media bench
We finished the media bench and it’s not even April yet! Actually, we were 90% done a week and a half ago, but we kept on tweaking. You know how it goes.
The bench itself is made of two fir 2×10’s. Kyle took them down to OB Williams one afternoon where they ran them through the jointer and sander so they could be fit together without any wonkiness. (Our process photos are sparse, but it was a similar (although much simpler) to the office desk.)
Once the boards were back home in the shop, Kyle biscuited them together and applied a few coats of SatinThane. (He also added a radius to the outboard edge to make it a bit more baby-friendly.)
Once the bench was ready, it was go time. We put Avery to bed then emptied out the space (and did a celebratory high-five that we were finally, finally getting rid of the last of our college furniture).
(Sorry for these crappy iPhone photos.)
The media unit is an IKEA Besta box.
In lieu of legs, Kyle used the cutoffs from the 2×10’s to create a solid wood plinth. (We actually ended up moving the plinth closer to the face of the cabinet and adding blocking behind for extra stability.) The bench sits on the Besta unit on one end and on two IKEA Godmorgon legs on the other (the legs have metal cuffs that hide the plastic adjuster). The span is only 4′-6″, so the 1 1/2″ thickness of the wood is adequate. Our original design was to do a wall-mounted unit but we realized that it would be better to be able to pull the unit out in order to access cords, etc.
We went with glass doors for the Besta unit, but did our own window film to downplay the components (yet still allow our remotes to work). We used this film, which is the same thing we used at our back door.
Bam! (I now realize I should have taken some “action” shots but Avery was napping and Kyle and Bailey were at the hardware store when I took these. Next time.)
Although Avery wasn’t crawling when we wrote the last post, your comments about keeping the records out of reach convinced us to go ahead and make it happen and to use the space for toy storage instead. (Good thing too, as she is now all over the place.)
The subwoofer sits under the bench and we put the protective cover back on (even though it doesn’t look as cool). We still need to add a cushion and although I’m sure we could have easily had a custom one made, in a moment of lets-just-get-it-done we ordered this one from West Elm. It’s meant for outdoors but the color and size was right so we’ll see.
Ahh…new bench, new storage, new TV.
Yeah, we’ll get to that.
We also decided to go ahead and move the turntable to the cabinet as well. We bought this pull-out frame (with shelf insert) which works perfectly. (We intentionally left the handles off the doors and have catches that we’ll install once Avery figures that one out.)
The next dilemma was that we couldn’t fit all of the media components on one side to allow record storage on the other. Our stupid cable box was gigantic and taking up too much room so Kyle spent one morning haggling his way to a newer (and significantly smaller) version. “It’s for our child’s safety”, was the tagline of the day. Our xbox is on the other side still and we use it primarily as a DVD player. We’ll probably eventually swap it out for a small blu-ray player. (The small black box on the left is our all-in-one receiver that we use to watch TV, stream music and listen to the radio.) We also left the masonite backing off of the Besta unit for cord management purposes and to allow better ventilation.
We also removed the clunky plastic cover on the turntable. Good riddance, I say! We have noticed that it’s easy for the turntable pull-out tray to catch on the door if it’s not opened all the way so we’ll probably add a tiny bumper to protect the window film from getting scratched.
I looked high and low for modern/fun/affordable toy storage options and finally landed on these felt bins from Land of Nod. These are 11″ cubes – they had 18″ versions that I preferred but they were slightly too tall. Now that the smaller ones are in place, I think they work fine. (We have to preserve a bit of space between the toy storage and subwoofer for an existing heat vent.) The bins come in other colors but we liked the yellow the best (I originally got aqua but it was much greener in real life than on the website).
So, the TV. Somewhere in the process Kyle bought a new TV. (My mom was in town visiting and I must have been distracted.) Ok, really I just like to give Kyle a hard time about it for being such a guy. š We bought our old TV 4 years ago off Craigslist so the acquisition wasn’t terribly unreasonable. For those of you that have been following us for a while, you may recall that the original plan was to make the downstairs bedroom a media room and avoid a TV upstairs altogether. Maybe we’ll do that eventually, but we noticed that we’ve used the space a lot more since moving a TV in there (it used to be in the nursery when that was a flex room). We’re trying to keep the TV off around Avery, but most of our viewing time is after she goes to bed so it usually works out.
As part of our baby-proofing efforts, I had bought some anti-tip TV straps before we purchased the new TV. But they’re not all that attractive and the backside of the TV is actually somewhat visible so Kyle ordered this crazy wall mount that not only secured the TV but it has an adjustable arm so the TV can be rotated to an optimal viewing angle. Also, the base that came with the TV was an ugly chrome thing, so…win!
I also had concerns about Avery eventually being able to tip the speakers over so we installed these straps to the speakers and wall.
Done! Besides the cushion (which should arrive this week) we also would like to add some type of art piece above the TV. We’re thinking something organic or free-form so it’s not a rectangle sitting above another rectangle, you know? No idea what this piece of art would be, but we’ll keep an eye out.
All in all, we love it. It’s amazing how it changes the feel of the space and Avery has already logged some quality (supervised and supported) window seat time. This area of the house has always felt the least finished so it’s nice to finally remedy that.
seven months!
Avery turned seven months old yesterday!
I picked up this hat at a Gap Outlet yesterday and couldn’t resist using it as this month’s “prop”. It is ridiculous and I love it.
This last month has been a developmental explosion (as other parents told us it would be) and it’s been so fun to watch Avery eagerly try new foods, wiggle across the floor (she currently prefers the worm move) and attempt to stick her entire foot in her mouth.
I think she might also be working on a first tooth, as sleep these last few nights has been a little rough.
(Mmm, coffee.)
Good thing she’s pretty sinkin’ cute.
Oh, and thank you all for the feedback on highchairs from our six month post. We used Laura’s Albee Baby tip and scored a Stokke Tripp Trapp for $180 (with no tax and free shipping!). I’m still on the fence whether to pay another $70 for the baby set. So far we’ve just been using the included harness which seems to be ok (though she does slouch a bit to one side if she’s tired). I might keep an eye on Craigslist as I’ve seen them pop up from time to time. Thoughts?
One last thing – did you read this blog post about work-at-home moms? Even though Avery is still little and on a (somewhat) predictable schedule, it’s a topic that I’ve been thinking more and more about lately. I know we’ll need to tweak our current set-up as she gets older and it’s good to know that others are asking for help.
redoing the master bedroom
Our bedroom was the first space to be gutted and remodeled nearly 4 1/2 years ago. The room is modest in size and we didn’t have a big budget so we opted to keep things simple. Sure, the finished space was a drastic improvement from the day we closed (ack!), but as we continued to remodel the rest of our home we came to like our bedroom less and less.
So, time for a redo!
If you follow me on Instagram, you may remember a teaser photo of an empty bedroom from several weeks ago. Maybe you thought we were repainting (a good guess and logical first step), but no…we got a new bed! Our old bed frame was IKEA and purchased when we moved to Seattle in 2004. The mattress itself was Kyle’s from college and our first DIY project. He wanted a TempurPedic, but we were young and had no money so the guy at the mattress store tipped him off to a little secret: buy the 3″ high-density foam topper (that’s meant to go over conventional mattresses) and then pick up an inexpensive foam mattress from the Army Surplus Store to go underneath. Bam! Instabed! The mattress served us well but after 10+ years it was time for an upgrade.
[We also took down the birds. It was time. The twine was held by some nails in the corners so Kyle quickly spackled over those areas (hence the darker spots you see in the photos). We’re not sure what the new art will be just yet, but will likely let the rest of the room dictate.]
We did some shopping and tried out other mattress types but ultimately came back to the TempurPedic. They’re definitely an investment, but we were able to buy a floor model (looked new to us!) for 20% off. (Woo!) Our old mattress and bed frame were a queen, which fit nicely in the space. Although we dreamed of upgrading to a king, the room is too small so we settled on a California king (which is narrower but longer than a king). It’s still a whopping 12″ wider than a queen, which feels downright luxurious. You’ll see we also had to rotate our nightstands (Offi tv stands that have since been discontinued) 90 degrees – it works for now, but we have other plans.
One of our concerns with getting a wider bed was how Bailey would react. He’s used to sleeping on the floor between the side of the bed and the wall, with his head fully under the bed. The metal frame is now too low for his head and the space too narrow for his 95 lb. body. We were feeling a little guilty about the situation until we realized that Bailey actually preferred to just sleep in the new bed. So, problem solved? Guess that’s why we got a bigger bed.
We still love our IKEA Pax wardrobe system but the brown curtain and tension cable were a last-minute solution that has never really worked as we hoped it would.
So here’s a rundown of our game plan:
Paint: In 2008 we had not yet discovered Benjamin Moore’s “super white” and painted our bedroom and bathroom an off-the-shelf white from a home improvement store. Yeah, I don’t know what we were thinking either. It seemed ok until we found the perfect white for the rest of the house and now it seems really yellow. There was also an incident during our 2010 demo where a crow bar went through the bedroom wall. We had the drywallers patch the spot but when I went to repaint I grabbed the wrong sheen from the basement. UGH. So, we talked about painting the room a color but with only one window (that faces north) we need to make it as bright as possible.
Flooring: The fir floors in the bedroom are original to the house and during the first remodel Kyle sanded and refinished them. Well, fir is soft, Bailey has claws and the finish we used wasn’t durable enough. Seriously, there’s a divot where he sleeps. Even if we took the time to refinish them again, the wood isn’t all that nice to begin with so we’re planning to do Flor carpet tiles on top. To save a little money, we’ll omit the tiles that would go under the bed. (Our design ideas for a new bed frame will accommodate this.)
Bed frame and nightstands: We’re still working out the design details, but basically we need a new bed frame to accommodate a bigger bed and new nightstands since our previous ones no longer fit like they’re supposed to. (We’ll probably move the Offi’s down to the basement to use as side tables.) Ok, technically we have a simple metal frame already but we have plans for a DIY headboard and skirt of sorts.
Wardrobe: Kyle and I keep debating the best solution for the wardrobe. The storage itself is great, but we need a better option to conceal all of our clothes, as the current tension cable is too saggy and the curtains are too small to look good when closed. My vote is to do something similar to the nursery, where we buy a ceiling-mounted track and sew custom fit curtains. Kyle wants to make custom drawer fronts and cabinet doors (out of a cabinet-grade maple plywood) so it looks more like a built-in. (We vetoed the idea of just adding IKEA doors since it would be a two-step process to open the doors and then pull out drawers. Does this make us lazy?) I like the custom doors/drawers idea but am worried it will end up being a labor and time intensive project.
Window curtain: We still like the way the window curtain can slide back between the wardrobe and the wall when not in use, but it’s suffering from the same saggy issues as the wardrobe curtains. We have a translucent roller shade that provides privacy while letting in natural light, but for the part of the year when the sun rises early we need a way to make the room darker. And yeah, we’re over the brown. I’m feeling lots of warm gray (I know, I’m getting crazy and straying ever so slightly from blue-gray!), but I know we need some color too.
Ceiling fan: The ceiling fan and light combo is currently centered on the door and window but we’re wishing we would have located it more central in the room. So maybe we’ll move it over? (If we go with doors on the wardrobe it will have to move regardless.)
Bedding: Kyle bought some new sheets that are a pale blueish gray and match our existing duvet cover. We still like the duvet (which is king-sized), but I wouldn’t mind switching it up either. And then there is the question of whether we get new, larger pillows. We’re obviously not into making the bed so maybe we don’t fret about these things too much?
So, nothing too drastic but we think it’s going to bring the room up to the same level as the rest of the house. This will also be the first real room redo since Avery was a couple of weeks old so we’ll see how the juggling of tasks goes. Who wants to repaint? One, two, three…not it!
finishing the living room
It’s been just over two years since we completed the big overhaul to the main floor of our house. The living room (which used to be the dining area) had a slow start with furnishings but over time we added a new sectional, a coffee table, this rug, a transforming side table and a much-coveted LCW chair.
And now we’re changing things again and attempting to truly finish this space. It started a few months ago when we moved the coffee table downstairs. At first it was a temporary move to accommodate my PEPs group (10 moms and their babies in our living room, definitely a record!), but Avery was also at the age where floor time was becoming more fun so we decided not to bring it back up. (We knew we’d have to relocate it eventually when she became more mobile.) The downside to moving the table was that it now exposed the pretty uneven wear of the shag rug. I’d been secretly looking for a replacement rug for this area for a few months, but couldn’t find anything that was the right price, size and material. And then we finally had a stroke of luck during an impromptu weekday lunch last week (the excuse, the sun was out!). We stopped in our local Crate&Barrel where I saw this sisal rug, but at $399 it was more than I wanted to spend. On our way out, we passed a stack of floor models on sale and what do you know, there sat the same exact rug, on sale from $399 down to $219. Kyle negotiated the price down to $199 and with that we rolled it up and took it home. It has been a long time since we had a moment of karma like this and it felt good.
I’ve always liked the practicality of a natural fiber rug but Kyle has been reluctant because of its coarseness. It took him a few days to warm up to this one, but we’re feeling good about our (non-returnable) purchase. We’ve owned IKEA fiber rugs and this one really is quite a bit “smoother” underfoot, which I’m guessing is related to the quality of the weave. We were also pleasantly surprised how much a light-colored rug brightened up the space (these photos were taken on a typical overcast day).
The rug is 6’x9′ (our previous one was 5’x8′) and it’s a much better fit for the space. Our layout can be challenging because you clip the corner of the living area coming from the front door, but with a thinner rug it’s not awkward at all. We still put down a blanket for Avery, but more so to protect the rug from spit-up. (The great thing about having a stack of homemade quilts is that you just keep layering one on top of the next until you run out. Then I just throw them all into the wash and repeat the cycle.)
She looks pretty bald in these photos, but her hair really has gotten longer – by millimeters at least!
The new rug definitely puts us one step closer to the space feeling truly complete. Now we just have to deal with that shameful secret next to the front door:
I know! We still have this ridiculous TV stand that Kyle bought in college from…I don’t know, Target? (Let’s hope it was Target!) We’ve been working on the design for a media console of sorts for over two years now (first seen in this post) and it just keeps getting back-burnered.
Despite the mismatched nature of everything, we keep putting it off because what we have is functional and more or less gets the job done. Plus, the previous design we came up with was very custom and a bit fussy and made us tired just thinking about it. (Paralyzed by design, you know how that goes.) But now that we have baby-proofing on the brain, we knew it was time to come up with something – preferably something that was inexpensive and easy to execute.
So this is what we’re thinking – we’ll purchase an IKEA Besta unit to house all the “equipment” (with frosted glass doors so the remotes will still work), then make a bench element out of two fir 2×10’s that will bear on the Besta unit on one end and a pair of metal legs on the other. The subwoofer and records will go under the bench. The turntable will go on top of the bench (for now), but will also be able to move to the Besta unit once Avery tries to play her Sesame Street records herself. (We have some ideas for the records themselves if that becomes an issue.)
The cushion is a new idea. There have been a few times where we could have used extra seating in this space and I like the idea of Avery reading a book up there, Moonrise Kingdom style. Of course, we’re having a hard time finding an inexpensive cushion option…anyone have some good sources? I know it would probably be easy to make, but we just want to get this done. (P.S. – Kyle wants leather and I’m leaning towards a color/pattern.) Finally, the speakers and TV will be secured to the wall or bench to keep from being accidentally pulled over. I know our friends give us a hard time about baby-proofing our house, but I think we have it easier than most. Besides the obvious (stair and loft ladder) we have very few potentially unsafe items at her level and most of what we have is along this wall.
(Side note: that Artemide floor lamp keeps showing up in our renderings yet it is not in our lives yet. Why?)
So there’s our living room, in its current and forecasted glory. We can do this! (But really, if it’s April and we have yet to post about our finished living room someone please call us out.) After all, blogs are all about being held accountable, right?
studio zerbey / hilltop residence
Itās not that often that I write a blog post (yep, Kyle here), but this house is one I’ve been wanting to share for a while. But first, a quick note – things have changed a lot for us in the past year with the birth of our daughter and both of us leaving our jobs to start Studio Zerbey. We admit that the blog has been neglected and Iām guessing Bailey feels the same, even though he now gets to spend ALL DAY, EVERY DAY with us. Just wanted to say thanks to those who have stayed with us in the thin times!
Although this blog will always include posts about our house (and Bailey and Avery), we hope to write more about our professional work as architects. We still have plenty of chezerbey projects to complete, but most of our ādesign timeā these days is spent working for our clients.
Like this one, a new house in the mid-century Hilltop neighborhood east of Seattle. I started the project three years ago with my former employer, Balance Associates, but then the project went on hiatus for a bit. When I joined Lauren last year, the project was transferred to Studio Zerbey and construction is scheduled to begin in a few months.
Every project starts with the client and the building site. These clients are highly organized and began their project by presenting me with a 40+ page booklet about architecture that they admired with detailed descriptions of what they did and didnāt like. Not only were they organized, but they have also been easy to work with. Win, Win.
Unfortunately, their building site was a problem from the beginning and the most difficult site Iāve ever designed for (and there have been some doozies). It was the last empty lot in the architecturally significant Hilltop community in Bellevue, Washington and it was undeveloped for a reason. Actually, at least two previous owners (with their architects) had failed to build on this lot after either being turned down for permits or rejected by the community review board! This site had almost every problem you could think of including a steep slope, wetland and a stream. To make matters worse we also had to fit a septic system on the site and keep it away from the wetland and stream. Really, we spent the first two years working with the planning department to get several variances and permits. The process required detailed surveys and hiring a wetland consultant, geotechnical engineer, structural engineer and septic designer. After a drawn-out and mostly frustrating process we finally came up with a design that made everyone happy and were issued our permits! (As a part of the project weāll be improving the site by removing invasive species and doing some new native plantings, while maintaining the wetland and stream.)
The Hilltop community is like something Iāve never seen before which deserves a brief introduction of its own. This early 1950ās photo below is of some of the founders who planned the community (notice Mt Rainier in the background).
Black and white images from UW Libraries Digital Collection, as linked in this Seattle Times article.
The photo below is from around 1955 and shows homes under construction and the simple circular drive through the neighborhood.
Hilltop (as it’s commonly called) is comprised of 40 very carefully planned building sites (of larger than average size for the area) and they all have very well-preserved views. This old hand-drafted site plan of a āTree-View Mapā below is still used today by the community review board to approve remodels or in our singular case, new construction. The basic layout of the community is a circular drive with the highest elevations inside the circle. Most of the homes Iāve visited in the development also have nature trails that lead from one house to the next.
Most of the original homes were designed by architects who would later be known as pioneers of the Pacific Northwest modern style including, but not limited to, Perry Johanson, Fred Bassetti, Paul Hayden Kirk, Roland Terry, John Morse, and Wendell Lovett. Iām sure Iām forgetting someone on this list, but you get the idea. The opportunity to design a house in a neighborhood already brimming with unique homes is something we did not take lightly.
On two separate occasions, I was required to present my designs to the community review board. There were around 20 or so neighbors at each of the meetings and it was obvious that they cared deeply about our design and how it could impact their lives. On top of the permitting requirements, the community has its own very stringent design guidelines, which limit building height and placement on the site, not to mention an unofficial aesthetic judgment. I was relieved when they approved our design after the second meeting!
So, onto the design already…if itās not completely obvious, these are renderings that I created with my fancy new computer and not the actual building. Weāre in the process of interviewing general contractors and will start construction this Spring! The background photos are actual views from and around the site. Did I mention that the site has panoramic views of Lake Washington, Mercer Island, and parts of downtown Seattle?
The tall Douglas Fir tree in many of these exterior views has been affectionately named Earl by the clients. Thanks to the Hilltop community for preserving this particular tree. Earl is awesome.
The north side of the house shown below was required to be held up off the ground to meet setback requirements from the septic field. Itās an unconventional building solution but it works. Materials here include dark grey stained cedar siding, Parklex panels, and architectural concrete.
In keeping with the community design, we opted for wood windows. I know, I know…maintenance you say. Well, weāre only using them were we have very large overhangs and they’ll be treated with a durable finish. The rest of the house that does not have generous roof overhangs will have metal clad wood windows, so metal on the outside and wood on the inside.
Entry courtyard below, itās really the only yard space we can claim because of the wetland, stream, steep slope, and septic.
Here are three renderings of the same view. I originally just did the day and night shot for the client and then they sent me the background photo in the third image, on a day when the clouds were especially low.
Below are the floor plans, which show that the house is relatively modest in size and will be one of the smallest in the neighborhood.
View from the main deck into the great room:
View from the great room looking at the kitchen:
Another view of the kitchen:
Custom fireplace and living space (Yeah, that’s me and Bailey hanging out on the deck. Maybe.):
Master bathroom with lots of overhead natural light:
Master bedroom looking out towards Mercer Island and Lake Washington:
If youāre interested in reading more about the Hilltop community you should check out these articles by Dean Stahl of the Seattle Times and Kurt Clark of the Bellevue PI. A big thanks to them for keeping up with the history and to my clients for being so patient and great to work with. We’re excited for construction to begin!
