Porcelain Door Knob Coat Rack

As a child, I enjoyed looking through my father's library desk.  In the bottom drawer he had a collection of stuff that was fun to handle - pun intended , as he would like to say!  In that special drawer were old hinges, knobs, skeleton keys, old locks, various screws in glass baby jars, and my favorite - an old turquoise and brown porcelain door knob!  The door handle mechanism was also in there, but it was the polished shiny by years of use, knob that held most of my attention. It was like a huge marble...oh and there was a fine collection of marbles to be found in the drawer also.  This memory came flooding back as I was drifting through some back alley antique shop in Albany and spotted a box of door knobs.
These are a few of the ones that I brought home.

Thinking about the slabs of granite that I had scavaged a while back, I decided to make a coat rack.  Yes we needed a coat rack - since our downstairs entryway did not include a coat closet...or at least not one nearby to the door.  We do have a most excellent gear room but it is on the other side of the room.  It would be great to post a gear room picture here, but it is so jammed with winter climbing gear, skis/snowboards, Christmas decorations, tools ( the garage will be built this year...hopefully! ), building supplies, golf bags..... that it looks more like an ad on Craig's List!


So instead I will show you the pile of granite scraps that I had collected.

It was fun to match the various color door knobs with the granite selections I had.

Taking out the trusty DeWALT hammer drill, I started drilling holes in the granite strips!  Jamming the door knobs into the adhesive-filled holes completed the job.  Here are a few of the racks that I made.

The onyx and white knobs have a bold look on the black and white speckled granite.

So even if the coats and hats still don't get hung up on the coat rack, it will be enjoyable to look at something made out of quality items from the days of old.

Every once in awhile someone does hang up their hat or coat instead of tossing it on the chair!

The Adirondack Cedar Cat Scratch!

When my dreams of shredding powder at nearby Whiteface Mountain were actually the sounds of our beloved cats shredding Sofia Stickley, Chairly Oakwood and Rorrie-Rental Rug, it was time for action!
Stickley doesn't sell an attractive Catscratch, but they do sell some mighty fine furniture.  So after buying a couple lovely couches and chairs, I didn't appreciate our fluffy friends taking to them for their pedicures.  Sleeping on them ( after I laid down a blanket to make fur cleanup easier! ) was fine.

To start the project, I dragged home a long cedar tree that had been cut down by the County road workers.  After rescuing this chipper dodging cedar from the County road crews, I saved it again from being used to heat our Adirondack Haven.  Thinking that it's hairy bark would please any vanity-struck, grooming feline, I asked Carl to nail a 2x6 to it.  Covering the lumber with birch bark, oak leaves and other natural debris, I created this decorative scratching post.

Now the next time my wallet cringes as the furniture is being frayed and singed,  I scoop up our beautiful cat.  Setting her down next to the post, I demo where and how she will be grooming while she's visiting our Adirondack Hide-a-way!  At first she glared at me for thinking that I'd be able to teach her anything about manicures and pedicures.  But not long after, I saw a neat pile of shredded cedar bark that had been scratch off at cat height!  Success!!

Coming soon - The Adirondack Fire Hydrant for those Hard to Shop For Mountain Dogs!

Toilet paper holder!

While I'm still working to finish off the bathroom, I will share the Toilet Paper Holder.

As I was saying in my last post, I enjoy collecting things that I see as I tour the back country roads on my bike. The days of training 'til I'm cross-eyed are gone and enjoying the scenery is easy! While out on one of these rides I came across an old farmer's field long out of service.  Needing to stop to adjust my shoe, I pulled over to sit on a boulder.  As I was getting up to move on, I spotted an old white insulator.  Unable to resist bringing home a memento from this glorious autumn day, I tossed it in my jersey and pedalled on down the road.  Here are some of the insulators I've scrounged up after that day.

A special stash of granite that I gathered from a dumpster one day while I was waiting for my parents (Oma and Op's!) to arrange the replacement of their kitchen counter was my next stop.  I was looking at all the beautiful colored scraps from kitchens and bathrooms all over the Capitol District! The worker there said that it was fine for me to cart away whatever I liked!  My lucky day.  Our Mini Cooper crawled home that day with her heavy cargo!

With the wonderful help of Carl, I learned how to drill the granite.  Finding some long nails in Op's barn, I was able to attach everything!

Shazaaaam!!  Carl fastened it to the wall with countersunk screws and an adhesive to finish this project!