AbbeyK — On Interior Design

Renovating? Don't Forget to Donate Your Old Stuff!

Just got a note from Andrea over at ReStore, Home Improvement Centers in Springfield, MA. She's trying to get the word out.

The ReStore Home Improvement Center, a local non-profit, is seeking donations of good quality kitchen cabinet sets. We work with over local 400 contractors, retailers and manufacturers to accept donations of overstock, misordered or slightly damaged cabinets from retailers and manufacturers (we can even accept display cabinets!), kitchen cabinet sets from remodeling projects through contractors (your client can get a tax deduction for donating, and we’ll pick them up for free), and we even offer deconstruction to remove cabinet sets. Some of the benefits of donating to ReStore include:

• Lower disposal costs
• Environmentally friendly, our organization helps keep useful building materials from the landfill
• You’ll work with a non-profit with a solid reputation for helping local homeowners improve their homes and communities
• Free pick-up service for donated items
• All donated items are tax deductible, we will provide a receipt on the day of pick-up

Another terrific Boston source is the Building Materials Resource Center. I have donated my old bathroom lighting there before. The folks there are great!

Many communities have similar organizations --  great places to donate and find (gently used items). How Green?!

New Work from AbbeyK

Things have been CR-azy busy despite the "bad" economy. I did a photo shoot with Eric Roth a while back and am finally getting around to posting the new work.

This is from a Belmont Hill project. Historic home. Client likes soft colors: gold tones + green-ish blues, as you can tell. Loves wood too! Pretty happy with how things came out.

 
 

 

 

 

 

 
 

 

Do You Have the Worst Kitchen in America?

Who has the worst kitchen in America?  DIY Network, the go-to destination for home improvement television, and Food Network Magazine, the only magazine in the epicurean category to offer unprecedented access to America’s favorite TV chefs, are teaming up to find home cooks whose kitchens are cramping their style. Starting Thursday, June 24, homeowners across the country can vie for a chance to win the ultimate chef’s kitchen by uploading an image or video to DIYnetwork.com that shows why their kitchen is in need of a complete overhaul.  One lucky winner will receive a unique and specially tailored renovation courtesy of DIY Network’s home improvement experts and Food Network Magazine. 

“We’re searching for a homeowner who loves to cook, in spite of having a truly terrible kitchen to do it in,” says Kathleen Finch, DIY Network’s general manager. “Once we find the worst kitchen out there, DIY Network and Food Network Magazine will combine forces to build a brand new kitchen designed specifically for our winner.  We’re giving away the ultimate food fantasy.”

 

I certainly have been in a few of the worst kitchens in America. I even lived in one in Somerville.

Great Reasons to Hire Licensed Contractors

At a New Year's Party, a friend told me that he was working with someone to renovate his Victorian. She wasn't a professional, just did it as a hobby...had a crew she worked with. The prices were good. I had a feeling he wasn't planning on pulling permits and that the workers were either undocumented or un-insured. I guessed right and then kind of lost my mind over it.

(Here's a picture from the renovations in progress at This Old House.)

He's looking at a 100K + renovation for his kitchen and bath. Probably more like 150K if he decides to do 2 baths. Victorians are tricky. There's horsehair plaster, old old wiring and plumbing, and bringing it up to code is expensive. The only way to do it right is to pull permits, not to mention that it's the law in MA that past a certain percentage of changes, permits must be pulled. It protects the homeowner, and offers recourse against damage.

Un-insured labor?

• What if someone falls down the stairs and gets (God forbid) a head injury. In the absence of a workman's comp policy -- which is also the law in MA -- that contractor sues the homeowner to cover medical expenses. Home owners insurance won't cover that since it's labor w/o a permit. That's a 1M suit, easy.
• What if a neighbor or someone sees work being done without a permit in the window?  Not sure you can hide a dumpster in an urban neighborhood. Neighbors will see it, not to mention anyone else who happens to be on the street. If you get caught, not only do you get fined, but then you have to pull a permit and now the building inspector is mad.
• What if the house has a fire because the wiring isn't done right? What if your house burns to the ground or someone dies or is injured in a fire because you decided to save some cash by having your cousin do the work?
• What if a pipe bursts and the plumber has no insurance and it floods 3 floors of a condo below? (This actually happened to a client. Thankfully we had  pulled a permit and the plumber's insurance paid for ALL repairs on ALL 3 floors below!)
• What if the next home owners decide to go to the building inspector's to make sure that permitting was done? I know of more than one real estate deal to fall through when there was no permit or when the final sign off never happened.

Point of fact: I won't work on a job without permits. Maybe people who do this type of work as "a hobby" feel comfortable with out a permit, but I know of not one professionals who would. 

If that's not enough, here's one more reason why you shouldn't attempt wiring on your own -- from th Boston Globe, Do-it-yourself books recalled over risk, an interesting article about recalling DIY books with faulty instructions for electrical wiring.

If you have more reasons why you should pull a permit, or a horror story from unlicensed labor, please do share.

Trashing the Fridge -- Come on Now!!?

Raise your hand if you like your refrigerator. 

Steven Kurutz of the New York Times, wrote an article about people taking "Green to the Extreme" and living fridge-less in an article called Trashing the Fridge.

In a nutshell, this article describes people who decided to get rid of their fridges because they cannot find any that are green enough since a refrigerator uses a lot of electricity. For real.

My 70 year-old dad still calls his fridge an "ice box" because as a kid they had ice delivered. Rotting food, meat going bad (hello! bacteria) -- what a great, modern, time-saving convenience was the electric refrigerator.

PS. The NYT article refers to a blog called The Crunchy Chicken and I just checked it out. You can find pros and cons of having a refrigerator. Seriously--I cannot believe this is even a discussion....I don't need an analysis of that one. Many of the comments discuss the joys of being fridge-less. Am I alone thinking this kind of dialog is completely crazy? Green gone too far?

Let's see who can be the greenest of all. It's a competition....

Of course these types of decisions are personal. Live off the grid if you want. Loose the fridge if you want. But get rid of the Amana? I draw a green line in the sand about that one.

New Project -- Belmont

I am so excited to start a new project. (Yes, there is work even in this economy.) Really nice folks and a funproject. We're going to be smart about our budget so as not to over-improve, but at the same time make their home comfortable. There's so much talk about return on investment with home buying, but a home after all is a home and you should live somewhere you are comfortable.

Unlike the rest of the country, many parts of the Boston area have not seen a dramatic drop in home prices, believe it or not. Many places are stable or down slightly.

In a nutshell, we'll be opening up some spaces, re-doing the office entirely -- good bye dark paneling-- and reworking the kitchen. A little carpet here, some new molding there, new dining room furniture, and in no time (OK in 8 mos or so) they should have a new and improved home.

Today I spent time working on the budget, talking to contractors, making some sketches, and getting organized. Saturday I am doing a walk through with one of my contractors and soon I should have the measuring scheduled so we can get everything in CAD. Then the real planning begins and design begins.

The clients told me that the most comfortable spaces to them are libraries. Immediately I see in my head the New York Public Library for some reason. At our next meeting, they are going to show me photos from magazines they like so we can continue to develop a shared vocabulary, because library can mean so many things.....I am so excited to transform their space and give it the look they are after. One of our challenges is to make the whole house flow....Oooh this is going to be fun.

New Kitchen line at DWR

Design Within Reach is launching a new kitchen cabinet and island line starting in '09.

How exciting is that? Portable, modern and produced in the US, they have a Euro look without the needing the fuel or shipping time to get them here. When I lived in Somerville, which is known for kitchens without cabinets, I could really have used portable cabinets.

What they have to say on their own web site?

"Wondering if DWR: Kitchen is for you? The answer is yes if you’re looking for a smart solution that falls between the expensive European kitchens that take months to arrive and the DIY kitchens that are difficult to assemble and last only a few years."

I think I'll have to say "yes" to that myself. I'll have to check it out next time I am in NYC.

Hot Countertops

As if we don't have enough to worry about here's an interesting article, "What's Lurking in your Countertop," from The New York Times, by Kate Murphy, July 24, 2008.

The gist? Some rare, exclusive granite countertops may contain very small amounts of radon, a radioactive gas that can cause cancer.

Before you go into a panic, rip out your counters and replace them with something else, do your homework. The article states:

"The Marble Institute of America plans to develop a testing protocol for granite. “We want to reassure the public that their granite countertops are safe,” Jim Hogan, the group’s president, said earlier this month “We know the vast majority of granites are safe, but there are some new exotic varieties coming in now that we’ve never seen before, and we need to use sound science to evaluate them.”

For more information:

"TO find a certified technician to determine whether radiation or radon is emanating from a granite countertop, homeowners can contact the American Association of Radon Scientists and Technologists (aarst.org). Testing costs between $100 and $300.

Information on certified technicians and do-it-yourself radon testing kits is available from the Environmental Protection Agency’s Web site at epa.gov/radon, as well as from state or regional indoor air environment offices, which can be found at epa.gov/iaq/whereyoulive.html. Kits test for radon, not radiation, and cost $20 to $30. They are sold at hardware stores and online. "

So read up, and educate yourself. Thank you NYT for this informative article. Any one out there have any experience with this?

Fishs Eddy, Another Reason to Heart NY

While walking cross town from my sister's to my grandmother's in NY, I pass some great tile and decorating stores. On this walk, I popped into Fishs Eddy . For those of you who are not familiar, they sell, among other things, old restaurant and diner patterns. What a great way to mix and match for a casual look.

Fun abounds inside. Here are some of my fav's from a brief walk through.

Why rent when you can own? Even the name is great. A platter with a floor plan. I think I am in heaven.

















For great ideas that happen over cheese, check out these memo boards. Inspired by papers from school days past, there is graph paper, lined paper and that paper we learned to write on with the dash to help you figure out where to put the tall part and the short part of letters. (If you are 6 years old, this is helpful.) Mugs and 8 1/2 x 11 sized platters.

















For some New Yorkers, Brooklyn is a place be avoided at all costs. For others, it is fun and funky, for others the home land. Regardless of your feelings about the 781 area code, there's a lovely series after the borough.

And last but not least, why not add a bit of polka-dot fun to your day. Love these!

This Old House Newton -- Kitchen

Here are my snap shots of the finished kitchen for This Old House Newton. I'll post other rooms a few each day.

It was a great experience all around.

Many, many people worked on the project from producers and the film crew, fine carpenters, plumbers, electricians, architects, painters and more.

I had the project professionally shot so as soon as those are ready, I'll post them on my web site and you can see things staged, lit properly and all that.

Happy viewing.

Here are the before shots. These are indeed the same vantage points as the shots above.
Wow, huh?