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Photos by the maker, John McBride
Archive for the ‘Design Projects’ Category
More On Our Castle Post
Posted in Design Projects, tagged Berkeley, carving, castle, cedar, construction process, curiosities, details, fun, historical styles, McBride Construction, modern, patterns, process, small buildings, whimsy, wood, zig zag on September 10, 2019| 1 Comment »
Carved Post for Berkeley Cottage in Progress
Posted in Design Projects, tagged ADU, Berkeley, carved post, carving, castle, cedar, details, hand saw, historical styles, middle ages, modern architecture, patterns, process on August 28, 2019| Leave a Comment »
John McBride and I saw a post like this at a castle in Northern Italy. It seemed like a nice detail for a little cottage in Berkeley.
Cottage Sheathed
Posted in Design Projects on July 30, 2019| Leave a Comment »
Backyard Cottage Taking Shape in North Berkeley
Posted in Design Projects, tagged accessory dwelling unit, ADU, Berkeley, cottage, framing, McBride Construction, process, small buildings on July 29, 2019| Leave a Comment »
Saturday Morning Design Meeting
Another North Berkeley Revamp and Addition
Posted in Design Projects, tagged addition, Back Porch, bathroom, Berkeley, energy efficiency, kitchen, remodel, storage on July 20, 2019| Leave a Comment »
The clients desired a refreshed kitchen and another bathroom. They ended up updating much of the house including a new ducted mini split heating system, new patio and porch, insulation and air sealing throughout, interior and exterior paint, and a lot more storage.
I’ll first give you a few before shots of this little stucco house.
Back of House 
Kitchen looking back 
Nook
We were all pretty happy with the new layout.
Construction by McBride Construction, Landscape by Hornby Garden Design and Construction, Photos by Nancy Kalter Dills, Engineering by Verdant Structural Engineers
More Framing shots – A new All electric ADU in North Berkeley
Posted in Design Projects, tagged ADU, All electric, Berkeley, cottage, Energy Conservation, flyash, framing, FSC, green, McBride Construction, process, rockwool, Solar on June 18, 2019| Leave a Comment »
McBride Construction (and others…foundation by Caliber Structural and rough plumbing by Braco Plumbing) have this 484 SF ADU well on its way . It’s nice to see it take form. You can’t see one green innovation that is hidden under the slab. Instead of rigid foam insulation we used rigid rockwool. Concrete is high volume flyash. The framing lumber is FSC certified. The building will get a blower door test and it must meet a high standard for air tightness. (You can still open the window or turn on the ERV for fresh air, but your air won’t be trickling in through dusty cracks and crevices) Stay tuned for more. .
Tiny Kitchen Facelift
Posted in Design Projects, tagged Berkeley, efficiency, kitchen, remodel, small, tile, triangles, zinc on June 7, 2019| 2 Comments »
This small kitchen is in the center of a small house. The house had been lovingly and artistically updated over the years, but the owners were waiting for the right time to tackle the kitchen. The budget was tight, but the owners had a lot of energy for carefully considering every detail and the contractor, Steve Coleman, was the perfect fit. He had the skill and the patience to accomplish it all.
Most of the cabinet boxes are standard IKEA with the faces upgraded by Steve. The mahogany corner shelves and the refrigerator side panel and upper cabinet are custom made. The cabinet kick and the end panel are zinc with patina. (The end panel has steel behind the zinc so that it is magnetic for displaying pictures) The dark metal kick is quite visible from the entry and livingroom…but by visible I mean it actually nicely disappears into the shadows. Fluorescent recessed lights and dated dining table lighting have been upgraded beautifully. The deep window at the sink got a splash of pale yellow with vertical white tiles below. The range side got a bright red tiled backsplash. The improved below counter storage allowed for the elimination of the cabinets surrounding the cooking area. The range and dishwasher were saved, but a new taller and shallower refrigerator improves the space. The long counter on the sink side is 6 inches deeper than normal which yields more counter space for working and for objects such as toasters and fruit baskets. (Some objects were removed for the photoshoot)
Now all they need is some art on the white walls!
Photos by Nancy Kalter Dills
Recent Small Kitchen Remodel Details
Posted in Design Projects, tagged below counter microwave, Berkeley, cabinets, details, kitchen, metal, Oakland, patina, poet's corner, pot rack, process, storage, Temescal, tile, triangle shelves, zinc on May 28, 2019| Leave a Comment »
The builder sent me these first 4 snapshots…hopefully I’ll be able to photograph the finished project soon.
Zinc sheet with patina
Zinc panel installed
mahogony triangle shelves in the corner – lots of storage, clean and simple, counter still open for work
red heath tile backsplash behind the range (existing range to remain)
Another kitchen with a new very simple refrigerator side panel and high cabinet to hide the cereal boxes. The side panel is a great spot for a pot rack!
And another with a very simple under counter microwave
Photoshoot at recent project (these are just my snapshots)
Posted in Design Projects, tagged Berkeley, cabinets, details, doorways, lighting design, Oak, redwood, wood on January 21, 2019| Leave a Comment »
This recent full house remodel and additions in Berkeley turned out great. I don’t usually use so much wood, but it makes this house very cozy. More photos soon!
Vaulted Ceiling with Cedar Trusses and High Triangle Window
Posted in Design Projects, tagged addition, cedar, light, Oakland, structure, Temescal, triangle, trusses, vaulted ceilings on October 3, 2018| Leave a Comment »
The builder, Steve Coleman, just sent me these snapshots of an almost finished 2-story addition in Oakland. The high window faces east and morning light streams in.
The large room contains kitchen, living room, and dining area.
The roof has a pitch change at the eave (matching existing early 1900’s house) that is carried through to the interior.
Steve’s snapshot video of the white ceiling fan that disappears into the white ceiling:
Nice Garage
Posted in Design Projects, tagged Berkeley, framing, process, roof framing, small buildings, utilitarian, vaulted ceiling, wood on September 13, 2018| Leave a Comment »
Contemplating the ridge beam
Garage from down the driveway
Rafters in and half the T@G 2×6 sheathing
Rooflets
Posted in Design Projects, tagged awning, metal, powdercoat, rain protection, roof, steel on August 19, 2018| Leave a Comment »
Melissa Macdonald Metalwork fabricated these two nice powder-coated steel awnings for us. They will protect the big window and backdoor from the weather. Hopefully, they will install the third one on my house soon. Photos by John McBride
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