Dr. Susanne Freeborn

Dr. Susanne Freeborn
Location
Bellingham, Washington, USA
Birthday
November 06
Company
Depends on the hour
Bio
Banner by Susanne & Dan the Man

Dr. Susanne Freeborn's Links

What I do...
Living Well, Enjoying Life
Writings of a Spiritual Nature
The Value of KNOWING MYSELF: My Life in List Form
NOVEMBER 14, 2009 5:46PM

UPDATED-Life with an Architect: Why Dan is THE Man

Rate: 7 Flag

 

Architecture, of all the arts, is the one which acts the most slowly, but the most surely, on the soul.

Ernest Dimnet

I asked Dan to hang this chandelier in our entry hall for my birthday.  It had been in the garage for two years.  There were other projects that came first, it was not his fault!  But one thing leads to another and now he has refinished and repainted the walls (twice) after having replaced some of the drywall because he found some mold that had been painted over by prior occupants. 

The window and door trim has been sanded down and is being refinished and one of the doors is fitted and being finished to match.  The tile is almost ready to grout.  But geeze, he had to break out a lot of heavy, old, poorly installed tile and haul it out, level the floor so that it matches the room next to it for future tiling, and really, it turned out to be quite a lot, but, it is becoming more and more beautiful.    When I bought this chandelier to match the other two and the rest of the lighting I had no idea what would transpire ...

Chandelier & New Beam 

Like this project, which came first:

Chandelier in the Dining Room   

Or this one, where he custom built a deep pantry cabinet with pull out shelves and built in microwave, which meant he had to run wiring and made it possible for us to store more than you can imagine:

Pantry & Microwave cabinet 

 Or later when he installed this lighting in the kitchen:

The kitties like to keep track of what he is doing:

kittyboys supervise 

That door is new and will be stained to match the stairs and trim.

The tile is almost all in:

Tile no grout 

There are just a few to set on the risers and then the grouting will begin.  That is a cat door he built that goes to the kitty boys private latrine.

Cat door 

Dan never has any projects.  Really.  So while he missed getting the entry hall done for my birthday on November 6th, I have no complaints.  If you hear me complaining, slap me, please.

I nearly always agree with Ralph Waldo Emerson, but in this he is wrong:

“Art is a jealous mistress, and if a man has a genius for painting, poetry, music, architecture or philosophy, he makes a bad husband and an ill provider."

Monday 11-16-09 Update:

  Risers tiled 111609 

This is a really messy process, but all that mortar does clean up with water.

Wood trim 

The wood trim takes multiple steps ofmeasuring, cutting & mitering,  sanding, staining, finishing, sanding, finishing, sanding, finishing and finally nailing and filling the nail holes so they disappear as much as possible.  I am thinking that this will be done sometime this week.  I hope.

Appetite, with an opinion of attaining, is called hope; the same, without such opinion, despair.  Thomas Hobbes


Results posted 05-24-10

Chandelier 


Entry


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One of the reasons we wanted to remodel this area was so that we had a place that was worthy of this painting.


 

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Comments

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Perhaps it is necessary to post a comment just to get it into the feed. I have never been entirely sure if that is true or not.
I love your house, but then I've told you that before. I've always yearned to have a man who was "handy." Still waiting, but at least I know that they're out there! And happy birthday.
Maybe in the Spring we should have a Pacific Northwest gathering here at Toad Lake. We could get Freaky up here!
That's a great idea, Susanne. I'd be there with bells on.
Oh, and I posted a comment before I saw one!
I'm putting that in my mental planning calendar!
Man, lucky gal! I'm still hoping for that toilet paper holder to be installed in the pool house. Gorgeous work! I love the woodwork and beams in your kitchen.
Julie, I saw a tiny thumbnail photo of those beams in California and insisted that we come and see this house when we came up to buy a house. I love and admire having them so much. Details like that are really important to Pacific Northwest architecture.
Yay, Dan!

And Susanne, your house is beautiful! What wonderful light.
Merwoman, thanks! We have lots of windows and skylights. What a difference they make in the Pacific Northwest.
Love the house, love the Emerson quote at the end.
Happy Birthday, Susanne. Two lucky ones, you two. And the wood and construction looks perfect for your area --really organic.
I love it when you post photos of your home and garden. They are wonderful.
There is a terrific wind outside and the forest is swaying with it all around us. The rain is still coming down, but not so hard now. Since we are on the side of a mountain we don't have to worry about the flood watch affecting us personally, but much of the more rural part of the county is along the Nooksack River, which may rise above its banks by Monday night. At times like this, I adore the snugness of our home and its proximity to the woods. Nature is right there outside my window, familiar, and I am right here with my steaming mug of nonfat latte, on the other side of the glass.

Thanks for coming by to take a look O'Really! It's always good to see Dorinda and Lea too. Whenever you decide you want to get a feel for the snowy North without going hardcore Yukon Territories, you two are welcome here. I bet Emma Peel would show up and so would a few others...
just beautiful...reminds me a bit of Sarah Susanka's books and philosophy of the Not So Big House.

thanks so much for sharing this, just gorgeous. (being a long time cabinetmaker, I can attest to the fact that there are things left undone that are reaching the many birthday stage--shoemaker's children's syndrome)
We have her books and share her philosophy bbd. Its the thoughtful details that make a house a wonderful home.
you know about the working woman who needs a wife to keep the home together? well, I'm the guy who needs a husband who can fix things and make improvements around the house

I'm so impressed and a little jealous

your home looks beautiful, btw
I know exactly what you mean Roy. Thanks for looking!
You're lucky to have each other, especially if he appreciates your documenting his accomplishments as much as you appreciate those accomplishments.
I can hear him nailing in door trim right now. Soon, soon it will be finished and the sounds of archeology will subside for about a week to enjoy Thanksgiving.
What a beautiful home! So inspiring!

For my partner's birthday, I told him I would paint our house. Last night, I painted my back porch. In the dark. In the rain. Looking at it this morning, it wasn't how my night eyes saw it.