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Lighting has always been a good way to vastly improve a space without spending a huge amount of money...even with expensive fixtures, i.e. you get the greatest bang for your buck with good lighting.
The first fixture I knew was going in was this reproduction sputnik light I'd purchased years prior from Practical Props, a dealer/manufacturer in North Hollywood that largely rents period lighting fixtures to film and television productions.
What I had not intended was for Practical Props to custom design some sputnik sconces for my foyer and outside my bedroom door (seen below). I'd initially intended to use some brushed aluminium "double cone" or "bowtie" sconces, but these sconces protruded too far from the wall and would prove problematic near a doorway. The sputnik sconces were the most flush, mid-century appropriate fixtures I could find and Practical Props customized the length of the "tentacles" to the low heights of my ceilings...and all this for less than the cone sconces.
Sconce outside bedroom / bathroom doorway. Even at a relatively flush six-and-a-half inches, this fixture still is frequently disturbed and prodded by passing shoulders and arms.
I'd always wanted a George Nelson saucer lamp. This "criss-cross" model is in the dining room.
If you recall from my post entitled "Idiots," I needed to solve a problem created by recessed lighting installed without cans or any fire-barrier into an A/C ducting soffit. These lighting fixtures called "Beauty Spots" by WAC Lighting were a good solution. They're technically recessed fixtures as the housings are not visible, yet the bulb is not recessed and instead is covered with a flush-mount, glass cube for decorative purposes. With these fixtures, I can utilize the space for lighting without worrying the heat of a light bulb will ignite the ducting insulation.
Close-up of "ice cube" attachment around 20 watt, xenon bulb.
View of dining room from the living room showing the sputnik light above the wetbar on the left, the sputnik sconce in the foyer, the Nelson saucer lamp in the dining room and the beauty spots on the far right.
I found this fixture at the Habitat-for-Humanity ReStore in Pasedena. It was painted black, had several drips of white exterior paint on it, a broken porcelain socket and badly rusted brass hardware. I'd always intended for a chrome "bullet" fixture to be installed above the stone veneered fireplace, but I assumed I'd pay $225 for an "Aloha" fixture from Rejuvenation. I ended up spending $5 for this fixture at the ReStore, an additional $5 in rewiring supplies from Home Depot and $25 to have the fixture stripped and polished by Astro Chrome and Polishing. I painted the brass hardware with a can of matte silver spray paint I already had. Not bad for a total cost of around $35.
I'd narrowed down my flooring choice to four different colors of Forbo Marmoluem (natural linoleum), before ultimately deciding on sample #1 (Mist Grey 3032) because it's light and closely resembles concrete (which is the surface surrounding samples #1 and #2).
Renteria Flooring begins the installation by cleaning and grinding the existing subfloor before applying several skim coats of Ardex Feather Finish engineered cement over the entire subfloor. This work moves along at an astonishing pace.
Completed skim coats of Ardex in both bedroom and bathroom. Notice the completed, tiled tub-surround. Tile is Brio opaque glass tile from ModWalls. Color is "Windy City" blend.
Sanding the Ardex skim coat to ensure no trowel marks will "telegraph" through the linoleum.
Completed and sanded Ardex skim coat of entire square footage.
Installation of cork underlayment. It's true what they say about cork having a pungent, not necessarily pleasant odor.
Rolls of uninstalled linoleum. Linoleum is susceptible to a natural process called "ambering" that occurs as the linseed oil within the linoleum oxidizes. When linoleum is not exposed to light, the linseed oil causes the flooring to turn yellow. With darker or more pronounced colors, it is not noticeable, but with light greys, blues, beiges or cream colors, it is very noticeable.
Comparison of fully oxidized sample placed upon newly unwrapped, unoxidized roll. The yellowing effect causes the flooring to appear a sickly green. I call it "pus grey." Luckily, this only lasted a week and the flooring is now just grey. As the flooring continues to oxidize over the years, it will become tougher and less susceptible to "ambering."
Renteria Flooring installing the linoleum and deciding how to handle the seams.
Completed linoleum installation in the bathroom. The ambering present in the linoleum really causes the flooring to look green compared to the grey tub surround tile.
Completed linoleum installation. The crew at Renteria Flooring are real professionals. The seams are virtually imperceptible and the whole job was finished under schedule. Linoluem is such an attractive product that, aside from the maintenance requirements, I don't know why it fell from favor with American consumers. My guess is that vinyl floors came along and were much cheaper...because linoleum isn't necessarily inexpensive.
Electrical work has been completed and involved removing a myriad of fixtures installed with Romex wire (which violates code), deleting several junction boxes both accessible and hidden within the drywall (which violates code), installing recessed lighting in the kitchen and relocating low-voltage HVAC junction boxes to accommodate the foyer wall removal. Keith Flores Electric completed the work and his prices are very competitive.
I've contracted with Able Restoration to handle all drywall repair, painting, tiling, trimwork (door casing and baseboards) and masonry for the fireplace. Able Restoration completed an amazing rehabilitation of my parents' home a few years ago after the home suffered extreme water damage from a broken toilet. Able Restoration specializes in the repair of smoke, water, fire or structural damage, but they also do an excellent job for simple remodeling. If you're in Southern California (Los Angeles down to San Diego, including Orange County and San Bernardino County) and need a general contractor, drop Rick Gosliga at Able Restoration a line.
The fireplace surround constructed of drywall was gutted during demolition, the recessed lighting and extraneous wiring removed during electrical and now the metal flashing is being removed and the surface prepped for mortar adhesion.
Cultured Stone veneer manufactured by Owens Corning. The Product is Pro-Fit Ledgestone, Southwest Blend (PF-8019). I regret this choice. I selected this material from the website without viewing a sample and found out it was much more tan than white. For a truly mid-century look, I should've chosen Cobblefield, Austin (CSV-2035) and used a dark mortar.
For some reason, there's a myriad of apartments and condominiums in Los Angeles built in the 1960's and 1970's with secondary entry doors into the kitchen. No one ever uses these doors and they only serve to cheat the resident out of viable cabinet space. Knowing the HOA would not grant me permission to remove this door, I simply removed all door hardware, filled knob and deadlock bores with hole covers, screwed the door shut using pocket holes and drywalled over the door interior. From the exterior, nothing has changed (expect for the lack of doorknobs) and from the interior there's no evidence of a door. The above wall is the door freshly drywalled over.
Completed mortar bed prior to tiling.
Excised foyer wall reframed with drywall and primer. The floor still bears evidence of the wall's original dimensions.
Primer coat and ongoing drywall repair.
The stone veneer on the fireplace is 90% completed. Unfortunately, one box of stone veneer was from a different dye lot and has a markedly different color than the rest. This is very noticeable in the upper third of the fireplace. The different dye lot is much brighter, contrasty and pink than the rest.
Weeks later, I stained the discolored portions to match the rest with a tint kit supplied by the manufacturer. Subsequently, I washed the entire fireplace with a similar stain including titanium white to even the appearance out and duplicate UV fading and lime present on real, weathered stone. The result is a more subtle and natural look.
The first fixture I knew was going in was this reproduction sputnik light I'd purchased years prior from Practical Props, a dealer/manufacturer in North Hollywood that largely rents period lighting fixtures to film and television productions.
What I had not intended was for Practical Props to custom design some sputnik sconces for my foyer and outside my bedroom door (seen below). I'd initially intended to use some brushed aluminium "double cone" or "bowtie" sconces, but these sconces protruded too far from the wall and would prove problematic near a doorway. The sputnik sconces were the most flush, mid-century appropriate fixtures I could find and Practical Props customized the length of the "tentacles" to the low heights of my ceilings...and all this for less than the cone sconces.
Sconce outside bedroom / bathroom doorway. Even at a relatively flush six-and-a-half inches, this fixture still is frequently disturbed and prodded by passing shoulders and arms.
I'd always wanted a George Nelson saucer lamp. This "criss-cross" model is in the dining room.
If you recall from my post entitled "Idiots," I needed to solve a problem created by recessed lighting installed without cans or any fire-barrier into an A/C ducting soffit. These lighting fixtures called "Beauty Spots" by WAC Lighting were a good solution. They're technically recessed fixtures as the housings are not visible, yet the bulb is not recessed and instead is covered with a flush-mount, glass cube for decorative purposes. With these fixtures, I can utilize the space for lighting without worrying the heat of a light bulb will ignite the ducting insulation.
Close-up of "ice cube" attachment around 20 watt, xenon bulb.
View of dining room from the living room showing the sputnik light above the wetbar on the left, the sputnik sconce in the foyer, the Nelson saucer lamp in the dining room and the beauty spots on the far right.
I found this fixture at the Habitat-for-Humanity ReStore in Pasedena. It was painted black, had several drips of white exterior paint on it, a broken porcelain socket and badly rusted brass hardware. I'd always intended for a chrome "bullet" fixture to be installed above the stone veneered fireplace, but I assumed I'd pay $225 for an "Aloha" fixture from Rejuvenation. I ended up spending $5 for this fixture at the ReStore, an additional $5 in rewiring supplies from Home Depot and $25 to have the fixture stripped and polished by Astro Chrome and Polishing. I painted the brass hardware with a can of matte silver spray paint I already had. Not bad for a total cost of around $35.
