January 12, 2009
January 8, 2009
soapstone
After much deliberation, we decided to go with soapstone for the kitchen counters. Granite wasn't an option for us (even though it works very well in numerous applications, neither Bryan nor I were a fan for our own kitchen). We liked butcher block, however since we decided to go with wood cabinets in lieu of white, and since we have wood floors, butcher block would have been wood overkill. White Corian would have looked very sharp, but it is very expensive and a maintenance nightmare for a kitchen. Same with Carrera Marble. We thought about concrete, however several friends and co-workers have said the maintenance is not worth the cost. We also considered slate, however it just was too 'rustic'.
Soapstone is the material of choice for high school chemistry lab counters. It's extremely durable, temperature neutral and pretty much impervious to all chemicals. It has the subtle veining of marble, light grey when dry, however it turns a deep dark charcoal grey when treated with mineral oil (and in terms of maintenance, all you have to do is oil it every month or so, depending on how dark you want your counters to be...).
The soapstone in the photos below will be our kitchen counters (top photo is when wet, bottom is when dry)...
Installation should take place within 2 weeks. Woo hoo!
Soapstone is the material of choice for high school chemistry lab counters. It's extremely durable, temperature neutral and pretty much impervious to all chemicals. It has the subtle veining of marble, light grey when dry, however it turns a deep dark charcoal grey when treated with mineral oil (and in terms of maintenance, all you have to do is oil it every month or so, depending on how dark you want your counters to be...).
The soapstone in the photos below will be our kitchen counters (top photo is when wet, bottom is when dry)...
Installation should take place within 2 weeks. Woo hoo!
thoughts on a dining room table...
Something about a table with benches (chairs optional) appeals to me... UPDATE 01.14.2009:
Bryan nixed the bench idea. Something about a backless seat did NOT appeal to him.
... it looks good though.
Bryan nixed the bench idea. Something about a backless seat did NOT appeal to him.
... it looks good though.
January 5, 2009
kitchen cabinets - installation day two
Andrew returned this past Saturday with door, drawer and side panels, shelves, drawers, plus some shim and trim pieces. It was a full day of work (11 hours) but the cabinets look great! One really nice detail is the wall cabinet hinge - it allows the door to open 170 degrees. We have one more weekend of work still ahead of us - we were short 3 shelves, plus 3 door panels were too big. Andrew also is going to bring down his router/jig so that we can flush-mount the hardware pulls. NICE!
December 22, 2008
December 11, 2008
lighting mural
A lighting installation, by PSLAB, in London, using recycled car headlights, incandescent light bulbs, and red fabric electric cord. I LOVE IT!
I'm thinking it would be fun to do something like this in our 30' long upstairs corridor...
December 8, 2008
kitchen cabinets - installation day one
Andrew (our friend who made the cabinets) and Bryan hard at work... I think... on a side note, check out the toolbox in the bottom left corner in the photo below... Andrew made it from Mahogany wood. I could barely lift it... 
We are now researching countertop options... I think we've narrowed it down to either slate or soapstone.
the appliances have arrived...
... the fridge and dishwasher didn't make it into the photo... I couldn't find the extra ultra wide angle lens.
November 30, 2008
office in a closet
Even though we try to keep our 'stuff' to a minimum, we're human, we're an architect and a structural engineer, we like books and projects and collecting things, so... we have a lot of 'stuff' and a lot of this 'stuff' still doesn't have a home, as seen in the photos above.In order to maximize space, we decided to turn the smallest bedroom into a guest room / study, and while doing so, to maximize space, to turn its closet into an office...
... now our 'stuff' will have a home.
November 28, 2008
November 26, 2008
November 25, 2008
November 22, 2008
cherry sample
We finally received a nice sized sample of the cherry (finished) that will be used for the kitchen cabinets... see photos above. We're still deciding on which floor stain option to go with...
November 21, 2008
November 15, 2008
November 12, 2008
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