Herman Miller blog: Lifework » heather john’s garage conversion

The Garage Conversion Continues

Heather John — Sun, 30 May 2010 01:04:22 +0000

The Edison Bulb is the lighting equivalent of a 4-inch Christian Louboutin pump. A light is made for lighting. A shoe is made for walking. Neither the Edison nor Louboutin achieves its design function all that well. (Louboutin himself once told me that some of his shoes were made simply for wearing in bed.) However, both objects are brilliant at being beautiful. More on Louboutins another time, but let’s focus on how pretty these simple MIT Cage lights are from Schoolhouse Electric, in matte bronze and hanging from the pitched ceiling by a simple brown twisted cord. You can find the carbon-filament Edison bulbs at specialty lighting stores, where the clerk is likely to roll his or her eyes when you ask for them. But your eyes will thank you not only for the very soft, calming glow these bulbs cast but for their sheer beauty.

The Garage Conversion: Storage

Heather John — Fri, 28 May 2010 14:49:06 +0000

I love magazines, and I hold onto my favorites as if they were antiquarian books. I can always find inspiration leafing through a back issue of Vogue or Tatler, and I consult my library of back issues of Bon Appétit, Gourmet and Saveur almost daily for reference. I stocked up on these handsome Knuff magazine files at Ikea (two for $9.99) made of birch plywood. You can stain or paint them, but I love how they look untreated.

Heather’s Garage Conversion

Heather John — Wed, 26 May 2010 17:08:09 +0000

What was the most challenging aspect to the remodel? Hands down, the garage doors. We live in one of the most historically intact neighborhoods in the country, and so when selecting doors, it was crucial to preserve the visual integrity of our 1920s cottage (yes, 1920s qualifies as “historic” in Los Angeles). But try finding a good-looking carriage door that doesn’t cost the moon and stars for your garage. It’s harder than you think!

So our contractor, Billy Hartman, built it. He had a welder make a metal frame, which he then covered with wood. I ordered some cast-iron straps and pulls from House of Antique hardware. And for paint, the color idea came to me while I was sitting on our front steps getting ready to go for a long run to clear my head. Slate blue! The color is Benjamin Moore Affinity #495 Azores. The dreamy cream trim around the door is a custom color and we will be repainting all the wood trim on the house this gorgeous hue next month. Also, the dingy Navajo White currently on the exterior stucco will also be repainted next month in a heavenly warm gray. And so the love affair with paint continues…

Heather’s Garage Conversion

Heather John — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 19:05:29 +0000

Not even the rain that is drenching Southern California can put a damper on my spirits today. Thanks to our awesome contractor, Billy, we beat the rain and got the framing finished before the storm hit. I have office walls! And a generous new storage space at the back of the garage. The weather over the next few days will dictate how quickly the drywall goes up.

And the first sunny day we see, Billy’s crew will be fabricating new carriage doors for the front of the garage. From there we can move onto my true passion: paint.