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The Story Continues...Elsewhere.

Hello everyone--

Thanks for all of the follows! We've had a lot of fun sharing this project with everyone and enjoyed seeing this blog take on a life all its own. We've learned a lot and hope that we've passed on a little of our passion for architecture and design. Unfortunately, this project has come to a close. Our clients have moved in and are settling into their new old home. Our hope is that we have served this historic house well on its centennial birthday.

But Standard Creative's story continues to roll on. Like or Follow us on Facebook to find out about upcoming ramblings. We like this format, and plan to continue. For those of you Jim Carr Homebuilder fans, we've got more projects with him coming up as well, so stay tuned (via Facebook). And if you're here because of Bart and Elizabeth, go knock on their door and say hello! They've got a kid art wall that's beginning to look pretty awesome :)

#Standard Creative #architecture

Done and Done (last one)

Ya'll ready to wrap this up? Here goes...

We designed this newel post to match the new kitchen island posts. The pickets match the existing ones at the front stair. New custom door looks just like the old ones. Crystal knobs in unlacquered brass will look just like the originals after a few years of aging...

Whoa, right? These fun, punchy lockers are in the new mudroom and have seats that lift up for storing the kids' gear. Exterior doors in this photo still need another coat of stain, but have the same lite breakdown as the kitchen and banquette. Quarry tile floors just like the original kitchen.

Our fancy dog crate is in the right corner of this photo, complete with screening pattern that matches those stair pickets. We found the light at Southern Accents; it's super-fun and throws light in a crazy pattern all over this little room.

Our client said, "Well if I'm going to be doing laundry then it better be in a room that feels fun!" so we matched the laundry room wall color to the locker colors and bam! this back-of-house commodity got a personality all its own. Schoolhouse light also from Southern Accents.

I love this little door to the coat closet under the front stair.

Butler's Pantry: old space, new layout. The bank of millwork to the left of the photo used to be located behind the photographer. Looks clean and simple now, but the switcheroo was quite a feat for Jim's guys! In-progress post here.

It's difficult to get a good photo of this little powder room, but you can tell it packs a lot of punch into a relatively small space. We had fun with this one.

The hall to the right used to just be a closed door to the original servants' stair. Ta-da!

The "sunset windows": quite possibly my favorite windows in the whole world. There were so many days during construction that I parked it right here to watch the sun go down over the city.

Little Adelia's bathroom. She may be in elementary school now, but don't you know I fretted about her having enough outlets for her high school years. Love the tile in this little room; the subtle tones and textures are sort of agelessly feminine.

And finally, the fibber mcgee, a room to be coveted by many. This room was a special request from our clients, who insisted on a space with this name (wikipedia it) for the beer fridge, bulk storage, and recycling. It shares wall space with the actual food pantry, so we made it playful by creating dividers out of old doors we salvaged and painted in persimmon: love. Schoolhouse light also from Southern Accents.

#architecture #renovation #Standard Creative

Done and Done continues...

*amazingly, there are still MORE photos...to be continued*

#architecture #renovation #Standard Creative

Done and Done

Enjoy the pre-move-in photos:

*to be continued...*

#architecture #renovation #Standard Creative

Third Floor Bath

Little known to the casual passerby of this circa 1911 mansion, there is an entire third floor located in the expanse of the gables that most would have assumed was unfinished attic. There is a bedroom, a little living room, a kitchen in the hall (that we actually demo-ed because it was gross, outdated, and a liability), and a little bathroom. This is also the level where you can access the balconies on the exterior of the house and get a killer view of the city at sunset.

One of our goals for this project was to eliminate the teeny flight of stairs located in a closet that were the only access to this third floor. So, part of the addition included a "pajama" stair that gave access to all three floors, including the basement and allowed that third floor to become a viable part of the house. We also gave the little bathroom some love: tearing out the awful carpet, trimming and re-painting it, and giving it a deep tissue cleaning. From the time-worn wood floor (that was underneath that nasty carpet), to the casement windows, it's quickly become one of my favorite little spaces.

#architecture #bathroom #renovation #birmingham AL

The Built-In Lockers

Another little piece of millwork we got to design and build were the lockers in the Mudroom. "Lockers" is a loose term because these sculpted wooden beauties are a far cry from the tangle of metal you stuffed your gym shorts in during junior high. No, these lockers are 7' tall built-in benches with a lift-up seat for storage, hooks for backpacks, a divider to designate each child's area, and shelves for helmets and other gear. The Mudroom just so happens to face the Laundry Room, so these lockers provide an organized way for mom to take care of those dirty gym clothes. We even matched the punchy green wall color of the Laundry Room on the lockers, knowing that their functions would be fundamentally related...

#architecture #millwork #lockers #birmingham AL

The Built-In Banquette

You may remember my post a few months back about the value in the family table and how we are getting requests to design around it. Well, that was back when it was just framing and set windows. Now we have gyp hung, lights installed, and Monday we got the millwork piece that is the actual banquette. Sure, it still lacks the upholstery, but I think the piece is beautiful and I love how it will be able to accommodate so many in the heart of the home.

By the way, I love the french doors. They are new arrivals also and got stained over the weekend. It was quite a process selecting hardware that would fit the narrow stile and the 2 1/4" depth of the door, but we installed some unlacquered brass pieces that will age beautifully. I'm really pleased with how John Bailey, the guy who built the doors, was able to match the door lites up with the window lites almost exactly. That's skill.

Notice all the shoes on the floor. You know you're close to finishing a project when everyone's walking around barefoot to protect the floors.

*Rick, photographed above, built the banquette. Read more about him and the cabinet shop here.

#banquette #millwork #architecture #Standard Creative

Before & After

Bedroom Hall: closed door led to the old servant's stair to the kitchen below.

We blew through the old stair and made it a hall to the addition and new pajama stair.

#architecture #renovation

Dog Crate

Our clients for this project have a great family that includes two sweet dogs. These pups needed a new home too, so we designed a dog crate for them that matches some of the fretwork from the house. Intended to look like a furniture piece, it functions to conceal the dog's metal crates that they sleep in at night. This new crate should be a move up from their previous quarters!

We went by the cabinet shop and they had already completed the dog crate! It looks great, they're just storing it at the shop until construction is done and it can be moved in without getting ding-ed.

#dog crate #woodworking #craftsmanship

Before & After

This room was originally a sleeping porch that got converted to a sunroom decades ago.

We took out the old exterior wall and the oversized casements to make a banquette area and a more appropriately sized keeping room.

The owner wanted a wall to post her kids art, so we framed homasote panels on the left wall and selected sconces with an operable arm to spotlight their new pinning space. I love that the original stone is still exposed. Soon the floors will get stained and finished and the banquette bench will be installed.

#architecture

Before & After

This is another view of the old sleeping porch. the space in the background was originally outdoors, a sort of awkward residual space from the deck. Now, we've walled and roofed this space to create a modern Kitchen for the clients. The space in the foreground will hold the Banquette bench, and to the right will be a small TV area/Keeping Room that connects to the formal Living Room.

The space shaped up with beams that mimic the ones in the adjacent Living Room. The bookshelves are original to what we think must have been the original Music Room.

#architecture

Site Work

We're getting so close...everybody on site is jittery with the feeling of nearing the finish line. It's a good atmosphere, almost crackles with the collective energy of everyone working at high efficiency.

When I go over to answer questions these days, it's cut and dry. Most of the big hurdles have been jumped and it's down to the yes-and-no's. Almost as soon as we ok a decision, it get's painted, built, sawed off...it's a little intense, but exciting to see the big picture come together before our very eyes.

Last week, they did a lot of site work, in part because it was supposed to rain all weekend and most of this week. They got the entire back yard and driveway cleaned up (truly a feat) and then laid pipes, brought in some grade dirt, smoothed it out, and straw-ed it. By the time I got home from work Friday evening, everything smelled like fresh dirt and wheat straw and a strange blanketed stillness covered the site. They really hustled this week and it sure shows. The only thing I'm still sad about is losing the trees on the driveway...sure they were trash trees, but the way they hung over as you drove up the little dirt drive was so charming. I'm hoping we can go back with some pretty ornamentals to dress up this side of the house again.

#site work #grading #architecture #trees

Introducing: the Powder Room

When Elizabeth and I talked about this room, one word pervaded the conversation about how she wanted it to feel: "posh." Fast forward a few months to demo of the original powder room, where we discovered a steel column and beam that were both non-removable and totally in the way (post on findings here). So we just incorporated that into the design by building a another column that mirrored the first and made a formal cased opening separation between the vanity and toilet areas. Elizabeth also had a wallpaper picked out for the room (see image above), as well as a mink toilet seat cover and crystal light fixtures. Choosing a moody espresso color for the trim completed this petite "posh" space. They've just starting painting and prepping the walls, and I love the dramatic feel of this little powder room. It takes you right back to the root of it's name--I can imagine ladies in long dresses powdering their noses one hundred years ago in a room just like this. Stay tuned for finished photos...

#powder room #wallpaper

Cabinet Transformation

Can you believe the huge transformation this space has seen? Six months ago it was just an residual exterior space and now it holds the heart of the home: the kitchen. It's amazing what a differences finishes and paint make as well. The wood on the ceiling and cabinets really warm of the space and give it character. When we get the marble countertops on and the lighting hung, it will really snap together. This project is just about wrapping up...

#kitchen #transformation #architcture #interior design

Santa & Elves

So I arrived on site today and Santa was there!!!!!!

Greg, our superintendent, sported his Santa hat and red shirt today to make all the kids happy. It's amazing how much he really looks like Santa the other days of the year, but today, with his glasses and in costume, I wanted to say, "Santa hurry! You gotta get back to the North Pole before the weekend!"

He was hard at work so he didn't hear me.

#Santa #Christmas

"Uncle Jim wants YOU to get in there and finish this house!"

--Jim Carr, homebuilder

The Making of a Tackboard

One element we wanted to incorporate was the ability to display the kids' art in a fun and whimsical way. In the Banquette, we have windows on one wall above the bench and tackboard along the other. It's framed out with moulding to match the rest of the house, but the actual panels are homasote, which is much more forgiving with push pins than sheetrock. You can also see the evolution of the beams and pilasters that begin to make this room work. Can you believe that this used to be a sleeping porch with a sloping deck and a beadboard ceiling? All we need is a little paint and the actual banquette bench (getting built in the shop right now) and the transformation will be complete.

#banquette #tackboard #moulding #kid art #architecture

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