Fire Rebuild: tile and cabinet stain

I have to say, it's been so nice to walk around the house with the tile on the floors... and the stain on the cabinets... even though the place IS scattered, dusty and dirty. Every day the house feels more like a home. As much as I love this phase of design... the construction phase, I am anxiously anticipating the transition to furniture and accessories. Probably because the house is such a beautiful backdrop to anything we put inside! Also because the homeowners will have moved in. There will be music, laughter, and the smell of food in the kitchen. And we will scatter the counters and walls with pretty things to envelope the making of memories. Oh, how I love my job!

Entry decorative inset in rustic red field tile:

Main hallways:
Kitchen cooktop:
Kitchen island:

Butler pantry:

Great Room TV cabinet:

Office:

Wine cellar:

Ceiling and walls are same adobe brick as butler pantry.

This is the view of the wine cellar ceiling, coming back up the stairs.
Master bathroom tub:

Master bathroom shower detail:

Kid's bathroom:

(or we should say, grandkids and guests :)

Fire Rebuild: Wow! Exterior Stucco

I think this was the most dramatic change for me. When I showed up at the jobsite and saw the beautiful dusky golden stucco exterior, I almost did a little dance. It is so gorgeous! Major kudos to Carole Wylie, our architect, for the color selection. She is a great designer. And kudos to Tammy at Light Gallery in Escondido for finding our exterior lights even after they were discontinued. I can't imagine any other light fitting the bill as well as those have.

Here's George, tile guy extraordinaire, grouting the entry archway.

(Speaking of Kudos!)

To the right of the entry:
Back patio, covered fireplace and pool:
Window detail:

Back patio off the dining room and master suite:

Breakfast nook as seen from the outside:

FIRE REBUILD, beauty from ashes

This was my view as I rounded the top of the hill today - an almost completed structure, well on it's way to becoming once again a home. The interior design progress has been exciting as beauty continues to emerge from the ashes of last year's fires in San Diego.

Clients Ray and Linda are rebuilding from the ground up; a beautiful Meditteranean style home designed by Ramona, CA architect Carole Wylie. It's a replica of the previous structure but with many improvements and stylistic additions. Hey, if you have to rebuild, you might as well change a few things!

Although many memories were lost in the fire and treasures collected from around the world have been destroyed, the couple's friends and family still remain. And very soon, with a pending move-in date, (and not to mention the gorgeous tile currently being installed) new memories are soon to be made.

Check back for more progress photos...