Thomas Odenwald Design and Lifestyle

At the same time we, Odenwald Construction, were building the Everett’s craftsman style home we also built a large, traditional barn on the property for Bruce Everett to use as his working art studio. The large interior space is respectful of what his, sometimes massive (up to 8×11 feet), oil paintings require. The space is designed well and even with its mass, the layout, scale and properly proportioned art keep it very inviting. 

For me Bruce Everett’s landscapes have a way of capturing the rural California that we love. Many of his newer paintings are local landscapes although it is obvious in Bruce’s previous work he has been inspired by similar terrains for a long time.  Whether it be his small plein airs or large masterpieces you are drawn into the images and you will leave in awe.    

Bruce Everett has been a professional artist (oil paintings) for over 40 years and has spent much of those years also as a college art professor.   His work has been exhibited in museums and galleries in New York, Los Angeles, throughout Southern California, San Francisco, Paris, Seattle, Oregon, Connecticut and Texas.  Bruce’s paintings are in numerous public, private and corporate collections.

Locally you can purchase and view some of Bruce’s art by arranging a private viewing at his studio (call or email through his website) or if you are in Southern California at the Craig Krull Gallery in Santa Monica.

For building or design questions please email thomas@occbuild.com.

Posted in Building Materials, Design, Projects
Tags: art, Barn, Bruce Everett, New Construction, Odenwald Construction, oil painting, Templeton

In 1998 we finished a French Farmhouse on Templeton’s Westside.  I have always admired the exterior elevations of the home and how it sits into the hillside.  The exterior and landscaping are immaculate and the interior just needs some minor updating on the finishes although it has been very well-kept.  Great buy. You can contact Lisa Lewis with Re/Max Parkside in Paso Robles for more info or see more details on the listing.

For building or design questions please email thomas@occbuild.com.

Posted in Design, Projects
Tags: For Sale, French Farmhouse, Odenwald Construction, Templeton, West Side

Last week I was invited back into Bruce and Patti’s home to be able to take some pictures of the house we built for them in 2007.  The Everett’s were wonderful clients. Moving from Southern California they had a passion for the craftsman style homes grew out of that area.  Architect Joe Elkins was able to transfer their vision into working drawings. 

Both Bruce and Patti work in the art world and were dedicated to details, color and being true to the style.  Updates were made with some material choices but, wherever practical, craftsman proportion and style was implemented.  We worked closely with the Everett’s to make sure the home fit naturally into the building site, had the craftsman influence throughout and most importantly felt like their home.  Thanks Bruce and Patti.

For building or design questions please email thomas@occbuild.com.

Posted in Building Materials, Design, Interior Design, Projects
Tags: Craftsman, Interior Design, New Construction, Templeton

At this week’s farmers market I found some beautiful zucchini flowers and great looking tomatoes.  For dinner I cut up some very thick smoked bacon and began cooking it in a sauté pan.  Then I added diced scallions and garlic.  Once cooked I set aside.  In the meantime I cut two medium-sized tomatoes into  1/4 inch cubes added some freshly graded Parmigiano-Reggiano and chopped Italian parsley.  I folded the bacon into the tomato mixture.  Kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste.  Make enough sauce to stuff the zucchini flowers and sauce the pasta.

To prepare the zucchini flowers leave zucchini attached and wash gently.  I removed stamen; then stuff generously being careful not to destroy the flowers.  In the same sauté pan I used to cook the bacon I added olive oil and returned to high heat.  Carefully place the zucchini flowers in the pan and do not disturb while cooking.

Add Trottole Pasta to salted boiling water.  Cook until done.

Plate the pasta generously covering in the sauce.  Using a spatula carefully plate the stuffed zucchini flowers. 

Enjoy.

Posted in Food and Wine, Uncategorized
Tags: bacon, Farmer's Market, Flowers, Pasta, tomato, Zucchini

Before Painted Cabinets and Wainscoting

When going into a renovation sometimes we do not need to replace the existing cabinets and woodwork.  Often, if the existing style is appealing, they might just need a facelift.   
   

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After Walnut Faux Finished Cabinets and Wainscoting

In this project we added new walnut cabinets to other areas of the house.  In the dining room the existing cabinets and woodwork was built well and we could work with the design but we just wanted to update them to match the renovated house.     

Faux Walnut Wainscoting

 We added a little age to the finish and when you enter the dining room it is very hard to tell that the wood is not stained.  The option of a faux finish can be a cost-effective alternative when renovating an area.  

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Painted and Aged Hutch

Sometimes a stained cabinet is not the look you are going for.  On this project we wanted to take a new built-in hutch and make it feel like a piece of furniture that has lived a little. All of these methods could also be applied to  existing outdated oak cabinets.     

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Painted and Glazed Kitchen Hood

Another great option is glazing.  Here the  cabinet has a light brushed on glaze and  a hang-up glaze has been applied to the edges of the details to make them pop.  As shown, there are many different solutions to every situation and it helps to know what your possibilities are before you begin a project.  

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 For building or design questions please email thomas@occbuild.com.

Posted in Building Materials, Design, Interior Design, Projects
Tags: Cabinets, Faux Painting, Glazing, Renovation, Woodwork

I often get asked by people if now is a good time to build even though the economy and housing are down. It might seem counterintuitive at first but the answer is a resounding yes.  Some of the advantages that are a result of our current economics are: low-interest rates, prices of building materials and labor, and a reduction in the total length of the project.

Interest Rates-  They are at historic lows.  The Fed is holding the interest rates low to help battle against the recession.  With America’s large national debt and the amount of money we, as a nation, keep spending; we are ripe for inflation.  Many predict that as the market recovers a rise in interest rates will follow.  What does that mean for you as a consumer?

• A move in interest rates from 5% to 6% adds 11.67% to your monthly mortgage payment on a 30 year loan or $188 a month on a $300,000 loan.
• A move in interest rates from 6% to 7% add 10.95% to your monthly mortgage payment on a 30 year loan or $197 a month on a $300,000 loan.
• A move in interest rates from 7% to 8% add 10.32% to your monthly mortgage payment on a 30 year loan or $206 a month on a $300,000 loan.

As you can see if the rates were to move from 5% to 8% the opportunity cost would be 36.70% or $591 a month for a $300,000 30 year loan. In other terms at 8% interest your monthly mortgage payment on at 30 year loan for $300,000 would be approximately the same as a $410,000 loan at 5%. Now with the interest rates low the same monthly mortgage payment on a 30 year loan for $300,000 at 5% would only be able to get you $219,500 if interest rates rose to 8%. This example shows how large of a part interest rates play into the amount of house you can get for your money.

Now banks have become much more reluctant to loan money (which by the results of what we have seen in the last couple of years is not such a bad thing). What that means is you will have to come up with more money down and they will tend to appraise the projects much tighter.

Price of Building Materials and Labor- Building materials in the volatile industries have gone down as the price of oil, steel and lumber have also fallen. Other materials have stayed level but have stopped rising like they once were.  I have also noticed with the downsizing of retail stores there deals out there.  Your contractor will have to pay more attention to your schedule than ever before though because retail outlets and suppliers are carrying less in inventory and manufacturers are taking longer in between production runs.  If you are not careful your job can be delayed while longer than typical lead times keep you from moving forward.

Labor has defiantly become more competitive and will continue to be as the market corrects itself by either more companies and employees getting out of the trades or demand rises.  The end result will be a stronger building industry as the market weeds out the weaker companies.

Reduction in the Total Length of the Project- Recently I have experienced a shortened building timeline.  The design process has been quickened with architects and engineers having lighter work loads, the permit process has shorted with such lower volume, and contractors are quicker to jobs.  As stated above, you will need to pay attention to your materials to aviod delays. 

For further questions about building on California’s Central Coast you can email me at thomas@occbuild.com.

Posted in Building Materials, Building News, Design
Tags: Building, Building Materials, Interest Rates, Labor, Permits, Time