Name: Moses
Location: Twin PeaksSan Francisco, California
Favorite: The original 1940s kitchen faucet that comes straight out of the wall
I cannot live in a white or off-white room, says Moses when we talk about the blue wall in his bedroom. In fact, he painted the wall blue the day he moved in so as to not have to spend one night in a white walled room. Dark blue, he says, helps him sleep.
Moses is an historic preservationist and it shows. In addition to preserving architecture as a profession, Moses preserves history via his wardrobe, his collections, and his car. From his hand embossed business cards, to his antique filing boxes, Moses embodies a more elegant and civilized era.
Do you have an idea for a house tour? Let me know! jill@apartmenttherapy.com
There is so much to take in and so many stories to be told when touring Mosess home. The artifacts are rife with a past and are beautiful. Moses treats family heirlooms and the adopted history of instant relatives with the same attention and respect.
Some of the pieces come from his familys 300 year old New Hampshire farmhouse, like the brick he uses to prop open his bedroom door or the chest lined with early 1800s New England news that his father wanted to throw away.
The farmhouse has been in the family since its inception but the family has been around these parts even longer. Other pieces are found by diligently scouring Ebay or antique stores for the most marginalized of objects.
Moses lists his fetishes for me with pride: chromeusually in the form of hubcaps, valises (old suitcases), vintage ties and bowties, Olivetti typewriters, and other peoples family photos. Moses pointed to a portrait of a very austere 19th century womans portrait on the wall of his library and said, She came out of the same barn as this sewing tablereferring to an estate sale in Vermont where both were purchased.
Clearly impressive is the faux wood paneling of the library, introduced by Moses. Once a house-painter by trade Moses first painted the wall brown, then used an oil pencil to draw lines that would represent the panel grooves, and finished by drawing the wood grain with gel stain and a foam brush. He used an image from The Art of Faux to inspire his technique.
His roommate Briana computer wizardowns this vertically sprawling Twin Peaks house and contributes to the unique quality of the home via his tech inspired interventions and an art appreciation.
The entire home is run on solar power, including the hot-tub. Brian has commissioned the same artist that created the venus fly trap BBQs in the backyard to sculpt metal mountain goats that will appear on the roof, in the garden and walking up the front of the faade.
Brian figures that, at 600 feet above sea level, mountain goats are more appropriate than flamingos but as good a landmark when giving directions.
Originally Posted July 6th, 2005--Jill
A colorful character, part time-traveler, part Magpie.
Thanks for the tour!
Looks like the tiles in MY bathroom with the peach field tiles, except with green borders instead of black.
1. Wow! Wow! Wow! The place is amazing! I love, love, love the trunks (which I also collect), the file boxes (which I wish I had), the whole esthetic.
2. How effective are the solar panels?
3. The bathroom tile color is a challenge. I have blue ones--also difficult.
PS-
Moses: would you be willing to pass on some hints about the faux paneling? I want to paint a vynil floor to match the wood floors elsewhere in my apartment; your technique may be just what the doctor ordered.
Terry--
Pay Curtis to do it!!!
What a good idea!
Curtis, do you think you could do something about vynil floors?
Very interresting place. So full of amazing details. I love these books/files (Where can I find some) and the valises. And I am very envious of his art collection.
Great place Moses, Congratulations.
Whoo! Penn diploma! Come all ye loyal classmen now!
Been past your place several times. Nice to finally see the inside. Well done. Love the Twin Peaks area...made out with my boyfriend up there many a time.
Thanks all for the complements, especially Jill for creating the profile. As far as the faux wood, I have one correction, I did not use a foam brush, it was a bristle brush, but that is minor.
Humm, painting a vinyl floor to look like wood. Why not just pull up the vinyl? If that is not possible, try first to degrease the surface, and then sand it with 100 grit sandpaper, then prime the floor with a good quality floor paint or primer of a brown/pink color, then the oil pencil lines. Use the blue tape and paint alteranting "boards" with the stain, let it dry for a day, then paint the other half, again taping off the boards you did the first day. The oil pencil will slightly melt into the stain to give it a worn look. After the stain is dry, (important stuff here) SEAL IT! For the walls, I used three coats of shellac. for a floor, it may be better to use several coats of varnish. Be sure to treat it as an investment and buy a new $25. brush for the project.
The letter boxes as file cabinet came from ebay. Someone in the midwest had a few listed on their store, so I contacted them and asked how many they had, and I'd buy them all. She had 30 of them, so I got them. Be sure to ask if the seller how they smell.
The old suitcases came from thrift stores. As with most thriftstores, they are best in the red states, where there usually is not the apppriciation for style as in the blue states. Take a vacation to visit that aunt in North Dakota, and pack a duffle bag, and come home with a treasure of vintage suitcases!
Hi Moses--
Thanks for the instructions on the faux painting. I think I'll opt for your first suggestion: replacing the floor altogether. Without your considerable skills, I don't think I'd do a good enough job.
Really, I love your esthetic: you have a wealth of interesting objects that have stood the test of time and will never go out of fashion.
One can see --even with the jpegs-- that you have an amazing sense of color. The blue in the bedroom is a bold choice; it works perfectly to create a sense of serenity and is something only an expert would have chosen.
Congratulations on your beautiful space.
Moses -
I failed to say before what a great space and what warm, fun, interesting choices you've made. With that much space, you probably don't even need to have all those valises full of stuff!
Terry, Patrick -
Thanks for even thinking of having me do that stuff! I only just now saw these various responses and stuff, but although I love paint, for a floor, even I, for my own self, tend to go for yanking up old and putting down new, so I'm glad you sound like you're gonna go for that.
We always suspected you were a yanker.
Curtis--
I'm certain your amazing artistry could have solved my problem, but it DOES seem more expedient to just replace the floor. Also probably less expensive, as I can't imagine allowing you to faux paint a whole floor for less than the cost of wood. Your talent is too great.
If I can ever afford you, I'll ask you to paint some sort of portable mural thing for me.
Hi Moses. Glad i'm finally getting to see your place--beautiful! And I recognize that gold cross
Hi Moses: Your pad is fab. Could my husband Andy, our 2-year old Henry, and Michelle Wallace stay there May 13th & 14th? I'm afraid we might trash the place and it is so bootiful. God I love the faux wood paneling and the blue walls. Love, Molly
there are things i like and things i don't. the things i don't are a matter of taste, jealousy, and being really over the twee 'i collect stuff!' thing.
the things i do like, though, are really great. firstly it's good to see someone who isn't commitment phobic abbout color. i especially love the blues you chose for your bedroom and library -- mind sharing what brand and shades? i also really appreciate your commitment to highlighting the natural bones of your space rather than just ripping everything out and putting in the vessel sink and spa tiling.
i also ADORE the faux wood paneling. in the first photo, the wider shot with you in the chair, i really thought it was real. even in the close up, the only way you can tell is by seeing that it's flush with the walls.
the only thing i would change is the chrome hubcaps in the bedroom. they're placed sort of haphazardly and don't make any particular impression on the space. if i were you i would take them down and wait till you have enough to create a stronger statement with them, or position them such that 2 hubcaps really do make themselves known.
HOLY MOSES! (ok I couldn't resist), but your home - as a whole as well as its individual elements - is wonderful... love the colors, love and your all-vintage-all-the-time decorating philosphy.
As I'm from the midwest, I can tell you that the valises (althought we call them suitcases :).) like the ones Moses has are all over, especially in small towns where people keep things till they wear out or die and dying normally comes first. A suggestion if you do go through those states looking for great design (like the eames chairs for 45$ I saw the other day, or some 50s dinner tables and chairs in cool patterns.) go to the junkiest looking stores, they have the most, and the cheapest prices.
As for the house, I love it, the blue is like the sky right before dusk and the collections are really nice, I like the blacks and dark cream like variations of coffee to make up accents to the blue. And Oh how I love built in spots to display stuff. Just to show you how we midwesterners think, I grew up using that type of phone, and it was only a few years ago that my parents decided having a touch tone would be a good idea. :).
Moses, I love those vintage files (like stacked old books). I am very happy to meet you, first, because you are a knitter, and second, because there is someone out there who will wear all of my father's bow ties upon his demise.
Thanks for sharing your place.
Moses!
I was so surprised to see you on here. Your place is AMAZING. It's an inspiration for working on my little Seattle shack. I would love to check out that crazy bbq live. Maybe when Marc moves back from Hawaii and I'm in SF for a visit?
Tiffany
(blast from the past)
Very nice place, but I can't resist.
Four words, gentlemen: toilet seat down.
Aaaaah, there is actually appreciation for style in red states. It's just that fewer people fetishize objects and instead just use them. I'm pleased to know that you fill those file boxes with files instead of creating some sort of installation.
One day there'll be an Austin blog and they'll show ya.
Great space. I love the mountain goats, too.
Moses, nice bulge in the pic of you opening your front door. love to service that!
Best,
Scott
Hey Moses,
Great Place. I must admit (in referece to Rib Scott's observation) that I too noticed that very full package below your waist. A well-hung (and please be thick) man with good taste is one of my favorite things in the world to do!
-Ben
Wow, I feel downright SUBTLE after those last two posts.
P2! Did you read my explanation? As I just posted in a different thread, I am literally losing sleep over the fact that the thread may have been closed before you saw it and are thinking the worst. :( !!!
LJ--
No worries... I didn't get to your explanation before the thread was shut down, but later realized what you were getting at.
You were sweet to worry, and appreciate your making an effort to set things straight, no pun intended!
Oh, I'm so glad. :) That was rough! This was just not my day on so many fronts. At least when it's Fri. the 13th, it's still a Fri. Tues. the 13th is a whole other story...
Have a better day tomorrow!
Thx :)
My oh my (blush) I just don't know what to think. I do have news for everyone. I am moving this weekend to a new place in San Francisco. The beautiful faux paneled walls of the library are painted over (thanks Zephyr Realty) and are now a light phlem green color. Brian the owner of the house is selling, and I found a new place in Hayes Valley neighborhood of SF. An amazing potential, but the place is soooo in need of TLC. It started life in the 1880s as a stable! If Jill is game, we may do another spread, with before & after photos. In better keeping with apartments on the NYC area, the new place does have small rooms - lots of them in fact, and the worst of all sins, stuccoed interior walls!