SERENDIPITY RISING

05 October 2011

TRIPPING THE LIGHT FANTASTIC

Momentum.....It is funny sometimes how a job delayed can wallow in some purgatory. And then the time comes to finish what you started and the energy that was denied re-ignites and is made whole. Had made this light fixture some time ago and had planned the bulb scheme but in the rush to get it hung had bypassed/put off some of the details. Now wired per intent it does the job and the light does shine brightly!

27 September 2011

AND SO IT BEGINS.....

SITE PLAN

EAST ELEVATION

SOUTH ELEVATION

WEST ELEVATION

NORTH ELEVATION

SOUTH ELEVATION

WEST ELEVATION

The large strokes of the design are complete. The permit is in hand. Starting to rise in the hills above Napa is this family home. The site and the view are inspirations. The client and builder trainorbuilders.com are determined and inspired. Pieces and material from the old house will be re-used and find a new purpose.

CONCRETE SLAB FLOOR WITH HYDRONIC HEATING

THE BOARD FORMED CONCRETE COLUMNS LOOKING WEST

SLAB AND COLUMNS

LOOKING WEST

DETAIL OF BOARD FORMED CONCRETE COLUMNS

VIEW TO HOUSE FROM SITE OF POOL

DETAIL OF COLUMN FORMS

FUTURE CEMENT WASHED BBQ/OUTDOOR KITCHEN DOORS?

SOUTH WALL

FORMS ON COLUMNS

BEGINNING OF VIEW FROM OUTDOOR KITCHEN/DINING

VIEW OF ADJACENT VINEYARD JUST BEING PLANTED

04 September 2011

SERENDIPITY RISES AGAIN

They agonized about if they should bring her from the East coast. After all they remembered the story about how she came to be theirs. They saw her advertised in the paper once and were intrigued. Really? A 1959 Chris Craft Cavalier and she runs? Really? He took a drive over to see her. He saw her sitting in the driveway and he was sure that she winked at him. He did his best to look her over and kicked her tires ever so skeptically (but inside ever so gently), she already had him. He asked the price and was a bit crestfallen, but still he was smiling inside. She lingered in his mind and he kept checking the paper and thinking. One day he looked and she was gone. He took a drive by the house just to check on her. She was gone. He figured well maybe she was not meant to be. Oh well. He moped a bit but figured, well she was more expensive than they really could afford. A few weeks later she told him to look at this ad in the paper. Isn't that the same kind of boat that you saw? Wow, that is so weird. What are the chances of another 1959 CC showing up? Ah, but the tele number is different (thats an Eastern Shore number isn't it?)
You know we are going to be driving past there when we go to the beach aren't we? Short cut. She came home with them and became part of the family. She became a Round Bay regular. The sailboaters dutifully sneered a little at her but I know that inside they smiled too. Tubing, skiing, going to Annapolis for an ice cream cone with the black lab (Corbu RIP); she became dear. Fast forward, the family moved to California and brought her with them. She missed the river. They missed the river. She sat under a tarp, went into storage and she felt so dry. Years later she found a nook under the house that they had built. She was not in the water but she was finally close to them again. The son remembered the times on the river. He had the skills somehow, he had the will, he made it his summer project when he was not working to bring her back. He cleaned her. He repainted her bottom. He replaced her wiring. He convinced her engine that she could still run like the wind. He gave her the love that she always knew was there just waiting.

They drove out to the lake and lowered her down the ramp and into the water. They piled in like the old days. They waited and watched as the son turned the key. She let out a roar, a deep throaty roar. The water gurgled and sputtered. The little thumb throttle turned up and she slowly, beautifully moved forward in the water, and then not so slowly. The family smiled, the water caressed her, she winked again.....

27 August 2011

NAPA VALLEY BARN TOUR

THE RED POLE BARN AT ROUND POND

I am happy to be participating in the annual Napa Valley Barn Tour this weekend. It is hosted by Preservation Napa Valley www.preservationnapavalley.org/upcomingevents/2011barntour.html. The barn tour highlights a variety of Napa Barns and sites of interest. The Hub barn this year is Round Pond's www.roundpond.com Beautiful pole barn. The barn is a spectacular, large and very linear space; architectural clarity and simplicity at its finest. The hub barn hosts speakers, a brunch, and entertainment and is the jumping off point for the tour. I have put together an "Art Lounge". I used some of the agricultural posts that were stacked in the barn as a backdrop. A barn inspired white on white panel constructed of perforated and sculpted wood strips. A large zinc and mesh clad light fixture hangs from the rafters above. The large low slab table is made from used French Oak dominoes (used to flavor wine). A crate chair and route blanc sling back chair anchor the two ends and a long dark bench curbs the other. A pair of hefty white bowls from Pope Valley artist Richard Carter www.richardcarterstudio.com rests on the table. I hope you can make it. If not be sure to get on the mailing list for next years event.

THE ART LOUNGE

WHITE PANEL, MESH AND ZINC, FRENCH OAK, RICHAR CARTER BOWLS

CRATE CHAIR

WHAT A SPACE!

DETAIL OF WHITE PANEL

OUTSIDE IN

01 August 2011

GROOVY?

A good friend who happens to make some very nice wine advivumcellars.com/ad_vivum_wine dropped of a stack of used French Oak the other day. I am grateful to have friends that look after me in that way/participate in my obsession to turn one thing into another. Pieces like I had not seen before. They were long square profile block like beads strung on heavy fishing line. They are used when fermenting wine in stainless tanks to impart some oak flavor. Immediately I had found the material I had been seeking for a door screen/filter that I had envisioned for the door from our bath onto the front loggia/poolside. I rounded up some antique african trade beads and some other beads made from recycled cut and sandblasted plate glass and voila the screen was made. The rubber barrel bungs and steel weights hang at the base, the wood oak blocks still with residue/patina and accumulation due to use in the process of winemaking are interspersed with the random glass chunks. It filters the light, gives some privacy and adds to the the ceremony of going through a door.

I still remember moving into a house bought by my parents as a child that had a very old set of strung shell curtains hung between a doorway. I remember the sound and sensation of passing through that opening. I also come back to memories of living in Provence and passing old farmhouses with the "chenille" hanging in the front doorways. There it was a way of keeping what flying critters there were out of the doorway while still allowing some light and airflow. It is a very simple thing but I am reminded that as a person who makes things and designs things I/we have the opportunity to impart simple pleasures that effect the process of our everyday lives and enrich that encounter. It is clear to me that impression can be meaningful and lasting.

Thanks Chris

19 July 2011

COLOR ME HAPPY

Found an interesting app that has been a fun way to keep a pic/diary of work and small views. Can insert pics, choose different filters, for an auto effect=instant altered point of view. Try it. Free and fun. instagram.com And thanks Leslie for the intro.

02 July 2011

HAPPY 4TH

08 June 2011

COOL POOL HOUSE

I am just finishing a project that I would like to share with you. There are two buildings on the property. One is called the pool house and the other a guest house. The guest house I will get to in a later post. The pool house is a small hollow brick building built in the 1920's. It has great old steel windows and sits in the middle of a vineyard. This is what she looked like when I first saw it.....

the front

the back

yes that is a moon gate (there were two)

the pantry

the pizza oven

It has come together, it has been transformed. A shade structure and firepit were built. Some walls lost some walls gained. New paint, new kitchen, new bath. It is a mix of pieces found and pieces made. It reflects the owners passions and warmth. To cut to the chase.....

this is what she looks like now.....