This one, built by Canivet Construction, was for a pair of architects. The design was driven more in the modern direction by their sensibilities.
Posts Tagged ‘Berkeley’
Addition in the Berkeley Hills
Posted in Design Projects, tagged addition, bathroom, Berkeley, indoor-outdoor, kitchen, lighting design, minimalist, nana doors, Oak, vaulted ceiling on November 14, 2020| Leave a Comment »
Rafters!
Posted in Design Projects, tagged accessory dwelling unit, ADU, Berkeley, process, roof framing, small buildings, Strawbale, wood on November 12, 2020| 1 Comment »
Some Pretty Roof Framing…The Walls Will Be Straw
Posted in Design Projects, tagged Berkeley, framing, green building, hipped roof, McBride Construction, roof, Strawbale on November 11, 2020| 1 Comment »
Painted Beam With Piranhas & Diamond Post Detail
Posted in Design Projects, tagged beam with animals, beam with monsters, Berkeley, color, decoration, details, interiors, paint, painted beam, patterns, small buildings, whimsy on September 26, 2020| 1 Comment »
Foundation for a StrawBale ADU underway in Berkeley
Posted in Design Projects, tagged Berkeley, concrete, green, process, small buildings, Strawbale on September 24, 2020| Leave a Comment »
Snapshots of Two Recent Kitchen Remodels
Posted in Design Projects, tagged Berkeley, interiors, kitchen, open plan, process, remodel, value on August 21, 2020| Leave a Comment »
Since we are in a pandemic I wasn’t able to do a more formal photoshoot of these two projects. I also was not involved in every little decision, but they turned out well and the owners are happy to have nice new kitchens now as they shelter in place. Both projects involved removing a wall between kitchen and dining rooms, new cabinets, layout rearrangements, updated lighting, bar seating, a mix of wood and solid surface counters. One also got a skylight.
This first one was built by McBride Construction (Photos by John McBride)

Wood-topped peninsula between kitchen and dining room makes a great place to informally eat or do homework, but also serves as a buffet for the dining room


Herringbone Tile


The next one was built by 360 Property Solutions

Wall removed between dining and kitchen to let the south light flow through and connect the spaces





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)

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.

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. .

































