HOMELESS: DAY 365

I would like to say "It's hard to believe a year's gone by since we vacated our quaint San Clemente home", but I can't!! Looking back, having a year behind us is a great feeling. It does means that: a) the worse is over and b) we have the feeling that the end is near. Yeah, we realize that's what many folks are saying worldwide right now thanks to the current fiscal state, but we can actually see for the first time ever, an end to our "project". We may actually have a home in the foreseeable future...and I can put a stop to these pesky blog-postings once and for all!! The cyber world will be a better place without me!!

THESE PICS SAY IT ALL!!

Forward progress on the house is now proceeding at a blinding pace. The first two layers of concrete stucco have been applied to the exterior walls...in a few more days, the final textured, color-coat will be put on top of all this...and the walls will be finished. After that they'll finally set the tile on the roof and presto, we'll have a house!!

Since concrete-colored exterior walls have minimal visual appeal (hence can quickly become boring), here's a trypic of the exterior. The first (on the left), is the exterior archway above the stairs that take you to the third floor deck. The center shot is the deck area around the skylight...and the picture to the right is the front dining room/kitchen window. There, was that quick enough for you?

Let me now take you to the interior walls have all been drywalled, coated and painted since your last visit. Here's a quick sneak-peak at the interior. Once accented with the windows, door and floor treatments, it should look even better. We played around with some very non-traditional colors and placement for these colors. Though the house may never be featured in Better Homes & Gardens, Architectural Digest, or Watchtower, we're really happy with the look we pulled-off here. Let us know what you think. Not!!

This is the first color you see when you enter and the main color used throughout the house. This is a picture looking back at the front door.


This taupe/gold color is used on the main walls in the entry, in the hallways and on the "rotunda" walls around the staircase. Once upstairs, the color continues into the kitchen. Where the kitchen ends and the dining room begins, the walls turn red. These "red" walls then continue throughout the dining and living room areas.

Here you are looking at the stairs area with skylight. The wall to the left, is the end of the living room wall.




Now we move the camera a little to the right and see the stairs on the left, the kitchen in the center and the dining area on the right. To the very right, you see the face of the fireplace. Somewhere between the dining room and the fireplace, is the sliding glass door that goes to the second floor deck.

Here's your first look at my personal fortress of solitude. Yes, Gina gave me one room in the house to do with as I wish!! This is a shot from inside the room looking out towards the front door. Note the berry-colored paint with I think an eclipse gold accent wall. That box on the right is for the electronic gear. It may be a small room but it'll be a great place to go when everyone is asleep and I want to watch a movie with the volume cranked to 11...or even 12.

These pics are all of our living room. The one on the left is our weird ceiling/wall with the fireplace on the left-side and the AV component box in the middle. The center picture is of the wall where the TV will be mounted. The small hump at the bottom is something we built to house the center, in-wall speaker. Since the master bedroom shares the backside of this wall, we needed to deaden as much sound as possible...for when Gina's in bed sleeping. If that doesn't work, I retreat to my "fortress"!! The last picture is the ceiling in the hallway transition to the master bedroom. We feel we added an additional level of character to the house with the paint colors and placement we choose. If red's an "angry-color" as some believe, we gotta' be the most pissed-off people in town.

Here's a sampling of the master bedroom suite. This is a picture looking towards the "sitting area" and the door that leads to a private deck. To compliment the mahogany used on the doors, floors and trim, we had them box the visible ceiling bean with mahogany. It looks very cool!!

Above we have the most important room in the house...the master bathroom. What you're looking at in the picture on the right, is a small alcove where the freestanding tub will sit. We took advantage of the very unique ceiling configuration in this room and painted the ceiling accordingly. This bathroom is ready for business!!

Last but not least, we have the den/office that connects with the garage at the back of the house. The color is a very intense grapey/purple color that is capable of making a grown man's eyes bleed. The color is so vibrant that I'm thinking about using it for some accent areas in the garage!!

Now that you're all questioning and second-guessing our sanity (and color choices), you're probably all wondering how we both have survived so long in the graphics and design business with such questionable skills. For better or for worse, we feel we have create a unique environment that is warm, friendly and inviting, a house that reflects our personalities. This is the house we'll be living in for the rest of our lives. We may change the paint-schemes and the furniture around every decade or so to reflect changes in our tastes (or the onset of dementia!!), but this house is ours...or should I say, it's the bank's, for many, many years to come!!

On a parting note, wanna' know why we miss living in San Clemente? Aside from the fresh air and blue skies, this pic says it all. This was taken on Dec. 14th at 5:05 PM. With weather and sunsets like this, why would we ever want to live anywhere else?