The Purrrfect Home(Part 2)

There is not a lot to report this week. The first couple of weeks on this type of project is spent taking care of preliminary objectives. A lot of time has been spent on looking at carpet samples, paint color tabs and asking questions of the client. It looks as if all of the carpet and paint colors are being left up to me. Every time I show Lily and Rose samples, they just say"that will be purrrfect", although they do show a slight preference to blues and green.






There was a lot of framing work to do on the windows and Sky-lights. So much so that I've hired a couple to temporary assistants. The Phist brothers (Lefty and Wright) have helped me on some previous projects and are very capable. That's Lefty holding the saw, Wright is of course on the right.

They did an excellent job completing the framing. Both are quick and very skilled, although Wright doesn't always seem to know what Lefty's doing.

It's time for me to get cleaned up as I've been invited to a house warming party at Saoirse and Andara's home. It is now know as "The Log Cabin in My Kitchen". See http://mirandawandering.blogspot.com/2007/02/little-log-cabin-in-my-kitchen.html My next entry will have some pictures of what the furnishings look like.

The Purrrfect Home (Part 1)

My meeting with the Purr-jon (Pronounced Persian) sisters, was successful. This time I asked a lot more questions and found the the sisters were every bit as sophisticated as the Saiorse and Andara were naive. (I always like to include photos of my clients, but when I asked if I could take their picture, They suggested that I use one of their "glossies" instead. They may be into modeling as they had a whole portfolio of photos). It's interesting that they would chose a "seafood restaurant" for our first meeting.




















Their tastes ran toward the more modern, and they wanted a home with lots of windows and skylights. Once again, it was off to Norm's Dollhouse.




It did not take the sisters, long to decide on the Contemporary Ranch House. The skylights provide excellent interior light. The high ceilings a feeling of openness and airiness. The Purr-jon's said it was Purrrfect! (They roll their R's a lot, I think they may be French).



This appears to be a "normal" construction job. Normal carpet, normal electricity, no indoor well. no vine and twig ladders, no dirt floors and no scenic calender wallpaper. They did indicate that, I should plan on using a lot of carpet, and 'absolutely' no tile or slick flooring. Oh well, that's my speciality (providing unique housing for Pixie's). Thus I'm now working on Building Permit # 020607-003.

By the way do you remember that little bag of "gold" coins Saiorse and Andara gave me as a bonus? When I went to deposit it at the 1st National Pixie Bank, the bag contained leaves and twigs. They must have made the "gold" with Pixie magic, and as Ms. Ariel had said "things made with Pixie magic are not always what they seem". I'm not upset about it, they are really sweet young ladies, and I'm sure they meant well.

Cabin in the Forest Part 6 (The Emergency)

Some shingling still needed to be done, and I was waiting for the shingles to arrive before finishing the "Cabin in the Forest". I was surprised when an emergency call came in from Saoirse and Andara. Andy's explanation of the "Emergency" was very sketchy. Something to do with the inside of the house being too dark. I was confused, I had put in more windows then were required by the building code. Something was mentioned about having to leave the door open. Like I said I was confused.

When I arrived at the "Cabin in the Forest", my first question was why were the windows covered?

My second question was why are there lines and numbers on those window coverings?

It did not take long to figure it out. Andara and Saoirse , after spending so much time in the woods,had become somewhat claustrophobic living inside. As a solution they had found some scenic calenders and using them as wallpaper, had hoped that the house would feel more open.

The calender pictures do give the interior a "spacious" feeling, but they had blocked any natural light from the windows.



They even had pictures of the sky on the ceilings!

Once the problem of covered windows was explained to them, Andara grabbed a sword, saying "I can fix that". (Why a sweet little Pixie like Andy would have a sword, I was not about to ask). She procedeed to installed "interior shutters" on the first floor, and "home made roll-up blinds" in the loft. Maybe not the perfect solution, but it works for these little ladies.

After the window "problem" was taken care of, the rest of the shingles had arrived, so I finished the roofing, completing the "Cabin in the Forest". Saoirse and Andara thanked me for completing their new home so quickly, by giving me a little bag of "gold" coins as a bonus. I'm going to miss the daily adventures these young ladies have caused. As far as what kind of furnishings will eventually grace their home, I would not begin to even guess. Should be interesting!

I'm on my way to meet with the Purr-jon sisters, for some reason they felt a restaurant with a good sea food menu would be best. Wish me luck!

A Cabin in the Forest Part 5 ( Carpet and Lights)

Eventually, I suppose I will quite being surprised, but every day there has been a new twist to this project. The carpet I had ordered had been removed from the loft, and placed outside on the porch. I should have known! When Andara agreed to "foresty" carpet in the loft, she had meant "carpet like found in the forest". To them this was leaves, pine needles, moss and etc. Saoirse had had some bad experiences with "non-all-natural" carpet. Sensible persons would call it "Static Electricity", but to Saoirse it was small lightning, without the thunder. Definitely unacceptable!

>


The "leafy" carpet, that the Pixies installed, does look pretty good in the loft. It would not be my personal preference, but it does some how fit with the "rustic" look, that the customer had requested.

After hanging some lanterns, and putting in a fire grate for heat (in case of very cold weather), Saoirse and Andara"s home is nearing completion. About the only thing remaining is to finish shingling the roof. I would not begin to imagine what kind of furnishings will eventually grace their home.




Just a side note: I added a fire wood storage box at the rear of the house. The Pixies think that it is for storing twigs for their fire grate. Actually it contains the switches to turn on their "hurricane lamps" and "fire grate", which are actually powered by "LIGHTNING", don't tell Saoirse.



It appears that I have gotten a response to my ad in "Modern Home and Pixie", and have an appointment with some possible new clients, Lily and Rose Purr-jon.