You may not often see the words "slate" and "flow" in the same sentence. But it was by repeating the use of slate throughout her Mar Vista remodel that Janet Mitsui-Brown created a harmonious flow through her home. Above you see the slate used on, clockwise from top left, the living room fireplace, gate posts,…
You may have read the story about this Glassell Park kitchen remodel. You may have checked out details of the budget. Now, here’s the whole story in pictures, set to music. Enjoy. And if you’re doing a remodel, or will be soon, please take lots of photos so I can set them to music and…
Back in the 1980s, Michelle Griffoul chose her home for one reason. “It had forklift access to the backyard,” said Michelle, who bought the home, in the Santa Barbara County community of Los Olivos, when she was a fledgling ceramic-tile artist with a very large kiln. “The house itself was irrelevant.” But the sage-green house…
In all the years I’ve been writing about remodels (nearly 20) and in all the gorgeous homes I’ve visited (more than 500), I’ve only felt envy three times. One of those times was as the Santa Ynez Valley home featured this week in the L.A. Times Home Section: Pastures that echo the South of France.…
Although the sleek new kitchen in Bethany Orlemann and Danny Miller’s vintage Eagle Rock bungalow took only eight weeks to build in the summer of 2007, planning it was a three-year affair. The couple’s meandering path to a new kitchen took a series of twists and turns that began with Orlemann researching design magazines and…
Where the money went: Eagle Rock kitchen gets a fresh look Construction (covered by general contractor: plumbing, electric and cabinetry): $43,000 Includes: demolition gut to studs, remove interior walls, framing new doorway and windows, drywall, rough and finish electrical (includes replacing old knob and tube wiring, relocate and upgrade new service panel), rough and finish…
While Gretchen Zee bought her 1960s tract house in Santa Barbara for its lush one third-acre ocean-view lot overlooking an oak-covered hillside, she had to go outside the house to get any sense of nature. The house was, in fact, backed up to the views, oriented to offer visions of the driveway from the family…
The new kitchen? It’s ’100% us’ A Glassell Park couple get personal in their latest redo — down to the cat-feeding station. As Kristina Johnson and David Franke discovered while remodeling their Glassell Park kitchen, taking charge of the job — drawing the plans, buying materials, supervising contractors for some work and doing a portion…
Where the money went (for the Glassell Park kitchen remodel): Appliances: $3,750 (including front-loading washer and dryer, refrigerator and stove, minus several rebates from utility companies) Cabinets and hardware: $4,000 (note: half the cabinets were original, half were custom made to match) General contractor: $14,700 (included: demolition, raising the sunken floor, all the plumbing and…
Carl Balton, who bought and remodeled a beaten-down Mar Vista home, is an accountant type who is good with money and numbers. And frankly, I’m a little jealous of his numbers acumen. Then, he did a totally organized and low-cost remodel that is filled with easygoing grace. Again, green envy. And then, to top it…