Wednesday, November 5, 2014

bdhomesf | Shifting into Neutrals

I find color inspiration all around...but this time, it happened to find me.

While attending a birthday lunch for a friend, I noticed that two of the gifts she received were wrapped in neutral and gray color schemes - brown craft paper with a gray grosgrain ribbon; and a white and gray cabbage rose-print paper with a burlap ribbon. An unusual color combination and yet it looked so great together.

And then I left the party, drove down the street and started noticing the gray/neutral combination all over SF. Very cool.

I especially like the use of dark gray on the very traditional trim of the Victorian covered in wood shingles pictured below. Such a sophisticated way to modernize a traditional exterior.

Even my neighbor across the street made this color choice - I came home recently to find that she had changed out her (awesome) bright orange solid front door with a natural wood and glass one, a perfect complement to her dark gray Victorian!



Tuesday, October 7, 2014

bdhomesf | Teen bathroom Phase I, II...and maybe III

Often clients don't renovate immediately when they move into a house, and I think can be a good thing for them to live in their space for awhile to get a sense of what they want.

I recently completed Phase II of a remodel for a client, a teen girls' bathroom, but upon initial move-in, they wanted just a simple refresh.

When my clients first moved in, their girls were a few years younger and bathroom time wasn't critical in their lives. The original bathroom, consisting of an old clawfoot tub, sink and toilet, didn't work for their immediate needs and they wanted to take some time before a major makeover.

For the refresh, the tub was removed and we used FLOR® carpet tiles to cover the old floor tile. Then repainted the walls and added a new sink with counter space.

Fast forward a few years, and now everyone was ready for the girls to have their own shower. The girls' Phase II bathroom remodel included adding a tiled, stand-alone shower, changing the toilet position to accommodate the shower and adding a larger, double vanity for maximum mirror time.

You can see on the new floor plan below, this modest 7'x7' room became more functional once we moved the door frame and created a pocket door with a full mirrored surface.

We chose classic white bathroom fixtures and created a WOW room with orange paint and fun accessories like the yellow/pink/orange window shade pictured below.

Everyone is thrilled with the new space, which will suit the girls through their time living at home.

And for Phase III, we can repaint and re-accessorize with a more mature color scheme!




Friday, August 29, 2014

bdhomesf | Painted Furniture Transformations #3 A Kitchen Story

Although the theme of this kitchen remodel was THAT blue, the result was decidedly green.

LED recessed lighting was installed in the ceiling and LED rope lights were used inside and under the cabinets for task lighting.

Low VOC paint was used throughout the room, and a bespoke wooden table was made for the client from Dominant Sapwood Walnut by The Grothouse Lumber Company in Pennsylvania glumber.com.

The remodel created a more efficient flow to the room—moved walls, lengthened the island, improved storage. A fun highlight are the "appliance garage" areas behind the wall to tuck away countertop appliances, hidden by aluminum "garage" doors.

And of course, the new and old cabinets painted THAT blue, Benjamin Moore 1638 Midnight Blue.




Friday, August 22, 2014

bdhomesf | Painted Furniture Transformations #3 A Kitchen Story

More and more, I meet with clients who are interested in repurposing—reusing, recycyling, upcycling—call it what you like. Sometimes it's sentimental, sometimes it's budgetary, and sometimes it's just because they believe it's the right thing to do for our planet. Whatever the reason, I think it's always a good idea to consider repurposing if it makes sense in the design of the space.

So I wasn't surprised when a client who was embarking on a kitchen remodel asked me to use some existing cabinets in the new design. She is a green-minded executive of a company that manufactures alternative packaging for liquids. Of course she wants to upcycle!

Inspiration for the kitchen came from the color of her existing blue tile counters. She knew she'd have to lose the counters in the remodel, but asked if I could use THAT color blue in the new design. Easy. Since I knew we'd need to change the color of the repurposed cabinets, it made perfect sense to paint all of the cabinets—old and new—THAT blue.

Here's the before:




Tuesday, July 15, 2014

bdhomesf | Painted Furniture Transformations #2 Saving something Sentimental

Wow. That's all my client kept saying when she saw it. Wow.

I knew the hutch would look great,but there is something really exciting about seeing the finished piece in place. Everything comes together in a room and you see that decor-magazine moment. So satisfying.

The color is a little darker than the wall but still blends to give a built-in feel without the heaviness that built-in storage sometimes brings. And because the neutral color echoes the wall, it sits back and lets the beautiful walnut of the table and console pop. The room definitely looks bigger but has retained necessary storage.

Most important, a sentimental family treasure has been given new life as an avant-garde showpiece that will continue to be part of this family for many years.



Sunday, June 29, 2014

bdhomesf | Painted Furniture Transformations #2 Saving Something Sentimental

Because the piece was old and had some sun damage, the client was concerned that the finish wouldn't be smooth. I reminded her it wouldn't look like a brand new piece, and that's the beauty of these repurposed pieces—their texture and grain. It's the best part about transforming furniture with paint, their sense of time past, given a fresh look, that gives uniqueness and character. Without it, this piece wouldn't be remarkable.

Our painter had to do some careful sanding to get the crinkles out of the surface without compromising the wood, and fortunately the piece didn't have any major dings. Sanding and priming went smoothly and was done in one day. I could really see it coming together, but my client was still unconvinced. She was out of town now and her husband sent her the photo posted here. I can certainly see why she was nervous!

Painting day arrived and I held my breath as the first coat went on. It's always a surprise to to see the paint color going up for real; the light and reflection can be very different than on the test sheets, no matter how large they are. This time the surprise was a very pleasant one. I could see immediately that the color was spot-on. A light, warm gray, slightly deeper than the wall. Perfect.

All that was left to do was let it dry, reassemble it and get the hardware on before my client returned from out of town.



Tuesday, June 10, 2014

bdhomesf | Painted Furniture Transformations #2 Saving Something Sentimental

The hardware on the hutch had been tarnished as long as my client could remember.

I was hopeful that because the piece was over 60 years old and the quality and craftsmanship of the time, the hardware would be solid brass. But it was going to take some patience and elbow grease, to be sure.

Her handy husband slathered on thick coats of Brasso and let the pieces sit, wiping and reapplying several days in a row.

After hitting the hardware store for some drill-bit buffing heads, the polishing began.

What started as gunky patina green-black knobs ended as shiny, gleaming brass! We all sighed in relief that the almost-transformed piece would sport the original fittings, which really adds to the 50s charm.



Tuesday, May 20, 2014

bdhomesf | Painted Furniture Transformations #2 Saving something sentimental

This client is a good sport. "Well, it can't look much worse than it does now. So send over the painter and let's see what he thinks."

I knew she was attached to the piece, and also that it couldn't be replaced with something Walnut. That would be too much wood for the room, which is approximately 12'x15'. So we made an appointment with the painter.

She said he kind of laughed when he saw the piece. I think because at first glance, it is really funky. The yellow, sun damaged wood. The tarnished, jewel shaped hardware. The rattan panels on the base cabinet doors. But as we discussed the paint job, I could see he quickly found the love and assured us that it was an easy job—one day to prep and prime, a second to paint. Then come back the third day to reassemble it. We scheduled the painting and set off to determine a color.

I could write pages about the six trips to House of Color, repeatedly repainting the test boards, and more than a few eye-rolls from Gonzalo when I kept asking him to add more and more pigment to our little test can. Fortunately, I won't

Suffice it to say that getting the color right for ANY painted piece is likely a lot harder than the skill of actually painting it. Because the vision was for the piece to blend in to the wall and look somewhat built-in, we started with the wall color (BM Pale Oak #OC-20)...we ended with a #2 base, 2x the pigment formula of OC-20 and a little extra magic from Gonzalo to mix a custom color. Painter said use a Satin finish to minimize the flaws.



Wednesday, May 14, 2014

Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Friday, April 25, 2014

Thursday, April 17, 2014

Wednesday, April 16, 2014

Monday, April 14, 2014

Thursday, April 10, 2014

bdhomesf | Painted Furniture Transformations #2: Saving something sentimental

The panicked call came in on a Tuesday afternoon.

A client received delivery of a dining room console we had ordered a few months back and she had a immediate decor freak-out, resulting in her husband spending the weekend repainting their dining room. Now she was looking at three different colors of wood: The new console and dining set, both in Walnut, and her mid-century blonde wood hutch. She couldn't deal with it. Sleepless nights. Distracted days. Something had to change. And fast.


I was familiar with the hutch (I think she calls it a break-front). She inherited it from her family home in Southern California. Not at all valuable, the piece has significant sentimental value to her and her husband. And definitely has some funky, early 50s soul—a buffet style base with both drawer and cabinet storage set under a high top that opens down the middle (hence the term "break-front") to reveal a *groovy* bar area for liquor storage and ample shelves for cocktail and wine glasses.


She has the original Tomlinson tag, stating that the piece was made of six rare woods blended to complement “the utility of modern and the warm grace and interest of traditional.” The wood is yellowish with pale gray wood grain. Not sure about the six woods part but I guess that the yellowish hue came from 60+ years of basking in San Diego sunshine. Oddly enough, the piece looked ok just days before when the dining room was painted yellow, but now that the walls were a cool White Oak (Benjamin Moore OC-20) it was definitely wrong.


"So what are the options?" she asked. Or sort of demanded.


The two Walnut pieces were basically brand new, so it was the hutch that needed to be refreshed. She asked if I thought refinishing was possible, but with the age of the piece and their modern design preference, I knew that painting it was the way to go. 








Tuesday, April 1, 2014

bdhomesf | Painted Furniture Transformations #1: Orange you glad?

Remodeling a kitchen from the 1970s is probably every designers dream. I mean, who doesn’t want to transform a sad room full of yellowing plastic appliances and laminate counter tops into something incredible? I am up for that any day!

The challenge though, is to please a couple with differing décor preferences: A husband with very traditional taste and a wife who wants a modern, professional chefs’ kitchen.

Mais oui, they both love Paris.... So that’s where we start.

  • Wife needs substantial kitchen storage, but doesn’t want the usual solid bank of wood or white cabinets.
  • Husband wants to compliment the personality of his collection of European antiques, used throughout the house.
  • Wife isn’t afraid of bold color and unique details.
  • Husband just shrugs about that one...
  • Both want a space where they can cook together efficiently and entertain guests comfortably. 
Bold was the way to go. We chose a stand alone hutch-style storage piece that offers ample storage and unique details, and had it painted with an amazing bright orange lacquer finish to compliment the Paris-inspired kitchen of white, marble and French blue.

Although the piece is brand new and built into the kitchen, the overall styling feels like a treasure found at a Paris flea-market. The shiny stainless hardware and unexpected chrome mesh paneling gives it modern appeal.

C’est parfait!

Cabinetry by Christopher Peacock


Monday, March 31, 2014

Monday, March 10, 2014

Tuesday, March 4, 2014

Thursday, February 27, 2014

Tuesday, February 25, 2014

Thursday, February 20, 2014

Wednesday, February 19, 2014

Friday, February 14, 2014

Thursday, February 13, 2014

Monday, February 3, 2014

Tuesday, January 28, 2014

Tuesday, January 14, 2014

Friday, January 10, 2014

Thursday, January 9, 2014

#rubyred #door



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Wednesday, January 8, 2014

Tuesday, January 7, 2014

Thursday, January 2, 2014

lighted forest @tahoe



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