Greetings,
Thank you for visiting. This month's newsletter features the results of a collaborative effort in the beautiful remodel of a bath in Maryland, a glimpse into the frenzy of Austin Friday Night Lights, a visit to the place where the frenzy happens and to the nearest place of recovery from the frenzy, our quote of the month featuring an iconic Texas building where another kind of frenzy took place long ago, and some eco-friendly home cleaning methods. So, come along and enjoy!
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PROJECT SPOTLIGHT
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It Takes A Village
Seen above is the stunning result of collaborative work between Capitol Design, general contractor Paul Johnson and Susan Apatoff of SGA Interiors. Paul did the meticulous installation, and Susan did the fabulous color work and specifying materials. Susan had been commissioned to redecorate this home, and having worked with us successfully on previous projects, she contacted us to design the bath.
The remodel was to be in a relatively new, transitional style home in a lovely subdivision in Maryland that belonged to the CEO of a successful fire safety company. The client wanted the bath to be completely restyled and to add more storage space while keeping the original footprint of the long, narrow room.
In the photo at right, you can see the original bath with its stark cabinetry in
solid white beneath a vaulted ceiling.
Though functional, there was no true sense of design or flow in the room, and the individual components were disjointed and aesthetically awkward.
Seen to the left and below, the whirlpool tub, though placed in front of a circle head window, looked uncomfortably wedged between walls that extended to the ceiling.
The shower was claustrophobic and jammed between the outer wall and the tub wall which prevented any light from getting to it. The toilet room, seen at the far right end in the photo to the right, was also small and dark.
The homeowners did not want the footprint of the bath changed, but they definitely wanted updated amenities and better use of the space.
Cont'd.
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Design Quote
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| Friday nights have long been the time in Texas when communities gather in local stadiums to root for their beloved high school football teams.
This tradition is so well known that when one says, "Friday Night Lights," everybody knows that means the Friday night high school football games.
This tradition has served as the material for several books and films specifically about Texas High School football and continues unabated today.
The high school in Austin to carry on this tradition the longest is Stephen F. Austin High School. Founded in 1881 as the "high school department" of the Austin Public Schools, SFA is the oldest continuing tax supported high school in Texas.
Above, another generation of the SFA "Maroons" gather on the well worn bleachers at House Park for the Friday night game.
 The colorful SFA mascot, Mr. Maroo, originated from a fearless 1956 cartoon character who went out against the foes of the Maroons.
Seen above, Mr. Maroo stands faithful and ready to help the eager cheerleaders motivate plenty of school spirit.
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Many homeowners prefer eco friendly methods of household cleaning. We recommend the following that use commonly found household items:
1) 1/2 lemon sprinkled with table salt can be used safely to clean or remove stains from granite. For stains leave lemon and salt on stain to soak, then rinse with clean water and dry.
2) Dampen a cloth with white vinegar then sprinkle cream of tartar on the cloth to clean porcelain.
3) Clean and deodorize your garbage disposal with frozen fruit rinds followed by lots of cold water.
4) Also,
neutralize odors in your garbage disposal by pouring 1/4 cup baking soda down garbage disposal followed by a tiny amount of water. Let stand for a few minutes, then rinse.
5) To remove coffee stains from cups, sprinkle the soft side of a lemon rind and rub the inside of the cup with it, wash and rinse.
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All Around Austin / Design Talk / Good Eats
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What's up in ATX
House Park, a 6,000 to 6,500 seat American stadium located near
S. Lamar and 15th St., has been in continuous service since its construction in 1939 down the hill from the old campus of
Austin High School. The stadium was built on a former horse pasture donated by
Edward M. House, a former diplomat and adviser to
Woodrow Wilson, to the City of Austin for "the benefit of Austin's youth."
In 2008, when the grass playing surface was replaced with artificial turf, fans took patches of the grass which they described as soaked with "a lot of the blood and sweat of Maroons," as souvenirs.
Above, the banner "Loyal Forever," takes its place next to the American and Texas flags and the backdrop of downtown Austin. It is said, "If your hair doesn't stand up a little bit when "Loyal Forever" is played at House Park, you don't understand Austin High."
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Virtual Rendering
Do you have trouble visualizing an idea, a room? How about color? Do you feel uncertain about mixing colors and textures in a room? You're not alone, most people find it difficult to picture in their mind's eye, what their project will look like.
read more
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Austin Java
Just across Lamar from House Park is Austin Java, at 1206 Parkway. The cafe was founded in 1995 by owners born and raised in Austin, and remains a "locally focused brand."
But don't let the cozy, laid back interior fool you - Austin Java is a full service restaurant, offering an extensive breakfast, lunch and dinner menu comprised of house made menu items sourced from local farmers. They also offer a sophisticated menu of coffee drinks and coffees from around the world that are roasted daily at their roasting facility.
Although the cafe offers a menu that appeals to a range of clientele, it maintains it's "authentic Austin vibe" and is "pup friendly," as seen above in the host's welcome to customers and their "pup."
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Right, toward the end of the game, a flying Maroon speeds toward the goal with the opposing team in futile pursuit.
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Above, band members give their all to play the hair raising music that is so woven into the DNA of Texas high school football.
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Above, devoted friends and family support their team with the exuberant enthusiasm of fans "loyal forever."
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At left, joyous members of the Maroon football team take their places in the long history of Stephen F. Austin football history and celebrate another well deserved victory. Go, Team!
photographs for ATX, Spotlight, and Cafe Java by Sherre Paris
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PRODUCTS
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The NEFF family tradition began in Canada over 40 years ago when Paul Neff began carefully building a reputation for creating Extraordinary Kitchen Environments. Today, now under the ownership of Paul Gardner, this family tradition committed to the highest standards of quality, service, style and function continues with a focus on providing cabinetry solutions for the entire home.
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Our selection, functionality, and craftsmanship provide design solutions with incredible value; and our emphasis on eco-sensitive manufacturing processes and social responsibility reflects our dedication to make sure more than just your cabinets last.
At Bellmont Cabinet Company, we really are building more than just cabinets. We are building lives through the values we practice daily. They may be considered old-fashioned, but tried and true principles are the ones that last.
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Whether your style is Modern, Classic, Eclectic or Rustic, your home is where your heart is. Choosing the right cabinetry to fit your style will create a space that's warm, inviting and personalized. Woodland offers thousands of color, door style and organizational combinations that are sure to fit your exacting tastes.
Woodland's flexibility and affordability allow you to pick and choose the features that fit your style, your life, your budget... and your dreams.
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To accommodate the client's request for ample storage, we placed 36" linen closets of rich, dark brown Wenge wood on either side of the centered double vanity area, providing beautiful symmetry and extending the entire 15' of the room. T
he cabinets rested upon stainless steel toe kicks and were harmoniously connected with an LED light bridge, as seen below.
At right angles to the sinks, we installed 15" cabinets with pull out drawers at the bottom and open spaces at the top for glass shelving lit with LED lights. Beneath the sinks were three drawer stacks of the carbon stained Wenge wood of a deeper brown to provide a contrast to the tall cabinets.
To lighten the feel of the room, we "floated" the vanity area above LED lighting and installed Kubic series sconces from Ginger on the tall units. The handsome square knob and handle hardware were from Hafele.
For the vanity area, we used undermount Kohler rectangular sink bowls in white and Kohler wall mount Purist faucets. The counter was of luxurious Durango limestone with a 4" mitered front edge with a 10" back splash of a lively mosaic tile mixture of travetine, glass, and chocolate marble, as seen to the right.
The back splash was extended 3" to create a shelf topped with 2 cm of the Durango limestone. The 1/4" glass mirror was custom cut and installed with a border of matching mosaic tile separated with a limestone listello border.
As seen below, the room was further transformed with walls sponge painted in an opulent gold to complement the dark cabinetry and flooring done in elegant 18" x 18" porcelain tile run on the diagonal.
For the tub, we reused the original whirlpool but further integrated the Durango limestone for the deck and the porcelain tiles for the sides.
Seen in the center back of the photo at left, we opened up the toilet room by cutting an opening behind the toilet and installing a piece of obscure glass to take advantage of the big circle-head window above the tub.
The dark, cramped cave of the shower was transformed into a light and airy space by replacing the original wall with glass and a custom cut glass shower door, as seen above. The texture and materials used for the vanities were thematically continued by using the Durango limestone for the shower seat and the porcelain flooring, but cut to 12" x 12" tiles in the back shower wall.
As seen to the right, we used the same mosaic tile that framed the mirrors for the floor of the shower, the shower niche and the wet wall. The shower was outfitted with Kohler Purist body sprays, a personal shower head and a fixed shower head, all controlled by a Kohler master shower valve and transfer valve.
The finishing touch to this remodel was the first rate lighting system. Because there was so little wall space, we used a low voltage RF lighting system that controlled the various light fixtures - the sconces, the light bridge lighting, the under cabinet lighting, the exhaust fans, and the chandelier - with push buttons from one switch plate on the wall as you entered the room.
And the chandelier-It had arrived in a large box, with scores of crystals to hang from wires. Given that the ceiling was vaulted, we had to mount the 2" chrome escutcheon plate of the chandelier to a custom built, round, drywall seat attached to the ceiling. But it was worth it. Our clients were very pleased with the bath, but they really loved what the chandelier did for the room. Though an exquisitely beautiful object in itself, the chandelier illuminated everything else in the room to best advantage and completed the transformation of the room from dreary to fabulous.
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| Thanks for perusing our newsletter. I trust you have found it informative and even a little entertaining. If I can be helpful regarding a project or you just have a question, please don't hesitate to contact me.
Sincerely,
Joe Currie
Capitol Design
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