Fishing Basket Table

Some of you were curious about the basket table in the picture with our beautiful horseshoe backed chair that I posted about earlier.

(This post is participating in the Blogging A to Z Challenge, T is For Table. See link in sidebar. )

This table was adapted from traditional Southeast Asia fishing baskets.  My in-laws picked it up during an overseas tour during the Vietnam War.

Awesome Re-Purposed Quonset Huts!

Adaptive re-use architectural projects have come into their own in recent years, but they are by no means new. People have been adapting existing spaces to their own purposes since cave dwelling days.
Green building trends have brought adaptive re-use to the forefront of design, and made it hip, trendy, and even mainstream. One favorite building for adaptive re-use is the humble WWII era Quonset hut.

(This post is participating in the Blogging A to Z Challenge. Q is for Quonset. See the link in the sidebar.)

The Quonset hut was seen as an answer to the post WWII housing crunch. This old Popular Science cover illustrates how Quonset huts could be adapted to fill the housing gap.

One old Quonset hut, that had previously been adapted to use as a home, has recently been given a contemporary remodel, as shown below.

You can see from the "before" picture below that the home has undergone a dramatic change!

This view into the library from the kitchen shows the original bones of the Quonset hut structure, as well as a new addition.

The dining room manages to have a traditional vibe while staying true to it's original architecture.

This WWII Quonset hut was preserved as part of a mixed-use development in Santa Monica. The patina of the exterior of the building was preserved, while the interior was completely remodeled.

Killefer Flammang Architects

The architect owners of this made-over Quonset hut used corrugated metal in their kitchen to reference the exterior of their home.

Industrial Kitchen by Atlanta Architects & Designers Frederick + Frederick Architects

Contemporary Living Room by Atlanta Architects & Designers Frederick + Frederick Architects

Quonset huts were adapted to lots of different uses, including restaurants, churches, dry cleaners, studios, primary residences and vacation homes.

Architect Darwin McCredie rescued a dilapidated old Quonset hut in Ojai and turned it into a bright spacious abode.

What do you think about adaptive re-use projects? Could a made over Quonset hut be your next dream home?

Crafts to Make With Pistachio Shells

Who doesn't love a cheap craft? Throw in reclaimed materials and the requirement that you must first eat lots of delicious pistachio nuts, how can you go wrong?  Here is a round up of some fun DIY projects using pistachio shells.

With Earth Day coming up, I know many of you are thinking about green craft projects!

(This project is being linked to the Blogging A to Z Challenge. P is for Pistachio. See the link in my sidebar.)

Awesome Projects to Make With Recycled Newspapers

Continuing the Earth Day theme, here at House Revivals, I thought it would fun to share some ways to use recycled newspapers in our homes and our gardens.

Even if you subscribe to all your papers electronically, you probably have friends and neighbors who would be more than willing to donate their old papers to your recycling projects.

(This post is participating in the Blogging A to Z Challenge. N is for Newspaper. See the link in my sidebar.)