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studio zerbey / one year in
Studio Zerbey has officially been in business for over a year now! We haven’t taken much time to reflect on that milestone, so I’m glad for the opportunity to do so here. Starting a new business is no easy feat, but one that has been incredibly rewarding for us so far. To commemorate, we’ll be posting a three-part series on year one. This first post will cover an overall look at our firm – what this last year has included and what we’re planning for the future. In the next posts, we’ll talk about work-life balance and get into specifics about the type of projects we’re working on.
+ Start Up: For the first few months our time was divided between new projects and start-up tasks. (The photo above was taken during our first week, before we had ordered our new work stations or set up our offices!) We took care of the basics first: forming an LLC, obtaining state and city business licenses (and later amending those documents after Kyle joined), professional liability insurance, health insurance, setting up a business banking account, creating a website and business cards (thanks to Anna!), seeking out a competent attorney, hiring an accountant and purchasing bookkeeping software. Those tasks weren’t necessarily difficult, but there was quite a bit of legwork to find the right resources, make the appropriate phone calls and review the different options. Actually, I completed many of these tasks during the first few months after Avery was born – ahh, maternity leave for the self-employed! After we were all legit, we focused on hardware and software. Because we provide a professional service in lieu of a product, our overhead is rather low. That said, our computers and digital storage are one of the most vital aspects of our business. We chose to buy the best we could, creating an efficiency that could be passed along to our clients. Additional expenses included some office supplies, reference books and bulking up our materials library. Now that we have what we need, we feel like we’re running a pretty tight ship over here at Studio Zerbey and will have only minimal overhead expenses during year two.
+ Working Together: I was a little hesitant about what it would be like working together, but one year in we’re doing great. One of the big realizations we had is that having career fulfillment is WAY more important to how happy we are as a couple than any challenge or hurdle we’ve faced running a business together. We don’t always agree on everything, but in the grand scheme of things we’re always on the same page, playing for the same team. Last December, we talked about our strategies for working together and we’ve stuck to them. We each have our own office spaces and for the most part manage our own projects – though we also regularly collaborate or help each other out. In addition to dividing our work load, we’ve also developed a good strategy for dividing all those non-billable tasks. For instance, Kyle handles contracts and any IT issues, while I do the bookkeeping, invoicing and website upkeep. Again, these tasks came from a natural extension of what our individual strengths are, so there was never any squabbling over who got to do what. In fact, it’s a similar approach to how we handled the remodel and our work-life balance in general (which we’ll get into more in the next post!). Not only has this strategy worked well for us as husband-and-wife architects, but it’s an added efficiency that allows us more time to focus on our clients.
Our two offices, as of about 15 minutes ago. (I tried to use my camera’s timer to include myself in a shot, but the results were comical.) I think it’s funny how Kyle and I are on two different ends of the spectrum when it comes to office seating, but I really do love that yellow stool! Also, our two extra dining chairs serve as useful “spouse seats”. 🙂
+ Spreading the Word: We’ve spent a good amount of time this past year thinking about and brainstorming ideas for marketing. Right now, about half of our work is in the Seattle area and half in other parts of the U.S., which makes us think differently about how we promote our firm. Referrals and word-of-mouth are still incredibly important resources for getting new work, but we’re also exploring other avenues to get our names out there (such as Houzz and the Seattle chapter of the AIA). But after tracking visitors to our website over the last year, we’ve realized that our biggest marketing tool by far is this blog. (Hi!) We have had the privilege of talking to and working with so many people that came to us through the blog. Oh, and while we’re on the subject – a huge thank you to our clients. Seriously, it is amazing to work with so many smart and thoughtful people on a regular basis.
+ Personal Satisfaction and The Road Ahead: I don’t mean to sound like everything is puppies and bunnies all the time (we definitely have challenging days!), but overall we are making a living doing what we love and it’s hard to top that. So yes, personal satisfaction is high. That said, we’ve also worked really hard to get to this point in our careers. The timing was right, we made the leap and we haven’t looked back since. So what’s ahead for Studio Zerbey? We’re looking forward to expanding our list of projects and seeing some move into construction in the next year. Although we’re in a nice groove of just the two of us working from home – we haven’t ruled out the possibility of hiring employees or getting an office space at some point. Those are two major decisions and ones that we’d give considerable thought to before making any changes. For now, our focus is on the quality of our work.
+ The Takeaway: Prior to forming Studio Zerbey I read dozens of blog posts and articles on the subject, often inspired by what other people were achieving. This post is in part a means to share what we’ve learned in the past year. When starting a new business, it’s easy to just dive in and work, work, work so one of the best pieces of advice we can give is get organized! For us, we have a few essential tools: a shared Google calendar that has everything in it (work and personal), individual time sheets that are then referenced into a master file that tracks project fees and overall billing data and weekly Monday meetings to discuss the week ahead and assign tasks if needed. (This also serves as a good time to check-in on the status of each project.) In other words, the small stuff adds up. Don’t cut corners.
Finally, make time for the things that fuel your work. This is a hard one for architects and can be even more challenging when you’re wearing all the hats of a business owner (and new parent!), but being a creative person means constantly finding inspiration and ideas outside of work. And although we’ve been licensed for nearly five years, you never stop learning either. This doesn’t necessarily mean taking extra courses or reading every design magazine out there, but more about being aware of your surroundings, always asking why and how, and continuing to go down the paths that are the most fulfilling.
master bedroom redo: making plans
Well, it’s been about 8 months since we first talked about redoing the master bedroom and in that time we’ve been able to accomplish…approximately nothing. (Besides lots of thinking about the bedroom, which I suppose counts for something!)
But we’re not giving up! Our plan is to make all the decisions and buy all the materials up front (what a concept!) and then just knock it out in a weekend (plus or minus a few days). Now that we host client meetings in our house, sleeping on a mattress in our living room might not be the best idea. (Although, I’m sure Avery and Bailey would love it.)
So, in the spirit of moving forward and making progress, I assembled three different “idea boards” for colors/materials/products/etc. Really, I’m just trying to establish a direction that we can get excited about. You’ll notice some elements that are consistent throughout and that’s because we have made decisions on a few things, including:
+ Flooring: in 2008, we refinished the original fir floors but they were really never that nice and have since been trashed (ahem, Bailey) again. So last spring we bought these Flor carpet tiles on sale. (Psst, I just noticed Flor is having a big sale right now!) They look a little darker in the photos but the thing I like is that they have hints of gray, blue and brown so should easily match any direction we go with. To save money, we plan on installing them as a “reverse area rug” of sorts, omitting any tiles that would be completely under the bed.
+ Bedding: the downside to owning a CA king is that it’s hard to find sheets. We have one set of light blue/gray ones that we plan on working with for the time being. We also recently bought a new dark blue/gray duvet cover from IKEA. I haven’t had the best luck with IKEA duvets in the past, but I must say I’m impressed with this one so far (and it was much more affordable than similar versions I’ve seen). Although I don’t own it yet, I’ve also been eyeing these coverlets from West Elm. I admit I’m partial to the yellow but think any color could work.
+ Headboard: the plan is make a built-in headboard from a sheet of maple plywood (which is currently residing in our shop).
+ Lighting: we plan on keeping the Artemide Tolomeo sconces and Modern Fan Co. fan/light combo.
+ Wardrobe: the IKEA PAX wardrobe will be staying but in lieu of adding custom doors (an idea we’d been tossing around) we plan on replacing the existing brown curtains and IKEA tension rod with something new and more functional.
+ Chair: I have a simple IKEA chair (that we bought in the as-is section years ago) that I use as a glorified clothes holder. (Y’know, for the stuff that needs to be hung back up.) It was pretty beat up when we bought it (for $5 I think?) and I don’t necessarily need to replace it, but then I saw this West Elm chair that Dana put in her bedroom and I WANT. Again, maybe it’s ridiculous since I rarely sit in this chair, but I’m thinking we could use it as extra seating when we have big groups over for dinner? (Also, Kyle says I’m good at rationalizing.)
+ Walls: part of the original motivation to redo the bedroom was that we hated our off-the-shelf “white” walls. First we thought we’d repaint to match the rest of the house (BM’s “Super White”) but we love the dark walls of the nursery so much that we’re now thinking more in that direction (though a bit lighter or less saturated perhaps).
Anyway, design options!
Funny enough, the biggest design obstacle I’m having with this space is NIGHTSTANDS. I feel like I have searched and searched (as seen on my Pinterest board for this room) but have yet to find the right thing. The nightstands shown in this first scheme are IKEA, but the actual color is a much brighter yellow and not quite the vibe we’re going with here.
I’m also still hunting for fabric for the wardrobe curtains (I’m thinking fabric will be a better route as standard curtain widths aren’t quite enough). I found this pattern on Tonic Living. In my mind we’ll do something with a small print and some color (but not too much!) so maybe this could work. I think whatever fabric we choose will help determine the wall color – in this scheme I’m thinking a lighter (yet warmer) gray to compliment the darker gray in the fabric. (The pillow is West Elm.)
In this second scheme, I chose a brighter, more playful curtain fabric (also from Tonic Living) with a more blue-gray wall color and these end tables from Target (which I think may be too blue in real life). In general, we like to use color for accessories and other elements that are easily changeable (like curtains and free-standing furniture), but color also tends to become a focal point so making the right decision can be tricky.
The third scheme delves a bit more into neutral territory, but there’s something calming about it. The curtains (we’d had to buy 4 panels) are from Crate&Barrel and the pillow is from West Elm. I found the nightstand on Makers Alley. (Anyone ever purchased something from there? I hadn’t heard of it before.) The concept is similar to our current nightstands (discontinued Offi TV stands that no longer fit with our bigger bed) and I like that, but I’m also thinking it could also be a DIY project. Though with the maple plywood headboard as a backdrop, I think I’d be inclined to make the box part a color. I suppose the good news in all of this is that nightstands are the one thing that could be added later.
So this is where we’re at. Design-minded friends, what do you think? Maybe there are some more options out there that we have overlooked? I would say we could go ahead and get started but I feel like we need to have a fabric or curtain picked out before we commit to a wall color. Oh, and then there are accessories and artwork. One step at a time.
FYI – I’m not being paid by anyone for the content in this post. Just hours and hours of good ol’ fashioned brainstorming and interweb searching.
the new fridge
Back in 2010 when we were remodeling our kitchen, Kyle asked if we should consider getting a bigger refrigerator. At the time, I’m sure I rolled my eyes and told him that our 4 year-old fridge was perfectly fine and super energy-efficient and took up so little space at only 24″ wide.
So that was that.
Fast forward 3 years and we now have a new, “I told you so” refrigerator. Ok, so the old one (a Vestfrost/Summit model that we sold quickly on Craigslist) was still working fine but it was starting to get cramped. Turns out, when you have a kiddo and work from home, you eat at home a lot more. Gone are the days of swinging by a coffee shop on the way to work or grabbing a sandwich at the deli around the corner. In other words, I eventually caved. So we went to our local appliance store (Albert Lee Appliance) to scope out what was available. We were specifically looking for counter-depth options that were 30″ wide and surprisingly, there wasn’t a lot to choose from. But it didn’t matter – in our hearts I think we knew which fridge we coveted more than any other.
Yes, we are architects and yes, we got the Liebherr [insert cliché here]. Or, as I like to say (with dramatic flair), Leeeebeeeerrrr.
But first, let’s back up to early September when our kitchen looked like this. Yeah. (By the way, all of the process photos were taken with my iPhone. Sorry about that.)
Getting the actual fridge and installing it was the least of our problems. First we had to tackle expanding the existing opening by 6″, which meant trimming the base board and metal ledge and detaching the pantry and sliding it down 6″. Naturally, there was an outlet that needed moving too.
…and then there was drywall patching (not pictured) and filling in cork tiles. Oh, and the new fridge has an ice maker(!!) so there was that water line that needed to be installed too.
Yes, the cork has obviously faded (that’s a whole other blog post).
I know Bailey, I know. The only saving grace in this whole ordeal is that back in 2010 Kyle had had the forethought to install the fir plywood panels in a way that would make a future expansion feasible. The panels that run along the top of the cabinets are actually one long panel to the left of the fridge and one short panel over the fridge and pantry. Therefore, only the small panel had to be replaced (the vertical panel remained attached to the side of the pantry). Bonus – we even had an extra sheet of fir plywood in the shop.
After the new piece of plywood was finished and installed (Kyle did a biscuited connection to the existing horizontal panel and then a glued connection where it sits on the vertical panel), it was time for a new piece of edgebanding.
Edgebanding is basically a thin veneer of wood with an adhesive on the backside that is applied using the heat of an iron.
It’s purpose? To cover things like this:
The banding went on easily, thank goodness.
After it had set, Kyle used a chisel to trim the excess off the top.
A little sanding, a coat of finish (yet to happen) and we’ll be done.
I didn’t have the patience to wait for the coat of finish (this project has stretched out long enough as it is!), so here you go. Looks like it was always there, right?
The handles, the handles!
Kyle used his metal cutting chop saw to trim the ledge. Six inches of fridge for six inches of art seemed like a good trade.
The inside is smartly designed too. I love that we can put gallon size containers in the door. (Also, don’t judge us on all of the beverages – we had friends over for fish tacos last weekend.) 🙂
Oh, hello big beautiful produce drawer.
The freezer is pretty straight-forward. There isn’t a ton of room, but we have a chest freezer in our basement for surplus or big items. Also, ice maker! This is the first time we’ve had one since we moved to Seattle! Will this inspire a renewed love for cocktails? Only time will tell.
The integral hinges have a soft-close (and self-closing) feature which is oh so gratifying.
It was a splurge, but we’re in love. Refrigerator love. (Kyle says “love” is a strong word to use when speaking about a refrigerator but I’m keeping it in.)
boxes + nursery updates
The northwest corner of Avery’s nursery has been sad and lonely for the last twelve months…waiting, patiently, for this:
Bam!
You see, the trouble with being an architect and being married to an architect is that you set the bar pretty high for even the simplest of projects. For over a year now I’ve had the idea that we would design and build Avery some type of toy and book storage for her room. Originally, we were going to build a bench/cubby that would sit under the window. Well, it didn’t happen before Avery entered the world so we considered just buying the similar (and very pricey) Offi version ($$$) and calling it good. But then I started seeing modular storage boxes well, everywhere and thought this could be a quick and easy project. (Ha!) Thinking I might be able to find some inexpensive pre-made boxes (that we could then finish/paint), I scoured the interwebs but no luck. (Seriously, I’m sure this would be a lucrative business model. Someone should get on that.)
So, DIY it was.
The four boxes are made from a single 4’x 8′ sheet of 3/4″ maple plywood. In lieu of exposed fasteners, we opted for biscuited joints. Our clamp collection came in handy.
We did consider installing backs but the boxes were plenty rigid without them and their omission simplified the construction and overall project costs.
After the boxes were assembled, Kyle applied a coat of benite and a couple of coats of clear polyurethane to the outside faces.
I wanted to do something playful for the inside faces, so we chose four of our house colors (“lakeside cabin”, “thuderbird”, “luminous days” and “birds of paradise”, all Benjamin Moore). Also, this photo was taken the day before her birthday party. If there’s one thing we’ve learned through the whole remodel process it’s this: PARTIES = FINISHED PROJECTS. Seriously, trust us.
Thankfully, the littlest Zerbey approves.
(Side note because I know someone will ask – all of our outlets are tamper-resistant which means they have a plastic “shutter” behind the holes to keep kiddos from sticking objects in them.)
Mid-way through construction we wondered if we should have spent more money on a nicer plywood with more ply’s (since the end grain is so prominent) but now that they’re finished and in the space we’re really pleased with how it all turned out (and realistically, she’s going to eventually give them her own “patina”). The individual box dimensions are as follows (all are 15″ deep): 15″x30″, 15″x15″, 12″x12″ and 15″x9″.
Aside from basic toy and book storage, we like the idea that the boxes could also be used to encourage creative play for years to come. (My sisters and I used to spend hours making “doll houses” from cardboard boxes and I like to think Avery might use these in a similar way someday.)
Of course, safety was a concern so we bought these clips from DWR to attach the boxes to each other. They’re metal with a rubber lining so they fit snugly and can’t be removed by little hands. At first we attached them to the front faces but then decided it looked too busy and instead attached them to the back. We have five clips, which should be plenty for the various configurations we come up with.
(Since Avery’s still in the paperback destruction phase, I love that so many classic children’s books now come in board books.)
Mike Mulligan and the Steam Shovel was Kyle’s all-time favorite book as a kid. In fact, he checked it out of the library so many times that his teacher had to stage a mini-intervention.
The heights of the boxes are perfect for Avery at this age and encourages more independent standing (she’s not walking yet, but I know it won’t be long!). Although we haven’t reconfigured the boxes yet, we have discovered that by pulling them away from the wall by a few feet we can create a cozy little nook for her.
Aside from the boxes, we’ve made a few other tweaks to the nursery over the last several months:
We bought the IKEA PAX wardrobe with the intention that it could be rearranged and added to as Avery’s needs changed. At first, I just bought four shelves and stacked everything inside. That worked fine for the first 9 months or so but it wasn’t the most efficient set-up. As she started playing with more toys I pulled out all the newborn gear that we no longer needed and packed it away in the crawl space. I then bought three plastic drawers and rearranged the existing shelves. The bottom two drawers are for toys and I use the top one for blankets, sheets and extra diapers. We’ve had this configuration in place for a few months now and it works really well. She can only reach the two bottom drawers, but because they’re so wide she can’t pull them open far enough to create a ladder. Moving the laundry basket up keeps her from constantly emptying her dirty laundry. (Behind the laundry basket and diaper bag is our stash of non-board books.)
Having three areas for toy storage (these drawers, the plywood boxes and the felt bins in the living room) also allows us to rotate through different toys so she doesn’t get bored or overwhelmed with too much to choose from.
Toys, what toys? Actually, we usually have some toys strewn about but since the living area also doubles as a place to meet with clients it was important to have a system in place for quick and easy clean-up.
Also, I’m finally calling this room DONE! So, a few overall shots to commemorate!
Confession, this is the third set of air plants I’ve bought. The first ones got neglected in those first six months and then the second set quickly died when we put up temporary blankets over the windows to make the room darker. (Apparently plants need sunlight?)
Speaking of, I procrastinated so long on curtains because I really did not want to make blackout shades for the windows (those chevron curtains took way too long as it is!). So, imagine my surprise and happiness when I discovered that IKEA sells both blackout curtain liners and roller shades (and in a dark gray color)! At the larger window I used the liner with a pair of IKEA curtains in a dark gray-blue (the curtain rod is from West Elm). We hung them near the ceiling to compose with the wardrobe curtains but stuck with a color similar to the walls so that they wouldn’t compete visually. At the smaller window above the crib we installed a surface-mounted roller shade (we wanted to keep the existing recessed shade for diffuse natural light). The exposed hardware on the roller shades leaves something to be desired but we figured we could build a custom valence of sorts if it bothered us too much (it hasn’t).
The 3 Sprouts canvas bin (which used to hold all of her toys!) now houses our collection of baby quilts (thanks Mom!) plus a few stuffed animals.
Aside from these few modifications and additions, the overall layout hasn’t changed in the past year. It’s simple but continues to work really well for our needs. We still use the dresser to store most of her clothes, diapers, wipes and a few regularly used odds and ends. Bonus, I think it finally lost that Craigslist smell!
The only thing we might swap out in the near future is the rug. I love the design and feel (we bought it from West Elm a few years ago), but it does show dirt and the looped design is not conducive to giant golden retriever paws. It would be nice to replace it with something more easily cleanable too, so we’ll see.
I’d also like to design/incorporate a growth chart into the nursery – maybe something on the backside of the sliding doors? My mom did this on the back of our closet door (my sister and I shared a room) growing up and I want to continue the tradition.
The nursery is starting to feel more and more like a kid’s room and we love it. (In fact, it’s Kyle’s favorite room in the house!) I know there will be more items to accommodate as she expands her interests and abilities (art supplies! a mini kitchen!) but I’ve got some ideas for that.
the garage dilemma
When we showed you the big backyard reveal a few weeks ago, there was one angle we didn’t show.
Yeaaaah. Surprise, the garage/carport is still there and in exactly the same condition as when we moved in 7 years ago (although I’m convinced the new landscaping makes it look even worse). The reason for its lack of improvement is two-fold. For starters, the structure has basically served as a shop and lumber storage since day one. Secondly, we’ve been unsure of what to do with it once we’re done remodeling. The gabled portion is the original garage from 1910. Sometime in the ’60s the carport was added and everything was clad in metal siding and teal trim (why? why???). The building is generous by Seattle standards (about 515 SF) and we know it’s valuable to have what is effectively a 2-car garage in the city. But it’s ugly and not that functional for our post-remodel needs. So, we’ve been brainstorming:
Ax the carport and fix up the original garage: This would certainly make our yard feel bigger and we don’t necessarily need the carport space. However, we’re happy with the size of our current yard and don’t think it would be a great trade-off in terms of home value. The building is also an existing non-conforming structure so if we were to tear it down we couldn’t rebuild in the same spot.
Add a second story: Seattle now allows Detached Accessory Dwelling Units (DADUs) in our part of the city, which means we could basically have a small house in our backyard (with a size limit of 800 SF). The idea of having rental income each month is appealing, but in reality we’re not sure we like the idea of someone living in our backyard. Adding a second story introduces new complications as well – the second story might have to step back on the north side to abide by zoning code setback rules, which would create a fussy structural situation. We’d also have to run plumbing to the structure which would not only mean tearing up our yard but also potentially increasing the size of our water main. Of course, having a small house just for guests would be amazing, but probably not financially viable.
Remodel the existing structure: We always thought this option might be a good compromise but couldn’t decide what to do with the wacky gable-shed roof form. The roofing material needs replacement and there’s not a functional reason to keep the existing roof structure. We tried a single gabled roof over the whole thing but it looked way too out of scale. Then, a few weeks ago Kyle came up with the idea to just eliminate the gable and extend the slightly sloped carport roof structure, taking it from this:
To something like this:
Functionally, we discussed how we’d use the space and decided that the best solution is to maintain the two zones. The existing garage would stay a shop and the carport would become a multipurpose work space with plenty of storage in both. There is already a concrete curb and framed wall between the two so this division makes sense. The layout would be flexible so that we or future owners could use it for a number of different things. (We’d also like to include a few kid-friendly features.)
In addition to changing the roof structure, we’d fill in the carport and add a swing door. We’d replace the metal siding with dark-stained cedar siding (applied as a rainscreen) with a durable finish and add a few small windows to the south side. Aesthetically, our approach would be to create a building that compliments the house but does not necessarily match it. This would also be an opportunity to do something more modern than what the exterior of the main house allowed.
On the south side, we have the idea to collect roof run-off in a cistern that would then feed a raised vegetable garden (with maybe a hog wire trellis attached to the building with standoffs). The roof itself would need to be metal for such a low-slope. The fascia and trim would be cedar and the soffit probably a exterior-rated plywood.
Aside from creating a functional and well-designed space, we also want this project to be one that is done on a modest budget. We don’t plan on starting work this year (still need to finish the basement!), but it’s exciting to go through the design process and come up with a direction that we feel good about. We’re not 100% settled on the form or the material palette either. I’m sure we’ll make a few modifications and revisions as we go, but this is what we’ve got for now. Teal trim, your days are numbered.
