Search Results for: dining room
renovation and reason
A few weeks ago, our kitchen remodel was featured on Design*Sponge as part of their “Before and After” series. We were thrilled to be included and encouraged by the many positive comments. But then, inevitably, came the other comments. The reactions were similar for our kitchen and bathroom posts on Apartment Therapy and in a nutshell, there was a contingent of commenters that were convinced we had obliterated an heirloom.
Truthfully, I wasn’t really offended by the comments (and was somewhat expecting them) – not because I’m necessarily thick-skinned but because I stand by our conviction that what we’ve done has been the right thing for our house. Alongside the positive and negative comments were additional questions about how we should approach the discussion of remodeling in the first place, especially when so much of the blogisphere is dedicated to sparkly end results. It’s something that Kyle and I started discussing and realized the topic might warrant a blog post of its own. We realized that although we have gone through a very careful and intentional remodel thought process, we’ve never really explained it here on the blog.
Don’t get me wrong, we love dramatic “before and afters” just as much as the next person, but we thought it would be interesting to talk about the underlying reasons for taking on a project like this in the first place. So here’s our story.
[Note: each pair of photos was taken from approximately the same view. And no, I didn’t know about white balance back in ’06.]
Plain and simple, we bought a house that needed a lot of work because it’s what we could afford. We were up for the challenge and knew that it was something we both wanted to do. So we bought this:
Ok, she looked a little better (and cuter!) in the 1930’s when this photo was taken. When we took ownership in 2006, she was a bit frumpier:
But over the course of 5 years, she’s got a new spring in her step…
I think we all agree that, yes, our house was ugly. But ugliness alone is not a reason to gut the entire thing. Sure, we could have painted the walls, replaced the carpet and called it a day, but our house had fundamental problems that limited its effectiveness as a 21st-century home.
Layout – As you can see from the original floor plan, our home had an awkward layout that quickly proved to be an inefficient way to live in 770 square feet. (At the root of the problem was the kitchen, which served as the hallway of the house with 5 doorways and very little work space.) By reworking the plan, we were able to create a series of spaces that made more sense for how we live while also accommodating flexibility for future needs. We were also able to add a second bedroom without expanding the footprint. If our home had two bedrooms from the beginning, we probably would have approached things differently.
Because the front door entered into the middle of the dining/living room, the two spaces were the same size, meaning a too small living room and a too big dining room. The chandelier with the faux candles yet real burn marks on the ceiling? No words.
Structure – Our home had not been maintained properly over the years and had some issues that needed more immediate attention. Maybe one reason we didn’t start the blog earlier was because the first few years were not glamorous ones. We completely replaced the roof, undertook a sizeable structural project in the basement and spent an uncomfortable amount of money on asbestos abatement and an oil tank removal. Unglamorous yes, but it was the right thing to do and prevented even bigger (and more expensive) repairs down the road. Does structural safety supersede “preservation”? We think so.
Energy – One of the things that I think is most often overlooked when discussing older homes is that they are usually energy hogs. When we bought our house, it had no insulation in the walls, a ridiculously ancient coal-turned-oil-burning octopus furnace, a 20-year-old hot water heater and leaky aluminum windows. For us, not improving our home’s energy performance would have been irresponsible and well, dumb. In many cases, sustainability drove our decision-making process. For instance, to insulate our exterior walls we could either add it from the outside or the inside. So we weighed the pros and cons and ultimately decided that it was more important to restore our original cedar siding and remove the crumbling plaster on the inside. With the walls opened up, we were also able to add modern-day luxuries like electrical outlets(!) When it came to materials, we made a concerted effort to recycle/sell/salvage as much as we could while also being conscientious about what new materials were coming in.
Education – Although some have surmised that we’re remodeling for remodeling’s sake, just because we’re architects doesn’t mean we think we’re entitled to change something just because we can. I mean really, this stuff is expensive and takes an incredible amount of time and patience. In fact, sometimes…ok, many times, we wish our house had needed less work. But regardless of how we’ve changed our home, the more important thing has been the process of doing so. In fact, before we started looking at houses, we both were toying with the idea of going to grad school, but ultimately decided that we couldn’t afford to do both. So we sometimes joke that the remodel has been our thesis project and in a way, I think we’ve learned far more than we could have in a couple extra studio courses.
Solving the Stylistic Problem – Even though we’re self-proclaimed modernists, we still have an appreciation for the past. Although our house was the one we could afford, we predominantly looked at pre-1930’s homes (which fortunately, Seattle has a lot of). In general, we were attracted to the modest size and simple styles of these homes and knew it would be these characteristics that, due to budget and practicality, would remain unchanged. (I’m sure we drove our realtor crazy…a fixer? No problem! But a complex roof shape? Hell no!) Sadly, even though our home was built in 1910 and was small and simple, it didn’t have any of the charming features that are common to other homes of that era. No built-ins, no fancy molding, no bare wood. Because of this, we felt it was appropriate to take on a more extensive renovation. Where we could, we brought attention to certain original elements – like the exposing the ceiling joists in the living room or restoring the original cedar siding on the exterior.
As architects who are progressive but also concerned about sustainability, there is a great challenge in reinventing existing housing stock to work for the 21st century. It’s a surgical process that is different for every house and includes incorporating the best of both eras into something that will hopefully be around for another one hundred years. (Pretty pictures are nice, but this creative problem solving has really been the crux of our remodel.) For those that think we’ve done our home a disservice, the reality is that had our offer not been accepted, our house would have been victim to the wrecking ball and a 2500 SF “neo craftsman” mcmansion would have been crammed onto the lot in its place.
Anticipating Change – One goal that we’ve tried to maintain throughout this process is not to overdo it. While we’re definitely not looking to flip this house, we also know that we probably won’t live here forever. That means striking the balance between doing the right thing and what makes us happy, while not investing so much money and time that we feel we can never leave. We’re not making any decisions based on “resale value” but we are trying to do something that is thoughtful, creative and appropriate for our neighborhood.
Being Realistic – Our house is at best an experiment. An experiment based on a modest budget, a willingness to live in a constant construction zone and a whole lot of manual labor. It’s not a perfect home, but it is a better home and at the end of the day that’s something we feel really good about.
And there is the “Behind the Scenes” story of chezerbey. Remodeling can be very personal and depends on so many factors that it’s impossible to apply general rules or guidelines to the process. What’s right for one person isn’t necessarily a good solution for another and we hope that the blogisphere can continue to be a forum for constructive dialogue. Crappy old houses all over the world will thank you for it.
mustard shells
A year ago, we wrote this post about our quest for dining room chairs. After much research and discussion, we decided to keep the IKEA ones we had until the right thing came along.
Well, hello Mr. Right:
It all started a few months ago, when Anna clued me into some mustardy yellow Eames fiberglass shell chairs that she heard about through Victoria. They were being sold through Midcentury Modern Finds, a vintage seller based out of San Francisco. Long story short, I didn’t act fast enough and before I knew it the chairs were gone.
But when I finally contacted the seller she let me know that they had about twenty more that just needed to be cleaned up! [Fist pump!] The chairs, which came from a SF longshoremen union hall (which conjures up all sorts of mental images), looked to be in pretty good shape. They were being sold with a wide mount stacking base for $150 each, but we knew we had our hearts set on the dowel base. Fortunately, we were able to purchase just the shells for $100 a piece, which seemed like a reasonable price for 6 matching chairs. (We were originally going to get just four to replace the ones we have, but realized that we often have 6+ people over at one time and making people sit on bar stools is just awkward.)
So anyways, we bought them. On Monday, the shells boarded a Greyhound bus bound for Seattle. (I had no idea you could ship via Greyhound!) Tonight, I headed to the bus station in downtown Seattle to pick them up (which was an experience in itself), but I didn’t care – because I knew the glory that was packed inside my green cellophane-wrapped box.
We held our breath as we unpacked the box, both secretly hoping that the color would be the right shade of yellow. To our relief, it was. We had discussed the merits of getting a more neutral color, but the yellow is actually playful without being too bright and we think it will work well in our house. (I decided to go ahead and snap a few photos tonight, even though the artificial lighting does not do them justice.) Plus, we love that they’re durable, easy to clean and the right scale for our small house. There are some very tiny marks/scratches here and there, but the overall quality is fantastic. And really, I think there’s also something to be said about getting a piece of furniture that’s already broken in.
Now, let’s talk about something serious.
Dowel bases.
We know of a few reproduction companies, like Modernica, Herman Miller and Modern Conscience, but if anyone has any other leads or suggestions, please share! (We’re ok with going the reproduction route, since it would probably be close to impossible to find 6 matching vintage bases.) Kyle has been eyeing the maple/chrome combination but I’d be ok with maple/black too. The shells came with wide mount shocks, but we’re willing to change them to a narrow mount if needed. (Of course, cost is also a factor – we’d like to stay under $100 per base if possible.)
I know the Eames shell chair is in every other modern house in America, but I don’t care. This is love.
drainage report: all buttoned up
We closed on our house in August of 2006, a month before our first year wedding anniversary. Fortunately, we had about four weeks of overlap between getting the keys and the end of our lease on our rental house. During that time, we spent almost every night and weekend at our new home, furiously cleaning, painting and making it habitable. On the day of our anniversary we sat on the grass in the backyard, eating burritos and the top of our wedding cake. Maybe it wasn’t the most romantic of anniversaries, but looking back, it kinda was.
5 years later, we celebrated our 6-year anniversary – working side by side in the front yard, continuing to make this little house our home. Maybe it was the anniversary or maybe it was the fear that this really would be the last nice weekend, but we got a whole bunch of stuff done. Behold:
The first step of our porch stoop has always been too tall, so we decided to use some of the leftover ipe from the deck to build a landing of sorts that connects to the 1910 concrete steps. After excavating out around the area, Kyle installed a pressure-treated ledger board against the face of the concrete stoop footing and then poured a new footing next to the concrete steps.
He then built a frame out of pressure-treated 2x’s and 4x’s that hangs on the ledger and bears on the outboard concrete footing. Initially, we planned for the ipe to run parallel to the steps, but realized that the stoop (and therefore the house) is not exactly parallel to the concrete steps, which would have created a weird trapezoidal condition. Ok, whatever…it was 1910. I’ll cut them some slack. So anyhow, we decided to run the boards perpendicular to remedy the problem.
The animals oversaw the operation. GC Bailey and site superintendent Felix.
After the deck boards were attached Kyle skirted the landing in 1×8 ipe boards. Eventually we’ll have plants(!) that will help soften the edges, but we like the way it turned out. It reads more as a bridge that connects one yard to the other.
No, we didn’t have a Penofin accident – it’s just water. The rain is here.
Speaking of, if we do get another dry weekend we’ll go ahead and put a coat of Penofin on the ipe. In the photo above, the dark boards are from the step that was installed (and finished) two years ago. We’re curious to see how the color will change with a new layer of finish on both. [We also plan to add an abrasive admixture to the stain to prevent people from busting their butts on the wet wood. Not that I know what that feels like.]
Ooh, looks like someone’s been to the doggie spa. [If not regularly groomed, Bailey’s paws get so hairy that he unknowingly carries leaves, dirt and other debris into the house. Drives.me.crazy.]
Naturally, Bailey took this evening’s photoshoot as an opportunity to work on his own portfolio. Too bad Kitty totally photobombed him!
While Kyle was busy with the bridge, I sucked it up leveled out the rest of the dirt.
We decided that it would be smart to wait till next year to install the large-scale pavers (aka our old sidewalk and driveway). This would give the dirt time to settle and compact – because the last thing we want is to have to redo 600 lb. pavers. So in the sideyard they sit.
But alas, the joy of a freshly raked dirt yard was short-lived. Stupid tree and your stupid leaves. What is this, fall?
We also swept the driveway, sidewalk and pavers. No more construction site. Finally.
In addition to finishing up the drainage system, we also cleaned out the gutters, repainted the side of the house (that was victim to the bobcat “incident”), painted the dining room window trim, weeded the planting strip and spread the remaining pea gravel in the backyard. And now, we are ready for winter.
At the end of the day, we also squeezed in a celebratory dinner at Tavolata. Here’s to 6 years – I think we make a pretty good team.
blogiversary q&a
Oh, hey there. Remember that blogiversary post from over a month ago? The one where we proposed a Q&A and then promptly slacked off on answering the questions?
Yeah. Woops. To compensate, we bring you the answers – novella style!
Q. Anything that you would do differently if you had the chance? Favorite spot in the house? Do you know the name of your bed? I have the same one and for the life of me can’t remember it. [from Monica]
A.
KZ – We knew the living room was going to be tight, but decided it wasn’t in the budget to expand it at the time. Now we want a bigger living room, so we’re thinking about doing a bump-out with a fireplace nook.
LZ – Oh yes, the bump-out. I rolled my eyes at first, but then started to get pretty excited about the idea. It’s low on the priority list right now and who knows, we’ll probably change our minds again. Favorite spot in the house? It actually tends to change – right now we’re loving our 2nd bedroom (aka “the flex room”) as a cozy TV room, but the kitchen is probably the space we spend the most time in. We bought our bed frame from IKEA about 7 years ago – I can’t remember the name either (I knew I shouldn’t have thrown out those old IKEA catalogs!).
Q. My question would be about what kind of architecture you guys do for daily life — schools, malls, prisons? Are you workaholics like all the other architects in my office? It seems like for those of us with creative careers where hours are billed, there can be a tendency to work longer and longer hours. How do you come home from a day of work and have the energy to do all this planning, design and hard work on your own house? It’s kind of the shoemaker’s children have no shoes kind of conundrum. I’d love to hear your take on it. [from CT]
A.
KZ – I have always specialized in custom residential homes, everything from kitchen remodels to multi-million dollar homes. (I might be doing a remodel to a veterinary clinic soon though!) I used to work at a firm that required a lot of overtime without pay, so I moved on! I sought out a new firm whose office culture is not to overwork their employees and still did respectable work. (I know that’s hard to find, especially in this market.) I do think that in general, most firm owners tend to devalue their work which eventually trickles down to the bottom where someone ultimately has to take up the slack. It’s a problem that occurs throughout our profession.
LZ – I do mostly single-family, but also some multi-family and small public or non-profit projects like libraries and community centers. I rarely put in extra hours at work, but I wouldn’t totally reject the workaholic label (it just manifests itself in different ways, like working on the house, blogging, etc.). =) After five years of architecture school (and countless all-nighters), we made it a priority to have a better life-work balance. As far as how we sustain the motivation, I think it helps that there’s a lot of overlap between what we do at work and what we do on our house. Often times, our home has been a test lab of sorts to try out products, design ideas, etc. But that’s not to say that we don’t get burned out or tired of remodeling. We definitely do. Over time, you just figure out when it’s worth it to push through and when you should stop and take a break. (And having the blog is serious motivation as well.)
Q. I’ve been *dying* to know more about the art work (wall hanging?) in your bathroom! I love it but can’t find any information about it on your blog. [from vee dub]
A.
LZ – I regret not documenting the process of making our bathroom art. I think I was just in a hurry to get the bathroom done so we could start a new project. The good news – it’s really easy to make. Basically we just saved a bunch of toilet paper rolls, cut them into varying widths, creased the edges to get the leaf shape, then arranged them in a pattern on our dining room table before gluing them together. The yellow is just acrylic paint that I picked up from a craft store and we sprayed all the pieces with a clear acrylic finish to protect them from moisture.
Q. Here’s my question… what’s the project that you most want to do but suspect you never will? (cost prohibitive, etc) [from Kevin]
A.
KZ- Hmm, believe it or not but at some point I had really tried to convince Lauren that we should do a pimped out remodel of the garage/workshop before we did the house…you know, so I could have an efficient space to work out of 😉 The garage is still a p.o.s. but it works. It will probably never be a luxury garage but I would like that very much. Instead we will probably add a second story and make it a guest house.
LZ – Yes, I am glad that we did not pimp out our garage first – we’d probably still be living with our old kitchen if that were the case. But yes, the garage/shop is still a big question mark. We’ve got tons of ideas, but who knows what we’ll end up doing. At one point we also talked about a small addition off the back of the house – so before we built the deck we revisited the idea and decided it probably wasn’t going to happen (which meant we could do a bigger deck!).
Q. How did you choose your house when house-shopping? Was it neighborhood first, then house? Which neighborhood did you choose? What were your criteria in choosing a house/neighborhood? Basically, what was the before-remodel process like? [from John]
A.
KZ – Neighborhood and simplicity for remodeling. We knew we would be on a budget so we tried to find a house that was relatively simple in plan. We also tried to find a house with good “prospect-refuge” – by that I mean a house up off the street with a place for a stoop.
LZ – First of all, our house-hunting process was nuts. We were looking during the height of the housing market, trying to find an entry-level home in a highly desirable city. Our house was the 6th offer we made and each house was in a different neighborhood. We did keep our search to within Seattle city limits, since it was important to us to live in the city and not have a ridiculous commute. We started out with a list of things we wanted and didn’t want, but I’d say that list evolved during the process. Obviously, any house we made an offer on had to be livable and something that wasn’t a tear down. Beyond that, we were looking for something that had good bones and hadn’t been botched too bad over the years. The thing we liked about our house (despite all of its flaws) was that it had a simple shape and good proportions and was in an up-and-coming neighborhood.
Q. You’ve made such great progress on your house. What big projects are next on the list? [from Kit]
A.
LZ – In our minds, we have three major projects left: 1. landscaping and misc. outdoor projects, 2. finishing the basement (adding a 3rd bedroom and 2nd bath), and 3. the garage/carport (probably in that order). We’ve also talked about changing up our bedroom (because y’know…it’s been 3 whole years since we gutted it!).
Q. We recently took your Seattle food suggestions while on vacation up there 2 weeks ago.. Bastille was fantastic! Do y’all have any other city-guides? [from M]
A.
KZ – I would check out the Seattle Restauraunt Week that is about to happen. Most of the ones I would name are on there!
LZ – In terms of non-food guides – you know all we do is remodel! =) Actually, we’ve done a lot in and around the city, but there is so much to see and do that it can be overwhelming. If I was going to recommend things to someone visiting, the list might include: Lake Union ice cream tour, Theo Chocolates factory tour, one of our awesome parks (like Discovery, Shilshole or Carkeek), one of the nearby islands (like Bainbridge or Whidbey) and the Ballard Farmer’s Market on Sundays.
Q. I’ve been following (and enjoying) your blog for quite a while, but my question is Pinterest-related. I’ve noticed that you’ve “pinned” clothing. I guess that surprised me, because that’s a subject I haven’t seen on your blog. But I like your fashion “pins”! I’m just curious if you are interested in fashion from a pragmatic, “what should I wear,” perspective, from a design perspective, or both? [from Kim]
A.
KZ – I need to start pinning.
LZ – We try to keep the blog content house (or animal) related, but like most people in the design world, we’re both into fashion, art, industrial design, etc. But don’t think we have a closet full of black turtlenecks! (In fact, maybe it’s the Pacific Northwest culture, but neither of us wear much black. We don’t have funny glasses either. Huh.) I’m going to speak for Kyle here, but I’d say we’re both pragmatic when it comes to clothes, but like architecture, we look for things that are well-made, aesthetically pleasing and have good proportions. Hmm – I was kinda joking with that last sentence but it actually is what I look for in clothes. [Side story: when we were first-year architecture students (and before we knew each other), I remember Kyle color-coordinating his outfit to match his presentation board. Future husband qualities? Check!]
We’re also both pretty picky so even though we like clothes, shopping can be a frustrating experience. We also don’t shop for each other and we both prefer to shop by ourselves (although Kyle’s been known to text me dressing room photos from time to time).
Q. So this might be a long silly question but here it goes….
[Im a senior in highschool and trying to figure out my future. x)] Did you enjoy studying architecture? Was it everything you expected it to be? I’ve been really looking into it lately because I LOVE art and design, and I love math. So I though architecture would be the best way to combine it!
Would there be any pointers you would give someone looking to go into architecture? [from Tracy Ann]
A.
KZ – I could probably write a book about this. Don’t get me wrong I don’t want to downgrade the importance of math but since I hear the reference to math a lot I’ll address that first. Basic geometry, algebra, and trig all come in handy when designing, but I’ve never actually used the calculus I tried so desperately to wrap my head around in college. I see higher math as being important for the sole reason that it helps you think more abstractly, maybe all that calculus helps your brain to develop new neuron pathways or something? You will need math to get through all your structural classes, but once you start practicing you’ll be hiring a structural engineering consultant. My structural engineering consultant went to M.I.T. and I’m pretty sure she does math for fun sometimes.
Art and design will mostly likely be a larger part of your architectural education. If you’re serious about getting a feel before diving in, I would ask for a tour of the architecture school that you are considering and try to talk to some upperclassmen. Also maybe taking a tour of some local architecture firms. Feel free to e-mail us for more specific questions.
LZ – This is definitely a subject that any architect has strong feelings about. First of all, I don’t think there’s anyway you can go into architecture school knowing what to expect. I too went into architecture because I liked math and art and it’s a profession that continues to fulfill those two interests (especially if you think of math more in the realm of complex problem solving). Did I enjoy school? Yes and no. Did I take it too seriously? Maybe. Architecture school requires an incredible amount of dedication and it’s easy (and often encouraged) to spend every waking moment in studio. Looking back, I wish I would have taken the time to have more college experiences and travel, but I also believe that I received a solid education that prepared me well for the real world of architecture (which is usually very different from school).
Like Kyle said, I would encourage you to visit schools (if you don’t have one picked out) and find the best fit for you. School is certainly the time to embrace theory and design principles, but a school that has some basis of practical teaching is important. Beyond that, your education is really what you make of it. Self-discipline and passion are two things that you’ll need from day one through the rest of your career. If architecture is the right fit, it can be a gratifying career path. If it’s not, you’ll know.
Q. 1. I am curious about your design process and values. Care to share how you guys hash it out amongst the two of you and maybe some of your inspirations, heroes, etc? 2. Since your current blog doesn’t go all the way back to the beginning, how much time did you spend in planning and research before your first projects? Did you develop a master plan that you have pretty much followed (with minor adjustments as necessary or desired), taking breaks after projects to plan the next one in detail before tackling it, or did you have general goals that you only planned as each was completed? [from Nate]
A.
KZ – Fortunately, we work really well together and usually make each others designs better! We collaborated on projects in school and in professional practice and still consult with each other on our own projects. I can’t recall us ever having a fight over a design decision…there was a period when we had a hard time selecting furniture so we just didn’t buy any;) We’ve settled on getting some Eames chairs which frankly isn’t a hard choice. If we don’t agree on a design direction we’ll just think about it longer and one of us will see the light and come around to the other persons idea.
Inspirations: my first job was working for the office of Bohlin Cywinksi Jackson. Peter Bohlin is the most inspiring architect I’ve met to date. If you haven’t seen their work, check it out. We don’t have a set of defined core values that guide us, but I would say a few key ideas are: being sensitive to the site, use of natural modern materials, designing from the inside out. (I think it’s a rookie mistake to start designing from the exterior!) Design in perspective. Listen to your clients even if you think they’re wrong. Sometimes the architect is wrong too, but not often. As young architects I think it’s also important to hang out and make friends with people that aren’t architects. It’s nice to talk about other things besides architecture!
We had a pretty good master plan before diving in. Remodels by nature evolve and you adapt. For instance after we did our big demo party, we decided to finish out the loft space. Most of the details get figured out on the fly unless I know it’s going to impact something else then it get’s figured out. This can only happen with experience so to those without experience I would suggest more planning up front.
LZ – Maybe it’s because we have similar backgrounds, but we generally tend be on the same page, design wise. If anything, we disagree about the way something should be done more so than the design itself. We’ve spent a lot of time planning for projects, work that doesn’t always make it onto the blog. In fact, we spent the first year in our home getting to know the house and figuring out the master plan. We went through so many design iterations, a process that was complicated by the fact that we’d have to phase the work and live in the house while doing it. We definitely take breaks after finishing projects, but it’s usually only a month or so before we start thinking about what’s next. Fortunately, design is free so we’ll spend several months trying out ideas, sketching, researching, etc. while we save up money for the next project.
Q. I would be interested in learning more about your design background as well as where the DIY skills come from. I’m a new reader so apologies if you’ve discussed this. My shortcoming is not a lack of great ideas but more lack of execution. Always interested in where and how folks learn to cut a straight line, mix and pour concrete, tape and mud drywall, etc. [from Zane]
A.
KZ – Both trained as architects. My grandpa was a master woodworker and I inherited his wood shop when he passed away. That was a great start for me to work with his tools. I did some framing with my dad when I was younger but that’s about it. Mostly self-taught. Craftsmanship can really only be learned by making mistakes. Regarding execution, it always takes more time and money than you would optimistically hope for. I’ve learned to just slow down and if it takes another week then so be it, better to do it right then rush and want to re-do it later because it’s ugly. We bought lots of self-help books. Also I guess we’ve picked up a lot of knowledge from our previous apprenticeships as architects. It’s one thing to draw a construction detail, but then to see it built is even better. Of course the best is when you build it yourself. 😉
LZ – Kyle and I both went to Oklahoma State University. We graduated with a 5-year b.arch in 2004 and have been practicing in Seattle since then. One of the main reasons we came to Seattle is because we loved the residential vernacular style of the design firms here and our professional experience has been focused primarily on this type of work. In terms of DIY skills, I believe that some is natural talent and the rest is learned. In school, Kyle built the most beautiful and well-crafted basswood models, so it’s no surprise that he could translate that to “full scale”. While I don’t mind a little manual labor, I get more satisfaction out of the designing, planning and organizing side of things. Over time, we learned where each of our interests and strengths were, and came up with a strategy that made the most sense for us. As Kyle mentioned, even though we went to architecture school and have been practicing for 7 years, no one teaches you how to pour concrete or hang drywall. So yes, we own many of the Taunton Press how-to books and even Google can be a valuable resource. The best advice is to take it slow and don’t get frustrated. Also – start small. I remember one of the first projects we did was to install a fan in our old bathroom. It took an entire day to install and was so frustrating, but we learned some valuable lessons that helped us out as we took on larger projects.
Phew! Are you still reading? If anyone has any other questions just shoot us an email: info(at)chezerbey(dot)com.
eating well in seattle
Seven years ago, we packed up a U-Haul and moved 2,000 miles away from Northeastern Oklahoma (where we both grew up). Our parents (who still live in OK), have been up to visit a few times before, but with the all the remodel craziness of the last few years, they’ve been keeping tabs on our progress from afar. Now that the house is sorta done and definitely habitable, they came up for a long overdue visit. Now, we always advise that people come in July or August, when it’s bound to be perfect Seattle weather – sunny and 76 degrees. Well, that wasn’t the case this time – but considering that OK has been hit with one of the hottest summers on record, there were no complaints about 65 and cloudy.
Kyle’s parents (and his aunt and uncle!) came for four days and then the day after they left my dad and step-mom flew out for four days. We had a great time with everyone and it marked the first time that people could actually stay in our house (without being relegated to the couch). During the first stretch, Kyle and I took the loft while his parents slept in our room and his aunt and uncle on an Aerobed in the flex room. It was cozy, but it worked!
Even though the weather wasn’t fantastic, we found plenty to do. In addition to hanging out around town and at chezerbey, we also went on a few day excursions. With Kyle’s family, we went to Whidbey island, where we stumbled across an art festival and took Bailey to an off-leash beach so he could work on his driftwood fetching skills. With my parents, we headed up to Mt. Rainier, where there was still 12′ of snow at Sunrise (6,400 ft.)! We even saw a bear! But probably one of the best things we did was eat. Seriously, sometimes I forget how good we have it here (probably because dining out for us usually means hitting up the local taco truck) and having visitors in town is a great excuse to show people our favorite places while also trying a few new ones.
Now, this is the point where I would have shown you a stream of artistically shot photos of what and where we ate, but my iPhone is 3 years old (basically obsolete) and nearly crashes Instragram every time I try to use it (I am stubbornly holding out for a white iPhone 5). So instead, I’m going to talk about the places we ate and show you pictures of Bailey. Because really, I know that’s the only reason some of your read our blog.
Kyle’s parent’s flight was delayed and they were starving by the time we picked them up. Instead of risking it with a long wait, we took them to Tutta Bella in the Wallingford neighborhood. Known for their Neapolitan pizzas and amazing salads, the food is delicious and the restaurant is spacious enough that we were seated immediately. We ordered a few different pizzas, but our favorite was the Gioia; an olive oil based pie with prosciutto, arugula and a fried egg on top.
A few days later, we stopped by Bastille in Ballard for drinks and snacks before going to the nearby Tractor Tavern for a concert. (Ironically, one of the two bands playing was Other Lives, a band from Stillwater, OK. And yes, Kyle’s mom totally rocked out.) Anyhow, Bastille’s slogan is “damn good French cuisine” and it really is. The main dining room is always crazy busy and that’s why we often head straight for the back bar – a dark and cozy space with a full bar and generous menu (the steak frites are always a good choice).
For our final meal of family visit #1, we headed to Ray’s Boathouse. We like Ray’s because you get the quintessential seafood experience while avoiding the downtown waterfront land o’ tourists. Located in West Ballard, the restaurant has a panoramic view of Puget Sound and on nice days the deck is where you want to be. Sadly, the deck was not open when we were there, but we did have some amazing food nonetheless.
After a day to do laundry and recoup, my dad and step-mom arrived. It was a pleasant evening, so we took them to Cicchetti in Eastlake, where we ate outside and they marveled that we didn’t have to worry about bugs. This was actually the first time we’d been there and it did not disappoint. The small restaurant shares a patio with Serafina (same owner) and focuses on smaller, Mediterranean style dishes.
[This is Bailey’s equivalent to a kid throwing a tantrum in the middle of a store. He was not ready to go home!]
For lunch the next day, we met up with Kyle at one of our all-time favorite bakeries, Macrina. This is our go-to place for celebratory cakes. In fact, I have somehow convinced Kyle that I require a cake for my birthday, anniversary and valentine’s day. (I’m thinking about adding more holidays.) Everything I’ve had there has been delicious, so you really can’t go wrong.
That night, we went to Delancey. Located in a tiny “microhood” near our house, the restaurant is a little off the beaten path but always busy. Even though it was a Thursday, there was still a wait. (Fortunately, the bar across the street got smart and put in some outdoor seating.) We filled up on thin style pizzas, wine and raspberry pavlova. Our bellies were happy.
[Still not ready…]
On Friday night, we made reservations for Ethan Stowell’s newish restaurant, Staple & Fancy. Located in a renovated brick building on trendy Ballard Ave., the restaurant serves Italian-inspired cuisine with a Pacific Northwest influence. There are a few a la carte options on the menu (which is stapled to a cedar shingle, so Seattle), but the encouraged option is a multi-course fixed price meal. And it was worth it. For a party of four, they started us off with 6-7 small appetizers and then moved on to two pasta dishes, two main dishes and two desserts. It was a great way to try a bunch of different things without the risk of disappointment and hunger. It was our first time at Staple & Fancy and we’d definitely recommend it for a special night out.
[My attempts at stern parenting were blatantly ignored.]
Are you hungry yet? We also managed to cook at home a few times, grilling salmon and halibut (on the deck!) that Kyle caught on his sea-faring adventures a few months ago. (C’mon – you know how he is around the house, is it any surprise that he would DIY our dinner too?)
So there you have it – no new progress on the house, but instead we took some time off to actually live in it. Sometimes it’s easy to forget that that’s the whole point of this adventure.
