Bathroom Workbook: 8 Elements of Farmhouse Style

Article by: Mitchell Parker

The American “farmhouse bathroom” is a bit of an oxymoron. Most original farmhouses were built at a time when the only bathroom was an outhouse. And when farmhouse owners did eventually bring plumbing inside, they didn’t actually build a bathroom; they took over a spare bedroom or other room and put a toilet, sink and stand alone tub in the space. This focus on practicality and function continues to drive the style’s popularity today. 

Here are eight elements of a modern-day bath with farmhouse style. 

1. Make it look like a spare room. Again, think back to the time when farmhouse owners switched from an outhouse to an indoor bathroom: Most people ran their new plumbing into a spare bedroom or an attic space. So the new bathrooms were generally spacious and had odd ceiling angles. Plus, it meant that the orientation of the bathtub, sink and toilet didn’t always line up like you see today. Following this approach is a good first step to nailing the style. 

Architect James Dixon used the spare-room concept with this New York bathroom, which is actually part of a newly built home. He intentionally made the ceiling pitch down at odd angles to make it feel like the bathtub, sink and toilet were plunked down in an old attic space or extra bedroom. “I live in an 18th-century farmhouse that was once a lot of small bedrooms. Some were converted to bathrooms,” he says. “They tend to be very quirky, so making a new bathroom look this way makes them look more believable.”

Painted antique wood flooring helps convey the style as well.  

2. Minimal accessories. “To me a farmhouse is kind of the simplest early house built for practical reasons,” says interior designer Alison Kandler. “You built a porch because sitting outside in Oklahoma was hot. You picked hexagon tile because it was cheap and practical. You built a pitched roof so rain would fall off and you wouldn’t get leaks. There was always a practical side to everything. It’s not ornate. It’s not overdecorated.” 

Indeed, most of the people who built farmhouses were interested only in providing four walls and a roof over their head. They didn’t have the time, interest or cash to focus on ornament or details in the wood or construction, so they just kept it simple. Make sure your farmhouse bathroom champions function and repurposing, rather than ornament. 

3. Stand-alone bathtub. A claw-foot tub is almost a requirement in a farmhouse bathroom. It’s what you would have seen in original farmhouses when built-ins weren’t around or practical. 

Of course, when we talk about farmhouse style, we’re actually talking about modern farmhouse style. “And that’s a good thing,” says interior designer Kelly Mittleman, who channeled farmhouse style in the bathroom seen here. “You don’t want to replicate the rusticity of yesteryear and have it look clunky or silly like a set piece.”

And farmhouses differ around the world and even regionally in the United States. A New England farmhouse from the 18th century looks and feels different than something in the Midwest, for example. But the general spirit is universal. “When most people think of a farmhouse, they think of simple, no-nonsense details and sturdy construction,” says Dixon.  

4. Repurposed furniture. In the early days, when spare rooms were converted into bathrooms, it wasn’t like farmers loaded up the family in the minivan and hit up the local home design store to furnish their new space. Typically, they dragged in whatever storage pieces weren’t being used elsewhere in the house. So repurposed dressers and storage cabinets are good candidates for a farmhouse-style bathroom. “A vanity that has a cabinet under the counter immediately starts to look like less of something you would find in a farmhouse,” Dixon says. “If you’ve got a nice old dresser, stick that in the room and fill it with towels and toiletries. It helps that feeling of the bathroom looking like it was a small converted bedroom.”

“Repurposing an old first-aid kit as a medicine cabinet, using reclaimed wood for a vanity, vintage lights — it all helps create that style,” says interior designer Kress Jack.

In the bathroom here, interior designer Charlotte Cooney of Domestic Arts and her partner, Kevin Fischer of Alice Design, brought in their client’s vintage kitchen storage cabinet to complete the look. V-groove pine paneling on the walls gives it a “cozy, homey farmhouse” feel, Cooney says. “It makes it seem like walls that could be in a barn.” 

To make the paneling look like it had been left outside and bleached in the sun, she covered it with a watered-down white paint and a flat polyurethane finish. Meanwhile, the homeowner had found a bunch of old radiators in the backyard and wanted to incorporate those into the interiors. Cooney had them all converted to hot-water radiant heat instead of steam. “They’re beautiful and feel like they belong in an old farmhouse,” she says. 

5. Wood. Reclaimed or distressed wood completes the farmhouse look and, like a claw-foot tub, is practically a prerequisite for the style. It even works for floors, says Suzanne Stern of Our Town Plans, despite the fact that many of her clients initially express concern about water damage. “You’re not swimming in there,” she says. “Wood is actually a lot tougher than it gets credit for.”

The floors here were painted with latex white paint cut in half with water. “The raw wood just soaks it up, and you can still see the wood grain, and the little bit of pigment dampens the yellow of the wood,” she says. “It gives it that distressed look.” 

6. Patinated finishes. When you’re imagining what you might see in an old farmhouse, shiny stainless steel shouldn’t come to mind. Instead, finishes with an aged look are hallmarks. 

Dixon likes to use nickel for faucets when possible, which gives the space a more antique feel. “It patinates and starts to look less refined over time,” he says. 

Jack had the vanity seen here built new, but then painted it a charming blue that she distressed. “I try not to do anything too contrived,” she says. “Just subtle touches of everything so it doesn’t look like it’s trying too hard.” 

7. Vintage lighting. Fixtures made from repurposed pieces or old gas versions that have been electrified, or anything that looks like it might have come from a barn is key to lighting a farmhouse bathroom. “In a small space, everything you put in is important,” Stern says. “For fixtures I either don’t want to see it at all or want it to be something that’s pleasing. The lights can be like little jewels. That’s very important.” 

8. Avoid clichés. As with with most styles, the trick is how to get a look without making it hokey. That’s what Kandler sought to do in this new Los Angeles bathroom. 

To give the space some character, she played with traditional elements you might find in a farmhouse, like checkered floors, incorporating them in a new way. “It’s a checkered floor, but it’s made out of concrete and not in traditional colors,” she says. “I didn’t want it to feel too much like a cow could just wander in at any moment. It had to be a little more sophisticated.”

Notice how she, too, played with the ceiling lines to make it look like an allocated spare room. “That ceiling pitch above the sink isn’t really the actual roofline,” she says. “I just wanted it to feel more like a dormer to give it that farm feeling. Little things like that go a long way.”

How to Recycle Your Kitchen

Article by: Christine Tusher

If you like getting your hands dirty, demolition can be one of the most fun and satisfying parts of a kitchen remodel. But whether you’re going the DIY route or hiring a pro, you’re likely to end up with at least one Dumpster full of trash. The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that about 170 million tons of construction and demolition waste were generated in 2003 (the last year for which figures are available), with most of it ending up in landfills. 

The sad part is that much of what ends up as waste could have been reused or recycled. While recycling building materials can take longer than simply whacking them with a sledgehammer, construction company SOD Builderssays some things — such as large appliances and granite countertops — can be easily recycled with the right charity or facility.

Here you’ll learn more about what you can recycle and who might want it.

Who to hire: Green demolition is mandatory in some cities, and contractors may not get their permit deposit back if they don’t recycle a certain percentage of their construction and demolition waste. 

Your general contractor (GC) may already be skilled in green demolition, or may hire a green demolition company that already has ties to local charities and can remove building materials and finishes according to their specifications. If your remodel is a DIY project, check with your municipality to find out whether any local recycling regulations apply. 

Whether it’s your city or your conscience that motivates you to recycle, you may decide to hire a green demolition company yourself to keep things easy and ensure that all recyclable materials are removed properly. If you do decide to go this route, choose a reputable firm for which no complaints have been registered with the Better Business Bureau, and get references.

If you’re looking to recycle a handful of items — your appliances, countertops and cabinets, for example — you can likely handle the process yourself.

Cost range: Because it takes more time to carefully remove building materials than to smash them with a sledgehammer, hiring a green demolition company can be more costly — up to $10,000 more per job than a regular demolition company, depending on scale and size. Fortunately, some of the extra cost can be offset by avoiding landfill charges and with tax credits earned by donating materials.

Many GCs, however, now recycle materials automatically. Oren Dagan of SOD Builders recycles many materials during a typical project. For an average kitchen, he says he usually incurs a cost of only $150 at the county recycling plant; he donates many materials for a tax write-off or reuses them in the same home.

Typical project length: About a week.

Project considerations: If you’re working with professionals, they’re already equipped to deal with the proper removal of building materials, but if you’re doing it yourself, it’s smart to take an inventory of what you’d like to recycle and talk to local charities to determine what condition they need items to be in.

Some groups will accept only still-assembled cabinetry and countertops, while recycling plants will take scraps, remnants and small pieces. You might also consider doing a second sweep after you’re finished the remodel to donate any large remnants or unused materials instead of throwing them away.

Here’s are some materials you can likely recycle or donate:

• Kitchen appliances of all sizes
• Cabinetry
• Granite countertops
• Steel, copper and brass elements — and don’t forget about plumbing
• Lumber and plywood
• Hardware
• Fixtures (Including lighting, electrical and the sink)
• Unused ceramic or vinyl tile
• Drywall
• New carpet and linoleum
• Doors
• Furnishings

Getting started: Reach out to local charities about two weeks before you start the actual demo to find out which items they’ll accept and in what condition. 

Dagan donates almost all large appliances to The Salvation Army, as it accepts nonworking appliances as long as they are fixable. “I’ve never had an appliance they couldn’t fix,” says Dagan. He offers smaller appliances to Goodwill, although he doesn’t have any specific reason for splitting things up that way other than a wish to share the wealth among multiple charities.

Habitat for Humanity also accepts a wide variety of kitchen items, from fixtures to appliances to cabinetry, although it relies on specific donation guidelines to ensure that the families who move into the homes it builds won’t get stuck with substandard materials. You can review the guidelines here.

Dagan also likes to recycle kitchen cabinets within the same home, and points out that old cabinetry can create great, practical storage space for a garage or workshop. If you’re getting rid of an old or damaged granite countertop, or end up with leftover pieces, Dagan says fabricators are often happy to take them off your hands.

As for the rest, call your municipal recycling plant to find out what it accepts, whether there are fees and how those charges are calculated.

Your Guide to a Smooth-Running Construction Project

Article by: Jeffrey Veffer, B. Arch, MBA

Imagine walking into your newly built or remodeled home and seeing it exactly as you had imagined it at the start of construction: the windows are all in the right places, the flooring is the right color, and the kitchen cabinets are a perfect fit.

Now allow me to pinch you on the arm, because for most people, reality is often different from that idyllic scenario. You might see missing trim around the bedroom doors or wonder why that small change in the kitchen cost so much. Looking back, you might ask, “And why did we have to hire another subcontractor to finish the bathroom?” 

Of course, there are things you just can’t plan for, but there’s plenty that you can. Costly changes and additional time-consuming work can be kept to a minimum if you fully understand what you are building before you start. By understanding the construction process, being part of the team and keeping a firm grip on the budget, your construction project can result in the home of your dreams. 

1. Don’t Skimp on Design Help

Given the busy lives most of us lead, we don’t have the time to research every type of technology and material that might be used on a construction project. Use professionals to save some of the time that would otherwise be spent learning and perfecting the process. 

Architects are trained not just to make a project pretty but to match building systems, thermal envelopes and other properties to the client’s needs. They have a broad, up-to-date knowledge of these systems as well as of materials and processes for a wide variety of project areas.

Now, I sympathize with the awful feelings associated with a project’s going over budget. I’ve been there; I’ve gotten that dreaded call from the contractor that the structural and mechanical designs are in conflict. And dealt with preexisting conditions that the contractor hadn’t anticipated.

A design pro can provide guidance on what team members will likely be required for the project. And not just for the big ones, like a full custom home construction. Smaller projects like additions and remodels also can benefit from a pro’s expertise.

Architects can usually recommend other team members, too, such as engineers. 

Your budget might be tight, but I’ve seen time and time again that trying to save money on design actually can cost homeowners far more in the end, in dollars and frustration. 

Homeowners often underestimate the cost and complexity of a remodel or new home. The cost of the design work on a project is something that homeowners may consider skimping on to save money, but we find that the best way to avoid problems in construction is to invest time with your designer or architect up front to think about the construction process during design. This takes far less time than fixing mistakes that happen when the walls are going up. 

Although it isn’t often pointed out, a good designer or architect depends on the client throughout the design and planning process as much as the client depends on the designer. 

2. Become Part of the Team

Most people spend more time planning their next vacation than they do planning their house project. Not that planning a house project has to be a full-time job. An architect or a designer can help you understand your role in the project as well as the contributions of other team members. That means participating in the process from the start so that you stay fully up to speed with what is happening throughout the project. 

I’ve seen clients assume that I know what’s going on in their head and are surprised when something comes out different than what they were expecting. That’s why communication is important. The Houzz web site and app allow you to show your team what spaces and materials you like. This can give them a reference point to understand where you are coming from (and where you can go together as a team). 

Being part of the team also means becoming familiar with some of the ways your team members communicate. The vast majority of projects use two-dimensional drawings (as well as written specifications) to communicate a homeowner’s intent to the construction team. This documentation is used to create three-dimensional structures. 

This sounds simple enough, but there are many chances for misunderstandings each time a team member reads the documentation. On a recent project, the foundation contractor misread the drawings and built the formwork too narrow on part of the foundation. During a site visit, we were able to catch it before the concrete was poured, saving the time and frustration of having to chip out all that concrete.

You can ask your team to assist you so you understand what is being communicated at each stage of the project. The best opportunity for this is during your design meetings. Remember, if you don’t understand something, ask. It’s better to get everyone on the same page early before a structure gets built that sticks out like a sore thumb. 

You should also talk with the architect and/or contractor before the project starts so you can make sure that everyone agrees on the approach to how the building will be put together. There are evolving areas of construction, especially regarding the building envelope, that contractors and the architect should resolve before the project commences. 

3. Establish Your Goals and Refer Back to Them Frequently 

Be ready to suggest ways to get what you want while avoiding potential problems down the road. If you can create a list of priorities, then when you are faced with challenging decisions during construction, which is pretty much guaranteed, you and your team will be able to look back at your prioritized list to really focus on what will get you closer to your goal instead of what may be a costly distraction. 

Things like prioritizing morning light in the kitchen or consciously forgoing a walk-in closet for a larger main bedroom can save the time and cost of having to move walls and making other expensive changes in the middle of construction.

How to Stick to Your Remodeling Goals

4. Establish Your Budget and Add at Least 10 Percent 

Be sure to set aside a construction contingency for critical items — and don’t be tempted to use it just to put in an upgraded cooktop! Due to the complexity of the construction process, unforeseen issues will come up. Without a contingency, you might find yourself short of cash when you really need it. 

A few years ago while remodeling my own house, we discovered numerous problems stemming from a quick and dirty job done 40 years prior. One of the most worrisome issues was a hacked-out joist on the second floor, leaving the bathtub supported inadequately by adjoining joists and bits of plywood. A great deal of creative thought and some extra cash were needed to fix the deficient joist without tearing apart the whole bathroom. Without a contingency to tackle this urgent situation, we might have been forced to postpone other parts of the project to deal with it and might have been stuck with dust and disruption for a longer time. 

5. Don’t Get Attached to an Optimistic Timeline 

Ideally, your team members will take the time to carefully plan and build your dream house most efficiently. Even if they are not putting in hours specifically on your project, the designer and others will likely be thinking about your project in the back of their mind. It takes time to work out the details of a project, so if you need to get the project designed and built very quickly, there might be situations that won’t be fully resolved in the design phase. There will always be elements that will need resolving onsite, but taking the time to do as much as possible on paper can reduce costs.

It’s also tempting to look at the best-case scenario for construction and think that it will then be the norm for your project. Just like with a cost contingency, though, you’d be well served to build in a time contingency as well. As much as it might seem possible to get into the house on a certain date if all the stars align, realistically there is a chance that the project could go late for a whole variety of reasons (laid out previously). Do yourself a favor: Have a backup plan in case you can’t roll up in the moving van on your exact date. 

6. Consider Construction Implications Before You Start 

During a recent remodel, one homeowner (who was working without a designer) realized that opening up the main floor of her house required a structural engineer, which caused delays as she searched for an engineer and he did his drawings. 

So it’s important to understand what the construction implications will be to get the space you want. Even though it cost her approximately $7,000 more to open up the space, she was really glad that she went ahead with this part of the project. An architect would have been able to point this out before construction started and would have avoided the stress and extra costs involved in undoing some work in the middle of the project. 

7. Communicate Frequently With Your Team

A weekly or biweekly status report can help identify areas of concern. This should be done at the onset of the project and continue through construction. The construction phase is where there are likely to be changes due to site conditions, availability of products or other factors. Be sure to get all changes documented in writing, along with the dollar amount promised; sign off on both the changes and the cost to stay in control and to ensure that all team members are up-to-date at every stage of the building process. 

In construction the document is usually called a change order; it explains the nature of the change and the cost. Sometimes the changes are called extras, because they are additional to what was agreed on in the construction contract.

For example, a homeowner might decide to move the location of a door, so the designer will assess the impact of the change with the general contractor and draw up a change order for review by the client. If the client is OK with the amount, then he or she would ideally sign the physical copy (often confirmation via email is used) and the work would begin.

7 Steps to Pantry Perfection

Article by: Christine Tusher

When we installed pullout pantry cabinets during our kitchen remodel last year, I thought my organizational problems were solved. I envisioned rows of neatly stacked spices and easy-to-see bins of pasta just waiting to be whipped into something delicious.

The reality is that my pantry has turned into a game of spice-and-go-seek that generally ends in frustration and guilt. The bins I bought for my pasta are there, but there aren’t enough of them, and they aren’t the right size. Worse, the myriad packages, from cans to cellophane-wrapped cookie boxes, create chaotic clutter in the rest of my pantry. So I’m taking time out this weekend for a thoughtful organization project based on my real life, not something I saw on a cooking show.

Here’s my seven-step plan for pantry perfection. 

1. Install a spice shelf. I love my roll-out pantry, but my spices are getting lost in the mix. Because they’re stacked one behind the other, they waste space, and it’s hard to see what I have. To remedy this problem, I’ll install door-mounted spice shelves inside the cabinet where I keep my cookbooks. 

The trick will be finding a rack that doesn’t require heavy mounting hardware that might poke through to the outside of the cabinet. So while I would absolutely love a wooden rack like this one, I’ll likely need to find one made of wire.

2. Keep go-to items at eye level. Judging by where these cereal boxes are kept, I’d guess that a couple of self-directed kids hit this pantry for breakfast every morning. I’m taking a cue from this smart parent and organizing my pantry based on how often my family uses individual items. 

I’ll reserve eye-level shelves for cereal, pasta and other staples while keeping baking supplies and treats higher up. 

3. Optimize containers. When I first organized my pantry, I figured that every bulk, pourable item belonged in an airtight container. So I went to my local wholesaler and got container sets that featured boxes in various sizes. Big mistake. Because really there are only two sizes I use: large and medium. 

Not only that, but I didn’t think carefully enough about what went into the containers. We don’t buy our cereals or snacks in bulk, so trading a slim box for a clear container did nothing for improving my organization.

Instead, I’ll take a cue from this pantry and use containers only for items that need to stay fresh and come in messy bags, like baking supplies. 

I’ll also pay attention to the shapes of the containers I add to my collection. I love the look of mason jars, but rectangular containers like the ones in this pantry nestle together more neatly, conserving precious shelf space within my narrow pullouts. 

4. Invest in pretty labels. Every time I pull out a container of a white, powdery baking product, I have to taste it to see if it’s corn starch, flour or confectioner’s sugar. I put all three in containers, but I didn’t like the business-like look of the labels from my label maker, so I simply stopped marking them.

So now I’m hunting for pretty kitchen labels like the ones here so I’ll know what everything is, when I bought it and when it’s ready to be tossed. 

5. Use baskets for anything round. I usually keep round, nonperishable items like onions and potatoes in their bags on the lowest shelf of my pantry, but as the shelves roll, a few veggies inevitably escape and make a mess. Baskets like those used in this pantry keep food organized and still allow air to circulate, preventing the food from getting prematurely moldy. 

6. Keep awkwardly shaped items down low. At my house a search for an afternoon snack inevitably ends in an avalanche of chips, trail mix and other bagged foods. By moving the packages to a lower shelf, as this homeowner did, I’ll be able to see how they’re shifting and prevent potato chip rainstorms and other messes.

And when I do come home from the grocery store, I’ll think about not just where I put things away but how they’re put away, taking care to face containers with the labels out and align similar items. 

Because, yes, some people’s spaces actually do look like the one shown here. And I intend to be one of those people.

8 Kitchen Design Tips for Foodies

Article by: Christine Tusher

I cut my culinary teeth in a tiny apartment where a janky oven meant that cookies took twice as long to bake, and seared scallops nearly sent dinner guests home with smoke inhalation.

The upside of all that making-do meant I knew exactly what I wanted when the time finally came to move to a larger space and remodel the kitchen. I spent hours poring over solutions for everything from pot storage to dishwasher space, and while not every idea worked for our space, the fixes I found heavily influenced the end result.

Here are eight great tips to help your dream kitchen work beautifully.

1. Buy the right vent hood. Vent hoods are rated by the cubic feet per minute (CFM) of air they can suck from a room. While formulas for determining how much power you’ll need vary, you’ll want to start by acquainting yourself with the basics. 

• There’s no point in buying a hood that’s larger than your range. It won’t really suck more smoke out, and it won’t look right either.
• Gas ranges generate more heat than electric ones, and thus require more powerful vent hoods.
• Maxxing out the CFMs isn’t always a good thing. For example, a 1,000-CFM vent hood will suck the air from a 10-by-10-by-10 room in about a minute, then will lose suction unless you have an HVAC system or an open window. So have your room dimensions handy to show the vendor when it’s time to buy.

2. Invest in proper knife storage. If you love to cook, chances are that you’ve spent a pretty penny on at least one good kitchen knife. But leaving it to rattle loosely in a cutlery drawer will dull and damage its blade – and pose a serious threat to your fingers.

Kitchen knives should be stored in a way that keeps them separate and organized, with their blades horizontally oriented so the knife never rests on its blade. 

While my knives are currently housed in the block they came in, I plan to commandeer a little-used drawer and add a knife block like this one.

3. Pull out your pans. This ingenious pullout eliminates messy stacks of pots.

4. Stash pot lids in a rollout. Pot lids can be the bane of any home chef’s existence, jamming drawers and preventing pots from stacking properly. To solve this problem, use a shallow rolling drawer to neatly stash lids for the pots below.

5. Keep cooking utensils off your countertop. Keeping spatulas and whisks in a countertop jar may make storing these awkwardly shaped utensils easy, but it also creates clutter. Consider replacing a narrow cabinet near your stove with a custom pullout to keep utensils close at hand.

6. Create extra prep space. This small San Francisco kitchen was in desperate need of extra prep space. The solution: a custom rolling cutting board and base cabinet that can be pulled out should the sous-chef need some extra elbow room.

7. Make your faucet a soaker. I was wary of a soaker hose’s high profile poking up above our breakfast bar, but my husband talked me into it. And boy, am I glad he did! It blasts water off dirty dishes, cools pasta in no time flat and ensures that every corner of our sink is sparkling clean.

8. Consider a dishwasher with a utensil drawer. The last thing I want to do when I entertain is to disturb guests with the clatter of hand washing dishes, but I don’t want to wake up to a mess either.

Choosing a dishwasher that can comfortably accommodate a heavy load was very important to me. The model I chose has a narrow utensil drawer that slides out above the top rack, freeing space below for unwieldy pots and large stacks of dishes. A year later I can definitely say this was one of the best decisions we made.