Monthly Archives: April 2012

Essentials: Kaufmann Mercantile

Exceptional sundries of the kind they just don’t make anymore, that’s what you’ll find at Kaufmann Mercantile – More of What Matters. A few minutes on this website and who cares if I don’t have an heirloom tree from which to hang that beautiful carved oak swing or a branch to prune with my Japanese fox pruning saw, the visual-emotional pleasure derived from the idea of it is therapy enough for now!

I especially love that they have a category devoted to Tools & Outdoors.

I’d take one of everything, especially:

The Camping Hatchet

The Stronghold Apron

The Canvas Tool Bag

The Japanese Pruning Saw

The Carved Oak Swing

Unbelievably rich and floodlit photographs displayed in a minimalist ‘only what matters’ approach really gets The Cabinologist in me dreaming of the life I would live heading to Kaufmann Mercantile for my bi-annual supply run before retreating into the woods again.

I’m hoping to find that Camping Hatchet in my stocking come Christmas!

Cabin Getaway: St. Veit, Carinthia, Austria

Anyone up for a rustic vacation in Carinthia? I could really use a getaway…

This Austrian mountain-lakeside abode features wonderful, whimsically rustic interiors, grand mountain vistas, adult books (yes), bicycles, a hot tub, vegetable garden, llamas, and much more (as if there was more to be desired). Rent all this for just $728/week!

See you in Carinthia.

Those shutters! that over-sized roof hat! (and llamas!!)

Ridiculously cute fortune cookie pillows!

A private alpine lake for skinny dipping!

The closest nod to civilization is three kilometers away–a pub called Gurk.

The next closest amenity is a ski slope, Flattnitz Hochrindl, at a distance of 15k.

Sounds like paradise.

Heavy Heart: Remembering Levon Helm

From left, Rick Danko, Levon Helm, Richard Manuel, Garth Hudson and Robbie Robertson of the Band in Woodstock, N.Y.  Credit: Elliott Landy and NY Times

Yesterday in Manhattan (April 19), the great American drummer Levon Helm succumbed to a long battle with throat cancer; a struggle through which he lost his voice and fought to regain it, never giving up performing and his leadership role within the music world.

Helm was “the American linchpin of the otherwise Canadian group that became Bob Dylan’s backup band and then the Band.” reads his heartfelt obituary in the New York Times.  Beyond his role as singer and drummer in The Band, Helm was of vital importance to championing the Americana music tradition. His home and recording studio in Woodstock was a down-home mecca, at which his Midnight Rambles would bring together many musical greats of different generations to share in the joy of our great musical tradition.

His presence will be greatly missed.

Cabin Essential: HBC Blanket

With summer most definitely on the way, I find myself searching for a season-inappropriate Hudson’s Bay Point Blanket. I’ve been wanting one for years, but don’t have pockets deep enough for a brand new Six Point (Queen-size) blanket, which retails for $479 at L.L. Bean (though I just found one at Cabela’s for $319). The Point blanket is a classic outdoors item with a historical tradition in Canada and parts of the upper US, when they were used as items of trade and utility by new North American explorers, trappers, and native tribes people and are often handed down generation-to-generation.

Hudson’s Bay Company, founded in 1670, is Canada’s oldest corporation and has been making high quality blankets for more than 200 years. Though I don’t have any HBC heirlooms to look forward to in my family, thankfully, this long history means that there are a good number of vintage versions out there, and I’m thinking if I start looking now, I might be able to pick one up for a price that won’t leave me high and dry. My awesome Mother-in-law read this post and informed me that indeed, there is an heirloom blanket in the family, and would I like to have it?!? Would I!

Below are a few bedrooms that reinforce my desire to cuddle up with one of these incredible blankets this fall:

via marion house book (left) and design*sponge (right)

above and below via pinterest

Wisconsin’s only Wilderness Campground

Just booked our first camping trip of the year to our favorite Midwest campground:

Newport State Park in Door County, Wisconsin!

Newport is a BACKPACKING ONLY campground that has just 16 campsites on Wisconsin’s Door County peninsula. Each with their own private strip of beach on Lake Michigan and private rustic facilities with the most amazing lake views I have ever had the pleasure of utilizing. This place is beyond beautiful and has more than 36 miles of wilderness trails and dogs are allowed. I highly recommend this campground for getting away from it All. I can’t wait to get there at the end of May!

Where will you get outdoors this summer?

A Cabin in a Loft in Brooklyn?

I happen to be searching for a place to stay in New York this summer while I take some professional courses at NYU for my company in July. I also happen to look for awesome rental cabins when I need a mental escape (I think this will become a regular feature topic). The former is how I stumbled upon A Cabin in a Loft on this amazing travel website, http://www.airbnb.com.  Owned by Terri, an artist, architect, designer living in Brooklyn with the creatively achieved idea of renting out part of her cool home to guests by building a cabin within her industrial loft in a former textile factory building. She designed and built the spaces herself!

Inside the ‘cabin’ (above)  has windows that open out onto the main living space (below)

Here’s a view of Terri’s room, ‘the treehouse’ (above, which is also available for rent if you rent the entire loft) and from ‘the treehouse’ (below)

Terri actually lives in the loft, too, so I imagine things get a little cozy. It definitely would be too much for my husband, dog, and myself to share the space with Terri and her friendly cat for a whole month, but I could see it being very fun under different circumstances. Alas, the search continues, but you could stay in this awesome place (and tell me how great it was!)…

rates are $115/single $130/double per night or $2636 for a month breakfast included.

Needless to say, I LOVE this concept!

DIY Stump Table via Seakettle

As promised, here is the very cool tree stump table I mentioned I’d be sharing last week in my post on Amanda Happé‘s tree-filled home. I think this would make an amazing bedside table.

This DIY table comes to you via Seakettle and uses the IKEA Marius Stool ($5.99) painted a matte black.  The tree stump was acquired from the parents’ log pile. A five-inch cross-section was cut, sanded, and sealed then screwed onto the legs of the Marius stool resulting in a rustic table that is clean and modern.

Tools / supplies used for this project:

  1. Tree section 12-15 inches diameter
  2. Chain saw
  3. Belt sander
  4. Wood glue to secure loose bark
  5. Tack cloth to wipe off dust (Seakettle used an air compressor)
  6. 3 coats polyacrylic for table surface
  7. Lacquer spray for bark sides
  8. Matte black spray paint
  9. A drill and long wood screws to secure stump to legs

It is obvious that the folks at Seakettle have access to more carpentry tools than the average home, I think that you surely could manage to sand the surface by hand (wear gloves) if you’re willing to put in a little elbow grease. Making a level cut when you hack the log will save a great deal of time sanding later.

View the post with step-by-step instructions here.