Posts from June 2010
decisions, decisions: steel ledges
Although it may seem a little premature, we need to make a decor decision. Back in January, we posted some images of our sketchup model that showed a slim black line running from the kitchen backsplash, through the dining room and into the living room. This black line is intended to be a steel ledge that helps visually tie the spaces together and serves as a multi-purpose storage/display system. (For instance, in the kitchen it will hold spices and other commonly used small items and in the dining and living room it will be a display space for pictures of Ferraris artwork, bud vases and whatever else captures our attention. )
And now that we have everything opened up, we need to install a row of blocking to attach the ledges to (this isn’t completely necessary but will give us more flexibility as we won’t have to depend on stud locations or use drywall anchors). But what ledges to use? We’ve seen a couple of versions floating around the interwebs, and came across two we liked from West Elm and Room&Board.
We tracked down one of each, knowing that it would be important to test out in person. On the left is the West Elm version. It’s 3.5″ deep, 1″ tall and comes in lengths of 2′, 3′, and 4′. The price is about $12-$17/linear foot and it comes in just the brushed finish. The Room&Board option on the right is 5″ deep and 2″ tall and comes in lengths of 3′, 4′, 5′, and 6′. It costs anywhere from $17-$23/linear foot and comes in either natural or stainless steel.
The R&B option is appealing because it comes in longer lengths which means we wouldn’t have to join shorter segments together. But it is also bigger and more heavy-duty than we really need.
The West Elm ledge has crisper corners and the proportions fit our space and application better. The downside, we’d have to butt a couple runs together to work with our design. We were also worried about potential flimsiness, but both products seem really solid and well-constructed.
Ultimately, we’ve decided on the smaller, West Elm ledge. We’re not crazy about the slotted fastener holes, but the idea is to actually put stuff on the ledge so maybe it’s not a big deal. We could also cover the holes with a small piece of fir trim. Hmm, we’ll have to revisit this later…when we actually have finished walls.
progress report: week 10
Get ready for a let-down people – we made no physical progress last week. Kyle was in Miami most of the week/weekend for the AIA (American Institute of Architects) conference. I would have been there with him, but was busy getting my education on and not feeling hardcore enough to throw a skylight on my back and haul it to the roof.
I’ll leave you with a few slightly grainy iphone photos:
[I know, a Ferrari. It was just a rental. A fun reward for months of manual labor. And he loved it.]
It was nice to have the weekend off, but of course we’re both itching to dive back in. We’ve done a few small things and continue to cross things off the “to decide” or “to order” list so we’ll have some more updates this week. The roof window should arrive this week and if weather permits, we’ll have two more holes of light by the end of the weekend.
Also, thanks for all of the audio advice that we received. We’re still working out what will be the best set-up for us, but we’re getting there!
more bright ideas
In January, we did a post about lighting choices for our soon-to-be-demoed spaces. Since then, we’ve purchased the island light and the reach lights for over the kitchen counter. We’re still planning on this drum pendant for the dining table, and some simple can lights for the ceiling adjacent to the bedroom and bathroom.
For the living room lighting, we wanted something that would integrate with the exposed structure but not be too visually heavy. We looked at Bruck and Techlighting, which both offer modern, low-voltage linear systems. Ultimately, we ended up picking a Kable Lite system from Techlighting. The installation will be similar to this, but the joist spacing and cable spacing will be tighter and the cables will run within the joist bay.
We’ll have two runs that span from wall to wall and each run will have 4 lights. We’re deciding between these two options. We like the simplicity of the one on the right, but we might need the extra vertical drop in the one on the left since the cables will be slightly recessed above the bottom of the joists.
We’ll also be buying a fan to go in the new stairwell. We’ll do a similar configuration to our bedroom fan (the Cirrus style by Modern Fan Co.) but with a down rod and no light (so similar to the image below but with maple blades).
For the loft, we decided that we would install a switched outlet (with the switch at the top of the ladder) with the thought that we would have some type of small wall sconce or desk lamp instead of a ceiling fixture. We’ll also just pre-wire for some type of ceiling fixture in the 2nd bedroom, but aren’t going to buy that just yet. The only thing left on the lighting list is under cabinet lighting in the kitchen. Since we only have one wall of upper cabinets, we really don’t have much under cabinet space, about 30″ on each side of the vent hood. Most under cabinet lighting we’ve seen is bulky, clunky and just generally blah. To keep with the overall aesthetic, we really didn’t want to build a valence to hide said clunky lighting either. We looked for more minimal options, especially LEDs, but most were cost-prohibitive. On the verge of having to make an under cabinet compromise(!), our contact at Lighting Supply told us about LED tape lights.
Pretty sexy, huh? These “tape lights” are made by ET2 Lighting and consist of a row of LED lights on a circuit board type strip that is lightweight and adheres to the underside of the cabinet with simple 3M tape. The product line has a few different options that range in brightness and available lengths and most can be joined together to create longer runs. The power end of the strip is connected to a driver/transformer that is then wired back to the panel. In our case, the driver will go in the cabinet above the vent hood since it’s centrally located and will also be housing the duct for the vent. Even though we’d install the lights towards the back wall where they’d be less visible, ET2 also sells aluminum channel that can be installed on the outboard face to serve as a valence (the strips also come with protective plastic cover). We’re still working on final pricing for the whole system, but the general numbers are really not too bad and comparable if not less expensive than more traditional under cabinet options. Plus, the lifespan for LED lights far exceed that of fluorescent, halogen or especially incandescent and since these won’t be on all the time we’re expecting to go years without needing to replace them. Woo!
I just realized that the irony in this post is that we’re also proposing a major reduction in artificial lighting due to our new windows and skylights. But nevermind, there’s always winter…when darkness can come as early as 4:30. (I tend to repress that memory as we’re on the downward slope towards summer.)
progress report: week 9
Maybe it was the Monday holiday, but this past week flew by without a lot of physical progress on the house. Unfortunately, our schedule and mother nature didn’t cooperate with each other so we weren’t able to install the 2nd skylight. We did do some more framing (I know, we weren’t really done…) and some planning and research for the electrical side of things. To summarize:
1. This past week, we’ve been giving more thought to what kind of whole house sound system we want. First we visited Magnolia Audio, where we learned that we could spend anywhere between $1,000 and $100,000 equipping our 800 SF house. We did learn about a few cool products, such as Sonos, a wireless music system that allows you to control everything via your iPhone. We then looked into what the chain stores had to offer and came up somewhere between the two. At this point, we’re leaning towards quality over quantity, with a pair of reputable bookshelf speakers in the living room, a new receiver/amplifier, and the Sonos system. We’ll also eventually install a couple outdoor speakers for the backyard. (Down the road, we’ll be converting part of our basement into a media room, so we’re not planning for any surround sound or video components for this project.) While others would absolutely say we need speakers in the bedrooms and bathroom with individual volume controls and devices that massage the incoming current, we’re just not convinced it would be worth it for our lifestyle and how open the layout will be. (However, we did invest in a full security system with remote monitoring so we won’t be depriving ourselves of techiness.) But what about you audiophiles out there? Anyone have a favorite system that is simple, good-quality, affordable and aesthetically pleasing?
2. As mentioned above, we’re still waiting for enough dry weather for skylight #2. We framed in as much as we could on the inside…
Kyle also framed in the opening for the roof window in the loft. We just ordered this guy a few days ago so install will be at least a couple of weeks out. Still, it’s exciting to visualize an opening there. Even better, we noticed that you’ll see some blue sky from the kitchen space below.
3. Thanks to good ol’ life safety codes, we also ordered 7 smoke and carbon monoxide alarms last week. It does seem a bit ridiculous, but we’re all about “doing it right”. (FYI – we actually ordered them off Amazon for much less than HD.)
4. Lastly, we’re making some final decisions on the rest of our lighting and have started to install j-boxes. Check back mid-week for a post about that and how we finally found some cool under cabinet lights!
Hope everyone is having a relaxing Sunday. We just spent the last hour or so looking at reglets and detailing the various connections that we’ll have between different materials (like where the drywall on the walls meets the wood on the vaulted ceiling). I know, we’re not normal.
things we like
We still have a way to go before we can start talking furniture and accessories, but it’s certainly a fun diversion!
I recently put together this collection of ideas for our future dining and living area. Unfortunately, the only thing we currently own is the IKEA table! We plan on buying several items this year, but others may be on the wish list for a while and a few things are simply ideas. We know we won’t be able to afford everything at once, which works out well since we also want the space to evolve over time. Right now, we’re planning on a combination of more affordable finds from IKEA, West Elm and Etsy, coupled with custom DIY pieces and long-lasting classics from the Eames collection, Artemide and Heath Ceramics. As part of our overall goal to live more sustainably, we’ll try to buy non-toxic, easy to clean and durable products that won’t end up on Craigslist or at the Goodwill anytime soon. For colors, we’ll be starting with white walls and our dark brown cork flooring. By choosing the big-ticket items in more neutral colors, we can constantly reinvent the feel of the space by changing up the accessories and artwork. [As you can see, we’re into mustard yellows, dark browns and cool blues at the moment.] A steel ledge that will run nearly the entire length of the south wall will provide display space for rotating artwork and a low-slung shelving unit will house books and a media hub. One of the challenges with creating a “great room” space is finding that balance between über minimal and distracting clutter. We think this palette will mesh well with the kitchen and provide interest without overwhelming the space.
But for now, the aesthetic of bare studs and plywood will have to do.
