Kathy's Remodeling Blog

Have wheelchair, will roll . . . in the bathroom

As you can see in this article I wrote for Remodeling Magazine, a bathroom can be both standard and then accessible for wheelchair users when they visit.

When architect Emory Baldwin designed a Seattle house for his family, he thought of all this. Though his family is young and able-bodied, he also has visiting inlaws — who may one day move in — who need an accessible environment. Imagine using a wheelchair and not being able to roll up to the sink? What a hassle.

In fact, Emory designed the entire ground floor for wheelchair accessibility.

So when the wheelchair-using relative visits, the vanity cabinet rolls out of the way on its lockable casters. The house won an AARP/NAHB Livable Communities Award for its intergenerational focus. 

Well played, Mr. Baldwin!

Would you sacrifice square footage for charm?

When famed kitchen designer Susan Serra visited Copenhagen this month, she stayed in this apartment and sent back this photo.

In this living room, I was struck by the deep-set windows, which add so much charm. It creates a feeling of thick walls, and provides shelves for plants, flowers and other things of beauty, and provides a place for a wall heater (behind the table).

And then I realized that anyone could have charm like this by building up raised-panel boxes around the windows.

I suspect this architectural feature also has a practical function, providing space inside to run the utilities, like electrical wires, plumbing pipes and perhaps air contidioning ducts.

But even if these boxes were strictly for charm, would you be willing to give up the lost linear foot of floor space?

Below is the apartment's kitchen with the same feature:

What say you about sacrificing floor space for style?

Also, if you can't get enough of Danish style, check out Susan Serra's company Bornholm Kitchen.

A deep energy retrofit — coming soon to a very HOT climate

In case you're not familiar with central Florida, let me break it down for you: it's HOT, HOT, HOT. And humid. Think sunshine, thunder and flash rain storms in the summer.

So what does this mean? Houses in hot and humid climates need to be built differently from those in, say, cool and dry climates. You can see the map of climate zones here:

The house I'm talking about is in that orange section at the bottom right. I visited the house not too long ago and I can tell you that I was uncomfortable standing near the single-pane French doors in the family room. Even though there was no direct sun on the East-facing glass, as there was an overhang outside, I could still feel the heat from outside radiating through the glass and I had to get up and move.

In a well-functioning house, you should be equally comfortable no matter where you are. In a house that has energy disfunction, however, you'll be cool on the ground floor, hot on the second floor, feeling stuffy in one room, chilly in another, etc. 

In this house, a team will be coming next week to do an energy audit. That is to determine how much energy the house is using before the remodel. I know that the energy bills are $450 a month when the house is vacant. Imagine how much that would cost with a family living in it?

When the remodel and energy retrofit are done, the team will come back and do another audit and note the differences.

Like I said, getting a house to be "energy smart" is not just about saving energy, saving money and saving the planet, though those are good goals. It's also about being comfortable. It's about you and your family being healthy. And it's about a long-lasting home that is not degraded by mold and rot.

Stay tuned.

Enlightened journeys

I've been especially enchanted with several house photos in my collection, and I finally realized what they have in common: All of the homes use natural light to make the journeys from room to room more pleasant.

The top photo shows Claire Gunning, 8, walking down the stairway in her family's Hermosa Beach home, which was recently featured in the Los Angeles Times. Claire's uncle Robert Nebolon, the architect who designed the house, wanted the family to have a fun trip each time they used the stairs. The translucent polycarbonate wall accomplishes that.

The bottom left photo shows a "galleria" in a home in Austin, Texas, that I wrote about for Upscale Remodeling magazine. The architect and owner, Michael Antenora, also wanted his family to enjoy a bright journey along the hallway to the bedrooms.

In the bottom right photo, you see a small house I visited in North Fork, Calif., where the hallway is illuminated by a large skylight. I noticed that every time I traveled between the living room and the bedroom area I felt a lift. To me, adding this simple skylight to an otherwise dark and boring hallway was an inspired, and enlightened, design decision.

Architect Portfolio: Hermosa Beach house on a teeny lot

 

The more I study this "green" house, the more I like it. Of course, it's more of a teardown and rebuild than a remodel, but the lot size — at 30 feet by 50 feet — presented plenty of challenges.

The 2,000-square-foot, three-bedroom house, which is two blocks from the beach in Hermosa, was designed for a family with two young children by architect Robert Nebolon. Here's what the architect says about it:

"Privacy, sun-control and beach views were primary concerns. This 'Upside Down' house has the main spaces on the third floor, bedrooms on the second floor, and the entry on the first floor. And, there's a roof deck on top!

"The house is 'green' and has a LEED Silver rating. The house utilizes natural-cooling methods. A large thermostatically operated skylight at the top of the stairs allows all rooms to ventilate naturally when the skylight is open to the daily afternoon ocean breeze from Hermosa Beach.

"The southern and western walls have a special skin designed to handle the salty environment, heavy sun and (provide) privacy. The glistening metallic prefinished metal siding has a special low-heat gain fluoro-carbon paint finish; the glass is all Low-E to minimize heat gain and glare, the heavily insulated wall construction has foil-coated plywood to minimize heat-gain; the wall cavity provides built-in valances for various shades/drapes, which allow the owners to carefully modulate/balance ocean views with heat gain to any degree they wish.

"Special polycarbonate panels at the main deck provide privacy from neighbors, while allowing light. The main deck trellis is constructed of clear anodized aluminum and is dramatically cantilevered for a column-free view. The intent was to visually link the deck with the living room by dramatic use of a 16-foot cantilever and by very large windows."

See pictures of the interior

Dan Phillips: Creative houses from reclaimed stuff | Video on TED.com

In this funny and insightful talk from TEDxHouston, builder Dan Phillips tours us through a dozen homes he's built in Texas using recycled and reclaimed materials in wildly creative ways. Brilliant, low-tech design details will refresh your own creative drive.

via www.ted.com

Selling the Mantel: fireplace mantel as striking focal point

How important is a fireplace and mantel? Take it from a man who tours hundreds of houses a year and whose sales depend on features that attract buyers: “Every room needs a centerpiece,” says David Kean, an interior designer and real estate agent with The John Aaroe Group, in Beverly Hills, Calif.

According to Kean, an engaging fireplace and mantel can provide grandeur for an otherwise ho-hum room or it can “take an already fabulous room over the top.”

Stylistically, Kean says, a fireplace and mantel should blend with the architecture of the home. That rule dissolves, though, in sleek contemporary homes where old-world timbers and stone, often salvaged from old homes, “create a very dramatic juxtaposition of old and new.”

Read the whole story at www.remodeling.hw.net

A sleek, modern mortuary — the ideal final resting place for readers of Dwell

Tired of all the ornate cemeteries in our world? Have a hard time seeing your modernist remains resting comfortable in one of them? For those deposed in Munich, a very modern alternative exists. See the photo gallery here.

On the flip side, the burial grounds themselves are lush and natural, like meadows. So it's not all bleakness for all eternity.

Super Cool Idea: Your garden flowers embedded in resin panels for cabinet inserts

This idea is so unique that we at Kathy's Remodeling Blog can hardly stand it: You can have your own garden flowers imbedded into resin panels for use as kitchen or bathroom cabinet inserts.

Watch the video here

Can you imagine your favorite flowers, that you grew, immortalized in resin panels? You can use translucent resin panels for room dividers, stairway guard rails, cabinet inserts and tons of other purposes.

Including flowers you grew is a great idea for personalizing your home. And don't be afraid to personalize your home. Now that the housing market is stagnant, and will be for at least a decade, it's time to get personal. Chances are, you'll be living there for a long, long time.

Check out this stair rail guard used by Santa Monica architect Kyle Moss. Can you imagine your flowers imbedded into panels like these:

Or, how about a room divider like this made with panels imbedded with your flowers:

Here are some companies who make these panels:

www.3-Form.com

www.veritasideas.com

www.lumicor.com

www.chrysalishd.com

www.ceelite.com

The Vanilla Ice Project: A revealing Q&A with the rapper-turned-remodeler

In 1990, he created a sensation with his hip-hop single, Ice Ice Baby. Two decades, several public controversies, and many life lessons later, Rob Van Winkle emerges from the shadow of his alter-ego, Vanilla Ice, to debut a mellow, more mature attitude and a new show, The Vanilla Ice Project, on the DIY Network. 

We spoke exclusively with the rapper-turned-remodeler about his life in and out of the public eye, and how he found solace as a professional DIYer.

The Vanilla Ice Project premeires October 14th on the DIY Network. In it, Rob Van Winkle renovates this 7,000-square-foot mansion in Florida. Photo: DIY Network

When you hear the name Vanilla Ice, you probably think of the young, cocky rapper who exploded onto the music scene with his 1990 hit, Ice Ice Baby -- the first hip-hop single ever to top the Billboard charts. You probably would not imagine the serene, grounded, knowledgeable gentleman I spoke with by phone recently following an appearance of his in London.

During his early adulthood and beyond, Vanilla Ice -- born Rob Van Winkle in 1967 -- drew both fame and disdain for his outsized personality, over-the-top outfits and hairstyles, and -- a bit later -- his onscreen rants while destroying sets on MTV and VH1's The Surreal Life. While most of these antics happened years ago, they live on in YouTube clips and the collective public memory.

In the past decade, though, out of the camera's eye, Rob got married, had two children, rediscovered his childhood love of making things, and grew into an accomplished builder, renovator and savvy house-flipper. "A lot of the things I do in these homes are personally gratifying," Rob told me. "You can cross your arms at the end and say 'Wow. I did that,' and you can take pride in it."

Most recently, Rob landed his own half-hour series, The Vanilla Ice Project, which premieres October 14th on the DIY Network. In it, he chronicles his experiences flipping a 7,000-square-foot mansion in Palm Beach, Florida.

We had a few questions for the star of the show:

Rapper-turned-remodeler Rob Van Winkle installs hardwood flooring in his new TV show, the Vanilla Ice Project. Photo: DIY Network

DIY Life: How did you get into flipping (buying, fixing up and selling) homes?

Rob: I learned to invest in real estate by accident. When I was in my early 20s, I earned a ton of money; about $20 million. I'm not a rocket scientist. I don't know anything about the stock market. So I thought, "Ok, I'm going to buy a home in L.A. because I work a lot in L.A." I bought a home in New York City too -- on Bleecker Street in [Greenwich] Village -- because I'm there 3 or 4 months out of the year. And I bought myself a ski resort house in Snowbird, Utah.

For three years I was on tour around the world. Finally I went back home and looked [around my] houses. No one had been there, and there were cobwebs in the corners. I stood there going, "Gee, I spent all this money on these houses and haven't used any of them. [I'll just] sell 'em all and if I need [someplace to live] I'll rent something." When I sold the homes, I made money on every single one of them -- hundreds of thousands of dollars. I thought, "You've got to be kidding me. It can't be this easy." Of course, that's when real estate was really good (in the 1990s).

Finally I bought a home on Star Island in Miami Beach, and I lived there for 11 years. I was a bachelor and had like 14 bedrooms. So I had [the house] decorated. I had a purple room. I had a red TV room. It was like a big nightclub. I'm talking bachelor pad to the -nth degree. I loved it for a year or so and then I'm like, "It's just not feeling like home. I want to get out of there. I want to take vacations." I didn't even want to stay in my own house. And I always had to have friends over. I'd say to them, "Can you come spend the night with me? I'm lonely. I'll pay for your plane flight."

Read the whole story

Lisa LaPorta's new website

The first thing I do when an episode of Designed to Sell comes on HGTV is check to see if Lisa LaPorta is the designer host. No offense to other worthy designers on the show, but Lisa is my favorite. She's real. She's talented. She's calm. She's classy. I just prefer to spend by Designed to Sell time with her.

Now, spending quality time with Lisa has gotten easier because of her newly launched website: LisaLaPorta.com.

The site has these sections: Remodel. Decorate. Style. Get Organized. DIY. Forum.

Plus, you can check out her YouTube videos.

As you might have expected, the site is as classy as Lisa is.

The greenest remodel in America?

If you can't sell your parent's former home, why not turn it into a showcase for green remodeling? That's exactly what Jay DeChesere and his wife did with a ranch style home in Wilmington, N.C. that his parents moved out of and into an assisted living facility.

You could say the collapse of the housing market was the reason for this project.

Of course, DeChesere has one advantage over most of us: he's an architect. And that's likely why he is so aware of the LEED green building rating system and how to get lots of points for green features. After the house was done, it turned out to be one of the highest point getters ever in the LEED system, which is administered by the U.S. Green Building Council.

Among the many green features are:

• Photovoltaics (solar power)

• LED and CFL lighting

• Recycled-content countertops

• Geothermal heating and cooling

• Super efficient appliances

Plus, 90% of the renovation was diverted from the landfill.

To see more about the remodel, click herehttp://content.usatoday.com/communities/greenhouse/post/2010/08/gut-rehab-earns-leed-platinum/1.

Kitty Bartholomew: Extreme beauty on a ceiling

Check out this mural on an awkwardly shaped ceiling, which Kitty Bartholomew of HGTV fame had painted in her bedroom. Typically a tray ceiling is a real boost to a home's architecture. But in this 1930s Cape Cod home, it was out of place. The room had apparently been added on and the modern style of the ceiling didn't match the rest of the home. With this mural, the room takes on the feeling of a beautiful sanctuary under a blue sky.

Where to put the microwave? 14 tips

Another winning piece by kitchen designer Susan Serra:

Honestly? Sometimes, not always, but sometimes, finding a place for the microwave drives me crazy! It's not always such an obvious, easy, appliance to place. In fact, I could write a book on placing the microwave alone.

First, determine how "much" microwave you need, and by that I mean size and function. Microwaves range in a very wide variety of widths, heights, and one of the most important dimensions, depths. Take special note of the depth, once you find a microwave you like. If the microwave is planned to integrate with wall cabinetry, the depth WILL be an issue, I promise. Not only the depth, but the height as well, particularly if it requires a trim kit or other space for venting.

Easy access is desirable for universal design purposes. Microwave drawers, an image which is not shown below, are a recent great ergonomic development. Situated just below the countertop, the bending is kept to a minimum, while the upper cabinetry does not have to be interrupted by another appliance.

See the whole feature at www.houzz.com

Hip architecture: are the inhabitants unhappy?

I try not to be too overtly negative when discussing "hip" architecture. I don't want to bring bad karma onto myself in berating the efforts of other good souls, however misguided I believe those efforts are.

So imagine my delight when a website emerges that goes all out and puts words to my thoughts! I'm referring to Unhappy Hipsters (slogan: It's Lonely in the Modern World), which shows photos of stark, bleak, uncomfortable-looking and oh-so-hip architecture and adds snarky captions. Here's one from Dwell magazine:

And the caption: It became their routine. And so the evenings stretched out before him: still, gray, and gravel-strewn.

(Photo: Dean Kaufman; Dwell, November 2006)

And another:

 The caption: So focused on erecting a structure that would be impervious to atmospheric whims, he’d forgotten the obvious: an exit.

(Photo: John Clarke; Dwell, April/May 2005)

And one more, also from Dwell, the magazine that keeps on giving:

And the caption: The stale smell of disappointment permeated the room.

(Photo: Christopher Sturman; Dwell, November 2009)

Please, stop me before I download the whole website. Thank you, Unhappy Hipsters, for all that you do!

Out-of-work architects turn to other skills

From the New York Times:

At the Ballard Farmers’ Market in Seattle on a recent weekend, passers-by could be forgiven for thinking John Morefield was running for political office. Smiling, waving and calling out hellos to everyone who walked by his stand, he was the picture of friendliness. All he needed was campaign buttons and fliers

Unable to find design work, Richard Chuk of Illinois, right, began truck-driving school this month.

In fact, Mr. Morefield, 29, is no politician, but an architectural designer looking for work. He was seated at a homemade wooden stand under a sign reading “Architecture 5¢,” with a tin can nearby awaiting spare change. For a nickel, he would answer any architectural question.

See the whole story at www.nytimes.com

Sarah Susanka designs her dream window

Do you remember Susan Susanka, the guru of the not-so-big-house movement? Well, this architect can do it all — design homes, design interiors, write bestsellers and present moving speeches to thousands of enthralled attendees in packed ballrooms. Plus, I can tell you from my journalistic encounters with Sarah, she is a very kind person.

And now, she has designed her dream window for Marvin as part of its myMarvin campaign.

Watch below as Sarah talks about the process:

Carving out a mom cave of her own

Kelly Porter had an office inside her Ellicott City home, but she never used it. Each day she would set up shop with her laptop at the kitchen island.

The home office, which her family of five shared, "never felt right," says the designer and color consultant (http://www.porterhousedesigns.com). "I never felt comfortable. I never felt inspired."

Understandably so. With wall-to-wall hunter green carpeting, beige wallpaper and a combination of dark and medium-toned wood furniture, the 10-by-12-foot space felt much more masculine -- and much less colorful -- than Porter, 42, preferred. While the look satisfied the men in her house (a husband, a 14-year-old son and 11-year-old twin sons), Porter pined for something that was a little more her style.

Read the whole story via www.washingtonpost.com

Acclaimed kitchen designer now offers phone consultations

Susan Serra, an acclaimed kitchen designer who lives and breathes kitchens, now offers one-hour phone consultations. We can't all be lucky enough to live near a kitchen designer whose work has appeared in many major magazines. But her wisdom and insight is still available: Here's what Susan posted on her blog, The Kitchen Designer:

I've been offering kitchen design consulting services informally and have not devoted a special page on my blog to this service until now. 

I am very pleased to formally introduce the One Hour Phone Consultation!

Call me about...well, anything related to your kitchen design project that is just not sitting right with you and for which you need a first OR a second opinion. 

I am happy to provide this kitchen design consulting service which can be invaluable to those who otherwise are at a loss as to what decision to make, be it in regard to products, design issues, style issues, or so many other issues that come up in the lengthy course of the kitchen remodeling process. 

Read the whole post

In Sicily, renovating a cave

Modic, Italy — Amid the fabled 100 churches that line the sun-cracked streets of this Sicilian city, the New York architects William Brockschmidt and Richard Dragisic found a second home.

By modern standards the property is no ordinary dwelling. It includes a centuries-old cave in the area’s volcanic rock that once was a place of worship and may have even been used as a tomb. The couple does not know exactly when the cave first became a living area but “the caves of Modica have been inhabited as troglodyte dwellings since the time of the Sikels,” Mr. Brockschmidt said, referring to some of the earliest inhabitants who gave the island its name.

via www.nytimes.com

Going Swedish - The Boston Globe

 

 

Can a Cambridge architect pull off a complete renovation -- including a new high-end range -- for less than $20,000?

Is a budget-minded kitchen renovation with a high-end range and custom carpentry an oxymoron? Not in the case of architectural designer Chiong Lin’s rehab of an 11-by-14-foot Cambridge kitchen.

 

 

 

 

 

The story begins in 2005. Lin was living in a late-1800s four-unit brick row house on a historic street near Central Square that seems to be a magnet for architects. “There are about half a dozen living nearby,” she says. “It’s both a community and a great location.” Lin had bought the building a decade before and had moved into the apartment that occupied the first and second floors. When she decided to buy a home in Brookline, she realized that her old apartment would need serious updating to be a proper rental. Lin, who was then working full time for a large firm, took on the project in her spare time, including a new kitchen.

 

 

 

via www.boston.com

Coping Skills: What are your priorities?

 

When Harriet Burke and her daughter Kathy Scheidemen decided to expand Burke’s 1961 tract house into a “green,” energy-efficient home for the two of them, they agreed they would spend $200,000 and “not a penny more,” Scheidemen recalls.

 The two women made a list of their desires, including two separate living areas, vaulted wood ceilings, a solar-electric system, solar heated water, a rainwater reclamation cistern, and all new drought-tolerant landscaping, among other items.

 When the contractor’s bid came in double the budget, at $400,000, Burke said: “Oh my goodness. What are we going to do?”

 The pair, who live in Santa Barbara, California, did what most homeowners have to do at some point: they prioritized their desires.

 At the top of the priority list were adding the extra space, turning existing flat ceilings into vaulted ceilings and adding the solar panels that would power the whole house.

 But at the bottom of the priority list – and thus dropped – were the rainwater reclamation cistern and antique wood on the ceilings, among other things. The wood on the ceiling was just too expensive, Scheidemen explained. And the cistern would require a complicated permitting process. And besides, California is in a drought and doesn’t get much rain, so the benefits of the cistern would be negligible.

Top green-building innovations: one architect's viewpoint

I asked green-leaning Berkeley architect Robert Nebolon to make a list of the top green-building innovations from his perspective. Of course, he had to make two lists— architectural and non-architectural — and if you know any architects, you'll know it's pretty typical that he did more than was asked for.

Robert also consulted a colleague, Steve Means, a certified energy analyst.

Here are the two lists Robert came up with:

My list of top architectural green-building innovations includes:

1. Site planning — This takes advantage of each site's micro-climate to assist in cooling and/or heating a house. Arrangement of rooms can strongly affect the comfort of the occupants.

2. Downsizing the house — People have come to realize that a smaller, well-designed house can be as livable and pleasant as a much larger house. Since smaller houses require less energy to operate and make a smaller impact on the environment, smaller well-designed houses with “green” features are becoming popular.

3. Informal floor plans — Informal floor plans tend to have rooms with multiple uses instead of rooms dedicated to one use, like a formal dining room, for example. Building costs being what they are, it is best to merge many activities into one or two rooms. This reduces energy costs since unused areas of the house are not heated.

4. Architectural form — By simply applying some smart architecture, reliance on mechanical systems for thermal comfort (heating and cooling) can be reduced. Use of major architectural elements, such as atriums, courtyards, massing of the building, in conjunction with the local micro-climate, can greatly reduce dependence on mechanical systems for thermal comfort all year long. Simply introducing a breeze can make a hot environment much more tolerable even if the temperature didn’t decrease. Look to structures constructed before there was air-conditioning and forced-air systems to see how they dealt with heat loss and heat gain.

5. Architectural details — Use of minor architectural elements, such as eaves, shading devices, well-placed operable windows and skylights, covered porches, breezeways, all in conjunction with the local micro-climate, can greatly reduce dependence on mechanical systems for thermal comfort all year long.

6. Landscaping — Well-placed trees and plantings can reduce the heat gain by any building.

To see the non-architectural list, click below.

Home's green remodel gives mother and daughter space

See all photos

Charles Darwin might have found an interesting research subject in the Burke family's Goleta, Calif. home, which has evolved over the last 47 years as the family has changed.

Chuck and Harriet Burke purchased the five-bedroom tract house in 1962 as a place to raise their five rambunctious kids. As the children grew, the Burkes added a 425-square-foot family room in 1967 and a swimming pool in 1971.

The house became a post-child-rearing retreat for the couple in the 1980s and '90s. The kitchen was updated with granite counters and a slate floor, and two bedrooms were combined to make a grand master suite.

Then, following Chuck's death in 2006, the house evolved once again into an environmentally sensitive, solar-powered, intergenerational home for Harriet Burke and her oldest daughter, Kathy Scheidemen, 52.

The latest improvements -- completed last year in seven months for $300,000 -- include solar water heating, operable skylights, woods from sustainably managed forests, drought-tolerant landscaping, doors from century-old homes and a mirror salvaged from the Santa Barbara Biltmore.

"I'm really proud that we did it," said Burke, whose only regret is that her husband, who was involved in the early planning, did not live to see the remodel completed.

Book Report: 'Cliff May and the Modern Ranch House'

"Cliff May and the Modern Ranch House" by Daniel P. Gregory, with photographs by Joe Fletcher and a foreword by Joel Silver. (Rizzoli; 256 pages; $60)

Reviewed by Robert Nebolon

(Robert Nebolon, a Berkeley architect, designed a contemporary Hermosa Beach home featured previously on this blog.)

Cliff May, the father of the California ranch house, is finally getting his due. Thanks to Daniel P. Gregory’s superb book “Cliff May and the Modern Ranch House,” the work of this prolific Los Angeles-based architect is finally being recognized.

As much as members of the Los Angeles architectural community rave about their modern architectural history (they should; it’s quite impressive), Cliff May seems never to get mentioned. Maybe it’s because of those wagon wheels out in front of his houses.

Yet it’s hard to imagine an architect whose work affects more Westerners on a daily basis than Cliff May. Most of us have either owned a ranch-style house ourselves or had friends who lived in one. These houses are found everywhere.

Gregory’s book explains how May blended Spanish courtyard houses with modern open plans filled with modern conveniences to create an elegant contemporary house well suited for the hot, dry climate found in the Southwest.

Architect/contractor from California builds colorful home in Israel

Michael Abel, an architect and contractor from California, and his Israeli-born wife Nava, built and decorated this 1,800-square-foot, five-bedroom, three-bathroom home in the town of Zichron Yaacov, Israel, which overlooks the Mediterranean.

This is from an article in the New York Times.

The article says that many of the building materials, including interior doors, were found discarded on piles at other construction sites, and that wood shelving and built-in desks in the kids' rooms were made from salvaged wood.

Nava Abel is an artist and art teacher (she studied at California College of the Arts) and she sees her house as a palette.

For those of us intimidated by bold color, this house could be a catalyst to a more daring use of hues, or an affirmation that off-white is all right after all.

Do you love that painted concrete floor in the hallway (seen in the bottom photo)?

Read the whole article and see more photos.

(Photos: New York Times)

Pardon Our Dust Classic: Not just a tract house anymore

While Gretchen Zee bought her 1960s tract house in Santa Barbara for its lush one third-acre ocean-view lot overlooking an oak-covered hillside, she had to go outside the house to get any sense of nature.

The house was, in fact, backed up to the views, oriented to offer visions of the driveway from the family room's picture window.

In theory, the kitchen, at the back of the house, offered canyon views. However, besides a small window over the sink, the stove and cabinets stood between the people and the panorama.

"They just plunked these houses down without any sensitivity to where anything was," said Gretchen, who bought the house in 1988 with her husband, Tony, a physics researcher and professor, and their two young sons, Peter and Andrew, then 5 and 11, respectively.

Gretchen, an architect, wanted to remodel the house right away. The money to do it, however, was not available.

But the house helped bring about a remodel when, in a short period, the roof wore out, the kitchen sink cracked, the stove broke, and the dishwasher headed for its demise.

The logical response would have been to simply remodel the kitchen. But Gretchen, even with her fertile architect's mind, couldn't imagine simply upgrading it.

Finally, it occurred to her that the kitchen had to be moved to the driveway side of the house, where the family room was, and the family room moved to the view side of the house.

At first, Gretchen had no idea how exactly she would transform the space. Night after night, as she pondered the "new" house, her eyes settled on a large, abstract painting by Tony Zee's sister, Chicago artist Stella Zee.

As Gretchen took in the painting's large, sensuous forms swirling round with blues, yellows, browns and grays, she decided to use it as a starting point for the new color scheme.

Architecturally, the new space feels at once contemporary (unique ceiling angles, unusual colors), Asian (clean lines, use of red color) and a bit traditional (thick baseboard moldings and wooden floors).

Today, the newly positioned dining room and family room overlook the canyon through a walls of glass doors and windows, and both have high, slanted ceilings that were pushed up into the home's ample attic space.

Removing a wall to create the great room required, for structural stability, a supporting post near the entryway. Gretchen installed a large red post, which, in husband Tony's native China, is said to bring fortune to a family.

With Stella Zee's painting as the visual centerpoint, the ceilings are painted a pale gray, with the slightest touch of lavender, while two walls are a buttery yellow and two are a dusty green.

The subtle colors end at the new kitchen. While the baseboard cabinets are maple, the ceilings and counters are bright white and the glass-fronted wall cabinets are stained bright red, with the whole illuminated by a large, glass skylight.

The entire project cost $40,000 and took four months to complete Gretchen has no regrets, especially none on the red cabinets, which she said would be considered "too risky" by most of her friends.

"What's the big deal?" she said. "If I don't like it, I can just paint it."

(Photo: Jennifer A. Robinson / Homestore)

A mod beach house for sis

Sleek and customized, a ground-up remodel transforms a tiny ocean-view lot.

When architect Robert Nebolon started sketching out ideas for his sister's tear-down and rebuild in south Hermosa Beach, he felt pretty confident that his design would meet the needs of her family -- despite the challenging 30-by-50-foot lot they had to work with.

But he was also a little anxious about doing a good job because he knew their four siblings and other relatives and friends would be watching.

"I didn't want to screw up in front of the whole family," said Nebolon, 48.

But Barbara Gunning, 42, never doubted her big brother could create a house right for her, her husband, Joe, 42, and their two daughters.

Even though Nebolon lives in Berkeley, he had spent enough time with his sister and her family to have a sense of their Southern California lifestyle -- fun, social, vigorous, beachy yet sophisticated.

"I trusted Robert," said Barbara, who moved her family into the airy house with ocean views a year ago. "He knew."

Read the whole story and see photo gallery. Post questions or comments for the architect below.

(Photo: David Duncan Livingston)

Ask an Architect: Can I pick your brain for ideas?

Question: I'd love to hire an architect to give me some ideas for my remodel. I'm not sure I want to hire the architect to oversee the whole project, or even draw up any specific plans. I just want the benefit of an architect's creative ability to come up with visions for what my house could become. Do architects do these type of "visioning" or brainstorming assignments, and how much would I expect to pay for this?

Answer: From Robert Nebolon, whose south Hermosa Beach project will be featured this Sunday in the Real Estate section of the newspaper:

I can't speak for all architects, but yes, architects will visit your house and brainstorm along with you. And it's best done with a glass of wine for all involved!!

An architect can charge on an hourly basis, or a flat-fee basis. An hourly basis would be good if the owner wants the architect's input over time. A flat-fee basis could be done for a one-time visit for about an hour to 90 minutes. I would think that such a visit would cost somewhere between $250 and $500, depending how busy the architect is.

To give you some idea, my flat fee is $250. Then, if the owner decides to use my services and we sign an agreement, I credit that fee back on the first invoice.

Here's what typically occurs during an initial visit:

1. An architect can typically see possibilities that an owner or layperson may not be able to see, and he or she will share those ideas.

2. Many owners have ideas that don't meet the planning code, but they aren't aware of that. A good example of this is when owners want their addition to encroach into a setback. The planning code can be quite Byzantine in some cities, and it's hard for a homeowner to keep track of all the rules.

3. The same thing can be said for lack of knowledge about the building code. A good example is when an owner may want a bedroom without a window, which is against the building code.

4. The architect can also inform the owner of the cost feasibility of the project.

At the very least, if you can get some good solid advice from an architect as early as possible, you can be pointed in the right direction so that you won't waste time, energy and/or money pursuing ideas that won't work.

(Photos: Robert Nebolon created a computerized mock-up of the roof of this Manhattan Beach home to show the homeowners, the neighbors and the city how it would look after a remodel.)

Reader Letter: How to find an architect?

Today's query comes from Michael H. in the Beachwood Canyon area of Los Angeles:

I'd like to enlist an architect to help me with some design work for a remodel, including load calculations (I need to take down some walls).

My end goal is to have plans in hand that I can shop to contractors. I've had several preliminary discussions with various contractors about what I want but they can't get specific about cost or schedule until I get architect-specific about exactly what I want.

I haven't gotten much feedback from Angie's List inquiries, nor from Craigslist. And it seems like the fancy architects are all in-house at a design firm (and probably fantastically expensive for what I want).

Do you have any advice for where to look for someone basic and reliable? Or am I searching for an animal that doesn't exist?

Thanks in advance. — Michael

What advice do you have for Michael? (My advice is posted in the comment section below.)