Two fine artists in Alameda own this lovely garden and fence. Not overly concerned about security, they made the round cutout in the yellow gate for easy access to the latch
Archive for the ‘Design Projects’ Category
Another Artistic Fence
Posted in Design Projects, tagged color, fence, whimsy on May 20, 2013 | Leave a Comment »
Tony is Making Great Progress!
Posted in Design Projects, tagged Berkeley, doorways, houses, process on May 17, 2013 | Leave a Comment »
Progress! This is a whole house inside and out remodel in North Berkeley. Stay tuned for more pictures as it comes together over the next few weeks.

Vaulting the livingroom ceiling

Wider openings with arches! Now you can see all the way through to the garden in the back

New front hobbit door!

New front windows – just like the old but energy efficient and we raised them up for privacy and easier furnishing of the room
Facelift, Rearrangement, and Energy Upgrades
Posted in Design Projects, tagged color, doorways, El Cerrito, exterior shades, fibercement, green, houses, mahogony, modern, railing, rainscreen, redwood plywood on April 1, 2013 | 2 Comments »
This 1972 budget modern house needed a tune-up. In the process of replacing the windows & siding, adding insulation, replacing the double level deck, and adding exterior window shades and a bright red-orange awning on the NW & SW sides, we also rearranged things and made the floor plan work better. That was the most satisfying part of the project, but it is hard to show it in photographs. Type “Navellier” in the search box to the right for photos of the process.
Here are some photos after construction:
The Bones Exposed
Posted in Design Projects, tagged Berkeley, houses, process, stucco on February 25, 2013 | Leave a Comment »
More Developments at Hornby’s Little Buildings
Posted in Design Projects, tagged Berkeley, small buildings on February 22, 2013 | Leave a Comment »
Matt has the trellis underway (on the left building.) He plans to train a rose to grow on the redwood slats. Mavis and Atticus try sitting on the covered porch in the evening light.
deedsdesign’s Other New Project
Posted in Design Projects, Found Objects, tagged children on January 29, 2013 | 3 Comments »
Willella Elizabeth McBride will be helping out on future deedsdesign projects. She has an uncanny intuition for good design. Her particular interests are good southern exposure, the best flooring materials for playing, and acoustics for enhancing baby’s cries.
Under the 1920′s Stucco with No Overhangs
Posted in Design Projects, tagged Berkeley, historical styles, houses, stucco, water management, wood on January 28, 2013 | 1 Comment »
This new remodel project in Berkeley is underway. They are doing a full house remodel and are smart to make sure that the exterior envelope is in good shape. In our climate these zero overhang stucco houses with old fashioned stucco details (stucco all the way to dirt and no weep screed) often have a lot of rot hidden behind the stucco. You can see some of it in the photos below. The next step will be to remove all the old sheathing and check the studs for rot. After repairing any rotten framing, the contractor will add new plywood sheathing and replace all the windows with modern double glazed models.
Remodel in Point Richmond Almost Finished!
Posted in Design Projects, tagged interiors, kitchen, Richmond on January 9, 2013 | Leave a Comment »
We moved some walls and added some windows and took away a door and moved the kitchen to the other side of the house and added a bathroom and opened up the space a bit. We also upgraded the heating, hot water, ventilation systems and the electrical and lighting. The before shots don’t look anything like these almost finished shots, but you’ll just have to believe me. The layout changed so dramatically that they are not really relevant. Hopefully I’ll have some professional photos when its really finished! This post shows the project at an earlier stage.

The square hole in the wall to the left really helps to connect the kitchen (on left), dining (on right) and living room (beyond grey wall.) The entry closet is camouflaged in wall-matching grey paint.

6″ LED recessed lights by Cree provide ample warm light in the kitchen. Vertical grain fir custom cabinets by Steve Shada, Pika Woodworking

Low voltage art lights await the art on the living room walls
Another Treasure Chest
Posted in Design Projects, tagged boxes, furniture, green, paint, patterns, wood on November 15, 2012 | Leave a Comment »

I finally had a chance to take a few photos of one of our most recent treasure chests. We made this one for Kavi out of maple and a painted poplar top. The hinges are special soft close hinges to protect his small fingers. The paint is my favorite Bioshield Aqua Resin Trim Enamel. I had to use a bit of a different paint for the dark brown part.
Here is a picture of Kavi and his box
More progress at Matt Hornby Garden Design’s Little Buildings
Posted in Design Projects, tagged Berkeley, garden, small buildings on November 8, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
Basement upgrade in the Berkeley Hills
Posted in Design Projects, tagged bathroom, Berkeley, houses, lighting design on October 24, 2012 | 2 Comments »
I just stopped by to have a peek at this almost finished project near Tilden Park. The owner still needs to finish moving in, but you can get an idea despite the blank walls.
Canivet Construction is the builder.
- Upstairs bedroom hallway before remodel
- Hallway opened to stairs and skylight added over the stairs
- Before
- Before
- Before
- looking into the new bathroom
- The new bathroom with custom cabinet and trough sink
- Nursery with baby
- big shower with hospital style curtain
- Lots of space in the linen cabinet
- linen cabinet with doors closed
- sketch of built-ins
- Existing Floor Plan (lower level)
- New Floor Plan (lower level)





































