Category Archives: Design Style

The look

Designing a Kiva Fireplace with a Boiler Stove Insert

Posted on December 9, 2012 by ellen

I have always admired Kiva fireplaces. They seem both rustic and homey. And this house already has a rough stucco wall in the living room area so a Kiva seemed to be a perfect fit. Our architect, James Plagmann, drew … Continue reading →

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USGBC Denver Rocky Mountain Green Conference

Posted on May 16, 2013 by ellen

This is the roof we toured at the conference! It is “semi intense”, planted in trays and suffering a bit from the extreme conditions in Denver, cold, heat, wind and sun. Also has suffered from lack of maintenance. But it … Continue reading →

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You Stain, You Gain?

Posted on May 17, 2013 by ellen

Alberto introduced the idea of staining the concrete several months ago and I panned the idea, did not want to think about extra expense at the time. But when the concrete was finished and Alberto said the next step was … Continue reading →

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Shutterfly Book

Posted on June 29, 2013 by ellen

This is an online copy of a book I created to show off the house and commemorate the major milestone of getting the broken floor in the house replaced. This link will open a new window that will take some … Continue reading →

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Old Hickory Furniture

Posted on July 5, 2013 by ellen

Even though the house is not ready for furniture, it is part of the overall look and feel of the project and I knew from the beginning that our vision of a Colorado cabin would include rustic furniture and trim. … Continue reading →

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FTDS: Follow the directions stupid?

Posted on July 29, 2013 by ellen

Well, yes, the stain came with directions, what to do when the colors overlapped, what to do when the stain beaded up on the surface, etc. etc. I read these and then proceeded to lose focus on them and had … Continue reading →

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Home Comfort (in an unfinished house)

Posted on August 21, 2014 by ellen

We are pretty comfortable here in this unfinished house. When we moved all our stuff to the garage, we decided to bring some furniture inside. Some of the old hickory was out in the garage and it is better to … Continue reading →

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Used Gas Cooktop

Posted on November 9, 2014 by ellen

About the same time I was shopping on craigslist for kitchen appliances, I found a 30″ gas cooktop for sale. The owner wanted to wait until it was taken out for their remodel, so we waited until just last week … Continue reading →

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RED bedroom!

Posted on November 9, 2014 by ellen

The kitchen set up makes it much easier to cook for ourselves, but the added advantage was moving the kitchen out of the second bedroom and setting up a bed for overnight guests. The red bedroom is a bit shocking … Continue reading →

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Amory Lovins Home Tour!

Posted on December 10, 2014 by ellen

We had a great opportunity due to the Roaring Fork USGBC scheduling of a tour of Amory Lovins Passive Solar, Greenhouse Furnace, Net Zero, photovoltaic and thermal solar home in Snowmass, yesterday! It was a large tour group, about 30 … Continue reading →

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Amory Lovins’ House Systems

Posted on December 17, 2014 by ellen

The Lovins house tour was most interesting because of the various house systems; heating, water, electricity, etc. I’m sure there was more going on than what met the eye but what met the eye was pretty exciting. First, there is … Continue reading →

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AE Building Systems

Posted on February 1, 2015 by ellen

I was fortunate to be referred to Mark Attard at AE when I contacted Alpen for a quote. He is very involved in the Passive House interest group in Colorado and AE Building Systems carries a full line of products … Continue reading →

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Original Plans!!!

Posted on March 14, 2015 by ellen

I have had the good fortune to become friends with the original owner of the house. Of course she is a very interesting person as well as a retired business owner, a wonderful gardener, and a good cook! She was … Continue reading →

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Track Lighting

Posted on March 20, 2015 by ellen

We noticed that our living area is very dark at night. This could just be the contrast with how light it is during the day, or it is because the clerestory is so high that light gets lost in the … Continue reading →

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Reused Outdoor Lights

Posted on June 10, 2015 by ellen

These were the original lights at the doors. They may have been homemade as they were cedar like the siding with white plastic covers. They were much the worse for wear, with the wood cracking and breaking and the lights … Continue reading →

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More Old Hickory and Handcrafted Log Bed

Posted on October 11, 2015 by ellen

Well, why not more Old Hickory? I found two chairs and a table on Craigslist for a reasonable price. They were in Larkspur about an hour away, but it was a lovely day and I enjoyed the drive. I think … Continue reading →

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Craigslist Vanity and Doors

Posted on January 3, 2016 by ellen

I sometimes wonder how the things I like will come together in one coherent style. I have called the kitchen post industrial rustic. I think the new master bathroom vanity fits that description. I know I like a tall vanity … Continue reading →

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Friends Visit and Suggestions

Posted on February 15, 2016 by ellen

We had a wonderful time visiting with some old friends from Indiana for the weekend. I talked their ears off about the house projects. It was so nice to have someone knowledgeable to get their reactions and suggestions. Steve has … Continue reading →

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Our Roman Tub

Posted on March 2, 2016 by ellen

I looked for installation instructions for the used tub that I bought on Craigslist and found this very similar if not the same tub at The Bath Works. This one costs over $6000 and it is cast of “Silacore” a … Continue reading →

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A Study in Contrasts

Posted on May 18, 2016 by ellen

Oh for a bit of clean looking drywall! These two photos are essentially taken from the same angle and of the same area of the house. Looking from the living room to the kitchen in both cases. On the left … Continue reading →

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