The Shed

I'm working on a design for a new shed for our backyard and looking for some inspiration... It's got to be something I can build myself, be affordable, and can't be more than 120 sf (to avoid needing a permit).

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If you've got any ideas/suggestions, I'd love to hear them!

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Home Sweet Home

Last month, my photographer friend Jennifer Richard came over to shoot our finally finished house! The interior is finally done, which means next summer we can focus on the exterior! Landscape here we come!

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Its pretty hard to photograph our extremely tiny home... as you can see, most of the photos are of our living/kitchen/dining/office open area. To make it even tighter, my office doubles as our guest room, when needed. The last two shots are of our bathroom (enlarged to meet code!) and laundry area (as viewed from our bedroom). The laundry area might not seem that exciting to you, but we've got a washer/dryer, on-demand water heater, and tons of storage crammed into a space that's about 3'x3'. You can also see some of the storage we added to the "master bedroom", with a dropped ceiling above the entry and adjacent shower - providing us with additional storage above.

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I'm so glad to finally be done with the interior so that we can finally enjoy the house. It is almost impossible to remember what it used to look like...

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Thanks again to Jennifer! Be sure to check out her website and blog!

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Dining Chairs

While there is nothing really wrong with the IKEA dining chairs I've currently got, I'd love to replace them with a lovely set of mid-century chairs. I like more modern chairs, too... but the great thing about mid-century design is that it tends to be more compact, which we really need in our teeny home.
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All chairs via reside
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Kitchen Update

Here are a few updated photos of our house remodel... The kitchen is ALMOST done, and we can finally eat sitting down, since I finished building a table last week. The table is really small, its actually meant just for two people, but 4 can squeeze.

In case you want a reminder of the old kitchen... check here

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And Then There Was None

Ok... so these aren't the greatest photos (taken with a camera phone)... but you can kind of see the progress we made this past weekend. We finally lined up a plumber - he actually started on monday. So these photos show the finished demo, where the kitchen and bathroom used to be. I need to take some more photos now that we have new framed walls... I'll get those up soon.

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The View from our Bed

This is the current state of our demolition/remodel and the view from our bed. And yes, just in case you are wondering... that is the toilet you can see through the studs.

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Progress

C & I made some definite progress this weekend on the house... We're still not moving along quite as fast as we'd like, but at least we're moving. During the week, we tore down the drywall (actually 1950s button board) on the wall separating the living room from the back side of the kitchen. Then this weekend we tore out the kitchen, including the kitchen sink, all the cabinets, the linoleum and plywood below. The demo is getting easier, as we're learning to work smarter not harder, but there is still a lot to do. The biggest problem is that since we're living amidst the construction/demo, and our house doesn't exactly leave room for us to be separated from the rubble, we spend a great deal of time prepping and cleaning. We're still a long way from being ready for the plumber, which I guess is a good thing since we haven't yet selected one...

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I'm not exactly sure what we'll be working on next week, but it feels good to be finally making some forward motion on the house again.

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Bathroom Lighting

Above: Talo Mini, Perch Hans Wall Sconce, El Ultimo Grito, and Lights Up! Rex

I'm having a very difficult time finding some modern, yet affordable bathroom lighting. Most of the fixtures that I like are a bit out of my price range, but I don't really want to stoop down to IKEA lighting, not because I'm particularly against IKEA, but because I don't particularly like their bathroom lighting. Besides, we are using IKEA for a fair amount of other items in the house, and I'd rather the result didn't look like a page out of their catalog.

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I know that Habitat in the UK also has some interesting (and relatively moderately priced fixtures), but there are no shops in the US, and they don't seem to sell their fixtures online. So, if anyone has any suggestions for great lighting, I'm all ears. I could even travel to Vancouver BC, if need be...

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This Would Make C Sooooo Happy

C and I are having a few issues about the remodel... well, mostly I'm having a few issues. I just don't feel like C's model cars, airplanes, and slot car track are going to fit into the newly remodeled and decorated house. But, I have been working on ways to incorporate some of these models, because I do realize that we both live in the house.... :)

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I think this slot car wall sculpture is a great idea! I may have to usurp it and make it my own in our house!

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Via Swiss Miss

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Its Official

So I guess we are definitely going through with the remodel... Today we demolished one side of one wall (not much, but we need to stay relatively clean since we're living in the middle of all this). I had always assumed that all of the interior walls were original, but as you can see not there is a combination of newer and older walls. On the right, you can see the original framing and button board from the 50s (which is much harder to demo than regular gyp) and on the left is some new framing with gyp dated from 1997. We're buying a sawzall tonight, so that should make future demo a bit easier....

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A Fad or Here to Stay?

C & I are in the middle of planning our bathroom remodel, and I am having some serious tile issues... I want to have an all white bathroom and tile EVERYTHING... but I can't decide on the tile. I've been going back and forth between this small glass mosaic (which is actually rather affordable) and 2x2 white ceramic tile (with a neutral medley on the floor)... I have to admit that I'm a little bit nervous that these glass mosaic tiles are going the way of the vessel sink.... which I think we can all admit is a fad that has passed its prime.

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Does anyone have any thoughts? Are mosaic tiles here to stay... or on their way out?

I would seriously appreciate any and all comments....

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Exhausted Just Thinking About It

C & I are planning a renovation to our tiny home this spring. We've got the plan laid out, but now I'm trying to work out the details. I feel a lot of pressure to create a unique, well-designed, and innovative home (all within our tight budget of course!). Even though the pressure is self-imposed, its really starting to drain on me. I'm finding it very difficult to come home after a long day designing other peoples' homes, to start working on mine. Anyway, lately I've been trying to think of an interesting material to use for the kitchen backsplash. Tile is always nice (and I may use it), but I'd also like to think about other materials... While none of the materials by Robin Reigl are in my budget, they are interesting to look at. Definitely food for thought... and while I think about it, I may just check out the local salvage yards for some more inspiration.

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Via Modern Flat

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Moving Walls

I've been looking for some interesting door/wall solutions for a room I'm trying to open up in our house. While, these won't work for our home, I'm in love with these Welter Walls. The moving walls are as much doors as walls, and add a bit of interest to the walls without too much extraneous detailing. The simplicity is really lovely...

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Via Better Living Through Design
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Precursor to Gyp Board?

Does anyone know what type of material was commonly used for wall finishes in the United States during the early 50s? Our house was built in 1951 and gyp board was re-introduced to the general market in 1952. Its not plaster and lathe and its not gyp board... so what is it?