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Some North Berkeley ADU Updates

Posted in Design Projects, tagged ADU, air tight ness, airtight, Berkeley, blower door test, Building Science, castle, cottage, decoration, green, green building, net zero, painted beam, pattern, patterns, small buidings, tiny house, tinyhouse on March 5, 2020| Leave a Comment »

The painted ridge beam went in this week. You can see, if you look closely, another castle post to complement the beam.

We also did a preliminary blower door test to check for airtightness and passed with flying colors

And finally we had a ceremonial sage burning inside the building last night…to bring the good sprits and chase away the bad. Due to the airtightness, the building was still smokey in the morning after the ceremony! (The ventilation system is not yet operational and no windows were open)

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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.

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Cottage Sheathed

Posted in Design Projects on July 30, 2019| Leave a Comment »

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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

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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

New back of house with covered porch and big windows from bedroom and kitchen

Looking towards back from door to diningroom

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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. .

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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

Architect and owners in the finished kitchen

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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

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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!

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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.