“That was a hurdle,” King says. “The [house is] on a hillside with lots of water issues. There were logistics that I had not previously had to contend with. [But] I’ve always hired professional subcontractors and had confidence in their ability to execute.” The sub was able to protect the retaining wall from water leaks by lining it with French drains.
“You don’t see it, but it is a worthwhile change,” Smith says. The additional work extended the schedule by one month and doubled the original wall-replacement estimate. “[The workshop] is the most expensive room in the house,” Smith says, laughing.
OUTDOOR CONNECTION Three large windows in the extension and the new French door flood the kitchen with light. After visiting a few open houses, Smith and Garrett decided on painted cabinets for the kitchen. “It’s modern. We liked traditional-style cabinets, but the paint gave it a more modern feeling,” Smith says. For the countertops, the homeowners found a slab of granite that has hints of green, and they selected a complimentary lavender color for the cabinets, working with King’s cabinetmaker to customize the color. “It’s grounded but still gives the kitchen a personality,” Smith says.
In addition to color, King says, custom cabinetry allows for the use of every inch of space — a priority in a small kitchen. “Non-custom is on a 2-inch grid, so for leftover space you would have to use a filler. This kitchen has 9-foot ceilings, so rather than using non-custom cabinets and having space left above, we could choose the exact height,” King says. He also has his cabinetmaker install the units. “The more specific the cabinetry, the more important it is to have the maker install them,” King says. “They deal with any issues and have a much cleaner installation.”
Upstairs, the rear-facing master suite now has a French door that opens to the slate deck. The owners gave up a rear bedroom next to the master bedroom to create space for a spa-like bath with limestone flooring and gold-mosaic wall tiles. The bathroom is on the exterior-wall side of the space and a new walk-in closet is on the interior. A transom above the vanity admits light into the closet.
The tub in the master bath is set in the small bathroom bump-out lined with windows. To create the steam shower the owners wanted, King designed a large shower space with one of its glass doors opening to the deck. For this exterior opening, King specified a glass and aluminum door. “Basically, the door has to handle ‘weather’ from both sides,” he says. “It’s a difficult waterproofing issue — you don’t want water penetrating beyond your waterproofing and getting into the framework.”
Because of the shower’s steam and its exterior opening, King had to create a pan that allowed the tile in the shower to be closely integrated with the door frame. “In this case, due to additional water and pressure issues from the steam shower and the exterior door, essentially the whole [shower] room became a custom shower pan,” King says. He also installed a Corian slab, set at a slight angle, on the shower’s ceiling. “This keeps water from accumulating on shower tile grout joints and dripping on your head,” he says.