This is Aalto. A Professional theme for
architects, construction and interior designers

Call us on +651 464 033 04

531 West Avenue, NY

Mon - Sat 8 AM - 8 PM

Top
Image Alt

Kitchen & Bath

When you live close to the beach in Santa Monica, California, your home must celebrate indoor/outdoor lifestyle. Another prerequisite is that its kitchen architecture should feel inviting. With a sense of calm and order. Airy. Sounds formulaic? Of course! That’s because combining comfort with spaciousness and good light is a fail-safe recipe for success. I am advocating “room as a whole” approach where kitchen and living areas are combined instead of being juxtaposed.

I’ve been getting a lot of traffic on AllaDIYAlly lately. For instance, just last week I heard from a client in Washington’s Wenatchee Valley who is enlarging a small bedroom and adding a bath suite. He inquired: “If I send current dimensions and include a sketch and additional square feet, can you work from that?” Of course, I can!

In my previous post I wrote about a master bath renovation as work in progress. Since then, we have settled on a layout and are in the process of selecting bathroom fixtures and tile. It’s a good opportunity to test the plan while focusing on nitty-gritty. The agreed-upon layout features a brand new shower and a tub in their existing locations. It seems most practical given the issue of the drastically sloping ceiling. There just isn’t enough headroom at the bay window for a shower.

A pre-school I worked on is finally under construction. There are lots of small details to address in the framing stage. Thankfully, I don’t need to worry about anything when it comes to plumbing — my favorite plumber Vadim Larkin is on the job. He just installed a Geberit in-wall concealed tank for a wall-hung toilet.

A generic statement, such as: “In this bright white modern space, the architect used clean lines, a minimalist palette, and simple shapes to create…” can succinctly describe my intentions for a tiny bathroom and adjoining kitchenette I am in the process of planning. Although it sounds formulaic, it’s anything but. Trends come and go; the object is to design with the site-specific requirements in mind.

Kitchen design is never formulaic. Every single time there’s a different answer to a question, “How do I put together appliances and cabinets in such a way that they form a whole, which is a pleasure to look at and work with?” It’s a challenge of meticulously planning something to feel effortless.

I attended LA Build Expo a couple of weeks ago. Overall, it was disappointing, but I did come across a very interesting product; it's called wedi. A 100% internally waterproof modular shower system, a lightweight and dimensionally stable (flat) panel assembly that acts as a substrate to virtually any stone or tile adhesive. I was happy to learn about it and look forward to specifying it.

We’re on a family vacation in Mammoth. The only one who doesn’t ski, I’m sitting in our cute cabin, mulling over the subject matter for my next blog post. I waited to get here, assuming that our master bathroom will prompt a good discussion. Well… Outdated or not, I can still ponder the efficiency of its compact shower stall or enclosure.

I wrote about helping a friend with an IKEA kitchen remodel recently. Unfortunately, it has not gone well. We are very disappointed with the cabinet installation. A problem that could’ve been addressed and resolved on site was ignored. The resulting mistake has not been acknowledged and fixed. Instead of taking responsibility and apologizing, the contractor in charge is still arguing, causing a major delay, not to mention a headache.

A client wants to act as a general contractor on her own small addition project. She asked me to help her understand the plumbing issues involved, as I’ve done with rainwater harvesting. Today I’m researching the installation requirements for a Submersible Sewage Simplex Pump, which will have to accommodate a new bathroom and possibly another small bathroom / kitchen if she converts a garage in the future.