Potic Finale

Potic Cottage front facade

Potic Cottage screened-in porch

 Potic Cottage bedroom

 Potic Cottage stairwell

Long-time readers of this blog know that it all began with the purchase of a small cottage in the woods.  Potic Cottage, set on Potic Mountain in the Hudson Valley, was a one bedroom, 665 sq.ft. house we purchased in 2007. Now, ten years later, the cottage has taken on a screened in porch, two additional bedrooms, and a full bath. A mix of folk art, midcentury modern fixtures, and second-hand antiques, Potic Cottage has a classic Catskill vibe.  Better yet, we've had wonderful memories there, the bear that ate out of our bird feeders, the gong meditation Jackson created, even a documentary shot there.

Renovation: Unexpected Therapy

I needed to clear my mind from the whirlwind of fundraising and step away from my computer, so the entire family retreated to Potic Cottage, our small spot in the Hudson Valley. After a couple of days of birdwatching and kayaking, it was time to turn my attention to home improvements. We had taken most of the winter off, so it was long overdue. After a roofing leak was repaired, it left unsightly peeling paint in the spare bedroom, eeewww, which revealed a laminated wall board underneath, double eeeww. With spatula in hand, it was time to go. And to my surprise, it felt good to roll my spataula along the wall, paint curling up in long streamers, more like the guilty pleasure of peeling sunburn than renovation. The result, clean but not good looking. I'm hoping that with the proper primer or with white pine nailed on top, it will be much nicer. Until then, I'm looking for some big paintings to distract visitors.
Undeterred, I straightened out the upstairs bathroom, adding small shelves and towel hooks. And how do you like my toilet paper holder? Rustic, no? I capped the improvements by putting my bed on its proper frame. What better way to celebrate this frenzy of nesting? By enjoying last year's improvements of a screened-in porch and a fire in the Malm stove over a glass of red wine.

Wisconsin Design

There are some designs that just speak for themselves. This Bouler Architecture one for a lakeside weekend house in Wisconsin simply took my breath away. Inspired by House M of our Living Machine design for a client in Tennessee, this house is modern without losing warmth. Don't you think a Malm would be perfect for this place?

Labor Day Weekend

With the air a crisp sixty degrees at sunset, this weekend seemed like the perfect time to fire up the Preway fireplace for its inaugural use. In fact, I bought a set of 'new' glasses (6 for $18) at the Ravina flea market to mark the occasion. The fireplace and the glasses weren't the only new events of the evening. Check out our new view from the screened-in porch. Our potting shed, which was outfitted by Tom Judson to be a bedroom, was rolled back about 20 feet. No longer blocking our view of the sunset over the Catskill Mountains, the little cottage seems happier nestled between two evergreens.

Drum Roll, Please

Now I know some readers were losing sleep over the Preway-- but thanks to James, Joe from Jovial Stoves, Scott Yoder, and Nicholas Pfluger, she stands ready for cool autumn nights. The installation was a bit of a trick-- the 8" pipe is a bit pricey so we reduced it to 6" of stainless, but wanted enough length so the fireplace would draw well. Joe, who sold us our pellet stoves for the house in Islip, set us up with a reducer and the proper pipes, all before 9 am. Then James hauled the baby up, and while he and Nick wired the entire upstairs, (and I pulled a few wires myself) Scott set out to fit the fireplace into the corner of the deck. I wasn't sure if I wanted it centered on the back wall, but when I saw how much circulation space it would take up once it was properly situated between the rafters, I thought the corner worked better. It seemed somewhat insane to install a fireplace in 90+ degree weather, but by day's end, we had both a fireplace and working lights upstairs.

Thank You Mr Craigslist, Once Again!

I honestly want to rename Potic Cottage, Craigslist Cottage. First of all, we found the house on Craigslist by chance, and then we filled it with weekend-y stuff: kayaks, furniture, a row boat, etc., all from Craigslist. And now Craigslist comes to the rescue once again.
It began perhaps in my childhood-- the seventies. The iconic ski lodge. The sexy scandinavian design. Flash forward to last year. Meandering through Craigslist I saw this intriguing headline: Jetson's Fireplace, Beacon, $300. The image: a vintage white enamel Malm. Posted a month earlier, I was crestfallen to discover that it had been long sold. The search was on. I enlisted James, whose searching tenacity is something truly to admire. After a few wrong leads,we even toyed with the idea of a new one which would waste precious construction dollars. Then James saw part of one in Virginia. Would they ship it? The trail grew hot. Why won't they call us back? The trail grew cold. 6:00 am this morning, a shout arose from James' office as he pulled up the ad. "Nadine, you have to see this." I couldn't breathe. I didn't want to hope. But there it was, an orange Preway, $125, thirty minutes away. No. It can't be. James said, "They're lucky they didn't leave a number because I'd call them right now." He sent off an email with his number and waited. And waited. 7:35 am. We ponder sending another email, but wait until 10:00. Like expectant parents we feared the worst. It was already sold to equally obsessive fans of Scandinavian design who had a pickup truck and cash on the ready on Saturday nights. It wasn't until 11:01 that I received the email: Will call you soon. Fireplace still available. And she did. And then we became one with our orange Preway fireplace.
But wait, let's remember James found a mid-century dresser in a blonde wood for $50. Where, you ask? Where else? Craigslist.

Scandinavian Design

I've developed a love of Scandinavian design as of late. There's something about the clean, round forms that seems both modern and inviting. Unlike strict, stark modern surfaces, Scandinavian design seems softer, more accessible, and easliy integrated into an eclectic decorating style.
Ever since I missed out on scoring a Malm wood stove on Craigslist, I've been in search of one for our covered porch at Potic Cottage. The mid-century design seems to fit the ski lodge aesthetic perfectly. Perhaps it is the nostalgia of it that adds another level of attraction. Author and humorist David Sedaris wrote about his parents' Scandinavian dining room set as one of their most coveted possessions. To them, it meant grown-up sophistication, but Sedaris remembers wondering how long the Scandinavian designers plotted against knobs.
I'm not alone. The blog world is abuzz with contemporary decor derived from this style. Modernemama had an entry today comparing a flower to the Egg Chair-- and Style Files shared some recent Dutch finds. Design Within Reach and Hivemodern are both really great sources for new Scandinavian pieces to readily add to one's current decor. I may just get that Malm stove yet.