This photo captures the four fir columns with foyer with slate floor to the north, bedroom and bathroom wing to west, living and dining to south and kitchen to the east. While most walls are simple painted surfaces, the four columns add some warm fir wood and organize the space.
Here are a few more photos: 1) Lower floor TV room – nice the way the TV disappears into the dark wall. 2) Primary bath curbless shower 3) Burnt orange Powder room with interior window to adjacent skylight 4) Looking in from the front door 5) Dining room 6) Kitchen – Kitchen features paperstone countertops and dark cabinets…a cantilevered island seating area and the best view in the house.
The initial concept was to remodel and possibly expand the kitchen, relocate the stairs down, fix the funky half wall between living room and hall….improve the primary suite, but we ended up doing a fair bit more. The sunroom was a bit too sunny with all those skylights, and it didn’t have any insulation in the roof, so we made some big changes there. (switched to high south windows instead of the skylights)
The big updates to energy efficiency are not evident in the photos.
There was a lot of good teamwork on this project between the very involved owners, the local builder and architect and myself.
Below are some before and after plans, then a few before photos.
We (myself and John McBride) collected a few photos of living roofs in Norway and Denmark. Starting with traditional details from the Norwegian Museum of Cultural History in Oslo, then some modernized, but very similar details that we saw everywhere we went in Norway, then one very modern example in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Starting with a traditional detail – with layers of tree bark for a waterproofing membraneThey hold the facia in place with tree branches! Looks kind of funny here. another view of that eaveA more recent example near Tonsberg – has metal clips to hold the facia, a modern waterproofing membrane in place of the treebark, and a bit of metal flashing in evidenceAnother recent detail with elegant joinery instead of clips to hold the facia. I’m not sure about drainage…whether it just spills over when necessary…or something more sophisticated.I think the lower part is a wooden gutter. Decorative clips hold the facia which holds the earth and plantings. This little changing room near a lake needed a bit of maintenance. I dont think having trees growing out of the roof is intended. We stayed in this house near Oslo with the same basic roof systemWater passes into a gutter with chain drains in some spots. And we slept a night under this living roof on a hut in Langedrag Nature Park. It also had some saplings growing out among the grasses. Almost all the buildings at Langedrag had the same sort of roof. We walked across Copenhagen to see this cool ski hill atop a waste to energy plant (in the background)
Also in Copenhagen we went on tours of some of the newly developed mostly residential areas…in particular, Nordhavn, which used to be a port and is now mostly apartments. Our tour guide told us that this and other newer parts of Copenhagen are built on what was once water. She mentioned that the master plan included both green space and blue spaces for enhancing the human environment – regular parks (green) and all sorts of connections to the water and uses of the water for transit, swimming, boating etc. (blue) Lots of mention of environmental certifications, and we also toured a very nice recycling/reuse facility. Nesting sites for 3 species of bird were incorporated into the roof of one tall building. The courtyards and other outdoor spaces, (blue and green) were mostly quite nice. We were wondering about impacts on the greater environment, wildlife, of expanding over the water…and how they were preparing for sea level rise. Multi family housing is already more energy efficient than single family houses, but we were told that most of these buildings incorporate many environmentally conscious features, but that wasn’t the focus of the tour. We did tour a very nice recycling and reuse facility serving the neighborhood. The entire waterfront is public space available to all residents and non- residents.
perhaps not very functional for playing or otherwise occupying, but still very nicePlayground on parking garage roof and two of the taller apartment buildings in backgroundside of parking garage and stair up to the playground with another playground at ground levelwater interfaces under construction still…but already in use. School on the waterfrontSchool on the waterfrontWe headed home on the electric ferry
quite lovely…including a basketball/ soccer court and various nooks for sitting, dining, gardening…hanging laundry…but we rarely saw people using the space.
Ive been sorting old photos lately. 🙂 This was one of 2 bathrooms part of a full house remodel. It was fun to design the sliding barn-door mirror that opened to reveal a window (to the back yard) Built by Canivet Construction and John McBride (Working for Canivet as a carpenter)
I visited a ten year old project yesterday. This client commissioned me to design a translucent floor in her dark entry hall. There was already a skylight directly above.
I just realized that I never added this recent bathroom remodel to my digital diary. I wish I had a photo of the tiled shower surround because it is really pretty, but here is the vanity.
The countertop is Paperstone (FSC certified and also acoustically and thermally more like wood than most counters, but very durable) The bright purple floor is Marmoleum. The cabinet and mirror frame are ash. The light is from Metrolighting in Berkeley. The white rectangle is a secret cabinet. 🙂 There is space under the vanity for scale, stool, & waste bin….even a basket of bath toys.
These two are of the mudroom with pendant light from Metrolighting in Berkeley and stained glass fabricated by Feral Studios in Oakland, cabinets by Wood Art in El Sobrante..door by Acosta Woodworking, Richmond, floor tiles – Arto (Los Angelos) Studio Series. The builder is Bayside Builders (Marin). Whew. Design by me. There is space under the shelving for a rolling cart with food dehydrators…or boxes..other large objects. (Still waiting for real photoshoot. )
The clients sent me these photos from their recent visit to the project.
Im excited about the vaulted ceiling and the transition to the flat ceiling beyond. High south facing windows to the left are still covered in plywoodThis photo is looking back towards the entry (Defined by four 6×6 fir posts) and the kitchen (vaulted ceiling) Another shot of the kitchen (high windows covered)
An old client wanted to create a small enclosed office to hide the books and papers and also give her some acoustical and visual separation from the loft -family room. It was important not to block the light from the two windows at that end of the loft. Nice craftsmanship by Steve Coleman Builder.
Before shotthe new insualted wall with glass door and two windowsThe desk..almost finishedbookshelves And we created a new space at the other end of the room for a desk overlooking the kitchen and dining below for the daughter. Detail of the copper railing (from 2009)
Justin Prevadoros, the builder for our Galiano Island project, sent this great photo of his crew testing the steel beam that will span the living room and support a dual purpose hearth & bench.
deedsdesign 