Modern Cottage House Plan Update - The Afton

Simply Elegant Home Designs has updated the design of our Modern Cottage House Plan - The Afton.  We liked the old design for it's modern simplicity, but wanted to provide a fresh version for those with a bit more traditional sensibilities.  I've highlighted some of the changes below.

BEFORE
Here is our previous design.  Nice - so we just wanted to add a few touches to make it a bit more traditional.

AFTER
The new front elevation.  We added a an "eyebrow roof" above the wrap around porch, added muntins to the windows and changed the color tones of the exterior.  These changes give the home design a more soothing feeling and give it more of a beach cottage aesthetic.  By the way you can check out an exterior animation at Modern Cottage Exterior Video

View from rear yard.  We added a wrap around porch that connects to the screen porch.  This is a great home plan for outdoor living

Interior image from dining area through kitchen to living room.  We updated materials and color tones.   And we have added a great video that walks you through the main floor spaces.  You can check that out at Modern Cottage Interior Video

 All in all I think you can see that a few subtle changes can make a significant difference in a home design.  So let us know if you think.  Do you like the "before" or the "after"?

By the way - you can see more information on this plan at Modern Cottage House Plan! 

Upholstered Headboard

We've been working on a small project with a very small budget.  Mind you, we're really not the decorate-on-a dime kinda people.  Those decorating shows that teach you how to make a volleyball net out of the plastic canholders?  Or ottoman out of empty Coke bottles?  No thanks.    However, there are ways to make your house look nice on a budget, and having a colorful, pretty headboard for your bed is one of them.  It's really pretty when you choose a striking fabric that's colorful and fun.  The headboards cost about $500-600 to make, and usually you can have a good local, upholsterer make it for you.

If you are looking for headboard models, here are some good ones from Edward Ferrell.    You can go to the site and download a tearsheet (you can order from them too, but it's kinda expensive).

Bring this to your favorite upholsterer along with your favorite fabric and voila...

Home Design Ideas - Crazy with Tile!

I recently ran into a photo of a simple bathroom design that I wanted to share with you.  It's a really skinny, small, simple, unique and fantastic powder room within a 1910 Georgian Mansion in San Francisco.  Check it out below.

This powder room is a contrast of the very modern and the very ornate.  It starts off as a very spare space with almost awkward proportions.  Add to that the modern wood vanity, vessel sink and faucet.  This is contrasted by the "crazy" - but well designed tile pattern, reinforced by the stained glass window and the ornate mirror. 

Detail view of the tile pattern.  I cannot imagine the man-hours that went into this.   But you have to admit it's very cool.

All in all a very quirky but beautiful powder room.  So todays lesson is this:

1. Keep it simple but pay attention to the details.
2. A contrast of styles can be very dramatic.

If you want to learn more about this bathroom you can check out the link where I found it:

http://arizonafoothillsmagazine.com/in-house/design-and-architecture/san-francicso-decorator-showcase-features-marsh-clark-powder-room

Home plan and elevation - 2300 Sq. Ft

Total Area-2300Sq.ft
Ground Floor-1150 Sq. Ft
First Floor-1150 Sq. Ft




Designer: T.L.M Ismail
094 0778466644 / 094 0714418216
azeetha7@yahoo.com

blood orange caipirinhas

: : since I was born in Brazil I was brought up on Brazilian caipirinhas, I remember drinking them with water instead of sugar cane rum when I was a kid. It's always been the favorite drink in my family and it didn't take long for Iz to pick up the caipirinha making skills (it was sort of a requirement or he probably would have been kicked out of the family), today he makes mean caipirinhas. Last weekend he was experimenting with a mix of blood orange and lime and it came out amazing.

here's how he did it: muddle 1 lime, 1 blood orange and super fine sugar. then add cachaca (some sparkling water if you like) and ice, shake and pour into glasses. enjoy!

Home Design Ideas - Drop the Ceiling!

My design philosophy is all about getting big design impact from simple ideas.  After all good design ought not to be expensive.  So here is a simple trick that I have been using for years - "Drop the Ceiling".  Take a look at the examples below and I think you will agree.  Simple Idea - Big Impact!

Here I added a gypsum board "bulkhead" to help define the spaces on either side of the kitchen.  Making the walls extra thick allowed space for ductwork in this otherwise wide open floor plan.
This home design offered for sale at Deephaven Modern Cottage

Here is the same bulkhead idea as seen from the dining area.
This home design offered for sale at Deephaven Modern Cottage

In this home I again utilized the dropped ceiling theme to define the space between kitchen and dining.  Here the client wanted a little more segregation of the spaces, so we crafted a beautiful buffet cabinet and anchored it at the bulkhead.

Here you can see a subtle drop in ceiling above the foyer.  The crown molding and color tone differences help to emphasize the edges of the space.
This home design offered for sale at Lakeland Cape Cod

Similar to above we positioned dropped "soffits"along the circulation lines between rooms.  Simple gypsum board "columns" marked the corners of the spaces.  We took advantage of the soffits by placing the main ductwork runs within.
This home design offered for sale at Apple Valley Foursquare

Old Leather Books

There's this bar called the Library Bar in downtown Los Angeles that we go to once in a while.  Its walls are lined with these antique books that we thought are pretty cool.

 If you ever wanted that lived-in, antiqued look, there's this line of antique library books you might want to check out. They retail for about $10-15 each or something like that...

The web site is decorativeleatherbooks.com