CLEAN CONTEMPORARY for Young Bachelor Apartment in San Francisco - Finished Photos and a Word About Budgets

 

Entrance to Apartment with View of Alta Plaza Park

You may recall my blog post from a year ago May, when I was working with my retired art collector client (see IKEA posts), and my son (twenty-something) in San Francisco.  Last year we were in the initial planning of my son's apartment, located just off Fillmore Street.  To view the planning process and vision boards, click here:   http://swestdesign.blogspot.com/2011/06/where-have-i-been.html

In this post, I'll show you the photos as the apartment stands right now - almost finished.  My son is currently in the founding stages of his own start-up in Silicon Valley, and when you found a start-up, everything else temporarily stops! 

When you enter the apartment, you are immediately drawn in to the spectacular view of the park.  In the photo above, we use his collection of small travel photos to draw your eye in to the view.  You get this view for the entire width of the apartment, as you can see in the 2 photos below: 

 

 

A Word About Budgets

Whether it's a home project, a wardrobe, or a vacation to Europe, it always helps to have your budget defined.  It serves as a guide.  You're not locked in to the numbers, but it gives you perspective. To see all the expected expenses helps you analyze where you want to allocate your primary dollars.

When my son first told me his budget, I quickly calculated in my head the number of items we were going to need, and saw that we would need to economize in some areas.  (Designers do this budget analysis all the time.  We're good at it!)

My advice was to spend the bulk of the budget on a really good quality sofa. (There is no point in designing a room around a cheap sofa - it invariably falls apart, looks and feels like junk, and you end up giving it away after a short period of time.)

Since we were working long distance at that time, I recommended Pottery Barn, because there was a store here in North Carolina, near Cary, and one near him.  He researched the look and feel of the sofa, and I checked the quality and the fabrics. We decided on the Pearce model below. http://www.potterybarn.com/shop/furniture-upholstery/sofas/pearce-sofas/?cm_type=lnav   I scaled it in to his floor plan, and we ordered it.  He loves it!  The chaise is especially nice for working on his laptop.  And the microfiber suede is extremely durable, practical, and comfortable:  

 

Pottery Barn Pearce Sectional, CB2 Coffee Table, Walmart End Table, Ikea Table Lamp

We saw some great tables from Restoration Hardware ($$$) and Crate and Barrel ($$), and we also looked at antique trunks in the Mission District on Valencia Street.  But we were able to achieve a satisfactory look by going to CB2 for this solid wood coffee table ($400), where he can put his laptop and have room for his legs underneath.  We finished up with Walmart online for the simple wood end table ($30), and the glass table lamp from Ikea ($50).

 

Above the sofa we hung an arrangement of his travel photos:  Machu Picchu (center and right), Tasmania - Hour Glass Bay (top center), Cinque Terre and Switzerland (left).  In the previous post on planning, you can see how my software enables me to plan exactly how far apart to hang a custom photo arrangement like this one.  The way this one is designed, we have room to add more photos on either side when he has the opportunity to travel again. (Or - he and my artist daughter have been experimenting with large canvases...we may move the photos to the bedroom and place original art over the sofa...)

Capel Rug, Ikea Entertainment Center, CB2 Coffee Table

There are lots of inexpensive rugs available today from places like Home Depot, but these did not appeal to us, so we settled on this beautiful braided wool rug from Capel.   http://www.capelrugs.com/hampton-denim-rugs    We saw some really cool artsy very-thick-stranded wool rugs that we loved, but they were twice the price of the Capel.  Since he wanted a large TV (his new start-up is about TV), we put that money into the media rather than onto the floor.  The color of the rug was selected to enhance the colors in his photo collection, and relate to the Mondrian in the dining area.

We shopped several stores in search of the entertainment center, and found this solid wood piece from Ikea to be the best value ($200):  http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/80176298/



 

As I mentioned in last year's blog post on the planning, we began our Design Concept around my son's Mondrian artwork, placing it above the dining table. I originally had selected a Pier One table base in the concept stages, but when I shopped around in San Francisco (Studio D), I found this curved wood base, which we liked better, because it gave a softer line to the room.  The matching chairs look great, and are comfortable.  They would not hold up to children or pets, but since he doesn't have either, these will do fine for now.

After completing the space planning and product selection, we moved on to creating the right balance of art on the walls:

 

Mondrian, Josef Albers, Square in Milan

This Albers poster was one of the first pieces of art that I purchased when I started my own home years ago.  I still love it!  It symbolizes what I do:  create beauty, order and balance.  I was delighted to give it to my son, and thrilled to see how well it complemented his own photo of the square at the cathedral in Milan.  See closeups below:



 

 

My son shot this photo from the catwalk at the top of the cathedral. We had it custom-framed and matted.  As I mentioned about budget - it's a guide.  We spent more on the frame for this photo than the walmart table and ikea lamp combined.  But some things are worth the investment!

 

Leaving the living area, you again view the linear arrangement of the small travel photos.  These are framed in deep shadow box frames, which gives a nice dimension to the hallway.

 

So that's my interior design solution for this Project.  What we have is a simple, clean environment. This uncluttered design is restful for a young man who spends a lot of his time in algorithms and codes.  The shell is static by design, but the dynamic element is the park across the street, where there is always activity - trees rustling in the breeze, friends meeting in the park, and happy dogs bounding up the paths!  Activity is also experienced on the large TV screen.  And during the day, you can see the streets of San Francisco reflected in the screen.

As for the products we chose, the sofa will stay for years, and the other furnishings can be upgraded as the needs arise.  It's another "carefully edited space", in which "less is more"!!

TWO IMPORTANT TIPS for planning your Project:

1. PLAN IN ADVANCE.  Resist the urge to buy anything until you have a plan.  Interior Design is a complex, multi-faceted process, and you can waste thousands of dollars if you don't plan it properly.
2. CREATE A BUDGET, so you have some idea of what your costs are going to be.  Start by listing every item you are going to need to buy, as well as any construction costs like sheetrock repair and painting.  Then itemize the costs.  A Designer can help you figure out where to economize, and where to choose the best.

            It's good to have a customized budget worksheet.  I have several Excel sheets that I share with clients as we are working on their plans.  Contact me if you'd like to discuss it!  I can work by the hour, or on a project basis.

SAN FRANCISCO KITCHEN - WEEK 2

I'm a Designer.  I NEVER pick anything without seeing all the samples.  This goes for paint colors, fabrics, tile, flooring, EVERYTHING. 

Week 2 brought the selection of the soapstone.  The original soapstone we had selected in 2008 was longer available (probably because everyone heard that Martha Stewart has soapstone in HER kitchen).  So we had to scour around for a slab with minimum veining and deep enough  black color once it was oiled.  Doug found a great company in Roseville:  http://teresinasoapstone.com/    Carrie was very helpful, and sent us photos of the possibilities.  I called her and arranged for samples to be sent to Doug and myself, so we could test the color with the rest of the kitchen samples - the red Ikea door, the black granite mosaic backsplash, and the espresso oak for the Dining Room bank of drawers.  Above is the sample we chose:  Black Minas.

Next, we had to select which slabs we wanted to purchase.  Carrie sent photos again, with the areas marked off in the sizes that we would need.  We completed the purchase and Doug's contractor picked it up in Roseville and began to cut!  For more information on soapstone as a countertop, visit teresina's website.  Doug loves it!

Now for the COLOR!

As you can see in the above photo - the COLOR is starting to emerge in this kitchen!  The red filler strips and the granite mosaic have been installed by Paul, a member of the team at Victory Construction, Inc.  Doug is extremely pleased with this team.  Their website states:  "Based on our deep spiritual and moral belief in the 'golden rule' of treating others with honesty and integrity, we strive to run our business in this manner."  And that is precisely how they operate.  Check them out at http://www.victorybuild.com/

Here's a close-up of the soapstone (not yet oiled) and the granite mosaic.

The whole team at Victory are from the Ukraine (yes, they speak Russian.  Doug is trying to learn some before the project is finished!)  The above photo shows the meticulous attention to detail that Paul puts into his work.  He was a surgeon in the Ukraine, and his beautiful craftsmanship shows it.

This photo shows what the Ikea cabinets look like before the red doors go on.

Here we have the bank of drawers in the Dining Room, with the granite mosaic and the not-yet-oiled soapstone.  You can catch a tiny bit of the espresso trim at the side of the cabinets.

Below:  a photo of the hood that is going to be installed this week.  Stay tuned for more progress soon!

WEEK 1 - Demolition and Building Walls

What a mess!!  This week the contractor took out all the old cabinets and the wall between the kitchen and dining room. Time to start over!  They also assembled all the Ikea cabinets.  Ikea is well built, but you have to assemble them yourselves.  If you don't have experience, then be sure to get a contractor to do that.  The price for an Ikea kitchen is very reasonable, but you have to allow for assembly in your budget.

Here's the wall where the frig goes...note the new dedicated elec box for the frig on the left (no more hanging cord!)....

....the new half wall between the kitchen and dining room.

....the frames for the dining room cabinets in front of the wall.  These cabinets will be a bank of drawers in a beautiful brown-black finish on horizontal oak.   They relate well to the new bathroom cabinet just around the corner.  In the back of this photo you can see the new black frig peaking out from under a canvas drop-cloth.

From inside the kitchen - the view out to the living/dining area.

Inside the kitchen....the center cabinet is for the oven, the 2 side cabinets will be doors and drawers in high gloss RED....Stay tuned for the progress....hopefully we will make new strides this week, and have more to show next week!

RED KITCHENS

 

I ADORE red kitchens!  They have so much life and an expectation of something really COOL just about to happen.  (BTW, it's possible to have a red kitchen and still have it be cool.  Red does not always have to be warm.  However, a red kitchen is never COLD.  How's that for contradictory color theory?  Designers are allowed to do that!)  

My first personal remodel was updating a 1960s modern house to be current for the 80s.  We tore out the old kitchen and put in a modern white German kitchen (by Alno).  The walls were - you guessed it! - RED.  I cut my teeth on that project:  I had to layout the design in centimeters!  And my husband and I did all the installation ourselves. But that's a blot post for another day....Moving on with Doug's kitchen:

I had seen this red kitchen from Ikea on line and loved it, and I had read in shelter magazines about architects that were using Ikea for their own NYC apartment remodels.  If architects were using it, the quality would probably be OK.  And the price was right:  for an apartment, we didn't want to spend all our budget on Italian cabinets...there had to be some money left for art, since that is Doug's passion.

Doug and I visited the Ikea showroom in Palo Alto to check out the quality, and decided to go with it.  We started this project in 2007, long before I got my new Interior Design software, so I used Ikea's software to lay out the floor plan, import the cabinets and do the elevations.

The design developed as we went along, as design so often does!  The original design was for the microwave to be hidden behind doors, but Doug wanted to consider ease of access, so I laid out this elevation (above), showing the new black frig and dishwasher, with the existing microwave installed in an open cabinet. Neither of us liked this, so we went back to the original, with the microwave behind the doors.

This sketch is hand drawn onto the Ikea wall elevation of the back wall of the kitchen.  It shows the view from the Dining Room, with the new hood vent, the Dining Room drawers from Ikea, granite mosaic backsplash, and soapstone counters.  Doug loves soapstone - he had it in his Santa Barbara house and is hooked on soapstone!

This elevation is a study I did for Doug about hanging his new Wusthof knives on a magnetic knife rail on the granite mosaic backsplash.  I imported the Ikea elevation into my new software and imported the picture of the Wusthof knives from the internet, and correctly scaled it to see if it would fit properly.  We're going with it!   Stay tuned for tomorrow's post: Week 1- Demolition and Wall Construction....

SAN FRANCISCO KITCHEN REMODEL - BEFORE Pictures

REMEMBER THIS VIEW?
We are finally nearing completion of this very fun apartment remodel in San Francisco.  To get a little background on the project and to see the first 2 posts on the bathroom remodel, go to the label column on the lower right and click on "Bachelor". 

When I first arrived in San Francisco to help my client with this project (2007!  ...There have been some delays, but those of you who know Doug know that it's not his fault!), this was what I saw:

A VERY small closed-off kitchen.  With the 10-story view to my back, this boxy cave to the front definitely didn't live up to its potential.

Inside the cave, the suspended microwave with exposed electrical connections for the microwave and frig made this apartment look like it was located in a different part of the city than Pacific Heights!  Also, all the finish materials were completely utilitarian - like a kitchen galley in an office building.

So we began to develop a design concept that would open up this space and add some luxurious finishes.  You can see in the photo above that we experimented with red for the kitchen color:  there is a red napkin taped to the frig, with a piece of aluminum foil, to give us an idea of the balance of red and stainless.  There is a paint color fan deck on the table opened to red colors.  (Click on any of the photos to enlarge.) 

Guess what!!!  We decided on RED.  Check out the next post to see how the design progressed, and to see the pictures from WEEK 1 of demolition. 

WHERE HAVE I BEEN?

This Cary Interior Designer has not been in Cary much over the past couple of months. What have I been doing? Check out this beautiful view of Alta Plaza Park in San Francisco! My son moved into an unfurnished apartment and I was lucky enough to be the designated designer! The amazing thing about this apartment is that it is right in the middle of all the beautiful hills and typical San Francisco cityscape, but when you look out the window, this beautiful park is what you see. If you step out on the balcony, you can see all the SF scenes; but from inside you see the peace of the park.

So I have been designing a bachelor pad for a twenty-something. (I also visited my other bachelor client in San Francisco. We are working on his apartment too, but it's a radically different aesthetic. Stay tuned for more on that project later, and visit his completed Bathroom Remodel post in this blog: July 2010).

So where do you begin when you are designing an apartment from scratch? We began with my son's art: a Mondrian that we ordered after our visit to MOMA in NYC 2 years ago.

Here is a pared down view of the process:  (Click on individual images to enlarge)

FIRST VISION BOARD: After discussing with my son what type of sofa he wanted, and what type of entertainment center, I did the first "vision board". That enables us to get a feel for the possibilities. I imported pictures from Pottery Barn for the sofa and coffee table, and I found a cool table at Pier One that complemented the Mondrian, since we had determined that the dining area would be the best location for it. We had discussed the art for the wall over the sofa, and decided on using my son's photographs from Europe, NYC and New Zealand. And the entertainment center I imported from my software program.

FLOOR PLAN: The next step was to properly scale all these items into the floor plan. I did many, many different floorplans, studies and vision boards of possible furniture for all these parts of the space. I emailed links to my son and together we reasoned out what would work best, what appealed to him most, and what fit the budget. I am only showing a few of the images here...

NEXT VISION BOARD: This board shows some changes: We shopped around and found a really cool table that is similar to the Pier One piece in the first concept board, but this table was less stark, both in color and form (slightly rounded, whereas Pier One was totally angular). We found a chair at the same store that was comfortable and affordable. We purchased an entertainment center from Ikea that looked just as I had imagined from my software. We had arrived at blue as the right color for the rug after looking at several possibilities, so I colored in a blue shape. And I found a coffee table that I thought my son would like from CB2. So I imported all these changes and we kept on working from this revised basis.

NEXT ROUND OF VISIONS: For this group of vision boards, I sent my son several actual rug choices. We looked at rugs from Crate and Barrel, West Elm, CB2, as well as several choices from my designer arsenal. In the end, we chose one of my rugs from the San Francisco Design Center - a Capel rug in Denim Blue. I imported it into the vision board, and we are waiting for it to arrive.

ELEVATION: This elevation shows the Pottery Barn sofa with chaise that we have on order. My new software is so cool that I can scale everything exactly, down to the fraction of the inch. So I did a design layout for my son's photos, showing the exact sizes of his frames, and how far apart they all are to be hung. I hung them all before I left SF. We are just waiting for the sofa now! To the right of the sofa, we opted for a small simple table from Walmart to hold the Ikea lamp. We were running out of money! To the right of the table/lamp are the beginning of the kitchen cabinets and the microwave.

This project lent itself very well to virtual design - long distance communication by email and phone.  (I didn't have to go to San Francisco - I just wanted to!!)

The examples of vision boards and floor plan are a good illustration of working on a design as a package.  I can either work by the hour, or on a package basis.  Sometimes all you need is an idea of where to begin - where to place your furniture, what sizes to buy.  For others, like my son, you need to know what the possibilities are, where to find them, and how to integrate them. For more information on how we might work on your project, give me a call, and we can talk about it.

I'm back doing interior design in Cary now, and the things we've ordered have started to arrive, so stay tuned for final pictures later on!