Search Results for: deck
adding on!
Every now and then, Kyle and I think about the long-term livability of our home and the ability to someday do an addition off the back of the house. We still have a few projects to tackle before we get to that point, but it’s been helpful for us to think through the feasibility of what an addition could look like and how that might impact our plans for the garage.
Last weekend, Kyle even staked out the potential footprint. We would definitely lose some of the backyard and deck, but it’s a part that we don’t really use much anyway. (And let’s be real, we’re never going to park a car in that garage.)
But this post isn’t really about adding on to our house…
Surprise!
That’s right, we’re expecting baby #2 this September! And yes, this is part of the reason I’d been quieter than usual on the blog and my reference to “busy with life” in this blog post. So far, this pregnancy has been very similar to my first with Avery – mostly some nausea (I’m still on my vomit-free streak though!), carb-loading and an aversion to coffee. This time around I’ve been a lot more tired though. So yeah, pair extreme fatigue with no coffee and I’m pretty much in bed by 9:00 most nights – which hasn’t left a lot of time for blogging.
But, I’m into the second trimester and feeling like a normal human again! We’re so excited to be adding to our family and you know we’ve already given a lot of thought to how we’ll shuffle things around to accommodate another little one (more on that to come – and no, probably not doing an addition to the house just yet).
This will be another impetus to tackle our unfinished projects though (oh hey, bedroom!) so get ready for some more DIY posts on this blog in the near future!
studio zerbey / our work
As the third post in our series celebrating Studio Zerbey’s first full year in business, we decided to talk more about the actual work. (See the first post here and second post here.) On our website and blog, we’ve featured a handful of the projects we’ve been working on, but the truth is we have so many more that we haven’t shown yet. Just like it’s hard to determine when a space is done “enough” to show the reveal, we find ourselves doing the same thing with Studio Zerbey projects – waiting for finished photos or taking the time to put together sexy graphics. So, consider this post a sampling of what we’ve been up to this past year, including some of the lesser known services we provide.
+ Consultations – although it’s not a very bloggable topic, we’ve been doing consultations from the very beginning. Simply put, consultations are on-site visits where we give off-the-cuff advice and suggestions (following up with a written summary). We charge a flat fee that varies depending on the scope of the job and due to travel constraints, they are mostly in the Seattle area. Sometimes it’s someone looking to buy a particular house and wondering about its remodel potential. Other times it’s a homeowner that’s interested in remodeling all or part of their home (whether they’ll be hiring a contractor or taking it on as a DIY). For many of the consultations, it also serves as an informal meet and greet where we can learn more about the owners and their home and they learn more about us and the way we work. Although this is a service that some architects offer for free in hopes of getting the job, we learned early on that in most cases that just wasn’t a feasible strategy for a two-person firm (it also helps filter out those who aren’t very serious in the first place). As a solution, we decided to credit the cost of the consultation for clients that end up hiring Studio Zerbey for their project.
+ Schematic Design – Over the last year we’ve taken on a number of small schematic-only projects, including everything from a condo remodel in DC and an Eichler house in Palo Alto to remodels in Seattle, San Francisco, Boulder and Vancouver, B.C. Essentially, “schematic-only” is a pared down design process where we put together sketches (or idea palettes, such as the one above) in lieu of a construction set that’s ready to be handed off to a contractor. Although it places more responsibility on the owner, it’s been an effective strategy for small remodel projects that are remote or where the budget or scope doesn’t warrant a site visit or technical drawings. We haven’t featured as many of these projects because either they aren’t finished yet (often times the homeowner is DIYing it) or the end product is a floor plan sketch and not a pretty 3D rendering. (We have plans to remedy this though, soon!) Nonetheless, these projects are just as important to us, especially since most of the clients are blog readers as well. And so we thought it was important to highlight this particular service, recognizing that not every design project ends with a thick drawing set (a common misconception about architects, perhaps).
Above, options for different kitchen layouts in a small row house (click to enlarge). And below, a schematic floor plan for a super tiny 1937 fishing cottage in Seattle.
+ Remodels and New Construction – This is the bulk of our work and includes projects that are taken from pre-design through permit and/or construction documents. It includes remodels to early 20th century homes (which make up a large part of Seattle’s housing stock), new single-family residences and a few commercial jobs. Although much of our work is in Washington state, we also have active projects in California, Montana and Alaska.
Above, schematic plan for a rooftop deck addition to a single-family house in Seattle.
Above, a new custom residence in the Hilltop neighborhood near Bellevue, WA. Below, a new custom residence in Pacific Grove, CA.
Above, a remodel of an existing Animal Hospital east of Seattle. Below, an extensive remodel of an old brick building into a commercial building in Missoula, Montana.
Above, a new custom residence (blogged about recently) east of Seattle. Below, a prefab residence on the Olympic Peninsula.
And there it is, a snapshot of what’s in the hopper at Studio Zerbey. 2013 has been a good year and 2014 is shaping up to be even better with a handful of new projects already, including at least four different remodels in Seattle and a new house in Alaska!
Originally, my post for this week was going to be about our bedroom progress, but we’ve been so swamped that there has been no progress (and we realize that’s not a bad problem to have). So we’re just going to pretend like those four paint swatches are artwork and live with it just a little bit longer (although we have decided on a color!). In the midst of this holiday season, we are feeling quite thankful. This little blog that started out as a glorified Flickr account for our family has transformed into a means for growing our firm and working with some pretty awesome people on a variety of interesting projects. And for that, we want to say a big thank YOU!
2014, bring it!
studio zerbey / the work-life balance
Last year, we had a baby and started our own firm – all within the span of about 2 1/2 months. Needless to say, work-life balance has been a major part of our first year in business.
Being your own boss is challenging and sometimes stressful but it also completely awesome. We sometimes joke about working in sweat pants or happy hours at 4:30 and while there are certainly lots of perks to calling your own shots, the biggest perk has been our ability to stretch and grow during this first year of business and parenthood. Which brings us to our first topic:
Kyle doing code research from the back deck last summer – in what ended up being the one and only time he worked from an Adirondack.
+ Flexibility
For us, this might be the magic word when it comes to achieving an effective work-life balance. Staying flexible has allowed us to thrive in what has been a year of fast-paced changes and growth. We set goals and deadlines, but build in buffers for when things don’t go quite according to plan. We also see our days in 24 hour increments – which can mean going to the grocery store at 2:00 in the afternoon while hosting client meetings in the evenings after Avery goes to bed. If Avery decides to take an extra long nap one day, I keep chugging away knowing that tomorrow she may wake up early. Some days we work more, some days less (which feels like a more natural flow for our project-based profession anyway) – but at the end of the month it usually balances out. We’ve found that although schedule is important (see next section), allowing ourselves some wiggle room keeps us moving forward.
Hey look! Our dining room is also our conference room!
+ Schedule vs. Non-Schedule
I think at first there was an appeal in doing away with the idea of a set schedule. But as Avery went from newborn to baby I quickly realized that her schedule was my schedule and I needed to learn to accommodate it. That was all fine and dandy, but you see – as much as a schedule was important for her, it never stayed the same for very long. This was frustrating at times and for the first 8 months or so I felt like I was constantly re-adapting to her sleeping and feeding schedule. However, as she needed less feedings during the day and we hired some childcare help (more on that below!) things were much more predictable and I was able to create an effective schedule that worked. Now that she’s transitioned to one nap a day I feel like we’re in a sweet spot that will work for the next year or so. Also, I take Wednesdays off (in theory at least!), which gives me the opportunity to spend more one-on-one time with Avery. In the mornings, we meet up a group of seven or so mamas and kiddos (we’ve been getting together weekly since our toddlers were newborns!). It’s 2 hours a week, but the support is invaluable.
Now, Kyle also has a schedule but it’s not the same as mine. We eventually realized that we function best on slightly shifted clocks so instead of fighting it, we embraced it. In a nutshell, I get up earlier in the morning and he goes to bed later. Although it was a schedule that evolved over the last year, we realized that it gave us something that is hard to come by when you work from home (with your spouse!)(with a kiddo!) – personal downtime. I love having a bit of quiet time in the morning, then making breakfast for Avery and me when she wakes up. For Kyle he has that sliver of quiet time at night to finish up some work, unwind with Netflix or meet up with guy friends. It’s a small thing but has a big impact.
One year in, the takeaway for us is that a schedule is important, but it doesn’t have to be the 8-5 that we were used to. Now that it gets dark at 4:30 (bahhhhh!) we’re finding that we need to probably tweak our schedules yet again – meaning we should really take a break to get outside during the day then consider a second shift of sorts after Avery goes to bed. (I think one of the biggest adjustments to parenthood is simply being home bound by 7:00 each night!)
Putting our youngest intern to work!
+ Divide and Delegate
Before forming Studio Zerbey, my plan was to work part-time while taking care of Avery. Childcare is crazy expensive in Seattle (if you can get in!) so this was a plan that made a lot of sense for us. When Kyle joined the firm, we decided that he would continue with his full-time schedule and we would see how it all panned out. This worked fine while Avery was quite young and either slept most of the day or was otherwise content with immobility. (I should also mention that she has been a good sleeper and that alone is HUGE.) Around 8 or 9 months though, we knew we needed to make a change. Although we have prided ourselves in our DIY approach to most everything, we needed some backup. So, we hired a nanny. And a house cleaning service. BEST MOVES EVER.
At first I was reluctant to shell out the extra money, but when you’re self-employed you think about your time in a whole new way. Time is money. You gotta spend money to make money. You get the idea. At first our nanny came 4 hours a day, 3 days a week – filling the time between Avery’s morning and afternoon nap. A few months later we added the 4th day and when Avery dropped to one nap last month we increased the hours to 20 per week. Because we both work from home (and Avery is usually a reliable napper), our nanny is able to leave after putting Avery down for her nap, which in theory gives me 6-7 hours of work time each day. (Of course, there are days when she doesn’t nap as long – see “flexibility” above.) 🙂
I was hesitant about finding a good nanny and how that dynamic would work with us at home, but I’m happy to say that the arrangement has exceeded our expectations. We have actually had two fantastic nannies that Avery adores and somehow we all function in our small house. I’m able to focus on my work, even with the sounds of playing and laughing coming from the main floor. Someone gave me this advice early on and it’s so true – you simple have to hire someone that you trust and then TRUST them. Also, it’s ok to take it slow – in the beginning I would take a break at lunch to prepare Avery’s food, but over time I’ve relaxed my involvement and it’s been totally fine.
Now, the house. We love ol’ chezerbey but she does get dirty. I blame the toddler. And the golden retriever. Oh, and the two adults who are home 90% of the time. (But mostly the golden retriever.) So, we got some help in the form of every-other-week cleaning. Guys, it’s awesome and our entire house is clean in an hour. Granted, there’s still regular tasks that we have to do ourselves, but it’s been both a practical and psychological relief to be able to delegate that out so we can instead focus on our business or our family.
Kyle and I celebrating our 8th wedding anniversary a few months ago.
+ Make Time for Yourself and Each Other
When you simultaneously become a new parent and a new business owner, this one can be tough. Admittedly, we have only been on four dates since Avery was born but we’re getting better. (It still feels odd to plan them in advance, but so worth it.) Since we’re together most of the time and regularly go out to dinner as a family, I think we underestimated the need for the occasional date night. And then we went on one and oh hey! there’s not that little human that requires a percentage of your attention at all times. And yes, we totally talk about work during date nights, but more in the vein of hopes and dreams rather than “so, did you figure out that scupper detail?”.
Also, make time for yourself. It can be easy to back-burner that pedicure or time at the gym, but it’s time well-spent. For me, this means working out at least twice a week and getting out of the house by myself(!) at least a couple of times a month.
On a sunny October afternoon we took a spur-of-the-moment (and crowd-free!) trip to the zoo.
+ Get Out of the House!
This is another tough one for work-at-home parents, especially during the cold, rainy months. (In fact, we would appreciate any suggestions on this subject!) So far, we’ve found that getting out for an early dinner is effective, or we’ll tag team it in the evenings to grab a drink with friends. If we want to get fancy and get out during daylight, then there’s usually a small sliver of time after Avery’s nap where we’ll head to the library or run errands. We also try to take advantage of the weekends, doing things together as a family.
Doing as-builts (in the rain) for a new project when Avery was about 3 1/2 months old. Also, it looks like I am wearing a stuffed animal.
+ Focus on the Awesome
Y’know, it’s easy to knit-pick the details when you’re your own boss. For me, I often feel like I’m straddling a line between SAHM and WAHM, sometimes feeling inadequate for either not spending enough time with Avery or not working enough. There are days that are challenging and days where everything falls into place and I feel like I’m doing awesome at both jobs. And I think that’s the key – focus on the awesome. Kyle and I regularly find ourselves stepping away from a particular situation and taking a moment to feel thankful for what we have. It’s a perspective shift that only takes a second but re-motivates us to keep pushing forward as architects and parents.
So there you have it – our strategies for making it all work (thus far!). We’d love to hear what has worked for other parents/business owners!
studio zerbey / olympic forest prefab cabin
A few weeks ago, we took a short trip to the Olympic Pensinsula of western Washington. We’re working on a new project there, a modest prefab cabin, and it was our first time to see the site in person. Avery was with us of course and we also brought Bailey because really, what dog doesn’t enjoy a good romp in the forest?
The area is notorious for their annual precipitation and just as we unloaded everyone and everything, it started to rain. Fortunately, our clients had a small RV on site so we moved our meeting indoors. At one point, I looked around to marvel at the sight – Bailey laying on the floor (wet and happy), Avery climbing up and down (and up and down) the carpeted steps to the “bedroom” area and Kyle and the homeowners huddled around the small banquette, zooming around the SketchUp model on our laptop and discussing views and materials. Outside, it was now pouring but all I could see was a thick blanket of evergreen trees. There are probably not a lot of professions where this might be a common (and totally normal!) occurrence, but for us it is and we love it.
So, a bit more about the cabin! Now that the design is fairly developed, we thought we’d share the renderings that Kyle created. (We use Sketchup Pro with a vray plugin, plus a little Photoshop and panoramic photographs.)
The cabin is small, 806 square feet, which includes a kitchen/dining/living area, a bathroom and a bedroom (scroll down for a floor plan).
The cabin will also be prefab (a process that Kyle has developed extensive knowledge of over the last several years). For this project, we’ve been working with Method Homes to create a design that will be a single prefab module, to be constructed in their warehouse near Bellingham, WA. The concrete foundation, decks and roof overhangs will be site-built. (The elevated foundation is designed to accommodate possible flooding and a concrete interior vault will house utilities.)
The exterior palette is based on affordability and durability and consists of stained tight-knot cedar siding, wood panels with a phenolic resin coating (that our client already owns), a metal roof, metal-clad windows and a durable ipe deck.
Deep overhangs help keep the interior cool and protect the siding in an extremely wet climate. An exterior bench and hooks provides a space to remove wet or muddy outerwear before entering the cabin. A rain chain near the entry collects roof runoff and directs it to a dry well.
A datum was set at 8′ above the main floor level, establishing a means of organizing the elevations and taking advantage of common door, window and panel sizes. A pair of conventional sliding glass doors provides the desired connection to the outdoors while keeping costs in mind.
The floor plan is simple but efficient, with the spaces organized linearly to take advantage of the lake and mountain view beyond.
The same wood panels will be used as a ceiling material, extending out to the underside of the roof overhangs for a seamless indoor-outdoor expression.
Double-duty is key for such a small space – the dining area is merged with the kitchen and a sofa bed in the living area can double as a place for guests.
The full-height cabinets to the left of the fridge will serve as a pantry and general storage needs.
A Rais wood stove provides heat in the winter, supplementing an energy-efficient ductless mini-split heat pump system.
A simple color and material palette was kept throughout the open cabin, creating a minimal canvas for the owners to add their own art and furnishings.
The bedroom is modest and will contain a free-standing wardrobe that also houses a stacked washer and dryer. A wainscot of wood resin panels throughout the interior provides a more durable surface and emphasizes the horizontality of the design.
The cabin was sited to take advantage of views and provide access for the equipment delivering the module without removing any trees. (Even in photos, it’s hard to convey how incredible these trees are.)
The decision to go prefab with this project was based mostly on its remote location and anticipated construction schedule. There are plenty of other benefits to going this route, including:
+ Reduced Waste and Material Use
Because Method is building in the same locale and shipping to final destinations, unused materials from one project can be saved and used for other building applications rather than being discarded. This helps Method to achieve up to 90 percent landfill diversion on projects.
+ Controlled Environment
Structures are not exposed to the elements, which prevents nail pops, warping, and mold issues. Also, weather delays – master craftsmen can work in a controlled environment year-round (great for the Pacific Northwest)
+ Fixed Cost
Pricing and specifications for the modular portion of construction are determined upfront, removing unknowns from overall building costs.
+ Reduced Timeline
Preparing on site while simultaneously building in the factory helps to significantly reduce construction timelines by two-thirds or more.
+ Streamlined Skilled Labor
Master craftsmen are paid a living wage at the factory. Labor is performed on multiple projects in a centralized factory location.
+ Limited Site Impact
Reducing the amount of time and activity on the site lightens the environmental impact of the construction process. This also reduces the amount of disturbance experienced by the neighborhood (trucks and cranes coming and going, construction noise, etc.)
We’re excited to see this project take shape and move into construction!
the backyard reveal!
We had a few scheduling delays, but guys – the backyard is DONE. While Avery was down for a nap yesterday Kyle and I grabbed the baby monitor and quickly scurried to sweep the deck, round up the hoses, and shoot a few photos. Twenty minutes after we finished it started pouring and our deck was once again covered in itty bitty little fir cones (aka bane of my existence) from our neighbor’s tree.
Anyway. Let’s take a gander, shall we? [And if you need a sobering reminder of what our yard has been through and what the proposed design was, refresh here.]
Spiraea in front of the planter box, Brass Buttons and Speedwell as the ground cover.
Ahh, real grass (freshly striated from its inaugural mow)! As you can imagine, Bailey is ecstatic. The crew removed all the old grass/weeds with a sod cutter, laid down new compost, leveled it all and then rolled out this beautiful-ness. Having a big grassy area has never been a priority for us, but it is nice to have a little patch for Bailey and Avery.
In the great chair debate, we went with the ones from CB2. So far, so good. (By the way, that’s Creeping Jenny and Hebe in the south planter box.)
Instead of running the grass to the fence line, we decided to soften the edge with some low shrubs and plants (Bishop’s Hat, Evergreen Huckleberry, Lavender, Lenten Roses and a Red Flowering Currant). We kept the older Italian plum tree and transplanted the Katsura.
The evening light made it tricky to photograph the north side yard, but you get the idea – Kyle actually saw cut the existing sidewalk to create a pattern that would compose with the new pavers at the deck steps. (We still need to add a guardrail at the basement stair. Always something, y’know.) We kept the Winter Daphne (the only plant to survive 6+ years at chezerbey) and around it are more Huckleberries, Hydrangeas, a Vine Maple and Inside-Out Flowers as ground cover.
We decided to relocate the edibles to the strip in the middle of the driveway. This gives us 360 degree access and the plants aren’t as permanent in the event that we need to drive a car back there. (I’m so late to the tomato game, but hopefully buying starts that had actual tomatoes on them will work out.) A row of Little Gem Magnolia trees line the new north fence and will eventually create a bit more privacy. Orange Hummingbird Mint and Pt. Reyes Ceanothus help fill in the bottom.
Oh yeah – new fence, did we mention that? We knew at some point we wanted to replace the boards on the existing fence (it was done more recently, so not in too bad of shape but definitely some rotting boards) and figured we should do it now before access became an issue. The hope was to reuse the existing fence posts and footings but a few of the posts were rotting so a new fence it was. Fortunately, we split the project with our neighbors which saved on costs and labor. (Side story: they have chickens and during the construction process Bailey got into their yard while the chickens were out. There’s nothing quite like seeing a goofy and somewhat uncoordinated golden retriever attempt to catch a fleeing bird.)
We’re also happy with the new table from Crate&Barrel. The ipe deck has grayed out quite a bit since we installed it two years ago, but we’re planning on doing a fresh coat of Penofin next month. (Remember when we did the first coat?)
After letting the steel hang out (err…develop a patina) in our driveway for the last two years, Kyle finally got around to welding up the remaining planter boxes.
Along the south fence line is a row of bamboo that will provide privacy and a nice vegetative screen in a year or so.
This. Yes. If you saw my Pinterest spree of summer cocktail recipes a few weeks ago this is why. (We bought outdoor pillows for the Adirondacks from C&B.)
Kyle installed pressure-treated 4x’s at the base of the fence to compensate for the grade change between our yard and our neighbor’s. To hide the ugly PT wood, Kyle installed 1/4″ steel plates with countersunk flush brown-tip stainless steel trim head screws. (If you had any doubt that Kyle was a perfectionist, well…countersunk.flush.brown-tip.stainless steel.trim head.screws.)
Kyle also installed 1/4″x6″ steel edging between the grass and planted areas, welding the seams and corners.
Funny story – the one plant that we were a little unsure of were these somewhat tropical looking guys in the north planter box. Turns out, a minor typo was made to the latin name on the planting list and they were supposed to be California Fuchsias (which look quite different). We’ll probably transplant the existing plants to pots and pick up a few actual Fuchsias.
There are also pavers that connect the deck to the driveway and our trash/recycling/compost station on the north side of the house. We were a little concerned about all the sharp edges with the steel, so Kyle went back and rounded all the corners to make it slightly more kid-friendly (as much as raw steel can be I suppose).
Instead of extending the horizontal cedar boards to the front yard, we collaborated with our neighbors on the design and installation of hog wire panels that are attached to the 4×4 posts and covered in cedar trim boards. The idea is that the hog wire will become the structure for a future double espalier with our neighbors (there are panels on both sides). We’re not sure what we’ll plant just yet, but have been thinking of some type of edible. (Kyle’s vote is for hops.)
Finally, who’s got two teeth and is super excited about the backyard?
This girl.
Once again, a big thank you to Mark Garff at The Watershed Company for an incredible design and to the folks at JP Landscape Services for another quality installation. We love it now but also can’t wait to see what it looks like in a year when everything has had a chance to grow and fill in.
This weekend calls for sun and temps in the 80’s. I know where we’ll be.
