passionate about home design
Custom steel frames, designed to fit with heavy duty caster wheels, and topped with 8/4 (one and a half inch thick) walnut tops with spruce splines
The dining table seats 8
Dining table frame
The “X” Bar !
Bar height, walnut top with spruce splines
Game Table – this one is one and a half inch thick maple with walnut “butterfly” joints
Kitchen bar – maple with walnut
Supported with custom steel curved braces
Bar, Dining Table and Coffee Table
Design for custom steel arbor with castor wheels for outdoor dining. Fabric will be draped from the frame.
Permit Checklist
Permit requirements vary widely in different locations. Develop a list for your project – start by checking in with your local building department.
Remember the Building Department may only tell you part of the story. Research the following items and try to start putting a schedule together. My Builder 20 group often discusses permit issues. Jim in Wisconsin tells me he can get a permit in 5 days, while others of us suffer with months even years in the permitting process. In my local area building departments in Los Angeles, Santa Monica, Malibu, Ojai, Ventura County, City of Ventura, Santa Barbara and County of Santa Barbara all treat building codes and zoning regulations in different ways.
Access
Air Rights
Archaeologists
Bridges
CC&R’s (Private Restrictions)
Cell Phone Access
City Planning
City Zoning
Civil Engineers
Coastal Commissions
Continue reading “Get your Permit !”The Ojai abode of green builder Otis Bradley.
By Andrea Kitay—Photography by Gaszton Gal
Casa Verde, the two-acre Ojai spread that Otis Bradley and his family call home, is more than a play on words. Its name is a nod to the custom homebuilder’s passion for efficiency. The 3400-square-foot contemporary completed in 2008 is a result of Bradley’s determination to build an ecologically sound home, in keeping with his family’s laidback lifestyle.
Continue reading “Ventana Magazine Features Ojai Custom Home Builder – Green Home”Building in the City of Ojai is a fairly straightforward process. The town itself is quite small, only 4.4 miles, beyond those boundaries you are in the unincorporated area of Ventura County – a bit more challenging building process. Call us to help you navigate the building process.
Geography
Ojai is located at 34°26′57″N 119°14′48″W
The city is generally at 745 feet (227 m) above sea level.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 4.4 square miles (11 km2), of which only 0.35% is water, and the rest is land.
Ojai is situated in a small east-west valley, north of Ventura and east of Santa Barbara. It is approximately 15 miles (24 km) inland from the Pacific Ocean coast.
Since Ojai is lined up with an east-west mountain range, it is one of few towns in the world to have a “Pink Moment” occur as the sun is setting. The fading sunlight creates a brilliant shade of pink for several minutes on the Topatopa Bluffs, over 6,000 feet (1,800 m) above sea level at the east end of the Ojai Valley. Nordhoff Ridge, the western extension of the Topatopa Mountains, towers over the north side of the town and valley at more than 5,000 feet (1,500 m). Sulphur Mountain creates the southern ranges bounding the Ojai Valley, a little under 3,000 feet (910 m) in elevation. The Sulphur and Topatopa Mountains are part of the Transverse Ranges system.
The Ventura River flows through the Ventura River Valley, draining the mountains surrounding Ojai to the north and east and emptying into the Pacific Ocean at the city of Ventura. The Ventura River was once known for its steelhead fishing before Matilija Dam and Lake Casitas were constructed, eliminating habitat for this trout species.
The climate of Ojai is Mediterranean, characterized by hot, dry summers, sometimes exceeding 100 °F (38 °C), and mild winters, with lows at night sometimes below freezing. As is typical for much of coastal southern California, most precipitation falls in the form of rain between the months of October and April, with intervening dry summers.
Featured in “Traditional Home” with Interior Design by Bonesteel Trout Hall, and Architectural Design by Otis Bradley, this home was originally designed by Gerard Colcord. Colcord was a sought after Architect in Los Angeles known for his simple elegance in capturing homes with historical relevance. This particular home was owned by Harrison Ford for 30 years before the new owners put their own style on the home.
Beautiful walnut, hand made, slab dining table
The master bath – previously dark and very masculine, was opened up with a new light pallet.
A custom frosted glass “window” into the master shower to add light to a previously small dark shower
A beautiful antique piece can make a lovely powder room sink base
Elegant custom bar
The kitchen was completely gutted, enlarged and built new while keeping the original beaded inset cabinetry
Breakfast nook !
The master bath – previously dark and very masculine, was opened up with a new light pallet.
Are you interested in buying your own piece of earth? There’s nothing more fabulous than having a few acres of your own, and building your own place from the ground up. But, buying land, especially in highly regulated areas like California, can be a lot more risky than buying a home. These days of real estate disclosure for a home buyer have come a long way from the traditional law of “Caveat Emptor” (meaning buyer beware)! Land, however, does not have the same rules. I constantly hear stories like:
“I thought we were buying 80 acres, it turned out we got 65!”
“We had no idea this area was in an ancient landslide. Its almost impossible to build here.”
“We thought we got an amazing deal, $1m for 120 acres, but it turns out its going to cost another $1m to get to the pad before we can even think of starting the house.”
“We bought a small lot in town and it turns out we can’t get water service so we can’t build!”
Unfortunately there isn’t one place to get answers. Many local departments are involved and sometimes have conflicting information.
Here are 35 questions you can ask
Or you can get professional help – call me 310 963 7900.
Planning and Zoning
Proposed color scheme
Open up walls and ceiling
Before
Initial planning:
This is the existing plan – note the setback lines
Here are the areas where we might build – possibly moving garage forward to allow additional space behind the garage and space on the south end. This might work out nicely allowing us to keep the existing kitchen where it is – Savings ! – create a better flow.
September 20, 2018
View from Living area
Overview
Floor plan
New master bathroom
– New window
– fixed glass
– new sliding glass door
– floor drain
– tile all walls
Revised Kitchen
– partial open shelves and upper cabinets
Revised Kitchen # 2
Kitchen idea # 1
August 22, 2018
Here’s a plan – using existing structure as much as possible – keeping cost down …
Front View
Rear View
Overview of existing floor plan
Rebuilt new entry
Out with the old
A “Gut” remodel/restoration of a turn of the Century Spanish revival home located in Santa Monica.
The house was completely stripped to the “good” studs and rebuilt from the inside out. As is the case in Los Angeles,
rebuilding a home and bringing it up to current building code standard, requires building from the inside out. New foundations,
framing and mechanical systems create a new home.
Remodel/restoration of Spanish revival home
New pool house and custom pool with fountain
Complete “Chef’s style” kitchen
Unique open beamed ceiling
Moroccan tile
Plaster ceiling molding
Parts and pieces – the front gate and custom wrought iron.
Landscaping with large specimen trees being craned onto the site.
