Just as I Thought

Guess what is in this canvas bag?Yup, those are the elusive hinges that I have been eluding me for the last week or so.And you know what? They were right where I put them. I remembered that I needed to use the shipping box for something else but I could not remember what I put the hinges in to keep them safe. Duh....National Trust for Historic Preservation canvas bag, of course they are vintage style hinges.

I chose the hinges because I needed surface mount hinges and did not have a lot of space. I also needed a hinge that was available in black. I originally thought about the L hinge but wasn't really wowed by the idea. One night while watching one of my favorite movies, Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House (1948), I noticed these hinges on casement windows and I liked how they looked.

My favorite part of this movie is when Mrs. Blandings is trying to explain what colors she wants the contractor to have his painter paint her rooms.

Mrs. Blandings: I want it to be a soft green, not as blue-green as a robin's egg, but not as yellow-green as daffodil buds. Now, the only sample I could get is a little too yellow, but don't let whoever does it go to the other extreme and get it too blue. It should just be a sort of grayish-yellow-green. Now, the dining room. I'd like yellow. Not just yellow; a very gay yellow. Something bright and sunshine-y. I tell you, Mr. PeDelford, if you'll send one of your men to the grocer for a pound of their best butter, and match that exactly, you can't go wrong! Now, this is the paper we're going to use in the hall. It's flowered, but I don't want the ceiling to match any of the colors of the flowers. There's some little dots in the background, and it's these dots I want you to match. Not the little greenish dot near the hollyhock leaf, but the little bluish dot between the rosebud and the delphinium blossom. Is that clear? Now the kitchen is to be white. Not a cold, antiseptic hospital white. A little warmer, but still, not to suggest any other color but white. Now for the powder room - in here - I want you to match this thread, and don't lose it. It's the only spool I have and I had an awful time finding it! As you can see, it's practically an apple red. Somewhere between a healthy winesap and an unripened Jonathan. Oh, excuse me... Mr. PeDelford: You got that Charlie? Charlie, Painter: Red, green, blue, yellow, white. Mr. PeDelford: Check.

My other favorite line is when the Blandings' friend, Bill Cole says, You've been taken to the cleaners, and you don't even know your pants are off.

Every time I have to deal with a contractor, I think about those lines.

I just read that they built replicas of this house all over the United States. Two years ago there was a story in the newspaper about one built in the Toledo area. You can read the article here.

If you are building or restoring a home buy this DVD. It is so timeless when it comes to contractors and the highs and lows of home improvement. Plus, Cary Grant is just so debonair. A polished up George Clooney. You ladies know what I mean.