AbbeyK — On Interior Design

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?

Tiling the Kitchen, This Old House

Tiling of the Kitchen backsplash has begun.

First we had to plan. We had done a layout to scale, but it's not until you get the product on site and do a hard layout that you know. Those of you who read regularly know that I often proclaim that scale and real life are two things.

Joe Ferrante sketched out the design above the cook top.
You can click on any of the pictures for a larger view.

Maddy and I agreed that we liked the look of it.
But there was still work to be planned. Which tiles would go where in the tableau design above the cooktop?

If you click on the images, you'll notice on the design we wrote R and S. "R" for rosette and "S" for star.
That's because there are 2 different 6 x 6 tile patterns in the tableau. On the border of the tableau tiles will be cut in halves -- making a triangle shape. Mark Ferrante took over the project after his brother's passing. He suggested we consider which of the two tiles will look better as cut in half and build from there out from the edges. I wouldn't have thought of this, but it was the way to go. I love when I learn a new trick. One tile worked well cut on the diagonal so we used that along the edges and developed the pattern off of that.

Another tip? start the tableau higher than you think you might like it. Why hide a tableau with pots and pans.

Once we decided what we wanted. Mark and his son got to work. Here's Eric as he started tiling and it's all about the details.

See all the little pieces? The tile comes mesh mounted on a sheet, but to end the run, each little tile must be pulled off the backing and cut by hand. That's a lot of work.

It's coming along and lookin' good.

This Old House kitchen inspiration

We are hard at work on decorative. Lighting is just about done. We are starting with decor. There's a long list of needs with a lot to do. It sounds like we have a lot of time, but with install set for the beginning of December, it's only 4 1/2 months. Most items take 2-3 months, so decisions must get made soon.

Maddy and I met last week and discussed barstools. In the kitchen, we are doing a built-in banquette with chairs around one side of the table. Around the island, we need barstools that somehow coordinate. This has become a design challenge.

These is the light fixture and these are the chairs -- beloved antique pieces.

So the question becomes: what to put with the existing decor. It's a common question, but the more items that are chosen, the harder it becomes. The tiles and cabinets are also chosen. The tiles are a lovely light olive stone with decorative tiles as borders and accents.

Field tile

Accents

On top of all of this, we have a dimension issue. Maddy wants 4 chairs on the island, which means they can only be 18" wide.

It's getting more and more challenging by the minute.

This month's House Beautiful arrived at my door with the answer on the cover: French bistro chairs! A little internet research and a few minutes later I had some ideas to email Maddy. Good news: she loves the idea. I think it's going to work really well. Maddy likes the idea of no fabric for easy clean up. Here are some chairs are considering.

Cast your votes. Would love to know what you think.

Flooring and Counters – 8 Green Products Worth Consideration

What makes a product Green? There are many considerations as discussed in
Green Building Resource Center explains it well.

Green Home Guide suggests that you consider not just the materials themselves, but production, transport, use and maintenance, and end of life of the product. They also have a great overview of flooring products.

The products below are some ideas. Search for similar companies in your area to save on transport! Have any experience with green flooring and counters? Would love to hear your experiences with great products, so please send in a comment.

Flooring
1. Reclaimed wood floors
Eco timber

2.Carpet
Flor floor carpet tiles for indoor and outdoor. You can buy different patterns and colors so your design options are limitless. And if a tile gets stained, you can simply replace that tile as opposed to the whole carpet.























3. Linoleum floors
Forbo for flooring is made of linseed oil (from flax plants), pine rosin, wood flour, cork flour, limestone and pigments. It's true linoleum (not vinyl which is what people often mean when they say linoleum)

















4. Cork floors
Natural cork flooring

Cork is resilient, very warm, and soft underfoot. Unlike hard wood floors whose trees are cut down when harvested, only the bark of the cork oak tree is taken off. Renewable and sustainable, cork can be re-harvested every 9 years without replanting or damaging the tree. A cork tree can live 150-200 years. Some brands create cork flooring from the waste product from manufacturing cork for wine bottles, so it is actually a recycled product as well! Oh, and it looks nice, too.

5. Bamboo is growing in popularity now for flooring. I have seen it installed and maybe because it was stained light, every scratch showed. Maybe it was the quality of the bamboo, maybe it was the staining, but I am not yet sold. Others have commented that it's the quality of the bamboo so look for a high end brand so as not to be disappointed.

Countertops can be a challenge to go green. Stone is all the rage, so look for materials that come a shorter distance. Other greener choices are listed below.

6. Greenhomeguide calls PaperStone
products are designed to be the most, durable, eco friendly, cost effective & user friendly counter tops in the world. PaperStone was named one of Handy Magazine's Ten Most Innovative products in 2006 for its sustainable and user friendly nature.

7. SmartWood Butcher Block
Yes they are wood, but that doesn’t mean bad. These are considered green because of how their forests are sustainable and harvested.

8. Solid surface terrazzo countertops
Enviroglass solid surface counters made from recycled glass