Higher Thinking (Week 6)

Now that we've gotten past all of the concerns about how we were going to make our plumbing work down under our floors, it's time to turn our attention upwards to our the action going on up above on the ceilings. This week the team continued to make great progress on framing and started work on dropping the ceilings in certain areas. While in the main living spaces our of place, we want to take full advantage of our 14 foot tall loft, in the back areas we're playing with levels a little bit. It's looking very cool.

You may recall from early pictures that in the back of our apartment, there was a great, big white box hanging from the ceiling to cover the dropped plumbing from the 3rd floor apartment.

Bye, Bye, Big Ugly Box!


As you can see, it was a bit of an eyesore--and this week we bid it adieu. In it's place is an elegant and very cool hanging ceiling that still covers the plumbing, but because its slimmer in depth and wider in breath, it adds an interesting new level to guest room area.















Now that our ceilings are strong enough to stand on, of course we had to get up there and check out the view. Here are some shots...

We're putting a skylight over the master bath shower. True, you won't actually be able to see the sky, but we think it's kinda neat-o anyway.













View into the guest room.















Looking out across the kitchen to the great room.
















Peeking in on the guest bathroom






Dreaming of the day when he can make a fort in the storage nook



We sure hope our 3rd floor neighbor appreciates the fact that we're housing their plumbing cause, dang, it's a big ugly mess.

Step Up to Greatness (Weeks 4-5)

Construction came to a halt when last week we hit (literally) an unanticipated steel beam in the subflooring. This surprise discovery had implications for our plumbing which had us a tad concerned: we might have to have a Step Up.

What's the big deal with a step? Well, the bottom line is: we don't like them. Not generally speaking--just as it applies to our future home. The vision we have for our apartment is of a big loft space where people can glide easily from one room to the next. Step free. Stairs, in our minds, represented a disruption to our nice expanses of floor, a potential obstacle that that some one could trip on, and just a general zit on our clean design.



The steel pipe however, mean that we had to rethinking the plumbing as it could now, not be laid in the floor. Steps was one option, but there were others...we explored them with gusto. We got very excited when ur downstairs neighbors graciously agreed to let us drop plumbing into their celing. But our coop board was less enthusiatic about that plan. And when we found out from the plumber the cost of doing this, we reconsidered. The Step Up plan looked to be our best bet.



And so this week, the steps went in. There are three of them and...we love them! They are very minimal step--only 4 inches high. They are in very natural places and, counter to our steps=zits theory of two weeks ago, they actually enhance the design, creating a nice threshold to the back area of the apartment.

Disaster averted. For now.

Here's our step up and the platform. (We're now considering making the whole back area a dance studio.)



(Just kidding about the dance studio.)

Fun with Faucets

We're now at the stage where we have to make a zillion decision about things that, until recently, we knew nothing about...flooring, tiles, appliances, and my personal favorite, plumbing. There is a vast world of faucets, tub fillers, theremostatic mixers, etc. out there. The selection is overwhelming and the prices ranges are dramatic.



And why? Why does one faucet cost three times as much as one that is virtually indistinguishable from it? It's nerve wracking. OK, brand makes a difference--I get that. But unlike a Viking stove (btw-we are not getting one of those), no one really knows what brand your faucets are, so why else would you pay a premium? Quality. There must be major differences, but yet no sales person has been able to explain them to me. And so I feel lost and confusted? Will the cheaper faucet rust to bits in a year? Or if I buy the more expensive one, will I just feel like a putz for sqandering my hard earned cash?


We love the modern minimalist look of the single lever faucet and plan on putting two of them in our master bath. But which one should we choose? These all look great to me, but prices range dramatically. Which one do you think is the most expensive? most affordable?



Here the scoop: The faucet #1 is from AF Supply's DaVinci line. It's called the Metropolitan and we received a quote on this bad boy for $286. The #2 faucet is the luxury model--from Dornbract's Meta.02 line, this is called the Grande and I've seen it listed for as much as $709. Yikes. Finally, there's #3 Grohe's Essence faucet which cost less than $175 (with roughing).

Since I'm not sure what the real differences are--we're going with the Grohe. Believe me, we'll need the cash for the myriad other plumbing items on the list.

Framed! (Weeks 2 and 3)

Now that we have a blank canvas, it's time to start sketching the outlines of our new plan. First Idriz, our amazing contractor, strung plumb lines to demarcate the walls and hallways. We kept tripping over them as we walked through the spaces to a sense of the flow. Then he framed out the space with studs--very exciting. You could actually feel, for the first time, the rooms starting to take shape.

Master bedroom wall.


Threshold over the entry way.


Standing in the master bath looking north through the living room.


Looking through the master bath from the far southeast corner.


Kitchen and doorway into guest room.

Demo Highlights (Week 1)

It doesn't take long to gut an apartment. Here are some highlights from Demo Week (week 1).

Kitchen counter: now you see it.



Now you don't.



Shelves in the library


Adios shelves! Hello rubble!


Living room--walled in.


Walls no more, let the big lofty space run wild.