Indian summer is here and I feel like spring cleaning with some vino verde and enjoying these warm fog-less days  with a pairing of high productivity.  Our bathroom in our new house is tiny, not like typical tiny but quite possibly the smallest bathroom I have ever been in.  1 step in sink, 1turn right shower 1 turn left toilet, that's it.  There are two windows and three light fixtures which is wonderful but still we really had to be smart about where we put things and how two people were going to comfortably share this space.  There is no counter, there was an ugly mirror/storage console above the sink, and the sink is so small you can barely fit your hands under the faucet.  But....deep breath....we will solve this all with a design solution.  If I owned the house I would rip the fixtures out and come up with a whole different set up, but that's not gonna happen....atleast not today, or tomorrow.  So I have transformed the space as best as I could and it only cost me...a grand total of about $80.00! Hows that for designing on a dime....HDTV should hire me!  

From inside the shower....see very small

I put a basket on either side of the toilet one for my hairdryer stuff and one for trash

Small as it is,  I have found room for a few nicknacks that I love...every bathroom needs them

this was my nana's bobby pin holder and I have loved it since the day she gave it to me

the window is really great, and I built this cabinet out of reclaimed siding and and old wooden crate I found at the salvage yard for $15.  The shelving above is reclaimed wood from heritage salvage.  

It holds our extra towels, tp and the stuff we dont use everyday but need in our bathroom

by putting a flat mirror above the sink instead of a storage console with a mirror I created more space above the sink, and it really feels a lot easier to use than it was

my favorite soap

found these in the back of the closet in our bedroom and relocated them here #free

from my dear friend Hayley Johnson, every designer should remember the important lines in life

built a shelf out of this old wooden box (#foundobjects) so we could have some surface area

little pieces of artwork that are graphic and have deep meaning to me

To be continued....

this will be the new sconce above the mirror, once I figure out how to rewire it

project for the next hot sunny day off. 

Shedding my skin...

That's right, I want a shed.  I want a tool shed, a creative space, a nook to protect me from the elements that isn't my house.  I want a space that has bugs and dirt and smells like old wine cellar.  I want it underground or sitting high on a hill.  I want it to look old and worn, like it has been sitting there waiting for me for years.  I want a shed to hold my found treasures that I am not sure what else to do with.  I want it to be full of metal, wood, paper, clay, sharp, soft, sturdy and tired.  Glowing in the night while I work away on new designs, new creative patterns, new shapes and new ideas.  I want to bundle up in a scarf and boots and walk to my shed and fill it with energy and time.  Justin Vernon of Bon Iver  is said to have written his entire album, 'For Emma, Forever Ago' in a shed in the middle of winter somewhere very cold.  Here are some ideas of sheds I would like to build and hang out in....I think there is something to be said for a girl with a shed.  

more of a treehouse but this could be my shed

another round treehouse looking space

more typical style, more practical I suppose, but this could totally work

see...other people like sheds too...

perfect!

treehuger.com remedelista.com inhabit.com tinyhouseblog.com 

New Corner

In fixing up my new house, I find it theraputic to set up great looking corners of the room.  I organize my things just the way I want them and use a collection of found objects, treasures and practical things to make creative niches in my house.  I have a LOT of STUFF.  I am constantly trying to downsize, especially with my new move, and constantly trying to get rid of clutter.  But my stuff makes me happy.  I love looking at my collections of things and thinking of where I got them, who I was with and all the memories that I have had since.  I hold onto things.  I have a bit of separation anxiety if you will; not to be throwing that term around loosely.

Anyways…I did some cleaning, some throwing out and some organizing today and came up with this new corner, which was occupied by boxes just a few hours ago.  Using a chair as a place for my coffee table books works great for me.  I hate having things on my coffee table because I love to sit on my couch and work on my computer and I feel a bit claustrophobic when it is covered with books and things.  A plant softens the harsh, steril metal cart and a cluster of unique glass bottles adds texture and balance to the space.  The antlers are from my parents back yard.  I am saving up for a big set or a bull skull (with horns attached is what I really want).  I love them!  The wine box is full of pens.  Ben loves to draw although he hasn’t since I have known him.  But in sorting out our things he had bags and bags of really great pens and markers and I kept asking him to do something with them but he kept putting it off which made me think maybe he just really wants them around.  So I found space, hidden and out of site but accessible and unique.  And I love a good Micron so no harm no foul.  All in all it was a pleasant morning putting this together and that’s what having a home is all about!

THE DUDE 

#BESTDOGEVER

Murphy's Law

OK OK....so I am going to talk about something today that may startle you.  The Murphy Bed.  Where did it go, and why aren't their more of them?  They are a little creepy and you think of them as being a dingy, weird fold up bed for crappy hotels or something out of the Mumpet movie.  But they are sort of genius.  We live in smaller and smaller spaces all the time.  The cost of living in San Francisco is insane and is only getting worse.  I found my old 1 bedroom apt (which was very tiny) on craigslist the other day.  I used to pay $1550 for that precious baby.  That same apartment with no view, no parking, no laundry, and the smallest kitchen known to man is now $2300 a month.  That is insane and something most single young people cannot afford.  But it certainly isn't big enough to share.....so, murphy beds it is.  Or just the concept of the murphy bed could so easily be applied in small living situations.  Bedroom by night, office by day, or dining room, or whatever you want it to be.  Convertible, collapsable, moveable and multipurpose is the way of the future for design.  Here are some really well done ones.  Thinking of trying to apply some of this school of thought to my new house.
  Enjoy!

Jordan Parnass Architecture Firm designed this beautiful small footprint house.  
The wood keeps a soft element in a really structured design.  

This bed can lowered and raised depending upon the need of the space.
Great design for a house or office that has the ceiling heights. 

More Conventional Murphy Bed.  Hate the lamp and the rug.
Not the best use of space without the bed but....

Yes that big blue door slides open and a bed falls out.
Playful, functional, interesting!

Pictures from: 

archilovers.com . houzz.com . jpda.net

The Designers Dilemma

There are so many small details to designing a complete space.  All these details add up to create beautiful, efficient, and highly functional rooms, houses, restaurants, parks, hospitals etc.  But when you really begin to design space or you complete a project you have a tendency as a designer to get fixated and stuck on all those little pieces of the puzzle and making sure they all fit as perfectly as possible.  This is an overwhelming and frustrating feeling and possibly the hardest part about design for me.  At what point do you say the hell with it and give in to deadlines, mediocrity, and unsatisfactory fixtures, furnishings, and details.  Are they only unsatisfactory to you, because you know better?  On my last restaurant project I was pounded by faucets and the faucets and sinks ended up being one of the most time consuming problems for me to deal with.  You can't just pick a sink, it has to be a perfect sink, and ADA accessible, and compatible with the faucet you want, and compatible with the plumbing already there.  It's intense to speck hundreds of little details like this on huge projects.  And it is these challenges that keep us coming back for more.  The challenge of designing beautiful spaces with functionality as an equal contender to form.
So here are some sinks and faucets that I think do it really well.  Because of all the energy I put into sinks on my last project, I want to give homage to other designers and the great sinks they have put out in the world for people to use.....and to enjoy!

Modern, Natural, Beautiful!

Site Glass Coffee Communal Sink, San Francisco
Boor Bridges Architecture

Hate the tile, love the yellow farm sink. 

Wooden Sink From Ebano

Southern Pacific Brewery, San Francisco
another Boor Bridges Design

residntialarchitects.com . inhabitat.com

Open For Service

I moved in....
and to say it has been a stressful few days (now turning into weeks) is an understatement.  Ben and I both have insanely busy lives full full full to the brim, and we wouldn't want it any other way.  But that being said we have had little time to settle, to enjoy the space and each other in it, or to nest....yes I said it NEST.  I have tried to deny the fact that I love my house, in my control the way I like it.  But, I need a nest.  It is something I discovered in this move and it is like some big mean creature came through and pulled my nest apart and left all the pieces on the ground for me to slowly put back together.  But, moving forward, I am finally excited about my new nest as it is coming together....ever so slowly.   Patience is a virtue just not one of mine.  I have very little of it, something I continually struggle with.  But it is times like this when I put my patience to the test and try and breathe and relax and enjoy the daily struggle where my house isn't perfect all the time.  It is a healthy exercise.
So all that being said, last weekend Ben and I really put some time into the kitchen and started to get the space more organized.  He has a tendency to cover every shelf, surface or corner with booze.  We do drink...a decent amount, but he sells booze and so we have a plenty of it.  And we needed a place to display all of our beautiful, crafted booze, and all of my beautiful crafted heath.  I want my heath out and staring at me at all times.  So here are the shots...not the best camera (my iphone).  I need to start actually photographing stuff.  But non the less I am very happy with the way the kitchen is turning out.  Coming together, in more ways than one.

SURPRISE!!!

Something very exciting is happening in my personal life....I am moving in with my man.  This means a lot of things.  Two people cramming things into what used to be one persons space,  me moving into a bachelor pad of sorts, and me hiring a maid.  It is so much easier than arguing about cleaning details every week.  But the reason I am writing to tell you this is because I will be documenting my journey of transforming our space into a compatible living situation.  The first transformation is in the bedroom...old dirty rug is out, shelves are in the works and the baseboards, doors and trim have a fresh coat of shiny bright white paint.  Exciting!  But don't get me wrong, there is obviously a deep reason I love and adore Ben and I want to maintain his personality in things, although his skull paintings might be too much for me, there is a real elegance to defining our space as ours, and maintaining our own personal styles underneath the transformations.  Either way, instead of thinking of this as a difficult argument, or challenge I am looking for the most fit design solutions to cure our concerns.  There is a design solution for everything.  If something isn't working it is no one's fault it is just poor design.  And that is true for a lot of things in life.  New hybrid bedroom pics to come... but until then, these are some pieces I am longing for to change the functionality of the space.  Get ready!

kitchen storage unit meets butcher block, meets table with stool  

Multi-purpose furniture is a must in small apartment living

from: JaysonHome

I also found this amazing piece that could work in the kitchen, but it is on ebay and in kansas

I want it so bad!

 bathroom storage option

old drafting stools! I want 

small spaces call for drastic measures. This simple desk will be perfect.  

from bluedot

another bathroom wall mount storage unit. Reclaimed wood box. Remodelista.com