Madison Square
Two married architects living in an 1870's brick rowhouse on a garden block in Center City Philadelphia. We work, we work on our house, we take pictures with our iphones and try to write a little something that makes sense. What you see is what we did… it’s just how we roll.
Working in the Kitchen…
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- Published on Saturday, 28 April 2012
Authors: madisonsquare
That is … On the basement door since the Living Room trim will wrap the corner into the kitchen.
We have yet to decide what to do with this door but either way the frame needs to be patched in.
And the frame needed to be packed out slightly to even out the wall and trim.
Unfortunately one side was high and the other two...
Lots of Options Tweaking
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- Published on Friday, 27 April 2012
Authors: madisonsquare
McElf has sent us over a dozen versions of our window in the last few days tweaking and perfecting each element… getting the blue ribbons just right, adjusting the size of the torch, adding more to the center supporting element, etc
So we posted them all up on our office blackboard wall and stood back to look.
We went...
Baby Steps
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- Published on Sunday, 22 April 2012
Authors: madisonsquare
We are trying to keep this project going forward amid all of the other life obligations … We did get a few things done this weekend. There was some more sanding & spackling….
The door jamb got packed out in Oak for the new trim.
And a few more corner blocks got stripped in the slow cooker.
They still need sanding...
Eclectic Weekend
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- Published on Sunday, 22 April 2012
Authors: madisonsquare
Mr. Robin… The same one who thinks his own reflection in our bay window is his enemy and therefore must fight it at 7am daily:
The next day… Cat in tree:
Breakfast-in-bed(room), delivered by my wonderful husband:
Our evening view of the same spot with curtains drawn. This plant from my sister is so happy.
Really...
Back to … Spackling
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- Published on Saturday, 21 April 2012
Authors: madisonsquare
One of those fun tasks ; )
The infills around the door & window recieved another coat …
And there was plenty of miscellaneous patching to do.
This will hopefully be wrapped up tomorrow and we can get back to finishing the trim....
Garden Update
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- Published on Friday, 20 April 2012
Authors: madisonsquare
With all the warm weather the Spring flowers came early (and unfortunately are already starting to fade…). So lets take a tour:
The ‘onion grass’ is in full bloom. (Does anyone know it’s real name? It’s a little bulb and I think we heard it called Star of David?) We also have a few Tulips.
Here is...
Earth Day, Every Day
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- Published on Thursday, 19 April 2012
Authors: madisonsquare
In honor of Earth Day this weekend, I thought I’d share a small earth-friendly change that we’ve successfully incorporated into our daily routine: the cloth napkin.
People have been using cloth napkins since the napkin was invented, but now I think most people only use them for special occasions.
The key to any...
Drywall ..,.
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- Published on Sunday, 15 April 2012
Authors: madisonsquare
This weekend we worked on getting the old openings ready for new trim…
We packed the wall out to support the drywall & trim.
Cut and replaced the gouged and uneven area of the old door frame.
And in filled with drywall. The current drywall is 1/2″ proud as it was laminated over the old plaster, partially burying...
Half Bath Window Trim… Check
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- Published on Sunday, 15 April 2012
Authors: madisonsquare
Time to finish the Half Bath window trim…
The wood we glued up earlier in the week was ready to be sanded smooth and the profile cut into the ends:
Then up it went!
Here is a detail shot. The fact that the walls are already painted makes it look so much nicer…
And all done:
Of course there is still lots more to...
Crockpot for Corner Blocks?
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- Published on Sunday, 15 April 2012
Authors: madisonsquare
We have had great results stripping all kinds of things with the crock pot method so I thought I would try some of our oak corner blocks…
Some water, soap, and a few hours and the paint is ready to come off.
The paint came off easily in one peice exposed the old oak! We should have thought of this sooner… It’s...
