Author: leweber1

The inspiration for this “Haus” comes from our visits with our friends the Caldwells in Napa.  Andy and I have been friends with John and Joy for many years.  Our dear friend Olivia visited the Caldwell Vineyard Guest Cottage with us during our last Harvest Moon Dinner.  “Caldwell is about love and family” and Olivia is family.  (We have been the best of friends for over 25 years). She will be living in the Guest Haus and we wanted to use the Caldwell Cottage as inspiration.  The Caldwell Cottage is a quaint house with 2 bedrooms and 1 bath.  It has one large room that overlooks the vineyards with a great seating and dining space.  The kitchen was renovated to resemble something “back in the day” with SMEG appliances, white cabinets and dark countertops.  It is a just charming and a very comfortable space. We have always felt at home when we visit, coming away feeling relaxed and refreshed.  Thanks to John and Joy for their hospitality over the years and we hope to get them out to the Fredericksburg Wine scene sometime soon. 

When you enter the Guest Haus you will immediately notice the 20+ foot ceilings and expansive set of windows with stone fireplace.   You can literally look thru the house into the meadow.  The total space is approximately 1500 sq feet but it feels so spacious.  

We’ve selected a very calm color palette for this home. The interior will be painted SW 7627 White Heron with the trim and doors in SW 6071 Popular Gray.  The full kitchen is off to the right and Olivia has selected SW 6071 Popular Gray for her kitchen cabinets too and we will install a Calcutta Marble top. 

We’ve selected Bertazzoni appliances for this project.  Though, I suspect she will dine in the Main House with our Chef Andy quite often. 

Just around the corner will be her “Wine Center”, the laundry, bedroom and Spa Bath! This bathroom will be exquisite.  She has both a shower and claw foot tub that overlooks the meadow.  (I’m kinda jealous as the Main house does not have this amazing tub) The bath is also SW 6071 Popular Gray with her bathroom cabinets SW 6236 Gray Harbor.  We added an accent wall in the shower and behind the tub.  We will be using IC Ames 8”x8”  tile on the diagonal. The accompanying field tile will be White Retro IC.  

Olivia also has a loft that overlooks the main living area.  We are still talking about how to utilize this space.  Let us know if you have any ideas you would like to share.  

Check out Caldwell Vineyards at caldwellvineyard.com.  If you buy tell them Andy and Lori sent you.  

Cheers until next week.  

Before I even begin this post I would like to wish my husband Andy a very Happy Birthday. I am so lucky to be sharing this new journey with my best friend. I will love you forever.

My dear friend Cynthia is a designer from the Tucson area and as we were discussing the powder bath she said “you know this is the Easter Egg of the Home”.  So I started a little research.  The first thing we all think of with an Easter Egg is a chicken egg that is dyed and often contains a design.  BUT upon further research there is a deeper meaning.  In computing and in software, the phrase Easter egg is commonly used to explain a secret message or surprise!  So off I went to ponder what could we do to make this Powder Room Eggceptional:). 

Ultimately, I went back to a project we did in Oro Valley, AZ in 2015.  Andy and I called it our “Cottage” – others called it the “Love Shack”.  Maybe that is another story for another day.  We had paid a visit to our local Ferguson Showroom where we had spotted an “industrial base” pedestal sink.  This piece is manufactured by Stone Forest and it became a member of the family.  We moved it from the Cottage to our next project at Chalk Creek months later.  We loved it so much we thought we would use it in the Farmhouse.  But what was I going to ADD to give it the design we were after.

Welcome to Tabarka Studio’s.  Tabarka has been handcrafting custom terra-cotta tile one piece at a time since 2000.  Check out their website at tabarkastudio.com.  These tiles are pieces of art and we are thrilled to be incorporating some of them into this project.  Welcome to the “Easter Egg”.

We look forward to sharing the final photos of this amazing powder bath at the completion of this project. Stay tuned next week as we introduce you to Andy’s Music Room and Bath!

Although, the Kitchen is the Heart of the Home and the place where Andy can be creative and innovative. The Pantry is my first love (or the Spa Bath?).  This is the space where I get to be creative and innovative (some would say organized).  Early in our marriage we determined Andy loved being in the kitchen and hosting parties.  I found my role was in making sure we had everything we needed in the pantry to support our dinners with friends and parties.  This created my desire in each home to have a pantry with pizazz.  You might say – well what gives it pizazz? 

In an earlier Blog I mentioned we were working on another home design.  This is the Panty I was designing with Carlie Kornick.  Once  again it is very similar to the Pantry we will have in the new home.   

In Scott Asher Construction‘s Floor Plan the Panty is off of the Mud Room and behind the Kitchen. In his initial plan a storage closet took up optimal space on the outside wall and it did not incorporate a sink.  We decided to eliminate that space, add a sink and a window over the desk space. This required that we move the utilities to the attic which created a full Panrty/Office.  

This Pantry/Office now has great access to load in groceries and create a separate work space for menu planning and prep.  This really becomes a companion space to the kitchen.

During the planning stage of this project I began with a much different design focus.  I love teals and oranges and had planned to reuse a number of my pieces from the past.  (these will now go into my new design studio)  The more we researched “Urban Farmhouse Design” the more we moved to the blacks and the grays with just a pop of color. Andy found the fabulous light fixture below and that changed my entire perspective.  Now you know how this became the Pantry with Pizazz!

Credits: Many thanks to Andy for finding the light fixture, Carlie Kornick with CK Cabinetry for listening to our needs and helping me incorporate everything we wanted in our Kitchen and Pantry, Cynthia Cross my design buddy with Thia Cross Designs in AZ, and Betsy King at Cactus Stone for her assistance with our Granite selections. 

Stay Tuned next week for a reveal of the Powder Bath – the “Easter Egg of the Home”. We wish everyone a Happy 4th of July!

Oh what a week!  Building a home during a pandemic has been very interesting.  I am not that comfortable going out in public and as the COVID 19 cases continue to rise in the two states (TX and AZ) that I am now traveling between this project has become very interesting.  

As I mentioned in my previous blog – the Kitchen is the Heart of our Home.  I am sure there are many designers out there that would NEVER design around the kitchen.  Well I am breaking all of the rules. 

Design elements that were important to us:

1. A Focal Point

2. Appliances

3. Storage/Organization

So what do you do during a pandemic?  You don your mask, pack up your Clorox wipes and head to your favorite granite house in Phoenix, AZ of course.  (Yes, 13 hours in a car to and from) Cactus Stone & Tile has been in business for over 47 years and has an amazing showroom.  They have never disappointed!  And of course we found something we love that cannot be replicated in any of the warehouses in San Antonio or Austin.  

This became our focal point. 

We chose GE Cafe Appliances for this project.  Many thanks to Jillian at Ferguson’s in Tucson. (Thank goodness many businesses have been working remote to make sure we are all safe and healthy.) Andy has been fortunate over the years to work with Viking, Wolf, Thermador and GE.  There are positives with all of the brands.  For this project we have selected a Gas Cooktop, French Door Oven and French Door Refrigerator. The GE Cafe Series provides us with a number of appliance color and handle options.

 

GE CAFE Dishwasher with Brushed Bronze Handles

GE CAFE French Door Oven with Brushed Bronze Handles

Here is where we are headed today – – we can’t wait to see it all come together. 

Wall Color: SW 7757 High Reflective White – Satin/Eg-Shel

Cabinet Color: SW 7757 High Reflective White – Eg-Shel

Countertop and Backsplash: Radico Polished

The 3rd design element that is important to us is Storage/Organization. Carlie Kornick (CK Cabinetry and Design) knows I like to maximize every inch we can in our cabinets and I just love kitchen organization options like hidden garbage cans, paper towel holders, and spice/utensil pull outs.  No dead cabinet space in our cabinets.  By using a modified “U-shaped” kitchen we’ve created various work spaces where Andy and I can both be in the kitchen at the same time.  In addition we have added a “Pantry with Pizazz” which will house another refrigerator, wine storage and microwave. I hope you will continue to follow us thru this Journey. 

Next week – – more on the Pantry with Pizazz! Here is a peek at the inspiration.

Those of you who know us understand I am a very lucky woman.  Twenty-six years ago my husband asked if I minded if he cooked – – are you kidding me?  He has been cooking ever since.  Our inside joke is take me to a strange and foreign place I have never been before – take me to the grocery store, the precursor to the kitchen.  

Our kitchen is the heart and soul of the home and it is more than a place for cooking but also a place for expression and creativity on a lot of different levels.  The design for this kitchen evolved from our last remodel and a recent design Carlie Korinek at CK Cabinetry & Design (Tucson) and I worked on for a home I thought Andy and I would build at Buckhorn Lake Resort.  It was eerie that the space in Scott Asher’s plan was very similar to what we had designed just several weeks before so our hard work had paid off.  

LAST REMODEL – Inspiration for our new home     

When planning a kitchen there are many different design elements to consider.  Cabinets, Appliances, Countertops, Backsplash, Lighting and Flooring.  Andy and I really value clean lines of sight that open to both living and dining.  This allows Andy to be part of the “dinner party” as he prepares fabulous spreads for friends and family.  Although, we consider the “kitchen triangle” we are not always wed to it.  We break all the rules by designing a kitchen that works for two. The design below incorporates many of the design elements that are important to us. 

Until next week when we will reveal a little more about this kitchen and its design elements.

Lori 

So you are probably wondering how in the world did you end up in Fredericksburg, TX, in an agrihood and a  place called Hidden Springs?  I found myself scratching my head and asking the same question.  

Almost three years ago Andy and I purchased a Casita Home in Kerrville, TX  in a wonderful RV Resort (Buckhorn Lake Resort) where we had planned on spending our winters in our 2017 Newmar King Aire.  A year and a half ago due to my travel schedule we moved his mother and sister from our Tucson home to Kerrville so that they could be closer to Andy.  As I continued to work Andy travelled in our RV all over the country (I would fly in for weekends).  We’ve been able to visit a number of states and see many beautiful sights.  But we were always drawn back to the Hill Country.  As a matter of fact our very first RV trip back in 2002 or so was a BBQ tour of the Hill Country with our dear friends Mike and Olivia.  So I guess it was meant to be. 

Fredericksburg is located about 30 miles from Kerrville.  The city’s German heritage dates back to 1846.  The first fews years (according to fbgtx.org) the town saw great growth.  Within two years of establishing the town, the first road from Fredericksburg to Austin was established, the first privately owned store opened, and the Nimitz family opened their first hotel.  In the nearby town square, Marktplaz, the Vereins Kirche is a replica of a 19th century German Church that once stood in the city.  In the 1850’s, Fredericksburg had become a popular layover city for those traveling further west.  The modern tourism industry began in the early 1900’s and is a thriving industry today.  Fredericksburg is well known for its peaches and is better known today for its wineries.  Need I say more…..

So back to how we found the Agrihood.  Andy and I were getting a little stir crazy under quarantine so we put the dog in the car and took a ride out in the country.  The first week we rode out to see the blue bonnets.  It felt so good to see the flowers in bloom and to breathe fresh air.  So the next weekend we decided to venture out on the “back roads” from Kerrville to Fredericksburg.  As you know I love architecture and I see a sign for a 2020 Home Show – that I can only assume has been cancelled.  We follow the signs and find Hidden Springs, a little jewel community off of Highway 87.  

You are probably wondering what all the fuss is regarding Hidden Springs – – well its the idea of an Agrihood.  As someone in the sales office shared with us “some neighborhoods have golf courses, well this one has a 30 Acre Garden and wildlife!”  For a woman with a husband who loves to cook this was music to his ears – a garden with fresh produce, during a pandemic, where I had asked that we not visit the grocer everyday – well this was heaven.  We were sold.  Not to mention Andy spent a number of years in Germany and when I first met him his German was better than his English.  This place felt like home. 

So what exactly is an Agrihood (from wikipedia): It’s a community that integrates agriculture into a residential neighborhood.  The purpose of these communities is to facilitate food production while at the same time providing recreation for members of the community. Cool right?

At Hidden Springs 30 acres have been reserved out of the 753 total acres for community orchards and gardens.  Lot sizes range from 5 to 10 acres.  A  professional will oversee and harvest all of the gardens.  So that means that while we get to get our hands a little dirty we can reap the benefits of the fruits and veggies without having to do too much work. 

Check out the Main and Guest Haus Floor Plans below – stay tuned for a featured room discussion next week.  (Hint: it may all be about the Kitchen as the Heart of the Home)

Until Next Week, 

Lori 

Welcome to my first installment of Building a German Farmhouse.  As I mentioned in my FB Post I have had a passion for architecture and design my entire life.  I fondly remember sitting in my fathers’ recliner with a drafting board and a T square across my lap.  Mom and Dad encouraged both my brother and I to go to college and earn our degrees with a focus towards business or science.  My mother never graduated from high school and my father was a graduate of the Norfolk Naval Shipyard Apprentice Program in Mechanical Engineering with a few classes at a local community college and Old Dominion University.  Education was very important to them.  When I expressed interest in becoming an Architect or an Interior Designer – this lovely couple who had lived in the same area their entire lives – said “Well you can’t do that – there is no money in it and you’d have to MOVE AWAY from home.”  Home and family were very important to them both.  No one ever thought of moving away from our hometown – except me.  Well at 17 years old I wasn’t confident enough to move away from home.  So I was off to Longwood College where I earned a BA in Marketing/Management and later attended the University of Maryland where I earned my MBA. 

The irony is Andy and I have moved over 17 times in the last 25 years, chasing quarters in couches as we like to say.  At each stop we have renovated or updated almost every home we have ever lived in from VA to NC, to MA, to TX, to AZ and now back to TX.  The passion for home design has never gone away. Many thanks to my mother and father for their love and support.  They instilled in me a solid work ethic and without that college degree I would not have had my long career in the Defense Industry that has allowed me to begin this new journey documenting our next big project in the Hill Country. 

I am seriously trying to find my voice (for those that know me you are laughing right now) and figure out how to even post a blog.  My goal is to post weekly on our progress and talk about building a home during a pandemic.  As you will see from the renderings this home is made to look aged and in the Texas German Architecture.  Many thanks to Scott Asher Construction for their insight into this design.  

This compound style homesite will consist of 4 buildings, the main house, the guest “haus”, the car barn, and of course an old fashioned cook house for Andy.   This design will transport you to days-gone-by using traditional materials such as reclaimed barn wood, large block cut limestone, exposed rafter tails, a zinc colored metal roof, and a 30ft windmill to round out the design.  

Join us next week when we talk about the Hidden Springs Community and the concept of an Agrihood.  

Until next week,

Lori 

Thanks for joining me!

Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton