It’s been a while since I shared any remodeling news.  That’s because most of the interior work we wanted to do on the new house is done and we’ve been enjoying a respite from projects beyond the ongoing purging and organization of stuff.  But an early spring is upon us and a wedding party is happening here in June so I’m starting to focus on the garden and outdoor spaces.

As you may recall from earlier posts, the house was built in 1979. Set on a hillside and designed by architect Jim Jennings, it consists of 3 separate rectangles that connect at the entrance. The first rectangle houses a two story living room, the second the street level garage above a small laundry/pantry space and the third and largest rectangle features bedrooms above and below the kitchen/dining/family room.

The original design also included 3 deck areas – a narrow bridge-like walkway from the driveway to the front door, a triangular deck off the main level entrance on the view side of the kitchen and living room rectangles, and a small square deck between the family room and the wall beneath the garage.  Still with me?  3 rectangles + 3 geometric decks = 1 pristine modernist structure.

Then came Owner #2 who hired a landscape firm in 1991 to create more garden space.  A new deck and arbor were added to the front (you can see the bright blue line outlining the additional front deck dimensions above) and a series of bridges, walkways, staircases, seating areas, fences and shade trellises were built around the back to create a garden and access more of the remarkable view of the San Francisco Bay and the wooded canyon heading down to the water.  I call it the Swiss Family Robinson school of architecture.  It has a ramshackle, build as you go feeling that is clearly all wrong for the clean lines of the original 3 + 3  house.  But as we contemplate repairs and reconstruction of the deck I find that part of the charm of the outdoor space is the tumble-down nature of these secondary decks. I’m pretty sure a modernist architect like Jennings would rip them off in a heartbeat.  But I’m reluctant to let them go.

Time and money will limit what we do, but my mind is sorting out a direction to pursue.  And so I’m curious.  How have you reconciled the different aesthetic choices that a home with multiple owners will surely manifest? Did you embrace the eclectic mix or work towards restoring the intent of the original architect?

Something I’ve been thinking about this week. Also, these things:

Beautiful meditation on a wordless afterlife.

Falcon perches.

Some background on Bruce Lee’s philosophy to Be Like Water.

Why that WHITE & GOLD dress looks different to the rest of you.

I get it, Melanie.

And finally, this video about making the set for the latest Marc Jacobs fashion show featuring our daughter Claire.  Cool stuff.

Happy Weekend All!

Hello! I’m finally reporting in from the other side of the move.  We only uprooted 2.4 miles—a longish stroll, really, but a move is a move and even a short one can make you feel like you’ve traveled a very great distance.

The move itself went smoothly but was exhausting.  Six professionals did the bulk of the heavy lifting—including a hair-raising transfer of our tall upright Yamaha piano.  A number of men from our church joined them at the new house and helped unload all the boxes once we arrived. Bless them!

Two friends brought dinner and another stopped by that evening with freshly laundered sheets and helped make the bed. (What a treat—something to offer when other friends move.)

As luck would have it, the next week was full of can’t-say-no commitments—mostly for M.J. who was asked to speak at a memorial service for an old friend at the beginning of the week and officiate at the wedding of some of his students at the end. Work and other night time commitments kept him away from home and I was left alone to unpack while doing battle with the cable and phone companies—a challenge worthy of an entire unpleasant blog post but I’ll spare you.

Meanwhile construction continued.  Gustavo was able to get the stove, cooktop and dishwasher in the morning (!) of the move. But the refrigerator—where this whole kitchen appliance switcheroo began–was still on backorder. About that time, Steve attempted to repair a few busted boards in the front walkway before painting and discovered this–

We knew all the decks of the house needed some work, but we didn’t realize how significant the dry rot was at the front.  Thank goodness the walkway held through the move and no one was injured, but we couldn’t just slap a coat of paint on it and ignore it.  So everyone shifted focus to the front deck.

The refrigerator arrived just after the walkway was finished but the interior entry stairs to the main level were steep enough that the deliverymen decided it was best to take the long way around.  Here they are lifting all 500 lbs. up the back deck stairs on a misty morning (such weather we get up here).

I’d like to say that was the end of the refrigerator saga, but alas, it continues.  Though Gustavo had carefully measured and allotted for the specified refrigerator dimensions, when he came to install it, the refrigerator fit in the space but didn’t have enough room for the doors to clear.  Furthermore, one of the handles the appliance company delivered was too short and couldn’t be attached.

We decided to take a break from all things kitchen related until Monday. And I spent some time outside trying to take the long view.

But today, Monday, I’m writing this to the familiar sound of a drill running as Gustavo and his coworker Geo modify the refrigerator opening again.

It’s easy to focus on how far we have to go, but I should also note how far we’ve come. We can find clothes in the closet and food in the cupboards.  The laundry is up and running and the garage door opener finally works. Last night for Father’s Day we straightened up the living room (isn’t that what most Dads like to do on their day?) I’ve added a new jute rug from West Elm and had the painters paint our old bookshelf a dark grey (BM “Iron Mountain”).  We haven’t filled it with books yet and the new slipcover still needs to be hemmed but at this stage of the game I’m less concerned with perfection and more grateful for the many things that are perfectly fine.