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
Posted in Found Objects, tagged Berkeley, houses, humor on March 11, 2013 | 1 Comment »
I am referring to what appears to be a closet protruding from the second floor addition on the white stucco house.
Posted in Design Projects, tagged Berkeley, houses, process, stucco on February 25, 2013 | Leave a Comment »
Work proceeds, but still mostly deconstruction of this old house. 
With interior walls torn out it is cool to be able to see all the way through the house from the front door. 
Posted in Found Objects, tagged Berkeley, COR-TEN steel, corten steel, garden, landscape, metal on February 23, 2013 | Leave a Comment »
On my way to buy a delicious vegan donut at Fellini Coffee Bar this morning I stopped to take a picture of this redwood and cor-ten steel fence and struck up a conversation with this lively 80-something year old woman. She asked whether I liked the fence, and was very interested in cor-ten steel when I explained its properties to her. She was curious why I was interested in this fence and whether I was an artist. When I told her I was an architect she was very excited and told me that architecture is her favorite thing. She grew up in the heart of Chicago in the 30s and 40s and developed a love for buildings. Chicago is rich in architecture and its people seem to take great pride in their built environment. She now lives in the Strawberry Creek Lodge in Berkeley and is looking forward to the renovations and seismic retrofit that is scheduled for the building. It was nice to meet someone who appreciates architecture as much as I do.
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.
Posted in Found Objects, tagged Berkeley, green, windmill on February 2, 2013 | Leave a Comment »
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.
Posted in Design Projects, tagged Berkeley, garden, small buildings on November 8, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
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.
Posted in Design Projects, tagged Berkeley, interiors, patterns, tile, wood stove on October 2, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
We did a bit of rearranging in our apartment this summer. The chimney and hearth have been screaming replace me since I moved in. The closet behind them was also not very functional – very deep with a small door, so not very efficient storage. Now the closet is very efficiently laid out to store the vacuum and brooms and other cleaning tools, and the litter box fits nicely behind the stove with a private cat door at the back. The stove is now recessed into the wall leaving room for a generous raised hearth and a clear pathway to the kitchen beyond. I took pictures of most of the steps.
Posted in Found Objects, tagged arbor, Berkeley, curves, fence, garden, gate, Maybeck, pergola, railing, railings, trellis, wood on September 21, 2012 | 3 Comments »
Posted in Design Projects, tagged Berkeley, salvaged, small buildings on August 3, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
Matt made some progress on the little buildings while I was gone. He chose a warm brown integral color stucco and a red standing seam roof. You can’t see it very well in this photo, but the door to the right is an old salvaged door with a window and some nice details.
Looking good!
