Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Measure once, cut once




No, really, I swear, that's the shape of the windows. And the fireplace. I did too build them the right size! You and all your fancy "Plan before you build" ideas. Pffft. I can wing it. Carpentry's mostly about guesswork, anyway.

(Found by Stef.)

24 comments:

Janet said...

I have to admit, I have considered doing this to my windows in the basement. The bottom shutters are supposed to be kept CLOSED. Then we are fooled into thinking it's a much bigger window and psychologically we are lifted up in the joy of having big windows that would bring in buckets of sunshine if we ever chose to open those bottom shutters. Well, in theory, anyway.

Anonymous said...

The wallpaper over the windows illustrates the axiom from the old Beatles song "Everybody's Got Something to Hide Except Me and My Monkey":

"Your inside is out and your outside is in
Your outside is in and your inside is out"

So come on!

Anonymous said...

What is 1.75 baths? A toilet, sink, and half of a tub?

Anonymous said...

1.75 baths=1 full bath and a second bathroom that has a toilet, a sink and either just a bathtub, or just a standup shower not a tub/shower combo.

And I really wish I was local to this. I want to go to the open house this weekend just to touch that fireplace because it looks like an optical illusion to me.

Jodi said...

That house looks like it smells like Grandma.

The Office Scribe said...

My initial thought - Something or someone is walled up behind that brick section next to teh fireplace.

Anonymous said...

What decade is the wallpaper from?

Anonymous said...

I think that, for once, the real estate agent made a good call in the way the windows were photographed. Just reveal the fact that the windows are actually quite small, and the window treatment was added to make them appear larger (uh, nice try). Otherwise you are going to end up with a ton of people coming to see the place (big lot, house is in pretty good shape, if you don't mind removing wallpaper and prying off mantles) and complaining their heads off about the faux full windows.

Dani said...

It makes me wonder if that door just opens in to a brick wall.

bikerchick said...

Oh. Mah. Gah. The wallpaper and drapes! They huuuuuuuurt! (lovely garden, though.)

Mallory said...

They probably put the mantel over the original fireplace in hopes to one day expand the fireplace into one long unit. Or at least that's what I would have done. Or would do if I bought the house.

danec said...

apparently fireplaces MUST go on the left side when you face the wall. The rest however doesn't matter. It's just gonna be level. NO! THROW THAT TAPE AWAY! We do it my way! NO MEASURING!

Duncan said...

Fantastic Blog!! Love it!

Anonymous said...

Ugh! Having the fireplace offset like that would drive me crazy and probably before the wallpaper blew my mind.

Engineers don't do well in settings like this.

hamburke said...

I get the windows - it's a way to fake a bigger window thus opening up your room and making it look bigger as well but you're supposed to leave the bottom part of the plantation shutter closed and put light colors behind it. Heck, if you're trying to make your windows look larger, you probably need stay away from dark colors all together.

I don't get the fireplace. I have no speculation at all as to why someone would build such a big mantle uncentered over a itty-bitty fireplace.

Anonymous said...

Okay, I could help screaming WTF! over and over at the shutters. But when we got to the fireplace, suddenly it all made sense. It's a surreal house. It's SUPPOSED to be this way. Then you put a picture next to the fireplace. Or a bar.

I almost want it, just for irony. And you'll always have a garden in your window. ANd on your walls...

Melissa said...

It's like when you change your page size but don't rescale the objects!

D. Brown said...

Notice that the fireplace in the living/family room is offset the other direction. I'm pretty sure the fireplaces are right next to each other and share a chimney.

Anonymous said...

Daniel, I'll bet you're absolutely right. However, isn't there a better way to have made that less odd looking? Like maybe not made the mantel so long?

Anonymous said...

Anybody else find it odd that there is no picture of the front exterior of the house as part of the listing?

Anonymous said...

Anon, now that you mention it, there is something odd going on the first and the twelfth picture appear to be of either the back door, or the front door with a path leading up to it. At first glance I thought they were photos taken during different seasons, showing a flowering shrub in bloom, and then not in bloom.

The more I look at the one with the blooms, the more it looks like it was photoshopped in with some kind of decorative fern. Which...okay, but why have the before and after of the same shot?

Anonymous said...

This one is easy! The windows are wallpapered so you don't have to wear pants, but can still get natural light and not scare the neighbors. The mantle is elongated so you can get a bigger flat screen tv up there with out it hanging over the edge!

Anonymous said...

It would have been smarter to put mirrors instead of wallpaper in the faux lower windows to better cast light even with the shutters closed. The RE was correct to photograph the windows like that as to not mislead people that the windows were full height.

Theresa Rohrer said...

But the long fireplace mantel was on sale and almost the same price as the shorter mantel. I just wanted the most mantel for the money.
T