DESIGN STUDIO - Construction begins

Today was a big day that I'm very excited about - we started construction on my new design studio.

I've had my own design business for the past ten years and I've always had my office at home. We've moved a couple of times, but I've always set up my own dedicated office space for my business. The plus side is that I am always close to my work and it allows me to be home when my kids are home from school. The downside is that it wasn't always the ideal place to meet with clients and my projects require lots of storage for rolls of blueprint drawings, building material samples, catalogs, etc. so storage was always an issue.

Last year we purchased a new home and one of the features that I love about our new house is an original detached garage/studio that is set on the corner of our property.

From the moment I saw it, I had visions of converting this garage into a design studio for my business. Because we plan to renovate/rebuild the existing house in the next couple of years and will attach a garage to the house, we won't be needing this structure for parking in the future. And it's really more than just a garage - it has a two "wings" off the side of it, one containing a room with a stone fireplace and the other a bathroom.

I've been working on the plans and drawing up the details of the studio for about a year now. The goal is to renovate the space and to reuse as much of the materials as we can, create as little waste as we can and make the building super energy efficient.

While the building is small, it's not a small job because it needs everything - including a new foundation. The structure is set over the setbacks of the property so we're not allowed to tear it down and rebuild it. Instead, we can renovate it while keeping 50% of the structure intact. Needless to say, this makes it difficult to pour a new foundation. But it can be done and the way we're going to do it is by lifting the building up while we pour a new foundation. Today the building movers arrived and started the process. It was quite a sight to see.



I'll be posting here occasionally about the construction progress on the design studio. There will be progress photos and I'll share the plans and details of the layout and finishes.

New England Home July/August 2009

I am very pleased to share a project that was published this month in the July/August issue of New England Home Magazine. The feature is "The Homecoming" on page 108. You can read the digital edition by clicking here:

This home in Marblehead is owned by a wonderful family from California who uses it as a summer home. When they purchased the house it had a very odd layout, was dated and in need of everything new - it was both fun and challenging to re-arrange the space and remodel the house to suit the needs of the family. After renovations were complete, I set to work decorating the house with soothing colors and filling it with comfortable furniture, antiques and beachy artwork.

One of the most challenging parts of the design was finding room for an 11 foot tall model boat that had been passed down in the family. I created a spot in the entry way - where we vaulted the ceilings, built a platform for the boat and surrounded it with white wooden cabinetry - complete with boat hardware.

Designer Tricks

If you've seen any of my kitchen design work, it's pretty clear that I am a big fan of open shelves. In my opinion, open shelving adds character and dimension to a kitchen and helps to break up long runs of cabinet doors. I also love that everyday items such as glasses, pitchers and platters can be put on display to add a decorative touch.

So, it's no surprise when The Boston Globe Sunday Magazine asked me to contribute to their list of "Designer Tricks for Every Room", that open shelves were on my list. To see the feature and to read the other great tips from designers, click below.

TRADITIONAL HOME JULY 2009

I am very excited and honored to have my work featured in the June/July 2009 issue of Traditional Home Magazine. The project is a new 3,500 square foot home that I designed in Florida. The magazine article on page 58 "Come One, Come All" features photographs and floorplans of the large, open kitchen.