As Christmas approaches this year, I’m rather happy that I have managed to keep ahead of the holiday decorating. When the children were small, I usually started breaking out Christmas trees, lights, nutcrackers and all the other holiday gimcracks on the day after Thanksgiving, in the hope that I could get the balance of it done by the end of that weekend. As they have grown up (and one has left home) my efforts have gradually slipped into early-December; while there are some traditional decorations that must go up every year, there are always a few that have been forgotten or fallen out of favor.

The Nutcracker Army stands at attention. I think the cats find them intimidating.

One year, we had four full-size Christmas trees in the house—the primary tree in the bay window in the front room, the traditional “children's tree” (covered with Disney, Muppet, Looney Tunes etc.) in the family room, a basic "lights-and-balls” tree in the sun porch, and a large old tree passed down from my in-laws, which was erected in the basement one year and covered with tinsel, white lights and a host of those old-fashioned, blown-glass German-style bulbs. That was not long after we moved into the house; we had the basement partially fixed-up for kids to play in, and we invited all my aunts, uncles and cousins over. Note: My mother was from a family of twelve, and I have at least 64 first-cousins, so you may understand when I tell you we only did this once.

The foyer, with it's nutcrackers and much-abused floor.

Currently we had been hosting my three older brothers and their families for Christmas on a rotating basis every three years—now my nephews and nieces are beginning to join the entertaining queue, since it has become more of a challenge for my aging siblings and the younger generations are eager to pick up the slack. This is an “off” year for us, but we do plan on doing some entertaining over the holidays, and our daughter will also be coming home from Manhattan Christmas week.

The Captain of the Guard needs a candy dish.

As I write this, I have the main tree in the front room finished and most all the interior decorations are out, including the small army of nutcrackers that inhabit the foyer every December. Last on the list is the “children's tree” which we will finish up by this weekend. The exterior of the house is ready too; since we have lived in two-story homes, I always avoided string-lights and gone with colored outdoor flood lights, which my father always seemed to prefer, too. My wife always chides me that I am taking the easy way out, but I find the end result rather pleasing. We also add some red candle-lights in the upstairs windows along with wreaths and faux pine garland on the front door, coach lights and fences on either side of the house, to finish things off. Some past years I had tossed in some string lights in the shrubs out front, or on the small dogwood outside our front door, but I lacked the motivation to undertake this chore in 2017.

Thankfully, our cats have not seriously disrupted our holiday decorating schemes. Our black cat has occasionally managed to insert herself into the family room tree and stretch out across some of the lower interior branches, where her yellow eyes can sometimes be seen glaring at us from deep within. The tree is, however, quite sturdy, and up till now this has not been an issue; but as she continues to grow older and fatter, I resolve to take more notice.

The tree in the front window. Safe for now.

The very young cat that I rescued from the arborvitae in the backyard around Labor Day has been thoroughly assimilated into our household, and while she initially took great interest in knocking off some small bells and a couple of ornaments from the tree in the front room (and thoroughly disheveling the tree skirt) her interest has lagged somewhat over the last week, and I have been happy to find no new shiny things on the carpet or under the coffee table.

One issue that I did note was the condition of the oak floor in the foyer, which usually gets some tending to prior to the deployment of the Nutcracker Army. Last year, the floor got a solid going-over, as our old tomcat, Percy, had inflicted numerous small scratches at the foot of the stairs, where he scrambles to make the turn and head up to the second floor. Some cleaning, touch-up with a color-matched marker and a coat of sealant had it looking almost as good as new.

You may ask why we do not just have him de-clawed; he went to the veterinarian about a year ago since it was clear he was not feeling well. We asked to have him de-clawed, whereupon they told my wife that would be too stressful for him. As an alternative, they removed all of his teeth, which I imagined would be a great deal more stressful, but they insisted his dental work was in poor shape and causing him significant discomfort. Who was I to question?

Percy and his adopted little sister, Itty Bitty, behaving themselves.

Which brings me back to the floor—sorry for the digression—which has come under further attack now that the young cat and Percy regularly chase each other up and down the stairs. I was aghast as I held my face above the floor with marker in hand, trying to hide the scratches and gouges they had inflicted upon it. About a half-hour later, I was satisfied, and the wood looked much better. For now, there is little trace of the cats’ mischief, other than when I walk into the foyer and see the carpet runners skewed at various angles or pushed up against the wall.

What the foyer looks like when the cats are not behaving themselves.

Over the coming days, perhaps I will post a few of those beauty vignettes that I see on so many home and design blogs. Then again, I may doze off in a fat chair, with a book on my lap and a glass of ale by my side, and forget to do so. We shall see.

Similar treatment. Totally different plan.

I recently came across this Toronto Star story about two couples in Canada who were involved in a lawsuit regarding the appearance of their houses. Apparently the owners of a 1935-era Tudor Revival home—which they had spent a lot of money to renovate in 2006—had many of its features “copied” by owners of a newly-built neighboring house nearby. The owners of the older home sued the couple who built the new house for $1.5 million in damages, including $20,000 in copyright damages and $1 million in punitive damages.
The owners of the existing home claimed that the neighbors copied a number of features from their home, including similar gray stonework, the same shade of blue on the windows, similar treatments in the gables and other unique design cues that made their house “one of the most well-known and admired houses in the neighborhood” - according to the lawsuit.

LEFT: Couldn't spring for a proper chimney pot, eh?

Of course, I am aware that house designs and plans can be copyrighted, although it is seldom an issue for the courts; it’s not easy to prove infringement, since even the average builder would not normally think to copy a plan in such careful and exact detail to leave no doubt as to its origin.

In this case, the plans of the houses are totally different—only some of the architectural details were copied, and I don’t think using a particular stone type or paint color constitutes a violation of copyright. If you look at some of the side-by-side photos in the article, you’ll see some clear similarities, but you’ll also see clear differences as well.

Both couples claimed to have been inspired by Tudor architecture, and that is clear, though the results vary in their quality. A stepped stone or brick chimney is a common Tudor feature—you can’t copyright it.  Arched doorways and stone construction are not uncommon either. The owners of the older home claim that the copycat house “devalued” their own, but I don’t buy it.

Shape is all these two have in common.

When we built our house, I was the first in the neighborhood to use “scalloped” shingle-style siding over a prominent portion of our house. Shortly thereafter, another house built around the corner included that feature over its center gable, as did another home several doors down the street that was remodeled a few years ago. Did they copy what we did? I don’t know—but even if they did, I would take it as a compliment. I think that would have been a more mature and appropriate response here.

As for the builders of the new house, I really can’t imagine why anyone with a brain would slavishly copy features of a nearby house like paint color, adding weatherboarding to a gable, etc. without looking at other options. If you’re a Tudor-lover, there are too many sources of inspiration out there to have to resort to something so craven. Seems like a lack of imagination. Or just laziness.

The following story is somewhat of a “catch up”—since the process of improving and finishing our basement has involved years of procrastination, interspersed with periods of creativity, hard work, rudimentary planning, adaptive reuse and carpentry. Here goes…

I suppose I am not alone in saying that the state of our basement (or cellar, if you prefer) has always been a sore spot in our household. It seems this is the case for many homeowners.

When we built the house almost 25 years ago, the basement served only as storage for a growing accumulation of little-used “stuff” and a place to do laundry. The best thing about it was that due to the poured concrete walls and our well-drained lot, it was always dry as a bone.

About 15 years ago, I embarked on a project that divided the open space into a couple of workable areas devoted to specific tasks. First of these was a workshop for myself, which included the mechanical systems like the furnace and water heater, followed by another area that was used for storage and laundry. The storage and laundry areas were enclosed by simple stud-framed walls. The workshop was a slightly different matter—the “wall” separating it from the rest of the basement was simply formed from 3 large matching bookcases and a desk/bookcase unit, all connected together, then with the 2-foot gap between the top of the cases and the floor joists above filled in with 2’’ x 4’’ framing. A 32” gap between the bookcases became a convenient doorway, and the upper stud-framed portions sections above the bookcases were covered in paneling. The result looks like a wall of built-in units, which they truly are—and since they are not load bearing, they fit their purpose just fine.

The storage room I had created included a half-dozen large steel shelving units, which were filled rather quickly. After a few years, it became clear that more storage was needed for the overflow, so I built in some closets toward the front of the house, near the foot of the stairs. This area was relatively convenient to the kitchen, and would offer a fine place for my wife to store some of her larger serving items like large chafing dishes and pans, food warmers and seasonal serving and entertaining accessories that she uses just a few times a year.

Originally, I had intended this closet wall—which was about 10’ across—to include a central 4’ wide, 2’ deep inset where I had planned to place yet another one of my many bookshelves. This would have been flanked by a storage closet on each side. Unfortunately, once I had already framed the wall for this, The Boss said she preferred a whole wall of closet storage, and the inset was walled across and another door added. The end result looks fine but the change in plans on-the-fly resulted in a wall of three 24” bi-fold doors where two 36” bi-fold doors would have saved installation time and been slightly more practical. Henceforth, I resolved to consult The Boss prior to framing.

That covers most of the preliminaries up to the present time, with the exception of the wine cellar built under the stairs. That feature deserves a post of its own, and that’s where we will continue this saga…

 Over the years, I’ve seen any number of hideous houses mimicking Tudor-Revival styles; Tudor “ranches”… Tudor “split-levels” … butt-ugly homes where the proportions were all wrong, or where the builder tacked on an inappropriate element where it did not belong…the list is long.

I particularly remember a large home in Bath, Ohio, where the builder accented the formal entry with a poorly-imagined front inspired by Hampton Court; the rest of the house being rather stodgy and barn-like. Like a lot of McMansions, big -- but ill-conceived and ugly.

So it wasn’t surprising that the case of Surrey farmer Robert Fidler sparked some interest.  Apparently Fildler secretly built a mock Tudor castle, hidden behind a cover of tall hay bales for several years in an effort to bypass local restrictions. The 63-year-old thought he would be immune from planning rules as his family had been living there for more than four years and nobody had objected to it. Until he revealed his “creation” and the objectors came forward, fast and furious.

After many court appearances, local officials have finally ruled the four-bedroom home on Green Belt land at Honeycrocks Farm in Salfords, Surrey – worth well in excess of £1million if sold on the open market - must be pulled down within 90 days.

I think this side of the house really doesn't look too bad. I've seen far worse.

It’s an interesting case – and honestly, I’ve seen far worse looking in terms of Tudor-revival houses. While the backside is a little crude and not-so-well proportioned (the towers were built around grain silos) I found the front of the house (second photo) to be quite charming and very well-handled. The interiors look rather nice, too.

It does seem rather funny that no one had any visual objections to the positively ugly pile of hay bales and tarpaulins for over four years, but can’t stand the sight of the revealed house. I know the point is that Fildler bypassed the planning restrictions which everyone else must follow, but visual blight is visual blight. Would it be okay if he just covered it back up?

Read more about it HERE.

 Over the years, I’ve seen any number of hideous houses mimicking Tudor-Revival styles; Tudor “ranches”… Tudor “split-levels” … butt-ugly homes where the proportions were all wrong, or where the builder tacked on an inappropriate element where it did not belong…the list is long.

I particularly remember a large home in Bath, Ohio, where the builder accented the formal entry with a poorly-imagined front inspired by Hampton Court; the rest of the house being rather stodgy and barn-like. Like a lot of McMansions, big -- but ill-conceived and ugly.

So it wasn’t surprising that the case of Surrey farmer Robert Fidler sparked some interest.  Apparently Fildler secretly built a mock Tudor castle, hidden behind a cover of tall hay bales for several years in an effort to bypass local restrictions. The 63-year-old thought he would be immune from planning rules as his family had been living there for more than four years and nobody had objected to it. Until he revealed his “creation” and the objectors came forward, fast and furious.

After many court appearances, local officials have finally ruled the four-bedroom home on Green Belt land at Honeycrocks Farm in Salfords, Surrey – worth well in excess of £1million if sold on the open market - must be pulled down within 90 days.

It’s an interesting case – and honestly, I’ve seen far worse looking in terms of Tudor-revival houses. While the backside is a little crude and not-so-well proportioned (the towers were built around grain silos) I found the front of the house (second photo) to be quite charming and very well-handled. The interiors look rather nice, too.

It does seem rather funny that no one had any visual objections to the positively ugly pile of hay bales and tarpaulins for over four years, but can’t stand the sight of the revealed house. I know the point is that Fildler bypassed the planning restrictions which everyone else must follow, but visual blight is visual blight. Would it be okay if he just covered it back up?

Read more about it HERE.

A friend just sent this to me, along with a number of similar "dog-costume" photos - as part of a collection titled "Why Dogs Bite People." They were all pretty hilarious, but this particular example really made me laugh out loud, because it was unique and so brilliantly done.


If I had a dog, I'd be tempted to have him run around the house looking like this all the time...