Islander

Spring 2003

Eleven years ago, Island Architects opened in San Diego. Our history began twenty years ago in the Virgin Islands and the Midwest. Throughout the years custom residential design has always been our focus. Today it is our exclusive purpose. Throughout our years in La Jolla we have enjoyed working with our colleges, the community, the city, and our clients. In our first quarterly newsletter we want to share some of our work and ideas with you. We also want to thank you for believing and working with our creations and us.

Best regards,

T o n y C r i s a f i, A I A & D r e x P a t t e r s o n, A I A

How To Get The Dream Home You’ve Always Wanted

How does an owner begin the process of remodeling or building a new home? There is a spectrum of individual approaches our clients take when they begin their journey. Here are some helpful steps to get you started in the right direction.

1.Collect Images: Whether from design magazines, photos of a friends home, or some piece of furniture your grandmother has, that old saying is true; “A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words”. You will be much more effective in conveying your ideas if you come to design meeting armed with some of your likes and dislikes.

2.Describe Your Lifestyle: Do you throw lavish parties or snuggle up on the couch and watch movies? Do you feel more comfortable in small intimate spaces or do you want grand, open spaces? Taking a little time to jot down your needs vs. wants will not only help your thought process, it will enhance your design professional’s sense of who you are and what you need.

3.Do Your Homework: Ask around, see who the architect or designer was on the projects you admire. Interview several professionals, after all, for many people, a new home or remodel will be something you will live with for quite some time.

4.Get a Feasibility Study: If you are buying a new piece of property either an empty lot, or a home you intend to remodel, a feasibility study is essential. There are so many codes, regulations and design review procedures that affect properties now, especially in the coastal zones. Island Architects performs this service so that clients have an educated view of what is allowable before land is purchased and the design goes too far.

5. Look at Long Term Plans: Do you see yourself growing old in this house or are you one that prefers change and has a nomadic spirit? If you anticipating a loved one coming to live with you in the future, or if children will be leaving the nest your living needs could dramatically change. Discuss these concerns with your design professional so that they can help you plan for the future.

Focus on Design: The Kitchen

Kitchens often become the nucleus of every home. Whether the children are doing homework while you’re cooking or friends are over sipping wine and experimenting with various culinary delights, you just cant seem to get people out of the kitchen. (That is unless it’s time to do the dishes.) For this reason the kitchen needs to be designed not only for function, but also as a gathering place, with warm and inviting materials.

Rancho Santa Fe, Italian Country Kitchen:

The island of this newly constructed kitchen is the focal point for gatherings.

Another way not to isolate those in the kitchen is to the kitchen into a more integral part of the home. Breakfast rooms, studies, and reading inglenooks can all be incorporated in close proximity to the kitchen, which will create less isolation and more gathering space while entertaining.

This Mediterranean Kitchen, as viewed through a graceful arched opening in the dining room, is nestled between the breakfast nook and conservatory. La Jolla Remodel: Designed by Tony Crisafi

Kitchens of today can be an exciting fusion of both antique pieces and modern technology. European charm is often incorporated to give that warm, lived in look, as though the kitchen grew thru the family’s generations.

Architect Drexel Patterson created this kitchen in his own home using fence board from an Australian sheep ranch atop the rustic island. Patterson based his island on a piece he found at the Paris Flea Market. “I wanted the kitchen to look like eclectic found pieces put together in a way that was entirely functional,” Patterson says. He scavenged old glass that displayed a subtly rippled texture for the cabinet doors and selected hand-hammered knobs and pulls that he stripped so they would dull to a natural patina. The floor is comprised of antique French pavers stained and waxed to a rich chestnut finish.

This La Jolla remodeled, European Country Kitchen is warm, romantic and won San Diego Home/Garden Lifestyle’s “Kitchen of the Year 2002” best homeowner-designed kitchen.

Publications:

San Diego Home/Garden Lifestyle’s – April 2003 “His and Hers pools on Mt. Helix” pools & cabana

Custom Home Outdoors – Spring, 2003: “City Heights” a contemporary home in La Jolla

Winner of Rancho Santa Fe’s “Lily Award” An Italian Mediterranean newly constructed residence

Post Script: Now is the best time to schedule your kitchen remodel for the holiday season.

Editor: Lisa Kriedeman, Project Manager

I S L A N D A R C H I T E C T S , I N C.

D R E X P A T T E R S O N A I A T O N Y C R I S A F I A I A

7632 HERSCHEL AVENUE LA JOLLA, CA 92037

tel: 858-459-9291 fax: 858-456-051 email: ia@islandarch.com web site: www.islandarch.com