The builder (John McBride) sent these photos of the interior plaster, the deep windows, and the interior all cleaned up, ready for plastering.
Posts Tagged ‘curves’
Strawbale interior – first coat of plaster today!
Posted in Design Projects, tagged Berkeley, curves, process, small buildings, Strawbale on April 8, 2021| Leave a Comment »
More Snapshots of a Recent Whimsical Kitchen Project
Posted in Design Projects, tagged cherry, copper, cork, curves, flow, kitchen, remodel, stained glass, turquoise on October 23, 2015| Leave a Comment »
A key part of the design was adding this door from the kitchen to the back part of the house (and future back deck)
As you can see below, this also gave the bedroom a better connection to the bathroom and more privacy.
These curvy shelves and cherry peninsula were just icing on the cake.
The homeowner is a bicycle enthusiast (and an artist)
Very cool,.
Visit to Shawn Lovell’s blacksmith shop in Alameda
Posted in Found Objects, tagged blacksmith, botanical, curves, curvy, handrail, metal, whimsy on November 17, 2014| Leave a Comment »
Last week I visited these guys to check out their work. One of my clients needs a handrail.
Nice to see what an artist can do with traditional blacksmithing.
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- Looking into the Shop
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- Shawn demonstrating her process
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- Handrail stock
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- Handrail
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- Handrail
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- Handrail
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- Whimsical practice piece
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- Coal fired welding
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- Coal fired welding
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- Vine tips stair railing
Curvy Kitchen Shelves in Turquoise
Posted in Design Projects, tagged Berkeley, cabinets, curves, kitchen, process on October 27, 2014| Leave a Comment »
This is the unfinished kitchen of a creative scientist. I helped him with many aspects of the design, including these shelves, but he and the builder are a creative force to be reckoned with. The shelves curve in plan and get bigger as they go up. The cabinet maker will return to rebuild the center three verticals with angles like the end panels. I will post another picture. Still to come a curvy peninsula and new countertop and floor. I will also get pictures of the whole kitchen when it is finished.
Formwork for a Curved Concrete Stair is Done in One Day..and the Finish Work in Another
Posted in Design Projects, tagged concrete, curves, metal, process, value on April 24, 2013| 3 Comments »
I stopped by my job site today to have a peek at the formwork for the curved concrete steps and landing at the back of the house. I was impressed by how quickly the pros got it done.
I noticed that they contained the fill at the center of the pour with a metal mesh box. This way they could use much less concrete than if the landing and stairs had been solid.
Here are the steps today after they pulled the forms and finished the concrete:
I learned that the concrete cost around $900, the integral color (slate green) cost $1600, and the labor to form and finish was about $2000.
Research Trip in the Berkeley Hills – Arbors, Trellises, Pergolas, Gates & Fences
Posted in Found Objects, tagged arbor, Berkeley, curves, fence, garden, gate, Maybeck, pergola, railing, railings, trellis, wood on September 21, 2012| 3 Comments »
New Seat for a Curvy Wood Chair
Posted in Design Projects, tagged curves, furniture, paint, painted plywood, patterns, value, wood on April 27, 2012| Leave a Comment »
I made this painted plywood seat for my friend Matt’s family heirloom chair a while back. Just happened upon the photo while searching through my files.
Black and White in Comanche Texas
Posted in Found Objects, tagged black and white, color, curves, minimalism, trim, windows on March 19, 2012| 3 Comments »
I saw this house on a visit to Comanche, Texas a couple of years ago. I like the curved roof and the entry porch with the door and window with pointed head trim. I like the proportions of the attic vent. Most of all I like the tasteful paint job. Siding, trim, and windows, and foundation are all painted white and there is one accent of black trim. I am curious about the person who lives in this house in small town central Texas. Clearly an artist exercising great restraint and minimalism.
Interview with the owner-designer-builders of an unusual house in Berkeley
Posted in Found Objects, tagged Berkeley, curves, recycled, salvaged on December 14, 2011| Leave a Comment »
I recently found this video interview with the owner-design-builder team of this unusual house in my neighborhood.
I posted some photos of it a while back.
In the video, they reveal the source of many of the materials and their inspirations and technical considerations.
For example, they used lighter colored car roofs for siding on the north side to reflect more indirect sunlight into the house to the north. I’d love to see how this worked out. It might reflect a bit too much in the summer when the sun actually rises and sets in the North part of the sky….but other times it’s probably quite nice.
Curvy Towers in Mississauga, Ontario
Posted in Found Objects, tagged curves on July 24, 2011| Leave a Comment »
I couldn’t find a good photo of this lovely pair of buildings that I’m allowed to repost here, but there are a lot available on the internet if you search for “Marilyn Monroe Towers” or “Absolute Towers Mississauga” The website of the architect has a peculiar description of the design concept:
In my opinion these curving shapes are beautiful and that is all the explanation that they really need. These two paragraphs on the website get more to the point:
“The building is sculpture-like in its overall effect, and its design expresses the universal language of audacity, sensuality and romance. As the new landmark of the city of Mississauga, it will become the icon of the present landscape with all its twisting rhythms resembling the human body.
In our design, the continuous balcony surrounds the whole building, eliminating the vertical lines used in traditional high rise architecture to emphasize the height. The entire building rotates by different degrees at different level, which corresponds with sceneries at different height. Our aim is to evoke the city dwellers’ aspiration for nature, and get them in touch with the sunlight and the wind.”
If I travel to Mississauga I will take some pictures to post here, but here is an artistic flicker photo of the buildings under construction:
This NYT photo captures the synergistic curves:
John Hanes Art Gallery in Booneville
Posted in Found Objects, tagged curves on February 28, 2011| Leave a Comment »
Route 128 in Booneville
The friendly, skilled bronze artist owner greeted me at the door. We got to chatting and he explained to me that his son was the architect for the building. His son had insisted on adding a few south-facing windows to the side wings of the gallery. I think his son should have tried a bit harder for a nice window on the southern end of the central space, but I guess that might not have been ideal for viewing paintings. They ought to put something on the blank wall. A large bronze relief sculpture perhaps? A bright colored sign?
The rustic entry details
Bathroom Before and After
Posted in Design Projects, tagged bathroom, brass, clawfoot tub, copper, curves, hextile, mirror, painted plywood, patina, process, redwood, tile, wood on August 14, 2010| Leave a Comment »
This bathroom had some charm from the start with its orange-bottomed clawfoot tub and cheerful checkered yellow vinyl flooring. It also had a nice view of the Golden Gate. After a while I decided that it could use an upgrade.
Hearst Castle Guestroom Bath
I kept the tub, but gave it a fresh coat of fireball orange on the bottom. I made a curved sink counter out of a big slab of redwood salvaged and milled by Matt Mcbride. The toilet was moved to the other side of the room. This way the view can be enjoyed while seated and there is more space for the sink. I replaced the old toilet with a dual-flush Caroma.
After visiting the Hearst Castle guest room baths, I chose white hex tile for the floor.
The mirror goes wall to wall and all the way to the ceiling for simplicity and so that two people can get ready to go out at the same time. The fluorescent sconces by Justice Design give off a warm glow. The other light in the room is a LED recessed can over the tub.
The secondhand unprotected brass faucets and shower valve are from Ragnar at the Sink Factory on San Pablo, and the nicely patinaed soap dish and towel bar from a secondhand store in Portland, Oregon.
Curved, white-washed corner shelves are filled with colorful towels and plants, and a mural of flowers and butterflies is underway on the back wall behind the tub.
I kept the 100-year-old door (no faux distressing here, just hours of labor with a heatgun and then a sander to take off the layers of paint)
Thanks to Darren McElroy (general help,) John Mcbride (electrical, plumbing, trim carpentry, and sheetrock help,) Matt Mcbride (big slab of redwood,) Dan Lewis (paint removal), Lara Cushing (demo,) Ragnar at The Sink Factory, Peter Renoir Plumbing (moved the toilet,) & J & D Glass & Sash (mirror) for their help. Thanks to my downstairs renters for sharing their bathroom for a while.
Don’t remodel your only bathroom without a good plan.
Links:
Great Article about bathroom remodeling by Matt Cantor in the Berkeley Daily Planet
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