Checking in on the Matawatchan Project

Recently, hubby and I spent the weekend with our friends at their log home property in Matawatchan.  You remember the Matawatchan project.  I wrote about it here and again here.  Well our friends A&N have been very busy over the last 18 months (yes it’s been that long since I last posted about this), and have made tremendous progress on the house, now with windows, doors, sunroom and screened porch.

Here’s a couple of shots of the progress we’ve seen:

The front of the home with a retaining wall that took A quite some effort to complete.

The front entrance and garden has a wonderful rustic appeal.

Here is the screened in porch where we spent a good portion of our weekend, with some great food and no shortage of red wine :).

Now, down to work…

One of the major areas they’ve been working on is the kitchen. Last we left off, we had settled on a kitchen layout that felt right.

Well, while we were reviewing the layout, we came across the fact that the stove would need a fan of some sort.  The first option was an overhead unit like this one:

Source:  Sarah Richardson Design (via Pinterest)

Not wanting to obstruct the views within the open layout first floor space, the overhead unit was vetoed. That left an integrated unit, like this.

Source: www.dacor.com

Two problems there, first, with a raised glass breakfast bar, the room for pop up vent was limited.  And secondly, where do you vent to?  After some discussion we decided to modify the floor plan somewhat to accommodate an outdoor venting of the stove.  Here is the new layout:

You’ll notice we’ve moved the stove over to the other side of the kitchen.  It’s now on an outside wall which facilitates the venting for the stove.  Not only that, there is now a really nice big space for food preparation.  A vent hood hasn’t been selected yet, but there’s plenty of room to house one now.

The next step for the kitchen is finalizing the cabinet configuration, that is drawers versus doors.

Currently A&N are trialling the new layout using a combination of cabinets they removed from their condo in the city with pieces they’ve used up to this point for their makeshift kitchen.  The reviews so far are good!

 

It’s a long term project, but I’m very excited to see the progress as we move towards the finished project.

In my next Matawatchan post I’ll tell you all about some of the issues we have with the master bedroom layout upstairs.

A Matawatchan Project update …

I have a little update for you folks on the Matawatchan Project that I posted about here.  This is the re-built 125 year old log home that I’m working on for  our good friends “A&N”.

Starting from scratch certainly has it’s benefits.  With no existing walls or finishes to deal with you have the luxury of planning in all of your wants and needs.  But that doesn’t mean that there aren’t still issues to deal with.  With this open floor plan, there are structural supports, staircases and the natural log walls to deal with, among others.  I should also share at this point that this home is OFF THE GRID.  That’s right – we’re talking SOLAR powered – how cool is that?  So in order to keep energy consumption low “A&N” want to keep interior walls to an absolute minimum to make maximum use of the light from each window.

First up was the kitchen floor plan that I posted about here.  To refresh your memories -  here is a picture of the kitchen as it sits today.  The kitchen will take up the space between the staircase to the far interior wall for the powder room and from the wall with the clock to the two jack-posts in the foreground.

The list from “A&N” was simple, your usual kitchen stuff - well mostly…

• standard sized appliances (fridge, gas stove, dishwasher)
• island for gathering around
• corner sink looking out over the countryside while doing the dishes
• storage and more storage
• a dumbwaiter – yep – a dumbwaiter (the back entrance is in the basement and any supplies can be brought upstairs via the dumbwaiter – neat huh?)

My job was to fit as much of this in as I could, while considering kitchen standards on traffic patterns, distances and working triangles, al the while making sure there was some pizzazz! 

So after some kitchen planning research, learning the CAD product I posted about here, a couple of iterations with “A&N” – which included switching the direction of the staircase - here is the plan that we are currently finalizing: 

 

We were able to fit in most requirements, but the island wasn’t feasible.  Instead I’ve proposed a long stretch of cabinets and counter that house the gas stove and have a raised countertop for pulling up a stool to chat with the cook as they are preparing meals.  Base cabinets will be a combination of drawers and doors.  I’ve also opted for no uppers on the log walls – they will block the light from the windows.  The one interior wall along the staircase will have uppers and we’ll use open shelving on the log walls between the two windows. 

One of my concerns was the powder room being right beside the kitchen counter, so since “A” does some very creative and beautiful stained glass, I’ve suggested that she hang a piece from ceiling to counter to visually continue the powder room wall, while still allowing light to filter from the opposite window.

We’ve discussed some finishes and are thinking of Caesarstone for countertops – maybe something like this

(Shaded White # 6600)

painted base cabinets in a nice medium gray with a hint of blue something like these

(BM 1635 – Waters Edge, BM HC145 – Van Courtland Blue, SW7624 – Slate Tile, SW1223 – Steel Blue)

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Uppers on the interior wall in a white/cream (that matches the log chinking) like this

(BM 2144-60 – Cloud Nine)

marmoleum flooring continuing in the grays

(Forbolinoleum.com – Dual 621)

and open shelving on the log walls between the windows in the same white as the uppers:

 

“A&N” are spending a week at the log home during the holidays (the basement is insulated and equipped with a wood stove), so will be confirming measurements for me.  In the meantime, I’m working on other areas of the house (the master bath upstairs has some challenges that I’ll post about later).

This is exciting isn’t it????

Painted furniture

I am soooo excited!!!!

Last week I made an awesome acquisition that I’ve been added to my ever expanding “project” list.  No pictures yet, but they are two gorgeous pieces of furniture with wonderful lines and solid construction.

Everyone I’ve told about this new project has asked “How are you going to refinish – stain or paint?”.  That’s a good question isn’t it?  Most pieces of furniture I have in my possession (with the exception of my newly painted pedestal table) are solid wood.  The warmth and beauty of wood brings such a natural element to a home, the simplicity or complexity of the grain, depending on the wood, being a testament to the wonder of nature.

(source: esf.edu)
 
(source: Joey Horton design via House and Home)

(source: Michael Arras wood table via aurielababy.com)

I love the wood I have in my home.  But I also think that too much wood can clutter a space.   A room with wood floors and wood furniture and wood blinds (I am guilty of this myself) competes for your attention and doesn’t come across as cohesive.  I’ve noticed this more lately in my own home with the updated pedestal table which adds texture, contrast and colour to my dining room.  I’ve also noticed this with my current client project (the “Matawatchan Project”) planning the interior of a rebuilt 125 year old log home.  With four walls comprised of log and chinking you have to be very selective in the choice and placement of wood pieces. 

That being said, the new acquisitions will most likely be painted.  I haven’t told you what these are yet have I?  Well, I’m going to keep you in suspense for a little while longer (until I get some pictures), but I’m pretty sure you are going to be able to guess once you have a boo at my inspiration images below….

  (source: harvest moon company)

(source: Pottery Barn)

 

(source: Pottery Barn)

  (source: http://whitealderhome.blogspot.com/2009/10/dresser-refresh.html)

So … have you guessed yet????

Kitchen Planning …

So this past week or so I've spent in front of my computer.  Not blogging, not surfing, not gaming, but designing ;) ... designing a kitchen :) ... the Matawatchan kitchen :D !!  I’m using the Home Designer software package that I posted about here.  I am finding it fairly easy to use and it’s library of fixtures, appliances, material, paint, furniture etc… is quite extensive. 

It has been going great but ….wow, there is so much to consider when you sit down to design a kitchen. 

• where will the appliances go
• where do they best fit
• how will the traffic flow
• what does the work triangle look like
• is there enough storage
• where does the sink go
• how much space do you need between cabinets
• how big should an island be
• how does it all work in a small open concept main floor of a 125 year old log home

And I haven’t even looked at the finishes yet !

But...I am nothing if not driven by a challenge so I'm dusting off the text-books and surfing the net and blogosphere ... kitchen design here I come.

Here are some inspiration photos I’ve been collecting care of Houzz.  Hope you enjoy!  As for me – it’s back to my kitchen planning!!!

The “Matawatchan” Project …

Mat-a-who-chan you say - that's Mat-a-watch-an - a tiny village south-west of Ottawa, Ontario.

Recently the hubster and I packed up our work clothes and headed to Matawatchan. The purpose was to visit our good friends who are re-building a 125 year old log home. These friends have provided me with my very first project as a decorator - and a doozie it is - but hey I'm up for a challenge!!!

This labour of love has been underway for several years now, beginning with the purchase of the property, followed by a couple of years to dismantle, number, clean and restore the logs. A foundation in the new location was poured a couple of years ago, last year the beautiful old home was resurrected in it's new location and this year it was topped off with a shiny new roof. Next will be windows, doors, exterior and interior chinking (the substance between the logs that keeps the elements where they belong - outside) and then the interior - that's where I come in.

   

This is the main level taken from the new sunroom. (Aren’t those photo stitch settings on your camera amazing!!)

   

The second level – the master suite.

A lot of work you say -- you bet your patootie it's a lot of work. I am humbled by the dedication these folks have for their project. However, once you set foot on the property (actually even before you get there) the sense of peace and calm you feel makes it easy to understand the pull. And can you imagine the phenomenal sense of accomplishment these folks will feel at the end of their project. Just spending two days there was enough to get my mind reeling with possibilities for our future projects.

So I arrived armed with my camera, graph paper and tape measure, magazines and ideas. Hubster brought his brawn (and his guitar too for a song or two) and we had a fantastic weekend. Measurements were interrupted by some great outdoor time - ATV trips up the mountain to see the amazing view, wielding of the chainsaw to fell tree stands, using some of those logs to begin an exterior hardscaping project that will eventually be steps leading down to a cool shady spot to hide when the summers heat up, some excellent meals and a bottle or two of red :).  

And being the city-slickers we are (although you would hear otherwise from hubster – grunt grunt), we were quite thankful for the hot tub when we got home!

 

 

I thank these dear friends for the opportunity to work on such an amazing project and for their generosity in allowing me to blog about it.

You will definitely be hearing more about the "Matawatchan Project" in the future ....