WHIDBEY ISLAND REMODEL- 1 year to finish

When you don’t have lot of space and want a jetted jacuzzi tub and a shower, this works! It is a 48” long Japanese Style soaking tub that has really powerful jets- not those tickling bubbly ones that do not get into your sore muscles. Have done 2 projects with this tub and everyone loves it. 30” deep. EMPAVA EMPV-48JT11

The tub faucet is built into the lip of the tub with the controls and an integral sprayer to wash down the tub after use- very handy! The wiring is a bit tricky. The contractor did not look at my drawings when installing the cabinet handles and put the lower drawer handles in the middle of the door panel instead of at the top. This means that one has to bend down another 6 inches and practically touch your toes to open a drawer- ugh! My pet peeve! Please try to catch your hardware installer before they make this mistake….once the holes are drilled, it is over. You can patch the holes, but a divot will always be there.

The Laundry involved adding a skylight, changing flooring, adding cabinets . Much more functional with storage to put stuff and a folding counter.

Nice new shower in the Guest Bathroom!

New media cabinets with pull out drawers for an extensive record collection! Equipment hidden behind screened doors. Again, cabinet pulls are mounted in the center of the doors instead of a the top of the doors! The older that you get, the harder it is to bend down:-) No patching those holes now…..these cabinet installers are likely on the construction crew, do not look at the drawings, and are told to install the hardware….do I sound picky? God is in the details, as Ludwig Mies van der Rohe used to say!

Kitchen needed more storage, so the space under the overhang with filled in with cabinets. Easy fix! And people can still gather there.

San Juan Island Addition survives Covid!

Oh my, what a journey this project has been! 1st of all, getting materials to an island is hard….then material prices went crazy with supply chain delays. Plywood went from $25/sheet to $125/sheet in a year. Much appreciation to my clients for sticking through it thick and thin, and figuring out a way to keep the project going. Kathleen is a designer in her own right, and has a fantastic eye for detail and color! The blackened columns on the front entry were executed by local wood working legend Joe Romano. Construction by Ivan Plaza.

The front of the house used to have an old rotted exterior stair, and the client wanted to have an enclosed interior stair that united with floors of the existing house;

Partially a 2 story space, partially a cantilevered space, the addition adds an elegant way to access the main living space which is on the 2nd floor.

The new steel railings and wood treads blend in with the Zen Esthetic throughout.

Th new Powder Room features a wall of mirror with a floating LED circle light suspended delicately in front to light the whole room.

The Master Bathroom sink features a cool sliding up Robern Medicine Cabinet, that has a hidden LED strip below to light the counter- a built in night light for the whole bathroom. LED lights also frame and highlight an antique stained glass window that the clients have saved from another house.

The Master Bedroom features a cool window Bench that will eventually look out onto a nicely landscaped garden- still in progress.

A cedar wood paneled feature stripe runs across the ceiling of the Master Bedroom from the Window bench across to the opposite wall, to create an accent feature that focuses the room down the walls on both sides.

Master Bath has a lot os hidden storage.

Kathleen loves the Japanese soaking tub and says that the jets are more powerful then her hot tub outside! It is only 48” long!!!

Pandemic Bay Area Bathroom

“Seagreen & Mocha” is the theme of this bathroom remodel in Novato, CA. that is nearly completed for a repeat client . The glass shower screen doors still need to be installed.

Pebble tile floor in the shower insures not slipping on slick marble and adds texture.

The large format Porcelain floor tiles are a nice soothing sand colored neutral and the metal edging on the shower dam and pony wall ensure no chipping. We added an electrical outlet by the toilet for future bidet attachment- the rage now. No toilet paper needed! Next pandemic, no worries of running out:-)

To appreciate the changes, here is the shower before the remodel- standard pre-molded fiberglass very dated.

The toilet before felt cramped and wedged in.

MASTER BATHROOM RE-IMAGINED

Dean Birinyi PHOTOGRAPY

Dean Birinyi PHOTOGRAPY

This New Master Bathroom was created from extra space not used in the Master Bedroom. We shaved off part of the space opposite the view to create a bigger bathroom and a walk-in closet, The floor in the bathroom is made of large 8" x 48" porcelain tiles that look like Driftwood. The new doors are Fir with a clear coat, matching fir trim. The new sink cabinets match the fir and have molded porcelain tops.