How 'bout some geography with that muesli? (New "curtains" for the kitchen and kids' room.)

Close to 15 years ago, I bought two old classroom pull-down maps. They were a buck each, so I wasn't able to pass up the deal. About 10 years ago, I figured out how to use them--they would make great pull-down shades. Since then, they've moved with us and have been stored in various places. Today, I finally put them to use.

Below is the new shade for the kids' room. We have ceiling-to-floor windows, so the tall U.S. map was the perfect fit.




Here's the shade for the kitchen. The world map is so old that it has the present unified Germany.




To get these to hang without too much fuss, I used a table saw to notch out groves in a 2X4 to make a bracket these could slide on and mount.




Granted, it took about 15 years, but I'm pleased with the finished product.

The Boat is Still Afloat

Before this surge of posts (today), my last entry two years ago was about the trials of maintaining a houseboat. Needless to say, there have been several moments since then that I was ready to post it on Craigslist (more on that another time); however I can now say that we're starting to spend more hours playing on it, rather than just maintaining it. Here's a pic of a sunset tour we took last summer. This year, we got an early spring and have already enjoyed several afternoons swimming, grilling, and just plain having fun at the lake. Here's to Moby not killing the captain, yet.

"Tree" House

Another amazing spot we found in St. Louis is the Missouri Botanical Garden. Last summer, they hosted a special event, "Extreme Tree Houses." Local designers and architects created unique structures, many from upcycled and recycled materials, that adorned the already amazing grounds. I always love going places that are inspiring, in a design sense. In some cases, I feel inspired (and bold) enough to say, "Let's try to build one of those."
Prior to the visit, I had been drawing up planes for an uber-modern playhouse for the kids--think corrugated sheets of metal hung horrizontally on a simple rectangle structure.
Then I saw this....




I was in awe of the simple, yet smart, design. The skeleton of bent boards provided an excellent frame for weaving branches to form organic walls. As you can see from the photo above, they also bent branches for arched doorways.
This was it. Instead of buying and cutting up a lot of materials with scraps that would end up in the dump, why not upcycle the branches that always fall in our yard after a storm? Further, we are always trimming back overgrown branches from various vegetation. Instead of paying to have them hauled off (and hopefully ground up for composting), I would have a continuous supply of materials.
The next weekend I got started. (Like I said, I was pretty inspired.) Below is my version that is the result of months of casually weaving branches as they became available in the yard. (Next to the hut is a stacked wood climbing wall with holds.)




So how was it done? The most important piece is the top that holds the bent frame. Below is a photo of what I came up with for this "cap." Eight thin boards were attached to this top to create what looks like a giant spider.




To get boards that are pliable enough to bend without breaking, I ripped leftover 10-foot, treated (not the greenest or toxic-free option, I realize) 2x4s into half inch strips. I then created a makeshift "tub" out of a tarp to soak them for about 30 minutes (see photo below).




After I connected the boards to the top frame ("cap"), I measured out evenly spaced stakes for attaching the bottoms of these boards. I also placed pavers in the top of the "cap" to weigh it down and create a yurt-like structure instead of a cone. (The wet boards makes this more possible.) After that, it's preparing the roof for cedar shingles and creating frames for weaving a lot of branches.




I'm pleased with the results. The house continues to evolve as we add more branches to strengthen and thicken the walls. The organic look works just fine with a modern aesthetic, and more importantly, the kids love it.