An Architect's Master Bath Design

Here in San Francisco space is at a premium, so making the most of the square footage in your home is essential. Many homes have that hard to use, slanted ceiling closet that is just not where you want to start every morning when it's time to get dressed. Gregg, our Principal Architect, had just that space. He's been envisioning transforming this small closet into his dream master bath. His project finally made the job list.

First things first, in order to square off the ceiling for more usable space, the ceiling/roof had to be punched through, creating a dormer. Once approved, demo began and it was time to design the look and feel of the space.

The ocean and the beach have always resonated with Gregg so when a friend gave him these photos, he knew they would be his design inspiration. With a beautiful, timeless, yet masculine color palette, the search for finishes began.

A matte glass mosaic tile from Artistic Tile - The Tozen Collection in Silk Oxygen with gorgeous blues and browns was selected to cover a full wall in the shower. This is the first thing you see upon entering. To make the small space feel larger, a large format tile from Country Floors - Ecocem Porcelain Collection in Melted Ice with a honed finish was used for the other shower walls and the floor. A watery blue grey paint, sophisticated enough for a master bath finished the other walls. Dunn Edwards - Color: Lake Placid.

A floating vanity with a white counter top and a dark wood base also help to make a small space feel larger and airy. Bringing in a wood element adds warmth to a bathroom full of hard surfaces and can also connect an updated space to the roots of a traditional home. Vanity finishes include Caesarstone solid surface in Torquay and Aspen Oak Wood laminate from E.B. Bradley. Designed in-house and built by Kenwood Cabinetry in San Francisco.  We cannot say enough wonderful things about Ken Fong and his work. Thank you!

Another key design element in any space is lighting. Gregg did not skimp here. The vanity lighting is flush and inlaid for an ultra clean look. Under cabinet lighting for the vanity provides a soothing ambience at night. Overall recessed lighting in the space and shower is dimmable and all are on their own switches for efficiency.

With every bathroom design we create at DM+A, the toilet, as nice as it may be, must not be the focal point. With this small space we tucked it behind the vanity.

Not only does Gregg love his new bath, his feline love, Jakers, can often be found lounging on the luxurious radiant heat floors. Cheers to a job well done and long overdue!

Take it outside

It’s no secret that the view of San Francisco’s skyline is one of the many benefits of living or working in the city. Unfortunately, it’s not always easy to take in the view by simply drawing back the curtains and looking out a window. The close proximity of neighboring homes and offices often results in a look at nearby architecture, but not much opportunity for the kind of relaxing outdoor living afforded to those residing in the suburbs. This closeness can also make it difficult to get the proper permits for the new construction of a traditional balcony. One way to make the most of your existing space while opening up your home or office to the world outside is with a roof deck.

A roof deck is precisely what it sounds like — a patio-like outdoor area built upon the roof of a structure. They can be designed to include gardens, dining areas, hot tubs and pretty much anything else you might find in a traditional outdoor space. But while simple in concept, proper roof decks require careful design and permits of their own.

The San Francisco Planning Department website offers a glimpse into what is necessary when even considering a new roof deck. In short, due to zoning restrictions, the application may involve several pre-application steps, and even notification of your intentions to some or all of your neighbors.

There are a number of things to consider before a roof deck permit can be approved, including the proposed height and appearance of the deck, its potential environmental impact, the historical significance of the existing building, and the concerns of your neighbors. Basically, San Francisco wants to make sure your relaxing outdoor area is safe, non-invasive and attractive, and you want to ensure your new roof deck contributes to both your comfort and the property’s long-term value.

Lucky for you, De Meza + Architecture is well-versed in roof deck design. We know what the Planning Department is looking for, we know how to maneuver through the red tape, and we know how to maximize the space to ensure you get the roof deck your neighbors will envy.

Tell us what kind of roof deck you’re looking for, and we’ll show you a new way to enjoy San Francisco’s skyline.

Modern design just isn’t what it used to be.

One word many people use to describe the overall feel of their ideal design is “modern,” especially when the design is meant to update an older space. What they typically mean is they want the style and characteristics of their new space to be current and recent. They want something contemporary. “Modern” is a funny word when used as an identifier of style. Historically speaking, modern describes the span of time around the years 1500 to 1800. But kitchen and bathroom fixtures from that time period haven’t yet come back into vogue, and their electrical and lighting designs really wouldn’t meet current building codes.

In the design world, modern describes a specific style movement that was considered “contemporary” from the 1920s through the 1950s. Carefully selected elements from the modern era, as well as those from various other design periods, are often brought together cohesively by present-day designers.

By those same design world definitions, contemporary describes the time period between the 1980s and now, whenever “now” happens to be. If represented on a timeline, it’s typically preferred that contemporary design sits a little closer to the now side than the one bookended by Reagan’s move into the White House. Technically speaking, unless there is a mass shift by the design community at large to either go back in time or far ahead into our estimated future, contemporary design, by its very definition, will be “modern” as long as there is a now for which it to refer.

It’s all complicated stuff.

Luckily, the DM+A team keeps itself up to date on current and emerging trends in architecture and design. We study and research current popular designs, and we know what’s needed in order for those designs to meet strict building codes. We’re watching the trendsetters, but our work is accessible enough to set trends of our own. We know hip and with it and chic and sophisticated and cool. In short, DM+A knows contemporary.

But we also know modern.

“What are these? Houses for ants?”

Yes, actually, if not eaten soon, those tiny buildings may indeed house ants. Today, however, they’re occupied by marshmallow snowmen, gummy bears and various other sticky sweets with which the youngsters chose to adorn their creations during this year’s annual Gingerbread House Decorating Party at Edgewood Center for Children & Families. All year long, we’re the creators. Guided by our clients’ specific needs and desires, we help transform their projects into beautiful and unique commercial or residential spaces. We’re great at what we do and we’re thankful so many people continually place their trust in our architecture and design services. But once a year, we look forward to throwing the building codes out the window and handing complete creative control over to the children of Edgewood.

We supply the basic gingerbread structures, the candy-coated chocolate building blocks and the adhesive sugar icing. The children supply the design skills and all the labor.

Wasting no time with meticulous measuring, and with very little regard for structural integrity, the children got to work this year renovating their plain gingerbread houses into edible works of art. We got to enjoy the creative process as spectators, our roles relegated to little more than replenishing the supplies of candy canes and gumdrops that were used as wall beams and multicolored roof tiles.

Though we had no expectations until that final peppermint candy was iced into place, this party is an old tradition for us, and one that everyone involved looks forward to every holiday season.

More than twenty years ago, the first Gingerbread House Decorating Party took place at Edgewood, a center here in San Francisco that serves children and families who have experienced traumatic stress leading to learning disabilities, mental illness and debilitating behavioral issues. Since 2008, our own Gregg De Meza has spearheaded the annual party, aided by a crew of helpers made up of DM+A’s staff, family and friends.

This party is more than just an afternoon of smiles, laughter and the inevitable sugar high. It’s about appreciation for opportunities — the opportunities Edgewood helps to afford to their children and families, and the opportunity we’ve been afforded to do what we love every day here at DM+A.

And, already, we’re looking forward to the opportunity to do it all again next year.

SFDS 2015 - It's a Wrap, Thanks to All!

So concludes the 2015 San Francisco Decorator Showcase House. We had a great time designing and executing a wonderful little space for a lucky young guy. Much thanks and gratitude to the homeowners, the staff at University High School, Jenny Bitner, and Thelma Garza. The event could not happen without you all!

Thanks to our construction team at Cook Construction; Greg Cook, Maija Markula and Jesse Beyer for putting our space together.

For our well lit space, many thanks to Lighting Designer Claudio Ramos of Banks Ramos and his team Linda Cooper of Lighting Systems and Tim O’Keefe of Luminii.

For our finishes and materials, big hugs to Helena Jausas of Spec Ceramics who outright donated the  large format tile. A big shout out to Steven Stolman at Kohler for donating all of the plumbing fixtures, and to Jonathan Graves and Shonda Dawson of Dal Tile for their help with the glass mosaic tile.

For the showstoppers, the bathroom wouldn’t have been possible without the generous help from Sozo Studios’ Cynthia Miyashita, Josie Biteng and Allyssa Kucera who designed and fabricated the gorgeous vanity for us.  Alex Blair and Joseph Radovilsky, owners of J&A Stone and Tile for helping us make a splash with their tile installation. And of course to the guys (gals) at DM+A: Rachel Malchow, Lisa Woo, Lannette Guerra and Danielle Johnson, without whose tireless efforts the project wouldn’t have happened.

Last, but surely not least, let's give thanks for the art. Thanks to local SF street artist Jeremy Novy for his awesome installation of the 'No Diving' symbol, and to Lisa Chadwick and Melissa Ross with Dolby Chadwick Gallery for loaning us the lovely artwork.

Thank you all!!!!!

Red Carpet SF - 2015 San Francisco Decorator Showcase

Thank you Red Carpet Bay Area for the mention! I had to share this great photo of our fearless leader, Gregg De Meza, taken by Drew Altizer Photography in the bathroom we designed for this year's San Francisco Decorator Showcase.

Karter's Bath is for a 9-year old boy. The family loves modern art, so we turned to David Hockney’s Swimming Pool with Reflection for inspiration. We wanted to bring the energy of this piece to life in color, texture and light and we are so pleased with the results.

Please stop by for a peek before the showcase house closes on Memorial day, Monday May 25th.

Product Love - Solfire

Looking for some heat during these cool San Francisco nights? We love ModFire's latest outdoor fireplace, Solfire. There's something so Mid-Century modern about this piece, it makes me feel like I'm on the set of "Mad Men". This fireplace will have you gathering outdoors with Martini's and any other brown liquor in hand. Don't forget the ice!

The Start of a Quinquennial?

We're so excited to be one of the few design firms selected in this year's San Francisco Decorators Showcase home. This year we're creating a California cool bath for the couples' young son, inspired by David Hockney's 1978 art piece "Swimming Pool with Reflection". So why a quinquennial? Five years ago we paired up with Helena Jausas at Spec Ceramics, here in San Francisco, for the 2010 Decorator Showcase to create one of DM+A's most published bathrooms. Once again, Helena has donated tile that has the look and feel of a swimming pool deck, On Square in Cemento by Emil Ceramica. Giant hugs and kisses to her for helping us realize our design on this very tight budget.

Looking forward to collaborating on another fabulous project and continuing what looks to be a 5-year tradition!

Lava Mae, Wash On!

Lava Mae, you have inspired us to be nice. Your service providing mobile showers for the homeless is such an awesome service. For most of us, we take taking a shower for granted, but here's why it's so challenging for the San Francisco homeless to get clean and why Lava Mae rocks!  

• There are only 8 places in the city offering showers for the homeless.
• Most are centrally located making it difficult for those who make their homes in other parts of the city to access.
• With 1-2 shower stalls at best in each facility that translates into 16 showers for the 3,000+ men, women and children living on the city’s streets

Speaking for myself, and having a baby to tend to now, I understand how something as simple as getting a shower in can breathe new life into your day and soul for that matter.

Hey friends we just made a donation to provide 200 showers to refresh our homeless. Click here to do the same!

Elevated Views

Thank you Coastal Living magazine for the write up in the July/Aug issue. The Jackson St. roof deck project in San Francisco provided an additional 1,000 sq. ft. of living space; perfect for entertaining high in the sky.

Glass panels were the optimal choice for unobstructed views of the Golden Gate Bridge and the beautiful bay while also providing much needed wind protection. Durable and low maintenance finishes are a necessity for outdoor spaces. Ipe wood juxtaposed with lava stone tiles provide texture and warmth to this modern space.

Here at DM+A, we are all about the animals. We all have pets we consider family members, so another another must consideration when designing with glass panels is for the birds. Gizmag shows a cool example of bird-protection glass and what humans see vs. what birds see.

Let us know if you have a rooftop area that you're interested in developing into a useable space and we can do a feasibility study for you.

Enjoy the summer!

HGTV + Showcase House = Good Times

We've been having so much fun at all of the industry events this year and recently attended the HGTV party at the 2014 San Francisco Decorator Showcase. The annual Decorator Showcase benefits San Francisco University High School's Financial Aid program. The Pacific Heights mansion showcased work from the Bay Area's top interior and landscaping design firms.

This year we noticed the overall trend was the use of gold starting at the entry/foyer, designed by Jonathan Rachman. Loved, loved, loved the cowhide rug with the gold splatter in true Jackson Pollack style. We moved on to the dining room where I had to take a closer at the matte gold flatware (so cool), yep, my curiosity caught the attention of everyone in the room including the designer, George Brazil of Sagrera-Brazil Design because, of course, the flatware was attached to the table!

Moving on, I have to give a shout out to HGTV and Hannah Shipley. You are the hosts with the most! As you all know, we DM+Aers are indulgent when it comes to food + drink. Our glasses were never empty and the blue cheese cheesecake bites were so heavenly. I must have the recipe, so if anyone has it, please post! Onward to the next event.

Happy 33 to Me!

Three is my lucky number since the 3^rd grade : )  So it makes sense that I feel turning 33 will be a good year for me.  For this birthday lunch, I wanted to go to Hillstone Restaurant.  Many of you may also know it by its former name of Houston’s.  It is a classy and respected eatery along the Embarcadero in San Francisco.  I especially love coming here to have their Kale salad.  It has a roasted peanut vinaigrette, which is to die for! I was so obsessed for this dish, that I scoured the internet and found someone who attempted to recreate it.  The recipe is pretty good, but I always feel it isn't perfect yet.  So coming back I get to determine what I am missing.  Go ahead and give both a try.  I'll finish with a Happy 33 to Me!

7 for 7

For those of you who follow our blog, you might have seen my post explaining the process of licensure for an architect.  Or the one where I passed Site Planning and Design.  Well those were about 3 years ago and there is a 5 year limit on the exams. So if I didn't pass all of the exams by the 5 year mark, I would have to retake any that were over 5 years old.  If any of you know me, you know that that is not an option for me.  Ideally I would have picked one exam off after another.  But with teaching on the side, rowing, and just wanting to have a life, meant the 5 year limit was approaching and I still had (6) exams to go!

Luckily I came across a program through the AIA San Francisco called the ARE Pact.  It is where you register for the program with a fee of $1,000.  With the enrollment, you are placed within a study group of 10 and you gain access to free ARE lectures and study materials.  If you take all the exams within 1 year you are refunded your $1,000.  I know myself enough that if I was able to round up $1,000 to partake in this program, I would make sure I would get that thousand bucks back!

Well that is what I have been doing this last year.  I didn’t row, cut back on my teaching, and barely had a life!  But with perseverance and determination I did complete all the exams and am happy to report that I passed all of them as well.  I went 7 for 7 and am officially done with the ARE (Architectural Registration Exams)!  Thank you ARE Pact & Michelle Railsback for making this program happen!

But I can’t call myself an architect yet…I still have to take the CSE (California Supplemental Exam)…And the process continues : )

Knoll body throws a party like...

It has been a while since Gregg, Lisa, and I could go out together and we had the opportunity to attend Knoll’s new showroom opening reception. It seems fitting that a company like Knoll, rich with history would move to a building also rich with history.  The new showroom is located in 140 New Montgomery, which some of you may know that it also houses the headquarters for Yelp.  The building has recently been remodeled and you can check out a great article on the history and renovation here.

While at the reception, we snacked on Hog Island Oysters, sushi, and cupcakes.  Also while admiring the new showroom you couldn’t help but notice the views. Since the showroom is on the 25^th floor, you can see some notable buildings under construction like the Transbay Terminal and SFMOMA’s expansion.

We want to finish by giving a big thank you to Katheryn Domin-Danish for inviting us and allowing us to view contemporary works while in a historic setting.

Product Love - Wardrobe for Windows

Flexibility, low commitment, variety and we’re not talking about the qualities of the ideal mate. We're praising Gecko from Studio by 3form. In a dense city like San Francisco where many rent, walls are shared and window views can mean no privacy, Gecko from Studio by 3form is a cool design solution. This is an adhesive backed textile system; an alternative to traditional window coverings; a window film that can be reused, won’t leave a residue when removed and can then be reapplied over and over again. All that’s needed is soapy water and a squeegee as demonstrated in the Gecko Installation video. I like to think of Gecko as a sort of wardrobe for windows.

Gecko is offered in a 54" wide roll for all patterns. Standard roll length is 25 ft. Custom lengths longer than 25' are also possible.

For more information and to view the many patterns available, click here.

Christmas Lunch

San Francisco's Central Market Street is changing.  New businesses are emerging as well as new condominiums.  We had an opportunity to experience some of the changes by visiting a few local businesses for our annual Christmas lunch.  This year we went to Alta CA for lunch. We had items such as devil eggs, oysters, smoked pork trotter, and oxtail fritters.  It was delicious.  Then we decided to top it all off with caramels and toffee from Littlejohn’s Candies, which was right next door.  If you are ever in this part of the city, check out the changes and possibly stop in for some deviled eggs at Alta or some toffee at Littlejohn’s.  You won’t be disappointed.

To Render or Not?

When working with a designer it may be helpful to have a rendered model of the proposed space. Here is an example of a rendering for our client's roof top deck and the final project. In this rendered model, the client wanted to better understand the relationship of the volume within the space along with a few of the finishes. Renderings and models are excellent ways to communicate the design intent. They can be very basic to show volume or get super detailed to give a more realistic image, it's up to you as the client to decide how much time and money it is worth.

For more information on this amazing San Francisco project check out the Jackson St. Penthouse.

Product Love - Bolon

We love Bolon, a vinyl product made from renewable raw materials, for it's look and durability. This product is available as a sheet good and most recently as triangular tiles. Here at the DM+A office, we use the exact collection pictured here - Bolon's Botanic collection in Lotus, in our conference room as an area rug. Pedra Silva Architects blanketed the walls, floors and ceilings with the product creating continuity and flow throughout the conference room of the Fraunhofer office in Porto, Portugal. So cool! The product is so durable that Airstream Travel Trailers offer Bolon as a high-end flooring option in their International Sterling edition - way to upgrade any camping experience.

For more information on this amazing product, contact our local San Francisco representative Sayo Seelenbacher of The Patton Group!

Happy Belated Birthday Gregg!

Another year has passed for our fearless Architect, Gregg De Meza and in usual fashion, we celebrated with food and drink. This year we lunched at Tyler Florence's Wayfare Tavern and boy did we feast. For starters, we were feeling devilish, so we of course had to try the much talked about Deviled Eggs with english peas, salt cured ham and truffled pea salt. The yolks were airy and light - whipped into submission as Julie so swiftly commented in the movie Julie and Julia. We also had the Devil's on Horseback - Medjool dates, bacon, blue cheese, shiso hazelnut pesto. A sweet and smokey delight.

Now to the main event, Gregg happily had the tender Butcher's Filet as pictured - yum! Rachel had the Seared Ahi Tuna paired with a Carrot Margarita! How interesting. I strategically enjoyed a classic Dungeness Crab Louie to allow room for the final act - dessert.

Not just any dessert either, but Homemade Donuts, piping hot and served with dipping sauce. Please, please Wayfare Tavern, never part with the Earl Grey sauce, this is a must try. Great way to end a happy birthday luncheon! Until next year, happy eating.

p.s. also worth mentioning, instead of a bread basket, Wayfare Tavern starts with Popovers!

Ok, we're just gonna ask - please nominate us!

We're so proud of our work, here at DM+A and Room Reveal is having The Spring 2013 Reveal Awards to recognize distinguished residential and commercial design professionals. It's super simple and we would be oh so pleased if you'd hit the nominate button on our profile at Room Reveal. Deadline is May 10th! Many Thanks!

The DM+A Team