The kitchen island.

The kitchen island...now a modern day hearth?
No longer just a functional counter to prep or place a buffet, it is the focal point of the kitchen and home.
It is an expression of art, color, shape, reflection, lighting, materials and individuality. It is the adult's "circle time" and the center of many an animated discussion. It adapts as a dining table, bar, artwork surface, desk, bookshelf or homework space.
It is contrary to Paul Simon's reclusion .."....I am an Island" .

Browse some examples of our projects.
(Many have been well embellished by Interior designers and home owners)

Pick an Architect

Finally done

Posted by Remodeling by the Bay Blog

In a large scale remodel like ours an architect is a necessity.  From creating the plans and getting them approved to working with the structural engineer to create the structural blue prints--an architect is a key person at the start of the project.

Some building companies come with a design and build option.  These are larger companies and the costs are definitely higher.  While you do get the benefit of complete co-ordination--you are giving up choice at the beginning of the project and have to go with the same company for building. 

There are also architects who are consultants and work out of their homes and talking to friends who had remodeled, we found one such person.  Seema  Mittal.  Her company is called Perspective Designs and she was a real pleasure to work with.  When we first started discussing the remodel, we were not even sure if we wanted a full rebuild.  So she first did a small study for us, with minor changes, a larger remodel with rooms being moved around and a complete redo of the whole house including moving its location on the property.  This really helped us figure out what we wanted and how much of a "different" house we wanted.

I did not mind changing the plan of the existing home, in fact since our kitchen and family rooms did not have a lot of light, I wanted them at the back of the home with southern and western exposure.  I really wanted a house that was different from your cookie cutter builder defined house.   Unique can mean different things--we have a small property in California--one can go unique by building a spanish castle with a mini turret, yes there are those that do it.  We wanted open and different but stuck to some basic ideas of form and function.

The biggest value of the architect was that she could show me a few options and discuss the pros and cons of each.  Then she could take components of each option and combine exactly to our tastes.  It took a few months and several iterations but we finally had a plan.

If I was doing a smaller remodel like a room addition with a kitchen remodel, I would still recommend an architect.  I think the ability to see your ideas mesh with a professional's eye will create something amazing.  Professionally I work in an ecommerce company, to me the architect is like my UX designer, laying out my requirements on paper and letting me iterate even before building starts.

When selecting an architect, one of the things to do is to visit their home.  Many architects will use their own homes as a showcase and the overall aesthetic becomes clear.  Seema's home was a beautiful, contemporary sanctuary in the Cupertino hills.  The facade, the choice of materials, the kitchen and the overall effect was absolutely breathtaking.

Here is a picture of the facade Seema drew for us.  You can compare this to the final picture at the top of the post.

Facade drawn by our Architect

the kitchen

Creating a Family Home

Updating an Eichler with an Indian flavor

by Carol Blitzer / photos by Dasja Dolan

A second-story wing was added to this Eichler without radically changing the footprint or character of the home.

Dealing with an infestation of roof rats led Revati Shreeniwas and her husband, Nagesh, to rethink their small Eichler home in Midtown. Since they had to remove a previous slap-dash extension, why not take care of a few things that weren't working for the family of four?

"We didn't want to change the footprint or character" of the home, Revati says, pointing to the original three palm trees that attracted her husband in 1997. 
First they added a stacked two-bedroom, second-story wing, with a large room upstairs for their son and a smaller room -- but with a bathroom -- downstairs for their daughter. They maximized space by building in desks with granite tops, and adding window seats, and more storage in the closets.

Indian touches prevail, from the choice of artwork and furnishings to the painted beams on the ceiling of the enlarged living room

Then they tackled the kitchen, which had already been remodeled by a previous owner. Shreeniwas conferred with Fremont-based architect Seema Mittal, over a design to open up the kitchen/dining area. Acres of maple cabinets frame the walls, topped with Golden Juparna granite from India.
Shreeniwas carefully chose the granite in warm reds and golds because she needed it to stand up to Indian cooking.

The center of the large kitchen is an asymmetrical island, made of matching maple and topped by Golden Juparna granite from India.

"Indian cooking has a lot of things that can stain marble. It's messy," she laughs, adding "a little sprinkle of turmeric only adds to it over time."
She also chose a restaurant-strength ventilating hood (VentaHood) that's powerful enough to dissipate strong cooking odors. Because the kitchen is a true cooking center, she opted for a five-burner Thermidor cook top, Bosch oven, Sub-Zero refrigerator and a double-decker Fisher Paykel dishwasher.

Mittal designed an asymmetrical island -- not a square or a circle, but incorporating both -- and cabinets were built to support the shape. A built-in desk for their computer sits across from the large granite-topped dining table.
Shreeniwas was inspired by the book, "The Not So Big House" by Sarah Susanka. 
"I've never felt you need an ultra-huge place," she says, noting that she'd rather create more common areas where the family can spend time together. "Outdoor rooms and bringing the outside in is very Asian. Windows are always open. There are relatively small sleeping spaces, larger common areas. You're almost channeled by your environment to be together," she adds.
Next to the kitchen, they turned the garage into a family/media room, complete with lightweight lounge chairs that can easily be pushed aside when they want to play pool. Again, storage and bookshelves line the walls. They retained the cement floor, but acid-etched it, then added a skylight and an unusual fluorescent light fixture.

Throughout the house, the walls are faux painted in subtle, but rich colors, with the Eichler beams painted to contrast -- purple in the kitchen, brick in the living room, green in the master bedroom. In the family room, the painter used a feather to create an unusual finish in white, over a red base, with mustard yellow trim.

Outside, a series of granite benches form conversation areas around a firepit. An arbor shades another 'garden room.'

"We like a lot of color in the house," Shreeniwas says. "It's a small space. With a rich-looking interior, it doesn't feel Spartan."

They removed the half-wall between the living and dining rooms, creating an open living room with limestone floors, also used in the kitchen. For furnishings they opted to "get something symbolizing our roots," which translated into antique and reproductions from India. 

"Everything has a little bit of past to it," she says, pointing to a cradle converted to a small sofa, and an old palanquin (an enclosed litter) with its poles removed and mattress added. She obtained many of the art and furniture items through her mother, Kanaka, who works through a Massachusetts-based importer.

The owners liked their 300-year-old rosewood chair that they had it copied.

One chair is 300 years old -- Shreeniwas liked it so much she had it copied in rosewood. The décor is inspired by Indian traditional crafts -- from paintings with gold inlays to bronzes. She even has a collection of old oil lamps in a variety of shapes, from a cobra to a peacock.

"We mix and match. The colors are from different parts of India," she says.
Her one regret? That she didn't have a master plan when she began, to give more continuity. Her one mistake, she says, was in putting in Pergo laminate floors in the bedrooms, which she doesn't think holds up as well as hardwood.
They've completed their remodel -- including creating garden rooms outdoors with an eating area under an arbor and granite benches surrounding a fire pit - but she can't stop thinking about improvements. Maybe glass blocks would enhance the third bathroom?

Goal of project: Improve livability of house by adding a children's wing of bedrooms, expanding the kitchen and living room
Unexpected problems: Pergo floors haven't held up well.
Year house built: 1955
Size of home: 1,700 square feet expanded to 2,800 square feet
Time to complete: Done in stages over three years, 2000-2002
Budget: Between $350,000 and $400,000

Resources:
Architect: Seema Mittal, Perspectives, Architecture and Design, Fremont; (510) 796-1252
Cabinets: Juan Funes, Segale Brothers, 1705 Sabre St., Hayward; (510) 652-8113
Contractor: Ruben Carlos, Redwood City; (650) 474-0668
Granite: GMS, 2480 Verna Court, San Leandro; (510) 352-8112
Lighting: Delight, 2323 Birch St., Palo Alto; (650) 323-7779
Furniture: Design Within Reach, 151 University Ave., Palo Alto; (650) 433-3000; Kanaka Shreeniwas, nilambam@yahoo.com.in