a sprayer but end up using the squeege more.
ReplyDeleteAlas! Someone else who hates to get wet! I have to be surrounded by lotion everytime I suspect my hands will be getting wet, it seems so drying. You know they have a homeopathic medicine for our condition? Ha!
ReplyDelete