John was working in the driveway this morning making a flat surface on a big live edge slab of oak. It will be a desk top by the end of the day.
Here it is installed with some Watco oil finish
Archive for March, 2012
Coast Live Oak Desk with a Live Edge
Posted in Found Objects on March 24, 2012| 2 Comments »
1907 Berkeley Craftsman, mostly original
Posted in Found Objects, tagged Berkeley, houses, wood on March 23, 2012| 1 Comment »
The fun of remodeling your house!
Posted in Found Objects, tagged bathroom, Brooklyn, fun during construction, humor, process, remodeling on March 22, 2012| 1 Comment »
My friend Jenee just sent me this picture. She is remodeling her 1860’s row house in Brooklyn, NY. Some people love the construction process – bare studs, uncovering 100+ years of layers, camping out in the city, and unexpected fun like using this toilet. Some people would rather just have the job done.
Electrical Timers
Posted in Found Objects, tagged bathroom, energy efficiency, gadgets, green on March 21, 2012| Leave a Comment »
It is a good idea to put your bathroom fan on a timer so that you can set the fan to turn off in 1 minute or 30 minutes or anywhere in between. This way you get the damaging moisture out of the house without forgetting and leaving the fan on all day.
This is an elegant product from Lutron – clean looking with a sparkle of tiny lights….but it might be hard for farsighted people to read and it seems a bit complicated for what it does.
This one by Leviton has a simpler design and looks easier for clumsy fingers to operate. I think it could lose the “min.” and just have the numbers, but perhaps then it would perplex first time users for a few seconds.
This old-fashioned spring-wound timer from Intermatic that probably makes a clicking sound as it winds down. …but its operation is very obvious.
I will report in after I test my choice, the Leviton.
Whimsical Coat Hooks
Posted in Found Objects, tagged accessories, bronze, details, metal, whimsy on March 20, 2012| Leave a Comment »
These coat hooks remind me of antlers and organic growths. You can get them in a variety of nice patinas. They are sand cast in Idaho by Sun Valley Bronze.
Black and White in Comanche Texas
Posted in Found Objects, tagged black and white, color, curves, minimalism, trim, windows on March 19, 2012| 3 Comments »
I saw this house on a visit to Comanche, Texas a couple of years ago. I like the curved roof and the entry porch with the door and window with pointed head trim. I like the proportions of the attic vent. Most of all I like the tasteful paint job. Siding, trim, and windows, and foundation are all painted white and there is one accent of black trim. I am curious about the person who lives in this house in small town central Texas. Clearly an artist exercising great restraint and minimalism.
Replacing a Huge Deck with a Small Deck and a Big Yard in Oakland
Posted in Design Projects, tagged deck, landscape, Oakland, small buildings, value on March 10, 2012| 1 Comment »
This was a collaboration with Matt Hornby Garden Design and Construction.
It wasn’t hard to improve upon the existing decks and yard, but the budget was a challenge.
These are before photos of the deck and yard:
This huge deck on the second floor didn’t even have real footings!
So the idea was to make the upper deck just big enough for a couple to sit and enjoy the evening, and to make a nice big lower level deck. the structure supporting the upper deck and the upper deck itself will help to create zones for different sorts of outdoor living. There is also a patio and a lot of garden that doesn’t appear in the sketch model.
sketchup model of the multi-layered landscape design
railing sketch
Deck gone!
The middle post is actually not connected to the deck. It is for a pergola that will attach to the deck.
Now I’ll have to go back and visit to get some more photos of the finished project.
The Simplest Decoration
Posted in Found Objects, tagged decoration, holes, metal, patina, patterns, sparkle, value on March 7, 2012| Leave a Comment »
Removal of material in decorative pattern creates sparkle of light on plain steel chair back
Planned development in the Catalina Foothills, Tuscon
Posted in Found Objects, tagged arizona, color, desert architecture, historical styles, houses, rigid design guidlines, Tucson, turquoise on March 5, 2012| 2 Comments »
It’s not the greatest photo, but here are the promised southwestern blue (turquoise) windows. From the Catalina Pueblo architectural guidelines – DunnEdwards Reef Encounter– DE573 ) Probably the color is just right for the Sonoran desert because it mimics the color of copper and turquoise, abundant in the region. This photo is the front of my aunt’s house in the Catalina Pueblo. It is part of a 108 house development designed and built in the 1970s by Don Maxon. The association has fairly conservative design guidelines, but they do allow this one bright accent color.
Ahead of their time in the 1970s, the architect and builder preserved much of the native desert vegetation, including many saguaro that are now well over 100 years old. They modeled the houses closely after houses in Alamos, a pueblo in Mexico, sticking to design elements that were carefully documented. The community also has shared amenities such as swimming pools and walking trails. I have mixed feelings about rigid design guidelines, but in this case the result is a very tasteful and cohesive architectural fabric.
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- Curves in brick, stucco, wood, and metal
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- posts and beams with decorative ends painted dark brown
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- Curving cream colored stucco wall with black lampost
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- Roof deck
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- Giant saguaro cactus and southwestern blue windows (and Aunt Dagmar)
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- Shadows
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- Community pool with salmon deck chairs
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- Burnt adobe bricks with scuppers
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- Giant Saguaro and nice transition from stucco to adobe bricks in carport wall
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- Stucco curves with mountain backdrop
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- Triple scupper and road runner weathervane
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- Curving wall with lamp post
Weathering Steel Planter Box
Posted in Design Projects, tagged COR-TEN steel, corten steel, dog, furniture, garden, isba, landscape architects, materials, metal, planter box, weathering steel on March 3, 2012| 1 Comment »
Weathering Steel or COR-TEN steel weathers to a nice coppery brown color, then stops rusting for the most part. John welded up this planter box for a garden in Rockridge, CA this morning.
corten steel planter box
Isba supervises
Welder and two Landscape Architects
Construction Progress in Berkeley
Posted in Design Projects on March 1, 2012| Leave a Comment »
I visited two jobsites yesterday. The first is this project, a small landscape office and toolshed for my friend Matt Hornby, landscape architect and stone mason. He has poured the foundation slabs and will soon be ready to frame the walls and roofs:
Two Little Foundations
The second is a remodel in the Berkeley hills – A master bedroom, bathroom, and office in a mid century home.
We added a skylight over the stairs. We will be opening up the stairwell to the upper level, so the light will permeate several rooms as well as bringing light to the lower level.
Skylight framing – bigger opening in the ceiling than the roof, light will wash down 3 walls
Electrician pulling wires in a new master bath
Floor plan with electrical
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