The Non-discriminating Shower

What is a non-discriminating shower?  The non discriminating shower is a good thing for everyone.  Everyone can use the shower and can have a showering experience just as good as the next person regardless of their sex, height, age, gender, or mobility. Interpreted to remodeling jargon, it is a shower that has a zero threshold entrance (no curb), has a hand shower that is accessible to people of all heights including those seated in wheel chairs, has a large enough area for a person in a wheel chair to turn around, has shower niches so that the shampoo is not on the floor, usually has a place to sit down and has grab bars for safety.

As I continue to remodel bathrooms, I am aware of the trend of 'non-discriminating' showers and I believe that it is more than a  trend - It is here to stay!    Everyone loves these showers, they love that they are large, they love the hand showers, they love the shower niches, they love the benches (I use it to shave my legs) (more information than you probably want to know)  I always recommend extra blocking in the walls for future grab bars even if the client does not want them at the time of the remodel.  It virtually costs nothing to add in blocking while you have the walls open.  Children, adults, and elderly of all abilities enjoy showering in these showers.  It is really an all for one and one for all remodeling winner!

Twas the Night before New Years

Twas the night before New Years, and Sally was sad,

Her kitchen had problems, the layout was bad.

She tossed and she turned to think what to do, 

'Can I have an island?', her options were few.

She needed advice to help her despair,

Christine the designer said, 'I will be there!'

The refer was move to open the aisle,

The back splash renewed to now be of tile.

An island was made for storage and sink, 

New venting was used to take out the stink.

The space plan was solved, decor was a treasure.

'My job here is done, now go cook with pleasure.'

Christine then did smile, as she drove out of sight,

'Nifty kitchens for all  and to all a good night!'

Cashmere Cottage

I designed this 500 sf cottage that for my client Tara to build on her daughter’s property in Cashmere Washington.  Nestled in the mountains, this DADU (detached accessory dwelling unit) (i.e., extra home on the property,) is small enough to be affordable but large enough to feel like home.  The tall ceiling created by the steep shed roof allow an abundance of light to flood in on three sides of the home, allowing Tara to witness the beauty of the surrounding land throughout the day.

Although compact, this home sports a shower AND a tub as well as a full kitchen and separate bedroom.  Designing small homes has been my passion in the last few years as I look for ways to simplify our lives, transition into one level housing, while keeping the quality of life that we have worked so hard to obtain.  As more and more people want to live off the grid, we are researching and specifying more solar panels, heating systems with reduced costs such as infrared heated ceiling panels, and rain water harvesting.

Adjustments to the design have been made at the suggestion of her fantastic builder Reid of R Squared Construction LLC, that further customize this special place for Tara.

Award winning Kitchen!

Christine Suzuki, ASID, LEED AP  (me!), was awarded First Place for Residential Small Kitchen, in ASID's 2015 Awards of Excellence competition.  I love all of my design projects but it is nice when we receive confirmation that others love them as well!

This kitchen is in a small condo on Queen Anne hill. The original kitchen was a small rectangular room with two entrances, one from the hall, the second from the dining room. My role in this project was to create a space that looked and felt bigger, create an island with a breakfast bar and to add ‘a little bling.’  .  We removed the wall separating the dining from the kitchen and added an island with a breakfast bar.  We also bumped the back wall of the kitchen into the bedroom behind it giving us extra room to maneuver.  I like to minimize any protrusions into the space, so I selected the recessed finger pulls for the cabinetry.  

The opaque glass insert create a feeling of space as well.  The richness of the brandy stained cherry cabinets is balanced by the warm yellow color of the cork floor. We created a ‘feature’ wall behind the sink with glittering round metal tiles, centering the upper cabinets.  The hanging metal hood doubles as a light fixture.  All the upper cabinets are a double bi-fold tilt up style which makes it easy to access all items in the cupboards while retaining a clean horizontal line.  The large pantry cabinet to the left of the dishwasher is actually a 6” deep cabinet that is fit within the studs of the wall behind it.  

We also created an upper U shaped drawer for the sink cabinet to gain precious storage space.  The challenges for this project are typical of a condo, we needed to keep the drainage and venting in the same locations.  The cement radiant heat ceiling meant that we had to create a lowered ceiling with shallow recessed lights.  The old elevator was small and we were challenged in getting the granite counters up to the fifth floor.  The ending result, however, was outstanding and the clients have enjoyed this Seattle get away ever since.

Soft Modern Kitchen

What is soft modern?  Modern design without the ‘coldness’ of what we associate with modern.  Soft Modern incorporates ‘tactical’ elements to balance against smoothness, ‘friendly’ colors that are muted and relaxing.  Round shapes are allowed to associate with rectangular shapes.  I was happy to be selected as the designer for this Soft Modern kitchen.

 I call this kitchen ‘Earth Water & Air’ because of the materials selected and their relationship to these natural elements.  Usually, a design using ‘natural materials’ has a dominant color of browns which represent wood.  In this case, soft reflective gloss green cabinets remind us of water,  little globe lights bubble in the atmosphere.  Blue and green mosaic tile creates a sense of air or smoke going up the hood and the satin textured granite counters say ‘stone’ in the very basic sense of the word.  The granite has a very subtle color without normal busyness of granite patterning.  The ‘hand’ of the stone, a subtle but distinct texture, along with the color, was the basis of the entire design, providing our first strong relationship to nature.  The enlarged windows allow this family to be ‘one’ with the outside elements.

Take a look at all the pictures of this kitchen on our website www.christinesuzuki.com under portfolio/kitchens.  

With gratitude, Christine

Healthy Homes & Lifestyles

I am pleased to invite you to visit my design studio and gift store Healthy Homes & Lifestyles at the new Lakeview Yoga and Wellness Center, 7800 NE Bothell Way #155, Kenmore, WA. 

We are hosting an Open House to show off our new digs on Saturday June 7 from Noon – 3:00 PM.  Festivities include food and drink, gift bags for the first 50 people and gift packages that will be raffled off to our guests.  Kenmore Fitness is joining us in celebrating our move to the new facilities.  I designed both spaces and although they are polar opposites in the style (Relaxing Spa versus High Energy weight lifting,) both are equally successful in creating a sense of space that reflects their customers values and preferences.     

My obsession with locally made, healthy, sustainable and recycled materials had led me to provide these products for my clients.  Let me introduce you to some of the offerings:

Univera products have been a part of my life for a few years now.  Univera is a company that makes plant based supplements for your health.  Their headquarters is in Seattle and they ship out of Lacey Washington.  Of their many wonderful products I selected Xtra (for anti-oxidants), Regenicare and Regenifree (for body pain and mobility), Aloe (for moisturizing and healing cuts and burns) and Femme Vitale (for women my age).

Bio-Therapeutic Skin Care was created for professional aestheticians and we are lucky enough to be able to offer these products to the general public.  Specifically formulated for maximizing the health of your skin, all of their products are paraben free (paraben preservatives are linked to cancer) as well as being locally manufactured.

Bio Green Clean is an extremely effective cleaning solution that is made of 100% pure ingredients such as amino acids, minerals, leafy green vegetables, etc and is so healthy that if you accidentally drank it, you would be fine.  I have had professional cleaning services ask me where to purchase this cleaner because of its’ effectiveness and safety for use on all surfaces.

Bellmont Cabinets is a family owned company in Sumner Washington, and creates some of the finest cabinets I’ve seen.  Their plant is extremely impressive with ‘just in time’ manufacturing which allows customization of cabinets without extra costs or wasted materials.  They have a huge commitment to providing quality cabinets within a completely ‘green’ manufacturing plant which wastes not, protecting both the environment as well as their employees and customers.

Theo’s Chocolates – need I say more?  Locally made, the Nibs are extremely high in anti-oxidants, in fact I never knew that anti-oxidants could be so enjoyable to eat!

I look forward to seeing and talking to every one of you!  Come visit me at my new home!   Sincerely, Christine

New Beginnings

Happy New Year!   Along with you, I have been reflecting on the past year and setting new goals for 2014.  Welcoming in the new year is like getting onto an airplane.  One of the things I like about getting onto an airplane is that I feel that I am about to embark upon a new adventure and that I am leaving my troubles behind. (at least symbolically.)  This is how I feel about 2014, it is a new year and I am embarking on a new adventure! 

After much deliberation, I have decided to go back to school. Sitting next to young smart people is stimulating enough but I also find that I am excited to be in a learning environment!   I will have help maintaining my Design Studio and Remodeling services and in fact I am adding to my Cabinet displays.  We are moving the showroom/office two blocks to a new location where I will have all my materials displayed along with a new cabinet display showcasing Bellmont’s wide array of chic styles.  I am also going to have a small Store that will feature healthy and sustainable health supplements, skin care for adults (my age!), specialty teas, non toxic cleaning supplies, meditation cds, bags and gifts using recycled materials, books, yoga mats, chocolate nibs (high on anti-oxidants,) and more.  

Our new name reflects our passion – Healthy Homes & Lifestyles!  You HAVE to visit US!

Please join us in the celebration early March (details to follow), our new home will be 7800 NE Bothell Way Suite 150, Kenmore WA

Always green, Christine

Dark side of SuSTAINable Materials

In the Northwest we have embraced the Green movement, embraced the move to utilize materials that are manufactured in a sustainable way, materials that use recycled materials and or can be easily recycled themselves.  So with dismay I discovered that one product that I was very excited about turns out to be VERY SCRATCHABLE and another popular product turns out to be VERY STAINABLE!

Buyer Beware!  BEWARE what the manufacturers tell you whether in person or in their websites.  Ask for telephone numbers of people that have used their products and call them to see how they really hold up. Obtain a sample from the company and try to ‘kill’ it.

The beautiful and elegant GLASS2 product turns out to be difficult to work with by both glass and stone trades people.  Furthermore, the surface is so delicate it can be scratched with your fingernail.  Not a great product to be used as a counter, and unfortunately it is being promoted as such and sold by the slab next to granite and marble slabs that are sold and made into counters. Is this why there are only 17 pictures on the website of examples of use?  We tried 2 slabs over 4 months to create a simple bar counter, without success and came away very disappointed.

VETRAZZO is another very beautiful and stunning material.  Made of recycled glass of fairly nice size chunks, it has a tendency to chip away, particularly at any edge.  (The piece of glass breaks off leaving a hole.)  So the holes are supposed to be fixed before the counter gets to the customer but…..such is not always the case.  The hole problem, however, is not the whole problem (Hah!).  The bigger problem is that the cement that the glass pieces are floating in is extremely porous.  So we have a counter product that instantly stains!!!  IF you ask Vetrazzo, they recommend removing the stain with some liquid soap and water.  Well, that does not work.  If you ask their recommended fabricators, they will tell you to use bleach, which does work.  Further along in the ‘care and maintenance’ document they mention ‘sealing’ the product which ‘is applied during installation’ then further on they recommend that you apply wax to the surface after installation (right away) and ‘a couple times of year thereafter.’ (translation: every six months)  Yet in another paragraph in the document they recommend that ‘when the mood strikes you, buff it with wax a few times a year…’ (isn’t that every four months now?)  It seems to me that if you are up front with the issues and provide a detailed schedule for maintenance you will have happier clients because they will have consciously decided to install this product with the knowledge of the level of maintenance.

I’m disappointed and disillusioned and have stains on my green fingers.

Christine

To LEED or not to LEED - 2.0

FOR those of you that were around when USGBC had the original LEED* test, you will remember the day that they decided that we had to re-take the test all over (two of them) and sign up for 30 hours of continuing education from the new ‘educational arm’ of USGBC. Oh, and by the way, we were given six months to get on board or get left behind.  We were labeled ‘heritage’ professionals by the internal workings of USGBC, but because of laws that govern accreditations we were still allowed to use our earned LEED AP appellations.

Many LEED AP’s ** chose not to retake all the tests (you would first have to take a test to be called a ‘green associate’, then IF you were part of an existing LEED project you were allowed to take a Specialty test.) Some, like me, were disillusioned by the very apparent economical purpose of this change in the program and chose not to retake the tests.

So, it was with humor that I received an email last week from the Green Building Certification Institute offering ‘FREE’ six hour training webinar that will earn me (apparently no tests involved) a LEED AP Specialty accreditation.  Though later in the document it states ‘complete all six hour-long webinars in the series by Oct 27, 2013…’ and I was unable to determine on the website which 6 hour webinars applied.  Their classes range from $80 to $550 so determining which classes is important. Oh, and by the way you still will need to take 30 hours of continued education every 2 years. It is apparent that USGBC figured out that most of the 155,270 LEED APs were not going to comply with the new system unless they were offered the ‘upgrade’ for free.J

*LEED : Leadership  in Energy and Environmental design, a green building certification system established in 2000 by the United States Green Building Council (USGBC)

**LEED AP: LEED Accredited Professional, a person who has demonstrated knowledge on the LEED green building certification program by passing a test.

Keeping Green

Christine

KBIS goes Green

Straight from Chicago’s KBIS---- This year’s Kitchen and Bath Show featured more Green product than I remember in recent history! MANY manufacturers have realized that not all consumers are made of money and that there is a big market for ‘affordable’ remodeling options.

Kohler came out with a new product called the ‘Hydro Rail shower column’  which looks like a hand shower bar, but is actually a ‘plumbing bar’  that allows you to select any shower head and add it to the top of the bar and any hand shower and add it to the bar, without having to re plumb your shower wall.  In other words, you do not have to remove the old valves and add new valves just because you want to change your shower head and/or want to add a hand shower.

Another super cool solution to the hand shower re plumbing issue is solved by Delta .In2ition features a detachable handshower, which can run separately from or simultaneously with the showerhead.  It comes with its’ own diverter allowing you to select the shower head and hand shower, showerhead only or handshower only. The handshower ‘docks’ inside the shower head and is held in place with magnetic force.  There is a pause function to save water while you are lathering as well as the super impressive stretchable hose!

Finally, another great remodeling product is the new flexible drain pipe from Kohler.  PureFlo features a flexible overflow ell as well as a drain ell for easy installation to fit various bath angles.  In laymens terms, it reduces plumbing costs by not having to move the tub drain.   It offers standard 1 ½” OD flexible tubing and you can choose from a number of tub drains and overflow trims to finish off your remodel!

 Keeping Green,

Christine

My Peace - My Space - My Energy Savings

Sometimes you cannot be the person who invents new energy sources or figures out how to take wheat board and make it into edible salad croutons.  Sometimes you are just the person who follows the mandatory recycling/composting rules, watches documentaries on global warming and takes walking vacations in Spain (my father said, you call that a Vacation?)

How can I still make a difference?

My Peace – meditate for inner peace.

My Space– it is suggested that low-tech actions such as weatherizing homes and installing more-efficient water heaters could reduce household carbon emissions by 20% within 10 years.

Appliances – BIG energy savings can come by replacing old appliances with energy efficient EnergyStar appliances. (dishwashers, washers, dryers, refrigerators, etc)

Toilets– need I tell you again? Replace the old water wasters with HET (High Efficiency Toilets) and watch your savings on your utility bill.  Installing a HET can save up to 22,000 gallons of water per year. 

Water Heaters – install more efficient water heaters

Insulate – my home, like many other older home had NO INSULATION in the exterior walls. When remodeling, add insulation and watch your heating bill dwindle.

Windows – replace old windows with the double paned variety, no more drafts!

Plumbing Fixtures– look for the WaterSense label to curb your water usage.

Leaking pipes & faucets– can waste as much as 7 liters a day.

Yard – selecting plants that coordinate with our weather will reduce watering costs

Rainwater harvesting – collecting rainwater, primarily from your roof, can offset your irrigation/yard watering costs.  If you want to go further, you can install a filtration system and plumb the water back into your home to be used to flush your toilets.

New Habits – turn off the water when you are brushing your teeth, take shorter showers, use the dishwasher only when you have a full load, thaw frozen food in the microwave

My Energy Savings – makes me happy and brings me full circle to my inner peace…..I am just ‘me’ and that is okay.

To LEED or Not to LEED

Definition -  LEED:  Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, a green building certification system established in 2000 by the United State Green Building Council (USGBC)     LEED AP:  LEED Accredited Professional, a person who has demonstrated knowledge on the LEED green building certification program by passing a test.

In 2008 USGBC decided to SIGNIFICANTLY change the accredited professional program.  They decided that the education and accreditation of individuals would need to be done by a separate company, the Green Building Certificate Institute (GBCI).  GBCI set up a new certification program, first you have to take a test to be a ‘Green Associate.’ Those who pass that test can have the appellation ‘Green Associate’ after their name.  Has anyone heard of a green associate? (Do I want to look like Kermit or do I want to look like a professional?)

After passing the Green Associate test you can take a Specialty test IF and only IF you have documented experience on a project registered or certified for LEED.  Meaning your name has to be on the documents turned into USGBC as being part of the team working on a registered project.  In other words, you have to have worked on a LEED project before testing to be a LEED accredited professional.

My dilemma is that I spent thousands of dollars and many hours taking seminars, buying books and studying to pass the original LEED exam and now I am being told that I have to take the tests (and pay for them) all over again.  Plus, I do not have documented experience on a LEED project, so I am not allowed to take the Specialty test. 

Let’s look at some statistics to reflect on:

*As of 2011 there are 155,270 LEED Accredited Professionals

*As of 2011 there are 8,668 certified LEED projects, in other words there are around18 accredited professionals for each one project.  WHY ARE THERE SO FEW LEED PROJECTS?  Could it be that the weight of the documentation and cost of documentation, commissioning and registration make it prohibitive for most businesses?

*In 2008 those of us ‘heritage’ professionals (those who passed the original test) were told we had 6 months to switch over, take the new tests and commit to the new organization requirements. 

*THREE years later, the requirements for compliance have changed, and the current deadline for compliance is October 27, 2011.

*THREE years later 84% of the LEED APs (original test) have not switched over (129,681 LEED Aps with no specialty of a total of 155,270 accredited professionals.)

I believe in green building, I believe in testing and showing qualifications for accreditation.  I believe in the framework of credits that USGBC has established (and continue to change) for evaluating green building projects.  I do not believe in restricting access to the program to a few ‘CHOSEN’ that work at large architectural firms that work with large businesses or municipalities.  If the majority of businesses cannot afford to participate in the program because of the high cost of registration, commissioning and documentation AND the majority of heritage LEED APs do not qualify to take the specialty test because of the exclusivity of opportunities to work on LEED projects, then WHO is this program FOR?  WHO benefits? And WHO loses?

Water Conservation in the Wet Northwest

As my relatives in Minot North Dakota are being flooded out of their homes, I feel sadly blessed that we have been spared the wrath of natural disasters that have hit the world this year.   Who was it that said, 'take care of nature or nature will take care of you?' Actually, I think it was me.

Anyone who knows me, knows that I am a fanatic about water conservation.  I hit several brick walls in my efforts to implement conservation programs over a large population base, mainly because the cost of water to us is so low.  We do not have an economic incentive to conserve water.  We conserve water only when/because we want to do the 'right thing.'

Recently I received a couple publications from Seattle Public Utilities that gave me a glimmer of hope.  The first was the Drinking Water Quality Report which reported that our drinking water was very clean, that it costs us LESS than a Penny a Gallon to have water delivered to our taps, and that we have one of the best drinking water systems in the nation.  Quite impressive.  In the very last paragraph, however,  SPU noted that elevated levels of lead and copper are often found in our drinking water due to corroded plumbing systems.  ALERT!  SPU is working hard to get clean water to you, but if you actually want to drink or cook with clean water you need to confirm that you do not have corroded plumbing.  In a city that is mainly compromised of older homes, I would guess that there lots of households that have not replaced the plumbing in their homes.  Health Tip of the Day: When you remodel a kitchen or bath, due yourself a healthy favor and replace as much of the old plumbing that you can afford to.

The second flyer had a section on a new program that was MY IDEA (thank god someone is implementing it!)  Qualified customers in Seattle can get a FREE water-efficient toilet and have it installed by a licensed plumber for FREE if they meet income guidelines.  (My program did not offer the toilet nor the installation for free, so this is actually a better program) Household income for 2 people can be up to $3,273 a month to qualify. PLUS, the picture that is in the flyer is the stylish Kohler Persuade toilet.  I am hoping this is the toilet being given away, but even if not, it indicates that it is probably a Kohler toilet and that is a good thing.  American made, family owned company in Kohler, Wisconsin, Kohler has made an effort to meet and beat the WaterSense guidelines for water conservation and have a large array of HET's available.  HET is tech talk for High Efficiency Toilets.  Who said I wasn't a techy?  Ciao!

Upcycling - Design Trends Follow U.S. Psyche

UpCycling is a new trend that appeals to 'optimists' who reject waste, value craftsmanship and items with history.  There are actually four 'lifestyle' trends according to Fawn Chang of PPG Pittsburgh Paints.  Based on the compilation of extensive research, PPG analyzed the current U.S. psyche.  According to Chang, we are cautiously stepping out of the recession/depression that we have been experiencing and adding color back into our lives.  We are coming  from a 'recession prison grey' palette so we are retaining a lot of neutrals but with a pleasant addition of color.  

As a 'sustainable' designer I am familiar with the term UpCycling, but this is the first time I am aware of it coming into mainstream lifestyle images, colors and designs. I am intrigued that our acceptance and dedication to recycling (sending materials away to be recycled) is pushing the new trend of UpCycling.  UpCycling as a design concept is basically taking existing items and creating something new from them.  A stereotype of UpCycling that we may be familiar with is art that is made from bottle caps or plastic bags.  UpCycling is more than art, however, these are functional items  that are created from your existing collection of 'stuff.'  UpCycling as a lifestyle trend is all about living simply and wasting nothing. 'It embodies simple living, keeping only what is functional and personal.'

My friend and colleague Vidal Bitton created this wonderful outdoor seating for his new juice bar at Lakeview Yoga and Wellness Center.  Located on the Burke Gilman Trail in Kenmore, this juice bar and seating area is the perfect refuge on a hot sunny day.  

Bitton salvaged old plastic laminate tables, painted the plastic laminate (believe it or not, it looks great) and built wood benches that are permanently attached to the table.  Between the heavy table metal table base and the stained benches, these units are stable, weather resistant and UPCYCLED!   

As far as our renewed desire to include color in our surroundings, I defer to PPG's statement..."Our color choices are more and more about what makes us feel happy." 

And right now, I am very happy! Ciao!

The Future of Kitchens

We are always trying to predict the future, with questionable success.  However, some trends are evident (as explained by Kitchen Distributors reference to the National Association of Homebuilders study  on kitchen design.)  The trend will be towards smaller homes.   With smaller homes comes smaller kitchens.  With smaller kitchens there is a bigger premium put on EFFECTIVE storage solutions;  replacing the walk in pantry with 24" deep pull out pantries, using every corner, every inch of floor space.    Even using the space INSIDE of the wall (yes we can build shallow cabinets that fit between the studs) so that you can gain storage without infringing into precious floor space. 

Many kitchens  double as a passage way to other parts of the home similar to this galley kitchen.  With space at a premium, kitchen designers use built in finger pulls on cabinets doors to eliminate protruding handles.  Space issues will also promote the open concept (no walls) between the kitchen, living and dining areas.  With some kitchens that means eliminating a wall and replacing it with an island.  With other kitchens it means eliminating the island. 

With openness comes exposure.  All the MESS needs to be hidden...somewhere.  Everything that is on the counter will be seen by everyone.  (Do you really want to see the rice cooker from the living room sofa?)  New openness will force us to rethink our storage/cabinet needs as well as our cooking accessory purchases.  Remember that brief trend that had garage style doors that pulled down to hide the kitchen?  Well, that may be a little extreme.....

Contact me with your thoughts! Ciao!