If you're looking to update your kitchen, a new faucet can refresh the room and increase its functionality.
Last year, I decided to transform a guest house kitchen, so it could function more as a studio space. I repainted the walls and cabinets, replaced several appliances, extended the center island, added deep shelves for displaying antique ceramics, installed new French doors and window shades, and decorated the room with my personal collection of copper. The entire kitchen was transformed and modernized. The last detail was to replace the faucets - and I decided on two beautiful single spout fixtures in brass from Waterworks. The design was inspired by the industrial controls of the early 1900s. They look great.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
Here is a photo of the kitchen after it was renovated last autumn. The last items that needed replacing were the faucets. Here, one can see the old stainless steel fixture.
I selected two Waterworks “Regulator” style faucets in brass. Both have single spouts with black spray nozzles.
Both also have goosenecks and big black wheel handles. Before anything is removed from the box, all the parts are inspected to ensure everything is there and in good condition.
The first step was to turn off the water supply and remove the old gooseneck faucets. We removed them carefully so as not to damage the existing soapstone counter. Some of you may remember this counter – repurposed from my old Westport, Connecticut television studio “A.”
Then, my property manager, Doug White, who is very handy, carefully made two holes for the new faucets. These holes are 2 and 1/4 inches in diameter.
Our plumbers were then able to easily start installing the new piping.
The base of the shank being installed was covered with blue painting tape to protect it from scratches. It’s also a good idea to cover the wrench with tape, so there is an added layer of protection.
This big unit is called the valve body. It is screwed on gently by hand.
Whenever installing anything, it is important to always measure several times. It is crucial that all the parts sit flush with each other so there is no risk of leaking.
Here, the tube and nut for the bridge are connected.
And then installed between the main valve body and spout valve body.
The hoses are then coated with a proper leak-sealing agent.
And then under the sink, the hot and cold hoses are properly connected to the corresponding source supplies.
This handsome black handle is tightened appropriately.
And finally it’s time to turn the water back on and test. Here, the sprayer is tested to ensure the water is diverted properly. The water from the spout also slows to a complete stop while the sprayer is being used.
Final adjustments are made and the fixture is wiped down.
This brass fixture coordinates perfectly with the brass hardware on all the cabinetry. The black accents also match the rest of this kitchen.
I also like the brass against all the beautiful copper dishes, pots, and pans.
The faucet at the other sink, under my giant plate rack of copper, was also changed.
And here I am after one of our shoots – trying the faucet out for the first time. Changing a faucet fixture is one of the simplest, smartest ways to upgrade a kitchen. Please visit the Waterworks web site to see the company’s other collections for the kitchen and bath. (Photo by David Padilla)
I have a new outdoor space for entertaining family and friends here at my Bedford, New York farm.
Last fall, after cutting down a large yew tree at my former East Hampton home, I decided the lumber would make a beautiful table for my new pavilion outside my pool. To make it, I called on the help of master artisan Peter Billow, owner of Peter H. Billow Fine Woodworking in Brooklyn, New York. Peter's experience with yew was limited to veneer, but he researched the wood's properties and behaviors and got right to work. Peter started with milling and cutting, and then moved on to the process of joining, planing, gluing, balancing, and then finally sanding and finishing. It took several weeks to complete, but I am so pleased with the final result and exquisite woodwork.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
Yew wood, Taxus Baccata, is a species of evergreen tree in the conifer family. Yew is native to Western, Central, and Southern Europe, Northwest Africa, Northern Iran, Southwest Asia, and is also known as common yew, European yew, and English yew. After the yew was cut and made into usable lumber, I stored it in my run-in shed until Peter could pick it up.
Wood from the yew is classified as a closed-pore softwood, similar to cedar and pine. Look at the beautiful wood with all of its knots. Yew is easy to work with and is very flexible.
Peter relocated all the yew to his shop in Brooklyn, where all the work happens. The heartwood of yew tends to be an orange-brown, at times a darker brown or even purplish hue. It is often used for cabinetry and tool handles. The hard, slow-growing wood is also used to make gates, furniture, parquet floors, and paneling.
Peter and his team started with the rough milling. While the wood was kiln dried, the wood showed significant signs of checking and warpage, so Peter had to be very careful to mill it properly. He found that the internal tensions and stress of the wood made it a bit challenging to saw.
Here’s a closer look at some of the typical burls, knots, and intricate patterns.
Peter had to cut around major checks and knots as the wood would bind on the saw – this part of the process was slow going.
Here are the cut pieces spaced with smaller wood shims to allow air to circulate between the pieces and allow the wood to acclimate after milling.
Here are the cut pieces for the trestles and legs.
Once the rough cutting was finished, Peter and his crew moved the wood to the jointer and planer. Planing the wood happened over many days. They “opened” the wood up and let it sit to acclimate over a period of time before “thicknessing,” or bringing each piece of wood to a consistent thickness throughout its length. This is done to minimize the wood’s internal tensions.
Here, the trestle pieces are joined and glued. Fortunately, yew glues, finishes, and turns quite nicely.
Once Peter had all of the wood “thicknessed” down to the desired size, it was time to lay the wood out. Peter checks that all the pieces have the same thickness throughout.
Holes are made in the criss-crossed center of the trestles for the horizontal support.
And this is one base after the cross piece was secured to the trestles. By definition, a trestle is a a framework consisting of a horizontal beam supported by two pairs of sloping legs, used in pairs to hold up a flat surface such as a tabletop.
For all the legs and trestles, Peter needed to glue up pieces to gain the desired thickness. Balancing is very important here as an unbalanced board will warp.
Balancing the tops is also very important and it took a significant amount of time to achieve the balanced tabletop that also looked great.
Once the tables were built, Peter moved on to the patching and filling of the voids and checks. This was very time consuming. If you go too far, this process can take away from the table’s natural look, but too little work and it looks unfinished. Peter had to get it just right – and he did. When this was done he started sanding. The team sanded up to a grit of 180 and then applied the first coat of finish. Pete likes to use Osmo oil with a UV additive. In between coats they re-sanded with 240 grit. Afterward, the curing process of the finish takes approximately three to five days.
And finally, the tables were delivered bright and early one morning last week – three total. English Yew ranges from durable to very durable when it comes to decay resistance. And, it is also resistant to insect attack. I knew it would be perfect here at the pavilion.
Peter’s crew carries the three tabletops to the pavilion one by one.
Look at the beautiful finish. Peter did not use any epoxy to fill the knots and natural holes in the wood – he left them as is.
I love the joinery in the trestles. The top peg is made of walnut, a very strong and stable wood that can take intricate carving.
Here is the third and last tabletop. Once all the tables were in place, all three were butted up against each other to make it one long table.
Here’s Peter in front of the long table after all the tops were well secured to the legs and trestles. Each table weighs about 300-pounds – wind will not bring it down.
Although it's been unusually cool and quite windy here at my Bedford, New York farm this week, the gardens are showing off lots of springtime blooms.
The garden beds are changing every single day. Trees are leafing out and flowers are bursting with color and energy - Fritillaria, Muscari, Epimediums, trout lilies, mayapples, the Camperdown Elms with their umbrella-like crowns and pendulous branches, and of course the daffodils.
Enjoy these photos and have a great weekend.
My long and winding pergola is just full of lush green foliage. Soon, it will display a colorful palette of alliums, lilies, and camassia.
Right now, there’s lots of Muscari in the garden beds along the pergola. Muscari is a genus of perennial bulbous plants native to Eurasia that produce spikes of dense, most commonly blue, urn-shaped flowers that look like bunches of grapes in spring. Muscari is also known by its common name for the genus – grape hyacinth.
Commonly known as the Guinea Hen Flower, the Checkered Lily or the Snake’s Head Fritillary, Fritillaria meleagris is an heirloom species dating back to 1575. It has pendant, bell-shaped, checkered and veined flowers that are either maroon or ivory-white with grass-like foliage intermittently spaced on its slender stems. I have many in my gardens. This deer- and rodent-resistant naturalizer is native to the western Himalayas and Asia Minor, and prefers rich, well-draining neutral pH soil and a bit of light shade or dappled sunlight.
These are Snowflakes – not to be confused with Snowdrops. The Snowflake is a much taller growing bulb which normally has more than one flower per stem. Snowflake petals are even, each with a green spots on the end, whereas Snowdrops have helicopter-like propellers that are green only on the inner petals.
Viburnum a popular evergreen species, grown mainly for its dark green leathery leaves. The dark green leaves on this dense, multi-stemmed shrub are toothed and oval in shape. This broad, dense, multi-stemmed, deciduous shrub typically matures to 10 feet tall and spreads to 15 feet wide.
These are the pink buds of the Sargent Crabapple. The Sargent Crabapple, Malus sargentii, generally grows about six to 12 feet in height and often just as wide.
And there are so many daffodils everywhere!
The blossoms come in many combinations of yellow, orange, white, red, pink and even green. I shared lots of photos in yesterday’s blog from my long daffodil border. I hope you saw them.
Here is an all white daffodil – one of many planted behind my Tenant House.
The hostas are also growing quickly. Hosta is a genus of plants commonly known as hostas, plantain lilies, and occasionally by the Japanese name, giboshi. They are native to northeast Asia and include hundreds of different cultivars. I have hundreds of hostas here at the farm – many of which were grown from bare-root cuttings and stored in my cold frame before they were planted.
I also have lots of ostrich ferns growing. Matteuccia struthiopteris is native to North America. Once established, these grow to a height of three to six feet. Ostrich fern grows in vase-shaped clumps called crowns. The showy, arching, sterile fronds are plume-like and reminiscent of the tail feathers of – you guessed it – ostriches.
There are trout lilies. The delicate blooms, which resemble turks cap lilies do best in dappled light.
Another big shower right now is Podophyllum peltatum – commonly known as mayapple, American mandrake, wild mandrake, and ground lemon. Mayapples are woodland plants, typically growing in colonies from a single root. I have lots of mayapple growing here. The palmately lobed umbrella-like leaves grow up to 16-inches in diameter with three to nine shallowly to deeply cut lobes. The plants produce several stems from a creeping underground rhizome.
Syneilesis aconitifolia, commonly called shredded umbrella plant, is an herbaceous perennial of the aster family that is native to hillside forest margins and slopes in China, Korea, Japan and eastern Russia. I am so fond of the foliage. The leaves are narrow, dissected, and cascade downward like an umbrella. Emerging foliage is covered with a unique white fur. White flowers on mauve pink calyxes will tower above the foliage midsummer.
The hellebores continue to show beautifully at the farm. Hellebores are members of the Eurasian genus Helleborus – about 20 species of evergreen perennial flowering plants in the family Ranunculaceae. They blossom during late winter and early spring for up to three months. Hellebores come in a variety of colors and have rose-like blossoms. It is common to plant them on slopes or in raised beds in order to see their flowers, which tend to nod.
Astilboides is an interesting plant with huge, bright green leaves that are round and flat and measure up to 24-inches across. The effect is dramatic, and beautiful among other hardy perennials.
Epimedium, also known as barrenwort, bishop’s hat, fairy wings, horny goat weed, or yin yang huo, is a genus of flowering plants in the family Berberidaceae. The majority of the species are endemic to China, with smaller numbers elsewhere in Asia, and a few in the Mediterranean region. The leaves are made up of leaflets, which can range in number from three to 50 and in size from as tiny to six inches long. They are generally heart-shaped, but can range from round to arrow-shaped.
Sprays of pink, white, yellow, orange, or lavender flowers appear this time of year. And, some Epimedium blossoms look like miniature columbines or tiny daffodils, while others appear more like spiders or stars. Species with long sprays can even resemble orchids.
Just outside the kitchen to my Winter House, I have two of these Camperdown Elms. Camperdown Elms slowly develop broad, flat heads and wide crowns with weeping branch habits.
Its leaves are oblong-obovate to elliptic, rough-textured and serrated.
And here is the herbaceous peony bed – it is also growing so beautifully. In June, this garden bed will be overflowing with giant peonies in pink and white. What are the spring flowers in your garden?
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