framing a mid-century modern remodel

Good news or bad news first? Let’s start with the good news. We had lots of work done last week and saw many trades march in and out of the addition. The framers showed up at the crack of dawn one morning, crawling all over the property. Shockingly, by the end of the day, much of what you see here was completed. Framing makes things seem much farther along than they really are. You still need electrical, plumbing, wallboard, a roof, tile, sinks, blah-blah-blah but for the first time, you get the real idea of what all your money is buying you. The new bathrooms look VAST in my opinion. Let me remind you of the humble beginnings. Again, 167 very important square feet are being added.

Left side from Alex's room

foundation in a mid-century modern remodel

You’d be surprised at the things you get used to during a remodel. I don’t even blink when I go out to my car everyday and there is a porta-potty sitting next to it. And, I barely care that the architect’s and the contractor’s advertising is planted in our front yard. They didn’t ask if they could put their signs there, and I didn’t ask them if I could write a blog about their work. Touché.

Porta-potty blends in with the basketball hoop nicely

heating a mid-century modern home

It is the end of week two, and we have heat! Anyone who owns a mid-century modern home knows the infrastructure, at this stage in the game, is shot. The house doesn't heat up properly, the electricity is under-powered, and the water pipes are too small. The solution for the poured in the foundation heating ducts which had rotted out during the last twenty years was so much simpler than we had been led to believe. A cut in the ceiling here, a poke through the wall there, and we have forced air heating up and down the length of an 18 foot hallway with one foot of dropped ceiling (just enough for a duct as it turns out). It is our ONLY dropped ceiling in the whole house, almost as if it had been made for just this purpose (perhaps it had?).

Ceiling hall which holds the heater and all the ducting, see the new"front" room vent on the left.

footings in mid-century modern homes

On day two of the much anticipated mid-century modern bathroom remodel, I got a call from the contractor. “Your house has no footings.” Because I am a marketing person who works in I.T., I have already been trained that pretending to understand gets me into trouble within 30 seconds of the start of the conversation. So I immediately asked, “What’s a footing?”

how to photograph interiors and homes

Knowing how to photograph interiors and homes is very critical to a remodel blog. I will be evolving my style over the next few months, but, I must tell you, I am loving my new Canon Zoom Lens EF-S 10-22. It is essentially a wide angle lens which is considered required for photographing interiors. I haven't had time to really experiment with this lens but it makes almost any picture more interesting. And it is practically the only way to capture pictures of teeny tiny bathrooms (even after the remodel they still won't be super spacious).

This picture of my mom's courtyard shows how the lens covers nearly corner to corner with an interesting perspective. She has eclectic gardening taste. 

let the mid-century modern remodel begin -- see the before pictures here

I am really excited (and scared). On Tuesday, January 3, we kick off the remodel of two bathrooms and the addition of a third bathroom. We'll also get another master bedroom closet, which is a tremendous bonus in a small house with no attic and a diminutive garage. We began planning this remodel exactly one year ago. Selecting an architect, designing the bathrooms, getting Newport Beach city approval and then selecting a contractor are time consuming and detailed tasks. We were lucky to get it done in a year. Take a look at the cramped "before" pictures.

Guest Bathroom - 1 - Shower on Left