Kitchen Renovation 2016: Let the Good Clean Fun Begin!

Ah, yes, home rennnnnnnovations... an activity I have endured with endearment how many times now? I bought my diamond in the rough Brooklyn Heights apartment in 2000, knowing it would ultimately require a complete renovation... It took 13 years, room by room (by room), during which I remained in my 950sf quarters each time.

Kitchen, then second bedroom and railroad hallway, then Dear Genevieve master bedroom, bathroom and finally, living room. That wrapped NYC... Since arriving in Norfolk, VA, I've gutted a full bath and the master bath. And now... the sizable kitchen, which has grown a little shabby over the past 50+ years.

Yeah, renovations. Been there, done that, love it! And here we are again, in Norfolk VA, adding a little love to my 1962 mid-century modern home Wiseacre. Blogging lost its luster (for all of us) a couple years ago, but I'll be using the trusty Nun to post pics as this fun process continues for the next six weeks.

Let the mad fun begin!! Here we are Sunday night, stripped and ready to GO DOWN!

Norfolk VA: Happy Second Anniversary

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY, COOL CATS! Two years ago on January 15, I departed the great & powerful New York City to launch a new life chapter in Norfolk, VA. The crazy cool Frank Lloyd
Wright-inspired home that beckoned me here offers joy every morning as the sun bursts into my bedroom, while I raise a glass daily to sunsets on the patio.

I’ve planted a hundred bulbs and sunflower seeds. I’ve hung a thousand lights on trees. I relish visits to Home Depot and paying less than $5 for eggs at a huge supermarket. No more quarters to do laundry! I even get to drive a car again. Yeah, being a suburban dwelller is mad fun!! Two years (and counting) of inspiration and bliss.

Adding to the aesthetic at home, I have replaced the HVAC and 18 windows & sliding doors, filled in a decrepit pool, gutted 2 full baths… and this month begin renovating my kitchen with respect for its midcentury modern imprint. I spent 13 years renovating my Brooklyn apartment: Can you tell I love a project?

And there’s more. In November 2014, I began hosting guests here via airbnb. Who knew what a joy (and a boon) that would be, with 200+ folks & families sharing in this space since, providing companionship from all over the world: British, Austrian, South African and Parisian families; brilliant Asian and Indian college students; a black bachelorette party (oh, the stories!); gorgeous weddings; southern evangelicals (true accepting Christians, the way we were raised); and so many individuals from whom I've learned so much. Here, I have perhaps absorbed more diversity—more intimately—than during 18 years in the big city.

My greatest trepidation in leaving NYC was that, as a freelance journalist, the work would cease. As if location matters in today's connected universe. I’m still writing like a madman, continuing to earn a living… but now with a lake view instead of a Brooklyn brick wall. So all’s well that end$ well.

Two years. Life has profoundly changed, for sure. The question I am most often asked: Do you miss New York? Of course I do. But by the time I departed January 15 2014, the NYC that treated me like a king had already deflated. Thankfully, I recognized when it was time to turn the page, instead of trying to hold onto or recreate an era whose time had passed.

This is where I’m supposed to say the best is yet to come, right? Oh, please. I’m 50+ and I’m hardly that naive. How’s about: Today is real good. With another sunset on the patio tomorrow, we’re looking just fine.

Leaving New York City: So Close I Can Smell It!

Just back in NYC after four days in Norfolk, Va., with my gal pal Suzanne in tow, scouring my soon-to-be new home before the big move in mid-January 2014. While I was away, the

buyers of my beloved Brooklyn Heights apartment were APPROVED by the coop board. Check!

Next up in the ever-complicated real estate realm of NYC: bringing together attorneys on both sides, alongside the buyers and meese to seal the deal.

I am now working with all parties for a closing date of Monday, January 13 for the signing, meaning that I will hopefully head south one day later and begin this wondrous new chapter just about one month from now... Of course, during the visit this week, how could I not connect with forever friends Francie and Mary & Bill, who were so integral in the initial September search?

Following is a sprinkling of pics from the visit, which was wildly different from my first sighting in September, when all was still green... and yet, Winter is just as beautiful, facing Lake Whitehurst...The beautiful neighborhood of Ghent in Norfolk... And more of the house on Heutte...

Sigh... A Sad So Long To Long Island City's Five Pointz

And just like that, the whole damn thing was white-washed. The famed city-sanctioned Graffiti Mecca Five Pointz in Queens' Long Island City that was centered across a 200,000 square-foot building, has vanished overnight.

Developers Jerry & David Wolkoff intend to raze the former water plant and replace it with a 1,000-unit apartment complex, comprising two high-rise luxury apartment buildings, 47 and 41 stories tall.

For the last 20 years, Five Pointz has served as an outpost for writers and artists from around the world. More than 1,500 panels of art by 300+ artists from around the world were painted over November 19, as protesters rallied unsuccessfully to save the landmarked locale.

The nabe there is still pretty shady, but like much of New York, boutiques and creative restaurants have been inching in, likely because of the presence of the mammoth Citibank office complex just blocks away from Five Pointz. Sad, yes, but such is the price of gentrification. Take a look at Manhattan's Bowery district if you want to see the ultimate gentrification....

I visited Five Pointz for the first time in April 2013, when Ayhan Sahin's Young Pals Music lensed a dazzling music video for Erica Jacob's launch single "Run" around the colorful motif. It was, indeed, an amazing spectacle.

Just below: Five Pointz now... Below that, more from April. *

After Eight Weeks, Renovation Wrapped!

After eight weeks, at last, my apartment renovation is signed, sealed & delivered. What started out as a fairly simply cosmetic redo in the living room turned into new hardwood floors throughout the unit, an extended bathroom and—god bless my contractor, Angelo—so many extras to make this joint feel like new.

After enduring this five times over the past 12 years, I must say, this is the first time I've blown open champagne to share with my contractor and his son Mike... because it was such a positive experience.

And yes, of course I teared all up while thanking them for so much pristine work as I bid farewell. It's hard to even imagine mornings without the two of them knocking on door and preparing A's coffee with milk and 3 sugars...

And now... so many possibilities: sleeping in a bed, opening cabinet drawers, accessing food in kitchen cabinets and best of all, wearing different clothes each day. For the past two months, I've pretty much donned a uniform of black jeans and a black sweater (yes, clean undies and undershirt). And now... access to my entire winter wardrobe. Oh, the wonder of it all!

Of course, now comes the grand clean-up and oh what a mess it is. Layers and layers of dust, sawdust, sanding dust, dust dust... One room at a time. Good thing I foster great satisfaction with a rag in my hand. Happy holidays, indeed!

Living Room Renovation: Week Six

Sigh... Okay, this has admittedly gotten the slightest bit wearying at this point. In week six of my apartment renovation—with delays here and there—floors continue to go down in the hallway, while the living room, kitchen and bedroom are an absolute tidal wave of furniture, dust and overall reno havoc. Navigating the apartment is kinda of like being a mouse in a maze.

I keep repeating, "Short-term pain for long-term gain." We're truly, honest to god within a week of wrapping. Then... all new... I can't wait to start cleaning, painting, organizing, rediscovering space...

Honestly, it's totally been worth every iota of inconvenience. And it doesn't hurt that my contractor Angelo and son Mike are—without exception—conscientious, on the job and utter perfectionists. Hell, at this point, they're pretty much part of the family. *

Living Room Reno Update: And Then There Was A Fireplace

Anatomy of a fireplace... Above, the unpainted custom-made new surround, mantle and damper, built piece by piece by contractor Mike... And below, stage by stage. Quite a diff, I'd say eh? *

Here's where we began, above, with my humble, quaint FP... with the idea of installing a damper. Once the bricks were revealed to be a crumbling mess behind the surround, she was sent curbside... And then... step by step...

And look at this lady now... still as yet unpainted. She will end up a glossy bright white...