Ed | Our Big Italian Adventure

Internet, Railings, and Stairs

Ed Building a House February 27, 2018March 10, 2018Design details, Electrical and network, Interior 0 Comment

Today, the internet components were installed, along with the railings for the stairs and the terrazza. Plus, the painting of the stair risers was done.

Internet Connection

Because of our location out in the country side, we’re getting our internet over-the-air from towers across the valley. This system is in widespread use in Marche.

Over-the-Air Internet Receiver
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Wireless Access Point
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Stair Railings

Last we heard about railings was when Kevin told them “no” on the original color and we then picked a new color that coordinated better.

Stair Landing and Railing
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Terrazza Railings

Terrazza Railing Looking Toward Front
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Terrazza Railing at Roof Peak
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Stairs

As we decided a week or so ago, the risers were painted to help hide scuff marks.

Painted Stair Risers
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Source:
All images: Copyright © Our Big Italian Adventure

Bathrooms Installed But a Big Issue in One of Them

Ed Building a House February 22, 2018April 1, 2018Bathroom 0 Comment

The report was that the bathrooms were done. When we got the pictures, we decided that we weren’t quite there yet in the upstairs bathroom.

Master Bathroom

Here, I think we are all done. All fixtures, cabinetry, tiling, and lighting have been installed.

Master Bath Vanity and Mirror
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Master Bath Shower
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Downstairs Bathroom

With the exception of the decorative vanity that Johnny is working on, we’re done here, too.

Downstairs Bath Vanity Location
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Downstairs Bath Shower Head
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Upstairs Bathroom

Anne took one look at the pictures below and said, “I don’t like it. The sink is too big and it sits up too high and sticks out to far forward.”

We decided that this was caused by the width of the room and the placement of the shower and door. We were left with space for only a shallow vanity, so the sink we chose is too big and the wrong shape. We had never seen a complete drawing of this unit from the side, where the problem is apparent. We’d only seen straight-on views.

Anne immediately wrote to Kevin and sent him some other sink ideas. Kevin and Angelo will make an adjustment.

Upstairs Bath Looking Into Hall
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Upstairs Bath Vanity and Sink
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UPDATE

Here’s the new sink for the upstairs bathroom… much better!

Source:
All images: Copyright © Our Big Italian Adventure

Ground Floor Bathroom Vanity We Decide to Go For Something a Little Unique

Ed Building a House, Designing a House February 20, 2018March 31, 2018Bathroom, Design details 0 Comment

For the ground floor bathroom, Anne wants to use an old piece of furniture as the vanity, rather than having something built in. We had tried looking for such a piece on our July trip, but found that older furniture is not that easy to buy in Italy. There isn’t the number of antiques stores or markets that there is here.

We could keep looking on future trips, or we might be able to have something built just for us. Anne sent along some ideas to Johnny, the carpenter who is building our shelving and some custom doors, so we could explore what we might be able to get.

Johnny sent us three ideas.

Beech Cabinet

This would be a very simple, mostly open, cabinet made of new wood that the sink would sit on top of. Neither Anne nor I liked this one.

Something Using Some Old Oak

old oak slabs — Very Old Oak Boards
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Johnny has found some very old oak planks. I say “something” because there are two ways to use them: build a cabinet like the one above, or have just “floating” wooden shelves attached to the wall, with the sink on the top one.

We both liked the wood, but neither of the executions.

Reworking an Old Walnut Piece

vintage walnut cabinet — Vintage Walnut Piece Found by Johnny

This is really what we’ve been looking for from the beginning. Johnny found this old cabinet, probably French, he thinks, and proposed a way to rework it into a base unit with a framed mirror above. The sink would be slightly sunken into the top to get it to the right height.

This all looked very good, except for the use of the top decorative piece as the top of the mirror. It seemed to be a bit too heavy.

Drawing of Existing Walnut Cabinet
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Drawing of Reworked Walnut Cabinet
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This one is our choice for the vanity.

However, we don’t want to walk away completely from either the decorative top or the old oak boards. We may find a place for the top, and we’re going to talk to Johnny about building a desk or a table out of the oak planks.

Update:

Here’s how it turned out. We think Johnny did a great job. What do you think?

Source:
All images: Copyright © Our Big Italian Adventure

Reactions to the Landscape Plan Overall, Not Too Bad

Ed Building a House, Designing a House February 18, 2018Design details, Land, Landscape 0 Comment

We sent Paula’s long-awaited landscape plan off to Kevin for consultation with Francisc and for their comments.

Overall, we got a not-unexpected “yes, but …” reply.

It starts like this:

Overall, it looks nice. The key is that on this first pass you got something you can work with. Now, we need to get it to where it can be executed starting in a 3-4 weeks.

Now on to the specifics:

On the stairs directly down from the parking to the stairs, there was no mincing of words.

Nobody this end — me, Francisc, others — thinks it’s a good idea to execute a staircase directly from the front door to the parking lot … it’s too steep and the costs of doing it (in anchored, reinforced cement) could be prohibitive.

This one point Anne and I won’t budge on. We’ll just hope the costs are manageable.

On the other access paths in front of the house.

I would be careful to not “junk up” the front of the house with two many stairs, trails, paths … ONE would be fine and that lets the house and planned plantings speak for themselves.

Here we agree.

On the idea of a “guard wall” at the bottom on the driveway, his thoughts are clear.

No additional walls are required at the driveway/parking lot … I don’t understand why that’s been suggested.

This one is trickier for us. We do have a concern abour cars going over the edge, based on our past visits, but the situation may have changed. We’re going to leave this guard wall out of the plan, but think about putting some large planters there to define the edge better than the wooden rail fence will on its own.

Moving to the back of the house, he had only one major concern.

I would not put a pergola on the back of the house — this would essentially defeat a key design element of the house — all those big french doors that bring light into the house. If the pergola is covered in vines or plants, or even if it’s there unencumbered, it will block sunlight into the house … if you need shade (and you will) head under the portico or onto the 1st floor terrace. Note that with the quality of insulation in the walls, door/window glass and roof — WAY BEYOND a normal house — the idea of too much heat coming in is a non issue … plus, a pergola will require permissions … plus, it’s something you could always add LATER, so see if you really need it before spending money on it and blocking light.

He’s convinced us here. No pergola for now.

Now it’s time for the clincher and he’s spot on here.

Paula needs take the lead on this and specify exactly what is needed. I can help, certainly, but she needs to lead (and she needs to do that LITERALLY as soon as you say you like the plan as is)

My job is to back to Paula and get her to step up and take charge.

An Update

Paula did go to the site and explain the plan to all involved: Kevin, Francisc, Pippo and his son Marco, who will do the landscape installation. While the relationship between Paula and Kevin and Francisc can be quite testy, she seemed to hit it off with Pippo and Marco, which apparently helped to lighten the mood.

Next is for Francisc to plan and cost the stairs and for Paula to get to work on the planting plan.

Finally Some Progress on the Landscape Plan Stairs and Paths

Ed Building a House, Designing a House February 13, 2018February 12, 2018Land, Landscape 0 Comment

This has been a long time coming.

Last we heard, we had received the detailed survey that our landscape designer Paula required. That was in November. The delays on this have been driving Kevin and Francisc crazy, as they want to get the project wrapped up. We can’t blame then, but given the difficulties presented by the sloping plot, we’ve been patiently waiting for this plan.

At this stage, we’re focusing only on the hardscape — the stairs, walls, and paths — since that work needs to be started right away. The next phase, once this is settled, will move on to the plantings.

I’ll start with a plan overview that shows the whole property. It’s a little hard to read, so I’ll show close-ups of the key areas around the house and provide some commentary.

Landscape Plan Overview
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In Front

We’ve done a lot of land reshaping to try to soften the slopes around the house. This work has helped a lot, but right now we’re left with only one way to get down from the parking area to the house, via a path that leads to the kitchen door.

While this is fine for everyday use, we need a more direct route to the front door for guests and for a “proper” approach to the house.

During our trip in May, when we first met Paula we discussed the need for some stairs that went directly down from the parking to the front door. She’s included those stairs, divided into a top section that is more formal and a lower section that is more informal. (Aesthetics, I guess.)

There is also access to the kitchen via a gravel path, following the existing slope. (More on that below.)

She’s also included a very indirect approach, starting along the path to the right of the house, cutting across on the level in front, then descending some stairs to the left front of the house. (This seems like it’s likely overkill.)

She’s also recommending that we build up the retaining wall at the end of the driveway, as a safety measure to define the edge of the slope and to act as a barrier to prevent a car from sliding all the way down to the house.

Landscape Plan Detail in Front of House
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Side Near the Kitchen

This is just a closer look at the path that approaches the kitchen. This slope is shallow enough to build a path, gravel with wood risers, like railroad ties.

Landscape Plan Detail at Side of House
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Behind and Down to the Pool

First, Paula suggests we add a pergola across the back of the house, covering the area from the portico to the edge of the house.

Next, she’s suggesting a stone landing in the middle of the back of the house, leading to a set of (too steep?) gravel and wood steps down to the level below the house. These steps would then continue to the next level, the one above the pool.

From here, the slope is less steep, and we might be able to do just a path down to the pool, really a series of short stairs with grass levels.

Then, at pool level, there would be a portico to provide some shade.

Landscape Plan Detail Behind House
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We think that overall it’s a very good plan. We’ll send it off to Kevin for his thoughts and some ideas about feasibility and costs.

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