Notes on #WFH from #Archimom & an Interview with William J. Martin, AIA
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| the home office is way to the left... |
I thought that I would focus on the home and how we are functioning in it right now and how it might change the future of how we live in our homes and utilize the spaces as far as how we can renovate, rework, remodel and re-make the space that we live and are now working in. I ("we") are adding on to the house right now to accommodate a medical situation and so as I think I might have mentioned before, this is what "We" have been dealing with. But we are really now looking at our homes as places that we will have to be spending more time in during these "Quarantine Quarantimes" and that , and maybe doing "double duty" so to speak as bedrooms/workrooms/dining rooms/living rooms/home office/study (literally a home study that is for studying and remote learning" for all of the different members of a household and how we might have to have more rooms that can be closed off, where all of these "open kitchens/dining/living rooms have been extremely popular, they might not be very practical. And the opening up of space might be to open on to the exterior areas as an extension of the environment and i have been able to see even on people's zoom calls that they are going outside to work, whether that be for fresh air and sunlight or to get out of the home to get a much needed break from all of the "closeness"..
One of the things that we will have to work on with this "new normal: is making what most people who have wood floors do and most other countries besides the United States, is the habit of taking your shoes off at the door or even outside the door or in a mudroom and there are numerous places to find these on the internet, I think that Martha Stewart has several great organization of the entry and the laundry room. But if you need something that is just for now, there is this interim inexpensive solution from IKEA and they have other storage ideas.
Work Spaces:
I think that there are an infinite amount of work spaces that have been written #WFH desks and home offices that have been written about but I am operating from a drafting table that was moved into the living room several weeks ago so that they could take a window out which is where it was.
Bedrooms
I know that I work out of my bedroom a lot and some people cannot handle having that distraction while they are working but I had my drafting table in my room during school and it has never seemed to bother me as far as being able to go to sleep. I can stay up and I can go to sleep any time and anywhere except when I am in the car or pretty much travelling anywhere. So, when we had a medical emergency a few years ago and I was spending a lot of time overnight in the hospital with the family member, I then really appreciated the respite of my bed and my bedroom. I decided that I really wanted it to be my sanctuary in a time of uncertainty and so that is my advice for all of you who are going through similar experiences now.
Here is my bed and some others that are pretty inexpensive and can all be ordered online. I am one of those people who sleeps with a down comforter 365 days a year, I just alternate between flannel for 6 months and percale for 6 months, These bed linens are from Garnet Hill and IKEA for the gray pillows and I go with a blue as I feel that it is very calming.
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| flower on my nightstand |
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| yes, it's wrinkled and those are my babies that i drew while they were sleeping |
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| One bedroom wall that I painted years ago, Behr's "Manhattan Mist", same as in the living room, they will still make it for you. I never repainted the trim, but it will be white. This is the only wood slider high window in the house that is any type of "classical MCM" |
One bedroom wall that I painted years ago, Behr's "Manhattan Mist", same as in the living room, they will still make it for you. I never repainted the trim, but it will be white.This is the only wood slider high window in the house that is any type of "classical MCM"
I am probably lucky that I don't have this room or this window with this view, or I might never work.
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| Chambray weekndr by CB2 |
Inexpensive Bed Linens, these are all under $200, the IKEA ones, under $40.
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| Ikea |
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| Belgian Flax West Elm |
Belgian Linen by West Elm
Crate and Barrel
IKEA
CB2 Chambray Weekndr
Bathrooms:
I am not going to get into the whole toilet paper hoarding and bidet bingeing that has been going on. My only comment online to someone (I do not know them personally) when they were freaking out about being down to their last package of baby wipes:
Use a washcloth, soap and water, and a towel.
So, in the first couple weeks after this hit, I felt like I needed to take a bath and buy night cream. And I don't know abut anyone else, but I have only taken one bath, in fact I think a lot of us are not taking showers every day but that is fine, we are saving water as well as fuel from commuting or just driving anywhere, right??? Even though we in California can now afford to fill up their tanks for less than $40, we have no place to go and we are walking around more!!! But we have had a lot of rain!!! I think the two are going to be tied together for the environment and that is a good thing!
I did take one with a Dr.Teal's bath bomb which you can get at "Big Lots" where I found myself getting toilet paper one night or you can get them at Target (which has been great for this no shopping but essentials thing) Dr. Bronner's Bath Bombs at Target or these "DIY ones" DIY Lavender Bath Bombs (disclaimer I have not done this because I make dinner and money before I make anything else every day)
What is on my bathroom shelf that I will show you. Stainless canisters with stuff in them and bath bombs, and a lavendar candle. I have one of those old 50's mirror/shelf/crappydoors thing that hangs above the sink and vanity that I need to replace the doors someday, maybe when I get the new master bath finished I can start working on this old one. But here's just a few things to get your spa on that isn't typical. I have mosaic glass tile that matches this blue but I have yet to do that either, and I might be putting that tile in the new one. Someday...
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| stainless canisters, bath bombs, scented candles, tealights |
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| Badeloft Tub: This is not in my house but one of my clients bought it for their house remodel and addition that I am doing |
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| A tub from Kohler |
And I found this great piece from "Real Simple" about things that you can do that you don't have to spend any money on (or leave the house), because we all need to watch our money right now. And by watching it, that is watching it stay in your account, I really don't care what they are telling you to do with the stimulus check right now but please don't spend it on half of one of these bathtubs unless you really can or you want to eat it or sell it to put your kid in daycare for two months.
"REAL SIMPLE" Article on how to decorate home without leaving the house
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| a quilt that my dad made for me |
So, my parents divorced when I was pretty young, and I guess when they were really young also, and besides my left-handedness (well he could draw and had gone to engineering school and worked in an architect's office for a brief period of time) and my hair not being too gray, (the color and texture are my mothers, the rest is his DNA). I really didn't spend that much time with him or have that much to remember as a child. BUT one thing that I have remembered and have kept was this quilt that he made for me. My father was one of those "jack of all trades" sixties dads. For those who are younger and don't know what that means, ask a man from that time period and you will get exactly what they weren't and because he is still alive I won't tell you. Anyways... for a time, he was a travelling salesman for a fabric corporation, "Belding Corticelli",Belding Corticelli wikipedia I think that is exactly when I first learned what a corporation even was because it was on all of the boxes that we had in the house. So, he had a lot of fabric swatches and he decided, totally on his own i believe, to sew a lot of the older swatches together and then had another person that he knew do all of the tiny stitching by hand on the back, because that was how you made a quilt back then before you had household sewing machines with quilting capabilities. And to show you that you don't need to have a lot of money on hand to make something that can be cherished for a long time by your children. I had this on my bed over the covers and I had it on my daughter's bed when she got older. And every time I say that my dad made me a quilt, people say "don't you mean your mom?" because my mom was a very good seamstress and made a lot of my clothes, but this was actually made by my father.
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| Back of quilt with tiny stitches |
Belding Corticelli HDR Building by sherbypictures
There was a post in the "Parents in Architecture" Facebook Group about "what are you doing to makeyour home better suited for #WFH and here are a couple, well it's Mandy and I....
Hey Michele! My daughter and I bought paint right before the Governor issued the shelter-in-place order. We were already coming up with boredom busters with the school closing and chose to paint an accent wall in our Living Room. It went from white and monotonous to a dark blue, slightly lighter than our navy blue Living Room accent pieces. The goal will be to create a wall full of family photos framed in black, white, and gold, sprinkled with fun black and white wall art of varying textures. We're happy to say the wall is finished and is a gorgeous blue. Our next few weeks we'll stay busy selecting photos and assembling our gallery wall.
Mandy Freeland, AIA
And this is what I have been doing the last couple days after I had to find the supplies which took a while, because my contractor wasn't too happy that I have these doors that haven't been sealed yet. Of course it is a hard job and I have to mask off the doors which I do not like prep work at all.
My contractor asked me the other day, "so, you are going to finish these french doors, right???" Because... I didn't finish the ones that he put in 6 months ago and now I have three sets of French Doors to mask and seal and spray which of course takes several coats of which require a few hours inbetween each coat, so this is what I have been doing the last couple days and still working...
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| One coat of Poly Seal on one set of doors, two more sets and eight more coats to go |
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| William Martin and Courtney Rombough and I at the EntreArchitect/CVG Meetup in Vegas prior to social distancing |
William J. Martin, AIA Blog about the House in COVID-19 & Beyond
William J. Martin AIA
Bill Martin grew up In Northern New Jersey just outside New York City. He attended Carnegie
Mellon University in Pittsburgh where he studied architecture and for a time, managerial
economics. He then returned to the New York area and completed his study of architecture at
Pratt Institute in New York City receiving his degree in 1988.
Bill is licensed in five states as an architect and is also a licensed professional community
planner In New Jersey. He is also a licensed New Jersey construction official and building
inspector.
With over 38 years in this field, Bill has been in private practice for 29 years. He has been
involved in the design of many building types. From consulting on hospital projects to designing
office warehouse distribution centers, malls and shopping centers, Bill now focuses on historic
preservation and high-performance single-family home configuration with integration of
sustainable and resilient features. His projects are sustainable both economically and
environmentally.
Bill is a certified LEED AP home design professional and was the recipient of a 2011 AIA New
Jersey committee on the environment top 10 project merit award.
Bill is currently Co chairman of the AIA New Jersey Public Awareness committee and engages
frequently with the press and on social media. Bill has been seen on Fox News, CNBC, and
MSNBC discussing preservation issues, trends in design and sustainability.
the WJM "Econo-Functional Aesthetic Balance":
Represents our professional commitment to seeing that your project meets your requirements and is cost effective.
Remember, we are NOT construction contractors and we DO NOT sell construction, our professional design advice is NOT based on selling you a big project that you cannot afford.
Interview with William J. Martin, AIA , click here to listen
Bill's Three Classic Buildings:
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| The Red Pyramid |
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| Isometric, plan and elevation images of the Red Pyramid Complex t aken from a 3D model |
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| The Parthenon, Athens, Greece photo: lonelyplanet.com |
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| So, there are people up closer so i might have not remembered correctly when i was saying that you couldn't go up there |
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| The Empire State Building photo: wickipedia |
It is interesting that typically when I ask this question, the architects that I have asked have not given me skyscrapers and then in both of these last two COVID times interviews with
Jeff Echols My Blog Interview with Jeff Echols, Assoc. AIA and Bill, they both gave skyscrapers as one of their buildings. And then I was talking to another architect about how he is designing a tower right now and I saw the blog post that Andrew Hawkins was doing on Towers so it is kindof ironic that in a time when we are wondering about our own survival as a race plagued by a virus, that we would be looking skywards towards something that looms larger than life, taking us higher than we can on our own, built as architecture that is a testament to power and wealth but staying anchored by the foundation deep into the earth which we are from, we live off and ravage, and to which we return.
Peace be with you
and Good Night.
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