Q and A « Lookiloos

Q and A

Bathroom Remodel: Aging in Place

Tuesday, April 28th, 2009

Jane Iki loves her home in Palo Alto and she wants to stay there as long as she can. “I like to call it aging in place,” said Jane. The problem was her bathroom. It wasn’t exactly friendly to someone wanting to stay in her home as long as possible. So, Jane called Case Handyman and Remodeling . Mike Brennan was the designer/planner on the project.

“This isn’t your Grandmother’s bathroom,” Brennan said. The design has an Asian flair and it functions with ease. The faucets from Grohe are sleeker.

“I can turn them on with one finger,” Jane demonstrated. “Look how easy it is.”

The drawers on the cabinet are self-closing. The low-profile shower is easier to step in and out of and the grab bars don’t look like the ones you find in medical facilities. The bathroom door was switched to a pocket door that allows a little more space with out a traditional door jam. It also resembles a Shoji screen, with a frosted glass center. The bathroom’s layout was changed to make for better use of the space and the project took a total of six months to complete.

“Everyone I show says ‘Wow!’” Iki said. “This turned out so well. I had Case Construction do my other bath”. Jane’s second bath is well under way.

Jane’s Resource List:
Wall tile: Bambu Blanco 8X13
Floor tile: Marmi Cemento Manhaton 12×12
Deco tile: Mosaico Acero 1×1
Stainless Steel edging: Pro-Mate 2 Inox 1/2×96
All from Porcelanosa

Paint color: Wild Oats from Benjamin Moore

Vanity/sink/countertop: Red Oak – Fairmont
Plumbing fixtures: Grohe
Grab bars / towel ring / tissue holder: Ginger
Toilet: Toto
All from Splashworks

Light fixture: Titanium-Access Lighting
From Galaxy Lighting

Here’s the complete slideshow:

Posted in Bathroom, Before and After, Desiree, Palo Alto, Q & A, Q and A, Remodel | 4 Comments »

Tips for Hanging Art by Artist Sonya Paz

Tuesday, April 21st, 2009

Who better to give tips on hanging precious art in a home than an artist? Lookiloos had the opportunity to chat with artist Sonya Paz, who shared her approach to displaying art pieces.

While she offers tips, she did emphasize that each art piece is different, so it requires different treatment – lighting, placement and how you group or not group it with other pieces. There are no rules that cover all type of wall art, so feel free to be creative.

Sonya’s Tips:

1.) Look at your wall space. How tall, wide or small is it? Do you want to fill the entire wall or just a portion? Your arrangement can be as simple as one large print to fill the entire wall or having multiple sizes mixed together spreading across your space. Consider what will be around the painting after it is hung – a tv, another piece of art, a window. How will this enhance or detract from the art itself? Does a red wall bring out the red in your painting or make it look horrible?

2.) Have tall walls? Start at eye level and then move up, emphasizing the height of your walls. No one wants to have to crane their necks to look at your favorite prints.

3.) Themes: Black and white, colorful, muted pastels, all small prints, photos featuring cars or uniform colored frames – these are just some themes that can help guide your arrangement. You can also carry a theme throughout a home or just in one room.

4.) Home “gallery systems” help you change art quickly and hang art without putting holes in your walls. These systems make it easier to add or remove paintings to your collection as needed.

5.) Good lighting makes a huge difference! It can be as sophisticated as lighting attached to each piece, placing your painting in a room that gets a lot of sun or making sure a lamp illuminates your piece just right from a table close by.

6.) The art should be the primary focus. A frame should not take away from the piece itself. When it comes to framing and matting – less is more!

7.) Arrangements do not have to be permanent. They should be changed and moved occasionally. A work of art can take on a new look when paired with something different or when it is placed in a different spot in your home.

Posted in Decorating, Home Decor, Q & A, Q and A, Sheila | 1 Comment »

Container Garden – How to Get Started

Tuesday, April 14th, 2009

No back forty to call your own? No worries. Container gardening is the answer. Whether it’s a small patio, balcony or in my case a small side yard, home grown vegetables are within reach. To get started I made a call to the Master Gardeners of Santa Clara Valley for some help on how to get started.

1. Location. Location is very important for your container garden. Vegetables need at least 6 to 8 hours of sunlight for optimal production. Having your water supply close at hand makes for easy watering.

2. Good Soil. Use fresh, clean topsoil or add organic soil amendments to your containers and raised beds.

3. Type of Vegetables. For a 12″ to 15″ pot choose 2 to 3 different types of non-heading lettuces. Mix in a few herbs. Leaf type lettuces allow you to clip and keep growing. You will have a complete salad ready all summer long. You can also try bush style beans in a container. In raised beds, choose tomatoes that are determinant (types that grow to a certain height), peppers, chard, radishes, beets or eggplant.

The Master Gardener also said there is a new product out there specifically for patio gardens. Earthbox is a maintenance-free, high-tech growing system. Using Earthbox you will use less fertilizer and water, but double your production. So get those gardening gloves on and start your container garden.

Posted in Desiree, Garden, Home and Garden, Q & A, Q and A, San Jose, Yard | 2 Comments »

Before and After: A Touch of Modern Art In Traditional Space

Wednesday, April 8th, 2009

The Problem: As lovely as my friend’s traditional living room is, with its sage green velvet sofa with subtle piping, and plein aire landscapes and classic female portraits, she felt it was getting a little staid. She had moved in a gilded mirror over her ornate side table, but still “I felt it was becoming too predictable.”

The Solution: A trip to the Oakland Museum of California’s annual white elephant sale. There, she found what she had been looking for for more than a year — a large scale piece of modern art. “I thought if I could mix in some abstract art, it would be a good beginning.” She’s still rethinking the ornate side table — maybe painting it or replacing it with something more sleek. But for now it’s clear: replacing the traditional mirror with a big modern painting makes for a stunning transformation.

You might also enjoy these stories:
An Art Lovers Living Room
From California Ranch to Mid-Century Modern
Carmel Artist’s Home and Studio
Passionate Collector Turns Home into Gallery
Bargains at the White Elephant Sale
Standing By My Vintage Female Portrait

Posted in Before and After, Decorating, Home Decor, Interior Design, Julia, Lighting, Painting, Q & A, Q and A, San Jose, Wall Decor | 1 Comment »

Inspiration Table: Can Lookiloos Pass a Wabi Sabi Test?

Monday, April 6th, 2009

When San Jose floral designer Jose Ibarra set a stunning Easter table for Lookiloos, he promised that anyone could do it. Just pull out some old — and even broken — things from your cabinets and take some clippers into the garden and you, too, could elevate Easter brunch to a “wabi sabi” art form. That’s the Japanese way of finding beauty in imperfection.

So Lookiloos photographer Desiree Northend and I took him up on the challenge. We made a slight modification — instead of an Easter brunch, we set the table for a friend’s birthday brunch in Santa Cruz. But we tried to emulate the spirit of the table in every other way. You be the judge about how we matched up. Here’s what we did:

1. Broken Can Be Beautiful: Jose took an old broken urn and said he glued it back together. I went into my backyard and found the remains of a wire plant stand (with a broken top) and pulled it out from under a bush. Jose added texture with an old linen tablecloth. Desiree pulled out a vintage white tablecloth from her cupboard and I added a sheet of burlap from my shed.

2. Vary Heights on the Table: Jose started high at the back of the table with the tall urn, then stepped downward with a shorter planter, a vintage scale for scones, upside-down cups as risers for juice glasses, and stacked plates and fruit. Desiree found a strawberry pot to replicate the texture and height of the urn. I pulled out a shorter, galvanized metal planter from my sideyard. Desiree grabbed some little metal buckets she had left over, flipped them and mounted juice glasses on them. She also had a foot-tall, cast iron birdbath from her front porch for pastries.

3. Add Flowers: Jose had a huge bunch of fresh lilacs in the urn and white orchids in the smaller planter. Not wanting to spend money on lilacs, I grabbed a pair of scissors and tiptoed through a vacant lot for purple weeds, er, wildflowers. Desiree picked up a white hydrangea at Trader Joe’s.

4. Add Whimsy: Jose placed some classic yellow chicks on the table along with a vintage chocolate bunny mold. I violated the wabi sabi code when I found a weathered-looking bunny at T.J. Maxx and bought it for $6.99. The concrete snail with the broken ear under my orange tree could have worked, but that bunny was so cute!

5. Be Thoughtful: Jose wrapped eggs in egg carton containers and tied them with pretty ribbon. We found linen cocktail napkins emblazoned with the birthday girl’s initial, wrapped them around the silverware and tied with a pretty ribbon. Unlike Jose’s table, we added champagne. It’s a girls’ weekend, right?

How close did we come? You decide. Better yet, try it yourself and let us know how close you came.

(photographs by Desiree Northend)

You might also enjoy these stories:
Wabi Sabi: Where the Imperfect is Beautiful
Aptos Beach House
Valentine’s Day Decorating Tips: How to Make Paper Roses
Los Gatos: Bianco – A Home and Garden Shop All in White
St. Patrick’s Day Table Decorating Ideas: Going Green on a Budget
Wisteria Antiques and Design – Soquel
Carmel Valley Cabin – Back to Nature

Here’s the complete slideshow:

Posted in Before and After, Decorating, Desiree, Dining Room, Food and Drink, Garden, Home and Garden, Home Decor, Julia, Q & A, Q and A, Santa Cruz, Yard | 1 Comment »

Wabi Sabi: Where the Imperfect is Beautiful

Tuesday, March 31st, 2009

Is the recession cramping your style? Wish you could afford some new home decor accessories for spring, but instead are stuck with the old stuff in the closet?

Well, San Jose floral designer Jose Ibarra says don’t sweat it. The latest trend in home decor embraces the old — and it has a hip, international name: “wabi sabi”. It’s the Japanese art of “appreciating the imperfect, the primitive, the incomplete”. And it’s a design philosophy Ibarra celebrated when he decorated his dining room table for an Easter brunch.

Wabi means humble. Sabi means beauty in the natural progression of time. And for Ibarra, it means gluing together that broken urn and setting it on the buffet table with a spray of fresh lilacs. It means turning a ceramic pot upside, instead of buying a shimmery cake stand, to act as a riser for old-fashioned juice glasses. It means pulling out a broken scale to elevate your scones. It means using a cardboard egg carton as a vessel for hostess gifts.

“I don’t like all the extra tchotchkes, all the glitter,” said Ibarra, who decorates homes for parties and holidays. “I like simple.”

And that’s what wabi sabi is all about. In the book, “The Wabi-Sabi House,” author Robyn Griggs Lawrence describes wabi-sabi as appreciating the “unaffected beauty of things as they are”.

And it is not to be confused with shabby chic, which one writer says “often fills spaces with a lot of interesting finds, which can end up with too much to care for and eye clutter”. Wabi Sabi “is a way of life that starts with simplicity”. It means wildflowers and flea markets and weathered wood.

It’s easy on the pocket book. And, well, it’s fun to say.

You might also enjoy these stories:
Wisteria: Rustic and Refined
Carmel Valley Cabin-Back to Nature
Jose Goes Green for St. Patrick’s Day
Valentine’s Day Simple Paper Flower

Here’s the complete slideshow:

Posted in Decorating, Dining Room, Food and Drink, Home and Garden, Home Decor, Julia, Q & A, Q and A | No Comments »

Tips: Garden Patio Makeover on a Budget

Tuesday, March 24th, 2009

When Mary Schlichting Francis moved into her four-plex in central San Jose, a small corner patio came with it. It was a blank slate of concrete and gray. For this woman who loves to garden as well as collect vintage treasures, her task was a welcome opportunity. So with a little imagination, a can of black spray-paint and an internal compass leading her to bargains, she transformed her patio into a creative, welcoming spot.

“You get so much more joy out of it knowing you spent so little,” she said.

Here are some of her tips to get your patio ready for spring — on a dime.

1. Find a small fountain(Mary found hers at Savers on San Carlos, painted it and added river rocks.) The sound of gurgling water creates a soothing atmosphere.

2. Rescue orphan plants from friends who are moving or cleaning out. Mary, who has a green thumb, loves to nurse sickly plants back to life — her exquisite white azalea is testament to that. Cast-off cyclamen bulbs from last year are blooming on Mary’s patio this year.

3. Shop second-hand stores, like Move It Elsewhere on Lincoln Avenue in San Jose that is open one weekend a month for old pots, garden furniture and interesting “found art.” Try Salvation Army on Taylor Street, too, or Marshalls and T.J. Maxx.

4. Buy a can of black “Painter’s Touch” semigloss paint at Home Depot, and spray a coat on old orange pots, especially plastic ones, to give them a more sophisticated look.

5. Create vignettes by combining plants, sculpture (like Mary’s buddha statue), garden mosaics and even cheap paintings or pictures that can hang under the eaves, or over a bench. “Some things can handle the weather,” Mary said. “If it only lasts a season, but it doesn’t cost much, it’s just fine.”

6. Go green and purchase a compost bin. Mary is sharing it with the other tenants in her complex.

Update:

This post is featured in the San Jose Mercury News Home and Garden section here.

Posted in Before and After, Decorating, Featured in the San Jose Mercury News, Garden, Julia, Landscape, Q & A, Q and A, Wall Decor, Yard | 4 Comments »

Before and After: Recovered Chair Gets Double Makeover

Tuesday, March 17th, 2009

The Problem: When Judy Stanley first saw the little armless chair at a garage sale down the street from her Los Gatos home, it looked a little sad. The fabric was worn. It smelled musty. But it reminded her of a chair her grandmother had passed down to her — a chair she spent a fortune to recover — and she decided to buy it. She put down $5, took it home and vowed to recover it herself this time.

Solution No. 1: Her daughter was nearly one year old and the idea of a charming little chair with a dust ruffle sounded just right. So Judy, who has her own business designing and decorating belt buckles, went to work.

“I wanted it to be really girly and pink,” Judy said. So off she went to Calico Corners and with $40 bought two fabrics — a plaid blue and pink and a floral.

As she pulled off the old fabric, she used each piece — the seat, the back and the front — as a pattern for the new fabric. She cut out the pieces and folded and ironed the edges to the exact dimensions. Then with her staple gun, affixed it into place. A pretty piece of ribbon trimmed the seams.

Solution No. 2: By the time her daughter was in third grade and Judy and her husband, Guy, had completed a major remodel, it was time to focus on their son’s room.

The girly chair had been relegated to the attic and the time was right to pull it down.

Judy took her four-year-old son with her to Beverly’s Fabrics this time and mother and son chose a vintage-style cowboy fabric. Each horse head had a name — Maverick, Mojave, Juniper, Freckles.

Just as she did the first time, Judy used the old fabric as a template for the cowboy fabric. Her son is seven now and she has no plans, at least for now, of recovering the chair again.

“I love that chair,” she said. “It’s so cute.”

Here are some other stories you might enjoy:
Judy’s Small House Remodeled
Modern Nursery With Vintage Flair
Updating from Little Girl to Tween Room
Updating Kid’s Playhouse to Tween Club House

Posted in Bedroom, Before and After, Decorating, Home and Garden, Home Decor, Julia, Q & A, Q and A | No Comments »

St. Patrick’s Day Table Decorating Ideas: Going Green on a Budget

Monday, March 9th, 2009

When Jose Ibarra considered decorating his home for a St. Patrick’s Day dinner party, he first wandered through Michael’s craft store for inspiration. But everything was so glittery. So the San Jose floral designer went to Safeway, of all places, and that’s where he hit pay dirt. Well, wheatgrass, anyway.

“We don’t need the clovers. We don’t need the tchotchkes,” Ibarra said. “It’s about cutting costs and making it work.”

His idea for a festive holiday evening? Friends stopping by for a casual supper before heading off to O’Flaherty’s Irish Pub in San Pedro Square. He calls his tablescape “rustic chic”.

Here is Ibarra’s way of “going green” on a budget for St. Patrick’s Day:

1. Look to your own garden: Bring in a few succulents from the garden as centerpieces. You can even cut some off-shoots and put them in a vase of water. Add kale for texture and color to the centerpiece. Cut some trailing “angel” vines of delicate, tangled branches, and drape over your mantel. Place succulent “rosettes” among the vines.

2. Mix up the seating: Got some strong men around? Bring in tree stumps for seating. (Ibarra found his on the side of the road in Woodside.)

3. Angle a trio of centerpieces. Instead of one central centerpiece, Ibarra used a series of black, rectangular vases and angled them down the center of the table.

4. Head to the grocery store: Pick up containers of wheatgrass for $1.59 each and place them in vases. Grab a bag of green apples and place here-and-there on the table. Buy a dozen store-made shamrock cookies for $2.99 (the kind with the green sugar) and place them on the sideboard on a stack of stair-stepped books.

5. Use flea market finds: Rustic pewter dishes from friends and flea markets add a rich texture and keep the palette simple.

When the evening if finished, replant the succulents in the garden, make a pie with the apples and with the wheatgrass, make yourself a healthy shake. Now that’s green!

Update:

This post is featured in the San Jose Mercury News Home and Garden section here.

Here’s the complete slideshow:

Posted in Dining Room, Home Decor, Julia, Q & A, Q and A | 3 Comments »

Painting Tips from the Pros

Tuesday, March 3rd, 2009

Spring is closely approaching and we’re all feeling the urge to freshen up and shake off the doldrums. The easiest and most dramatic way to change the look of a room is with new color. I stopped by my local paint shop, South Bay Paints, to see what is new for this upcoming year. They have some great ideas and you’ll find a lot of inspiration.

Color trends for homes begin on the fashion runways. The colors then move to the auto industry and finally to the walls of our homes. In 2009, the trends are leaning towards greens and earth tones.

Speaking of color, you now can get paint chips in 18″x 18″ squares. So much better than those little swatches. You can also purchase 3 oz. samples of paint to see how the color really looks on your walls. Paint the color on different walls to see how the light will affect it. Be sure to look at the color at night as well the day. Something else to consider is the exposure in the room. Eastern exposure equals cooler light and a western exposure will be warmer.

It can be expensive if you hire someone to paint your project, but Bob Hathaway owner of South Bay Paints, says with these tips you can get a great paint job yourself. “Good prep is 90% of the work,” Bob said. So, take your time to prepare your room. Don’t rush, paint over several days. “You can wrap your brushes and rollers in plastic wrap and refrigerate over night, that way you can use the same brushes for up to 5 days without rinsing them out,” Bob said.

Here are a few more:

When choosing colors think of your home as an octopus. The head is the central hub of your home and choose this color first. Then move to the outer “legs”. Also, consider the fixed objects of the room, like furniture and art.
To determine how much paint you will need, you need two measurements — the height and the width of all the walls. First add up all the widths together and multiply the total by the ceiling height. That gives you the square footage of the room. One gallon of paint covers approximately 350 square feet. Brighter colors need more coats to cover completely and quality paint requires fewer coats.
As paint dries it loses its sheen. So touch up work can take up to a week to match. Also, the higher the sheen, the easier to clean.
Synthetic brushes work best with water based or latex paints. Use natural china bristle brushes with alkyd or solvent based paints (the bristles tend to bunch together in water based paints).
Choosing the right size brush can save you frustration. A 3″ straight edge brush is good for a large area. For trim use a 2″ to 2 1/2″ straight edge brush and when painting windows, an angled sash brush works best (try 1 1/2″ to 2 1/2″).
Use short-nap rollers to apply higher gloss paints to smooth surfaces. Use medium-nap with flat or low sheen paints on flat surfaces with minor imperfections. Use long-nap covers for textured surfaces such as rough plaster, stucco or concrete.
The surface and the paint must be at least 50 degrees Fahrenheit. Paint won’t dry if the temperature drops below 50 degrees.
If you do decide to hire a paint contractor, be sure you specify the grade of paint for your bid. Each paint manufacturer offers a “good”, “better” and “best” grade of paint. This way you can compare apples to apples.

And finally, if you are color challenged or slightly skiddish when it comes to putting something other than Navajo White on your walls, go to South Bay Paints and ask for Gabe. He’s the color specialist and will help make that leap.

South Bay Paints
1749 W. San Carlos
San Jose, CA 95128
www.southbaypaints.com