Chandelier time!

So, in the spirit of using cheap/ free/ salvaged/ recycled materials to do cool things around the loft:
My husband picked up a bunch of super duper cheap after Christmas sale priced decorations! For about $1.25 a box, we've got tons of silver balls and strings of lights. These will be repurposed to become at least one chandelier. We've got a bunch of not-quite-perfect bicycle rims (which were on their way to the dump from the local bike shop and which my husband rescued!). I'll use fishing line and a delicate touch to string up the balls and lights and see what kind of fixture I can construct. Photos should be forthcoming.

SwitchySwitchy

I cleared out the downstairs office and have moved most of my stuff upstairs. My husband's setup in there looks nice; he had a bit of a time getting network cables strung yesterday, but it all worked out in the end. He's setting up and likes it, and I'm ready to set up my area in the main living zone of the building. I think I've scrounged the furniture I need: bookcases, table for computer & printer, and so on. I'm getting tired of stark white walls, so I'm going to start hanging photos and paintings (from my former life as an art student) and see if I can bring some potted plants back to life. This whole Winter Solstice dark time depression thing is always hard; I've got to take advantage of this time off from work to pretty up the house or I'll go nuts.

In other news, my husband has struck up a friendship with the folks in the bike shop that share the alley behind our building. Yesterday he paid them a visit and came home with a big box full  of reflectors. We're going to use a bunch of them to make a chandelier. Maybe two. It'll be super groovy. And sparkly.

Next up: wall insulation

My husband has looked into it and it appears that the gas utility will cover wall insulation much like they covered attic insulation. Back when the walk-through was done he thought the exterior walls were thick enough to offer adequate thermal mass and therefore not be worth the bother of insulating. Now that the negative digits have hit we're thinking that might not be the case. So he called the company and they pulled up our home inspection report and sent him the incentive info for the walls. YIPEE! We can do the framing and drywall ourselves, and we should be able to keep the costs within that incentive amount (meaning free to us other than our labor). This is especially nice because we were starting to think about other insulation approaches, none of which would be FREE. So it's getting a little nicer each month upstairs.

Now to decorate a Christmas tree.

Much better

The attic insulation (chopped fiberglass blown into the immense attic) was finished yesterday. When I got home from work I could definitely feel a difference: I didn't have to keep my hat on! We keep the thermostat for the geothermal unit set between 50 and 55 degrees, and it's keeping it at that liveable temperature with much less cycling of the fan unit. We're keeping an eye on the rate: last night around dinner time it was going off for about a minute every 13 minutes or so. Before insulation it was about once every 6 minutes. I'm sure this fluctuates throughout the day, but bear in mind we had an overnight low here of about 8 degrees, so cutting that energy usage in about half even when it's COLD looks good to me. This should make a big difference on our bills. The local water utility bills us for therms used on the public geothermal loop and of course there's electricity running the fan.

Still on the lookout for a good table or desk for my new improved office area. I also need bookshelves, but I think I have a plan on that. When my husband mentioned wishing he had the downstairs office (one of few separate rooms around here) it got me thinking and I realized that since that space is so far removed from the main family living area that I rarely use it. Even though all my books and some paintings are in there, and you'd think I'd be using it all the time, turns out I really haven't. So carving out a pretty niche (and in this space a niche could be 150 square feet) would both make my work space more conveniently accessible to me and offer upstairs decorating options. I've mentioned that in a previous post; I guess I'm ready to hang some pictures or something upstairs.

Not exactly toasty, but much more liveable!

The attic insulation is about 2/3 done and with the geothermal heater set between 50 & 55 degrees it's liveable in there. We're thinking we might not need to build the wall  to shrink the space we're heating if we're OK with this modest temperature. If we want to warm it up more we can, but it would cycle all the time to heat 400 square feet. Once the insulation is done it will be pretty good in there without cycling all the time. I don't see my breath in the air anymore and with reasonable clothes for December it's not bad!

Now I'm thinking about some interior decorating type issues. I'd like to hang some art around. The walls are stark, and I'm a painter so I've got plenty of pieces I like that would make it feel more homey. I'm also thinking about carving out an office space in the main living area for myself so I can give my husband the office room I've been using on the first floor. He could really use it, and I think I'd like the chance to push furniture around upstairs. I teach school, so with the winter break coming up I should be able to find time to tackle some of these projects.