Pantry Lazy Susan, Floor-to-Ceiling!

One of my clients ran across a floor-to-ceiling lazy susan for the pantry at an estate sale. The lazy susan was a little too tall, but otherwise fit perfectly in the 24" deep space. The middle spins in place. The small shelves on the side are stationary and provide more storage. With easier access, there's no more guessing at what's in back!

Michele's Surprise Remodel - the Bathroom

Remember this is the bathroom that was part of the unplanned surprise remodel. It was the pink and turquoise from the 50's. Michele chose to update with a timeless style using the neutral, crisp colors of carrera marble, white beadboard, toile wallpaper and white subway tile in the shower. This is the finished space, just lovely!



This is before:


The bathroom is not large but shortening the wall between the toilet and vanity really makes it feel larger. There was also an old turquoise wall heater above the toilet that we capped and removed. This provided space for the wall cabinet and more storage.

The original corner cabinet stayed, but we changed the style of the doors, added shelves to the bottom section, removed the hamper section, and added feet to match the vanity. The floor is a honed marble that we cut into 9" x 18" rectangles and laid in a staggered joint pattern, it works wonderfully with the carrera marble counter (which was a remnant by the way):




This is before:


So even though Michele did not plan to lose her bathroom for 6 weeks, she says it was more than worth it to get one that suits her taste. She loves it!

More Pictures from La Cruz de Comal

Here's a picture from the outside of the casita and tasting room at La Cruz de Comal:


And here's a picture of Lewis reading the phone book!

Character in The Texas Hill Country

I love the Texas Hill Country! We have a friend, Lewis Dickson, who grows grapes and makes wine near San Marcos, Texas. His vineyard, La Cruz de Comal, is open for wine tasting on weekends. Lewis' sense of architecture is consistent with his principals of winemaking - both express the land from which they come. The unique and homey tasting room is built from limestone and cedar quarried and hewn from his vineyard. I took a picture of this wall in the tasting room because I was intrigued by the design:


In the picture above, the gable above the window is the frame for the small casita, or guest house, that he built first. When it was time to build the tasting room a few years later, Lewis built a taller, wider gable right in front of the casita. He plastered the space between the vertical supports, above the casita's gable, and to the sides. The result is a tasting room with lots of character!



Character also describes Lewis' wine. The wine is made purely from Texas grapes, with no additives of any sort - it is Texas wine made to taste like Texas wine! Lewis will pour you a glass of wine himself. While you're enjoying your wine, ask Lewis to tell you a story, any story; ask him to read the phone book -- I promise you'll be entertained. He's quite a character! Visit his website at www.lacruzdecomalwines.com for more information.

Elisabeth's Bathroom - the Soap Dish, Corner Bench, and Curb

Elisabeth chose a beautiful marble subway tile for the walls in her master shower. We used a coordinating penny tile on the shower and bathroom floors. The penny tile came from Asia and we had to wait three months for it to come in! She decided to use the same penny tile as the inset of the soap dishes we made:



With the few inches we stole from the linen closet, we ended up with enough room for a corner bench. This bench is a prefab stainless steel unit that we installed during the tiling. We covered it with the marble that is on the vanity and also used the marble to cover the top and sides of the shower curb:


The neutral grays, creams, and tans make for an elegant, refined space!

Elisabeth's Bathroom

Elisabeth's tiny master bathroom measured about 6' x 8'. Built in the 1950's, it has a single vanity, toilet, shower, and small linen closet:






The shower is so small, Elisabeth cannot even wash her hair with both arms at the same time without hitting the wall!



Solution: We removed the fur down in the shower and over the vanity; removed the wall that is on the left side of the shower; changed the size of the shower by stealing from the linen closet; built a taller vanity with a centered sink; and changed all the surfaces:








The result: a beautiful updated master bath!

Michele's Surprise Remodel

Rather than put the house back the way it was, Michele took advantage of the mayhem to make a few changes. As I mentioned in an earlier blog, the family room is directly behind the living room with a wall separating the two areas. The two rooms are almost the same size. Michele decided to remove the wall:





The budget did not allow for the new support beam to be flush with ceiling, so we covered the drop beam in sheetrock. The area behind the sheetrock leaning on the wall above used to be an entry into the living room. (We kept the existing entry to the family room.)

Here is a picture of the two areas no longer separated by a full wall. And even though we did not add any physical space, both areas seem larger for the visual space:





The windows on the right side of the picture above are in the dining room. But now we are going to make that space the study and the living room will become the dining room. This will allow for easier traffic flow through the spaces. Michele is ecstatic about the changes and cannot wait to have her house back! Tomorrow I will post pictures of the bathroom transformation, and what an amazing transformation it is!

Outdoor Curtain Update

Almost a year ago, I wrote about the outdoor curtains I made using drop cloths. I also wrote about how disappointed I was that they were moldy by month's end - very disappointing! My plan was to launder, then treat them with Scotchguard. The laundering happened, and I found a product online that seemed like it would work, it required that the product be painted on..... Where will I do this and when will I have time? These two questions plagued me for the year!

Then I ran across outdoor fabric for $12 a yard. My Mom sewed them for me as an early Xmas gift, and now I have new outdoor curtains! Like magic!

Michele's Surprise Remodel

One day, Michele's family was living peacefully and the next day, the mold abatement team is at her home tearing up walls, ceilings and floors! Turns out a pipe in the attic had been leaking for quite a while and now there is mold in between the walls, warped wood floors and squishy ceilings. These are pictures I took on my first visit:


On the other side of this paneled family room is the living room. Part of the ceiling and floor is gone and the sheetrock as well, it is not possible to get a picture of this because of the plastic covering the space.

The bathroom is affected as well, along with the master closet that shares the bathroom wall:


The tile wrapped around all the walls, including the area above the vanity and behind the toilet:





This is a 1950's style ranch house, complete with peachy pink tiles and turquoise fixtures. The tiles cannot be replaced, and now the fun begins!

Cathy's Kitchen - Counter & Backsplash

Cathy's family chose a recycled material countertop called Eco that is manufactured by Silestone. It is pricier than other options, but the family wanted to use a recycled product and it met their design goals. The field tile of the backsplash is a cream colored 3"x6" subway. The band is a glass and stone mosaic that brings in the earthy colors Cathy loves.



One of the things we changed in the layout was the shape of the countertops. The picture below shows the old counter shape on the island:


By rounding the corners, we were able to make the space much more functional and Cathy loves it! The new shape:



One of the interesting features in Cathy's Kitchen is the appliance garage:


We added under cabinet lighting to illuminate the space. Perfect for storing and using the blender, mixer, and coffee machine!

Cathy's Kitchen

Cathy's Kitchen is the center of activity with 4 teenage boys and their friends:





The box fluorescent lighting, old Formica counters, and cabinet finish date the space. We will keep the recently re-done floors and the cabinetry, but update with color.


And here is Cathy's Kitchen completed:

Lois' bathroom is complete, to recap this is before:



And this is after:



This is before:



This after:



This is before:



This is after:



This is part of the new area of the closet:



And this is the entry before:



This is after:


What a difference new materials and updated fixtures can make!

Lois' Bathroom - The Doors

This is the "before" view of the entry to the bathroom and closet area when standing in the bedroom:



This is during, here we have added 3 feet to each closet, removed the door and header into the bathroom part, removed the two closet doors and added art niches in the new space:




And this is after, with two antique doors mounted onto a track, these are the only doors in the master bath/closet area:


We used the other two antique doors for the entrance into the bedroom:



There is one more door, the shower door (it opens on the adjacent wall from before, I was able to accomplish this by replacing wall with glass door):



A reminder of this same space before the remodel:


Quite a change!

Lois' Bathroom - The Floor

Half of Lois' old bathroom was carpet, the other half was tile that needed updating. We are replacing all the flooring with a beautiful travertine plank cut tile:


The planks come in varying lengths and in widths of 4", 6" and 8". We ran the planks on the floor in a diagonal direction. Here is another picture: