Blogs

I had no idea how many people were involved

Last week I had a fun day introducing a writer from Sierra Magazine to three of our clients.  This is the magazine of the Sierra Club, America's oldest, largest, and most influential grassroots environmental organization.  They are writing a story about New Avenue covering the sustainability attributes of our smaller homes and the new lifestyle they provide.  They wanted to really get to know a few clients as part of the story.

Over the course of a few hours we visited our clients Lorrie Beth and Larry and their good friend Kitty in Berkeley.  Lorrie Beth and Larry are building a home for Kitty who is a dear friend and needed a wheelchair accessible home.   We also dropped into Susan’s cottage as the framing was going up and our project in Orinda where the client has moved in and only has a bit of decorating and landscaping work left to do.

The writer had a great question for each of our clients - “What did you learn that was totally unexpected?”  Kitty answered that she had no idea there were so many people involved in creating a new home.

And the beauty of Kitty’s answer was in her delivery.  She added an entertaining extra bit of gravity and pause in her voice as she answered:  

“So (pause #1).... Many (pause #2)... People...(pause #3)”

This lead to a tangent where we listed out the number of people involved BEFORE the construction even began:
1) Lorrie Beth and Larry - the homeowners
2) Kitty the main client
3) Kitty’s assistant/nurse
4) An ADA/Universal Design specialist to discuss accessibility needs
5) An architect to create a custom design
6) A draft person to help the architect create several design options
7) A good friend who is an architect to discuss ideas and ease some nerves about the occasionally overwhelming process of building a home
8) A surveyor to confirm the real location of the property line and just how far the fences are off
9) A planner from the city to confirm what’s allowed and suggest improvements and review the planning permit
10) The head of the planning department to review the approved planning permit and provide a stamp of approval.  
10) An engineer to perform the structural and seismic calculations
11) A builder to provide an estimate
12) A second builder to provide another estimate
13) A third builder to provide another estimate
14) An energy efficiency analyst (Title 24) required for the building permit
15) A building department official or “plan checker” to review the construction documents and approve the building permit
16) A bank loan officer to write up a loan
17) A bank inspector to approve the plans and budget so the loan officer and finalize the loan

And then the construction began.  That will be another post.  

Fortunately, our clients are building second units and that means they are defininng their life by having more people around and this leads to a lot of great relationships between architects, designers, carpenters etc...  I can’t say we like the bankers too much, though.  That’s another post too.

The article is being written now and should be published in a month or two.  We will be share the links as soon as it is out.

Under the Stairs

Stairs and Ladders for small spaces and lofts...  

The most coveted design feature in a small home is any idea that will give you as much space and storage as possible.  When you have a small footprint to work with, lofts and second stories are a great way to add more living space.  The downside to both lofts and second stories is the need for stairs and stairs take up valuable space.  That’s why we love to gather great ideas on making the best use out of the area under the stairs, and other fun ways to sneak in storage.  Here are a few photos of some of our favorite ideas.  You’ll see that while the stairs are a space constraint, what to do with them is rich with creative possibilities.  

Bathroom

Bookshelves and stair combo

The smallest circular stairs possible

Drawers in the stairs

Office under the stairs

Shelves and wardrobe

Believe it or not, this is plywood!  

Sustainability Exhibit & Museum in Palo Alto - Open to the Public

The Green Vision design was built in spring 2011 for the City of San Jose's Clean Energy Showcase to display net-zero energy living and green building products. We have now partnered with the City of Palo Alto to provide a Sustainability Exhibit and Museum for the city residents. It will be located in Rinconada Park and open to the public beginning in March 2012.

The home demonstrates how comfortably one can live in a small footprint, energy efficient cottage. Coupled with high quality craftsmanship, the EcoHouse incorporates sustainable building products like bamboo flooring, hyper-efficient appliances, hyper-efficient doors and windows, denim insulation, and recycled glass tile. This is a 500 square foot home with a full kitchen, full bath, large deck and loft bedroom accessible by the innovative space-saving spriral ee-stairs.

Design

    

Cottage in Construction

    

Finished Cottage

    

    

To see more pictures of this and other New Avenue projects visit the New Avenue Facebook Page!

SmartPlanet visits New Avenue

SmartPlanet took the time to come visit a New Avenue project in Orinda and speak with Kevin about the New Avenue concept. They made a great video about what we're doing at New Avenue. Take a look below.

26 Families in 2011

For New Avenue, 2011 started with nearly 500 people attending our first open house in Berkeley and by year-end we were working on 15 new homes that will help 26 families enjoy a new and better lifestyle. 

Why are there nearly twice as many families as homes? Because when a homeowner hires New Avenue, we change their single family house into two homes that two families can share.  

The stories about the families and friends that hire us are the most important part of what we do. Having an old best friend, a new good neighbor, a parent, a child or grandchildren nearby creates an almost endless list of benefits. 

Three Stories

Here are three stories from our 2011 clients that illustrate who our clients are and a few examples of the benefits of their new lifestyle. 

Three Generations in Orinda

Our first client in 2011 is a grandmother whose daughter, son-in-law and two grandchildren moved to a beautiful hillside property in the Orinda Hills. The grandmother helped buy the home and then moved in with them so she can be an active part of their lives. The property had an asbestos filled, run down and literally collapsing guest house that we tore down and in place rebuilt a beautiful new cottage. Now this family is living comfortably, with privacy, but together in the same place. The grandmother sees her two grandkids every day and shuttles them around to summer camps, school and other activities. The children are enjoying a beautiful home with space for their kayaks, woodworking hobbies and hosting big family get togethers. With the grandchildren now attending Orinda schools, they may be the greatest beneficiaries of this new family compound.  

Flexibility in Berkeley

The second client is a parent in Berkeley with a daughter who just had her first child.  The daughter, son-in-law and grandkid will be splitting their time between Lebanon, where the son-in-law is originally from and currently works, and Berkeley, where they will eventually be moving into the main home that the daughter grew up in.  Thinking of her growing family, then looking at the old garage full of junk, this new grandmother decided to replace the garage with a cute, 2 story cottage tucked away at the end of their driveway.  In the immediate future, this new home will provide some income as a short term rental, will be a guest house for the children and grandchildren on their extended stays.  In the distant future, when the daughter, son in law and grandchild move into the main home, this will be grandma’s cottage. 

An Annuity for College/Retirement

The final story is about rejuvenating a great old home.  This Berkeley client lives in the Elmwood Neighborhood in Berkeley and inherited what was once a beautiful carriage house in the backyard.  Over several decades the early 1900 construction wore down and rotted into an unusable structure that was unsafe and barely fit for storage.  However the space is perfect for a second unit, between several trees with a large yard extending to the main house.  We worked with them to give it new life, in compliance with the zoning rules, keeping some of the original walls and building a new eco-efficient cottage in place of the old.  This home is a pure investment strategy for the owners.  With three bedrooms and two baths it will be a prime rental apartment for UC Berkeley students or young professional couple.   The monthly financing cost for this home will be approximately $1,500 per month, while the rent for similar apartments on this block is over $3,300 per month. For this family the cottage will be a great annuity that will help with the tuition bills for two soon to be college students. 

We're looking forward to working with many more families in 2012 and helping more homeowners transform their properties from one home into two.

New Avenue at PCBC 2011

Take a Video Tour