We still are not ready for a full photo shoot, but we got a chance to visit this project in Inverness over the weekend. The remodel (Bay Builders general contractor) was extensive and included many upgrades to the exterior for energy efficiency, wild fire safety and general design improvement. We got to have some fun in the interior including the green Arto tile backsplash and the handmade ash island posts with diamonds cut into them. (They match the three redwood posts on the back porch)
Posted in Design Projects | Tagged ash, diamonds, eclectic, green, houses, kitchen, lighting design, patterns, whimsy, wood | Leave a Comment »
Weve done a few of these in fir for interior and exterior, but this is the first one in ash. It will support a sitting area at the end of a kitchen island. Ill post photos after it is installed.
Posted in Design Projects | Tagged ash, details, kitchen, process, wood | Leave a Comment »
Still not quite finished, The owner is doing many things himself…slowly but surely. I didn’t want to wait to get a few pictures.
This was a typical Berkeley bungalow situation where the kitchen was separated from the yard by a laundry room and a kinda tight breakfast nook. Owner wanted to better connect to the garden and also upgrade things a bit. The upgrades included new custom wood windows & dutch door (Acosta Woodworking). (The existing windows were mostly aluminum sliders installed in the mid 1900s.)
Ash and painted cabinets were built by Xylo Interiors, Oakland. We collaborated on the design details.
Lots of good storage details make for a well organized kitchen
Posted in Design Projects | Tagged ash, Berkeley, kitchen, knobs, storage | Leave a Comment »
It feels good to see this house sitting on a solid foundation after 100+ years.
It will have a new Accessory Dwelling Unit and improved workshop below along with new windows and siding throughout when all is finished.
Posted in Design Projects | Tagged Berkeley, foundation, houses, process, victorian | Leave a Comment »
Not 100% finished…but I visited last week and took some snapshots. This started as a kitchen remodel….but expanded into structural repairs of porch and roof, addition of a small porch on the back, and a tiny half bath in a strange little hallway. The owners chose many of the details themselves…lights, appliances, hardware etc, but McBride Construction and I pulled it all together.
Posted in Design Projects | Tagged Berkeley, bungalow, kitchen, Porch, remodel, small buildings | Leave a Comment »
On a recent trip to San Francisco I saw two more nice examples of Architectural sun rays. First has metallic gold rays and the second one has little stars at the tip of each ray. Both houses are on 25th Street.
Posted in Design Projects | Tagged color, details, fun, houses, patterns, Sun Rays, victorian, whimsy | Leave a Comment »
We stole this detail from the Victorians for two projects underway in Inverness, California and North Berkeley, California.
Here are a few of the inspirations, mostly from the early 1900s in Berkeley & San Francisco:
Someone else was recently inspired by the sun rays –
Posted in Design Projects, Found Objects | Tagged Berkeley, color, details, fun, historical styles, house, Sun Rays, sunrays, trim details, whimsy | Leave a Comment »
Builder for the project is is Bay Builders. Posts were carved by John McBride.
Posted in Design Projects | 4 Comments »
I have been sorting through old photos this week and was reminded of these cool lanterns by Coe Studios used on a Rockridge project.
I also came upon this picture of vine curtains that I took in western Massachusetts a while back.
Posted in Design Projects, Found Objects | Tagged green building, lanterns, lighting design, Rockridge, vine curtains | Leave a Comment »
We are finally getting close to completion on this North Oakland pilates studio for Corpokinetic. The ventilation system is sized to provide 5 air changes per hour when needed to keep the Co2 concentration to 400-500 ppm. It is a heat recovery system for energy efficiency and has a HEPA filtration system that can be activated if there is wild fire smoke or other pollution outside. Hopefully none of this will be needed, but seems more than likely these days. It will also minimize transmission of the ordinary cold virus in the studio. Thanks to Beyond Efficiency for mechanical design and Walter Mork & McBride Construction for installation
Plumbing inspection was also passed today. Here is John McBride testing the drain lines for leaks before the inspector arrived:
Posted in Design Projects, Information | Tagged air changes, Beyond Efficiency, fresh air, green building, healthy, HEPA, HRV, low CO2, mechanical system, Oakland, pandemic design, Pilates | Leave a Comment »
John McBride and I have two projects on this years tour. A strawbale accessory dwelling unit and a stick framed accessory dwelling unit. We are proud of both projects and put a lot of extra heart and soul into them. The tour is free. you just sign up HERE. I’ll be there to answer questions.
Posted in Design Projects, Information | Tagged Accessory Dwelling Units, Berkeley, Electrification, green, small buildings, Strawbale, tiny houses | Leave a Comment »
I was admiring the artistic way these rafter tails wrap around the corner at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley when I noticed the dark sky protection measures they implemented very economically with cut off black plastic waste bins. (and look at that black sky!) I recently updated my education on dark sky protection. I already knew that bright exterior lights are annoying to neighbors and that it would be nicer to see more stars at night, but I learned a few more reasons to avoid light pollution. So many nocturnal animals have their normal patterns disrupted by bright night time lights. Birds and insects in particular. I have a new love for curtains on windows to keep the interior lights from lighting up the outdoors. I had considered curtains mainly for privacy and keeping the sunshine out, but hadn’t worried about all the light that can spill out of a house when lights are on at night. Because LED lights use so little electricity the Earth’s light pollution problem is getting worse. It doesn’t cost very much to leave exterior lights on all night and this sometimes seems simpler than fancy lighting controls. Now I will be thinking of the nocturnal creatures as I plan my architectural lighting.
Posted in Found Objects, Information | Tagged birds, curtains, Dark Sky, green building, insects, lighting design, stars | Leave a Comment »
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