the ice storm

Yes, this is not real stone.  It’s a nice representation of a (burnt?) stone wall, with several parking options for your late 70s cars, and – as an afterthought, let’s stick a front door on there for grins. One of the worst Hobbit-hole entrances I’ve ever seen..   This is the first house in San Francisco I’ve worked on that’s younger than me – but not by much!  Started in 1979 and completed in 1980, this house is an ode to all things brown and mirrored.  Walking through made me think of the Ice Storm. hot fireplace, curving hearth…you can see your casserole dinner in reverse…

We don’t mind this though – the wet bar!  It stays.  (there are two of them in the house…) The awesome tile, and the padded cabinetry so you don’t knock your knees when going in for cocktail no.4. A second fireplace – leftover stone from the facade?  Typical doorknob throughout the house…Off the back of the house there’s an enclosed patio, with covered hot tub in the corner, kitchenette and bathroom.  We think it’s pretty groovy, a nice private enclosed space (would love to have seen a party here in 1980), but definitely in need of updating.  We’re opening it up quite a bit too. The dreaded fire escape, as seen from the patio.  It’s a goner!  All these 70s treatments aside, the house has a lot of space, good bones, and sweeping views of the Marin Headlands and Twin Peaks – the reasons why the family bought it.  We’re well into demo now – check back for more progress….to the studs!

San Francisco bungalow progress

Here’s the look of demo….the mess, the uncovered pieces, the view to new possibilities.  

This is in the kitchen – behind the cabinetry and appliances we uncovered evidence of a once-PINK kitchen!  Awesome. I thought this was a nice composition…A heap of ceiling coming down.  The issue with these older homes is that the walls have no insulation.  I’ve never done blown-in insulation, where a hole is drilled into each study bay and it’s filled with some kind of loose fiber.   View of the hobbit staircase.  Cute, but even I at 5′-9″ would almost crack my head on the way up. The old brick coal-burning fireplace.  You probably couldn’t fit more than a Duraflame log in here, on the days you can actually burn a fire in San Francisco.Here’s a painted wall we found within a dropped ceiling.  This may have once been an exterior porch.  Over the years, I’ve seen this green-blue color very often in porches, laundry rooms, ‘utility’ rooms, etc.  I like it, and am interested in knowing why this was common practice for paint color in those spaces..? Looks like someone built a house within this house at one point in time!  There’s that green-blue color again. Cobwebs, or “Irish lace” as I was told – in the uncovered attic space. Spoooky..Down at the first floor here’s the shadow of an old staircase found within a wall. It was an exterior staircase since that’s redwood sidingTwo views of eave closet spaces, matched in reverse.  Lots of old wood in this house – can we reuse some, please, someday!?  Clients are often dubious or nervous about the prospect of this beat-up redwood being turned into beautiful interior wall cladding.  I know it’s possible, it’s been done – even with lath.  It does add more time/labor but in the end, it tells a story, is warm and tangible, and relates directly to the history of the house.

san francisco bungalow

Here were in front of the ugliest house on the nicest block a bungalow in San Francisco. This may not be a true bungalow, or one you would’ve found in a Sears & Roebuck catalog back in 1915.  However it is from 1912 and has a low, sad dormer, some brackets, exposed rafter ends, and shingles.  Random thought is that it was built the year the Titanic sank, and as we started demolition the Italian cruiser tipped over – this must mean good luck! We can’t modify the front too much due to its age and status as a potential historic resource. Around back there is a flat-roofed segment of the building added in two parts over the years.  The garden is filled with beautiful roses and other flowering plants from the former owners.  The lot slopes down away from the house and the views are far and wide: This view is from the top floor.  That tree doesn’t bug me.  At the top floor back of the house is a dormer similar to the one at the front which doesn’t really do the view justice – Part of the remodel involves extending this top floor to accommodate larger master bedroom suite that open up to the view, while maintaining roofdeck space for plantings and star-gazing.  The view pans around and up to a nearby hilltop. Inside we’ve got the usual suspects:  a somewhat vintage kitchen with some appliance ‘updates’ that result in a jumbled room – with potential, of course.  The kitchen floor is classic! I think my grandmother had the same one: Downstairs is some more flooring – and typical ‘basement’ paneling from the 60s or 70s:  Upstairs another vintage find is some loud, splashy wallpaper – great to wake up to but try falling asleep: We’ve got big plans for the house so check back soon for more – in fact, demo has already begun and all the stuff seen here has been passed on to places and friends for reuse – be green! – (shutters, doors, lights, appliances etc) including me:  I kept the front door and plan to make a table out of it : )

old garage doors

Anyone interested?  Free.  Contact me immediately (Jan 31).  Great for reuse as a design feature inside or in the garden. They’re already taken off the frames, stacked and ready for pickup.  They appear to be in decent shape other than covered in lots of paint, some mismatched glass.  The set on the left measures 8′ wide, the set on the right is 7′-6″ wide.  They are barely 6′-8″ tall.  The 7′-6″ wide set seen here on the left is slightly taller than the 8′-0″ set.

evergleam christmas tree

I’m dreaming of an aluminum Christmas….Introduced in 1959 by the Aluminum Specialty Company in Manitowoc, Wisconsin, the ‘Evergleam’ tree lit Christmases of the Atomic Age with a garish yet charming sparkle.  I had to have one and found this 4′ tree on eBay a few years ago.  Did you know it’s ‘green’ to have a fake tree, especially a pre-owned one? Here’s a quick sequence of how easy it is to put together: DONE.  Since every branch is the same length, it goes up in a jiffy.  The shape of the tree is created by the increasing angles of the drilled holes in the trunk: genius.  Notice that the box says “deluxe stand” and then look at the photo… really?  The trees were often illuminated with a color wheel which was a light bulb behind 4 rotating color gels – I don’t have one (yet). Below are some vintage graphics found online on manufacturing and assembling:I love that they were such a drastic departure from the traditional cut-down live Christmas trees, that they represent the mid-century, the play on the word ‘evergreen’ and that they were made in the USA.  I laughed that a Sears catalog apparently read “Whether you decorate with blue or red balls . . . this exquisite tree is sure to be the talk of your neighborhood.”  By the mid/late-1960s the trees had gone out of style. But they’re a kitsch must-have 50 years later, and there’s even a book about them:  I was excited when my mother said her family had one in the early 60s and she sent me a photo:  Lucy in the Peanuts Christmas mentions these trees when she tells Charlie Brown “get the biggest aluminum tree you can find, maybe even painted pink!”  As a kid I wondered what ‘painted pink’ meant.  I’ve seen silver, gold, green, and pink on eBay over the years.  Pink is definitely the most rare – and most iconic of the commercial aspect of mid-century whimsy and what the holiday has become – but who cares – it’s awesome!   Merry Christmas!

peninsula kitchen

It’s not a kitchen with a peninsula but it is located on the peninsula south of the city.  Sometimes it happens that a room being remodeled wasn’t so offensive in the first place, as seen here.  I’m not saying I love any of it, it’s certainly tired-looking but wasn’t laughable like an avocado kitchen.  (avocado has cred in being so gross it’s cool – I had a dryer that color once) This kitchen was remodeled maybe 25 years ago but the new owners had an aversion to it: it felt cramped to them with the upper cabinets, the soffits, the cabinets almost the same color as the floor…The first thing you saw walking to the kitchen was the side panel of the refrigerator.  The far end with big windows is nice but there was a built-in desk which got in the way of dining.  Here above is the blueprint for the last remodel.  The new idea is to eliminate the laundry room and expand the kitchen to the left, resulting in a larger room with room for a sofa as well as the dining table, as seen below:We decided to keep the old laundry room door near the corner of the new kitchen, which I imagine is for throwing a flaming piece of toast or roast out of in a panic!  It also helps achieve what the owners really want – totally open feeling, minimal upper cabinetry, lots of space.  All-white cabinetry, stainless steel, possibly carrara countertops, wood table and/or chairs to bring in some warmth.

Moving right along…..demo has started and below are some photos of the progress: bye-bye laundry, you’re moving on up(stairs)Below are some other 3D views showing the island options, and an overall room view.  More to come! I thought the wood panels at the island would be a nice view when walking into the room but they want more space for seating and shelves so we’re going with the one on the right.Eames shell chairs?  I hope so!  I prefer the fiberglass ones from Modernica, which have a translucent, fibrous quality – over the plastic ones that look very matte and static.  The sad news is that Modernica’s production has currently halted while they do some work on their factory.

case study 22

Recently, Architect magazine put out a call for letters from readers to recount their ‘goose-bump’ moments – experiences that thrilled us to the core. (lately it might be as simple as keeping your job or getting a new project to work on!)  I wrote of my chance visit to Case Study #22 in 2000 when I was in LA stalking architectural celebrities.  They ran my letter – see the image below from the October issue:  The world-famous Case Study #22 house designed by architect Pierre Koenig – and even more famously photographed by Julius Shulman – sits on an edge high in the Hollywood Hills.  It was built as part of Arts & Architecture magazine’s post-war program which invited select architects in 1945 to design homes “capable of duplication” for the average American.  I wouldn’t mind a duplicate! I still recall seeing Shulman’s photograph when I was in college – the image stayed with me, haunted and taunted me.  It was a photo of a house, but nothing I’d seen the likes of in my upstate NY life.  Barely-there, the house is made up of glass panels and steel posts.  The winning gesture is its projection out over the hillside, the drop-off unknown to the viewer.  Here’s Shulman’s photograph: Below is a photo I took in 2006 from Sunset Blvd, looking up at the house from below.  It seems so tiny and delicate from this angle.  I know where to spot it from and always look up when I’m driving in the area.  Here’s a photo of me in 2000, having hopped the security gate and walked up to announce myself to the wonderful owners as you read above.  It really was like meeting a celebrity: and going back to see it at night was the cherry on the holysh*t cake of getting there in the first place.  Not much had changed except that the owners had a catwalk built for easy window maintenance, which I’m standing on. This somewhat muddies the form but it could be taken off in the future.   A moment I’ll never forget! I believe there are occasional tours for the public so I may visit again someday.