Modern Fire Spaces...

Spark makes beautiful fire spaces. Linear, clean and alluring. These are just too beautiful not to talk about. We’ve all seen them in magazines, but did you consider you could have one in your house? It might inspire your next remodel… or why not build a whole new house around it? That’s not the craziest idea. Spark fires are minimalist, modern and very elegant. They really can fit in almost any setting, but really shine in a highly designed environment with contemporary overtones. Spark has outside models that could change the atmosphere of your patio...

Ultra Grip Green Primer...

Ultra Grip Multi Purpose Primer. Though I just discovered a write up on this product, and haven’t tried it yet, it looks like one of those products that  could carry the weight of “making the job”.These are the kinds of products everyone should have in their arsenal for home projects. Dunn-Edwards Corporation is the manufacturer. They claim this primer is suitable for interior and exterior surfaces including wood, masonry, metal (non ferrous), drywall, and fiberglass, it even sticks to old enamel paint. It’s 100% acrylic and functions as a stain...

American Clay Earth Plaster...

American Clay Earth Plaster is a wonderful, earthy wall finish that can span the style range from Tuscan rustic to modern. We’ve used this product on several projects this past year and it’s just a lovely material. It works well for remodels and new construction and really adds a touch of class no matter what the architectural style of your home. Clay used as a building material has been around for ages. In this case, with the refined application techniques, it has such a nice ‘hand’ to the finish, and it has a living and organic quality that...

Peace Industry Felt Rugs...

The best parts of building a new home or finishing a remodel are the final touches that make it feel like home. It’s hard to resist a perfectly suited hand-made rug to put the period at the end of your project. Peace Industry out of San Francisco hand makes small batches from 100% lambswool and biodegradable vegetable dyes. These rugs are chemical free and fair trade and uniquely beautiful! These rugs are every thing ‘green’ should be. The story of their business is wonderful! Here’s a little quote: “Melina and Dodd Raissnia arrived in Tehran...

R-ETRO Insulation Retrofit...

Quadlock is a company that specializes in building insulation systems. I’ve personally used one of their early generation ICF’s and found it to be a pretty good product with a few glitches that have since been corrected. I just read about a new product they’re offering, R-ETRO insulation system designed specifically to be used in retrofit / remodel applications. The foam used is an inert Expanded Polystyrene (EPS). EPS is resistant to mold, and impervious to micro-organisms since it has no nutritional value to support plant life. It doesn’t...

Crystal Cabinets...

One of our favorite, beautifully crafted, consistent, durable products we carry in our showroom is Crystal Cabinets. We install them on nearly all our projects that require cabinets or custom built in entertainment centers. Crystal is located in Minnesota and has manufactured handcrafted cabinetry for over 60 years. Crystal has evolved into the #1 Custom Cabinet Manufacturer with the custom cabinet market, and for a good reason! Whether it’s for a remodel or new construction, Crystal offers cabinets that are perfect for the application and the budget. The styles...

Mid Century Bathroom Remodel...

As the marketing person at The Artisans Group, part of my job is to coordinate photo shoots of our projects. Yesterday,  I had the opportunity to go  to a lovely bathroom remodel project we recently completed out on Cooper Point, with a 180 degree  view of Bud Bay.  The home originally started out as a cabin sometime in the early part of the last century, some time around the mid century the cabin was remodeled into a home with definitive modern architectural elements. Clean lines, large low pitched roof planes, pleasing geometry. The current homeowners had been living...

Our Own Passive House Consultant...

We received notice yesterday of news we’ve longed to hear… our  lead building designer, Tessa Smith, passed her grueling exams to achieve status as a Passive House consultant! Tessa is one of fewer than 300 certified Passive House Consultants in the United States. Tessa has been with The Artisans Group for 4 years; she’s been consistently producing award-winning remodel and new construction designs for us.  Her designs speak for themselves. Tessa has a deep background in sustainable design, and is very much a part of the new generation of designers that...

Natural Poplar Bar Siding Update...

Yesterday I posted about a company in N.C that harvests and sells natural poplar bark building materials. Within a few hours, I heard from Bark House, another company that specializes in poplar and tulip tree shingles and other natural architectural features made of tree parts. I looked over their website, it’s hosts a lot of good and interesting information there not to mention an excellent gallery of projects. This is an interesting snapshot from their website: Highland Craftsmen Gets Nod as Cool Product from GreenBuild 2009 Alex Wilson of BuildGreen.com had...

Natural Poplar Bark Siding...

Poplar Bark Siding It’s obvious when I think about it, though my only exposure, until now, to bark siding has been with staged replica “native” structures viewed in a museum, and my own first building project when I was eight. In both instances, I suspect the siding selection was based in resource availability, necessity, and in my case the typical age-related insolvency that leads all eight year olds to creative solutions. Plus, it looked really cool and kept the rain out. I just found this website that features natural poplar bark siding, Furniss...