April 2012 to April 2013: A Year of Construction

April 22, 2013: I'm going to give you a series of photographs of our house just about all put together. Of course, there are a few more things to be done. But in comparison to all we've done, there isn't much. We are absolutely thrilled with the decisions we've made, the design prowess of Robert Baumann, our architect, and his crew, the excellence of our general contractor, Jon Curry, and his assistants and subs, the good judgment and great taste of our interior designer, Marty Johnson, our landscape wizards Brett McPherson's TLC and Roy's Landscaping, and all the other folks who gave us great advice and wise counsel along the way, especially Mary Perez and Geraldine Whitman.

Coming into the house: The front door is on the right. A closet is on the left. Straight ahead is the newly named kitchen annex. It used to be my office.

The living room. A good mixture of things we already had either in Berkeley or Sonoma with some new things, like the sofa, mixed in.

The dining room. We brought up the table and chairs from Berkeley. The bookshelves are filled with my cookbook collection of somewhere around 550 books, arranged mostly by cuisine.

Guest bedroom.

Guest bathroom. You can see the reflection of the shower stall in the mirror.

My office.  I am sitting at it at this very moment and it doesn't look all that different from what it does in the photo.

The chickens, the charging station, and more cupboards in my office. The doors to the charging station pull down. There is an electric outlet in each of them into which you can plug the cords to your various devices. The cords come up through the top grommets. You can set your device on top on the shelf and charge your what-evers without the tangle of all those cords.
The knobs work very well.

Master bath.

The bath tub in the master bath has been used a lot by the Queen of Baths, Katherine Fulton. It is so beautiful.

The master bedroom is the coziest we've ever slept in. It is tiny by just about any measurement. You can see it doesn't hold much more than the bed and side tables. But because it looks into the sitting room and then out to the deck, it feels spacious.

Sitting room. The bookshelves hold my art, travel, children's, and ecology books. And our introduction into the modern world of television, an HD flat screen.

Our really wonderful new chairs and ottomans. The door between them leads into my studio. It is not the only entrance to the studio.

My studio. It is so cool. I've done a few projects in there which has been great. But I want to make art. I need to make art. The light is superb. More art and craft books on the shelves with enough ideas in them to keep me busy for decades.

Looking the opposite direction in the studio.

The multi-purpose room in the cottage looks very much like the living room on Donner: same rug, sofa, cushions, and lamp.

The bookshelves in the multi-purpose room, mostly filled with various kinds of non-fiction: history, self-help, religion and spirituality, etc.

The cottage bathroom. I need to find a nice mirror to hang under the light fixture.

The other end of the vanity holds the snack jar of almonds and dried cranberries, the electric tea kettle and the water pitcher.

Katherine's office is to the left of the multi-purpose room. She has a side door to her office so that if a guest is staying in the multi-purpose room, she'll still be able to come into her office.

Katherine working at her U-shaped desk.

The bookshelves in her office hold her business and professional books.

A few shots of the outside landscaping leading from the driveway to the cottage.
Here is the required cover parking area which we call the outdoor dining room. We bought a long stone table and eight wicker chairs. Usually they will have colorful cushions on the seats, but seeing that it is pollen season, we have them stored away until needed.

Path to the deck and the cottage.

The vista opens up to the deck. If you walk up the stone step to the left, you'll be on the little back porch outside the sitting room.

Chaise on the little back porch right outside the sitting room.

Looking to the right of the cottage.

March 20: Our stone table is delivered and carried into place by three very strong men, laboring under the weight of it.

March 9: We moved on March 6 and 8. We had already started to get things in place by March 9. The new sofa was delivered on March 7. It is a beauty.

March 9: We brought the dining room table and chairs up from Berkeley. We are experimenting with how many leaves to have in the table--one here.

March 6: Leaving Donner, moving into 675.
The moving truck. Johnson & Daly, a great moving company.

Packing the cookbooks from the Donner living room.

The chaos before boxes and furniture are moved onto the truck.

Nearly everything out of the living room.

March 6: The move continues into 675 Second Street East.
The living room.

The kitchen in a mess. Even with a mess, I made myself a fried egg sandwich for supper, my first meal back in my kitchen. It was delicious.

The bed made up for my first night in the house. Katherine surprised me by coming home early from a business trip to the east coast so that she too could sleep in the house the first night.

The multi-purpose room in the cottage.

Katherine's office in the cottage.

March 5: Wooden blinds replace all the metal mini-blinds in the main part of the house.

March 3: My first chance to take pictures after getting back from Cuba. The dining room shelves are painted.

The guest bath has towel bars and a toilet paper holder.

My office has drawer and cabinet pulls.

The charging station is painted, awaiting some way to open the three doors which drop down.

The master bath with towel bars, tub faucets and a soap dish.

The master bath vanity. Drawer pulls are in place. Some temporary lights were installed, awaiting the arrival of the real ones.

Katherine's closet space. One side is the place to hang clothes.

The other side has cubbies for folded clothes.

The sitting room bookshelves are done.

My studio is looking good. All the drawer pulls are in place--a lot of them.

The bookshelves in the cottage multi-purpose room are painted.

Alex has finished the cubbies in Katherine's office in the cottage. Katherine calls them project boxes. The first are on the left with a small charging station.

The second face the first on the right.

The bookshelves in Katherine's office are painted.

And the desk is ready to have the maple top finished.

February 17: This was the last day I could take pictures before leaving for Cuba. I was away from February 18 to 28 and came back to Sonoma on March 1. I immediately set to work finishing up the plans for moving on March 6 and 8.
Painting the bookshelves in the dining room.

February 14: Outdoor lights in the outdoor dining room.

Outdoor lights on the main house.

Outdoor lights on the cottage, same as on the main house.

February 13: Painting the bookshelves in the dining room.

February 13: Painting the bookshelves in the sitting room.

February 11: Great color in the cottage bathroom, Tweed Coat CSP 85 by Benjamin Moore.

February 8: Paco and Manuel continuing the process of painting the interior of the cottage. They have already done the primer coat and the wood trim. Now for the color.

February 8: The color goes on so fast. Here it is, Sage Wisdom CSP 770 by Benjamin Moore.

February 8: Alex, our cabinet maker, has installed the bookshelves in the dining room. They will house my cookbook collection.

February 8: Alex has also finished the bookshelves in the sitting room.

February 8: Alex has finished work on the cabinets in my studio  and office by hanging the doors.

February 7: Our beloved cabinet maker, Alex, after nearly six weeks, is back on the job. He contracted a truly awful bug which kept him out of his workshop for a prolonged period of time. We are so glad to have him healthy and working. Here he is beginning work on the dining room bookshelf unit.

February 5: New lights in the kitchen. With all the new lighting in the rest of the house, it seemed a good idea of upgrade the lights in the kitchen which were installed when the kitchen was renovated in 2006.

January 23: The front part of the driveway which was originally poured in three sections has been redone. It is now divided into four sections and nicely aligns with the walk leading from the house to the driveway.

January 23: The refinished floors which have been covered with paper are now revealed. Don't they look great with the color in the living room? The ceiling lights have also been installed.

January 23: Finally we have a couple of working toilets. This one is in the master bath. The medicine cabinets and vanity faucets have also been installed.

January 23: The ceiling lights and the beautiful hanging lights have been installed in my studio. Ultimately these lights will hang a little lower. You can also see the paint colors. Sagebrush CSP 770 on the walls and upper cabinets, Steep Cliff Gray 2122-20 on the lower cabinets, both by Benjamin Moore.

January 18: The bath tub, all 200 pounds of it, is going into the master bath. Katherine Fulton is thrilled.

January 18: The plumbers are working on the tub and the faucets for the vanity. The medicine cabinets have also been installed.

January 16: Glass shower doors have gone into the master bath. There is still some duct tape on the corner where the glue is drying.

January 16: Glass shower doors have gone into the guest bath. Duct tap is even more obvious on this one.

January 16: The old glass doors from Omega Salvage which Sonoma Sash made usable have been rehung on the opening to our closets. To the left is the laundry area. You an also see the color of the hall, November Rain 2142-60 by Benjamin Moore.

January 16: Erio built a folding table and shelves to hold laundry detergent, my iron, and other essentials in the laundry area.

January 15: The paint color in the living room and dining room is just gorgeous. It's also in the front entry. Sea Glass CSP 735 by Benjamin Moore.

January 15: The vanity in the guest bath needed a little fix to make it fit into walls that weren't exactly straight. Erio created a beautiful solution which will get painted the same color as the walls. Sylvan Mist CSP 740 by Benjamin Moore.

January 14: The guest room shower is complete and looks fantastic with the wall color. See above.

January 14: The master bath room has been painted. Dusty Miller CSP 755 on the walls and Oil Cloth CSP 760 for the vanity, both by Benjamin Moore. You can see just a bit of the glass pocket door on the left.

January 14: The shower in the master bath with the wall color, Dusty Miller. See above.

January 14: The walls colors in my office. Sagebrush CSP 770 on the walls and upper cabinets, Yorktowne Green HC 133 on the lower cabinets. Both paints by Benjamin Moore.

January 10: Paco is painting, spraying actually, the upper and lower cabinets in my office and studio.

January 10: The long hall walls are painted along with the two closets and the laundry area. The cabinetry doors for my office and studio are drying in my closet, having received their first coat of color on the front.

January 8: The many drawers for my office and studio are lined up, primed, and ready for color.

January 8: The interior doors are lined up in the living room and dining room. They've been primed and are awaiting the final coat.

January 8: The final coat on the wood trim in the sitting room.

January 8: Paco spraying the final coat on the wood trim in the long hall.

January 4: Paco in his protective covering for spraying.

January 3, 2013: The counter tops go in to both my office and studio and are almost immediately wrapped in paper in anticipation of the painting which will begin tomorrow.

December 27: Manuel is covering all the cabinets in preparation for the painting to come--we hope soon. This shot is in my studio.

December 20: The gate has been refurbished. The little pointy things along the top have been removed. Brett, our landscape architect, added a large red bow in honor of the season.

December 20: Alex, our cabinet maker on the right, and his friend are hanging the upper cabinets in my studio.

December 20: The garbage/recycling/yard waste enclosure is done.

December 20: Manuel is filling and sanding the millions of nail holes in the wood trim, in preparation for painting. It is exacting work and absolutely essential.

December 20: Erio and Krishan are building our closets. I'm getting lots of shelves.

December 18: The lower cabinets in my office are installed.

December 18: The lower cabinets have been installed in my studio. I'm going to have a lot of storage space for all my art supplies. So exciting.

December 18: The faucet and trim in the cottage bathroom are in place. The trim is a thinner version of the tile surrounding the upper part of the shower stall.

December 14: The guest bathroom vanity is in place with the sink and faucet.

December 14: The beautiful faucet in the guest bathroom vanity.

December14: The faucets installed in the master bathroom vanity.

December 14: A close-up of the master bath faucet which I think is really pretty.

December 7: Tile in the master bath shower. Ray is doing a great job with it. He also has suggestions for the paint color of the room. 

December 7: Ray's brother, Rocky, working on the tile in the guest bath.

December 7: Pavers in the "covered parking spot" which in reality is our outdoor dining room.

December 7: Lights on either side of the path leading from the driveway to the back of the house.

December 4: The guys are working their way toward the street positioning the pavers.

December 4: Finally we are getting the finishing touches on the roof. The tiles which rim the roof are being put in place.

December 3: The stepping stones are being arranged.

December 3: The floors in the main house are finally done, except for the last coat which will go on a couple of days before we move in. They look fantastic.

December 3: Jim is staining the floors in the cottage. 

November 29: Sanding the floors in the main house.

November 29: The irrigation pipes in the garden are being laid. We won't need them for a while, what with the rain and all.

November 27: The guys from Roy's Landscaping are racing to get the plants in the ground before the rain which is scheduled for tomorrow through the weekend.

There were more plants than we needed. These are being returned, partly because the spirea had pink flowers (ick!). The olive in the background is moving to the front yard.

November 26: Plants and trees are delivered by a great big truck. These are a couple of Japanese maples and an olive. I think there are way more plants than we need.

November 26: The floors in the front of the house are done being refinished and look beautiful. I'm still searching for the right wall color for the living room and dining room.

November 24: The deck between the main house and the cottage is done, as are the stairs leading into the cottage

November 14: The floors in the front of the house are being sanded, the first step in the refinishing process. We had to choose the stain for the whole house and cottage. The bottom right is a repair where an old floor furnace was years and years ago.

November 14: The shower in the cottage is grouted. Only a tiny bit of finishing left to go.

November 14: The counter top for the vanity in the cottage is in place, along with the sink.

November 14: The counter top for the vanity in the master bath is in place, along with the sinks.

November 14: Work continues on the deck.

November 13: Erio has completed installing the window and door trim in the new part of the main house.

November 7: The white oak floors are in the end stages of being installed in the new part of the main house. The next step is sanding, staining, and finishing them. It'll be a while.

November 7: The outside of the new part of the house has been painted, along with the trim.

November 5: The chain-link fences which have enclosed the front yard since the end of May are gone, leaving the garden looking strangely vulnerable.

November 5: The cottage is getting its exterior coat of paint. The masked fellow dressed in white to the left is spraying on the paint.

November 5: The huge shower stall in the cottage is being tiled. Grouting is the next step. It looks great.

November 5: Work on the wood floors in the main house continues with the laying out of the oak.

November 2: Black paper with guide lines drawn on it is laid down on the floor in preparation for the wood.

November 2: The new electrical panel is in place and we once again have electricity. The panel is enclosed in this wooden box which we hope will "disappear" once it has a coat of paint to match the house.

November 2: The landscapers are hard at work on a new fence and raised beds along the driveway. I will be able to stand in the kitchen and look out at a flourishing (I hope) kitchen garden.

October 31: Sinks set into the vanity in the master bath, all ready for the Caesarstone folks (Fox Marble) to make a template for the counters.

October 31: The oak flooring in the cottage is in place. The next step is staining and finishing.

October 29: The drawers and doors are now part of the bathroom vanities in the cottage and the master bath.

October 29: The oak flooring, after sitting for a while in the main part of the house to acclimatize itself, is being installed in the cottage.

October 26: The roofers are back at work on the decorative part of the project: placing terracotta tiles along the edges of the roof line.

October 26: The rough boxes of the bathroom vanities are in place in the cottage and the master bathrooms. The drawers and doors will come in a few days.

October 19: My beloved glass doors, as well as other internal doors, have been hung. Two of the five glass doors were in the house when we bought it. Three are new (to me) old glass doors. Sonoma Sash made them work--not without some complaining. They look fantastic. This one is my closet door.

October 19: The second of our construction parties. A huge success with about 47-50 people stopping by to see the latest developments in the project and to drink some bubbly and snack on various dips and chips.

October 12: I've been working on finding the right colors for the outside of the cottage. I think I have it and painting should start next week. Note as well the completed stone walls and the fire pit. I can't quite believe that we're going to have a fire pit. My contractors says that I won't regret it; he sees us sitting around it, wrapped in blankets, drinking wine, and telling stories.

October 12: This is the last layer of the stucco--the finish coat.

October 11:  Watching this finish coat being applied is fascinating. It is applied smooth and then one of the experts moves the stucco around to make it look exactly like the older part of the house. It was tinted close to the color of the rest of the main house. Everything will get a coat of paint at some point.

October 9: The interior of the main house and the cottage has been primed.

October 4: The second coat of the stucco has been applied. It has to dry for a week before applying the finish coat. You can also see the finished stone work on the back porch.

October 2: Working on the stone for the back porch. It was like watching a big puzzle being put together.

September 26: Mud and texture has been applied to all the dry wall.

September 26: The first of three coats of stucco has been applied over the wire mesh and black paper. Each layer has to dry for about a week before the next is applied.

September 13: The main house is being wrapped in black paper and covered with "chicken wire" in preparation for the stucco which should start on Monday.

September 13: Sheet rock is going up inside the main house. What an incredible difference it makes.

September 10: Progress on the stone walls.

The roof is on the cottage.









September 3-7: The site has been a beehive of activity.

The Energy Solutions insulation truck moved into place August 31 and on September 7 is still blocking the driveway. They should be done in a few days.

The Energy Solutions team have been spraying a soy-based foam insulation into the ceiling and insulating some interior walls with Eco-Batts and the exterior walls with Blow-In Blankets.

The roofers have started work on the three roof areas: the main house, the cottage, and the covered parking spot building. So far they have applied black paper to all the surfaces. With rain in the forecast pretty regularly (granted a likelihood of only 10-20 per cent), I am glad to see the roof get some protection from the elements.

Two stone workers have begun building landscape walls in the backyard deck area.
 

August 27: The "covered parking spot" and the attached storage area now has a roof and some beautiful trim.

August 27: The excellent framers are putting up the siding on the cottage. The first stage of the roofing process has started with black paper on top of the wood.

August 23: Windows and doors are now installed in both the main house and the cottage. The cottage is also wrapped in a beautiful yellow plastic, in preparation for the siding.

August 17: The "covered parking spot," required by the city of Sonoma, is starting to take shape. We are planning to use it as an outdoor covered eating area, a much more felicitous use of the space we think.

August 17: Behind the "covered parking space" is the much-needed (by me) kitchen and art storage area.

July 31: The HVAC guys hoist up the furnace into the gable space above the main house hall.

July 26: The drive way is completely destroyed in the service of a new sewer line. What a mess.

July 23: My sister Barbara and her husband Tom come for a visit and to check out our progress.

July 26: This is the sky light in my studio. The sky lights in the master bath and the guest bath are also in.

July 19: The back of the house is pretty much framed. You can see the porch, adjacent to the sitting room. The door to the right of it leads into my studio.

July 11: The cottage with the roof on really starts looking like... a cottage. The two rectangles on the left are the windows in our bedroom.

July 6: Framing continues on the cottage, an amazing piece of work.

July 4: Michelle, Ben, and Franz, standing in the cottage, get a tour of the construction for the first time.

June 30: Kit and Amy taking a look around the cottage which is starting to take shape.

June 30: The back of the house is taking shape. The steel supports the small porch outside the sitting room.

June 26: The concrete for the foundation in the 200-square-foot addition to the back of the house has been poured.

June 20: Creating the wooden support system on top of the cottage's foundation. The flooring will be placed on top of it and the framing will continue up.

June 17: The concrete has been poured for the cottage foundation.

June 15: Forming the wooden structures to hold the concrete in the cottage foundation.

June 12: Framing the old part of the house. It was decided to take down all the old framing and to start afresh.

June 8: Celebrating the beginning of the project. We are standing on the old part of the house which has been cleared down to the subflooring. Jon Curry, our contractor, Katherine, Katharine, and Robert Baumann, our architect.

June 5: Cleared completely.

May 31: Demolition started at long last. The garages are both down.

May 30: The porta-potty was delivered.

May 22: The fence went up.

May 16: Pretty settled in "the ranch," so called because it is a 50s ranch-style house. The living room looks out on a wonderful, huge backyard. My Berkeley and Sonoma cookbooks are reunited for the first time in ten years. They are very happy.

May 2: Created a small kitchen garden on the edge of the outdoor patio, using some plants from 675 Second Street East.

April 26: All moved out of 675 Second Street East.

April 26: Moving into 829 Donner Avenue.

Week of April 16: working on this blog, which of course means making more decisions, and packing up my cookbooks to get ready to move on April 26. Katherine is in New York. Open house for the subs on Friday. Final touches on our rental house.