Changing Color and Dancing Shapes - Richardsonian Romanesque

BATHROOM RENO - Our historic house project had a not so historic master bath that was shared by an adjacent bedroom.  The entry from the master bedroom was like running into a wall, literally.


Painting over the once popular antiqued paint look on the door and window frame, yellow and gold in our case, seemed easy enough.

Shapes in a highly coded space, such as required distance in front of and beside a toilet as well as shower door out swings and other like issues, were challenging.

I use the word 'shape' in my post as it is more common than the word 'form' and is typically used in place of 'form.'  Technically, shape is a two dimensional element of design such as the shape of the showers on a floor plan.  Form is its 3D equivalent.

The bath renovation mission was to: increase the size of the master bath; provide a separate and smaller private bath for the 2nd bedroom; include two separate vanities in master, each with adequate lighting; provide as open and spacious a feeling as possible in both baths; include decent sized well lighted showers; install quiet exhaust fans; use materials that do not overpower the architecture yet are appropriate to the scale of window, door trim and ceiling height as well as the age of the home.

 The small original back to back closets adjacent to the existing bathroom and between the two bedrooms were the best places to find more space.  The 2nd bedroom already had another closet built in and the master bedroom was large enough to create a walk-in closet within its own existing space.




First,  demolition. Then, reframing the walls and new plumbing. Next, new electrical.







Sometimes it is not a matter of spending up for nice tile or the like, but spending wisely to get the best overall result.


This project called for specific shower shapes and form. There are various ways to get shapes and form, we chose custom made solid surface shower pans and solid surface walls.


The shower shapes and sizes we needed were not standard ones we could purchase in a solid material.  Tile was more of a risk for leaks in this 110 or so year old house.

Keeping within the design concept for the entire house (see previous post) we went for a neutral pan color and simple design solid surface quartz shower wall.


Glass panels and or shower doors seemed appropriate to the age of the house and we updated the look by going frameless.  Marble was readily available when the house was built so we used it on the master floor in a pattern reminiscent of a Victorian design.


A small round tile, a size and shape that would have been available when the house was built, is used on the small guest bath floor.


The thick quartz shower walls fit down into a lip of the shower pans and are sealed well at the corners and bottom.  We decided to forgo any niches or extra holes in showers walls as this was one area were leaks had previously occurred.

We used an exterior mixer that has a shelf top in the smaller guest bath.The master shower shape allows room for an exterior garden stool to be placed inside for seating or shower products.

As for scale: the shower walls and glass are 84" high; the master vanities are deeper than most; the mirrors are 3' and 4' high; the vanity lights are each double with a substantial feel; and, the master faucets are large scale in an updated single hole style in an aged brass.  Brass is a common historic metal used throughout this house, all door knobs and window hardware are brass.



The guest bath is tall and small but the 84" shower height helped bridge the gap between these.



Toilet shape and size as well as the shape of the sink for the guest bath were as important to the spacious feel of the baths as the shape of the showers.

The guest bath required a rounded sink and toilet to allow easy access around and to the shower.  We used a one piece rounded front toilet at a standard height.  A higher toilet would have infringed on the spacious feel especially on entering the bathroom as the toilet is literally beside the door opening.  A large mirror is above the pedestal sink to give it more prominence.



Storage was another challenge where shape and size made a difference.  The 10" deep cabinet opposite the toilet is angled at both ends.   This shape helped the spacious feel of the bathroom because of its proximity to the bathroom door.  The cabinet height is low enough to do the same thing.  A rule of thumb is to keep large items below the elbow when the space is tight.


We left room in the master bath for a tall storage piece opposite the bathroom door.  There is a 14" deep 32" wide niche here on the exterior wall of the shower area.  We are still looking for the perfect storage piece. This is another area where shape will be worth paying up for.




The frameless glass doors on both showers play an important part in the spacious feel of both bathrooms.  The guest bath shower door allows you to look deeper into the space making the bathroom feel bigger.  The small light with exhaust fan above both showers keep the ceilings clean allowing unobstructed ceiling space and a larger feel to the rooms.  The shower light in the guest bath helps increase the feel of the entire space by lighting the furthest corners.  Wall sconces are used in both bathrooms to accent the walls.  A center ceiling fixture would have pulled attention to the middle of the room making them seem smaller.




The shape of the shower and glass panel and door in the master bath were designed to house a larger shower while maintaining the open feel of the bathroom.  You can see through to one of the vanities.

The white quartz simple shower walls and vanity tops also help to keep this bathroom open and spacious.




The existing entry door from the master bedroom swung out and we left it this way allowing more room inside the bath.  The existing closet door from the guest bedroom also swung out and was left in place.  The out swing doors are an important part of the design.





These bath spaces were designed in many different ways to find the best shapes that met the bath renovation mission.

We even used the church theory and let the height and vertical lines of the shower spaces as well as reflected light from the high ceilings lift us up, so to speak, into a larger brighter unobstructed feeling space.

We still have a bit of antiqued yellow paint to change and sconce light bulbs to  cover with the glass shades.  A few touch ups here and there in both baths and we can check this project off the list!











Many thanks goes out to Buddy and Rob for believing in my design and tackling old plaster, concrete, and petrified old growth wood flooring and studs.  They worked effortlessly to maintain the design with minimal adjustment for plumbing and the like.  John, the plumber, completed his tasks effortlessly, connecting old to new and  new to old while ensuring all was to current code and water tight.  Ed's guys pulled out old wires, threaded new ones and made sure all was up to code and GFI safety protected.  Chris and William found a way to house the exhaust fans in the attic and to vent out soffits so as not to disturb the new roof structure.  Dean has been the plaster guy from heaven repairing plaster everywhere and putting the bathroom walls and ceilings back together.  Scott the handy man put towel bars into concrete backed walls and hung stuff on old metal over lathe thick plaster walls without a complaint.  My assistant, Penny, has contributed to the effort in countless ways. The local historic society president, Pamela, checked in often and inspired me to keep going.  Gus, the local city liaison for the historic district answered question after question and made us feel that the city is appreciative of efforts to save the old houses as functional modern living spaces.  Neighbors and those who walk down or drive down our street have been amazingly supportive of all our efforts on this house, inside and out.  The mailman, FED EX guy, UPS guy, pizza deliverers and so on have no idea how much their comments keep us going.

Re-Purose Re-Use and Green Stuff - Cabinets and Knobs

I have become one of those who keep stuff for if and when they may need it.

Our current old house rehab was racking up expenses so I decided to keep the kitchen as is until the refrigerator and/or freezer give up the ghost and maybe even longer.

The kitchen was redone in 1989, according to the date on the huge fridge and freezer.

At first the kitchen didn't look so good.  But once we removed the old back stair chair lift and added knobs and scrubbed and shined, things looked much better. Someone took good care of the place.

Not sure what happened to all the knobs, but I found solid brass ones in my basement, left over from a previous kitchen project no doubt.  I also found solid brass back plates down there.  The missing drawer front from the roll top cabinet was located and wow what a difference old knobs and a shine can make!

The handle and lock on the adjacent pantry door perked up big time with a scrub and polish as well.

The house was empty for awhile without much attention, not to mention no electric or water or air conditioning. Things got dirty.


The fridge and freezer had been thoroughly cleaned inside and wiped down on the outside after we purchased the house, but the whole kitchen needed a real scrubbing.




I conned my sis into helping me and we got down to business.

Notice the Re-Use knobs that are starting to appear in the photo below.




















We wiped out and then scrubbed all the drawers and cabinet shelves. Then we removed the old contact paper and scrubbed some more.  We cleaned the exterior cabinet doors and drawer fronts with a nontoxic cleaner that wouldn't hurt the wood. And, we added new non-stick shelf and drawer liner.


Other than adding knobs to the almost 30 year old cabinetry, a very impressive kitchen update was made by cleaning the windows!  Natural light does wonders.



The adjoining sunroom had lots of windows but not much light was getting in.  They are not yet their shiniest, but they are now letting in nice natural light.




The old nonfunctioning dishwasher and 30 year old microwave have been removed. The cabinets and drawers are ready for a functioning kitchen.



New appliances, except fridge and freezer, are being researched and sourced.  They must be usable if and when a rearranging of old cabinets occur or a complete update is done.

I might be able to keep the base cabinets in place and go ahead and put in new backsplash, sink, and countertops.  The only thing stopping this idea at the moment is the oven stack you see in your face between kitchen and sunroom, in the photo above.

Stay tuned and imagine what this photo would look like if the tall oven cabinet came down to counter level.  This kitchen needs to function while we work on other more pressing needs and get out of a cold winter situation further north.  We want it nice without much redoing later.

Specific Requirements - Old Roofs and Odd Gutters

How many valleys, hips, points, dormers, flat spots, indents, and ridges can one roof have?

If you are interested in fixing up an old house, take it from me and think about this question before you are in too deep, find it's too steep, or you are up to your neck with ropes and harnesses.

I've discussed some exterior issues of our old house rehab in previous posts.  However,  the most important aspect of this rehab is the roof.  It was leaking, of course... in multiple places.  And, it is the absolute most expensive fix we face.

Although we did find a hole in the roof that that had been hidden by a large tree limb, we were lucky in that there were no squirrels or raccoons living in the house, or, worse yet, the dreaded tree or citrus rat!

The indents I mentioned in the intro are internal gutters.  They don't hang on the edge of the house.  They are built into the roof slope and are boxes made of wood, usually with some kind of metal liner. In our case liners were aluminum and some kind of coating and membrane in turret gutters. You can see the shiny aluminum up from the roof edge in the photo below.

Aluminum expands and contracts considerably with temperature changes. This house is in Florida where it is often in the 90's and has winter temps into the 30's.  Aluminum was certainly a better choice than wood and it lasted many years.  Slowly the expansion and contraction caused seals to crack and holes to form, water to drip down onto the wood boxes and rafter tails below.  Water made its way down and out via rotting soffits.  Aluminum can't be soldiered.

This photo shows new 40 year slate look shingles on the turret and a white gutter box membrane, still in great shape, that was under some kind of thicker coating.  A new Miami Dade approved Tropical Use charcoal color coating will be applied over the white membrane to match the shingles. It is used on flat roofs with parapet walls and in this situation flat gutter floor with walls.  It can be reapplied over itself many times.

The gutter box of the turret is made of hundreds of tiny triangle shaped pieces of wood.  To do this in a metal liner is labor cost prohibitive.

The white sheet metal flat area between turret and chimney will be covered with the dark colored coating as well.  Much care is being taken to prevent metal reactions with different metals in contact with each other.  The coating will be used in these situations.

To get this project started, we talked to local folks, researched local roofers, talked with lots of roofers, consulted with historic folks who know about this stuff, researched roofing materials, did our homework on various metal liners, and found a reputable skilled contractor via word of mouth.

Edwin Griffis of Central State Construction has been a life saver for this old house.  He already had an excellent reputation in the area and he wasn't shy about learning and researching and finding the best materials for this complicated roof.  He found out everything he could on the best way to deal with the roof and odd gutter system.  At first we were going to do stainless steel in the linear gutters -the very best material for this type gutter but also the hardest to install and get right.

Edwin found a local metal fabricator who had been making custom gutters in the historic district for years, Todd Robinson.  Todd had lots of ideas and suggestions for this particular roof and would only work with copper.  He knew how difficult stainless steel would be to get right.  It is too hard to soldier and soldiered joints are far superior to folded ones.  A stainless solder that loosens is a hole very hard to fix in place.

So, they covered the gutter boxes while we wait for the fabrication of the better local solution and best long term approach for this particular situation - copper liners custom made to fit the wood boxes.

Design Finds, One of a Kind, Trash or Treasure - Richardsonian Romanesque

Exterior Lighting

Richardsonian Romanesque style is known for its mishmash.  In the old house we are rehabbing I saw it in the mantels, the flooring, as well as the interior and exterior architecture. But for some reason I wasn't prepared for it in the lighting.

In my previous post I mentioned the desire to mellow this house out a little and add a bit of zen.  And, one of my strong reactions, to things opposite-zen, was to the exterior lighting.  All the exterior lighting was decent and some in very good condition.  So, I wasn't sure if the discord I was feeling was from the lights and the house or between the lights or both. 

Seeing the exterior lights, all by themselves, all together on this page, instead of mixed into the stick style, painted lady, romanesque facade, I can understand why some folks might think this house was way too much to deal with.

I asked myself if I had any great design finds or any one of a kinds? I looked at them individually.  Were any trash?  Did I have any treasures?  None were original to the house.  None were really trash. There was treasure potential in the gate lights.

They were the only lights pulling enough design weight for the overall look and strength of the house.  They were the largest lights, seemed to be in the best shape, were of wrought iron and there were four of them.

A wise contractor told me a long time ago that I should be careful of removing value when rehabbing or renovating.  I did my research though and found some wonderful period lights. There were not enough of any one style and they were way too expensive.  We decided to heed the contractor's advice and keep the lights of the most value or treasure potential -match the rest up, as best we could, if at all possible.  

I got lucky.  The gate lights were the most recent lights to join the party and I found the collection with the exact gate light.  They came in various sizes and are made by Troy.

We ordered 12 lights. 

Can't wait to get them. 

  

Changing Color and Dancing Shapes - Richardsonian Romanesque

Richardsonian Romanesque style does not bring to mind much in the way of changing color or dancing shapes.  I think of the style as somewhat colorless, squat, bulky and awkward. Yet, the style did come about in the American Victorian Era, so there is hope.

Fingers crossed for hope as we dive into the restoration and rehabbing of a 1909 mixture of Richardsonian, Romanesque, Stick Style and more.  

This house, like many of its time, is not the light filled open concept currently preferred today.  It has original stained, never painted, Magnolia Wood trim and lots of it.  It has plenty of clear as well as stained glass windows but there are dark areas.  The most expansive space is in the front stairwell and adjacent halls.



As with any design project and certainly one of this scale, we need a design focus and guide that helps lead the way.  We don't want too many more design elements and styles than those of the era that had already been thrown in from the get go.

Project Mission:  Restore, rehab and update while protecting and respecting existing architecture and styles. Lighten up the interiors without painting wood work and trim.  Utilize formal dining room in less formal ways while preserving its more formal function. Replace inefficient mechanicals and failing exterior components.  Repair non-mechanicals when possible. Update and make kitchen, sunroom, and butler's pantry feel more open and connected.  Create a gentleman's library.  Update one bath and add a shower.  Renovate a bath. Add a third 2nd fl bath and closet space, creating a master suite. Finish out the third floor room and add a bath.  Keep all existing original walls to maintain stability of complicated structural components and roof structure. Plan for interior elevator if at all possible. 

Design Concept:  The exterior will be cohesive and inviting with obvious front and side entries. It will look like a well maintained and livable historic house.  A family of five or more could live here comfortably and function at today's high end standards.  There will be a sense of Zen with an eclectic mix and, there will be color.

The Mission tells us what we need to do, the scope of the project.  The small paragraph of a Design Concept is the major guiding force that will help us change colors with the desired effect and make shapes dance in the way we intend.




First up in the design process is to measure measure measure and become familiar with every nook and cranny, inside and out.

The overgrown exterior was cleared so we could see the place on all sides!  We discovered wonderful Richardsonian Romanesque arched window vents.











We took our time in getting to know the place and learned of its previous inhabitants.  We started researching and sourcing and finding skilled craftsman and tradesmen.  We went through many name possibilities and decided on a name more fitting to the Design Concept than the current name of the original male owner.

We made some sketches and played up the dominate Richardson Romanesque style and toned down the Victorian Painted Lady on the exterior. Changing color on the outside helped us add that sense of Zen to the first impression.  Color strategically placed let us change the perceived shapes.


We named her.

AvaMagnolia

Off The Wall And Special Things - Ancient Feet

On a recent trip to Italy, I found myself  inspired by ancient, or at least very old, feet.  To my surprise, a multitude of feet were smack on at eye level.  You see, it didn't take many churches, basilicas, or museums before my titanium plated cervical spine rebelled at ceiling gazing.  I discovered feet!

The challenge was to turn these feet into design inspiration.  Oh, well, yes, turning them into a business trip made cents as well.  Err, I mean 'sense'.  After all, photos and design inspiration do more for my business than any other kind of advertising.

But, what can a designer do with feet?  My tourist trekking feet hurt just thinking about it. However, it wasn't long before my aching neck calmed down and I realized they were not just feet.  They were just as much a design element as any shoe in today's fashion world or any light fixture in an interior.

Take a look back at the picture above (a close up of wall painting in the Vatican.) It is the feet and their many positions that give this painting as much movement, if not more than, as the other elements you can see.  Feet are important.

Before you noticed the nails holes in the feet to the left, you may have noticed the gripping pained toes. Feet can tell a story.  Design elements in any media can tell a story.




This foot not only sports a shoe that would be at home in any city in today's world, it moves our eyes to the right.  Not only does it move us and our eyes to the right, it does so with a sense of strength that is purposeful.  The foot works in harmony with the draping of the garment to enhance this sense of powerful movement.  Feet and design elements are not just out there all by themselves.  They have purpose.




The feet below on the lion body are softly powerful with their scale to the rest of the body. Their shape shows how they can push off the ground.  They are feet that we can recognize and connect with strength and quiet power.  Design elements can connect as well, to things we recognize and appreciate, such as a certain style or a skilled craftsman and wealth.

The bird feet are what help us to know they are attached to a bird.  It is their shape and ability to grip around the element beneath them that helps us to recognize what they are.  Sometimes designs leave us clueless, but most of the time we know through a design's elements if it is utilitarian, such as the softness and shape of a chair seat.  This type of element in design can also bring a sense of realism into something that isn't.  

The lion's feet are more flat to the line below it and the effect is that the body and all around them look flat, not real.  Ah, the bird's feet, by the minimal amount of curl around the element below them, they give the whole scene more depth and realism.

The feet on a close up of a small relief panel at right are certainly discernible, albeit not well detailed.  Still, they play an important role in the story.

The dark shadowed areas of the robe add depth to the scene.  The feet, they add perspective.  One foot comes from under the robe, making the robe seem further back and the foot closer to you.  The other foot sits outside and down from the robe, giving even more of a perspective or distant aspect to the elements above it.  These are design elements.  This type of perspective or sense of depth can be achieved in interiors as well.

The feet on the left show, power, wealth and stability.  Look at how stable the shapes are. Even though one foot is lifted, it is not at all an awkward or feeble movement.  The feet work in harmony with the other elements of the scene.  The strong and substantial looking shoes add to the strong powerful story.  The Robe has movement but does not look flimsy.  The toes are relaxed, not gripped as in Jesus' feet seen above with nail holes.  The design element of color works here as well to tell us about wealth and boldness.  The robes are the gold of money and the shoes the red of the famous rare stone of the day.  It takes a bold and wealthy person to put these seemingly well manicured feet into these shoes and robes.

It is all about harmony.  These Roman feet work hard to contribute to their setting as a whole.

There are many ways for design elements to tell a story.  The feet, and hands, of this statue also show strength and power.  This power is more physical, more raw.  There is no color to clue us in, but we have scale and shape and lines.

There is a softness to the lines of the robe, however, the robe falls around a mighty large scale knee and foot.  The lines of the hands and foot are hard and even somewhat rough looking.  There is no manicured foot as above.  The toes are spread, suggesting strength and solid grounding.

This foot works in harmony with the rest of the statue to tell us a story.  It adds more than you might think to the story.  Put your hand over the foot so you can't see it and notice how the power and strength of this statue diminished.



The feet of this statue also look powerful.  Yet, they are not working in harmony with the rest of the scene to promote power and wealth.  Their role here is to relax.

The toe positions of the lower foot and the loose downward drop of the foot itself provide a sense of relaxation.  It doesn't really look comfortable, but relaxed in its setting.  The downward movement of the shape of the leg and foot tells us there is no need for gripping toes here. The lines are mostly vertical and point down, these lines are relaxing design elements in any media.

The Horizontal lines of the foot, hand and arm above are the opposite design element.  Horizontal lines can be a bit more unsettling and can provide a tense awareness.  Bringing harmony to a whole scene or space in any media takes knowledge and skill.

The swaying tilting movement of the lines of the feet, legs and bodies in the first painting above give movement and action.  It is the same in interior design.  The more relaxed curves of the feet, legs and bodies above are a design element that adds a soft and easy sway.  It is not chaotic or too dramatic.

Although you cannot see more than the foot and a bit of leg here, you know there is tenseness and unrelaxed elements to the scene.  The foot is hanging down without support and not showing power in that way.  Yet, the scale of the foot from this angle does show some power and strength. The foot looks as if it is at a strong angle to the leg, another unsettling not soft design element. It looks wide, there are horizontal lines that don't quite let us feel relaxed.  There are horizontal lines in the stone behind the foot that add to this scene of heightened awareness.  Circles are a strong dominating design element.  The bottoms of most toes here are pretty much circles.  This adds even more strength and power to the scene. Place your finger over all but the big toe and notice the softer version of the scene.  Circles are strong.


This foot is substantial in scale to the robes above it.  It is flat and stable, yet the strong angle between foot and leg, as well as the horizontal line of the foot, tell us not to get too relaxed.  There is some power and strength here but at the same time the soft curve of the robe and its vertical lines help us to feel comfortable with this scene.



This copper foot is dangling from a horse, there is no stirrup.  The foot is all tied up, protected.  It is not quite relaxed as we can surmise from the horizontal line of the bottom of the foot.  The color of it's aging mottled copper is a bit forlorn. Although there is as much substantial shoe as in the red ones above, this shoe is not provoking power and strength.  The material of the shoe does not seem thick.  The shoe laces sag down with slight curvatures.  It is relaxed.  The design elements of the foot and its wrappings are not strong due to the lack of strong detail and depth.  This is the foot of Mark Antony.



It takes great skill to use all design elements in harmonious ways to produce a desired effect of the whole.

Rome, has been known for centuries to be a great place to study design and perfect one's knowledge of its elements.

Who knew that not looking up, while in Rome, could make one focus on design elements often missed when trying to take in such enormous scenes?

I am now much inspired to use design elements in the smaller details of my work.