Week 2: More Demo

Demolition continued this week--it's a big house and there is a lot to be done.  The focus this week, in addition to continuing effort on taking out existing tile floors and interior finishes, was some exterior walls and vegetation in the front.  Entering the house from the back patio, things don't look all too different until you fully turn the corner.

The living room and kitchen were largely torn out after the first week's work, but the big change there this week is the removal of the exterior siding (other other materials on the exterior wall).  Here are some pictures from both the interior and exterior points of view, including the look into the dining room that I pointed out in the last post.

Another area that saw the beginning of demolition this week was the great room.  The pocket doors by the dining room were removed, and in the great room--the floors, windows, and wall facings.

The last area seeing major change this week was Timothy's bedroom and bathroom.  Walls came down, cabinets and windows were removed

View from Tim's room into what used to be his bathroom (toilet was on the
right, shower in the middle, sink/vanity on the left.)

Same view as above.

I tried to capture the opening to Tim's bathroom
here, to re-imagine the new layout.

Seeing some minor[ish] changes were the master bathroom (where the tub/shower tile were all removed) and the laundry room (where the cabinets etc. were removed).

Master bath: tub was in the middle, with shower on left, toilet on right.

Laundry room...where the cabinets used to be.

Week 1: D-Day/Hauling it all Away

Construction finally began last Monday: November 5th, 2012—almost exactly 3 years since the house first became ours.  It has been a long journey to get to this point, and though we realize that we've got quite the journey ahead of us still, it is exciting to have broken ground.

Walking in through the dining room, via the walkway to the laundry room/kitchen, there is an immediately noticeable difference from last week.  Most of the glass in the house has been removed (and much needed, since that was one of the largest practical issues needing updating) and many areas are now open to the elements.  Here is a before/after from the same perspective, and another photo looking back at the area we walked through (followed by some other pictures of the dining room):

The kitchen had been mostly removed, apart from some of the island.  Walking through here, it was easy to envision the new design.  With the surface removed from the half wall, it is easy to imagine the openness the glass and rail will provide when complete.  It is such a nicer space when it is not compartmentalized as it was previously.  These pictures show the kitchen, both from the kitchen level and from the living room below, with a detail shot of the reverse side of the siding/paneling.

  

There hasn't been any work done in the great room yet, nor have Timothy's room and the guest room been touched.  The office and adjoining kitchen have been torn out though, and the laundry room has been started.  We did find a funny remnant in Melinda's bathroom on the shower tile—a creative way to study vocabulary?

 

The bedroom wing has seen a good amount of work.  The powder room and both Andrew's and Audrey's rooms are mostly deconstructed, and the hall cabinets have been taken out.  It's nice to see the rooms without the cabinets/counters interfering with the view out the windows.

view (from Andrew's room) of his bathroom (left) and powder room (right)

Looking straight through from Andrew's room to Audrey's room. 

Audrey's room: the sink was straight ahead, the bathroom to the left.

Audrey's room: her bathroom (right) and straight through to the Master.

Last but not least, we are finally getting a behind-the-scenes peek at what is going on in the Master bathroom.  It's a bit hard to tell what is what since most of the walls are now just framing, so focus-focus-focus.  :)

From the entrance, doors and closets are gone, courtyard on left.

The bedroom portion.

From the entrance to the master suite, looking straight through where
the closets used to be.  There's a peek of the tub and the courtyard.

From the corner of the bathroom...Chris is standing where our closets used
to be.  You can see Audrey's room in the background.

A funny view from the Master (closet area) where you can see under the house
a bit, and through the hall cabinets all the way into the living room.

All in all, I think it has been a productive week.  We are still hitting the design decisions on a regular basis, really narrowing down our tile decisions, and getting ready to move on to wood finishes.

Interior Design: Master Bedroom in Focus

The master bedroom/bathroom suite is quite unique (look at this post or study the sketch below to get an idea of how it is arranged.)  The majority of the updates happening here are in the bathroom.   Although the original design was stunning in its own way, living with it for nearly three years has made the novelty wear off.  Lack of functionality (including finally falling into that bathtub) has finally made me eager for a new design.  I'm glad we got to live in it and appreciate it, but I'm also glad to be moving forward.

After deciding on the new layout for the bathroom (with thanks to Jeff Jeannette for the ideas on how to open up the space) most of the decisions have been on how to combine and balance materials between the bed and bath portions of the room.  The first big change is the flooring.  What is now carpet will become natural acacia wood flooring.  I'm looking forward to the warmth that this will add throughout the entire bedroom wing of the house, but it is a color/material change, and thus affects other design decisions.

Our bedroom furniture will be staying the same, so now we are up to 2 items/materials to base our other decisions around: a medium tone wood floor and a darker tone wood furniture.

However, once we look over to the bathroom portion of the room our flooring will change to tile, and so enters some color balance decisions.  These wood tones will repeat in the closet and vanity material to balance out the two sides of the room.

Inspiration for the closets, by Hufft Projects

While the floor tile (in the bathroom) and wall tile (in the shower/toilet areas) will be a fairly even cream tone (I tried to take pictures and they didn't turn out too well) I wanted to find an accent tile that I could put on the partial wall behind the tub.  The picture below doesn't convey the beauty of the stone, but it is a gorgeous earthiness that I fell in love with.

There are other details to be worked out, and some of the visions of how it will look exist only in the mind's eye, but I'm excited about the prospect.  The ceiling in the bathroom will be opened up to match the open beams of the other part of the room, and the shower will have a door that opens to the courtyard—really taking our quest to join inside and outside to a whole new level.

mmm...soaking tub by WetStyle

My inspiration for how to style the vanity/sink.  Love
this look!  (by Elemental Design)

One Step Closer

Our house plans have been approved by the city, which means we are finally one step closer to making this remodel a reality!  As it has gotten closer to beginning, I find myself feeling momentary bouts of regret - I'm going to miss this house I've lived in for the last 2.5 years! - intermixed with the excitement at the prospect of being able to fix all of the little problems these last years have brought to light.*

We are in the process of deciding on a contractor and still trying to make decisions.  Decisions, decisions, that's what it's all about.  Looks like the blogging is about to pick up pace. :)



* "brought to light" is used figuratively, although once the remodel is complete I'll be able to use it literally as well...can't wait to get some real light in this house!

Interior Design: Kitchen in Focus

Emily (our interior designer) has been great to become acquainted with, and also a wonderful help in starting to decide on some particulars.  She's been very good at paying attention to our preferences and giving us some interesting options, truly making all these decisions much easier.

We've moved from initial presentations to creating our own palette.  If you look back at the design boards, I'd say we're moving in the direction of the 2nd board (more period specific) while adding more bold colors and modern touches.  We want to be true to the architecture of the house, implementing many design ideas of the time, such as modern innovations and bridging the gap between inside and outside. This phase of design is where we pick out some of the big things that will set the tone for the house: colors and materials for flooring, cabinets, and walls.

We've been to Fixtures Living a couple of times and had a marvelous time looking at all the latest kitchen appliances and bath fixtures.  Chris has fallen for the La Cornue range, (no wonder,) especially after getting the chance for some hands-on time.  (So thankful to Emily and Alyson@Fixtures Living for setting this up for us!)  We have the majority of our appliances figured out (Miele fridge and dishwashers, Wolf oven) with some specifics waiting for us to finalize our kitchen layout.

 

Because our house is split-level, (the kitchen is a half-level step up from the living room it adjoins,) and because we have some traffic issues to consider, we are throwing around a couple of different layout ideas.  It is a long space, making it a bit tricky, but Emily is helping us puzzle it out.  We are currently exploring her idea (see #2 below) to keep traffic out of the cooking area while still encouraging visiting and entertaining.  I've drawn a rough sketch of the layout to help visualize the area.

We also went to West Hollywood to visit the Pacific Design Center to look at cabinet options at Cooper Pacific.  There are so many options that it is really quite inspiring.  The trouble will be narrowing down our preferences!  At this point, we know that we want to mix up our surfaces a bit (different cabinets on lower/upper, main/island etc.) keeping a medium light tone on the floors and counters, and something medium dark for the cabinets.  The cabinets we'd like to keep in a natural feel, fairly simple to let the range command attention.

That's the status of the kitchen design at this point.  We're also currently working on flooring materials and trying to pin down the design for our subterranean addition.  Hopefully I'll get around to posting an update on that soon.

Design Phase One: Initial Design Boards

As time has crawled by on our end, waiting for new developments in the progression of house plans, our architect (Jeannette Architects) has been busy pulling together all the different aspects of good design, from engineering to contractors to interior design.  Most recently he's introduced us to an interior designer that he's worked with in the past, who will be helping us pull together some of the finishes and design for the interior of the house.

In an attempt to gauge which direction we want to head in with the design of the house, she put together 3 design boards representing different ideas for, or approaches to, a cohesive whole.

First up, the very modern scheme with bright punches of color:

Design Notes:

• White finishes and light wood throughout contrast with the dark wood and bright colors. 
• Glossy finishes and aluminum accents keep the look fresh and bright.

My Thoughts:

• The white and aluminum feel too bright for the style of our house--I'm looking for colors and design that embrace nature a bit more.
• Some of the selections don't feel substantial enough for this house.  I think we need some "weightier" colors and forms to balance with the scale of the house.

Second, the traditional mid-century look, slightly updated for current sensibilities:

Design Notes:

• Earth tones: brown, green and amber, team up with varied wood finishes for a warm feel, contrasted by a creamy white.
• Different ceiling variations to lighten the open beam ceiling while maintaining character.

My Thoughts:

• Overall I'm much more attracted to this palette.  It's much more inside/outside earthy, giving me the soothing feeling I'm after.
• I like the combinations of textures, which I think adds a lot of depth and that substantial feeling I'm after.  

Third, a beach-inspired palette that lands somewhere in-between mid-century and modern:

Design Notes:

• A cool, almost dusty, color scheme is combined with glossy white and wood, resulting in a peaceful, casual, relaxing atmosphere.
• All the modern design of the first board balanced with the mid-century look gives a new yet timeless feel.

My Thoughts:

• I like the idea of balancing the modern with the mid-century and adding in the beach-inspired element of relaxation.
• Leaves me craving some color.  I don't think the element of interest is quite high enough, although that should be an easy tweak.

Overall thoughts:

Since these are very general moods/ideas, and since it the very first round in design, I have to keep reminding myself to focus on the bigger picture rather than picking at the details.  Generally speaking, then, the first scheme doesn't feel substantial enough for this house.  I think it is too modern in some ways.  I like that there is a bit more color, but otherwise it doesn't really work for me.  I love the second scheme (the wood and textures and earthiness) although in some ways it's a little too traditional for me.  I think it needs livelier colors as well.  The third scheme has the fewest things to pick on, but also doesn't seem to have a lot of character.  The white and grey make it slightly too 'cold' for my taste.

As the design progresses, I think we'll be finding a balance between scheme 2 and 3.  Also, we'll be finding more ways to add some color, and trying to decide on some of the main flooring in the house.

It's exciting to be getting closer to actual construction, as well as a little nerve-wracking to be making some very important decisions.