Bringing the Outdoors In and the Inside Out

It's interesting to see the blending of indoor and outdoor spaces.  Whether it's natural materials and natural lighting in interiors, or outdoor living spaces, or large doors that disappear so there is no longer a wall defining the boundary of indoors vs. outdoors.

I thought I might just share a bunch of examples.  In many of these photos, you have to look closely to be able to tell whether it's an indoor or outdoor space!

from picasaweb

 

from desiretoinspire

from desiretoinspire

from furniturestocks.com

from HGTV

from harmonyandhome

from desiretoinspire

from b2bfightingrobots.com

mediterranean patio design by los angeles landscape architect AMS Landscape Design Studios, Inc.

modern patio design by other metros kitchen and bath Natalie Du Bois

from sweetspot.ca

To Bath...or NOT to Bath

If you were to walk down any street in the US and ask each person you encountered..."bath or shower?" You would obviously get some strange looks, but after their judgment subsided you would more than likely here that Americans prefer showers. Don't get me wrong, the thought of a nice warm relaxing bath sounds amazing to almost everyone, but how often does the average person have time to indulge? According to several of the web surveys this last year, not very often. As a matter of fact there has been quite a stir in the industry regarding whether or not Master Baths really need a master bath. Lately I've had several clients ask me which option was more prudent.............and, I got nothing!
So being without a good answer or an answer period, I thought I would research the issues to help my clients as well as myself process this enigma.
Here we go,
..............to bath or not to bath.

1. Comfort. How can you duplicate the emotions created when someone visualizes slipping into a warm bath? The nurturing embrace, the soothing sounds, the soft light, and the relaxing ambiance. Whether you prefer the simplicity of a spout and a drain, or the pulsating pressure of air and jets, when you think of a master bedroom without a tub nearby, you feel deprived. After all, it's just what you're used to whether you use it or not.

2. Space. Tubs do take up a great deal of space. Not just expendable space either, precious master bathroom space. Think of all the things you could do in a bathroom with extra space. How about making your shower larger for starters. Now a day, showers are every bit as relaxing as bathtubs. With options like multiple shower heads, handheld heads, rain heads, up-heads, steamers, and bench seating, one might feel as if they haven't given up their tub at all. You could add a built in cabinet, or a piece of furniture to complete your bathroom. If you're a product junkie you're always looking for places to store shampoo, shower gel, lotion, hair spray, makeup, blow-dryers, flatirons, and every other item that helps avoid the day starting off on the wrong foot.

3. Cleaning. One less thing to clean. Hallelujah!

4. Resale. I've had several clients ask if by removing the tub in the Master would affect the resale value of their home. Obviously not having an item that people may expect could influence potential buyers. However, if your home has a bath, it's just not in the master, it's tough to make a case that any value would be lost. Most online comments were very consistent in the fact that homeowners would gladly trade their tub for a nicer shower. However, no forum was without the proverbial bath enthusiast that vowed absolutely loyalty to their fiberglass goddess. Therefore if you are planning on selling your home with a master bathroom less a master bath you should expect to see the initial raised eyebrow from potential buyers. But in the end the consensus seemed to be that your home would sell in the same time frame and for the same amount as it would have otherwise.

5. Expense. Eliminating a tub and fixtures would definitely save on cost, but ultimately you may be incurring additional expense enlarging your shower or by adding additional elements to your bathroom. Therefore it would be a less compelling argument to claim cost as a proponent for excluding a tub in the master bath.

So after processing this conundrum it seems as though the decision to retain or eliminate your master tub ultimately depends on your personal preferences.
But the one repeating headline is that more and more homes are being renovated and built without master tubs. Even though the tub will never vanish, it certainly looks as though their role in the master bath is being redefined.

So how do you define your tub?

by Drew Paulos

r e • v ī v e
def. ( r i -viv’ ) transformation of living space

www.reViVegroup.net

Lighting Today's Bathrooms

An updated bathroom has good lighting...and just what is good lighting? The textbook answer is 70-80 foot candles but how much light is that? It is the most light needed anywhere in you house, it is the same amount of light needed at the kitchen sink! It is four to five times the amount of light needed in a bedroom. 

Start with the ambient layer. Recessed lights are common and work well for this all over layer. Add task lighting in the shower, at the tub, and at the sink. The best scenario at the sink or grooming area is to have a source of down-lighting plus lighting from each side. A recessed light or pendant plus sconces works ultimately well to light the face evenly and adds design interest too. To get the most versatility, consider dimmers in the bathroom. This way you can create scenes from your lighting layers: dim lighting for late night or first thing, dim the tub lighting for spa time, or go full on for shaving or grooming.

From there the list can include many options, some that are relatively new thanks to the ever improving solid state lighting technologies in LEDs: in-floor lighting, toe-kick lighting, even programmable LED shower heads with settings like sunrise, and thunderstorm. 

For more lighting information, check out the elume lighting learning center.

image by Hubbardton Forge

Bathroom Moisture Control

Moisture is an unavoidable issue that must be dealt with when designing a bathroom. It is the wetness that accumulates in the wall cavity, floor and or attic space day after day that turns to rot, mold and overall degradation of your bathroom. It is our responsibility as builders and designers to follow strict guidelines to prevent this undermining of your newly remodeled bathroom.

There is a very useful article at (http://www.finehomebuilding.com/PDF/Free/021151052.pdf) which illustrates proper subsurface preparations, ventilation and plumbing concepts. Nearly every bathroom that we have remodeled has had underlying water issues. I cannot think of a single instance where the subfloor wasn’t stained by moisture, or had water penetrating behind the shower walls, or the toilet wasn’t sealed to the flange properly.

If the subsurface and moisture preventative solutions are overlooked when remodeling there will be problems, it’s only a matter of time. It’s worth taking the steps to prepare for moisture so that your new finishes will last their proper lifetime.

Make sure and bring any questions to our upcoming bathroom design seminar on August 13^th at Mountainland in Salt Lake City.

Image credit: finehomebuilding.com ; Jo Peterson

Next Coffee Talk Seminar on Saturday, August 13!

Join us on Saturday, August 13, at Mountainland Design!

This seminar will be fun and informative.  And it's free!  It's a great chance to learn about bathroom design and remodeling.  Bring your questions, photos, and drawings, and take this opportunity to discuss your future projects with industry professionals.

RSVP to coffeetalkslc@gmail.com.

Please share this with anyone you know who is considering a remodeling project!

Dynamic Space Planning in Kitchen Layouts

If you came to our first seminar, you are already familiar with the concept of Kitchen Zones as the new way of kitchen space planning.

The kitchen zone concept is focused on in Blum's Dynamic Space planning principles.  

The kitchen is essentially divided into 5 zones:

1.  Consumables

2.  Non-Consumables

3.  Cleaning

4.  Preparation

5.  Cooking

Each zone is task-oriented.  The goal is to have everything you need nearby when performing various tasks.  For example, food prep often involves chopping vegetables, rolling dough, cleaning produce, discarding waste, measuring ingredients, etc.  So you would want to have cutting boards, knives, a wastebasket (or compost bin), measuring cups, and ideally a prep sink nearby.

Thinking about your kitchen in terms of how you perform each task is a great way to get started with the layout planning.

It is also important to consider the connection of one zone to another.  For example, to begin prepping food you need to get the food from the storage area (Consumables), so it's important for the Consumables and Preparations zones to be close to each other.  After prepping food you typically would head to the cooktop or oven, so the Cooking Zone is nearby.  And once you are done with prep, the dishes used need to go to the Cleaning zone.  From what I am describing here, it becomes apparent that the Preparation Zone is actually a central zone that needs to be convenient to all the other zones.  

For more information on Blum's Dynamic Space planning guidelines, see their website.

What We Are All About

To learn a little bit more about Coffee Talk and to see what we aim to accomplish, watch this video:

Welcome to Coffee Talk!

Our first event on May 12 was a great success!  We had a good turnout of both homeowners and trades related to the industry, which led to some great discussions among the group.  Special thanks to Roth Distributing for sponsoring and hosting the event!

Nicole Zeigler discussed kitchen layout guidelines and design trends, and Michael Elliott discussed the remodeling process, including building permits, inspections, and the importance of working with professionals.

Due to the success of the event, we are now announcing quarterly Coffee Talk meetings.  Our next meeting will be on Saturday, August 13, 2011 from 10am until noon at Mountainland Design.  This seminar will address Bathroom Design.  Please email coffeetalkSLC@gmail.com for more information.