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Click to see the latest on Kathy's Remodeling Blog
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 I'd like to think I played some small part in the fabulous success being enjoyed by Dan Gallagher, a young, hardworking and extremely courteous decorative painter from Sierra Madre.
One day he's featured in the Pardon Our Dust Blog (here, here and here), and the next thing you know, he and his work are featured in print, in the Home Section of the Los Angeles Times.
Above you see, clockwise from top left, Dan admiring the 300-square-foot mural he painted, Dan and mural installer Michael Baughman putting up the mural, Michael applying the adhesive, and another room where Dan applied metallic Venetian plaster.
With this kind of talent, he should go far. And I'm taking some of the credit!
(Photos: David Sprague / For The Times)
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Click to see the latest on Kathy's Remodeling Blog
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 Do you ever feel "terminally unique?" I do. And that's why blending my own glass tile backsplash is so appealing. Oceanside Glasstile of Carlsbad offers an online tool for mixing up the colors you like best. Here's my favorite blend! It feels exciting to my bones. Granted, it's not relaxing. It's not classic. But, it's me.
And oh what a difference grout color makes. Here I show the same blend with (clockwise from top left) gray, green, white and red grout.
And if you're leaning toward green, this would be considered a green choice in terms of proximity to SoCal. These tiles are manufacturered just outside Tijuana. And in most green building philosophies, if stuff is made within 500 miles of your home, that's a good thing.
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Click to see the latest on Kathy's Remodeling Blog
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The father of a soldier who spent 15 months in Afghanistan and then came back to live in horrid conditions at Fort Bragg didn't much like the way his hero son was being treated. So the dad posted a YouTube video of the barrack's mold, rust, peeling lead paint and sewer problems. It worked. According to CNN, repairs are already happening. Also, new housing is in the works, but that project is running behind schedule.
I have to give a shout-out to the the Army, though, for promoting Energy Star and LEED certification for new buildings to, a memorandum on sustainable design and development declares, "reduce the total ownership cost of facilities; improve energy efficiency and water conservation; provide safe, healthy and productive built environments; promote sustainable environmental stewardship; and reduce environmental impact footprint of operations."
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Click to see the latest on Kathy's Remodeling Blog
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 I heard some great advice about getting hip with color trends, and I'll share that in a moment.
But first, you have to get current. As David A. Keeps reported in this newspaper's Home section, here's the deal:
"Orange and red aren't quite dead, but the trendiest hues — purple, green, silver, even pale magenta — have a blue streak. The color of the season falls somewhere between turquoise and cobalt."
So here's the advice I heard: When you like a trendy color, don't go out and spend $2,500 on a couch of that color, or tile your backsplash with it. The color trend will be long gone when that couch or backsplash is staring you in the face.
Rather, plop that trendy color into your life with dishes, pillows, baubles and other accessories. In fact, if you're a color-trend fan, it might be a good idea to decorate with a neutral palette so the color of the day can be added, subtracted, changed and modified according to your whims and those of the trendsetters.
This photo shows how the residents of a Westwood condo brought the trendy color of lime green into their home without a lot of expense or long-term commitment.
(Photo: Sharon Cavanagh)
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Click to see the latest on Kathy's Remodeling Blog
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 [UPDATE: After this post ran, which mentions Iris Harrell's Bay Area/Silicon Valley remodeling firm, I got a progress report from Iris. Since the time I heard her speak, she has grown Harrell Remodeling to 47 employees (well, they're more like owners, as this is an ESOP company, or one with an employee stock ownership plan), and so now there is much less of a waiting period to get a job done. If you live in that area, this should be very good news. End of update.]
I spotted an ask-an-expert piece in the San Jose Mercury News and it caught my eye because the expert is Iris Harrell, a super-well-respected contractor in the Bay Area.
Iris used to be a schoolteacher, and then became a contractor. Her company employs lots of women, and I've heard her say that if she senses a potential client will be disrespectful to her employees, she won't take the job. And because her work is of such high quality and her ethics so stellar, there's typically a long waiting list to get a job done by Harrell Remodeling.
So, anyway, this piece is about designing a kitchen for cooks of differing heights. In this case, the husband is way tall and the wife not so much.
Here are some tips:
Design an island with two heights: 30 inches for the cooktop and some counter space, and 36 inches (the typical height of a counter) for part of the island. The lower portion could contain a salad sink.
Avoid a big range hood where the taller person might hit his head, and go for a downdraft-style ventilation system (pictured).
Build a floor-to-ceiling cabinet, rather than an upper and lower with counter space between, so important items (like plates and cups) don't end up in the upper cabinets where the shorter person will have a hard time reaching.
Read the whole story
Plus, you might want to consider hiring an actual kitchen designer. The fee you spend on this will be long forgotten while the functionality of your kitchen will be with you daily. Certified kitchen designer Susan Serra suggests 10 Questions to Ask Before Hiring a Kitchen Designer.
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Click to see the latest on Kathy's Remodeling Blog
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 Hi, Patti here, with an update.
My friend Joni and I have decided to paint all of her cabinets green but leave some chocolate brown (base color) for relief on the kick plates and in a couple of mid-sections on the top cabinets.
Painting the bottom cabinets first gave us a feel for how the green would settle on Joni's eyes. As it turns out, we love, love, love it!
We fortunately have a short workday tomorrow, which will afford us some quality sanding time on the top cabinets, maybe get the primer on and then go shopping for backsplash tile.
Joni saw some tile in a small shop that she really likes and wants my input on. She's attracted to stone. It will be interesting. I think stone sort of dates the kitchen, but ya' know what? It's HER kitchen. If she loves it, that's what's important
Hopefully, I'll be able to post our prime choices for you.
Thanks for checking in on us!
The project so far:
1. Watch a video of Patti explaining the remodel goals
2. Check out Joni's lighting choices
3. See a slide show of the track light going up and the cabinet coming down
4. Choosing cabinet color and backsplash tile
5. Getting started on the painting
The budget so far:
Budget: $1,000
Expenditures:
Sanding sponge: $5.38
OSH track lighting: $54.65
Paint: $48.44
Paint containers: $6.02
Polyurethane and brush: $36.61
Sandpaper: $11.45
Balance left to spend: $837.45
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Click to see the latest on Kathy's Remodeling Blog
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 You don't need to share with me the definition of insanity: trying the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. Been there (bought junk), done that (had it fail), still slipping into it.
Specifically, I'm talking about the solar fountain I bought ignorantly and impulsively at Home Depot last October. I paid $225 for this thing, which I was told had been special ordered for another customer who never picked it up. It had no label, no packaging, no instruction manual, and certainly no guarantee.
And worst of all, it had no endorsement from my peers on the Internet. I've come to rely on the "truthiness" of strangers in choosing restaurants, hotels, furniture, my car, you name it. I look at reader reviews on Epinions, Travelosity, The Guide, Edmunds, Consumer Reports, and other websites.
So it came to pass that I abandoned all my good sense and bought this fountain. Once I posted about it, a wise reader mentioned that these things don't usually last too long. But I thought it wouldn't happen to me. Aren't I special? Apparently not. The pump died about a month ago, never to move water again. And it can't be opened up, and it's got no name on it. Pure junk.
So, I've got the panel, which has a built-in battery, and I'm going to see if it can have another life as a laptop charger. But the fountain has been relegated to a bird bath. It's not bad looking. But $225 is a lot to pay for not much benefit. Here's to hoping I end the insanity and stop buying garbage.
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Click to see the latest on Kathy's Remodeling Blog
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Isn't this just the most sumptuous, comfortable, amazing outdoor room? Isn't this why we live in a Mediterranean climate? This lovely outdoor space is in a Manhattan Beach backyard, featured in the L.A. Times' Home section, and I could move in today. See the photo gallery.
My favorite elements: The cushions hanging against the retaining wall on the right. The relaxed look of the family. And that little doggie. What do you like about it? Or do you?
(Photo: Carlos Chavez / Los Angeles Times)
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Wall Street Journal columnist Nancy Keates is tearing down her house to build a new one in its place. But instead of taking a wrecking ball to the old house, she's having it "unbuilt" so the items and materials can be reused and recycled. It's taking two weeks longer than a wrecking-ball tear-down, and will cost $4,000 more. What do you think? Worth it? Watch the video clip below and read the story.
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Click to see the latest on Kathy's Remodeling Blog
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Julia and Mark are planning a remodel but are missing one critical piece of the puzzle: a good contractor. Here's what they wrote: We live at the top of Beachwood Canyon in a cantilevered home circa 1955 and plan to add a second story, go green, add a roof garden, etc. We are not interested in staying modern but want more of a traditional look inside with some whimsy. We have a designer we like and have just submitted our plans to the permit queue. Now we need to hire a contractor. We wondered if you have anyone you'd highly recommend?
Any suggestions for them? Please post below.
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I'd like to think I played some small part in the fabulous success being enjoyed by Dan Gallagher, a young, hardworking and extremely courteous decorative painter from Sierra Madre. 
