E-111 or E-11 Eichler

veggie time? galvanized planter boxes?

2011-06-09T13:57:00.000-07:00

http://www.gardeners.com/Galvanized-Raised-Beds/VegetableGardening_RaisedBeds,38-549RS,default,cp.html#

bird feeders

2011-04-24T09:56:00.000-07:00

yum!

retro feeder for lots of birds- or nasty squirrels...
http://www.thebirdhousechick.com/product/KZ-BF

rain chains?

2011-04-24T09:39:00.001-07:00

we may have to add qtleast 2 of them to get a roof guarantee....

these look rather simple

http://www.rainchainsworld.com/Link-Rain-Chains-Pure-Copper-Ring-Rain-Chain.cmf?path=4

Eichlers in the San Mateo Highlands

2011-03-26T13:38:00.001-07:00

Eichlers in the San Mateo Highlands
Originally uploaded by thomasfj

pavers

eichler 154 landscaping

2011-03-26T13:27:00.001-07:00

eichler 154
Originally uploaded by thomasfj

landscape plants good with new paint color and ipe fence

E-11 plans

2011-02-14T16:59:00.000-08:00

laundry is on garage wall instead.

landscaping ideas for sideyards

2011-02-13T09:15:00.000-08:00

http://plastolux.com
landscaping
http://plastolux.com/modern-landscaping-bernard-trainor.html#more-1917

exterior paint colors located grey/ green

2011-01-02T22:37:00.001-08:00

http://remodelista.com/posts/steal-this-look-san-francisco-entry

Rakks books junk on walls....

2011-01-02T22:02:00.003-08:00

see:

http://remodelista.com/posts/10-easy-pieces-wall-mounted-shelving-systems-

sweetgum , liquid amber unwanted tress that refuse to "leave"

2010-08-08T09:42:00.000-07:00

well removal is not for now... its roots traverse nearly 25 feet of lawn. I want to xeriscape lawn.... plant groundcovers around the roots? should never cover the roots with more than 1/4 inch soil per year, could kill tree- oh wouldn't that be soooo sad! ha.

anyways, groundcovers?:
The simplest solution is to replace the grass with mulch or a ground cover such as goldenstar (Chrysogonum virginianum), barrenwort (Epimedium), creeping lily-turf (Liriope spicata), Allegheny spurge (Pachysandra procumbens), Japanese spurge (Pachysandra terminalis), creeping myrtle (Vinca minor), or barren strawberry (Waldsteinia ternata).

ikea hacks for bathroom solutions

2010-07-30T17:08:00.002-07:00

http://ikeahacker.blogspot.com/search/label/bathroom

closet doors

2010-07-30T17:08:00.000-07:00

ikea hacks with pax systems...
http://www.ikeafans.com/home/ikea-hack-pax-doors-as-room-dividers-and-closet-hiders/

or google flat track sliding door sytems/hardware

bath design ideas

2010-07-28T20:06:00.000-07:00

found these in bath section of heath ceramics installations

front yard fence?? Trellis Stix

2010-07-28T19:49:00.000-07:00

these are really fun and look nicely made, many choices and also trellises and arbors, gates etc... wow. I like them so much that I will need to be careful to not make our house look like some tea garden woodworking shop...

see http://www.latticestix.com/product_info.php?cPath=468_476_482&products_id=867

Barn Owls sighting in backyard!

2010-07-16T22:09:00.000-07:00

I walked outside tonight after hearing the "grow to love it sound" of our "eat the rats" friends- the screeches of the Barn owls. 15 feet into our backyard, perched in a short bushy pine tree was the beautiful white disc face - staring at me and doing that funny head dance they do while feeling curiously threatened. Sky dark indigo, glowing owl face within a jump of me- so awesome. It was probably the male (smaller and whiter than the female- and less busy tending the screaming hungry babies). He looked at me for nearly 15 minutes before growing bored and going hunting...When we moved into our house, they were nesting directly across the street in neighbors huge palm tree. My first painting party before we moved in involved 6 mommies from my hospital nursing group, 2 gallons of Ben Moore no VOC robins egg blue, an MP3 player, 3 Extreme pizzas and lots of good wine- albeit in plastic cups. It was a good time and we DID get the room painted. Shortly after the kid room was painted and the party had disbanded, I pulled up a rickety left behind painting chair from the sellers, placed it out in the atrium and had some more wine to toast our new home. It was dark with no lighting in atrium, past midnight, and I was not driving anytime soon. I leaned back , looked into the stars above and saw a flash of silent white bird belly float overhead, then the screeches and strange racket began. They screeched for nearly 2 hours. I love them. The constant night sounds give me a feeling of inclusion and balance- the natural world is here even with the cars and phones and hectic human activities.

http://www.hungryowl.org/:

great local folks dedicated to helping owls, building nesting boxes, live web cams etc... check out their site!

I hadn't heard them for some 6 months now and had grown worried that a neighbor had ignorantly set out rodenticides or round-up. ( It is illegal to disturb their nests and using poisons near their nesting areas is just stupid). I am so excited to know that they are back. The local rodents are not. now... should I make an owl box?

another landscapiung rampage

2010-07-15T23:07:00.000-07:00

look at: (their site was down earlier...) http://www.orangestreetstudio.com/project-index/residential/bubalo/

pics from awesomeness:

corten steel walkway with underlights...

2010-07-15T22:54:00.001-07:00

http://www.acochran.com/

more landscape design .. obsessing finally a hill solution

2010-07-15T17:06:00.000-07:00

http://www.robsteinergardens.com/gardens_main.htm

All charms fly

2010-05-31T23:28:00.001-07:00

All charms fly
Originally uploaded by pragyakothari

just love this

roomba gets stuck in living room

2010-05-29T23:39:00.000-07:00

yes, embarrassing- we got one. the white floors are gracefully attracting the outdoors in... as the house was intended- it does bring the outdoors inside, grass, mud prints from little feet etc. So our new clean bot started out doing well, but when I checked on it 1 hour later, it had traveled into kitchen area from living room (after leaving half of living room in disarray), and then promptly gave up on kitchen( who wouldn't?) and went straight back to cleaning the very same area of LR that it had already done. Bot had a brawl with my laptop cord and it finally won, yanking it under the sofa. I finally picked the thing up and smacked it down in the place where I WANTED it to clean. it still made a mad dash for the area it had previously cleaned twice. I think it has a bad case of OCD and I will not be able to rely on a compulsive Robot to clean my disordered floors in a frenzy when I am expecting company within 2 hours- its still all me baby. ( I will torture it with the dustbunnies under the beds on a regular basis) this is where the Bot shines! it does need some sort of happy face decal on it soon.

kitchen in need of party seating and side table

2010-05-22T23:20:00.000-07:00

http://www.nooddesign.com/p-664-costa-del-sol.aspx

http://www.nooddesign.com/p-849-xl-platter-with-legs.aspx

finally! the DWR wallpaper link...

2010-05-22T22:51:00.000-07:00

I fell in love with the pages, then couldn't find the source- now I have it, gotta get me some...

http://www.cole-and-son.com/collection_detail.asp?CollectionID=13

http://www.cole-and-son.com/collection_detail.asp?CollectionID=13

http://www.cole-and-son.com/collection_detail.asp?CollectionID=13

http://www.cole-and-son.com/collection_detail.asp?CollectionID=13

http://www.cole-and-son.com/collection_detail.asp?CollectionID=13

http://www.cole-and-son.com/collection_detail.asp?CollectionID=113

atrium has cactii and rocks

2010-05-02T01:09:00.000-07:00

oh finally some river rock and cactus, Iris for temporary experimental fun ( how much su n do they need??) and some curly Q grass that gets curlier as it grows and it loves clay heavy poorly draining soil- now what plants can you say that you have heard can handle that!

oh... and there IS a COPPER water pipe just 2 inches buried (original c@ 1959 copper water lead for spicket/ faucet in atrium) in E-11 its just below corner last 2 mistlite panels near atrium bedroom/office corner along long atrium planter run below mistlites. easy to hit with shovel, digger beware!!!

nice plants for patio

2010-04-27T16:24:00.001-07:00

http://www.houzz.com/photos/38566/Avila-Valley-Estate-mediterranean-landscape-other-metros

nice concrete outdoor wallseat

2010-04-27T16:20:00.000-07:00

http://www.houzz.com/photos/47973/Back-Bay-Retreat-contemporary-landscape-san-francisco

concrete patio desperation/ deliberations

2010-04-25T01:05:00.000-07:00

its big. its just ugly. it doesn't feel nice. it grows algae. its fun to sit on if we had some good chairs.
can we simply powerwash and fill in the cracks with this? carving out the epoxy crack fix it attempts with cement cutter? hmmm. then making interesting line of inlaid straight stone? project cost sounds much better than excavating right now.

http://www.naturalstoneoutlet.com/stickblackmarble.html http://www.naturalstoneoutlet.com/stickblackmarble.html

planters

2010-04-10T09:39:00.001-07:00

http://www.bronzino.co.uk/collections/ocean/urchin/

deck integrate with yard stone cement images

2010-04-10T09:21:00.000-07:00

mylandscape has wonderful work, inspiring images here

http://www.mylandscapes.co.uk/index.htm

ipe deck (fsc) and demo patio?

2010-04-10T09:03:00.000-07:00

we are thin king of sayng goodbye to all the concrete, after a year of living on nothing but old concrete, the appeal has worn off... so have our feet.

white walls

2010-04-09T22:09:00.000-07:00

theurbangardendecospotter.typepad.com > Outdoor rooms: explore the new options

shade furniture

2010-04-09T22:06:00.000-07:00

By the ever edgy and crisp Gandia blasco PRODUCT modulo tergola DESIGN josé gandia Site Meter

FOUND AT

theurbangardendecospotter.typepad.com > Outdoor rooms: explore the new options

garden design website to look at constantly!

2010-04-09T22:00:00.001-07:00

http://www.myurbangardendecoguide.com/gift_ideas/2.html

water features

2010-04-09T21:52:00.000-07:00

http://www.zinio.com/reader.jsp?o=int&pub=113272806&prev=sub&offer=114410433

see koi pond corner house wrap...

great magazine to subscribe at

Garden Design
Design-conscious readers serious & passionate for the beauty of gardening

fencing? hmmm

2010-04-09T21:46:00.000-07:00

http://www.demakersvan.com/

no more pavers- make your lines....

2010-04-09T21:42:00.000-07:00

http://www.frederikmolenschot.nl/

bloomstone

_
The stone floor is cut in a way that the seams create patterns.
In this way it is possible to have an endless stone surface without
tiles, or to have decorative iterruptions in a tile floor. By using
certain natural stone types, decorative parts can be highlighted
by a traditional technnique used during finishing the floor.

project: in collaboration with Joris Laarman
material: chinese basalt
size: variable
photo: Boris van Hoof, Ideal House Cologne

solid pavers poetry when wet

2010-04-09T21:38:00.000-07:00

http://www.frederikmolenschot.nl/

craftsmkan modern

2010-04-09T00:29:00.000-07:00

this work is stunning- love the little round table... afraid to call for a quote because you just know it will hurt the ears...http://www.bassamfellows.com/

wallpaper art

2010-04-09T00:15:00.000-07:00

http://www.namarococo.com/home.html

stuff

2010-04-04T10:42:00.000-07:00

fountain http://www.decoratorfountains.com/DF76994.htm?cm_mmc=FROO-SH-_-Fountains-_-Fountains-_-DF76994

solar lanterns http://www.formplusfunction.com/products/detail/9648

j molds sheetrock tektrim , wall integration

2010-04-01T17:16:00.000-07:00

http://www.tektrim.com/case-studies/detail/residence-manhattan-beach/http://www.tektrim.com/case-studies/detail/residence-manhattan-beach/

fireplace sprucing?...

2010-04-01T16:44:00.000-07:00

wall panels

http://www.marlite.com/designer-wall-systems/designs-volta.aspx

architects give me vision...

2010-03-13T21:53:00.000-08:00

wow, Marmol Radziner and Ass. go look at his houses...nice work, great desert house.

shade sails for burning corner of atrium

2010-02-23T22:26:00.000-08:00

Reisinger rigging- Architectural and landscape rigging

sails and hardware/ cool steel wire and nut trellis

pavers

2010-02-23T15:24:00.000-08:00

these will work for poem stone walkways

http://www.builddirect.com/Sandstone-Pavers/sandstone-pavers-Summer-Beige/ProductDisplay_9683_c2_10056120.aspx

window film for privacy baths?

2010-02-09T15:31:00.000-08:00

cool
emma jeffs adhesive film in Orba

from http://www.2jane.com/decorative-window-film-orba.aspx

interesting eichler pallette/ remodel

2010-02-09T13:42:00.000-08:00

look at: http://www.paloaltoonline.com/news/show_story.php?id=15284

garden

2010-02-07T00:32:00.000-08:00

The Watershed Nursery
601-A Canal Blvd., Rich, CA 94804
510-234-2222 www.thewatershednursery.com
Species Availability as of 2/01/2010

eichler art/ drawings for sale

2010-02-07T00:08:00.002-08:00

http://www.crussellfinearts.com/page_eichler_04.html

to go to this show in Orange CA: Please RSVP for Sunday at crussellj@earthlink.net
and they will email you a personal invitation.

Exhibition run:

February 20 to March 20, 2010
Opening Celebration February 20, 4 - 8pm is FULL

Closing Party and Panel Discussion on Joseph Eichler
March 20, 2010 4 – 8pm
Panel Discussion starts at 6:30pm including:

Mike Sasso; Eichler owner, Artist and Realtor.

Jon Webb; Eichler owner and President of Affordable Housing Access.

Alan Hess*; Historian and author of The Ranch House, Palm Springs Weekend, Oscar Niemiyer Houses and Viva Las Vegas.

front doors of others... we like it

2010-02-06T21:45:00.001-08:00

we saw a door that we loved today. I snapped a picture, and found something by Sandor that is a bit like it.. first the neighbor's inspirational door

Sandor door option- they make it in 10 different wood surfaces and optional metal strips at different thicknesses. While these are NOt a standard eichler look... they are sleek, minimal, modern, fresh and I would really enjoy coming home to it.
FLV180 – Modern Minimalist Horizontal Woodgrain Interior/Exterior African Macore Door

Living Room

2010-02-04T21:38:00.000-08:00

here it is at the beginning...stay tuned for the fireplace redo- hopefully smooth plastered cement with small slit alcohol insert and flat screen mount with sliding panels by 3form to cover the imposing boob tube.

patio/atrium furniture

2010-02-04T19:07:00.000-08:00

by "florastyle" by modaluce
yes.

wow. neat. have to get one, but no tree is strong enough in backyard. boo.

pavers

2010-02-01T16:25:00.000-08:00

hmm
http://travertinemart.com/Ivory_Travertine.html

concrete retaining wall?

2010-01-30T18:43:00.001-08:00

'New Horizons' by Earth Designs www.earthdesigns.co.uk - Modern Garden design landscape in Bishops Stortford, Hertfordshire
Originally uploaded by Earth Designs - Garden Design and
Build

use these plants:Agaves and Aeoniums

more kithen ideas

2010-01-30T15:19:00.000-08:00

no these are not mine....
but the top image is very close to our goal: the second pic is a good example of doing a cut through /pass through to living room, while still having some clear glass floating cabinet or shelf, I like the symmetry of the square of cabs.

window shade inspirations

2010-01-30T15:17:00.000-08:00

there are ways to make cellular shades work for a room

Mediterranean Style Courtyard

2010-01-29T22:35:00.001-08:00

Mediterranean Style Courtyard
Originally uploaded by David Andersen Garden Design

backyard to someday go this way- concrete retaining wall various sizes

Monsanto M.I.T. House Of Tomorrow

2010-01-29T22:23:00.001-08:00

Monsanto M.I.T. House Of Tomorrow
Originally uploaded by Mod Dog

You have got to LOVE this- even if you don't get it.

Flickr

2010-01-29T22:22:00.001-08:00

This is a test post from , a fancy photo sharing thing.

modern landscaping ideas

2010-01-29T21:58:00.000-08:00

http://www.houzz.com/photos/professionals/1962/Blasen-Landscape-Architecture/start=80

see flickr , plastolux has great Modern Landscaping - by Thuilot Associates in pool set of modern landscaping

tags modern, landscaping, garden

plants for south hillside erosion control groundcovers:
books:WATER CONSERVING PLANTS FOR THE BAY AREA, published by East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD).
plants/trees for top of south hill erosion xeriscape/shade:Acacia, desert willow, chitalpa (30 ft. eventually)and palo verde.

PERENNIAL GROUND COVERS is a superb book by David S. MacKenzie and is published by Timber Press. It is full of practical information, easy to read, contains excellent advice to get started, has 315 beautiful colored photographs, excellent ground cover descriptions and selection charts.

majestic beauty fruitless olive: no fruit, slow growing tall tree , likes sun, dry.
plant with:Companion Plants
A Mediterranean inspired design would combine Majestic Beauty with Rosemary, Lavender, Rock Rose, Fig, Grape, Pomegranate, Sea Lavender, Jerusalem Sage, Chaste Tree and Italian Cypress. For a modern look, combine with the architectural look of New Zealand Flax, Yucca, Cordyline, Agava and a variety of other tender succulents.

fruiting pomegranate: for soun backhillside corners? Companion Plants
As part of the edible garden, use Variegated Calamondin Orange (Citrus reticulata 'Calamondin Variegata') as a companion. Contrast the orange-red blooms with the purple-blue exotic flowers of a Passion Vine (Passiflora pfordtii) or the white fragrant flowers of Chilean Jasmine (Mandevilla laxa).

nice use of color, limityed palette plantings

2010-01-29T21:34:00.000-08:00

look at thomasfj's pics/photostream on flickr # 152- 154 eichler set for lanscaping idea

2010-01-29T21:32:00.001-08:00

landscaping ideas front face

2010-01-29T21:09:00.001-08:00

so we have a big ugly sloping yard of unhappy summertime grass needing far too much water and care for my taste.Besides afterall, who wants to stand outside in their front yard caring for grass when the backyard is SO much more inviting- and we ARE all antisocial eichler owners who live in walled off boxes unless invited over for drinks around here... ha. Really, their is too much street traffic to picture the front face as anything but a first appearance/ entrance and it just needs some simple feng shui and xeriscaping. The old sweetgum is really messy, prickly and gnarled, roots climbing over all the grass, tripping innocent passerbys soon and unfortunatley- has made desigjns on our sewer lateral. Tree guys want alot to remove it. uckk. so, after all the contemplating, I will probably remove it... but I need a tall fast growing full shade providing tree for a south facing front in need of lots of shade- hmmm. ( and one that won't get the sewer again) I am stuck here. any ideas anyone?

beam rot repair to do list for june 2010

2010-01-29T16:24:00.000-08:00

IT looks like CPES is good stuff, order it all and start sanding when the rain stops.

http://www.rotdoctor.com

this worries me...

2010-01-29T14:30:00.000-08:00

http://www.thebeamguy.com/beamfailure.php

I Love Eastvold's woodwork

2010-01-28T16:15:00.001-08:00

mmm.

The Temporary kitchen

2010-01-28T14:10:00.000-08:00

here's the cherry veneer- all for 350.00 o.k.for now.

KITCHEN??

2010-01-28T14:08:00.000-08:00

so we have made the kitchen liveable for now, but it screams for some updating, the center cook island is small, awkward, and we need more storage space. The 1959 original cabinets are redwood which unfortunatly is sagging on center island, so pots and pans all fall towards the center. Originally, they had these old chipboard sliders for all the cabinetry and they were rotten and moldy... so we took them out and sprayed the entire cabinet bodies white( old dark speckled brown paint was pretty beat up and smelled . We then took 4x8 sheets of 1/8th inch cherry veneer ply and cut them , stained them with zar brazillian cherry, then hand fine sanded and added waterbased zar matt finnish, added some mid grade stainless pulls. they look great, work well enough, but we will be ripping the cabinets out and rebuilding the galley kitchen for more use-ability We had to put in a dishwasher and a fridge. The original sink was pretty gross , sad to lose the old strip stainless banding on porcelain, but it was icky after 50 years...so we put in cheapo stainless sink (ummm can you say "noisy") with high end faucet which will get moved into new countertops eventually . Here's some shots of the originals cabinets etc, pics of the temporary redo of cabs, and the ideas of what we hope to do this spring.

Main motivation:m we need to get new center island done before we can put in new floors!

new kitchen ideas?

2010-01-28T14:00:00.000-08:00

we like the white countertop direction, as floors will probably be a bone whte Italian porcelain 12x24 tile... I think the wood cabinetry could look good with a walnut or cherry . Looking in to Marine grade veneer plywoods or solid core walnut/cherry for the front facing doors- anyone have any ideas on this? Corian? silestone? white concrete? I like white marble but it just doesn't seem reasonable to put that into an 8 foot center isle in this old Eichler. I read that silestone and corian stan and aren't great with heat- concrete artists cost as much as a granite top- (I hate shiny granite counter tops in Eichlers BTW)

porcelain tile like concrete- silly?

2010-01-27T15:53:00.001-08:00

Apavisa- i think they are Italian...

landscaping

2010-01-27T13:32:00.000-08:00

back hillside: clay, south face, drought tolerant, erosion control, california natives
Buckwheats: great for hillside erosion and butterflies . 10 ft trees on hillside: Louis Edmunds Manzanita
mountain lilacs for hill groundcover: Ceanothus Joyce Coulter

Common name: Creeping Mountain Lilac.

http://www.laspilitas.com/nature-of-california/plants/arctostaphylos-stanfordiana-bakeri-louis-edmunds-manzanita

look at desert willow for flowering tree for birds -likes some water

house layou/t floorplan

2010-01-24T16:53:00.001-08:00

the washer and dryer is located inside garage on back of hobby room wall-

atrium shade sails!!

2010-01-23T23:27:00.000-08:00

get square steel tubing inserted into permanent ground receivers when redoing atrium floors?

http://www.backyardcity.com/shade/sails/GPU-Triangle11-Desert-336486.htm

or

landscaping has begun...

2010-01-23T22:38:00.000-08:00

look at round pavers for side walkways by Thompson Building Materials.

door entry aiphone

2010-01-22T17:10:00.001-08:00

http://www.aiphone.com/products/alpha-list/detail/db

bathroom fixtures and master bath ideas

2010-01-22T15:54:00.001-08:00

who would think that a TP ROLL could get dressed up so nice?

FSB door levers and bath extras are on order...

http://www.fsbna.com/bath/82701013

this is nice master sink design

chimney leaking or roof leak? storm disaster

2010-01-20T21:26:00.000-08:00

The torrential downpour and strong gusts woke me to the inside sound of water... dripping... on the stereo and tv this morning. alot of water. we were aware that the chimney needed some "flashing" repairs, but I wasn't prepared for this . buckets, mops, moving the electronics- and alot of hoping for the power of dehydration to visit the wet system.... ahhh. maybe needing roof work asap. joy!

shoji screens?

2010-01-20T14:08:00.000-08:00

here is a wallpaper option from Bradbury and Bradbury

http://www.bradbury.com/atomic.html

to find the goodstuff( mid-cen -mod revivals)

2010-01-18T22:53:00.000-08:00

http://www.backgarage.com/

wow fiber optic countertops? really!

2010-01-18T22:25:00.000-08:00

http://concreteathome.blogspot.com/

How much rain would a flatroof take f a flat roof could take rain?

2010-01-18T10:12:00.000-08:00

It' s raining cats and dogs. Yesterday my cousin and I dug out 42 bins of dirt and rock to allow drainage for half of the backyard- and we have a moving river today. good timing? not really, as mud should be moved while it is still in dirt form...

no house blueprints available? we have model E-111 not LA-81 but they are similiar

2010-01-10T16:55:00.000-08:00

sadly, I have not yet located any blueprints from county or city, seems that Anshen and Allen did not submit them to the UC Berkeley architectural archives. Most other architects working for Eichler do have blueprints of all models available there if one submits a request and pays 75.00.

So where are the plumbing, electrical, radiant heat and air vents? We play "guess where it is" often here, while enjoying our favorite new red wine california find:" Menage a Trois" by Folie a Deux
2008 Red Table Wine. I was standing in line at Safeway ( not a fancy supermarket) and these two finely dresses gentlemen were buying 24 bottles. I had to ask. "So how do you like this one?, big party? or great wine find?" of course- it is a great wine find .We drink a glass every night with dinner and it is reliably smooth, deep, and robust and at 6.99 a bottle with 6 pack savings, who could ask for more.
ONE MUST DRINK RED WINE WHILE TRYING TO CREATE YOUR OWN BLUEPRINTS....ahhh. so this is the closest I have come so far

Shear wall removals?

2010-01-10T16:44:00.000-08:00

We would really like to open the living room up to the Hobby room and bring down this blockade of light. The Hobby room 's outside wall is all glass, the largest sliding glass doors that we have ever seen. I think the intention was that one could have a lovely view while dining here, or doing their taxes and art projects, but sadly, we see only the neighbors' horrible mint green exterior siding renovation - her aesthetic is beyond comprehension. I was thinking of building a trellis outside of the huge sliders as there is a nice walkway /play area potential with a huge wisteria draping over the whole area to conceal our ridiculous neighbor's taste.

about the wall tear down: I had the exciting opportunity to see our other new neighbor's shear wall between the living room /hobby room while their mohagany paneling was removed and yes, there is a shear wall ( albeit mere 2x 4's in a cross x pattern spanning roughly 6-8 feet in center of wall). Also, the space has the potential to quite a grand open space with great views of the someday landscaped back yard and private open space hillside. I need to get some quotes from engineer for a header option here.

ikea cabinets refaced with walnut custom kitchen example

2010-01-06T14:24:00.001-08:00

so here is a good example of what we want to do- although i think that using Marble would be silly- so we will probably choose cesarstone in white, we are thinking walnut veneer for the wood areas, but a dear friend who is a seasoned worker of wood has urged me today to consider real hardwoods for the cabinet slab fronts such as cherry or maple- and to look further at more cabinet / drawer base options ( and to forget ikea..). I knew it was sounding too easy last night

ikea nexus kitchen?

2010-01-02T18:59:00.000-08:00

I love Redneck moderns eichler remodel work- great solutions!

"Its Concrete" examples of a Bay area concrete artists work

2009-12-29T16:40:00.000-08:00

love this sink

adorable planter idea- do cacti drink any water?

connected concrete pavers or stand alones with black river rock? hmm.

forget the pepple floor, might be useful for shiatsu foot massage but its too busy, like the bench and glass door

The circular cut out in island for stool storage is wonderful

love the Lamp...

I really like the concrete work here, and since we won't be doing any major revisions to the kitchen or baths til springtime- if then, I have decided to put some favorite images here to remain inspired and get feedback.

http://www.agapedesign.it/prod_cat.contenitori

2009-12-29T16:02:00.001-08:00

great stuff-modern neato housegoodies

2009-12-28T15:33:00.000-08:00

http://www.gnr8.biz/categories.php?cPath=1_23

Glass Doors and Birds

2009-12-28T14:35:00.000-08:00

http://bit.ly/6D2tV

you must see this video, its worth the cut and paste just to see it. we have been through this , only husband walked right through the glass after out friend closed the door for him unbeknown -

400 bucks later and new glass for the door.

the Longest Chamber of Cold

2009-12-28T14:19:00.000-08:00

The hallway is just so strange. It is the narrowest of any Eichler hallway. The mistlite panels are pretty neat to look through when the moon is out and shines through making kaleidoscope images and sparkles but this passage way is so narrow, its a good thing that we are smallish sized folk. And when it is cold outside ( below 43 degrees seems to be the magic number...) this hall smply sucks cold air into the entire guest bed/bath and spare rooms wing. I feel like I am suiting up to get down to the end of the hallway- big fluffy wookie robe donned.

I have decided that this model was intended purely for little short people.

oh, and no, those hall lights aren't original- someone stuck those up before we came onboard and they are the cheapest and ugliest available. Anyone have the short arm ball lamps for sale??? we need atleast 2 maybe 3 would be best.

sink or trash art?

2009-12-28T14:12:00.000-08:00

well we had to say goodbye to ths gem, the old metal stripping that I am so fond of was not salvageable after replacing the basin...sadly, the undermount sink will have to wait until we have new countertops and we can't decide between cast cement and paperstone. Corian is always nice too.

We encountered some problems getting the old faucet removed from the sink porcelain mold holes which had great copper tube pipes stuck in there. The object was to not damage the pipes as we lifted them through a much too small hole . I wrestled them out using a silicone hotpad as a hand grip- my husband was impressed because he had failed in his attempt earlier but I was determined to not go the hardware store for the 4th time that day.

woodwork yum

2009-12-27T22:35:00.000-08:00

mmm. nice cabinets and woodworking joins

Who would do this?

2009-12-27T14:56:00.000-08:00

Well, it took a dremel tool with a wire brush circular attachment and paint thinner- and 5 hours... to remove this old paint that had been sunbaked onto the mistlite panels. what a mess.

Out with the old!

2009-12-27T14:16:00.001-08:00

first project. The toilets are leaking and destroying the doors. You can geta small rebate if you switch to low flow, so here are the ToTo toilets with fancy additional seats.

The house untouched for 50 years

2009-12-27T14:03:00.000-08:00

We bought this house. Actually, it is a model E-111 (I think). The only difference is that the washer and dryer are piped in the garage, the master bath layout is slightly changed and the guest bath is one space moved towards the rear of house-oh and square footage is 120 sq. feet less. The architects Anshen and Allen do not have available blueprints available online. I may have to drive over to their office and start begging. ( Eichler was a developer, not an architect). Cosmetic needs abound. Save for an icky yellow basic paint job, and removed ancient vinyl tile flooring then coated in blah grey porch paint- it is as original as they come. Lots to do. I think that having something with so many original surfaces intact actually creates fear of renovating, in losing something pure. Unfortunatley , most of the surfaces do not have any visible pure charm left, so we embark upon the transformation

It's Raining

2009-10-27T21:01:00.000-07:00

I remember the original closing documents. "some small pooling in backyard..."
I have been repeating this to myself 100 times a day all week as the yard becomes a new swimming pool. I checked the water line which is now level with the slider doors for 2 hours before trudged out there in my wading boots and started digging trenches .

Atrium love

2009-08-10T16:01:00.000-07:00

well, new cocoa shell mulch smells like... CHOCOLATE, you step inside atrium and immediately think of coffee and dark chocolates. hmm. Cocoa shells seem to catch some spores during the rain and grow a touch of white mold. It does have a lovely deep color and composts well.

Removing Juniper

2009-07-31T09:10:00.000-07:00

Many Eichler renovation purists and preservation boards say to "try and preserve all original landscaping" but the Juniper behind our house which covers the entire hillside reminds me of some overgrown and scary spider hiding muppet hedge. It has to go. I opened my front door after "The Tree Man" was here with a crew of 4 for 6 hours and here is what I saw... the neighbors admit that they were all worried the front yard would remain buried in juniper stums and brush for months, but the Tree Man showed up on time and chipped it all! yeah.

It will be quite a project to rebuild the retaining wall which is currently mere rotten woodboards housing numerous ant farms and repalce with some sleek concrete wall bench and terrace out the hill for more enjoyable landscaping- I would like a meandering pathway up the hill.

What do you do with original cabinets?

2009-06-20T15:08:00.000-07:00

Before we tear the kitchen apart, we decided to try living with it for a year, just in case we didn't want a brand new Henry Built cabinet system or gorgeous woodworking to replace our redwood and masonite 1959 cabinets. Actually, with multiple layers of white paint , panels of cherry veneer from the local hardware store at $ 80 a 4x8 panel with waterbased stains applied ( to replace the icky molding masonite), and some mid level stainless handles- it is working for now.