Hooked on Modern

My introduction to architectural design idea websites was through Houzz and Remodelista who both had booths at the Dwell Conference in Los Angeles this year. I have to say they have completely changed my life! I’m not ready to ditch the bookcases full of design books, but I could definitely lose the magazines.

What is the best part about design websites? The search function! The possibilities are endless. No more leafing through back issues of magazine to find that special image you saw when you first read the magazine.   

Design Idea Websites

www.houzz.com is a great image resource of over 200,000 architectural images that you can sort by type, style, and location. Exclusively showcasing residential architecture.

www.remodelista.com is good for finding contemporary design products.

www.dornob.com has architecture and home products, including a category for prefab houses (which counts as both architecture AND product)

http://inhabitat.com is a blog devoted to the future of design, tracking the innovations in technology, practices and materials that are pushing architecture and home design towards a smarter and more sustainable future.

www.dwell.com is an offshoot of Dwell Magazine, an established resource for contemporary architecture and products.

www.wallpaper.com is the online presence of Wallpaper Magazine for design, interiors, fashion, art, lifestyle

www.padstyle.com is a décor blog with posts on stylish contemporary furnishings for your home. Check out their posting “top 25 interior design & furniture blogs” for even more idea sites!

Modern Design Shopping

When you get tired of West Elm and Design Within Reach check out a few of these websites:

www.2modern.com features modern furniture and lighting

www.ducducnyc.com sells modern furniture for babies and children

www.switchmodern.com has contemporary and classic modern design products, with a category for pet furniture and accessories!

www.re-modern.com features sustainable modern design, and gives 1% of their profits to environmental causes

http://grassrootsmodern.com promotes contemporary design at affordable prices

How inspiring to see all these new products and ideas!

Driving While Distracted

Here are the top 10 excuses the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia compiled of local drivers who were caught using handheld phone devices while driving:



Photo from Istockphoto.com



1. This is a bogus law.

2. It was my boss on the phone – I had to answer it.

3. I wasn’t using it – I just like to hold it.
4. Sorry officer, I didn’t see you trying to pull me over because I was on my phone.
5. But it was an emergency call to my wedding planner.
6. My Bluetooth died.
7. Driver: I’m using my speakerphone. Police officer: No, you’re holding your phone in one hand and         steering with the other.
8. I’m not driving; I was stopped at a red light.
9. I wasn’t talking, I was checking my messages.
10. I was just checking the time.

Family Portraits: Maria

Family portraits are always fun. I get to see how brothers and sisters joke around with each other and the bonds that they have. It also has the ability the turn into a very fun giggle session. Below is some of the family portraits from a session Maria (the Mom) wanted before they all grow up.




Thanks for a really fun session and for all the giggles…I can’t wait to show the individual photos we took too (hint it’s a a post coming up later in the month).

Rhonda Giedt Photography
www.PhotosByRhonda.com

Kitchen Remodel - Part 1: Best Intentions

It’s somewhat misleading to call this Part 1, since we’re well into our third year of fixing up our house. I’ll confess right up front that we bought this house because we didn’t want to tear out perfectly good materials to make it what we wanted. This house really needed some fixing. Think boarded up windows, bathroom floor falling into the crawl space, and retaining walls like a Civil War battlefield. After taking care of the really urgent stuff like heat, light, hot water, and a fully functioning bathroom, we’re finally getting to second-tier projects like the kitchen.

It started with the rusty white metal cabinets – classic for our 1950’s subdivision. We decided to send the cabinet doors out to be powder coated, intending to paint the boxes ourselves. With a little re-arranging of the existing cabinets we could even add a dishwasher. Original concept: a super-minimal face-lift remodel until we decided what we really wanted to do with the kitchen. Budget price: about $1,300 including the new dishwasher, if we did most of the work ourselves.

Well, the cabinet doors came back from the powder coater looking so fabulous that we just had to send the boxes out as well. Caught up in a wave of enthusiasm, that decision led to a surprising cascade of things that we really should do at the same time. I mentioned that if the cabinets were being removed we would probably want new counters. New counters and cabinets would make the old floor look shabby, so we would need to replace that as well. The kitchen floor extends into the pantry, hall and half-bath. Ken decided that while the cabinets were off the walls we should also take the drywall off and insulate the two exterior walls. Once the drywall came off I noticed the knob-and-tube wiring which had to be removed before we could insulate. Revised budget: slightly less than $10,000.

installing insulation

Here’s a photo after the demolition as we’re installing insulation. We’re down to the bare studs and sub-floor. The refrigerator is on the back porch, plugged in through the kitchen window (you can see the cord) along with the stove and the newly painted cabinets. We’ve got the dining room set up as a combination kitchen/eating area with microwave, toaster oven, and rice cooker, to supplement the barbeque outside. A dish-washing station is set up at the laundry sink in the garage. This is actually luxury compared to the first two months we lived in this house without refrigerator, stove, or central heating. And the next six months after we got the refrigerator and before we got a stove.

This time we’re much better prepared. We know more people in the neighborhood and we’re not shy about fishing for dinner invitations. One neighbor is going away next week and has even offered to let us use her house to make food that we can freeze and eat later.  

Next week:  Part 2: Execution