How do you design a kitchen for entertaining? Well, it depends on the type of entertaining. For this condo refresh project in Sonoma, the clients wanted to be able to entertain friends and family for wine tastings, cocktail parties, and small dinners. With the many great restaurants on the Sonoma […]
Kitchen remodel
This project recently came into the studio: A condominium refresh up in Sonoma. I don’t usually take work so far afield, but I know the client and am considering opening a Sonoma satellite office. So I figured, it looks like fun! It is a roughly 1000 square foot 2bd 2bath […]
Today I am releasing my newest ebook, Refresh Your Kitchen in 3 Easy Steps – without breaking the bank. We are all cooped up in our homes as we shelter in place. If you are like me, I’m noticing little things about my house that are irritating me. I can’t […]
A couple of years ago friends hired me to help them bring their 1930, vaguely Craftsman style bungalow into the 21st century. Among other things, they wanted a new kitchen. They wanted the kitchen opened up to the dining room. It was a fun project. They were very hands on […]
What are “Full Architectural Services”? Architects just draw, right? Wrong! Architects do a lot more than just draw. Whether your project is a house addition, a house remodel, or a kitchen remodel, the services that an architect can provide are extensive. We do research. We design (yes). We draw (yes). […]
Is 2017 the year you’re going to remodel your kitchen? It is dark and disconnected from the rest of the house. It doesn’t have any storage, and there’s no place for the kids to the the homework. I recently came across this article about 10 steps to take when planning […]
The project to update a long neglected mid-century modern house in the Oakland hills is coming along. At what feels like a snail’s pace, but moving along none the less. In this post we’ll look at a nearly completed bathroom, a detail that makes my eye twitch, and a little […]
How do you think about the money you are spending on an addition or remodeling project? Is it an expense – just money spent? or is it an investment – money spent with the expectation of a return? I suggest that when you are considering adding on or remodeling, that […]
I read a lot of blogs about kitchen design and residential remodeling. I like knowing what is going on in my field. I often learn something I didn’t know before. I’m often inspired by the designs of others. Sometimes, I wonder what they were thinking. Just this week I read […]
One of the most common questions I get asked as an architect is a variation on “how much does it cost to remodel my kitchen?” Or, bathroom, or living room, or – well, you get the idea. The answer I have to give is necessarily vague. It depends on how […]
Noted design magazine, Forbes, recently published an article about the “8 Kitchen Design Trends to Avoid“. I happen to agree wholeheartedly with 2 of the 8 – avoid trash compactors and counter top microwaves. These should be avoided. Though, if your existing kitchen doesn’t have space for a wall or […]
I came across this rather large infographic (it’s like an internet poster) about kitchen design. It covers the most fundamental aspects of design. There is more to it than these basics, of course, but this is a good place to start. I told you it was large! by
The kitchen remodel project in Fremont was recently completed. This week I was able to take some pictures of the completed project. But before we look at the pictures of where we ended up, let’s look at the pictures of where we started. The original 1975 vintage kitchen had some […]
Late last week I visited the kitchen project in Fremont. This is the part when it starts really looking like what was conceived. In this photo you can see that compared to the original kitchen, we have doubled the counter space and storage. The cook top and exhaust fan have […]
Construction of the kitchen remodel in Fremont is underway. I went down to Fremont for a site visit. It is so much fun to see how quickly things can change. The owner told me that the contractor had the entire room stripped down to the studs in a little more […]
I have been working on this kitchen remodel with the clients since the middle of January. The problems with the 1975 vintage kitchen can be seen in the photograph below. First, it is small. Although the room is 10 by 13, the kitchen itself is pushed into one end and […]