Random on a Sunday
Sun, 27 Nov 2011Hey folks. Things are a little nuts here at casa di cats so I thought I'd just show you some of what I've been doing lately. Hope you don't mind.
First, I published a post on my page yesterday on the subject of something not interior design related but do have a looksie here because I think it's pretty cool.
Second, Jo shared a post last weekend of her office, so I thought I'd share a bit of mine. You see, my husband moved in to what is now OUR house a year ago last May and we attempted to share the tiny office at the back of the house. That did not go over so well so I relocated to the only other available space - the dining table in the middle of the kitchen. My laptop and I have been there ever since. Kind of annoying but hopefully this time next year I will have a fantastic office on the third level of our new house (more on that shortly). Anyway, I took some photos of my "new office" a while ago and thought I'd share some of them. Of course, they feature some of our fur children. Consider this a prelude to tomorrow's Pets on furniture feature. ;)
Here is a shot of the kitchen with my laptop in "my spot". In this one Mimin is on the table in her basket (made out of old tires), Felix is on the Panton chair, Milo is slightly visible behind the chair, and Felix is to the left (the others were napping).
Here's a cute one of Felix looking up at me and Mimin wanting some love.
Here is the same cast of characters as the first shot, but Edgar and Milo switched spots.
After the jump, I've got something I've been working on with my husband when I'm not blogging or studying French. Our plans for our new house. A little recap (for those who don't know what's going on, and I frankly can't remember what I've mentioned of this here): In the spring my husband and I started planning renovations to our 925 sq ft house which included a large addition and reworking the upper floor (see posts here and here). Work was supposed to start early summer....then late summer....then fall....and it was when we got feedback from the city that we discovered the architect our builder had set us up with had no freaking clue about the rules of building houses here in Ottawa and the plans we had submitted were essentially garbage. (We were really sorry to see the designs that our designers Dylan and Thu had created for us go to waste). We decided to scrap the architect, the builder, the plans - everything - and start fresh. Really fresh. We decided to tear the house down and rebuild. My husband and I managed to come up with some drawings (done by hand) that we think may work (based on a few phone calls with the city). Considering that I am a programmer and my husband is a network administrator and we've never designed a house before, we are slightly clueless so I'd love to get your thoughts. :-) And for reference, the plans are loosely based on this home I blogged last month.
Reader Comments (32)
Okay, I loooove my cats, your cats and all the cats in the world!! :) So cute!
I adore your Panton chair too :)
Oh! How lovely to see a picture of you! Thanks for sharing! I'm a lousy commenter but I really enjoy the work you put into your blog.
I've just recently found your blog (via a route from Fishly News) and I love! love! love! it. This house design is really exciting and I'm looking forward to following along on the adventure.
Nice photos, Kim. Thanks for sharing. Your cats are always so photogenic and very sweet. Good luck with the reno!
hi kim, looks good! i was wondering how your plans were coming along. good to get an update! maybe you should talk to moneca! she has such great ideas!!! good luck as you move forward! :)
So glad to see that you are still moving forward with the "renovation"! All of the love, sweat and fretting through the planning phase is worth it, and worth it again. Remember that you need to account for your wall thickness when you are actually laying things out. What starts out as a 10' x 10' room will end up smaller.... the same for the decks and bathroom (second floor). With your eye for detail and your heart for design I have no doubt you will create a beautiful home for both humans, and feline! Looking forward to the journey with you.
I'm glad you posted your house plans. 2 things I would suggest; make your ensuite larger (and the main bath smaller)
and put a powder room on the 3rd floor. Yup, you'll use it a lot (saves a mad dash to the 2nd floor and you just might want a drink of water. And you could have a kettle or coffee maker up there.)
The ensuite should have double sinks and a generous shower (48" x 48" - not a little phone booth).
Please keep posting about your house. I love reading about your plans and progress.
Looks like a great floorplan. Can't wait to see it develop. Cute kitties too.
Hi Kim
Love the way you've positioned the kitchen in between the dining room at the front of the house and the living room at the back. I know you love to cook so this way you won't miss a thing that's going on around you! Is there a reason that your master bath is smaller than the main bathroom? When do you hope to begin tearing down :( and rebuilding? Deborah
i think it looks fantastic unless you plan on having children, because if you knew how many times in a day you would be up and down those stairs just thinking about it would make your thighs burn!
all kidding aside i really do think it will be pretty awesome.
Thanks for your comments!
Gillian, I should email Moneca the link to this post. :)
Michelle, for the most part wall thickness has been accounted for in the drawings (everything is to scale says my husband who drew them up).
Cathy/Deborah, yes, we could easily make the ensuite larger and main bath smaller. I'm not overly concerned about having a powder room on the top floor. If we can't get our asses down a flight of stairs for a pee, then we have much larger problems. I just really love the idea of it being a large open space. Agreed about double sinks and reasonable sized shower stall. Whatever it takes to make that happen.
Deborah, if we can get our acts in gear (although I keep having to remind my loving husband that I am in the midst of yet more French training and I can't deal with house plans until that is over - which should hopefully be right before the holidays) we're hoping to start in the Spring.
dana, we could use the exercise. :-)
I have to say I was mesmerized by your fur children, they are utterly adorable. I only have one (& a dog & horse) but after seeing this maybe I should upsize (I love how the cream one is looking in the last shot...so cute). Good luck with the house!
DJ
Very exciting! I have a suggestion because we've just finished our renovation and I have the benefit of hindsight!! You could extend the cupboard "feature" upstairs and have a full length wardrobe along the wall of your bedroom instead of a walk in closet. You could then have a bigger ensuite (which we have and its wonderful). Our wardrobes are a lovely feature ( white glass) and I prefer that you can't see all our "stuff" like you do with walk in wardrobes.
Will you be reusing the kitchen cabinets from your current house? I love them! It seems it would be a shame not to use them, what with them being so new as well!
Love the kitchen pics and tell me that's the cats glass drinking bowl on the tray in the corner...I am going to upscale my vintage mixing bowl I have for my dog and cat, I love it !!!! I don't comment very often but love the blog read it everyday.....so thank you !
Thanks DJ. We have 7 cats that make this quite an interesting home. :)
Sarah, thanks for the suggestion! I think we prefer a walk-in but we're giving wardrobes some thought.
Marissa - OF COURSE we're reusing the cabinets!!
Deb, only the best for these spoiled kitties. They drink from a vintage glass dish sitting on a authentic silver tray. Thanks for being a devoted reader!
I love what you did with the space Kim! Those chairs are amazing and your kitties are adorable as well =) I love your housing plans and I think they're going to turn out great. I can imagine how fun it's going to be to decorate these spaces! It seems like you have a natural ability to decorate too. I do know that interior design programs like the one at FIDM are great but you seem to be a natural :)
Bonjour Kim, being a cat crazy person myself, the first thing I saw in your pictures was t he crystal water bowl. What a nice funky idea. I will shamelessly copy your idea! As for the future house to emerge, I will follow you every step. Somehow I think that Jo's today's post - we are Monday - will certainly inspire you. Please excuse any grammar mistake since English is my second language.
What a wonderfully bright kitchen - I like your cabinets and the large storage piece. What kind of wood is that?
Thanks Rooth! The cabinets are made in Korea from ginko wood by Greentea Design. For details check out my kitchen blog.
Since we began planning our house I have developed a mild obsession with pipes - one can save a lot of money when the hydraulic pipes are aligned and close to each other. Water pressure gets better too. I would put the small bathroom where the closet is so the pipe line from the kitchen will be shorter and the closet where the bathroom is.
Upstairs I would try to reposition the laundry closer to the bathrooms (same reason - less hydraulic pipes crossing the floor). If you rethink the main bath + dorm space you could fit the laundry on that side of the house and use the actual laundry space as a second closet/wardrobe - Winter clothes or shoes, perhaps?
I would also change the position of the master bathroom door - I would prefer an access through the closet, but this is a pet peeve of mine. I hate bathroom doors facing my bed. :-)
The space for office/media floor is to die for. Love it.
How cool is this going to be!?
Hi Kim, as an author of DtI I'm sure you have a pretty good idea of what you want. Having said that, I hope you don't find me patronising for what I'm going to write next. At this stage your plans are actually only sketches and I think it is really worth considering using an architect who will have experience in residential building. You will avoid costly mistakes and he/she can produce detailed plans that will ensure that whoever builds your house knows exactly how to quote you for price and time scale. Trust me, you will save yourself a huge amount of stress and aggravation. The one thing is, that choosing an architect is a bit like choosing the right hairdresser, doctor, nanny, maid of honor... best friend... ask around, go by word of mouth, ask for references, go and visit their previous clients and their previous projects, interview them and make sure you get on well. I believe that would be be money and time well spent.
Love your site and the kitties. Love your existing kitchen -- the cabinets and the tall chest -- too. I'm happy you are planning to keep the cabinets. Good luck!
My 2 cents- I have to disagree with Cathy on the double sinks in the master bath. When my parents built their house they were totally going to go that route until their architect explained that it isn't the sink that most people fight over, it is the countertop space. So they skipped the double sinks, and put in a desk/vanity area for my mom to put on her makeup, and it works so much better than their old dual sinks set up.