FROM OUR READERS SUBMITTED BY ASHLEY TYLER OF JUMPER BEAN DAYCARE: PHOTOS PROVIDED
Our 90-year-old country farmhouse gets a fresh new mudroom for my daycare. We converted the garage into a large mudroom… everything was finished from walls to floor! 15 cabinet cubbies were made for the children to hang their belongings and are a focal point of the new space. A large bench goes across the opposite wall for parents’ seating. All walls were insulated and covered with tongue and groove. We refinished the bathroom with a cast iron double faucet sink. A protective removable cover was built to surround the hot water tank and a closet was made to completely enclose the sump hole and panel box. A small wall was built behind the sink to hide all the piping and we finished with a stone floor. All work done by Finishing Touches of Ballston Spa. Thanks for sharing this, I hope your readers like my garage redo idea! Sincerely, Ashley
THE TIES THAT BIND WRITTEN BY MEGIN POTTER PHOTOS BY BLACKBURN PORTRAIT DEIGN
Throughout the ages, the necktie has been the quintessential fashion statement for men. Like a knight strapping on his colors before a battle, these strips of fabric are banners that make a statement. Wally Estill, however, has come up with a creative way to reuse them. He collected unwanted ties from friends and family and commissioned his friend Peg to weave the tails onto the seat of a wooden chair as a special 50th Anniversary gift for his brother and sister-in-law. “I had ties coming out of my ears,” he said. The project resulted in lots of leftover tie fronts (called blades) that Estill wanted to repurpose, as well. That’s where his funky window valances came from. He collected a total of 200 blades. His brother-in-law thought of an easy, no-sew method to put them together. saratogaTODAYnewspaper.com
After measuring a 1”x3” board to the length of the window, Estill stapled each 16 ½” strip to it, overlapping one over the other. He turned the board to hide the ends and screwed it into the frame. Now, every window, and even a window mirror in his home, has become a conversation piece.
“People come over and they say, ‘I recognize that tie’, or ‘Gee, I really like that Mickey Mouse one’. Everyone that’s seen them has said, ‘Wow, what an idea!’” said Estill. “I’m just so happy to have my apartment looking a little manly finally,” he added. One of his first creative endeavors, Estill, who volunteers at the Saratoga Hospital, is also writing a book and is planning an upcoming speech at Empire State College entitled, Surely, Shirley Lived about his rich life with Shirley, a paraplegic, and his wife of more than 53 years. SS
MAY/JUNE 2017 | SIMPLY SARATOGA | 17