An Angeleno DIYing Design?

Fitzpatrick-Here’s a message from one of our readers. My short responses are in red, with a few more thoughts later:

First, I wanted to let you both know how much I love your blog and how interesting and insightful it is Bless you! We’re grateful for your readership! for someone like me – young, in my first house, undertaking my first significant remodel, and just trying to do everything right the first time! It’s much easier this way, but a little more expensive. Oh, and this is no DIY job – just so I don’t give you a heart attack. Whew! Some DIY jobs turn out very well, but in my experience they are rare.

I was just wondering, based on your most recent posts, how/where I would find information about what materials/designs would be in keeping with my 1927 Spanish Colonial style house? I don’t have a designer in my employ at the moment, and I understand if that’s the best way to make sure that what I’m putting in fits with the existing structure, It is. but if you have other hints or tips that would be very helpful! See below.

We’re enlarging our kitchen, converting (well, tearing down) our garage to build a new master bedroom/bathroom, creating a utility area through which we can enter the house from the pool in the backyard, and enlarging the current master bedroom and splitting it into 2 smaller rooms. A lot of work for a beginner, right? Yes, indeedy. But we’re no sticklers for contemporary design or minimalism – we want to match the original hardwood floors as closely as possible, keep/repair the counterbalance wood windows (most of which have been painted over or have broken ropes) you are respecting the house, very good start and incorporate accents, like the original doorway arches, in our new design. Very hard to match these things exactly unless you use very skilled, experienced craftsmen who know lathe and plaster construction and have excellent woodworking skills. But when it comes to the kitchen cabinets or countertops…well, there are just so many options and we want to find something we like and that fits with the rest of the house.

I’m admittedly overwhelmed, so I’m trying to learn as much as possible. Your blog is so incredibly helpful and definitely appreciated, as is your response to comments and openness to receiving emails.

Thanks again for your help!

Thanks so much for writing. Congratulations! You seem to have all the right sensitivities and to be on your way to beginning an architecturally sensitive addition/remodel.

Yet one glaring thing stands out. You say this is not a Do-It-Yourself project, yet you appear to be approaching the design in a DIY manner. I may be incorrect, you may simply be performing research in order to better understand the history of your house and be better prepared to make design decisions when the time comes. To this end I’d suggest getting your eyeballs around as many examples of restored Spanish Revivals as you can. Go on home tours. Ask to see neighbors’ homes. Google “Spanish Architecture in California” and see what you get. Right off, I’d recommend these two publications from the great arts and architecture publisher, Rizzoli:

Casa California, Spanish Style Houses from Santa Barbara to San Clemente
California Mediterranean

http://www.rizzoliusa.com/rizzoli.html


BUT, but, but, but, if you’re attempting to make all the design selections and turn over the work to contractors, you’ll be shortchanging yourself, your home and your investment.

It sounds from your description and your address that you might be in possession of one of those dreamy little bungalows around Silver Lake or Los Felix. If so—I hate you, I hate you, I hate you! No, not really, I love you, I love you, I love you for reading this blog and for respecting what sounds like a gem of house and trying to do the right thing as you make it your own.

But here’s the deal. You need a design professional as a point person for this level of work on this kind of house. Be it an interior designer, a kitchen and bath designer, a residential architect, OR (I’ll bet Peg never dreamed she’d hear me says this) an architecturally sensitive restoration contractor. If you are in L.A., there are many contractors who specialize in these types of houses, know them intimately, and will do the right thing by them. Ask around. Ask people in your neighborhood, at work and in social situations who’ve had work done on homes in the same style as yours. People love to talk about their remodeling experiences.

You might want to do a consult with an interior designer. Many firms offer one- and two-hour consultations to help you get going in a direction. Try http://www.asid.org/, the website of the American Society of Interior Designers. You will have plenty of selection in your area.

The reason most people skip the design phase is that they believe it will cost too much. The program (your initial wants and needs for the project) you’ve described, in Los Angeles, with plans and permits and performed by licensed contractors could easily run $200,000 to $500,000. Design fees typically run 10% of the project. So for ten percent, you’ve bought some good insurance that you’re not going to do something, (1) you regret, and (2) actually ends up lowering the value of your house.

If you don’t have the money now, wait. Save up that extra ten percent and take the time to find someone you think you will work well with. It might actually save you money. Here’s how:

1. Creating a custom design based on your needs and the architecture of your home entails a set of plans and specifications that instruct a contractor--down to the kitchen faucet and knobs—what is going into this house. Then you can bid apples to apples with several contractors, knowing you will get the best price/value on the exact details you want. If you don’t do a set of plans and specifications and simply tell your needs to three contractors, you will be comparing apples to oranges and quite possible mangoes and bananas, with no guarantee in the end, what you’ll end up with.
2. A set of plans and specifications is the best way to ensure the selections you made with your contractor six months ago when the job started is exactly what you are getting. (Honestly, plans and specs remind ME what I and the client agreed upon. With multiple jobs and the passage of time, one does forget details). And you have legal recourse if it’s not what you end up getting, or not done in a “workmanlike manner.”
3. A set of plans and specs prepared by a licensed architect, engineer or designer helps to sail through the permit process and prevent costly delays. You want to pull permits. First, it’s the law in California. It also protects you and your homeowners insurance by having the work inspected by the city or municipality your property falls under, and insuring it’s up to the current life and safety codes of that municipality. Have a fire and didn’t pull a permit for your electrical work? Think your home owner’s insurance will pay?
4. Protects your investment. If this is your first home, chances are it’s your most valuable financial asset. Just like you probably hold your retirement accounts with reputable firms who follow SEC regulations, you’ll want to adhere to the highest design and ethical standards in the care and improvement of your house. Just think, if you don’t have life insurance, chances are your home is worth more than your body—would you try to self-diagnose your health problems? Or would you see a medical professional?

I know. You never hear any of this stuff on home improvement TV or in 99% of shelter publications. That’s the reason Peg and I decided to write this blog.

The reason I haven’t responded to the specifics of your description of your home is that words, or even digital photos, can’t convey all the details of a house that a design professional will take into consideration when she/he suggests materials and finishes for your restoration. Typically houses of that vintage in my area have oak or maple cabinets, usually with a recessed or raised panel, plenty of moldings, a warm honey or walnut color. Usually the countertops are tile, especially handmade tiles that evoke the ceramic heyday in California from the 1930’s to 1940’s like those produced by the Malibu Tile Company et al. Copper or dark iron plumbing fixtures work well, but they must be the right finish and right lines or they look cheap.

But I can’t possibly know the light patterns in your home, the views from the windows, the nooks, crannies and room configurations—the things that make it unique and yours--that I’d consider in order to integrate all the hundreds of pieces that go into just the kitchen.

I hope this didn’t seem like a lecture, but it sounds like you have a beauty of a house, and I’d hate to see you invest a lot of money in a large remodel and not get the most bang for the buck. Good luck, thanks for writing, and feel free to ask us questions at any point during your process. We’d love to hear what you decide on and how it goes.

I think Peg has worked on Spanish bungalows before, so maybe she has more to add….