Kitchen Resuscitation

Most of my four-day Christmas holiday was spent in the kitchen. That's not unusual in itself; however, I wasn't cooking or baking. I was working on my kitchen re-... hmmm, it's more than a redecoration but less than a remodel... let's just call it a resuscitation because goth knows the kitchen has been on life support. :P It won't be the complete renovation I was hoping for (more on that later), but I hope to make some substantial changes. I'll document my projects and progress, and later, I'll do a series of posts.

In the meantime, be astounded by the price of kitchen faucets (I was). Sure, I could get a basic chrome faucet similar to the one I currently have for about $39. But it's boring. (Not to mention the finicky lever handle makes it nearly impossible to get water the right temperature. "Warm" occupies a one-millimeter space between "frigid" and "scalding.")

not very exciting

Snazzy faucets are considerably more expensive. Here are some of the options I found while searching for a Victorianesque style. 

Moen Waterhill in a really cool wrought iron = $550

Delta Victorian in stainless steel = $370

Moen Vestige in a unique pewter finish = $358

Danze Opulence in polished nickel $433

This is the faucet I ended up purchasing. It typically sells for $180, which is a good price. But I really lucked out and found that the seller was offering a "used-like new" one for $130. It had been bought and returned; the packaging was a little beat up, but the faucet had not actually been used. Score!

Premier Charlestown in brushed nickel

I am SO EXCITED to finally be resuscitating my kitchen! :D

Bat Pediment Completed

A while back, I installed a bat pediment that I made out of MDF. I liked the result, but it didn't look quite finished. Based on some great suggestions from my readers, I played around with paint and molding ideas. Ultimately, I decided to trim the pediment with egg-and-dart molding along the bottom and a simple molding along the top, and to keep it all white. I think the molding was just the little touch it needed to look finished.

no molding

with molding

plinth blocks, fluted casing, and bat pediment - very grand for a closet door ;)

both doors now have their fancy trim

Gothidays 2012: Shiny Things

It's the penultimate day of the Gothidays 2012 blogging event at Professor Z's Cabinet of Curiosities. My autumn-to-winter decorating change was completed with the exchange of the decor on the bookshelves. I used candleholders, a glittery ornament, glittery pinecones and a couple of picture frames. This display isn't as robust as my usual bookshelf decorating, but limiting the color scheme meant I had fewer appropriate items on hand. About half of what's here was purchased in the last two weeks. :)

I especially like these white candleholders with silver glitter. I bought them retail (half off, with an additional 20% coupon) but it would be very easy to transform some thrift store candleholders into something similar by using glitter glue. The silver ornament is sitting on a glass candlestick from Dollar Tree.

Thus concludes my series of posts on Gothidays decorating! Considering this is the first year I have ever decorated for the holidays, I think I did okay. Thank you all for the wonderful compliments you've left in the comments. :D

Gothidays 2012: Glittery Decor

The Gothidays 2012 blogging event at Professor Z's Cabinet of Curiosities continues! I changed out my autumn decor for winter decor in glittery black, silver and white. I used large round ornaments, white and silver poinsettias and silver leaf garland intertwined with white lights and topped with a pair of sequined, feathered birds. It's hard to capture just how pretty the lights are reflected off the glittery ornaments.  :)

with flash

no flash

The decorations and small white tree flank the painted wardrobe in my living room. Hopefully next year I will have a better place to set the tree. Poor thing looks sort of puny here.

I still have a couple more shiny things for tomorrow!

Gothidays 2012: White Tree

The Gothidays 2012 blogging event at Professor Z's Cabinet of Curiosities continues! Keeping with my black, purple, silver and white color scheme, I decorated a small white tree with silver and black. The silver ornaments were purchased, but the black ornaments and garland were pulled from my jewelry collection. :) I still need a tree topper of some sort.

The tree is sitting on the metal stand I showed in my Black Friday post. The scale is off, but I have limited horizontal surfaces on which to put decorations.

Check back tomorrow for more Gothidays decorating... with glitter!

Gothidays 2012: Black Tree Phase Two

It's day two of the Gothidays 2012 blogging event at Professor Z's Cabinet of Curiosities. I continued my Christmas decorating by adding presents under the tree. In keeping with the color scheme of the tree (and my entire house), I used paper and bows in black, purple, silver and white.

The tree has purple LED lights which are very pretty reflected off the silver ornaments. Alas, my camera isn't sophisticated enough to get a good photo.

More Gothidays coming soon! 

Gothidays 2012: Black Tree Phase One

It's day one of the Gothidays 2012 blogging event at Professor Z's Cabinet of Curiosities. I began my Christmas decorating with the black tree in my living room, hanging black, purple and silver ornaments.

Phase two coming soon!

December Theme Post: Maxi Skirts

The December 1 theme on Sophistique Noir is Maxi Skirts. My first forays into goth fashion were in the tradgoth, romantigoth and similar styles, and I wore long skirts frequently. I pulled a couple from the depths of my closet to feature here. But first, let's look at the practical side of maxi skirts - warmth!

Maxi skirts are great in the winter because you can pile on layers underneath for warmth. Of course, if you've spent more than five minutes on my blog, you've heard me complaining that I get hot too easily (particularly at work, where my office is holding steady at about 80F every day). Nonetheless, I do have an idea to share: bloomers made of flannel-back satin. Satin is great for bloomers because your skirt will slide freely over them, not get bunched or twisted, and the flannel side will keep you toasty warm!

Bloomers are not hard to sew. Bloomer patterns are available; you can also modify a pant pattern by cutting it shorter and adding elastic to the bottom. Elastic-waist pants are often included in sportswear patterns, which will also give you other pieces such as a jacket or dress.

And now, let's look at two maxi skirts from deep within my closet!

My mom made this black and silver velvet skirt for me many years ago when I was first discovering goth fashion. She lengthened it significantly so it would be ankle length. She deserves extra credit for that task - with the swirly seams, it must have been a challenge! I wore this skirt so many times that it began to stretch out and hang wonky. It no longer fits me well (darn hips), so a hanger photo will have to suffice.

Someday, I will replicate this skirt. I don't know what pattern Mom used; I'm sure it's long out of print. I have two similar patterns in my stash - Butterick 5042, which I just discovered is out of print :( and Simplicity 2416, which has a similar swirl style and is currently available.

Butterick 5042: Out of print :(

Here's another skirt Mom made me. It's purple satin with a black lace overlay and additional purple "wings" on the sides. As usual, my camera refuses to photograph purple properly and does no justice to this beautiful skirt.

Again, I don't know what pattern Mom used, though I know it included a top. I wore the outfit at Convergence 6 in Seattle, where I saw Peter Murphy perform. :) I discovered later that someone snapped a photo of me while I was waiting to get into the club. (I have a bandage on my neck because I'd been "decapitated" as part of the costume.)