I Love My Floors

I’ve been steeped in research and writing about green building today, and have assignments for another 2 or 3 articles in the coming weeks on various aspects of this topic, so my focus on floors relates to the green, or sustainable quality of our new floors.

From the outset I knew that we wanted bamboo flooring wherever this idea would work. Most of the existing floors are oak, which is fairly common in this region of the country, and our plan was to refinish existing floors where possible and fill in as needed.




The master bedroom was one space where we could introduce a new material since it was separate from other rooms, and levels, making the visual transition an easier one. You actually come up three steps from my office, which has oak floors, as it was formally a bedroom. I chose a white carpet (yes, you read correctly) for the steps since it would not be heavily trafficked, and would mostly be walked on without shoes. The soft surface would also allow me to “pad around” an expression I adore and something I only remember doing after my water had broken on the morning my daughter would be born (18 + years ago) as I waited for the right moment to wake up Jonathan. Now I pad in style atop a basket weave, white on white design that only stretches from the steps to the end of the bathroom hallway in the master suite – it’s only about 7’.





But once inside the room, we installed a beautiful pre-finished blond bamboo floor that is light and natural looking. Teamed with the palest of teal blues for the paint color, something Benjamin Moore calls “(Icing on the Cake” (2049-70) the blond wood creates a very beachy feel, but is as much fun in the cold weather as in the warm, since it reminds us of summer. Our big purple bed – more of magenta than a purple – grounds the whole affair and helps it to work in all seasons. The bed linens bring in all the colors with a quilted ice blue coverlet and bright Indian print covered throw pillows.

A quick turn into the master bath reveals a smooth and silky beige ceramic 15” x 15” tile that is sophisticated and sleek, like the Crema Marfil marble-topped vanity we had made by our friend Peter Ochs. The tiles are large and set in straight and




make the impression of a larger space. Their simplicity was important since they share the space with our very vivid opalescent aqua mosaic glass-tiled shower that is the real statement in this fairly small room. The walls as well as are a very pale beige shade, (BM HC-27 entitled “Monterey White”, and do not challenge the shower tiling. Rather the whole room has a very elegant and soothing feel that is augmented by a full wall mirror with a band of lights on dimmers.

In the main room of the house, the kitchen/dining room/family room we had anticipated refinishing the existing oak floor, but when it proved too far gone after demolition of the surrounding walls, it was ripped up and needed a full replacement. Though I hemmed and hawed on the floor selection here, worrying that bamboo would not work well with the heavilypatterned wood of the kitchen cabinetry, I finally did go for the bamboo in an amber tone and I’m really glad I did.

The tone is similar to oak, which we have nearby on the stairs to the bottom level and in the adjacent music room, but they meld together well. Various individuals counseled me that mixing of woods can work, and though I was afraid there would be too many conflicting patterns and grains, it actually looks quite wonderful. The huge expanse of bamboo is so beautiful and I love the straight grain of the wood. Its linear quality is a great accompaniment to the linear styling of the kitchen cabinetry as well as the graphic lines of all the windows in that room, which allows it all to work together. We coupled the natural look of the wood with a soft green (BM 2144-40) called “Soft Fern” that blends well with the outdoors and seamlessly connects the walls of the room to the arborvitae outside.

Another major green flooring choice occurs in Jonathan’s studio where new construction allowed us to pour a concrete floor. Concrete can be a wonderful surface if finished properly, and though ours still has some issues with its epoxy finish, and fear this is not a green ideas, it is smooth and silky to walk on. We also took the opportunity to install radiant heat under the


poured surface and this is a fabulous heating source and makes the floor super comfortable to walk on year-round, with no shoes or stocking feet. I had them add a squared-incised pattern, measuring about 4’ x 4’ each across the surface so it would be visually broken up, and the white surface less overwhelming. Jonathan wanted an all white space, for mental clarity as much as anything else, and we created a spectacular studio/gallery space where there was formally a rundown garage. The floor adds immeasurably to the visual clarity, and it’s a fabulous surface for dancing as well.

The kids wanted carpeting in their rooms and I’ll be honest that I went with economic choices rather than natural ones. I figured that Isaac could easily stain or otherwise wear his carpeting over the course of the next five years before he goes off the college, and therefore the investment should be minimal.







In Sasha’s room, on the bottom level, I justify the decision for a nylon carpet with the notion that we could see some water down there and more expensive carpet would be therefore expensive to replace. This way I don’t fret the dampness or the beach traffic from her friends, and we can always replace down the road if our needs and uses change.

But outside of Sasha’s bedroom in the room we call the Kids’ Den, we installed a slate colored ceramic tile that is both durable and beautiful. Its called London Grey and it has a steely quality that also works well for a house near the beach. We used the same tile in the front vestibule and it can take great abuse but still look good. It looks like stone without the expense and works well with the real bluestone just outside the front door.



In Sasha's bathroom we recreated the same designwe had installed when we finished her attic bathroom in Concord a few years ago. We used a simple 8" x 8" white tile and designed a simple inset pattern of blue/green seaglass to ring the room. It allowed us the use the seaglass, a staple in these parts for decorating everyting from mittor frames to lamp bases, while keeping the cost reasonable, as those little tiles are pricey and even a few start to add dollars to the flooring budget quickly. I like the fresh, clean look of the floor which brightens an otherwise dark, windowless room. The crisp minty green walls (BM2041-70, Irish Mist) enhance the brightness as well, making it an inviting respite in contrast to the dank room it used to be.









Lastly we selected a natural green stone tile for the upstairs/guest bath. It’s a serene green and white mottled pattern that varies from tile to tile, as natural stone tends to do. Since the room is intensely sunny most of the day, the soft green color helps tone down the brightness and is cool to the touch. The rest of this fairly large bath/laundry room has white and off-white fixtures and the grey green of the walls (BM 2138-60 Grey Cashmere) picks up the tiling coloring perfectly. Again there is no fancy installation pattern, which keeps the lines simple, contemporary and open in feel.






You can probably tell that I think, daresay I know, that floors matter. They are a large visual expanse in most rooms and contribute significantly to the overall atmosphere you create in a space. We went for emotional resonance as well as a fluid quality that would follow us from room to room. There are elements of color, texture, pattern, depth, brightness, darkness, softness, hardness, movement, strength and stability. Each contributes to the character of the rooms, establishing mood, effecting sound and light, and encouraging activity or leisure depending upon the ambiance.

Floors are what hold us up and capture us when we fall. Little kids spend an awful lot of time moving around on them. Adults often forget they exist, except when something falls or they need cleaning. But they are always there to ground us, support us, balance us. I love my floors and derive great benefit from having taken the time to consider the materials and qualities of each selection.


Look for upcoming blog entries:
• I Love My Stove
• Kitchen Woods
• Landscape Evolution
• The Zonal System
• …

I Love My Door

I’m back. That has nothing to do with doors, but I thought a short explanation about my long hiatus from blogging was required. I seems I left off somewhere in April, though I had never been a prolific blogger. It’s a self-conscious thing, which makes you question how much everyone wants to know your point of view, on whatever subject. Several persistent inquiries led me to believe that some of what I said or showed was of interest, so I’m back.

Hiatus – Mandated by the insane schedule we kept last year that finally caught up to me in April when the house was nearing completion, my son was having his birthday (May 1) and his Bar Mitzvah (May 6th), meaning 100 close friends and relatives came to town for a weekend long celebration that I orchestrated, my daughter had to be readied for her Senior Prom (May 13th) and had her birthday (May 15th). Throw Mother’s Day in there somewhere when I took a day off to play tennis and mah jong. This followed by more completing of the house, working on client projects in Boston and Woods Hole, and finally our move back into the newly renovated house (in pieces from June 2 – 8, our first night there). Followed by our daughter’s high school graduation (June 9th) our wedding anniversary (June 10th) and her graduation party (June 11th), my mother-in-law’s 70th birthday weekend in Pennsylvania (June 17th), writing of articles, unpacking and arranging and breaking down of seemingly hundreds of boxes (from a year ago).

And then it was summer with an endless stream of visitors and events including a dinner party for 25 with such luminaries as Jimmy Breslin and Rip Torn, the Woods Hole Film Festival and its accompanying cult of aspiring filmmakers who my husband attracts like flies and then offers overnight accommodations, assorted charitable events, social occasions, our niece’s Bat Mitzvah in NY, weekend visitors, dinner guests, and people who just drop by. Somewhere in there we moved our piano from Cambridge where it too had been stored for over a year, and moved out of our Back Bay apartment. More articles, a lot of tennis, some sailing, more client projects, a Red Sox game (game 5 of their losing streak to the Yankees – too painful to recount), more visits, preparing our daughter for college, taking her to college, recovering from taking her to college, a mortgage refinancing, the beginning of school for our son, and suddenly time.

Time.

Time.

It was almost too impossible to even imagine after all that craziness.

Now back in some routine, some organized chaos of balancing work and play, life has returned to a manageable state in which I may be able to write again.

And now – My Door.

It all started with a coffee table. I went to Mohr & McPherson, www.mohr-mcpherson.com/, during their annual sale in June of 2005 before we had moved a chair or hat to Woods Hole. I wanted a coffee table. A simple furniture item that I had been denied for most of my married life. Why? I really don’t have an answer for that except it seemed that Jonathan (husband) seemed to have some incoherent aversion to having one in his house. I needed a place to put my feet when I read, to rest a glass and a cheese board when I entertained, somewhere for my coaster collection!
I wandered around their voluminous warehouse for probably an hour falling in love with every carved surface, every glass panel, every color of every table they had on the floor which totaled more than 100 – each one unique. After looking and looking I settled on not one but two that were the answer to my dreams. One a very clunky, raw wooden table that needed a glass top, and the other an enormous red stained, carved Chinese table that wouldn’t be overshadowed by the orange ultra-suede love seat and ottoman, and purple ultra-suede couch I was having re-upholstered prior to our move.
But how could I choose, and then bring these home to Jonathan and not worry that he wouldn’t approve. Besides, I had to choose between the two.


So I brought Jonathan back to the warehouse with me. He knew I was determined, and he’d had a change of heart, so the idea of “coffee table” was not out of the question. And he actually liked a lot of what he saw. He too wandered around the warehouse for a while and finally told me about two he liked. I did not coach or suggest or direct, but as love will have it, he picked out the exact same ones I had chosen – is that a match made in heaven or what? I was thrilled.
We could not decide between the two, so got both. And we are talking very reasonable prices. Something like $400 for the large red one, and $275 for the raw wooden one. We didn’t know quite where we expected to put the big clunky one, but its rawness was so compelling we just had to take it. And that price – oh vey, what a steal.


Before we got out of there however, we wandered around a bit more and saw these carved wooden screens. They were masterfully done with dozens of stylized people performing a fascinating array of activities we couldn’t figure out, but they looked cool doing it. I think it said the screen was Indian, but Jonathan seems to remember Pakistani. It was this wonderful ashy brown color that we knew our house, when it was built, would weather to, and we were sold. This was our new door, though the house was nowhere near ready to receive it.

















It sat in the new old house that summer while our contractor cogitated how it could be turned into a door. There was the inevitable head scratching and speculating about how a frame for the door could be put together. Should there be backing? How could it be made weather proof? Would it fit in the doorframe we had on the plans? What kind of hardware would go with it?
Our contractor brought it to a specialist named Wayne Hatt, who is legendary in these parts for his brilliance with wood of all kinds, shapes and ultimate uses. When I finally met Wayne, months after the door was installed, at the party of a mutual friend, and introduced myself, he just chuckled and called his wife over to have her meet the “door” lady.
Wayne devised a simple frame that would essentially encase the screen in a wooden frame. He determined that our screen was made of a Filipino mahogany, so he chose a complimentary unstained mahogany for the frame. Though he was worried about whether he could shim or shave the screen into a squared format, and had no access to me (don’t ask why), he figured out a solution that would adhere to the measurement of our doorframe and provide a solid case for the screen.
As it happened, the coloring of the woods could not be more complimentary. The ashy browns work beautifully together. The darker screen with the lighter-colored frame offset each other, and work very well with the cedar siding on the house.



When our contractor unloaded the door in early April he boldly admitted that he wasn’t crazy about the piece – he didn’t see it as a front door. But I saw otherwise. I swooned – yes, my heart actually leapt at the beauty of the piece. It made me see how incredible the whole house was going to be and how proud I would be when I could walk through it each day.
I think it was finally installed in late May sometime. There had been a temporary door put in place throughout the construction phase, to keep the weather out, and so that this door did not get damaged. It was the absolute icing on the cake for me, pulling the look of the whole house together. And its message would be clear – something unusual is going on beyond this door – this is not your ordinary door - this is not your ordinary home.
Everyone who walks through it comments on it. Where did you get this? Those of them who know of our round the world trip in 2002 ask about where we bought it on the trip and wonder how we got it back. It gets boring telling them that we bought it in Cambridge – so unromantic, so ordinary. Sometimes I go along with their hypothesis and we talk about east Asian art and what exactly the people on the screen are doing – perhaps some religious offering, perhaps just making soup and doing laundry – probably the latter.




Talk about welcoming



I love my door. Its part conversation piece, part cultural icon, part personal statement. I took a pale white stain to the frame to weather protect it and it seems to be holding up well. The lockset is a very simple burnished bronze, nothing too ostentatious. When I look at the other doors I could have had, with nice little windowpanes, and raised panels perhaps, I know they are not me, not us. This door is us and it fits our frame.





Looks just as good from the inside as from the outside.







And it certainly fits in with the overall design of the house.