It opened with a decision to share space with a creative - that I’d hoped would bring inspiration to the site and heart. But we were a poor match. Together spent 9 months changing the house from a simple off-grid home to a shared statement of inspiration in materials, color. Steve influenced design in some areas , I was more involved in others, mostly we collaborated on design with the materials and contractors. But after he left (not far and we still shared pet-sitting duties) the potential for the artistic vision - fell away. My primary focus was the garden. Living alone wasn’t an issue but isolation is something else - 7 miles up a gravel road from Hwy 101. The four years at McNab were stressful. I liked a lot of it but I was bouyed when I made the decision to move. Again.
The original exterior...
Laying the infrastructure, water, electrical...
Which goes where...
Preparing the new roads...
New well, water tanks...
Three in place...
Road base, rolling, over the pipes...
The studio, framed...
The spark, Steve Fleitz...
Hardie board siding, prepping for color pattern...
I loved that bench...I didn't keep it up properly and it rotted...
Completed...garage surfaced with a custom colored stucco...
Entry, corrugation, commercial doors, some landscaping...
Wider view, with a sense of place...
Another angle...
I designed using various reclaimed aluminum pieces, for a garden gate...someone else welded...
Garden gate, done...
Screened in porch...
Porch, looking out...
From the back, dining room and porch...
Walkway, welcoming glow...
Framed. on a new slab.
Relative positioning...
Kitchen, framed. window removed, counter -level windows coming.
Vestibule, between the "public" side and the "private" side - installing these amazing doors...
Dining room, doors to deck - another pair of great doors...
Dining room, toward kitchen...
Dining, toward those doors, screened-in porch through the windows...
Guest bedroom, the one I used, the ceilings (here and elsewhere) are original old-growth redwood...
Same, other direction...
Guest bathroom...
Office, but could be a bowling alley! actually they are recovered bowling alley planks, much sanding to make level enough to walk on, steps up to main bedroom...
Toward kitchen and dining room from the living room...
Up to bedroom, kitchen - I love those laminated cabinet colors...
Have a seat...
Reclaimed wood wall, nook...
Three kinds of reclaimed wood for flooring, the installers had a time accepting the mixed materials (whaaa?)...
Main bath, stone basing, open shower...
Vestibule, commercial doors at each end, plywood wall, slate floor - sadly had to paint the doors...
Fritillaria affinis
Ducks visiting the entrance, they'd come right in if you let them...
Young 'uns, they were much more wary when they grew up...
Variety...
The previous owners had a huge patch of artichokes, love 'em...
Lion's Mane mushroom. found on site by my neighbor, who'd already eaten some, so I was comfortable cooking it up...
Ducks again. We started with quite a few, so this must be early on. They'd march all over the place...
Auspicious, double rainbow...
Helloooo! Virgina and Ann....
Not at home, but Pluto (Steve's) and Willa were a such pair! great shot of them waiting at the vet...
Young birds need a bit of warmth...
...or a perch...
Hope he's not thinking..."mmmm, duck dinner" we raised them from these bitty things. by the time of departure, there were three, two males and one female: not a good balance...
Pluto and Will stuffed into one bed...
After Pluto and Steve left, I hoped to give Willa a playmate, but Tasha here was haughty, not mean, but more dominant than either Pluto or Willa, but also a lovely...
Welcome! Terry and Dean...
Fruits and vegetables of my labor...
Do I need a caption?...
Rainbows everywhere...
Haemanthus on the deck...
Haemanthus bloom...
The pond. it had some tiny fish (what were they called? mosquito fish?) so I got some goldies to stock it...
Boating...
...and those few fish, it took a couple years, but they became a school...
The duck was prolific. here I counted 20 eggs!...
Tree frog in a cymbidium pot...
We started with some guineafowl, supposed to be protective of the chickens and ducks, but they. are. noisy!...
...and eventually - MANY fish...
Duck. pond. studio...
Time for a walk...the pygmy goats and dogs move in line on the narrow trail...
The coop...
During construction the Airstream was the only kitchen, and bedroom until the studio was completed...
The view?...