Monday, July 27, 2009

Modern Sofa Revamp

Sofa before
Sofa after
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.

Saturday, June 27, 2009

Asian Table Top


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


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....


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......

Saturday, May 30, 2009

Laguna | Beach Table


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.

Sunday, May 3, 2009

Baby birds in their nest at our house.

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...

Monday, March 30, 2009

Orange County Drywall | North San Diego County Drywall


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.