Inside the Frame

The Office: Colors Galore

2013-11-17T23:02:00.001-08:00

Hey guys,

After deciding on a layout and determining our aesthetic, it's now time for color! This is the part that I was very excited about for a few reasons.

I'm inspired by designers who use colors, patterns and textures in such tactful ways.
The current color scheme of our house is very neutral — a lot of grays and a bluish gray color... I think it's time for a change.
Using colors pushes me outside of my comfort zone, so I want to challenge myself to use color.

As I was thinking about the office, I knew that every color palette I selected need to to incorporate non-neutral colors. I used Kelly Moore's Color Studio to select a set of colors for three different color palettes. Many paint companies have similar design tools as Kelly Moore. I decided to use Kelly Moore because it's pretty easy to use.

Here's what I put together...

OPTION #1: AUTUMN ACCENT
In this palette, I used neutral color combinations for the walls and tried to bring in brighter pops of color. In general, the palette is very muted, but definitely incorporates colors that I wouldn't normally use.

None of these colors are ones that I would actually, use except for the neutrals (the gray and the charcoal).
But I think they look nice together.

OPTION #2: FOGGY BOTTOM
This palette is very neutral with a small pop of color. Foggy Bottom probably fits better with the themes in the rest of our house.

Pretty much all neutral colors with the purple as the main "pop"

OPTION #3: CITRUS FRUIT
This palette, while full of neutrals, has very bold and strong colors that will make anyone's head turn. It naturally is a more eclectic selection.

Very bright accents...challenge accepted!

In the end, we decided to be bold and step completely out of our comfort zone. We went with Citrus Fruit!

I am super excited to have a bright orange wall and can't wait to piece everything together!

Up next we will take a look at various design concepts in order to hone in on a final concept.

Stay tuned!

{Rashida}

The Office: What's Your Aesthetic?

2013-10-19T17:28:00.000-07:00

Residential interior designers often say that they have to be marriage therapists too. Husbands and wives tend to get at each others' throats when selecting furniture, materials, paint, etc. for something so personal as their own house. Luckily, Ben and I are not the combative type, but I didn't realize how different our aesthetics were until now.

This next phase in our office design, and for any Flashbent Interiors project, is to understand our client's aesthetic. After all, not everyone can live in an boudoir inspired bedroom with black lace...

...but it works for Christina Aguilera.

So how does one figure out their aesthetic?

One great resource is Houzz. It's like Pinterest for interiors. Browse through the many pictures of interiors to get a sense of what resonates with you, what you like, and what you hate. As the designer for our office, I created an IdeaBook with a bunch of images of home offices that I LOVED, liked, and I thought were OK. I didn't select any that I hated since I am also the client :)

I absolutely LOVE this office space. It's unique, bright, modern, and eye-catching.

Contemporary Home Office by San Francisco Interior Designers & Decorators Artistic Designs for Living, Tineke Triggs

I like this. It's a subtle mix of color.

Contemporary Home Office by Dallas Interior Designers & Decorators Traci Connell Interiors

This is not bad. It's a little more traditional or formal than I would like, but I wouldn't protest if this were our office.

Contemporary Home Office by Oakland Interior Designers & Decorators Shari Misturak

Of the 30 home office images that I selected, Ben liked only a few. None were on my LOVE list, but were doable. And marriage is all about compromise. I learned that Ben's aesthetic is slightly contemporary, but highly functional. He wouldn't want anything just because it's "pretty"; it has to be useful.

This was one of his favorites. He really likes the stripes on the wall and likes the clean lines. He doesn't like the main office chair though.

Transitional Home Office by Toronto Interior Designers & Decorators Jane Lockhart Interior Design

This was probably on the extreme of what Ben liked, but he said he liked the color and that it looks functional.

Contemporary Home Office

Given his choices and my choices, we are agreeing that a contemporary style is the way to go. The main colors should be subtle and more neutral looking (for Ben), but there can be some pops of color for my eclectic taste.

I love it when we both can have our way. :)

SIDENOTE // many people think they are a certain aesthetic when they really are not. The nice thing about Houzz is that I can put together an Ideabook with many different styles and tastes to find out what actually suits my clients best.

Next step is selecting our color palette.

Stay tuned!

{Rashida}

The Office: Laying out an Oddly Shaped Room

2013-07-24T23:04:00.001-07:00

Our Office project is going to be a Furnishing Project. Based on the need-finding we explained in the Setting the Stage post, we only need a furniture solution rather than a structural solution, which would be a Restructure Project. The first part of a Flashbent Furnishing Project is working with the client to choose a layout for the space. Since it's our own project, we are our own clients!

As I mentioned in the previous post, the room we're transforming is very awkwardly shaped. There are lots of doors, the room slants, and there is a built-in window bench. Due to this difficult configuration of space, we decided to mock up a few different layouts in AutoCAD to ensure that real furniture could actually fit in the space. Typically rough sketches would suffice for allowing the client to see the layout opportunities for their space, but precision was key in this case. The layouts had to have:

a desk (preferably two)
chairs (preferably two)
a sleeper couch

So here we go!

Layout A: This is a basic arrangement, utilizing the right wall for my desk and the couch. The desk is a little too small for the type of school & business work I anticipate doing in the future.

Layout B: This layout features the main desk near the closet, providing a location for a printer, while also being close to the Ethernet port near the main door. The smaller desk in the corner can be used for my computer work, but again is too small for any layout or drafting work.

Layout C: This layout utilizes the right wall for the full desk space, leaving the window seat open as an alternate seating space to the couch. However, it's a tight squeeze between the desk and the wall to the bathroom.

Layout D: In this layout, there are two different sized desks that are arranged more towards the center of the room. It seems a little tight.

Layout E: This last layout places the desks around the edges, leaving access to the window bench. Also like Layout B, having the main desk near the closet is ideal.

Given the need for large desk space for me and the proximity of the main desk to the closet, we decided to go with Layout E.

Up next is the exciting part, determining the style, where we choose the aesthetic for the room. Do we want Modern? Traditional? Eclectic? Glam? Check back for the next post to find out!

{Rashida}

The Office: Setting the Stage

2013-07-15T17:59:00.000-07:00

While our first real project for Flashbent is underway, we also have a little project of our own: converting a bedroom into our home office. We currently have an office, but it's really only a place where my hubby works, plus the space is small and the furniture is too big.

The goal of this project is to:

Provide a space in which I can do my school work (so I am not doing it on my favorite place... the kitchen table)
Create a space that is ready to meet with potential clients
Provide a space for Ben to still do work, as this would be his new office as well

We are treating ourselves like one of our own clients so we can solidify our process, deliverables, and time frame. To use the tech industry's term, we will be "eating our own dog food."

This space is going to have to accomplish a lot:

It needs to provide computer space and potentially layout space for me and my projects
It needs to be a space for Ben to work with multiple monitors
It needs to double as a guest room
It will also need to serve as a "man cave" of sorts

Given the room's awkward small shape, we have an added challenge of furnishing the room without completely blocking windows, doors, and pathways.

Small bedroom with barely any wall space and a lot of doors.

In the next post, I'll talk about the different layouts I created to meet our goals and design challenges.

Stay tuned,

{Rashida}

Introducing... Flashbent!

2013-06-10T18:29:00.000-07:00

After a year of interior design school and with some hearty instruction under my belt, I present to you Flashbent. We finally started our own company that not only provides interior design services, but also event planning/coordination, personalized web shoppes, and potentially more to come!

Simple logo that is clean and crisp.
Purposefully does not shout "interior design" since the company encompasses many fields.

We are a husband and wife team whose mission is to use the creative gifts God has given us to serve others (1 Peter 4:10). The name Flashbent is precisely that. Flash is to show or showcase. Bent is a natural talent or inclination. So Flashbent is to show our God-given gifts.

Specifically for Interiors, the goals of the company is to provide interior design and decoration services for residences in the Greater San Francisco Bay Area. This can include floorplan design, floorplan remodels, color consultations, furniture selection/acquisitions, and furniture arrangement.

We also have our first real (as in not family) Interiors client in San Francisco!!! A huge thank you to my colleague (Anna) for recommending me! As the design process unfolds, I will post more about the color and furniture selections.

Stay tuned!

{Rashida}

Lighting Spec Sheet Project

2013-04-08T21:12:00.000-07:00

Fundamentals of Lighting was an eye-opening class that I took in the Fall of 2012. I did not imagine how important lighting and layers of light was until this class. See my post entitled "Light it Up" about the layers of light.

For our final project, we were to design a lighting and switch plan for a young, single male in his thirties who designs custom motorcycles. He rents a city apartment that is a Live/Work space with a lot of exposed construction elements. His current furniture is Mid Century Modern and the lighting fixtures should coordinate with that style.

We received the floorplan and our teacher set us loose.

These were all of the decorative, task, and display lighting fixtures that I used in the design. Also included were the ambient lighting fixtures, which were basically can lights.

I used multiple layers of light in many of the spaces and developed a lighting plan with a lighting legend:

Each symbol corresponds with a specific lighting fixture listed on this "Spec Sheet".

For details on the the light fixtures, such as photos and other lighting dimensions, I put together a Lighting Fixture Cut Sheet with all of the manufacturer documentation.

All in all, this project definitely taught me how intricate it is to put together a lighting plan, but it also showed me just how many fixtures were needed to have a well-balanced lighting plan in a project. It was very eye-opening.

{Rashida}

Residential Project: Choosing Textiles

2013-04-07T21:20:00.001-07:00

In my Introduction to Textiles class at Chabot, we are learning about the properties of different fabrics and their uses. Our first assignment was to select a series of fabrics for a living and dining room space that we had to draw to scale.

The criteria was as follows:

fabrics | a minimum of 3 patterned (more than one color, not tone on tone) fabrics in each room
spaces | dining and living rooms must be open to each other somehow
measurements | walls to be 6 inches thick and both spaces need to have a combined area of approximately 600 square feet total
scale | 1/2" scale on 11" X 17" paper
furniture + decor | living room needs to have six specified items, dining room room needs to have 4
presentation | fully color rendered floorplan, 3" x 3" samples of each fabric, and written descriptions of textile fibers

This assignment initially posed as a challenge for me because my design aesthetic is very minimal in terms of colors and patterns. But as a designer, I know that it is important to be nimble and flexible because my clients are not going to be just like me. So, I took this assignment as an opportunity to learn, grow, and expand my skill-set.

I am very intrigued by the Moroccan lattice designs and used that as inspiration as I began to explore patterned textiles.

Different lattice patterns that I used as inspiration for the final design.

Simultaneously, I began to create many floor plan iterations of my adjoining living and dining spaces. The many iterations occurred because plotting on AutoCad at 1/2" scale was posing to be a problem.

My first hand-drafted iteration of the floor plan. It ended up being too large of a footprint and wouldn't fit on the 11x17 paper.

There was not enough clearance for some of the furniture in this iteration.

This pretty much ended up being the final design, with a minor adjustment to the ottoman selection.

Eventually, I found a design that fit and went through a process of pairing fabrics together and pairing fabrics with furniture to see how they complemented each other.

This is what I ended up with:

I am very pleased with the final product (as was my professor). You can find the full presentation, with a detailed look of the fabrics and furniture selections here: Moroccan Twist Textiles Assignment.

I am now excited about working with different patterns in fabric and can't wait until I get to implement textiles in a new design.

Cheers,
{Rashida}

It looks like wood, but it's porcelain!

2013-04-02T15:31:00.000-07:00

I have fallen in love with a new material that I can't wait to put into our future home. (No, we are not moving, but can't a girl dream? :) )

It's porcelain wood tile!

You would think this is wood, especially with the irregularity of pattern.
This is such a beautiful color too!

It can have all of the beautiful texture and aesthetic qualities of wood, but has the maintenance of regular old tile. And since the tile is porcelain, it is virtually indestructible... unless you took a sledge hammer to it. But just like your toilets, porcelain does not chip or scratch, and can be cleaned with regular everyday cleaning supplies.

Casa Dolce Casa Belgique Collection: It looks very authentic like a wood floor, but it's all porcelain tile.

I was first introduced to it in my Materials & Resources class at Las Positas College. We went on a field trip to All Natural Stone (formerly Callahan Tile). The owners showed us around their showroom, which is absolutely fabulous. If you thought Home Depot had a lot of tiles, you will be blown away by the amount of tiles, stones, and slabs in their showroom.

Anyway, these gems were tucked away in a back room.

Casa Dolce Casa Belgique Collection: Wood Porcelain tile on wall and floor.

Casa Dolce Casa Belgique Collection: Looks great throughout a home.

My guess is that the Casa Dolce Casa's Belgique Collection is pretty pricey. Home Depot also has a few selections of the porcelain wood grain tiles.

So for all the people who have always wanted wood, but:

didn't have the budget for it (the wood + stain + installation);
have kids and pets that would wreak havoc on a wood floor; or
can't muster up the time or funds to maintain a wood floor;

...all hope is not lost. You can have it all.

Dream big my friends,

{Rashida}

The Master Bathroom Project | Recap + Reveal (Part 8)

2013-02-05T21:40:00.004-08:00

At last!

It is with great pleasure that I announce that this is the absolute last post on our Master Bathroom Remodel Project! After 3 weeks of experimenting with new products, learning new skills, and having a messy and unusable bathroom, our master bath remodel is finally complete!

Our Master Bathroom is complete!

Here's the journey of our bathroom transformation:

We first mocked up our bathroom in Google SketchUp so that we could start toying around with potential designs for our new bathroom.
We selected which design we liked the best and the next step was to remove the existing mirror from the wall (without breaking it or creating a massive hole in the wall).
Using Rustoleum's Cabinet Refinishing kit, we refinished our cabinets to a color called Kona. It was quite a tedious process, but I imagine that it was easier than sanding, and it was a huge transformation to the room.
We decided to do the electrical next, while we gave our cabinets time to cure for a bit. Jason from Oak Electric came in and wired new lighting, new electrical outlets, and a new switch.
The second biggest transformation was painting the walls in a black and gray.
Once the paint dried, we moved on to creating two framed mirrors. This was, by far, the most tedious and most experimental part of the entire process, but we got through it...eventually.
Finally, we finished up with some minor finishing touches.

Here are all the "Before, SketchUp Design, and Afters" so you can see the complete transformation in different angles.

Master Bathroom Bird's Eye View

Master Bathroom Entry (Ground)

Master Bathroom Sink & Vanity

Master Bathroom Tub Area

Master Bathroom Entry (Mid-Level)

Our total cost for the project was around $440. (We probably paid somewhere around $350 since we had many of the painting supplies already).

Overall, it was a good experience and we learned a lot along the way — e.g. never build your own mirror frame :).

We have to figure out what our next home renovation project is going to be. When we do, you'll be the first to see the progress! In the meantime, I am going to enjoy my new clean bathroom.

Cheers,

{Rashida}

Personalized Wall Canvases

2013-01-22T23:47:00.000-08:00

This is a fun project that we did to replace our wedding photo that was above our mantel. It's been a little over two years since we got married and we wanted to update some of the pictures around the house.

Personalized wall canvases are very common and can come in various different forms:

The hubby came up with an idea to take a series of photographs printed on canvas to hang above the mantel. He was envisioning that I would take 5 photographs making various faces and then he would do the same. Then as our family grows, the collage of pictures would continue with each family member.

This is the originally sketched concept.

As we were brainstorming, we refined the idea. Ten canvases would be a lot of money, so we went down to five. Instead of doing individual pictures, we decided to take photos together showcasing the important parts of our marriage. Pray. Love. Laugh. Live. Play.

Here's the revised sketch we did to convey the types of pictures that we needed to take.

We waited for a sunny day, took to our Canon Rebel T2i and a tripod, and started shooting some pictures. It was actually kind of exhausting because we had to frame the shot, set the timer, run back to our spots, and pose all within 10 seconds. (We took at least 100 pictures.)

We created our own templates and used Zazzle to create our own personalized wrapped canvases.

Check them out below!

Finished photoshopped images in one long strip

The completed set adds a nice touch to the wall. (And there is space for others canvases to go up as our family grows)

Wanna create your own? Do it on Zazzle!

Black Bar One-Word (live) Template Canvas Print by Personalization_Shop

Much love,

{Rashida}

The Master Bathroom Project | Finishing Touches (Part 7)

2013-01-18T11:56:00.000-08:00

I'm back! I know it's been a while... I had final projects, presentations, and tests for school so I was in focus mode. And now that's over and done with, I can finish up blogging about my Master Bathroom Remodel project!

This is the second-to-last installment in my Master Bathroom Remodel project. To remind you all of what has happened so far, check out my previous posts:

This post is just about the finishing touches. We built a small shelf, purchased a wall scone for additional task lighting, and purchased two decorative candle sconces for the back wall. This completes our original design and adds a little bit of interest to the bathroom itself.

PART 1- Building the Shelf

SUPPLIES:

One 6" x 4" wood plank
Paint (same paint/stain from the Cabinet Refinish Project)
Two L-Brackets (you want to buy one that is as long as your shelf protrudes from the wall for support)
Wall Screws
Edgemate White Melamine Roll
Drill

DIY STEPS

Time frame:3 hours

1. Iron on the Melamine around the edge of the shelf.

This provides a smooth edge and eliminates the need to sand the edges. Simply line the edges and use and iron to adhere it to the surface.

Iron on White Melamine Strip

2. Paint.

Paint all surfaces of the shelf. The paint should adhere fairly well to the Melamine and to the wood itself.

Painted Block of Wood

3. Measure and mark where you want your shelf to sit.

4. Drill holes for the screws.

Based on your measurements, mark where the L-brackets will sit against the wall and on the shelf. Pre-drill the holes into the shelf and the wall for the L-brackets.

Note: If you are screwing into a stud, there is no need to pre-drill. When using a wall anchor in place of a stud, pre-drill.

5. Attach L-bracket to shelf according to measurements in step 3.

Make sure to use short screws (1/2") so your screws do not appear on the top surface

Note: We didn't buy appropriately long brackets. We bought these little guys... which obviously did not support the weight of anything on the shelf, let alone the shelf itself. So we had to build our own "L-bracket" out of left over pieces of wood. Save yourself some time and buy one that actually fits your shelf!

Our makeshift shelf support with the small L braces used to attach it to the wall.

6. Attach the bracket/shelf unit to wall.

For this step, use the longer screws that will actually fully penetrate the drywall.

Drilling in an extra screw for support at the end of the shelf.

PART 2- Attaching the Sconce Light

This was part of the reason for the pre-wiring in Part 4 of this blog series. Again, thank you Oak Electric!

SUPPLIES:

A wall sconce of your choice
Drill

DIY STEPS

Time frame: 10 minutes

Follow the instructions in the box. Each lighting assembly will be different. Be sure to purchase the correct bulb before leaving the store!

The sconce is up and running!

PART 3- Decorative candle sconces

SUPPLIES:

Decorative candle sconces of your choice
Drill

DIY STEPS

Time frame: 10 minutes

1. On the wall, mark where you want your sconces to sit.

It may be helpful to have someone hold the sconce to the wall, while you step back to take a look. Mark the spot where the screw would go into the wall.

2. Drill the hole (if necessary) and attach the sconces.

PART 4- Touch Up
Touch up the paint on any places that seem to need it.

After the sconce light was installed, we realized the mirror frame needed some touch ups.

We never painted our makeshift bracket. So that needed some paint too.

TOTAL COST: $48

OVERALL IMPRESSION

Our bathroom looks more complete with those extra touches. New towels and other little trinkets, such as posters/photos, candles, vases, are great ways to jazz up the bathroom.

We are finally finished!

The official "clean up" photo.

The last post will have before and after shots to see the scope of the full remodel from beginning to end.

Stay tuned!

{Rashida}

Design Board | Parents' Family Room (Formal)

2013-01-07T16:58:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year fellow Interior Designers!

Here is another example of a design board that I created for class. It was for the same project as my last design board post. I could not decide which one to present, so I did both.

CLIENT: My parents

SPACE: Current family room

MY DESIGN CHALLENGE: My parents pretty much are empty-nesters. The furniture has been in the living room for at least 15 years and is quite dated, faded, and heavy. The carpet is also a dark green color, which easily attracts lint and makes the the room feel very bottom heavy.

MY CONCEPT: Since my parents are basically empty-nesters and my mother has her own home spa business (BeautiControl by Diane), I wanted to give her a space that used her spa colors but was also elegant. The space would require more labor as it replaces the current fireplace wall, hearth and surround.

After showing my mother both boards, it turns out that she like the Informal Board the best. She thought it was light, fun and more friendly for a family room. She also asked when was I going to get started on implementing it :-/

I guess I have to start putting some of my skills to use!

Until next time,

{Rashida}

Design Board | Parents' Family Room (Informal)

2012-12-22T22:13:00.000-08:00

Returning to school to further develop a gift is one of the best things that I could have done! I really had a chance to formally explore how fabrics, materials, colors and textures fit together to make a concept.

A key concept that helped us students have a better grasp on textures, fabrics, colors and materials was a design board.

Design Board (n.) — a physical or virtual board that incorporates drawings, materials, or other swatches to convey your design to your client.

We had many opportunities to create design boards for real or fictitious clients so that we can become accustomed to mixing and matching swatches, presenting our design concept, and using design language.

Here is one of my early boards from class...

Design Board for my parent's family room (informal look)

CLIENT: My parents

SPACE: Current family room

I've done a number of these design boards for various "clients", so I'll be posting more boards from my class in the weeks to come!

Stay tuned,

{Rashida}

The Master Bathroom Project | Adding Framed Mirrors (Part 6)

2012-11-19T22:52:00.004-08:00

Ok.

This is blog post #6 about the Master Bathroom Remodel. I went from the easiest part (painting) to the hardest part (creating our own framed mirrors with backlit LEDs). If you need to catch up on what we've done so far, check out my previous posts:

Instead of the long mirror going across the entire vanity, we wanted to replace it with two smaller framed mirrors centered over each sink basin. In addition, I had the bright idea of back-lighting the mirror with LED lights. (I drew my inspiration from the back-lighting in this Kichler lighting video.)

Preview of the final result

Pretty cool idea eh? Well I thought so too until we had to start putting it together. We could have easily just bought a framed mirror... or even a pre-built frame itself! But, no... we decided to build everything from scratch and things were a little more complicated than expected.

In the end, we were happy with the finished product, but I'll at least suggest buying a framed mirror to minimize your frustrations. :)

Would you like to join in on the framing, mirror, and LED fun? Here's how we did it, so you can DIY:

PART 1 - Building the Framed Mirror

SUPPLIES:

232" (19' 4") of MDF casing
Paint (same paint/stain from the cabinet refinish project)
Two 30" x 24" Mirrors
Liquid Nails adhesive
Staple Gun (w/ staples)
Miter Box & Saw kit
A couple clamps
(if needed) 1/2 inch wood screws

DIY STEPS
Time frame: 1 day

1. Cut the MDF casing 2 inches longer than the dimensions of the mirror.

The mirror was 24" x 30" in our case, so we cut two pieces that were 26" and two pieces that were 32" for one mirror. We cut the MDF casing 2 inches longer so that was a 1-inch clearance around all sides of the frame. This allowed us to have space to adhere the LED lights to the wood. To cut the 45 degree angles, we used a miter box and hand saw.

Measured the MDF

Cut the MDF using a Miter Box and Saw. It's a fantastic tool.

Note: Make sure that when you are cutting, you are paying attention to which edges you are cutting from. The thicker ends of the MDF casing should have more length than the shorter ends because it will be on the outside of the frame. We weren't paying attention and cut it incorrectly. We didn't have enough extra wood to cut an entirely new piece, so we had to fix it by gluing some pieces together.

Our mistake. So we had to glue two pieces together and paint over the seam...ugh

2. Paint all sides (even the back!) of the casing.

It's important to paint all sides of the casing because the mirror will reflect whatever color is on the inside. (Again, we didn't do that, so we had to make some adjustments...you'll see what I mean later.)

You will see that we painted these before we cut them. That was a mistake.
Plus we only painted one side of them. Another mistake.

3. Let it dry and do a second coat, if needed.

4. Piece and staple the frames together.

Layout the frame, face down. Staple the backs together with the staple gun.

My handy dany staple gun. (Notice that the backs are not painted. They should be.)

5. Attach the mirror to the frame.

The mirror came with mounting clips typically used to screw into the walls. If you just reverse them and screw them into the wooden frame, you can easily mount it. You may need to buy shorter screws though (hence the 1/2" wood screws on the supply list).

These little clips were meant to hold mirror to the wall.

Well, we didn't find these clips until we were attaching the mount to the mirror (Part 3 of this entire ordeal). So we tried to glue the mirror on instead. The guy at Home Depot recommended some all-purpose, extra strong glue to us... it did not work! We glued the frame to the mirror multiple times and it still wasn't sticking. If only we had found the mirror clips sooner!

Our attempts at gluing the mirror failed miserably. Every time we thought the glue was dry, it wasn't. Even after we clamped it and weighed it down with the heaviest things we could find in our garage, we still had not luck.

This process seems simple right? It is, but we had a lot of trial and error with glue and other aspects. Once the frame is done, you are now ready to attach the LED lights.

PART 2 - Attaching the LED lights

SUPPLIES:

LiquidNails adhesive
LED rope light mounting clips
Two 12ft LED rope lights

DIY STEPS
Time frame: 1-2 hours

1. Orient the framed mirror.

Figure out the location and orientation of each mirror. It is important to determine which part of the mirror is closest to the outlet. Therefore, you can lay down the LED rope light with the plug oriented closest to the outlet.

2. Attach LED lights.

Attach the LED lights with either a glue adhesive (LiquidNails) or mounting clips. Depending on taste and preference, you can use the mounting clips that are supplied with the rope lights. The mounting clips raise the LED lights off of the mirror a quarter of an inch, which will be visible when mounted on the wall. The glue will also hold the mirror in place, but you are going to run out of hands to hold the LED rope in place while the glue dries. Note: Do not try to use any other glue! Liquid Nails is the best.

At this point, we hadn't bought the liquid nail adhesive so we were using hot glue, the home-depot-"recommended"-glue that failed, the staple gun and tape. Not the best use of resources or time.

Hot Glue!

Staple Gun!

Tape! All failed.

The LED rope lights came with mounting clips, which we didn't find until after we had finished this process. This was the second time that we didn't dump out all of the materials in a package. Fool me once; shame on you. Fool me twice; shame on me. I learned my lesson! Next time I vow to dump out everything in the box before I start putting things together.

PART 3 - MOUNTING THE MIRROR

SUPPLIES:

LiquidNails adhesive
Clamps
Four 8" 2x4 wood blocks
Two 16" x 20" particle boards
1" x 2" x 32" furring strip
2.5" wood screws
drywall anchors

DIY STEPS
Time frame: 1-1.5 days

1. Figure out how much clearance you need for the LED light plug.

Weirdly, the LED plug was like 3 inches long. This meant that the mirror needed to be at least 2.25" off of the wall because the recessed outlet went in .75". So we had to build a mount that pushed the framed mirror off the wall at least 3 inches. We designed a mounting mechanism on paper and a process of assembly to best adhere the mirror to the wall.

The plan and the measurements.

It took a lot of time to figure out the best method. We were actually going to nix the entire LED light idea because the technical skills required seemed to be beyond our capabilities, but we decided to push through it.

2. Cut your wood pieces.

We measured out the dimensions of each of the materials (indicated above), clamped it to a stable horizontal surface, and cut away! We also sanded off the excess frayed edges.

Measuring the particle board to be 16" x 20".

Power tools. Yessss! There will be 2 of these boards.

Cutting the 2x4s to 8" pieces. There should be 4 of them.

Using the reciprocating saw to cut the furring strip into two 16" pieces.

Sanded off the excess frays.

I was pretty excited. I got to use my rotating and reciprocating saws for the first time!

3. Mount furring strip along the top of the particle board.

Line the skinny side of the furring strip with LiquidNails. For more stability, also drill three (approximately) evenly spaced holes to screw the particle board onto the furring strip. Drill and screw in from the particle board side, not the furring strip side.

Glue the furring strip onto the particle board.

Clamp them together.

Flip the boards over from the orientation in the picture above. Drill pilot holes and insert screws through the particle board into the furring strips.

Finished mirror mount. Well, one part of it.

4. Measure the location of your particle board on the backside of your mirror.

Through a lot measurements, we found the best location for the particle board mount so that we were maximizing the usage of the stud locations. Once we had those measurements down, we traced the particle board onto the back of the mirror using a permanent marker. Make sure it is level!

We had to do a lot of measuring in this project...

5. Glue on the particle board to the mirror.
LiquidNails is your best friend. Squeeze that stuff within the boundaries of the outline you just created on the mirror. Attach the board with the furring strip pointing up. Let this dry for 16 hours!

Once it's dry, it's not going anywhere.

Tip: Find something heavy to put on top of it. This will distribute the glue and ensure that the mount sticks to the mirror back.

6. While the glue is drying, measure the mount location on your wall.

Take accurate measurements of everything! How far away is the mount from edge of the mirror? How far away is the mirror from the wall? How high is the mirror above the wall? Write it all down and begin to pinpoint the locations on your bathroom wall.

7. Attach 2x4s to the wall with the screws.

We used 4 screws per 2x4. Where the 2x4 is not directly over a stud, pre-drill holes and insert drywall anchors. Make sure they are level with each other, otherwise be prepared for a lopsided mirror.

We put in dry wall anchors where the blocks were not going into studs.

Drill at least 4 holes in each block for the screws.

Make sure they both are level. We used that thin piece of wood shown so we could determine the levelness since we didn't have one of those big levelers

About 16 hours after you've glued the particle board to the mirror back...

8. Slide the mirror onto mounted 2x4s.

This is the last step! Place the mirror onto both of the 2x4s and (as best as you can) nail the furring strip onto the 2x4s. This will secure the mirror to the wall. We tried to put at least 2 nails in each 2x4.

Hammering it in was a bit difficult. There wasn't not a lot of clearance to hold the nail up and hammer at the same time. But we eventually did it.

Plug in the LED rope light and you are ready to go!!

Shot with main lighting

Shot without main lighting.

TOTAL COST: $155

(2) 24" x 30" Mirrors ~$40
(3) MDF 84" casing ~$13
Liquid Nails ~$4
Particle Board ~$18
Furring Strip ~ $1
Miter Box Saw ~$15
2-1/2 Wood Screws (Box of 20) ~$2
2" nails ~$4
Clamps ~$6
1/2" wood screws ~$2
(2) LED Lights ~$40
36" 2x4 wood plank ~$10

OVERALL IMPRESSION
The project turned out to be a little pricier than anticipated. If we ever do this again, we'll have to do some better research on LED backlighting. I think I would also shop around for better LED lights. These lights were too warm in color and kind of finicky to stick on. If we had just built the frame and the mirror (and had the right glue and dumped out all the materials from the get-go) this project may have been a little more manageable.

Also since we didn't paint the inside of the frame beforehand, we had to figure out how to hide the ugliness. We had some rope handy, so we spray painted it and hot-glued it onto the frame. Quick and easy fix, but obviously not ideal.

"The Ugliness"... you can see the inside wood color through the mirror's reflection. This is why it is important to paint all sides of the frame.

Rope.

Spray painting the rope.

Hot gluing the rope to the mirror.

Ugliness gone! Trimming the frays

You live, you learn...

Finally! It's done!

At last, we are getting to the final touches — putting up the sconces and shelf!

The light is near! Now it's time to get some rest...

{Rashida}

Top Ten Trends in Kitchen Design

2012-11-06T15:25:00.001-08:00

On Monday night for my Materials and Resources class (INTD 60), we visited Kitchens of Diablo in Danville, CA. The showroom was beautiful — showing a lot of variety in designs from the modern kitchen with clean lines to the traditional kitchen with grand embellishments and wood detailing. Shelley Lober (the owner) graciously hosted us and provided a lot rich information, showcasing her depth of knowledge in the field. I learned a lot about the trends in Kitchen Design.

So... I bring to you the TOP TEN TRENDS IN KITCHEN DESIGN as told by Rashida.

1. Traditional kitchens are a thing of the past. Go contemporary!

People are now into clean, sleek lines and easy to clean surfaces. All of the extra embellishments and ornate wood carvings are phasing out. This extends to the hardware, cabinetry, and counter-tops. Of course, you have to know your client. Given the location of Kitchens of Diablo, their clientele is not the "trendy" type so they have to cater to their audience.

Too ornate and too much wood detailing. Beautiful but not trendy.

Traditional in every sense of the word.

Contemporary kitchen. Some contemporary kitchens go a little too far into the space age (or the 70's...think Austin Powers). This is a livable contemporary space.

2. Parlez-vous français? Non! French Country kitchens are so passé!

Again, they are too ornate and often times use glazing.

Can you spot the glazing?

I guess the french like this mint color or something

3. Glazed cabinets? Not anymore.

The rustic, worn, distressed look of cabinets are staying where they belong... in an antique shop. Good thing we didn't apply the optional glaze coat on our cabinets in our master bathroom remodel.

These cabinets definitely look old. I thing this look gives too many extra features that aren't needed for a kitchen.

The glazing kind of makes the cabinets look fake.

4. Bullnose counter-tops are also old news!

Variations of straight edges are more popular for counter-tops If you absolutely must have a rounded corner, go with an O'Gee or Pencil nosing.

Bullnose corner! Don't do it!

Other corner types. Try them out!

5. Gray, gray everywhere!

Paint is going gray. Cabinets are being stained and/or painted gray. Flooring is becoming more gray. DuraSupreme (a prominent cabinet provider) has their line of gray cabinets. Do you? (This trend is so prominent right now and I am so glad! I love gray!)

Stunning!

If you can't go with a full gray cabinet, there are other options. Cabinet manufacturers are now coming out with a color called blue corn (left). So instead of the coffees, chocolates, or espressos in cabinets, the trend is to see cabinets that have a tint of gray in the stain.

6. Soft-close drawers are replacing the standard drawers.

Sick of your kids slamming cabinet doors shut? Well this can be prevented with new drawer technology. At a certain point away from the cabinet, the drawers glide shut instead of slamming shut. BluMotion developed this soft-close technology.

7. Lower cabinetry and drawers should not be repetitious like the upper cabinetry.

Lower cabinets should not repeat a consistent pattern around the kitchen. Instead, there should be various sized drawers and/or cabinets.

Don't do this. The lower cabinetry is a series of drawer cabinet, drawer, cabinet, drawer...

These are updated cabinets, but still repetitive.

There are full banks of drawers and full banks of cabinets. Beautiful!

Breaking repetition is not just for aesthetic purposes, but for practicality and functionality as well. Which brings me to #8...

8. Lower cabinets are being replaced with drawers.
Drawers are much more functional than cabinets for the lower levels. Gone are the days of laying on the floor trying to find that one pot cover that is stuffed all the way in the back of your cabinet. Get off the floor with your dignity in tact!

These are alright, but that means it's a two-step process. You have to open the cabinet doors first, then pull out the drawers.

The center island is full of drawers!

9. No more visible frames. Use full-overlay cabinets.
People no longer like to see the support of cabinets. They just want to see the drawers and the doors, creating clean lines.

Huge drawers with no visible frame.

And finally, the best for last...

10. Touch cabinets!
This is by far the coolest thing that I have seen. BluMotion created a cabinet that opens with a light touch anywhere on the cabinet. For all you techies out there, these touch cabinets are a must have! For creatives out there who are trying to get their techie significant other to get involved in the design of their new kitchen, show them this and they'll happily get involved. It is a little pricey right now ($1700 just for two mechanisms), but once the price comes down, I am sure they will be all the rage.

So with all that said, I think I found my dream kitchen in the display room of Kitchens of Diablo.

It has darker brownish-gray wood with full overlay cabinets/drawers. Horizontal clean lines with the hardware. Soft-close drawers with two BluMotion touch cabinets. An island with cool grayish-blue cabinetry. And a really funky glass counter-top for the island.

Not to mention there are many drawers for pots/pans, baking sheets, garbage cans, and even a counter-top garage for small, portable appliances. But one of the best parts is my new love, porcelain wood tile. It looks like wood, but way easier to maintain (more on this later).

Dream big everyone!

{Rashida}

The Master Bathroom Project | Two-Tone Painting (Part 5)

2012-11-05T12:51:00.000-08:00

And now for the color... well sort of!

Part 5 in my Master Bathroom Project series is all about paint. I would say that this has been the most fun (and easiest) part of the series thus far. (If you haven't read up on our progress thus far, check out: Part 1-The Design, Part 2- Removing the Mirror, Part 3- Refinishing the Cabinets, and Part 4-Wiring for New Lighting.)

Paint is the simplest and most cost-effective transformation of a space. For our master bath, we decided to keep the paint colors neutral and add some dimension by using two paint colors. We used satin or semi-gloss paint because bathrooms have a high moister rate, and the extra protection is needed to prevent peeling.

Finished product: Two-tone paint

DIY(-ing)? Here's how we made the dramatic change in a few of easy steps!

SUPPLIES:

1 Quart Glidden Semi Gloss Onyx Black Paint
1 Gallon Glidden Semi Gloss Seal Gray Paint
Blue Tape
Drop cloth
1 Roller Brush
2 Paint Brushes
1 Edge Painter
Paint Pan
Ruler/Measuring Tape
(Optional) Laser leveler

DIY STEPS

Time frame: a day (8-12 hours)

FYI: If you have a non-white or non-cream type paint on your walls currently, you may have to use a primer prior to applying your new paint. It really depends on what's already on your wall and what you plan to put on your wall. If you need a primer, that would happen before step 3.

1. Protect surfaces that shouldn't be painted.

Tape the edges, ceilings, door frames, and other areas where the walls meet surfaces you don't want covered in paint. This is will help minimize the amount of paint that gets on other surfaces adjacent to the walls being painted. Press down firmly on the tape to minimize the amount of paint that leaks through. We used standard blue painter's tape, but paint still leaked through. (I think Frog Tape may be the best. We will give that a try the next time.)

2. Measure where the dividing line is between the the two paints and write it down.

We wrote down the measurements on the walls themselves where the black paint was intended to go. We also put little tick marks on the walls in pencil for a visual indication of where the gray color stopped and where the black color began. These markers are just a visual indicator of how far you need to paint the first color. They shouldn't be used to create your tape line!

3. Start painting the lighter color.

Pour some paint into the paint pan, coat your roller in the paint, and paint away! For this step, it doesn't really matter if the lighter color gets on the spaces where the darker color goes because the darker color will cover it up. This is why it is important to start with the lighter color first. Do make sure you know where the darker paint is supposed to start (Step 2), and paint well below that line to ensure that there are no gaps.

Applying the gray. Using a lot of force.

4. Apply second coat.

By the time you finish the first coat on every wall, the paint should be dry enough to apply the second coat.

That's a lot of paint!

5. Paint the edges.

Use a brush (if you have a steady enough hand) and/or a edge painter to tackle the corners and edges. We used a Point'N Paint "As Seen on TV" edge painter. I know what you are thinking. "Really? As seen on TV?" Well, we won it at a baby shower and it works relatively well if you don't use the pole tool, don't apply too much paint, or press down too hard. There are plenty of other edge painters out there as well, so feel free to shop around.

Getting the corners with a brush.

6. Mark out dividing line.

After the paint has fully dried, it's time to mark out the dividing line so that you can paint the darker color on a straight line. Use your ruler, measuring tape, and/or laser leveler to begin to apply a straight line of painter's tape to paint the black line. Make sure you are consistent with whether you are using the bottom or top of the tape as your dividing line line. Again, press down firmly on the tape.

Measuring the dividing line between the gray and the black.
There were many horizontal ticks on the wall allowing us to get a straight line with the blue tape.

Measured and taped. Success.

7. Repeat steps 3-5 with your dark paint.

Painting the black. I ended up using the Point N Paint tool (instead of a roller brush) for the entire area.

Touching up the edges with black.

8. Remove tape.

After the dark paint has fully dried, remove the painter's tape. If you see any of your previous wall color showing through or if some of the dark paint bled through the tape, you may have to do some paint touch-ups.

Finally done! Removing the tape.

Tada! Straight line!

TOTAL COST: $84 (or $54 w/o optional supplies)

1 quart of Glidden satin paint (black onyx) ~$12
1 gallon of Glidden satin paint (seal gray) ~$26
1 Painting Kit (includes pan, rollers, brushes, etc) ~$10
1 Roll of Blue Tape ~$6
1 Paint Edger ~$15 (optional)
1 Laser Level ~$15 (optional)

Well there you have it! We transformed our bathroom and it didn't take a lot of time or money, especially since we already had all of the materials except for the paint itself. This is the great thing about many home projects; you can reuse supplies from previous projects to your hearts delight. As I mentioned above, I would definitely use Frog Tape instead of blue tape. It should do a much better job at masking the paint.

We are getting closer and closer to the completion of our master bathroom remodel project! The next task is adding the new framed the mirrors. This is going to be a hard one.

Brace yourselves!

{Rashida}

The Master Bathroom Project | Wiring New Lighting (Part 4)

2012-10-31T16:40:00.000-07:00

PART 4: Now we are onto the hard stuff — wiring for our new lighting! Check out parts one (the master bathroom design), two (removing the vanity mirror) and three (refinishing the cabinets) in this series about the Master Bathroom remodel project if you haven't already.

As I mentioned in my lighting post, there are 4 different kinds of interior lighting: ambient, task, decorative & display. Our master bathroom already has decent ambient lighting with the can lights over the tub & shower, as well as the wall lighting over the vanity. But now its time for the fun lighting!

We wanted to add some task wall lighting between the mirrors. The hubby needs some additional lighting for shaving and I need it for my makeup. After watching the Kichlers lighting video, I also decided that I wanted to include some decorative back-lighting around the mirror. So we bought LED rope lights to line the backs of the mirror in order to project some light outwards making the mirror appear to be floating.

Great! There's the concept, but making it a reality is another story. Wiring doesn't just appear out of nowhere.

While I love to DIY, I felt like the probability of me killing myself through electrocution was pretty high. So we asked a professional (and friend) Jason Sanchez of Oak Electric in Menlo Park to help us out. He did all of the electrical work and did an amazing job!

I don't know what tool this is, but I want one! It cuts circles.

Measuring the distance of the studs

Putting the plate over the hole for the wall sconce.
We will be stringing the electrical connectionsthrough this soon.

Figuring out the wires in the switches — what goes where so that we can cap everything off.

To the attic! We needed to string the new wires — connecting the switch to the wall sconce — through the attic to avoid studs and any other built-in materials.

It sure was dark up there, but surprisingly clean.
We drilled another hole in the ceiling to string the wire from the switch to the sconce.

Grouping the wires so that they can connect to the new switches

Now its time to cut holes for the outlet placement for the LED rope lights.

Connecting the outlet wires to the sconce wires so that they are all on the same switch.

Covering additional holes in the wall that were made while we were figuring out the placement of the outlets.

Jason also let me tag along, so I learned a lot about electrical wiring to the point where I think I feel comfortable enough to give it a try on my own in the future. However, I cannot describe the process to you yet because I know none of the technical terms, so there won't be any DIY steps in this blog post. (Plus, I don't want to be held responsible for any hospitalizations.)

But here are some tips for a small job like ours in preparation of an electrician coming.

1. Mark the areas on the walls where you are putting your new fixtures or outlets.

Electricians are not designers. If you have already planned out aesthetically where certain things should go, then mark it. We just measured where the wall sconce back plate will sit on the wall in pencil and then Jason was free to drill anywhere within that area. Just make sure that it's not on top of one of the studs, which are 16" apart.

"X" marks the spot!

2. Determine whether you want an additional switch for the new lighting.

We decided to put our new task and back-lighting on a new double-stacked switch. This took a bit more time to install because we now had to string the new wiring through the attic because the switches and new outlets were nowhere near each other. We initially wanted to add a 4th full switch, but because of space constraints, we replaced one of our full switches with the double-stacked switch.

We added the double stack switch on the right

3. Purchase your lighting ahead of time so that you can inspect what kind of electrical outlets are needed.

In our case, the LED rope light power plugs were 3 inches long (probably because they have a built-in converter)! So we had to buy recessed outlet boxes so the plugs would not stick out as far.

Recessed outlet boxes for LED lights

And there you have it!

Next up, dual-tone painting!

{Rashida}

PS: Do you have motion sensors in your bathroom? Did you know you can adjust the timer and the distance to which it picks up motion? Jason changed the distance so that it picks up motion in longer ranges. No more trying to do "the wave" in the shower after the lights shut off on me! Woohoo!

The Master Bathroom Project | Refinishing the Cabinets (Part 3)

2012-10-25T14:09:00.000-07:00

Weekend #2 in the bathroom remodel! This is part three in my series about our master bathroom remodel. If you haven't read the previous parts on the design process or removing our large vanity mirror, have a look at those first.

I really wanted to change our vanity set in our master bathroom. Get new sink basins, counter-tops, or something... but it is all only 3 years old. And since I am a relatively reasonable person (and the hubby keeps me level-headed when I get a little too unreasonable), we decided to give refacing the cabinets a shot.

Before and after of our cabinet refinish project!

Now, we've actually tried staining wood before with an old kitchen table. Too many steps, very tiring/strenuous (so much sanding!), and we didn't like the finished product... even though we are still eating on said table to this day.

As I mentioned in the design of the master bathroom, when I went on a field trip for my Materials and Resources class, I saw this DIY cabinet refinishing kit. It made the process sound simple and easy, so we decided to give it a whirl. It ended up dramatically changing the look of our cabinets, although I'm sure we could have brushed up on some of the application technique.

Here's how we refinished our cabinets, if you would like to DIY:

SUPPLIES:

Cabinet Rustoleum Transformations Kit (There is also a smaller size just for bathrooms, but we had already purchased the bigger one when we realized it)
Two 2" synthetic paint brushes
Drop cloth
1-time use laytex/rubber gloves
A few paper cups
Blue tape
A drill or screw driver
An extra set of hands
Pen/Pencil

DIY STEPS

Time frame: an entire weekend, preferably a 3-day weekend (including drying times)
Follow instructions manual as it is quite detailed. To get a sense of what we did in addition or in substitution of the manual, read through this DIY.

1. Before you leave Home Depot, you have to tint the base color in the kit. There are two different kinds of kits: a dark color kit and a light color kit. We used the dark one and selected the color Kona. The paint department will tint it to one of the color selections provided on the kit. For our bathroom, we only tinted one of the two base color quart-sized cans since we don't have that many cabinets.
2. Start in the morning. You have to do at least two coats of the base tint which has 3-hour drying times each, plus a 12-24 hour drying time for the decorative and top coats. It's more convenient to let your top-coat dry overnight, unless you have insomnia and need something to do.
3. Create a quick sketch & number each cabinet door or drawer. We did a quick layout of the cabinet on paper, numbered each cabinet on the sketch, and numbered the back of each cabinet with some blue tape and a pen. This just helps for remembering what goes where later.
4. Protect your floor and your walls (if you care). Lay down some drop cloth under the frame of your vanity. You are guaranteed to get stuff everywhere. Also with blue tape, mask the areas of your wall where the frame touches. This will provide a barrier between the deglosser, base coat, top coat, etc and the wall color. If you plan to paint the wall later, as we are, then you can skip this step.
5. Remove each door and drawer frame. We put all of the hardware for each door/drawer in a paper cup that was numbered according to the sketch in step 3. Simple and organized. You'll thank me later. Our painting zone was in our garage — a place with little to no air movement. You don't want dust particles or other nature-related particles stuck on your cabinets. Note: If you want to leave the house when the paint is drying, may I suggest parking your cars outside so that starting your engine doesn't blow oil, dust, or dirt onto your cabinets. We failed to do this and had to push our cars out of the garage in neutral.
6. Degloss the cabinet frame and doors/drawers. This is actually step 1 in the kit; follow their instructions. They provide scrub pads and the deglosser; you need to provide the gloves. When using the deglosser, it was a little hard to tell whether it was working or not because it still looked glossy. But once the deglosser dries, it is easier to see the dullness of the cabinets. Just trust your gut and scrub hard. Once you've deglossed and wiped down the surface, you'll need to let it dry for 1 hour. This whole process (deglossing + drying) took both of us about 2.5 hours.
7. Apply the base coat color to the frame, and front & sides of drawers. Again, follow the instructions manual to get the proper technique. I think it's best to use a never-before-used brush to minimize the steak lines. (This is especially relevant for Step 11.) Try to get it as even as possible, but don't worry if you still see some of the old cabinet color. That is why there is a step 8 (you get to do it again!). Note: Make sure your paint is not dripping or forming puddles on your surfaces. You will see them later when it dries. Let the base coat dry for 2-3 hours. This whole process (painting + drying) took us about 4 hours.
8. Repeat step 7 for frame, front and sides of drawers. After the first coat has dried, apply a second coat. This step was a lot quicker because less precision was required. If you washed you brush from step 6, make sure it is completely dry, or use a new one. We decided to stick our brushes in a cup filled with the base coat, then used plastic wrap to keep the air out and moisture in so that the brush wouldn't dry out. It worked pretty well; we could just reuse the same brush. Let dry for 2-3 hours. The whole process took 3 hours.
9. Flip the wood boards over and paint one coat for the back of the drawers and doors. If you are like us, you aren't that concerned with the back of the doors and drawers. We just did one coat of the tinted color on the back and let them dry. Actually, we didn't even degloss the backs.
10. (Optional Coat) Apply decorative glaze. This portion is optional and is totally determined by the look you want to create. If you want to see more of the wood grains show through the paint, then you should use the decorative glaze. With the Kona color, it already seemed dark enough where we wouldn't notice much change with the glaze, so we skipped this step. If you decide to do this, it will take about 8-9 more hours (because of additional drying time).
11. Apply top coat to frame and door/drawer fronts and sides. It should be nighttime by now (unless you did the decorative glaze at which point it's been nighttime for a while) and its time to put on the glossy top coat. Here is where it is super important to have a soft brush. The brush strokes will show through when applying the glaze. It dries relatively quickly, but also drips a lot. Try to make sure you remove any excess glaze from your boards so that you wont have beads of dried glaze in places. Also, be careful about tiny air bubbles created with the glaze and paint. Not sure how to avoid it, but try to minimize them if possible. Diligence is important here. Let dry for 12 hours before touching.
12. (Optional) Add handle hardware. Once the paint was touchable after 12 hours, we added hardware. We wanted a modern feel for our cabinets, so in addition to the dark wood, we also purchased the IKEA BLANKETT cabinet handles. They added a nice touch. Adding the handles took about 1 hour.
13. Reattach doors and drawers. If you haven't already solicited help from another person, this is where an extra set of hands is necessary to hold the cabinets in place while you screw them in.
14. Touch-ups and top coat for door/drawer backs. Once everything was back in place, we saw areas that need some touch-ups of both the base color and the top coat. In addition, we applied the top-coat to the backs of the doors and drawers so that they wouldn't scratch easily.

Phew!!! And that's everything!

Final look of our "brand new" modern bathroom cabinets!

TOTAL COST: $105

I think it goes without saying that DIY is way more cost-effective, but I'll say it again: DIY is way more cost-effective! Because we reused brushes we already had, we were able to essentially get new cabinets for about less than $100 (and a weekend's-worth of time).

We just received an email from Costco about giving our bathroom (or kitchen) a "fresh look" with their new all wood cabinets with All Wood Cabinetry. A quick glance at their pricing, reveals that we would've easily spent thousands of dollars to replace our cabinets. I'd much rather pay with sweat & energy than thousands of dollars!

OVERALL IMPRESSION

Overall, I cannot complain. I think the kit dramatically changed the look of our bathroom, and we haven't even finished our full project yet! The toughest part about the kit was finding the right brush technique. You can still see some of the brush lines, but my guess is that they can be eliminated with a newer, high-quality brush. I want to refinish our kitchen cabinets as well, but the ambient lighting in our kitchen will definitely show the brush stokes more than the lighting in our bathroom. So until I figure out the proper technique, I'll hold off on that.

Next up on the remodel project is wiring the new lighting! I can't wait for this one! I get to learn something brand new!

{Rashida}

The Master Bathroom Project | Removing the Mirror (Part 2)

2012-10-17T16:50:00.001-07:00

...And we're back! This is part two in my series about our master bathroom remodel. If you haven't read part 1 on the master bathroom design process, you should read that first.

So, we decided to start the process with the removal of the mirror — the piece of the project we were most uncertain about executing successfully.

Our large (60" x 40") master bathroom mirror before removing it

For starters, the mirror was attached to the wall with some unknown adhesive, so were unsure how to remove the mirror from the wall. Secondly, in researching "how to remove a bathroom mirror" there were two messages: either break the mirror (which could be fun, but dangerous) or pull it off with suction cups (which could also pull off some of the drywall paper).

We decided to go with the suction cup approach; less dangerous, easier to mend the wall, and easier cleanup. Surprisingly, it actually worked!

Here are the DIY steps to remove a bathroom mirror:

SUPPLIES (from Home Depot)

Safety items (Drop cloth, long sleeves, long pants, gloves, goggles & closed-toed shoes) in case the mirror breaks
2 Suction Cups
Dap DryDex Spackling Paste
2 sheets of Sand paper (one 80 grit & one 150 grit)
Hand Sander
Flat-head screw driver (or kitchen knife)
Dry wall texturizer
Optional: Blow-dryer & saw (if you need additional force to melt or saw away at the adhesive)

DIY STEPS

Time frame: approximately 2 hours (including drying times)

1. Lay down your drop cloth.
2. Apply both suction cups to one corner of the mirror. Use quite a bit of force to pull off. We actually first tried applying one suction cup to each of the top corners. The hubby was pulling on one while I was pulling on the other and we had no luck. We almost gave up. Then we put both in the same corner and the whole mirror just popped off! (If it doesn't pop off, this is where the saw and/or blow dryer may come in handy.)
3. Reapply one of the suction cups to the other top corner in order to lift and carry the entire mirror off of the vanity. Two people are need here if you have a large vanity. Ours was 60" x 40".
4. Remove mirror base with a flat-head screw driver or similar tool. The base was just glued on with a clear caulking material. Easy to remove.
5. Sand off excess glue with coarse 80-grit sand paper. Wipe wall down with a paper towel (or your hand) to remove any excess sanded bits.
6. Patch up any drywall that was removed with your mirror. This Dap DryDex Spackling Paste is great because it's pink when you apply and turns white when it's dried. I applied it with my finger... no need for all the fancy drywall tools.
7. Once the drywall patch dries (approximately 10-15 minutes), sand off excess with the finer 150-grit sand paper. You may have to repeat this and the previous step if you need more patching.
8. Apply the texturizer in circular motion about 8" away from wall. Depending on the type of wall you have, this may not be necessary. As I mentioned in my textured walls post, in California, our walls have a texture applied to them, so we had to make all surfaces look the same. It takes a couple of tries to get the hang of this stuff. The application instructions on the can are actually pretty terrible. Make sure you shake the can vigorously and then turn the knob to a texture that suits you. Let it sit for an hour before moving to the next step.
9. Scrape off excess texture using extremely light pressure. We had to do this like 3 times because we used too much pressure the first couple of times. It says that you should use a drywall knock-down knife, but I wasn't going to waste our money on that. So I looked around the house and found this flexible, yet thick piece of plastic (aka our "guest-parking" pass). It worked like a charm!

TOTAL COST: $46.50

2 Suction Cups ~$14
Dap DryDex Spackling Paste ~$4
Sand paper packets (80 grit & 150 grit) ~$7.50
Hand Sander ~$7
Dry wall texturizer ~$14

DIY is waayy more cost effective than getting professionals to remove your mirror. A local company quoted us $100 - $200 just to remove the mirror (patching up walls not included), without even a guarantee that they wouldn't break it. Now we can use the mirror elsewhere, or sell it and make a profit! Craigslist anyone...?

We already had most of the materials from previous projects, so we only had to actually purchase the suction cups and texturizer. The nice thing about all the supplies needed for this project is that they are all completely reusable, making the next project even more cost-effective.

Shot of the master bathroom vanity after removing the large mirror and patching up the wall

Now our wall is patched up and ready for our two-tone paint! But we'll probably tackle the cabinet staining before we start painting. Stay tuned for those next steps!

{Rashida}

PS: Our master bathroom now looks super small without the mirror in there. Why? When looking into a mirror, your eyes are actually doubling the distance, as if the objects were behind the mirror, creating a virtual image. Yay for high school physics!

Kitchen Islands

2012-10-11T10:48:00.000-07:00

While we are in the trenches of our master bathroom project, let's talk about something else... kitchen islands!

A beautiful kitchen with a center island

Everyone wants an center island in their kitchen. They seem trendy, provide more counter & cabinet space, and can even provide the space for additional bar height seating. Sounds like a dream!

But before you head down to Home Depot, Lowe's, or Ikea, not all kitchens can support islands. Islands can sometimes make a kitchen even less efficient. Why? Efficient kitchens use the principle of the Work Triangle (I learned about this in my Principles of Interior Design class).

The principle of the Work Triangle refers to the distances between the stove, sink, and refrigerator. The distance between any two of these areas should be no less than 4' and no greater than 9', creating a triangle with a total perimeter between 13' and 26'. An efficient kitchen, has these these three kitchen elements in correct proximity to one another, minimizing the amount of walking between the three.

Now if an island were to break that triangle, as time goes on, you will probably be more annoyed than pleased with your new island installation. Here are some poor kitchen designs that I found on the internet:

The center island blocks a direct path from the refrigerator to the stove
(not to mention the lack of diversity in color)

Looks like a very "Martha Stewart" kind of kitchen, but the island interrupts the Work Triangle.
The stove is too far away from the wood-paneled fridge & the sink on the left.

The Work Triangle in our kitchen is so so. It's a 12.5' perimeter, meaning it is a little too small and that's probably why we are frequently bumping into each other. But hey, it's close, right?

Our kitchen: The side between the sink and the stove is too small..
Perhaps the builder should have moved the sink further from the stove.

Until next time,

{Rashida}

The Master Bathroom Project | The Design (Part 1)

2012-10-08T10:35:00.000-07:00

Here is what you have all been waiting for... the Master Bathroom Remodel!

Top-down view of our existing master bathroom rendered in Sketchup

As previously mentioned in my lighting post, the hubby and I have been wanting to design a feasible version of "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" on our master bathroom. We wanted to create a spa or high-end hotel feeling in our bathroom without completely ripping out our shower, tub, walls, etc. (maybe we'll get to that point eventually, but we're not quite there yet).

I thought I had a good idea of what I wanted to do. If you recall in my painting techniques post, I said that I wanted to try out the basket-weave painting pattern, so I was thinking browns and earth tones for the color palette. We went to Home Depot, picked out some brown paint color swatches by Glidden, found some cheap brown glass mosaic tiles, bought the Martha Stewart Paint Kit, and were ready to go! When we got home, seeing the samples in the bathroom said otherwise... nothing seemed to fit together correctly. I was kind of bummed.

So now what?

The answer: Google SketchUp! We rendered our entire bathroom (as is) in SketchUp from a set of floor plans that I had to draw for my Principles of Interior Design Class. SketchUp was a bit tedious at first because of the learning curve, but we got the hang of it eventually and were able to get pretty close to the real thing...

Floor plan of our master suite

Detailed measurements of the sink/vanity/cabinet area of our master bathroom

Birds'-eye view of our master bathroom (actual photo vs. Sketchup rendering)

Ground view from the entry of our master bathroom (actual photo vs. Sketchup rendering)

Mid-level view from the entry of our master bathroom (actual photo vs. Sketchup rendering)

Sink & vanity view of our master bathroom (actual photo vs. Sketchup rendering)

Tub area view of our master bathroom (actual photo vs. Sketchup rendering)

Then we began tweaking different parts of the design based on the materials we bought and other things we liked...

Trial #1: Our original idea with brown walls, tile strip, dark wood & split mirrors
(we liked the ideas individually, just not together)

Trial #2: Gray wall (continued from bedroom), split mirrors & tile filling the entire back wall
(once again things didn't go together)

Trial #3: Blue-ish theme
(completely lost the "spa" feel)

And after a lot of back & forth and many "Save As..." operations later, we finally landed on this design!

We're doing a split paint (top gray, bottom black) & keeping the split mirror idea (now with frames)

Pendant light hanging from the ceiling plus candle wall scones over the tub

Dark brown (Kona) cabinet refinish with additional silver handles

In sum, we are planning to:

Paint the walls two colors: Glidden's Seal Gray (from living room) and Onyx Black.
Refinish the cabinets to a color called Kona from this amazing cabinet painting kit that we found at Home Depot.
Add hardware to the cabinets.
Remove the huge mounted mirror and replace it with two smaller framed mirrors.
Add some additional lighting over the tub and between the mirrors.

This is going to be a pretty big project for us since we've never removed a huge mirror before, never used the Rustoleum Cabinet Transformations Kit before, or never installed completely new lighting that hasn't already been pre-wired.

So where are we at now?

We've bought all the materials, and as the remodel progresses, I will be posting updates. So stay tuned! We'll be sure to highlight all of the materials that are used in the process, their ease of use (or lack thereof), and their cost.

I am super excited that we finally have a design and I hope you all find our remodel process enjoyable and inspiring!

Wish us luck!

{Rashida}

PS: As you're probably well aware by now, I am obsessed with gray. I actually really tried not to incorporate gray into this design, but I couldn't help myself. It looked so good! It turns out, however, that grays are a trending color in the home industry! Suburban homes are now trying to look more urban! (Many thanks to the designers at Homesite Services in San Ramon for confirming that I wasn't a boring person because I like designing with gray.)

PPS: SketchUp is truly amazing! It is really simple to use once you get the hang of it, and I highly suggest trying it out if you don't want to purchase a similar 3D modeling software (ahem AutoCad). It really is the best way to iterate on your designs without having to implement them. Just watch some of the tutorials and you'll be on your way in no time!

Your Extreme (but feasible) Home Makeover

2012-10-05T09:46:00.000-07:00

My husband and I want to upgrade our master suite: knock down some walls, add a walk-in closet, create a huge master bathroom that actually has a window, etc. You know, the type of things you see on "Extreme Makeover, Home Edition" — minus Ty Pennington, the free labor, the free furniture, the fabulous vacation, and all the cameras.

While we want to make these massive changes someday, we don't have the skill or the guts (not to mention the funds) to do this massive remodel. Plus our home is only 3 years old... we should probably get some wear out of it before doing something that drastic.

But did you know that just adding a coat of paint can also be considered a remodel?

"Remodel (v. or n.) — changing an existing space into a new form or adding on to a space"

Good examples of bathroom remodels that I found on the internet

Remodels can be as simple as updating wall/floor/ceiling treatments, new lighting fixtures, refinishing cabinets, etc, or as complex as adding an additional floor, converting your garage into a den, or even creating an entirely new master suite :) The former can make just as extreme of a difference as the latter. Remodels aren't just for the professional contractors!

And that means that our master bedroom project was a remodel, as well as our family tree accent wall.

You may also hear the word "renovation" thrown around.

"Renovation (n.) — returning a home to a previous condition, without changing the space"

Think of old homes that people buy for the purpose of making it livable again in the modern day...

AFTER
(click here to see the full before and after shots... again this was not done by me)

BEFORE

Renovations typically requires a lot of time, money, and careful planning. They should not be confused with "restoration"...

"Restoration (n.) — returning a structure to its original condition"

Restorations usually require the use of authentic materials, designs, and colors as when the home was originally built.

So go ahead! Use the technical terms. When you are painting your room, you now have the right to claim that you're remodeling and creating your own extreme (but feasible) home makeover!

Next up, the remodel of our master bathroom. All walls will remain in tact, but the appearance will change dramatically.

{Rashida}

PS: This educational PSA has been brought to you by Inside the Frame (via my Principles of Interior Design class).

Light it Up!

2012-10-02T13:46:00.001-07:00

Today in my Fundamentals of Lighting Class, we talked about the four different kinds of light:

Ambient Lighting
Task Lighting
Decorative Lighting
Focal/Display Lighting

It's absolutely amazing how these different kinds of lighting have huge effects on the mood you want to create in your space. The lighting of a room can make or break your space...

MAKE!: well lit with all of the lighting types

BREAK! : only one light source!!!!

Ambient lighting is typically the general lighting that lights up a room. It's the recessed can lights in your kitchen, the wall lighting in your hallway, the floor lamps in your living room... you know, the lights that let you see the room. Check out some of the ambient lighting in kitchens below...

Our kitchen w/ canned lighting

This is a little old school, but the big overhead lights are the ambient lighting
(not my home and certainly not my design)

Can lights and the ceiling up-lighting are both forms of ambient lighting
(Cool space... but not designed by me)

Task lighting is also very familiar to most people. It focuses light on specific places based on the task you are performing. These are the lights under your cabinets in the kitchen that are helpful for seeing what you are doing on the counter; it's the nightstand lamps in your bedroom which allow you to read a night; the desk lamps when you are doing your homework; etc.

Our kitchen's under cabinet task lighting
(no, our counter top is usually not that bare)

Decorative lighting is the fun stuff: the pretty chandeliers or Italian glass pendant lights. It's essentially the jewelry of lighting; its main purpose is to be pretty. And it doesn't have to be super expensive either. Check out this decorative lighting from IKEA in our living room...

IKEA Decorative lighting surrounding our living room TV

Decorative chandelier hanging above dining table
(nope, not my design)

Focal/Display lighting is the accent lighting you put on artwork, inside your china cabinet (for when the President comes to visit), or on something else you want to show off. I don't have any of these in my home... yet, but here are some examples I found on the web... :)

Show off your wine with some display lighting

Draw people's attention to your family photos or artwork with focal track lighting

Ambient and task lighting are crucial for your home, but decorative lighting is also necessary to make your home pop. There is nothing more uninviting than a poorly lit space. Check out these short videos below from Kichler Lighting about lighting spaces well. Hopefully you will be as inspired as I was!

"What was she so inspired to do?" you may be asking.

Well, stay tuned for an upcoming series on our bathroom remodel project! It's nothing that requires re-plumbing or removal of tons of dry wall (we don't have enough skill yet), but rather some small changes with painting, color and lighting that I think will add up to give our master bathroom a little more pizzazz.

Stay tuned,

{Rashida}

Textured Walls | Stencils

2012-09-25T14:16:00.000-07:00

I guess "Textured Walls" is going to be a series... I've already talked about the absence of color and painting techniques in my two previous posts.

So, continuing on the theme of creating dimension and making your rooms more dynamic, you can also add a stencil to your walls. I know, you may be thinking, "like my grandma's kitchen?!?!"

sorry to whoever owns this home...

But no, I am talking about something a little more fun and funky like... (the following pictures are not my designs)

add some stenciled leaves in 3 different colors to accent the perimeter of your bed

be a minimalist

provide a focal point on the wall

make the wall purposeful by adding some hooks; it looks very city-like and clean

Or how about something a little more soft and elegant, replacing the hassles of wallpapering...?

On the second floor of our home, we wanted to add an accent wall after remodeling our living room and kitchen. But we wanted to add something more than a coat of paint. Instead of making my own wall stencil, I decided to free-hand paint a tree with some birds. Although, we did get a stencil created from FedEx Kinkos to add a bible verse to the wall (see pictures below).

Below are the steps we took to create our DIY stencil family tree accent wall:

1. Painted the wall with Martha Stewart's Cement Gray

see...I told you I like gray :)

2. Free-hand sketched the design on paper

3. Measured the wall into quadrants to make the painting proportional to the drawing.

4. Began painting the tree (used Martha Stewart's Magnetite)

See the leftover blue tape for the quadrants

5. Painted the birds in Glidden's Mustard Seed to provide a splash of color to the wall

6. Hung family photos

7. Put up the wall decal.

finished project

What I love about the design is the flexibility to put your pictures wherever you want on the wall. Also, the wall is a neutral color so it will compliment almost any other wall colors in your space. If you want to change your "splash of color", simply repaint the birds to a different color. I might do a turquoise of some sort next.

Happy stenciling!

{Rashida}

PS: If you don't want to create a stencil, you can just order decals...they do the same trick. :)

Textured Walls | Absence of Color

2012-09-18T15:12:00.003-07:00

In addition to using found materials to give dimension and texture to the wall (see Textured Walls | Painting Techniques), you can also use the absence of color to provide texture.

Before my husband and I got married, he bought a new house and was living with his friend from college. This house was brand new, which essentially means that everything was shades of beige. Eggshell. Cream. Buff. Bone. Cosmic latte. Or whatever other clever names paint people come up with. From my perspective, beige means boring. Even though I wouldn't be moving in for another couple months, my first design challenge, was to redesign the master bedroom.

Pretty bare...

pretty basic...

and pretty uninspiring

I wanted my hubby's room (soon to be my room) to have some elegance to it, and there's nothing that a coat of paint can't fix... and some furniture maybe :).

I was inspired by this photo I found online:

I am really into gray. It's so peaceful, elegant, and neutral. As you can see in the picture, this room has paneling and molding and all of this other fancy stuff. At the time, we weren't that adventurous (or knowledgeable) regarding molding, so the best tools in our tool belts were paint rollers, tape, and a laser-leveler.

A couple hours (and a few trips to furniture stores) later, we completely transformed the room into something suitable then for a bachelor's room and, now our master bedroom.

Remember what I said earlier about the absence of color? Well, this is where it can provide texture. We created a similar pattern as in the inspiration photo, using tape to mark off the areas that were to remain beige. Of course, there are still some things to do to make the room "shiny", but that is step two.

FUN FACT OF THE DAY: In my Art class (2-D Foundations), I learned about negative and positive shapes. Negative shapes recede in a picture; positive shapes advance in a picture. In the case of our bedroom wall, you would think that the gray is the positive since it is the painted shape. But actually, the white is serving as the positive shape because it pops... seemingly as if it is painted over the gray. Interesting, eh?

Until next time,

{Rashida}