California House Remodel

Kitchen counters finally

2011-04-30T22:00:00.001-07:00

Kitchen counters finally, a photo by aliciadesign on Flickr.

Here is an in progress shot of our new laminate counter tops. I am ecstatic.
More done photos soon.

3512 Metal Earth | Formica | California Street House

2011-04-26T21:54:00.001-07:00

3512 Metal Earth | Formica | California Street House, a photo by aliciadesign on Flickr.

New Laminate Countertops

2011-04-26T21:50:00.001-07:00

photo, a photo by aliciadesign on Flickr.

Brad has been busy creating new laminate counter tops for us. Can I just tell you I am so thrilled. I can't wait to get rid of the makeshift white vinyl on plywood counters that I have had for the last couple of years... More photos to come.

Spa Surround Modern Fence

2011-04-25T20:16:00.001-07:00

Spa Surround Modern Fence, a photo by aliciadesign on Flickr.

We updated the back yard by moving the spa. We also shortened the dog run and built a new gate. Our plan is to continue the new style of fencing behind the spa. And also build another matching gate on the other side of the dog run. I also want to put an out door bed attached to the spa....

Taking down the lattice cage

2011-02-13T19:06:00.000-08:00

Well the rest of our lattice cage has come down. We are in the mood to change up our back yard and give it a more of a cohesive look. The yard used to be divided up into four sections. We have taken down the inner fences and are refiguring out ways to create better landscaping. We have a lot of wonderful plants that I want to rearrange and thin out a bit so our yard isn't quite so jungly.

Painting the back of the house will also be much easier now that all that wood is removed. I have started gathering ideas of things to do in the back yard here. http://www.flickr.com/photos/aliciahanson/sets/72157625874478445/ I also want to paint the studio to match that house scheme and maybe add a cupola to he shed too.

I will post some of the ideas here as I start designing.

Hot tubs new location

2011-02-07T15:05:00.001-08:00

photo
Originally uploaded by aliciadesign

So we poured new concrete and we are shortening the dog run. We also ran concrete along the fence,so the dogs cannot dig under the fence. While we doing the concrete we decided to move the hot tub over to this location. Now we have to build the new fences and gates.

Last night we decided to move incorporate the outdoor bed into the hot tub area. The plan is to build a new outdoor bed next to the hot tub and the top of the hot tub will slide under the out door bed. We are also going to put new wood surrounding the bottom of the hot tub and out door bed, that matches what we do on new fence. I am super excited about the new plan. More to come.

Cleaning the jacuzzi

2011-02-07T14:57:00.001-08:00

photo
Originally uploaded by aliciadesign

When we bought the house it came with this jacuzzi. We have never used. We have decided to a new location and hook it up. Here I am cleaning it up.

We finished concrete

2011-02-07T14:55:00.001-08:00

photo
Originally uploaded by aliciadesign

All American Handy Woman Almost - Alicia Hanson

2010-08-29T19:33:00.000-07:00

Well I tried out for HGTV's All American Handy-woman. Here is the web quality version of my audition. You can see me play with power tools. In case you were wondering in anticipation, I didn't make. Maybe I will try out for DesignStar, I like that show a lot.

I'll have to check out HGTV's All American Handyman. Here is the lineup. It is going to be starting soon.

Clean Bathroom Design

2010-07-23T11:28:00.000-07:00

Came across this beautiful bathroom image this morning and wanted to share it. I am have been redesigning our master bath, so when we have the funds to execute it we are ready. I really like these sinks. Do you think the sinks really have no plumbing under neath visible? Maybe it is hidden behind the shelf. Love the tile on the wall too. Go to DWR for more info

Finishing concrete, now the dogs can't dig out.

2010-07-18T20:43:00.001-07:00

Finishing concrete, now the dogs can't dig out.
Originally uploaded by aliciadesign

Today we finally christened the concrete mixer we bought months ago. We are lining the edge of the dog run area with concrete, so the dogs cannot dig into the neighbors yard. We used 9 1/2 90 lbs bags of quik- crete today. We got just over half of the area done. We ran into a couple small hiccups. There are sprinkler lines near by that got hit with the shovel. So we had to patch pipes which slowed us down. But now we know. Next weekend we will tackle the other half. Wahoo. Glad to be working on the house.

Concrete it is a family event

2010-07-18T20:38:00.001-07:00

Concrete it is a family event
Originally uploaded by aliciadesign

Blustery California House

2010-01-21T12:02:00.001-08:00

Blustery California House
Originally uploaded by aliciadesign

It's is raining alot here right now.

Tiki my friends make. Want one??

2009-12-13T23:08:00.001-08:00

Tiki my friends make. Want one??
Originally uploaded by aliciadesign

My friends Dean & Madeira make a Ultra hip tiki fountain which is re-pop of this vintage Matson cruise line travel display. I was lucky enough to get one for my birthday. I have to get some power over to it so I can hook the fountain part up.
I love it.

Tiki Surf Bathroom with new wall paper

2009-11-02T09:34:00.000-08:00

Well my friend Marie, came over and helped me wall paper the Tiki bathroom. I had never wallpapered, so I sought the advice of my Crafty Aunty Jane. She gave me some great pointers. Such as plan out where you end to be in a discreet location incase your pattern doesn't line up exactly. I planed mine to be in the door corner. The job went fairly well. I purchased the wallpaper rolls from Hula Beach in San Clemente. I had one small snafu with the paper one of the rolls when I rolled it out, the ink had stuck to the back of the paper so the print had lifted. I called Hula Beach and was able to switch out the roll for another and was able to finish the job.
I also accidently touched my arm to one of the vanity light bulbs and burnt the heck out of my arm. I couldn't believe the bulb was that hot. The burn blister is still healing.

My garden is growing..

2009-10-02T22:19:00.001-07:00

My garden is growing..
Originally uploaded by aliciadesign

The plants are growing not super fast but at a steady rate. I have gotten 3 Zucchinis, quite a few strawberries and the basil is thriving. I am hopeful for the butternut squash and rhubarb...

All the Kitchen Cabinets are in.....Hooray!!

2009-09-06T20:06:00.000-07:00

Well we have finally been able to purchase the last few Ikea cabinets we were missing. So all the cabinets are assembled and installed. I have so mjuch storage I haven't even come close to filling it. So now all that is left to do in the kitchen is the backsplash with Stardust tile and the counter tops... The last cabinets to go in were the big daddy over refrigerator, two 30" drawer units and we added 2 more pantry style cabinets on either side of the 1 pantry we already had. I am so pleased with all the useable space.

Tropical paradise

2009-08-21T23:18:00.001-07:00

Tropical paradise
Originally uploaded by aliciadesign

All the plants are going full force right now......

Greenery for the Tiki Bath

2009-08-17T21:01:00.000-07:00

This past weekend I was showing my Dad and Stepmom around the area and we visited quite a few local shops. Since my guests shared my interest for Hawaiiana we visited the store Hula Beach in San Clemente. While perusing Hula Beach's lovely tropical decor I found something that I had been looking for. Tropical palm frond wall paper for the top of the walls in my tiki bath.

On a prior visit to the store I notice their back hallway had this cool wall paper called Urban Safari Green. They had graciously provided the name of it to me at the time, which I could not remember about 2 weeks ago when I was googling palm frond wall papers. To my delight, they now carried the wall paper. So I bought a couple rolls.

Since I am new to wallpapering I have asked the advice of my handy Aunt Jane in Texas. I am waiting for the perfect day to wallpaper. When I get this wallpaper up, I will get some pictures on the blog.

Modern Sofa Revamp

2009-07-27T20:12:00.001-07:00

Well Brad's work has been a little slow, so we took the opportunity to get a few things done around the house.

We decided to re-upholster our sofa. This sofa was a gift from a client of Brad's up in Washington. They had the sofa in their basement, and were ready to part with it. We were getting our first place together and needed furniture. We loved the Danish modern look of the sofa. The former owners said that they got it from their parents who had bought it new. That was six+ years ago. When we got the sofa I knew I wanted to upholster it with a new color fabric. Overtime the brown actually grew on me. I always wanted a Charcoal gray. I liked the original texture of the original fabric. It seemed to really add to the subtle lines. About 7 months ago a neighbor down the street turned me on to a store in the area called UFO. Well after my first visit there I knew I had found upholstery heaven. The store has a wonderful selection of fabrics and trims. I scoured all the samples and decided on a George M Fabric called Quartz Charcoal. I bought 7 yards. I found ths chart after the fact but It seems quite helpful.

The process of actually covering the sofa went completely different from how I thought it would go. I pictured myself cutting pieces of the original fabric panels and then cutting new and sewing most of the pieces together and slipping the new pieces on to the sofa. Then making new cushions and covering those. Well when we started removin g the fabric, we realized that the sofa was upholstered as it was built. So we deconstructed the entire piece, documenting with photos the whole way. And then one more trip to UFO for more foam. Then we reconstructed the whole sofa with new foam in areas and the new fabric. I just love the way it turned out. On our second trip to UFO, we decided to do a headboard too. More on that soon.

Asian Table Top

2009-06-27T20:51:00.001-07:00

Asian Table Top
Originally uploaded by aliciadesign

This is the state of the dining table lately. I love the collection of items. And I love that all this can be on the table and we can still eat too.. Yeah for big tables.

To the Studios

2009-06-27T20:47:00.001-07:00

To the Studios
Originally uploaded by aliciadesign

These new plants are thriving but my Food Garden not so much..

My Pathetic Garden | Grow Gosh Darn it....

2009-06-27T20:45:00.001-07:00

My Pathetic Garden
Originally uploaded by aliciadesign

Well how does my garden grow? Really really slow...
So apparently my green thumb does not work on my edible garden.
It is pathetic so far. I think I am going to get more worm castings to add to the soil and I think. And I am going to take the Shade cloth off...
Things keep turning yellow and shriveling up. These plants have survived so far, but I don't know how long. Watering is not the problem h as to be soil or something......

Laguna | Beach Table

2009-05-30T22:25:00.001-07:00

Laguna | Beach Table
Originally uploaded by aliciadesign

Today in Tuvula, I saw this wonderful beach table. I love the weathered woods and aqua colors.. It is just beautiful.

Baby birds in their nest at our house.

2009-05-03T12:56:00.001-07:00

Baby bird in their nest at our house.
Originally uploaded by aliciadesign

We have some new residents at our house. These cute little fuzzy guys are living in the entry way to our house. If you look closely on the right of the nest you can see one of the lil guys head and beak resting on the nest...

They are very quiet baby birds the only time you hear them is when momma bird shows up with food...

Orange County Drywall | North San Diego County Drywall

2009-03-30T14:23:00.000-07:00

If you are looking for a great company in Orange County or North San Diego County to do residential or commercial drywall, I would highly recommend
Hi Octane Drywall. Hi Octane Drywall is owned by Oceanside resident Brad Johnson. Brad began his drywall career more than 25 years ago in Orange County.

Brad has worked on a wide range of projects from small remodel jobs to High-end Custom Homes. His clients include Oceanside, Carlsbad, San Clemente, San Juan Capistrano Beach, Newport Beach, Laguna Beach and Mission Viejo residents to contractors. Brad has years of experience working with metal stud framing on Tenant Improvements (TI) and commercial projects for such clients as Banana Republic.

During the 1990's Brad lived up in the Pacific Northwest and ran Brad Johnson Drywall. There he primarily worked on large high end custom homes. You can see project photos here and this is a unique home that was barged to new location and put on new basement foundation. Brad finished the new basement which included a custom home theater. You can see photos of that project here.
Brad moved back to Southern California in 2002 and has worked with contractors like Mike Grover of Grover Construction in San Clemente, California along with Dave Kerns of Kern's Drywall in Laguna Niguel and the Notorious Clifton Boys Construction out of San Clemente, California.

Recently Brad worked with Mike Grover of Grover Construction where together they did an entire home remodel in San Clemente, California. The team did removal of the old house, permitting for the new remodel, framing of the new structure, drywall and finish carpentry, photos of the Ramona Street house can be seen here.

Brad has strong work ethic and you will always find him on the job working hard. Brad is friendly, has an eye for detail and is talented framing, hanging or taping and finish carpentry. Looking for a good drywall contractor in Orange County or North San Diego County try Hi Octane Drywall. Contact Brad at 949.456.338 or 760.433.8363 via email brad(at)hioctanedrywall.com.

Garden edging from Target

2009-03-20T19:03:00.001-07:00

Garden edging from Target
Originally uploaded by aliciadesign

I just love this new garden edging I bought at Target. It appears to be faux stone but it is plastic pieces that just slide in. I couldn't find them on Target's website though.
Now I just need about 4 more boxes...I did find it on Walmart's website although the package it a little differently.
It is made by Suncast and is called Border Stone edging.

Back Splash Idea

2009-03-17T09:18:00.001-07:00

Back Splash Idea
Originally uploaded by aliciadesign

I came across this backsplash idea after seeing some cool tile on Flickr
I just love the 2" x 6" bricks in the custom palette titled surf. I think this would look great in our kitchen. I can't believe there are no distributers in Southern California.
The manufacturer of this wonderful product is http://startdustglasstile.com.

Dream of backsplash tile

2009-03-05T19:01:00.000-08:00

I have been dreaming of what I will do to finish the kitchen. I saw Divine Design on HGTV the other day. And the color scheme she picked out for this couple's basement remodel is very close to what I envision my completed kitchen will look like. I love the backsplash tile she chose. I also love the beachy accents for our beach house. For my countertops I have decided on Caesarstone. I like the concrete gray color with a square or radius edge.
Now I just have to earn the funds to do it.. I am excited to have a complete vision.

Winter Scene

2008-12-15T22:36:00.001-08:00

Winter Scene
Originally uploaded by aliciadesign

We created this cute little winter scene on the new kitchen counter area...

Christmas 2008 Retro foil tree

2008-12-15T22:35:00.001-08:00

Christmas 2008 Retro foil tree
Originally uploaded by aliciadesign

Well the green foil tree is seeing some use this year. My wonderful little helper who loves to decorate, helped me put up the tree. She hung all the ornaments within her reach. Now I just need to get presents under it.

New old door inside

2008-12-02T21:51:00.003-08:00

New old door inside
Originally uploaded by aliciadesign

Here is the view from inside...

New old door

2008-12-02T21:51:00.001-08:00

New old door
Originally uploaded by aliciadesign

Brad brought home this cool weathered door from a job. A cool 8 panel door. I gave him the go ahead to install it. The interior side of it is just beautiful. It is not weathered at all and matches the 8 panel glass doors we have inside. Now if he can just find a new cool front door. I would like a dutch door, I think.... The door looks like it should have a white cow skull hanging on it for some reason. I think I will have to find one.

Kitchen

2008-11-25T18:53:00.001-08:00

Kitchen
Originally uploaded by aliciadesign

Kitchen new cabinet & counter

2008-11-25T18:52:00.001-08:00

Kitchen new cabinet & counter
Originally uploaded by aliciadesign

Kitchen new cabinet & counter

2008-11-25T18:51:00.001-08:00

Kitchen new cabinet & counter
Originally uploaded by aliciadesign

Kitchen new cabinet & counter

2008-11-25T18:50:00.001-08:00

Kitchen new cabinet & counter
Originally uploaded by aliciadesign

New desk area

2008-11-25T18:49:00.001-08:00

New desk area
Originally uploaded by aliciadesign

Ikea said no I said yes to file cabinet

2008-11-25T18:48:00.001-08:00

Ikea said no I said yes to file cabinet
Originally uploaded by aliciadesign

ReVamped Dirty Workshop

2008-11-19T22:23:00.001-08:00

ReVamped Dirty Workshop
Originally uploaded by aliciadesign

We have been busy re-vamping our dirty work studio. We wanted to keep all the wonderful light, and make the space drier and even more useable. So we divided the greenhouse into two spaces, one that will remain wet, and greenhouse-ish. In the other other half we created a sub roof and a raised floor. Brad built new counters and we hung things up on the walls. I am so excited to get out here and create....

ReVamped Dirty Workshop

2008-11-19T22:17:00.003-08:00

ReVamped Dirty Workshop
Originally uploaded by aliciadesign

ReVamped Dirty Workshop

2008-11-19T22:17:00.001-08:00

ReVamped Dirty Workshop
Originally uploaded by aliciadesign

Work in Progress

2008-11-19T22:16:00.001-08:00

Work in Progress
Originally uploaded by aliciadesign

Brad doing one of his many talents

Before: Green House turned Dirty Studio

2008-11-19T22:15:00.001-08:00

Green House turned Dirty Studio
Originally uploaded by aliciadesign

My Parents Barged House

2008-10-14T19:26:00.000-07:00

So my parents take home remodeling to extreme levels. They have become masters of the art of Home Barging. What is home barging you ask? Well it is moving a home from one location to a new location via a barge on the Puget Sound. Their latest undertaking is their second home barging. The first home they barged is The Salmon Run House You can see all the details of the move by clicking the links. Their latest endeavor is the Eagle Harbor Bay House. They purchased a waterfront lot years ago with the intent of building or barging a home on to the lot. The lot had some initial challenges with soil erosion. They spent about a year looking for the appropriate home for the lot. They found a home that they found was what I felt was settling for something. It was an adobe home with with a tile roof. Which, is not a Northwest style home. They spent a lot of time an energy trying to get that home and the current home owner was a bit wishy-washy about the whole thing.

Then my stepdad Geoff, came across another home that was up for grabs, and that I think was a much better fit for being a Northwestern home and more their taste an style, they did also. So they purchased the home and just today October 14, 2008 two days before their 16th Wedding anniversary the home was barged by Nickel Brothers to it's new location in Eagle Harbor. Check out the details of the move here. The move will be featured on Monster Moves tv show in the near future too.
Read The Sun Post Article here.
Komo News Coverage
Bainbridge Review coverage - this is the best photo I have seen so far as well

Oceanside Brush Fire 10.08.08

2008-10-08T18:21:00.001-07:00

Oceanside Brush Fire 10.08.08
Originally uploaded by aliciadesign

Saw this fire on the way home today. We had scorching heat. 98+
News says this is on Camp Pendleton This is the hill north of Oceanside Blvd, seems closer than Camp Pendleton to me. I could see flames.
I hope they get it out soon.

New Upper Cabinet to the right of Microwave

2008-10-05T10:27:00.001-07:00

New Upper Cabinet to the right of Microwave
Originally uploaded by aliciadesign

Well I was able to get one more cabinet for the kitchen, so I picked up the upper cabinet to the right of the microwave. I even put the whole thing together myself. Brad already had the hanging bar on the wall so, I was even able to hang it up myself and bolt it on.
Then Brad and I put all the doors and handles on together. We just found out that Ikea discontinued our Lansa handles we have have the fatter diameter. They still carry the skinny. So I stocked up on them since they are 50% off. I am going to go next week and get a few more so, we have all the right ones before they are gone...
It is so nice to be able to easily open all the cabinets. Oh how I love handles....

Handles on Cabinets

2008-10-05T10:20:00.001-07:00

Handles on Cabinets
Originally uploaded by aliciadesign

New Shade Plants

2008-09-16T09:15:00.001-07:00

New Shade Plants
Originally uploaded by aliciadesign

Well I was finally able to pick up $20 in plants and get more color in our front yard. This little planter has been a problem area so far. This pink plumeria tree is in and in full bloom right now and creates a lot of shade here. I thought this would be a full sun area because it is on the south side of the house. I planted a bunch of plants this spring that never came up. I did pick up a red hibiscus awhile back that has done well. So now I picked up a bunch of very colorful coleus plants and dispersed them in the bare patches. I am loving all the color there. I wonder how this will look when the plumeria tree has less leaves...

White Ginger

2008-09-16T09:06:00.003-07:00

CIMG5234
Originally uploaded by aliciadesign

Banana Trees

2008-09-16T09:06:00.001-07:00

CIMG5233
Originally uploaded by aliciadesign

Birdhouses

2008-09-16T09:05:00.003-07:00

CIMG5229
Originally uploaded by aliciadesign

Plants galore

2008-09-16T09:05:00.001-07:00

CIMG5227
Originally uploaded by aliciadesign

New cement future address mosaic

2008-09-12T16:54:00.001-07:00

New cement future address mosaic
Originally uploaded by aliciadesign

Well we finally poured a little concrete to connect our two walks. The past owners had planted hedges and dug out this piece of concrete so that the hedge would grow across. They had 4 large dogs that would bark at the kids leaving school.

Well, we did away the hedge in the front and on the driveway side and went back to using the front gate. Now Brad and I are planning to do a tile mosaic of our address and some tropical plants. Brad also had a good idea of bringing the gate back behind the soon to be mosaic. I love that idea. Now we just have to get cracking with the tile work. Our friend Sandee offered up her tile stash. I need to finish our design and get to busting tile.

New cement - future mosaic

2008-09-12T16:47:00.001-07:00

New cement - future mosaic
Originally uploaded by aliciadesign

The silverware drawer

2008-08-07T00:46:00.001-07:00

The silverware drawer
Originally uploaded by aliciadesign

What is in those cool new drawers

2008-08-07T00:36:00.000-07:00

Well if you have been wondering what is in those new drawers you can now see.
I love my Ikea kitchen and I love how organized my drawers can be. I love my jadeite and I hope to find more over the years.

Hand-Me-Down Appliances

2008-08-01T23:32:00.000-07:00

Well so far we have been blessed with getting newer "Free" hand-me-down-appliances. The first find was our dishwasher way back when we first moved in. I found it out on the sidewalk down the street. We just got it securely installed and put the side panels on. We also ordered the new panels that it needed below, from the Whirlpool site. They came fast and now it looks great. The second was this newer bright white gas stove from Hayden's Dad, Mike. It is newer and better looking than the old almond one. The third and last newer appliance was this vented microwave from my parents. They had an older one sitting in their garage and said "hey we will get it to you some how." Well it just so happened that Brad's parents were driving down to visit us so my parents brought it over to Brad's parents and then Brad's parents brought it down to us. And Brad got it installed tonight.
It looks great and it will be nice to have a fan above our stove. Before Brad installed it we looked up online what the proper height was for installing Microwaves above stoves. The manufacturer web site that we found said to install the top of the Microwave 30" from the top of the cooktop. Well that only left 15" between the stovetop and fan which seemed too low. So we got on Skype and called Mike and asked him what his was installed at. His was 37" from the top of the microwave to the top of the cooktop. So we went with that dim and installed it.

Chalkboard Door

2008-08-01T23:25:00.000-07:00

Well recently Brad installed a new metal door that goes from the Kitchen to the garage that is to code, it replaced an old wood door. So upon installation I decided the door need to be painted with Chalkboard paint so we could draw on it, make grocery lists and whatever else was needed. So I went down to Home Depot bought chalkboard paint, and threw a few coats of paint on it. Then I found some cool Bistro Chalk Markers at PaperSource online so I ordered those up. So far we are enjoying it. I found the chalk markers don't wipe off as well as I would like. But they do work real well on my frosted glass doors too. So I use them there as well.

Kitchen Update

2008-06-09T09:51:00.000-07:00

Well I am realizing how big and wonderful my kitchen is going to be.
We purchased a few more cabinets. The base cabinets on either side of the stove, along with 1 across from the stove.
The cabinet to the left of the stove is a large pull-out with trash and recycling. The cabinet to the right is the spice drawer I have always wanted, meaning all my spices actually fit in it. Along with the plastic bag and foils drawer and the bottom drawer is pots and pans.
Across from the stove is another 3 drawer cabinet. Housing silverware, leftovers glassware, bowls and pans. There will be 3 more of these where the table is for a total of 4. I will have so much space. I keep moving everything around to happy new locations.

Cabinets left to buy:
30" above - left of fridge
Over fridge cabinet
24" above to the right of stove
15" Pantry
24" Pantry
3-30" 3 drawer bases.
2 overhead lift open cabinets-optional

Brad installed 5/8" plywood on top of all the base cabinets. Which I immediately covered with white vinyl. So it feels cleaner. Since we will probably be living with no countertops for a long time.

I am just loving all the room.
Ginger has a new stool too. Which she loves since she is a natural cook. She helped make Ginger Mahi Mahi with me last night.

Brad installed a new metal door that goes from the kitchen to the garage. I immediately decided it needed to be painted chalkboard for notes, grocery lists and doodles...

I painted it last night I will get a photo up soon.

Brad goes under

2008-05-29T07:19:00.000-07:00

Well it had to happen...
Brad had to go under the house to pull the all new electrical wires and bring them over to the new power panel so we could have power to all the new outlets and lights that we installed in the kitchen and dining.
So we dressed, wrapped and taped in up and sent him under the house.

Kitchen Update

2008-04-30T16:20:00.000-07:00

Well we have added a few more cabinets to our ever-changing kitchen. The original plan was to have to lazy susan on either side of the kitchen sink with corner cabinets above. Then when we did the math on the actual lazy susan cabinet sizes and the actual room we discovered we were an inch over. So then we got to re-figuring and we thought we would do a different configuration. Then we actually bought the lazy susan cabinet and put it into place and we realized that it would be fairly simple to modify another one to fit in the other corner spot. So we played musical cabinets and went back to our original configuration. Which made me very happy because I think it is the best use of the space.

Brad was able to modify the bottom right lazy susan cabinet without too much headache is was a bit of a hair puller, but he did it and it looks great. So what we have now is basically a mini kitchen. I can't wait to get the other cabinets in place and get all the new outlets lit up so we can take advantage of all the new space. I pretty much have all my kitchen goodies out of boxes and in either this kitchen or the back kitchen. Which is wonderful to have access to all my gadgets, pots, pans, and serving dishes.

Our next big item on the list is to get all the new power moved from the coil under the kitchen floor to the new panel. This means Brad has to climb under the house and take the coiled wire from under the kitchen to under the far living room wall.
But going under the house is never a great job.

Once that is run and hooked up then we will be able to power up our new kitchen lights and outlets. Then we can move the microwave to the front of the house. Right now we still run to the back of the house to Nuke something. I also have found that using the stove for heating things up isn't so bad with a gas stove. So I use the microwave pretty minimal.

Power Panel - Supersized

2008-04-30T16:07:00.000-07:00

Well it is official our new power panel has been installed by JM Electric. The new power panel went up a few weeks ago then we had to get the City of Oceanside out to release the new panel to SDGE. Once the City inspector came by and gave us the go ahead then we had to shut the power off and have SDGE come out. SDGE changed the glass component to the new panel and put a plastic glass cover on the old component. They also changed the lines to a new mast that is on the roof. Where the power comes into the house. Then they powered us back up. Then the City Inspector came out and gave us our final inspection on the new panel so we are good to go.
The old panel was ridiculously undersized compared to day's standards. I called it the Barbie Panel.

Tropical exterior color scheme

2008-03-12T20:04:00.000-07:00

Well, the weather has been fabulous these past few weeks. So I got antsy and decided to paint the whole front of the house myself. I did get some help from my oldest son Nolan one of the days. And my daughter helped a bit too.
I still have lots of work to do. But here are a few progress shots.

My inspiration for the color scheme are the colors in these colorful banana trees. Like this one.

New Window Trim

2008-03-02T19:03:00.000-08:00

Well since we have 2 new kitchen windows we had to get creative with trim around the new windows. Previously, we had shutters around the window and some funky angled wood pieces. Since our new windows are smaller. We had to cover up the siding that had be removed and filled in. So I came up with a more formal look. Now I am super anxious to paint the whole house. To clean up all the paint differences where the old shutters were.

I want to paint the main color of the exterior of the house a dark green with a lil green in it.

Here is one of the color combos I am liking right now.

Dirty Workshop

2008-02-23T21:03:00.001-08:00

Here is our other greenhouse that we have converted into our dirty workspace.
All the natural light in here is just wonderful and I love the gravel floor.
Well it is great for making a mess on but is not so good for rolling a chair on, or when you drop a little piece on it.

With all this rain we have been getting this winter, we are discovering that moisture abounds out here. So we have decided to create a dry work space in the big greenhouse and we are going to use a lot of the scrap from the corner green house that we just tore down. Basically our plan is to create a dry room within the greenhouse that we can make watertight. It will have natural light but not have water that works it way in. We will also build a floor in this portion.

This is our recycle pile. It has grown from when this shot was taken.

Studio-licous

2008-02-11T20:36:00.000-08:00

I am feeling really great about my studio right now. So I took a bunch of photos to show it off. This is considered our clean work space.
You can see the new magnet paint in full force. The main thing left to do in here is once we get our new electrical power panel in we will install the cable lights in the studio. This will also allow us to be able to use all of our outlets. We put quite a few in and they are installed just below the counter height.
Now that the weather is warming up it is much easier to use this space. Since I do a lot of my work late at night when the little one is asleep. I love being able to work in here. It just feels great.
I will get photos soon of the in progress greenhouse studio it is the dirty work space.

This looks fun | Mark lives in IKEA

2008-02-11T07:52:00.000-08:00

Check out this blog I found today.
Mark lives in IKEA.
I love having dinner at Ikea.

Magnet Paint

2008-02-10T22:14:00.000-08:00

Well a while back when I was trying to solve a way to mount things on the wall, when I came across a product that caught me eye, Magnetic Receptive Paint. Basically it is a paint that is impregnated with metal shards. And when you paint the paint on magnet will stick to it. This seemed like a great thing to me. We used to have these big metal boards up in the old studio and we filled them up completely. I liked the idea of the paint so we wouldn't be confined to the metal boards. And besides the metal boards were a hassle to mount.
The directions on the can say to do at least 3 coats, air drying between each coat. So I painted four coats. And then you paint your chosen wall color over it. This pretty much took me two coats to cover the very dark grey color of the magnetic receptive paint. Picture a black chalkboard, and that is what the color looks like.

Well the studio is all done except for final lights.
I will take some photos of what the walls look like finished. I have been a little disappointed, as for how well the magnets stick to the walls, I am using pretty hefty magnets thin paper works okay. Thick paper does not work well, nor does overlapping the paper, the magnets fall off. I have to be very careful when putting things on and it seems like a have to use a gazillion magnets since overlapping is not really an option.

I am going to invest in some super strong magnets, those seem to work with thick stuff.

Tiki Bath Progress

2008-02-10T22:00:00.001-08:00

Well we got a little further in the Tiki bathroom. Our friend Mike Grover gave us some nice dark bamboo strips that were already to be used on a wall. I had given them to us before we bought our house and we had been saving them for something interesting. We just didn't know what at the time. The bathroom seemed like the perfect place. So Brad got all the pieces cut and was able to use his finish nail gun and just mount all the pieces on the walls. The bamboo was a little tricky work with in that it not necessarily a straight material. Overall I really like the way the bathroom looks. It feels tropical. But I think the bamboo finishes off the thatching on the walls nicely.

Oh how I love my free dishwasher.....

2007-12-27T09:25:00.000-08:00

Well we have been busy over the Christmas break. Since we have been doing dishes in a sink the size of a shoebox, I have been very anxious to get a real sink up and running. On one of my walks around the neighborhood I came across a free dishwasher. Having no dishwasher I thought a freebie that may or may not work was better than none. So I drove back and picked it up by myself.. I wasn't sure if if I was going to be able to lift the dishwasher in the car. Being a woman I have never moved a dishwasher so I had no idea if this was a heavy appliance or light appliance. Turns out dishwashers are super light. Surprisingly light. I was able to pick the dishwasher up no problem and get it in my car, and then get it home and into the garage. I would have love to have seen the neighbors faces, watching my do that.
So since finding the free dishwasher I have been anxious to get this sucker up and running. One of my girlfriends thought I was very odd for getting excited about a used dishwasher, she thought it sounded gross. Well this dishwasher is all white fairly new and very clean looking besides, that what dishwashers do, clean.
When you have been doing dishes for 6 in a sink the size of shoe box trust me you get excited.

So Brad and I talked about what we needed for the dishwasher to work.
A sink - we needed to buy one, knowing we may not have countertops for a long time.
A garbage disposal - we had the one left over from when we demo-d the old kitchen
Power - at thee new location
Running water at the new location

We hired a plumber when we demo-d the kitchen to re-route all of our plumbing lines to the new kitchen sink location. He had run everything we needed we just had to get it functioning.

We had already decided on our Ikea kitchen so it was just a matter of picking up the least amount of cabinets to do what we needed. Since we are super tight on cash right now.

Originally I had planned on having to lazy susan cabinets in each corner, but upon further measuring our kitchen was exactly 8' wide. And the lazy susan cabinets were 37' wide plus a 24" wide cabinet sink added up to 98". Two inches more than we had.
What to do? I had been working of grid paper using 1' squares. So I didn't realize the cabinets were each an inch over. Why they are 37" makes no sense to me. So now we are going to do one lazy susan cabinet at a later date and for now we got a 30" cabinet that will work in the space we have so it is not totally dead space.
The current thought is to put a 12" door on the face of the 30" cabinet so we have some access to corner unit. Any great ideas contributed would be appreciated.

So since we are not able to afford to upgrade our power yet we have to run both the disposal and dishwasher off extension cords. But most importantly we have a dishwasher that was free and works great.

Tapping the Sun Gods

2007-12-22T22:27:00.001-08:00

Well I want to know if solar is right for our house.
I have seen a few blurbs on the Governor's push for solar in California.
Here is what I have found so far.
HomeDepot supports BPSolar. I found there website very user friendly. I did an online questionnaire which sounds like solar could be a good solution for us.
I contacted the state site to see what solutions and info they have. I found the info to be very confusing and hard to understand, although I found lots of things to download I wasn't able to figure the best easiest way to get quick info. I sent emails to both site's asking for basic info, let's see who responds the best.

Tiki Surf Bathroom

2007-12-06T07:16:00.000-08:00

Since we live a mile from the beach. We thought mine as well go Tiki Surf for the "boys" bathroom. The plan is to down the road remodel this bathroom and upgrade it. But for now we are having fun with the Tiki Surf theme.

First I painted the walls a beige color called Gobi Desert.
Then I put this grass thatching on the wall from Lowes. It took two rolls which were about $25 bucks each. To attach the thatching we busted out the old staple gun. Which worked fine. I tried two methods of stapling, on the wire and on the thatch, both seemed to work about the same. Then I went to town hanging masks and surf art.
Next we are going to add these big dark bamboo strips that we have across the top of grass thatch to finish it.
I love it. Feels so tropical when you are in there.

Read about how I chose my interior colors here

2007-11-30T00:01:00.000-08:00

Well being a person who loves design and the process of design I decided to write about my design inspiration for picking colors in our new house you can read about it here.

3 Ideas to inspire great interior paint colors

New paint colors, base and case too.....

2007-11-27T22:35:00.000-08:00

Well we spent the weekend painting. Brad sanded all the walls till his fingers bled from touching all the texture to get it just right. Then he primed all the walls with a PVA Primer. Then I took over for the rollering of the colors. He had a very watchful eye on me, because he didn't want my paint job to mess-up his time into the finish on the walls. But I can respect that, so I said nit pick away, let's get it right. He did all the cutting in too. Mom will be happy he did a very clean job.
For paint colors we went with a Martha Stewart Color Jadeite in the kitchen.
Since I collect Jadeite it seemed appropriate.
Then we did Celery Sprig in the dining room. Green makes you hungry so it makes sense.
And more Garden wall.
I love they way they turned out. Very beachy...

For the base and case we went with a craftsman style that I had seen at my parent's house. Nolan and Dan Sutherland made all the case at school. Nolan is learning all sorts of wood working skills from Dan so that is good.
Brad installed a lot of the case and base tonight. Man it looks so great with the new bowling alley floors with the base and the case around all the doors and openings. The case and base will be painted a nice white. What is shown here is the raw color.

Finishing the Floors

2007-11-27T22:15:00.000-08:00

Well it looks like we installed a bowling alley in the kitchen, but really it is just our Fabulous Ikea Tundra Flooring. Here are some shots of Brad putting in the bowling alley.
The wall separating the kitchen and living room was a real hassle. It took a long time to work through the complicated seams. But Brad got it all lined up.
The house just looks so much lighter and cleaner. I Love it....
To do the kitchen, dining, living room and some closet floors was about $800.00 for materials. It is a $1.35 a sqft.

Vote for us

2007-11-24T13:22:00.000-08:00

My Space and Remodel Myspace.
Who doesn't want to win money....
Click the link and vote for us. California Street House

http://www.remodelingmyspace.com/contest-entries.htm
The contest ends 11-30-07
Thanks...

Studio-licious

2007-11-22T23:01:00.000-08:00

Well I was waiting till I had the room more the way I wanted it to take pictures but everyone has been asking how it is coming along so I figured I better put some shots up. As you can see I love Ikea....Brad ran electrical I did help do some of the outlets. Then he did insulation and did all the drywall. Nolan and I, then painted the studio then we put in Ikea counters and used some old Ikea shelves for underneath the counters. Then Brad installed the overhead cabinets. The big cabinets on the back wall will have glass doors eventually. And we still need to put in the overhead cable lights. I also still need to put up all our inspiration clips and drawings etc.. As you can see I like organization.

Slinging Mud....

2007-11-22T22:57:00.000-08:00

Oh my honey has been slinging mud around. Oh and what a mud slinger he is....
Wahooo, we have new windows in, new electrical run, new plumbing run and drywall hung.

Kitchen & Living room progress

2007-11-11T16:08:00.001-08:00

We have a new large opening in the wall separating the kitchen and living room. The plan is to make this area to be a pass thru between the kitchen and livingroom with counter tops. Above the opening on the kitchen side there will be cabinets with frosted glass and aluminum cabinets that open upward. And of course kitchen cabinets below. We have installed cable lights on living room side of the wall that go from this wall to the other. Yeah lights in the living room. I don't know why so many house don't come with lights in rooms. I don't get it.
But at least I can see in the dark now.

Here is a photo of the built in that I painted, my inspiration was Beach glass colors. It will look finished when the casing goes on we are doing plain white case and base, with a touch of Craftsman styling.

New Front Yard

2007-11-07T21:59:00.000-08:00

Well we did it. We had most of the front hedge removed and so we put in a lot of tropical plants. I had the Giant Bird of Paradises in pots at the old house. So once the hedge was removed by Angel our landscaper, I quickly planted all the plants. I still have one pot with a yellow Plumeria tree and a gardenia that I am undecided on where to put it.
A friend has a home inland where she has a very mature Gardenia bush planted in front of her kitchen sink and I remember standing in there washing some dishes one summer and just being wafted by Gardenia fragrance, ever since that I have been determined to create the same for myself.
I am pleased with new look of the yard. You can really see the house from the street now. And I think once the plants mature a bit it will have a great tropical look.
The larger banana plants I dug up from the backyard jungle and moved to the front. I have added a sub-album to the photobucket images with some landscaping ideas from a house in our old neighborhood that was landscaped just wonderfully. I would like to replicate some of there plantings.

Studio-licious

2007-10-24T22:23:00.001-07:00

Well we finished the studio pretty much. These photos don't show the flooring but we selvaged the old dining room and kitchen laminate flooring and installed it in the studio. We have all the electric run in there we just have to get it hooked up. Today I ran to Ikea thru all the thick smoke and picked up the new cabinets and counters. We spent tonight putting all the Ikeas stuff together. Can't wait to go to work in there.....

Bedroom 3 - Painting almost done

2007-10-16T13:14:00.001-07:00

This room is just about done. I decided to paint the beams and ceiling white. The walls are Celery Sprig Green and Garden wall. We will be pulling out the carpet in here and revitalizing the old hardwood. Next thing to tackle in this room is the wall sconce is going to change to cable lighting and the closet will get the shelf treatment.

Project 4 - The Kitchen

2007-10-16T13:09:00.000-07:00

This is the dining room and behind the curtain is the kitchen. This room is progressing just fine.
Everything is ripped out the new windows are ordered and plumbing and electrical are getting moved. The dumpster comes today. So we can move the trash pile from the garage to the dumpster.

Project 2 - Bedroom 2 update

2007-10-16T13:05:00.000-07:00

Well this playful room is coming along. This is the super fun room to decorate.

Project 3 - Livingroom, we have floors..

2007-10-16T08:11:00.000-07:00

Well the Ikea Tundra Maple floor is in. I just love it. I am a sucker for light wood flooring and this came out great. Brad, myself and our son Nolan installed the flooring. The new no glue or nail Ikea flooring is a breeze to install. You tilt and snap it in to place. So far the livingroom is done. We still have the dining and kitchen to go. I like the way the flooring and wall colors are looking together as well. We have put paper over the heavily traveled areas while the kitchen is still being ripped out.

Project 3 - Living Room Progress

2007-10-11T22:13:00.000-07:00

Well today we made good progress in the living room and kitchen. I finished painting the living room and most of the other rooms. The living room is Behr- Garden wall. We (well mostly Brad) ripped out the navy carpet and the faux saltillo tile. There is original hardwood floors underneath that could be redone. But we have decided we are going to go with Ikea Tundra - Maple on top because we will be putting new flooring in the Living room, Dining room and Kitchen. With PaintWithout carpet

Kitchen Progress

Before With the cabinets

And without.
We are taking everything out, we will move some of plumbing. We are moving the kitchen sink to the front of the house under the front window, along with adding a hook up for a new dishwasher adjacent to the new stainless sink. Then we will add some additional electrical outlets. The plan is to mount a new microwave above the range. The refrigerator will move to about where the ladder is, in this last photo. Brad will put in new drywall and tape it. Then I will paint the walls Martha Stewart - Jadeite Bowl.

The Ikea kitchen we plan to but in are birch with slab doors and Brushed aluminum rod drawer pulls.

Weekend Finds

2007-10-11T22:05:00.000-07:00

So this past Saturday we were driving over to the house to work, and we made a quick stop at a yard sale. Our find were two nice unused wood and glass French doors. We have similar doors in the house and wanted to find some more. We paid some enterprising kids having a yard sale for their parents $30.00 for both, loaded them up and took them to there new home. We will switch the Master bedroom and back door with the new finds.

Project 3 - Living Room

2007-10-05T23:37:00.000-07:00

This project will be fun. I plan to paint the livingroom walls a paint color called "Garden Wall",
then I want to rip out the Navy blue carpet and put in new birch Pergo. Put up some of my existing window treatments. This room will need to windows eventually and I would like to take out the Saltillo tile entrance and put in slate.

Project 2 - Bedroom 2

2007-10-05T23:26:00.000-07:00

Bedroom 2 - I thought I would start here.
It will have Pink and Green walls. By the end of day one I had all the pink done. This room needs better lighting, a skylight would be nice, new window treatments and eventually a new window all together. Not sure what I want to do with the ceiling between the beams. I like the idea of drywall or tongue and grove wood. This room has original real wood floors.

First Project - Entry door

2007-10-05T23:13:00.001-07:00

Project 1- Change out the door locks.
Well today was the first real day of work. Ginger and I arrived with a van load of potted plants from the old house and various odds & ends. Once we got the van unloaded we tackled putting the new door lock in.

This lock is cool, you can use a code or a key to get in. And the key pad even lights up. Eventually we will need to get a new front door to install.