Small Space Fitness: Kinetix

I received my Kinetix starter kit today. Kinetix is a simple integrated system that combines nutrition, exercise, and a supportive community to help get you in great shape.

My starter kit was free and offered to me through my employer. The kit is a basic overview of the system with a journal to track your progress and workouts. It all looks pretty good and I’m hopeful that I can use it to get back into great shape.

The workouts are not hard, but there is either lifting or cardio six days a week. The sessions are all short — 30 minuets each. I am more concerned about trying to balance my meals than the workouts.

I’ll post additional updates as I get into the system.

Small Space Living Hits 100 Subscribers!

100 Subscribers!

Just some personal business — I noticed this morning while doing my ritualized Small Space Living maintenance that I had reached 100 RSS scribers. In this world of giant web sites and really big blogs it may seem like a small number, but it’s a big deal for me.

100 has been a goal of mine since. I added the RSS Chicklet to Small Space Living. If you don’t use RSS feeds, you should. It’s a nice way to have information you care about delivered to you. It’s likely your browser already has the ability to collect your subscriptions.

So if you have scribed, a great big thanks! If you have not, click the little orange button and help get me to 200.

Small Space Living: Personal Update, Google Love

I know. I know. Two personal updates in one seven-day period is a bit much. Having said that, I hit another personal milestone today.

Once a week, usually on the weekend, I head to Google and type “small space living”. I have been watching my accent starting about five pages back. So this week I officially hit the top ten. I am in fact number nine.

I also think it is important to note that this was done without paying for any insertion services. I’m number nine due to indexing and links. So a great big thanks to everyone who has linked Small Space Living, also a big thanks all of you who read, and comment.

I know number nine is not number one, but for a blog that went public on February 1, 2008, I’m happy with nine. I’ll brag more when I hit the top five…

Small Space Living: Personal Update

Yesterday I achieved an important personal milestone, my first post written for another blog, Furniture Fashion. I will be contributing articles on a regular weekly basis to their blog.

Furniture Fashion is an established blog reaching a large audience. In keeping with the trend toward smaller living, Furniture Fashion has added a section specifically dealing with the topic.

I am excited about having the opportunity of write for another blog. I have high hopes that the relationship will benefit both blogs.

Please hop on over to Furniture Fashion and check it out.

Home and Garden Show Disappointment

David L.Lawrence Convention Center

Yesterday I spent hours walking around the Pittsburgh Home and Garden Show. I need to ruefully report that this is your father’s home and garden show. I was over all unimpressed with the show.

Now I have to admit it was not all bad. If you were looking for standard off the shelf products, this was the place to be. Also, there were a wide assortment of windows, HVAC, and other general remodeling options. I was some how expecting to see a larger selection of green building and alternative energy options.

There were at least three solar energy contractors, none of which had anything you could not have seen ten years ago. Newer models perhaps, but newer ideas — there were none. I believe of all the HVAC people, there was only one showing geo-thermal options. And no, a diesel generator is not exactly my ideal of “off the grid”.

Many contractors had alternative green products. There were flooring contractors with low emission refinishing chemical options, companies with higher quality insulation and more energy-efficient glass, but most of these options seemed like an after thought.

I could go on and on, I just had a higher expectation of a home show in the year 2008. The show was at the David Lawrence L. Convention Center, which when it opened in 2003 was the largest green building in the world.

The day was not all bleak — there were some shining stars. I did manage to find a few favorites in the crowd.

Construction Junction
Construction Junction was there. If you remember I did a post on them in January. They are our local architectural salvage and recycled building material non-profit retailer. Construction Junction always has great finds; it’s not just for people who are remolding or building. There is furniture and always something for everyone. They had these great tables made from reused lumber with tops made of hinged shutters. They are a great idea for a hall table or small desk.

Caruso Cabinet Manufacturing INC
Kitchen and cabinet contractors were plentiful. Most were the cookie cutter, slap me in a suburban subdivision, kitchens. One manufacture stood out — Caruso Cabinet Manufacturing INC. They exhibited several stunning kitchens. One was a great small space design. They did have larger displays also, but I loved the little guy.

ASID showcase
I also enjoyed the ASID showcase. It was a collection of rooms designed inspired by famous Pittsburghers. Included in this exhibit was an Andy Warhol kitchen, a bathroom for David L. Lawrence, and a green room for Rachel Carson. It was some pretty nice stuff. There was a loft living room with balcony designed for David Conrad that uses a great old wood shop workbench as a wine table. Good example of reuse meets high design.

Beautiful Security

So this is not exactly a post pertaining to enriching you life in a small space. It is about a truly unique architectural security screen surrounding a school near my home — Martin Luther King Accelerated Learning Academy.

Sure this school has a fancy name for a Pittsburgh Public School, but I always thought it was a kind of bland looking building. More than bland, it almost looked like a military bunker or something. The building is dull concrete grey and brown brick. I’m not sure exactly when it was built, but it has strange sloping walls leading up to a flat area around the entire perimeter of the school. The whole thing was really unappealing, plain and hard. Not at all welcoming. I guess I should say that skateboarders love it, but I don’t think the feeling was mutual for me.

This past year Renaissance 3 Architects along with Technique Architectural Products installed security screens. The screens that — get this — were intended to “provide an appearance this is adequate for the school’s environment and block non affiliates from entering the property during non school hours”. Translation: look pretty and get rid of skate punks.

So I have to admit that in the daylight hours the screens look like more grey. They are made of galvanized steel panels. The panels upon closer inspection are pretty pleasant looking with patterns and shooting stars. In the night though, they really shine. A strip of color-shifting LED’s illuminate each of the panels. The color patterns are constantly changing. Each whole screen is sequenced so the colors change and flow around the entire building.

On a night like tonight with snow in the air it’s beautiful. And I wanted to share it with all of you.

Mold Forms: Found Object Decorating

I Live in Pittsburgh. Regardless of Its current accomplishments or future direction, Pittsburgh will always be know for its industrial past. Even now, there are signs of this past everywhere — giant machines stand as silent monuments to their proud history. Rows of smoke stacks remind new developments of their sooty past. Everywhere you look there are reminders — many of the buildings are gone, but we all recall what stood in the now open spaces.

At one time, the steel mills were everywhere here; then they were gone. As they folded, there was a wealth of buildings and objects abandoned. These forms are some such objects. At one time there were shops at every mill that produced these forms and prototypes. They were used to create the molds into which steel was pored.

These particular items have been stored in a friend’s house for years. Having been involved in the dismantling of steel mills, he had the forethought to keep some of these items — which at that filled dumpsters. They were so black with soot I could have never guessed the wood could still possess the warm glow that it now displays.

To clean them, I did very little to the pieces seen here — I washed them with Murphy’s Oil Soap and that’s it. They were placed in my mantel to be photographed, but I will find some more permanent home for them soon. It is amazing how closely the wood resembles the patina of the pine floors in my 1860’s row house.

I will keep one or two around on display to remind me of where I from. I am glad these objects survived. It would be a shame to not display such beautiful objects.

Small Space Living First Month Update

Somehow the first 30 days of Small Space Living are gone. All in all it was a good first 30 days. I am not the top rated blog on Technorati, yet, but all kidding aside February looked like this.

33 posts in 29 day (my goal was one a day)
3,460 unique visitors (about 119 per day)
7,006 page loads (241 per day)

This being my first attempt at the wonderful world of blogging, I feel encouraged by those numbers.

A few thanks are in order. Thanks to everyone who visited, and a huge thanks to everyone who commented on my posts. If you were one of the people who talked about Small Space Living on your blog or linked me — a great big thanks, it means a lot.

Thonet Chair Project

I have a pair of great bentwood Thonet chairs. The chairs were free — thanks mom. I intend to remove the original varnish, which is quite worn and chipping, sand and re-finish.

I am also going to have the seat and back pieces reupholstered, professionally. I am looking for any information on this chair model. Anyone out there know its name?


I have seen similar pieces for sale; there is a set of four on Ebay right now with a starting bid of $475. None of the others I have seen have the metal studs on the back that mine do. It sure looks like original factory work to me. I’m trying to decide weather to replace the studs when I have them reupholstered. Anyone have a clue as to the studs being original?

They both have the original tags on the bottom from the company and the only date is 1928 — if that helps at all. I can’t imagine they are that old.


Here is a sample of the wood with the varnish removed. I’ll update the project as soon as the weather permits me to do some additional work.