A travesty. Two, in fact.

First, the knitting-related.

Finished my Hello Yarn "We Call them Pirates" fair isle hat today. Yeah, it's too small. As Lemur says, quoting Abby at Borealis (I think), "the hat IS the swatch." Guess I'll be making another "swatch" of some sort... I intend to offer it up to one of my smaller-headed fellow pirates.

The second... well, I picked up the premiere issue of a magazine about arts and crafts homes. My parents have a lovely 1917 Craftsman, and because they have 1974563053 things on their plates and I live in a two-room box, I live my renovation fantasies vicariously through them. (Yes, the dishwasher we bought two years ago IS still sitting on the back porch in the box. No, they don't have a working dishwasher, unless you consider my dad.)

Anyways.

Flipping through it, I was particularly struck by photos of extensive built-ins in a previously gutted house. Gorgeous three-part butler's sideboard, powder rooms inspired by those on a luxury ocean liner, window seats flanking a small desk all the way along the wall of a sunroom... breathtaking. What had originally caught my eye the most involved what I assumed to be the main staircase. Several staggered longer shelves ran along the inner wall of the stairs, while the space under the stairs included multiple doors and drawers of different sizes resembling a tansu chest (something I've had my eye on for several years). The overall effect really showcased a great sense of space usage and a bit of contemporary design within the traditional.

So I kept reading through the article to find out more. Turns out the house had been neglected for many years before this renovation, and within the remodeling process the owner had decided to add on to reach a total of 6,000 square feet. That should have been a red flag right away, but I kept reading. The same owner who decided to increase the square footage then decided before occupancy that the house would be too big, and put the house on the market following the renovation's completion. It sold.

The person who bought the property, however, was more interested in the land than the house and proceeded to GUT IT AGAIN. All that's left of the brand-new woodwork? The pictures.
Jaw, meet floor.