African Stools

I collect stools from Africa that I find mostly on Ebay. They can be used for extra seating or as side tables, plants stands, or ottomans; and I love how many of the African stools are modern and primitive all at the same time.

This three-legged stool is from Ethiopia. I topped it with an Alpaca pillow to create a soft spot to rest your feet.

This Bamileke Spider Stool is from West Africa.

  




This Senufo stool is from the Ivory Coast.













Resources:
Lucydog Art and Antiques 
Ebay 
Novica

Charles & Ray Eames

The home of Charles and Ray Eames is one of my favorite design inspirations.The couple met while studying at the Cranbrook Academy of Art in the late 1930's, and then married and moved to Los Angeles. They both became central contributors to the modern architecture movement that bloomed at that time in Southern California. They designed furniture, buildings, toys, films, exhibitions, and books, all aimed to improve society - not only functionally but culturally and intellectually as well.

Their home is the perfect mix of modernism and bohemianism- they mixed their own sleek designs with colorful pieces brought back from their travels around the world.

Their house was used many times as a backdrop for photography shoots, because it embodied the popular West Coast aesthetic of the time. This image is from a 1954 issue of Vogue.



















Resources:
Eames by Gloria Koenig, published by Taschen
The Work of Charles and Ray Eames, published by Harry N. Abrams in association with The Library of Congress and the Vitra Design Museum

Renovation Gallery - Progress!

This is what the addition looked like at the end of last week. Three weeks in and the foundation was finally done, thanks to some seriously bad weather. This week was another story, though...

Monday brought floor joists (but we lost a door).

By Wednesday there were walls.

Wednesday - looking at the view...

Wednesday from the inside...

Thursday - a second floor!

Friday

Purist & Stillness Plumbing Fixtures by Kohler

I plan to use Kohler plumbing fixtures in the addition. I really like the simplicity of the Purist kitchen faucet with pullout spray. It's available in polished chrome, polished nickel, stainless or matte black. It's hard to decide, but chrome is always less expensive.

Below are the contemporary round rain showerhead (it's mounted from the ceiling) and the ellipse handshower.

At left is the Stillness valve trim for the shower, and below that is the Stillness wall-mount lavatory faucet. I want to use wall mounted faucets and under-mounted sinks in the master bath, to allow for a smooth, unobstructed vanity top that will be very zen and easy to keep clean.

Plumbing Fixtures - Cifial USA

I found Cifial USA when searching for plumbing fixtures for a bath renovation I did a few years ago. The company was founded in Portugal and has won many European design awards. Their fixtures feature quality brass and ceramic construction, with a clean and modern design aesthetic.

Pocket Door Hardware & Pendant Lights

I was inspired to start my blog while researching products for my own project. I came across these posts (both from gardenopolis), and thought I could share my hours of web surfing, too. But before I share my own stuff, check out these posts and this super cool blog - it has a little of everything.


This post has some really good sources for modern door hardware - pocket door hardware.










I came across many of these same light fixtures in my own research - design inspiration: round pendant lighting.

Yin Yang Ottomans

These ottomans can be split apart and used separately. I designed them and had them made by a custom furniture maker. They are covered in heavy duty vinyl to survive attack from the children. Leather would be just as durable, but it wasn't in my budget at the time.

The cool couches were designed by Chip Bohl, an inspiring and creative architect (whom I happen to work for). The sideboard is from Ikea. The Danish modern chair was found by my Mom in an antique shop (a set of two for $40 each). I had new cushions made for them, and eventually had them refinished.

Design Journal - New 2nd Floor Plan

2nd Floor After

The second floor of the addition is smaller than the first floor. I created a bathroom and closet space for the master bedroom above the new family room. There will be a cathedral ceiling with a high window above the new kitchen space.

2nd Floor Before

Renovation II Gallery - Getting Started - Foundation Work

Design Journal - New 1st Floor

Like most families with young children, we spend a lot of time around the kitchen - making meals, eating snacks, & doing homework. Our kitchen was really only suitable for one person to cook, and I wanted more space for the kids and their friends to hang out. The addition will allow an expansion of the kitchen and extra living space for entertaining.

First Floor After

First Floor Before

Ideas - Pendant Lights

These pendant lights cost about $7 each from Ikea. They actually came with a plug on the end of the wire, and were meant to be plugged-in and hung from a hook. I bought white ceiling escutcheons from Home Depot, and our electrician wired the lights directly to the electrical box.

Ikea always has a large variety of inexpensive light fixtures, and a lot of times they can be modified or combined to create something unique. Check out Ikea Hackers for more inspiration.

This ceiling fixture also came from Ikea. It's almost identical to a much more expensive fixture I wanted to buy.

Ideas - Kitchen Bar

I had the different parts of this bar fabricated, and we installed it ourselves. I designed the brackets and had them made by a local metal fabricator. We painted them silver to match the bar stools. The top is fireslate. We screwed the brackets to the back panel of the cabinets, and then glued the top down with construction adhesive.

When designing a bar you just have to remember that bar stools come in two seat heights - for counters and bars. Kitchen counters are usually 36" high and bars are around 42" high.

These bar stools are from Design Within Reach.

Ideas - More Display Shelves

We only have a few overhead cabinets in our kitchen, mainly because I added three windows where most people would probably put more cabinets. I wanted to bring the outside into the house as much as possible, and the view of the woods behind our house is really nice. To create more storage space, I had a glass company make curved shelves from 3/8" glass - the kind you would use for the top of a coffee table. I mounted these just above eye-level in front of the windows on brackets I bought at Ikea. It's a handy storage area for stuff that's nice to look at.

Ideas - Display Shelves

These display shelves (holding my 8-year-old daughter, Ella's, fantastic artwork) are made from steel angles. Before the drywall was installed, we notched a groove into the studs to receive the vertical leg of the steel angle. Then, the drywall went up around the angles, leaving the horizontal leg exposed to create a small ledge. I coated the exposed steel with a clear finish so it wouldn't rust.

I thumbtack the artwork to black foam core, which let's us easily change things around when she brings home new stuff










We use this room as a Den/TV Room, but it was our bedroom until we took over the second floor apartment.