A Fairy Tale With Power Tools And Plywood

Curtis is one of my heroes and the story of his house and how that all came to be is one of my favorites in recent memory. He found it abandoned and spent a few years convincing the owners (who live in Utah) to sell the place to him. They finally relented and a resurrection of sorts began. The house was a time capsule when Curtis bought it-- a treasure chest complete with steamer trunks, a glass Bayer aspirin bottle in the medicine cabinet, wooden wheelchair, a birdcage, prescription drugs from the '70s, ancient television set, etc. In short, it was marvelous and continues to be charmed.


Curtis' superb taste has guided his tireless renovation of the building. Big picture, he has established a floor plan that is now one of the finest in town and made the place a model of energy conservation (spray foam insulation, solar panels, thermal breaks, geothermal, and passive solar). And his eye for details makes me weep: porcelain shower head, small cupboard latches, leaded-paned windows, exposed exterior logs, subway tile, and push-button switches. Thank god for gay men.


Every once in awhile, Curtis lets me tag along and partake in some unskilled labor. Today? The caulking gun!!

And that was AFTER visiting the city dump in the morning with Chris (my first time ever). It was beautiful-- light glinting off the scrap metal pile (discarded water heaters, twisted bicycles and the like), all under a huge dome of sky.

Speaking of recycling, imagine finding THIS at the ReStore:

Swoon.