We can never resist entering a contest (a few of you may remember our infamous Blair Witch/Home Depot video) so when we read that Houseblogs.net was sponsoring a sweepstakes in partnership with True Value we, of course, had to enter.

We’ve done so many DIY projects here at Bungalow Insanity, it’s hard to choose a favorite, but one which stands out among many is our kitchen remodel. Basically, we designed the entire kitchen around four $10 salvaged windows. Continue Reading »

One of the features that initially sold us on our little bungalow was its incredibly intact stained woodwork. And while the wainscoting, box beams and pocket doors made us swoon, we especially loved the built-ins sprinkled throughout the house. Pretty AND practical - what’s not to love, right?

This particular latch adorns the doors of both the china cabinet in our dining room and the bookshelves flanking the living room fireplace:

Viewed from the front, it’s not the most exciting piece of hardware I’ve ever seen, but I’ve always thought that the interior latch is especially funky and unusual-looking:

Continue Reading »

It seems as though there’s a lot of confusion about VOCs. I’m hoping this post might, if you’ll excuse the pun, clear the air a bit.

The term “VOC” stands for “volatile organic compound.” The definition of a volatile organic compound really seems to vary depending on who is doing the defining, but basically, a VOC is an organic (carbon-based) chemical compound that will evaporate at room temperature.

As volatile organic compounds evaporate - changing from liquid form to gas/fumes - they will enter the atmosphere and contribute to the formation of ground-level ozone and smog. They will also enter the lungs of, say, someone who is painting. What’s the big deal about that? Well, here’s what the EPA has to say about the health effects of VOCs: Continue Reading »

Most bungalow-lovers are familiar with the Sherwin Williams’ Arts & Crafts color collection, the Eddie Bauer Home Bungalow Color collection at Lowe’s, and Pittsburgh Paints’ Chicago Bunaglow color collection, but there’s new color collection released earlier this spring that may also be worth a look.

Kelly-Moore Paints has introduced a new palette called “Historic Lifestyles of the West.” Developed by respected color expert Robert Schweitzer (who wrote the book “Bungalow Colors Exteriors“), the collection contains 106 lovely, mellow colors inspired by the architecture of the late 1800s and early 1900s. The collection is dived by era/architectural style and includes shades appropriate for Victorian, English Revival, Spanish Revival, Arts and Crafts, Jazz Age and mid-century modern homes.

Kelly-Moore Paints are available in Arkansas, California, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas and Washington.

Has anyone out there tried the new Freshaire paint they’re selling at Home Depot? If not, here’s your chance to try it for free… Continue Reading »

Are you currently involved in a “green” renovation/restoration, or planning to embark upon one sometime in the next year? If so, the National Trust for Historic Preservation wants to hear from you!

Which products and/or methods of eco-friendly construction have you used? Have you been happy with the results? What did you learn along the way? Looking back, is there anything you would do differently?

Just fill out this survey and your green-renovation expertise could help other homeowners achieve the environmentally-friendly remodel of their dreams.

Attention Portland-area bungalow lovers! The second annual Portland Bungalow Show is just around the corner and is sure to be chock full o’ bungalow goodness, complete with fabulous vendor booths, informative lectures and hands-on window restoration workshops.

A separately-ticketed wine-tasting and lecture event is scheduled for the evening of Saturday, May 17 from 7 - 10 p. m. and will feature presentations by the astoundingly talented CJ Hurley and renowned bungalow photographer Alexander Vertikoff.

If that isn’t quite enough to pique your interest, we have one more little tidbit of information to share with you. The “Painting Your Bungalow” lecture scheduled for 3 p.m. on Saturday, May 17 will be delivered by none other than Stephanie Brown of Local Color - otherwise known as Mrs. Bungalow Insanity.

Hope to see you there!

Surprise. Shock. Amazement. Those are the reactions we’ve gotten over the last couple of days when we’ve told people that we were actually contemplating selling our 97 year old house and moving into one that was built in 2005. It may be hard to believe that old house nuts like ourselves would consider doing that, but we have realized that we may be at a turning point in our lives. What point, you ask? The one where we woke up and realized that we’re really, really getting sick of always having to work on the house. The point where we realized that the house owns us and not the other way around. The fact that we just figured out that we now have two little kids living with us.

It all started last weekend, when Stephanie found a listing for this house in SE Portland:

The first question you might ask yourself is why someone that lives in a perfectly good house that’s at least 80% remodeled needs to be looking at listings on the internet. I ask that question all the time, because once in awhile something like this happens. Most times I can take a look at what Stephanie found and point out that the house was actually a remodeling setback, and then she’d say “yeah, you’re right…but I really love it” and let it go. Well, this time I was really interested when I saw the pictures, too, because as Stephanie pointed out…this was a house that needed no work! And it looked like a seriously cool loft, but with a yard and without the monthly dues.

We ended up getting in there for a tour, and it really was a great house. In the end there were some practical considerations that caused us to rule it out (like the fact that it had only 1 bedroom), but it really got us talking. If our current house had actually been far enough along that we could have sold it, I’d probably be posting about our new house right now. There were some ways that a room or two could have easily been partitioned to create an extra bedroom (hey, that sounds an awful lot like remodeling…), but in the end common sense prevailed.

We are actually open to the idea of living in something more modern, but what we can’t stand are all the generic, characterless houses that have been built over the last 4 or 5 decades. If it’s not going to be old, it’s got to be unique. We may even consider building something someday. Just today I learned about container houses, where people are converting used steel shipping containers and using them for the structure of a house. They can be used for portable housing, low cost housing, emergency housing or just to make a statement. I can’t imagine anything stronger than a house built out of them.  It’d be pretty much everything-proof. I’m getting the vibe that Stephanie isn’t willing to live in a collection of cargo containers , but if I were single I’d go build one right now.

We have decided to start hiring out more of the work around here, which should accomplish two things. Ideally, it will just make us feel less oppressed by all the projects and get us back on track. If not, it will get us to the point that we could realistically sell the house, allowing us to consider other options.

We welcome anyone’s input on this. Have you ever been in a chronic remodeling situation and wanted out? Did you take the plunge or not? Did it work out like you thought?

We saw Zoe grab one of these off the Christmas tree with plans to take it back to her pillow for a serious study of how long a candy cane could hold up to her canine molars.  She is sorry to report that we noticed her slinking by, and we were compelled to rescue Mr. Cane.

Have you heard about the Home Depot $25,000 Holiday Gift Card Contest?

Do-it-yourselfers are currently posting videos on You Tube showcasing home improvement projects in dire need of attention. On December 17, a winning entry will be chosen, and Home Depot will award some lucky homeowner with a $25,000 Home Depot Gift Card.

What can we say? We couldn’t resist! So, if you haven’t already submitted an entry of your own, we’d love it if you would click on the following link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Mr6WrO-ADA

View count accounts for 20 percent of the points awarded to each submission, so we really need to get as many people as we can to watch our little video as soon as possible because the contest ends this weekend. If you’re a horror movie fan, you may even get a chuckle from our submission. We can pretty much guarantee that our entry is one of a kind.

Thanks in advance for watching!