Not Neutral is no stranger to Grassrootsmodern. We have featured quite a few of their things in the past. They have a good knack for designing great modern pieces that area actually affordable, and their new line of area rugs is no exception. The links rug shown to the left has their classic link design, and is available in brown or orange, some of my favorite colors. They also have some more playful patterns with bugs, leafs, and cars, that would be excellent in a nursery or kids room. All the rugs are made of 100% wool, and cost $240 for a 4' x 5' rug. Not exactly cheap, but still pretty reasonable for a good rug.

Available from Not Neutral for $240. Via Daddy Drama.

Over the weekend we finally got all the wall tiles for our bathroom. We had really wanted to go with something like the Ann Sacks Avalon. I absolutely love the skinny rectangular shape. Unfortunately with 200 square feet of tile, the $8 price per square foot doesn't work out to be a small number. We still wanted something similar to that shape, and were able to find the next best thing at Home Depot. They had Dal Tile 3 x 6 white subway tiles on clearance for $1.60 a square foot. We had to go to two different stores to find enough tiles, but it was very affordable. We plan on putting them up using a column pattern (one directly above the other) instead of the more typical brick pattern used with subway tiles. We also got all the sand and concrete we need to float the floor before we can tile, and the plastic membrane that goes down as a first layer. There is a good website here that explains the process.

I received an interesting comment the other day on an old post called "Dwell homes…Prefabs empty promise?" It is from someone who is an early adopter and is currently building a nexthouse. It just shows that not everything is as good as it seems.

As an early adopter of NextHouse, I will say - with resolute conviction - that this is not “affordable” housing. I’m loving the house as it goes up, and it will be quite wonderful to live in in a few months, but it’s a pretty steep price. My rough calculation, based on current cost overruns to address design issues, is over $285/sq ft (we’ll be 3050 finished), and we already owned the land. The price does include demolition, but even still…

The big differentiator will be the builder. Our builder is great. But if someone hires a builder who doesn’t have experience with Empyrean designs and how this stuff builds out, or the engineering and geometry involved, there’s going to be a lot of trouble. The decks and roof will be different out of the gate for future nexthouses than for our own, and it’ll be based on what our builder saw that Empyrean didn’t.

The other big issue is that nobody seems to be ready to help people who are replacing existing houses to find good ways to reuse the existing materials. A lot of these new kit houses will go up as replacements. While the kit construction strikes me as less wasteful than site building, we’re still missing a big piece. We downcycled some of the stuff, which isn’t optimal, but better than the waste stream where the rest of it ended. The NextHouse roof system is probably the same as the old Deck Houses - filled with nails, so you can’t hardly reuse the mahogany ceilings and posts in a future building. And Dwell Magazine, with its focus on selling advertising of brand new products certainly isn’t doing anything to help its readers and the communities at large think about and solve this problem.

Just a random rant on a Sunday night….

Thanks Susan for sharing your thoughts and experiences.

Everyone loves a rubber duck, but who said that they have to be yellow? Definitely not Luxury Ducks. Designed and produced in Melbourne Australia, these ducks are made from non phthalate plastic so they are completely non-toxic. Available in four different styles, there is nothing boring about these ducks. Each one comes packaged in it's own custom designed box that shows off the flair of these Luxury Ducks. Available from Elsewares for $8.

I got this email the other day from Crate and Barrel, and I thought that I would share it with everyone. They have some great pricing on what they call "Restaurant Dining". That translates to a bunch of nice simple white dishes in interesting shapes for a great price. For example a set of twelve appetizer dishes for $19, nice big restaurant bowls a set of four only $29. Those prices are almost as good as Ikea. Almost.

Available from Crate and Barrel $2 - $29.

If you are looking to spend a little more, make sure you check out the Staxx collection (shown to the right) with their super thick rims and clean lines. Pricing is a little higher, but I did see a 16-Piece Set: four each of dinner plate, salad plate, large bowl, mug open stock for only $45.

Here are some handy little goodies from PKOH NYC. First is the Earbud Clip, a handy way to keep your headphones from getting tangled when you are not using them. I have about 4 pairs of iPod headphones, and it seems like they are constantly getting tangled whenever I try and wrap them up nicely. PKOH sells a 4 pack of clips for $10. The next one is great for those who travel a lot. The silicone travel bottles hold 2 ounces of liquid, just under the allowed 3 ounces. As long as they are in a clear zip lock bag, you are ready to fly. A multicolor 2 pack is $20.

Available from PKOH NYC for $10 - $20.

Well, all of our efforts paid off, and they were able to get the rest of the digging done early yesterday morning. Around noon the concrete guys came by and started setting up the forms for the footing. Because of the power lines in our back yard, we can't get a concrete truck up to the addition, so we have to use a pump truck for all of our concrete. They were scheduled to come at 3:00 to pour. The inspector came at 2:00 to look at the footing and make sure the rehbar was good. There was some question about setbacks. Depending on what fence you measured from, the north side setback varied from 7' 6" to 8' 6". Our original zoning variance is for a setback of 8' 6", so the inspector was not going to let us pour. After some lengthy discussion, he agreed to let us "pour at our own risk" meaning we could do it as long as we could prove that the property line really is at the 8' 6" line and not where the fence is. The foundation walls should be going up today, so the inspector will be back. That means that last night I had to go out and survey our whole property to prove where the property lines are. The legal description of our property states that it is 31' wide. It measures exactly 31' in the front and in the back, but in the middle where the setback is being questioned, it is anywhere from 29' to 30'. Needless to say, I shouldn't have any problems proving that the setback is within legal limits.

On a side note, you can see why we opted to not put any windows on the south side of our house (left side of the picture). Not much of a view over there. We will get all of our solar gain from that side through the use of skylights.

Quilt Baby is the name of a vender on Etsy, but what it translates to for all of us is affordable modern baby goods. You not only get great designer style at a price you can afford, but you get the peace of mind knowing that you are supporting an individual artist who is passionate about what they are doing. The Pinwheels and Circles Bib shown above is built extra heavy duty to last a long time, and is only $13. The Blue Curious Creature shown stands about 12" high, and is made of super soft fleece. The price for this little guy is $20. Like all Quilt Baby products, they are both machine washable and dryer friendly.

Available from Quilt Baby for $13 - $20.

Flipper Nation
Episode 3: The Flippin' Fight

There's more where this came from at: FlipperNation.com
If you cannot view this video, you can check it out at YouTube instead.

While it may be difficult to find an affordable modern rocker for big people, our little people are in luck. The Galap Rocker is small, only 15" wide, but it is strong, and can handle more than 250lbs. So I guess if you can fit in it, you can sit in it. It's simple design would make it a perfect addition to any little kids room. The best part about it perhaps is the price, a reasonable $89. Available from Piccolini for $89.

Keeping a journal is something that I have always wanted to do, but never really managed to find time for. This beautiful Garden Journal from lf'n Books is practically begging for someone to pick it up and start writing out their life history. Illustrated by Jen Corace, this journal is a limited edition, with only 500 being printed. It contains 144 colorful pages, and is hardbound and screen-printed by hand. Available from Mahar Dry Goods for $24.

So this weekend, I was battling a bad cold, but I still had time to work on the shower a little bit. It was actually a multiple day project that started last weekend. First I had to install all of the floor drains. There is one inside the shower area, and one just outside the ofuro tub as well. The second will act as a drain for the tub overflow, and will be covered by a wooden shower mat eventually. After putting the drains in I had to frame in the ofuro tub, which meant ripping it all out again, and building a frame for it to sit in. After I got it all framed up, I poured a 1/4" skim coat of vinyl concrete to level the floor out. Next layer will be some sort of waterproof membrane, and a drypack layer to get the slope right. Last will come the tile. I also got our shower all plumbed. Until now all the plumbing in the house (except the radiant) I have done in copper. There were a couple angles in this project that made it impossible to do with copper, so I ended up doing it all in PEX. I have to admit, it was a lot easier and a lot faster. I can see why most people are crossing over. The walls all got a layer of 30 lb building paper, to help waterproof them, and then durarock paneling. Last will be the tile, and we will finally have a functional bathroom.

More pictures after the jump.

CB2 always has some great stuff. They are a great alternative to Ikea when you are looking for something that is both modern and affordable. Point in case; The Silo Pendant Lamp shown above is only $39. That is a total steal for such a classy chrome pendant. The floral wall art shown above is also another great example. While not quite as good of a deal, they still aren't too expensive at only $9 each. I wasn't really sold on them until I saw them in the room shot shown above, now I think that they look pretty sweet.

Available from CB2 from $9 to $39.

We finally got around to buying a shower. We used some left over Christmas money and splurged a little bit. We ended up with the Danze parma tub/shower combo shown above. We obviously don't need the tub part, but that lets us use the diverter that is below the faucet handle to switch the water over to the handheld faucet that is mounted on the bar. Total price for everything was close to a staggering $370. Now all I have to do is get it all installed.

Over in the forums, rjr is looking for a little help deciding what to do for the exterior of his house.

I posted this before several months ago and received some good feedback. But I still can't decide what do with the exterior of this house? I figured posting a picture of the house in it's setting might help. I would like to go ultra-modern, BUT the roof is pitched and the overall style of the house is not very modern. It's covered in snow right now, but as you can see it's a mountain location. So I need some mix of mountain and contemporary to make it work, especially since I plan to sell it when it is done. The roof half-way done and it is metal (black charcoal color). The windows are in now and they are white vinyl (unfortunately.. I wish they were black or aluminum). So basically I'm debating between hardipanel, hardiboard, stucco, etc. I was thinking off-white stucco or smooth hardipanel, with the dark grey metal would look nice. But I'm afraid it might not work with the white vinyl windows, unless the siding color were ultra pure white with some kind of creative window trim... But again, this might not fit up there in the mountains with snow half the year. I need some type of rugged contemporary with some wood or stone mixed in some how... maybe expose the bolts on the hardipanel, but use wood somewhere?

Head on over to the forums and help him out!

We had to re-work the elevations of our addition the other day. We were planning on using hardi panel ripped down to 9 3/4". Turns out it is a lot easier to get Hardi Trim so you don't have to spend all that time cutting it down. Unfortunately the Hardi Trim only comes in a 7 1/4" width, so we had to change the window sizes a little to get it to all line up right. Doesn't look to much different, but I thought I would post a pic anyway.

Last night I was at a friends house helping put up some trim, and we were listening to The Shins. They are one of my favorite new bands, along with the Decemberists. So if you are a Shins lover, and have never heard of the Decemberists, click on the picture to get a taste of their goodness. What other music are you guys listening to?

The search for a good rocking chair for my wife to rock our baby in has not been an easy one. Most of the choices are way out of our budget. The Rocco Rocking Armchair is a new kid on the block as far as tasteful rockers go. Great mid-century design teamed up with the glider motion all for $650 make it one of the more affordable modern rockers. The only thing that might not be the best when it comes to rocking a little turnip head is those sharp wooden arms.

Available from Pier 1 for $650. (comments are open on original post)

For some time I have been double posting everything to our forums, thinking replies would be easier to search there. Some people still are commenting below the posts here.

{democracy:4}

We found out yesterday that the loan was approved. We should be able to start drawing funds the beginning of next week. It's almost surreal to think that after all the preparation that we are finally going to start building. Now the sub contractor nag game starts. I already called the excavator yesterday. He said the first he could get out here would be late next week, and to give him a call on Wed. I might call him again today to make sure he plans on calling blue stakes. So far is has been my experience that if you don't call these guys every day and babysit them nothing gets done. Comments? Post them here in our forums.