Enbiggening the closet door

Here are the before and after photos of the closet doorway in my son's room being widened. (We had the same thing done in our current bedroom, too.)
This will make the closets way more accessible; until now, hanging clothes in them has been like working on a car's engine via the glove compartment.

Solarcap tiles

These nifty tiles are solar powered and covetous. At around $170 ea. I won't be doing the whole courtyard in them, but maybe a nice accent. Could also help small aircraft land at our house.

Lamp / Lamp

This abomination makes me smile. More info here.

Shady advice

I'm looking for advice on roller shades. The reality of how large some of our west-facing windows are gonna be is starting to set in. Does anyone have a line on good, moderately-priced, sun-blocking roller shades? Clean lines and chain operation are what I'm after. I found these guys, but they just look expensive, don't they?

Big window

Beatrix wasn't that impressed with the window, actually. I think this is the one going in the master bedroom upstairs.

Doors and Windows are in (as in arrived, not installed)

After about two weeks of little activity, the level of bustle is once again high; Erin just called to tell me that J.D., Kevin, and a truckload of doors and windows have arrived.
Update:
I just went over there at lunch -- the doors and windows are awesome! Some of them are insanely huge. I took some photos which I'll post later.

Insulation

Erin writes: My mother-in-law alerted me to this new British insulation that's composed primarily of wool called Thermafleece.

I'm a big fan of wool (the real stuff, with the lanolin still in it). We use it for diaper covers and for crib/bed pads. It's natural, anti-bacterial, absorbs well, and is generally a miracle product (check out this article for a better explanation).

JP priced out the insulation -- it's £117 per 20 square meters (which is around $215 for 65 sq.ft.) I can't even begin to guess how much we'd need, but I'm assuming it's more expensive than the fiberglass-don't-breathe-or-touch-it stuff. Still, we're asking JD and co. to look into it.

Rough plumbing inspection

We passed!

Design Within Reach (of Whom?)

I'm sure that these two products are worlds apart when viewed in person.

DWR vs. IKEA


$760.00

$59.99

Klawin House

We went down to Manhattan Beach to see this house that Leanarch have almost finished building (small details, like staining, painting, and cleanup left to do). It's beautiful, stylish, and clever. It's on a 20' x 60' lot, yet feels large on the inside. Man, those beach dwellers have some nice breezes flowing though their homes! Congratulations to James, J.D. and everyone else for creating such a wonderful home for the Klawins.

Of special interest to us were the materials and finishes; we're using many of them on our house -- the smooth stucco, siding, railings, and windows. Some of the shapes and forms are similar to ours, so it was inspiring to see them realized.

They've used a beautiful, old-growth, reclaimed Douglas Fir throughout. It looks like James may be grabbing up some of their excess wood to use for our stair runners at a discount. It's vertical cut and sumptuous.

Looking for radiant floor heating advice

We are planning on some kind of stone for the master bathroom floor (slate?), which leads to concern about freezing our tootsies off. I've just started reading up on electric radiant floor heating mats/rolls; essentially a very thin electric blanket installed in quickset under the stone. Has anyone got recommendations/experience/advice to share?

Skylight thoughts

The other day, I was sitting on the couch, gazing up at the hole in the ceiling, and thought to myself: "Wow, the hole where the chimney used to be would make a great spot for a skylight".

I envision it being cheap and easy somehow, since there would be no need to cut out a space in the rafters or anything. There's even a hole in the roof there already!



Has anyone out there had experiences with skylights they'd like to share?

Pano tour of rough electrical

I've gone mad. Click on the image to check out a panoramic QTVR tour of the current state of the house. In it, please be sure to look up and note the many can lights.

The rough electrical and plumbing installations seem to be going well. I never knew they hammered little metal plates onto each 2x4 to guard the high voltage wire from homeowner studfinders & nails.

By the way, if you have any problems viewing the QTVR pano movie, please email me.