karina description

Beautifully crafted, thoughtfully designed, all new home in Madison Valley. Two blocks to neighborhood stores & restaurants, including Cafe Flora & Essential Baking Company. Around the corner from the Arboretum and minutes to downtown and 520. Oriented to the south, this sensibly sized home is filled with natural light.Wrap around back deck opens to south patio. Main floor bedroom, bathroom off master, wool carpeting upstairs, custom maple cabinets, 9' and vaulted ceilings, walk-in closets, ceiling fans, upstairs washer/dryer, alley access with off street parking. Attention to detail throughout the house.

Green Features
• 4 star Built Green/Energy Star/Third party verified (by the O’Brien Company)
• A compact, well designed home is more energy efficient. A major impact from building homes is the extraction, processing, transportation and maintenance of building materials and the long-term energy use.
• Exceeded Energy Star home requirements – Energy Star homes are at least 15% more energy efficient than homes built to Washington state energy codes
• Increased insulation effectiveness with BIBS (Blown-In-Blanket-Insulation) in the walls – Blown-In System fills all the voids around electrical wiring and plumbing pipes providing more effective insulation and improved sound control
• Energy Star appliances
• Non-ducted natural gas stove heating system. Use of ceiling fans. Improves air quality and energy efficiency - Supplementary convection heaters & thermostats in other rooms
• Blower door rating exceeding Built Green targets – house is built tight and fresh air comes in where designed to come in through the window vents, not through the crawl, walls or attic.
• Energy efficient compact fluorescent light fixtures in at least 50% of sockets
• Lighting dimmers for better light control and to save energy
• Lighting timers and compact fluorescent used for exterior lights to save energy
• Maximum use of engineered building products – minimal use of old-growth wood
• Low VOC paint on all major surfaces for better indoor air quality
• Used formaldehyde-free fiberglass insulation for improved air quality
• Up to R-49 EcoBatts in the vaulted ceilings (code is R-38)
• Large front porch and south facing, wrap-around back porch with usable room for outdoor living
• Centrally located water heater to save energy
• Light-colored interior finishes and skylights for natural lighting
• 100% wool carpeting installed by tacking - no glue for better indoor air quality
• Brought in 20 yards of Cedar Grove Compost to amended the soil
• Installed materials with longer life cycles – fiber-cement siding, porcelain tile, 50-year roofing

House Features
• Cable ready and Cat5 wiring in every bedroom, living room and kitchen
• 800 sqft extra deep crawl space with concrete slab for dry storage
• Chroma quartz countertops – highly heat, stain and scratch resistant needing little maintenance
• Custom maple cabinets featuring “soft close” hardware, pullout pantries, recycling center pullout
• First floor bedroom and full bath allows for one story living – or used as home office or guest suite
• Large walk-in closets in every bedroom provides ample storage
• FSC Brazilian Tigerwood floors, 100% wool carpet, porcelain tile
• Bottom up/Top down blinds maximize privacy, light and options
• 2nd floor laundry, attic space, ceiling fans, skylights

For more photos and info click here.

the karina

back yard

I've been so focused on the front, I have not shown pics of what we have done in the back. Neil put in a compacted gravel parking area for 2 cars. It feels pretty solid, but since it's pervious, the water drains right through.
Our stepping stones were picked out at Pavingstone Supply over in Ballard. They have a large selection and they also supply pavers like we used on the patio, but ours came directly from Mutual Materials.
The back stoop has 2 fish tiles like the front stoop leaves from Seattle Tile.

first floor bathroom - details

I've been meaning to follow up and give more product callouts and lately I've had a few nudges, so I thought I'd start with the downstairs bathroom. We settled on the American Standard Ravenna Pedestal Sink that we saw at Morgan's Plumbing Supply. It has clean lines, room for soap and flowers and of course the built in towel bar.

The faucet is Grohe Concetto

The mirror is actually just a picture frame from Aaron Brothers and Neil had the mirror cut to fit.

We do really like our Toto Aquia dual flush toilets.

I'll have to look to see if I can find the brand of this toilet roll holder.

If you already have a pedestal and like the towel bar location, they do make ones that are sold separately that attach to the wall like this.

the front yard

Sometimes it's good to look back and see how far one has come. This blog is good for that. The yard has been my biggest challenge. I have never been a gardener. Never lived in a place that had a yard like this. It's been overwhelming at times, but we keep plugging away at it a little here and there.

The grass is starting to fill in. We have been lucky with the weather and haven't had to water so much. We put down a seed from Swanson's Nursery called Play & Fun. It's good for high traffic and play areas. It does well in moderate shade to full sun and is drought resistant. It's a blend of 40& Elf Perennial Ryegrass, 20% Creeping Red Fescue, 15% Azcella Annual Ryegrass, 15% Longfellow Chewings Fescue, 10% Solera Tall Fescue.

I've been noticing some white spots on my pansies. Does anyone know what causes these? ahhh...My mom emailed me that it could be wind...which makes sense because they are more exposed up here.

garden inspiration

Last autumn I went on a house tour that took me to this amazing garden. It was a landscape architect's own home and it was just spectacular. I loved the mix of textures and colors. Some views like the one above, are as if they were painted with just the right pop of color.





Even this dead Allium looks more like sculpture.

pots + plants

I've been thinking of planting a couple of pots on our back deck or patio and this is an inspiration outside of work at the wine shop in Langley. The mix of textures, heights and colors is wonderful.