3 minute read
The Only Thing Missing is Chocolate
David Coulson is a local certified Built Green design builder. He has a staff of 25 that have built through the island for over 20 years.
Well, actually, the millwork is so yummy in this waterfront bedroom that you could almost eat it. This was a very special renovation for some very special people.
For starters, they needed accessibility to every single thing as the husband was wheelchair bound and stubborn.
That meant he wanted independence and the ability to go from his fully accessible sports car to the beach and load himself by winch and cable into his kayak to tour the bay, all ‘unassisted’. Did I say stubborn or did I just mean he was on a mission?
And then be married to a beautiful wife with equally as much vigor and determination, this love couple are the first thoughts to come to mind at Valentine’s.
It seemed now, our mission was to make this happen. You see the strong seamless connection to the outdoors. I normally advise against decks off master bedrooms as they never get used. But in this case, everything in life is appreciated to the last detail. So alas, the code requires a step at each door for rain infiltration, so we installed interlocking Brazilian hardwood IPE deck tiles over the vinyl deck and shimmed them up to meet the threshold. Thanks to Nils at Westwind Hardwoods. Paired with the flawless Pella Doors with zero thresholds, the wheelchair could glide from room to room, inside to outside, down a series of gardens paths and into his kayak lift. Yes, unassisted and at Olympic speed.
An additional fixation for them both was tidiness and a place for everything and everything in its place. This was no surprise to us. So behind the fireplace wall you will see we kept it flat and open for ventilation, is the walk-in or wheel-in closet.
Many shoe cubbies multiple drawers and on smooth running tracks for every occasion. Our Daryl did a masterful job of all this millwork out of our shop. I am also a not a big fan of sloping vaulted ceilings preferring higher flat ceilings and tray ceilings with strong horizontal lines, so both this fireplace feature and wall cap continue that strong horizontal established by the most important exterior ocean view wall of windows and doors.
And just for a bit of powdering, we of course have the adjacent bath for her (note the in mirror lighting for perfectly lit reflection, all fixtures from Splashes, thanks Jennifer) and separate shower room for him with easy barn door access and a floor that slopes in just one direction to a linear drain.
Note, I learned something here. The client would stay at many a so-called accessible hotel suite only to find the shower with a drain in the center and all slopes of the floor to the center. Try to balance a four wheeled chair on that concave slope some time. The result with this project was flawless with a gentle slope to the entire room to a linear drain for very safe and easy operation and use.
The open air and spacious shower room allowed for easy use while staying seated or allowing transferring oneself to a shower bench for long warm soaks.
All four rooms including adjacent office and laundry were tied together with large format porcelain tiles from End of Roll for a smooth and waterproof ride throughout. I think it was even skid proof for the adventurous one in the house.
Build something like this for your partner and she will remain your valentine forever I’m sure.
Images courtesy Tony Colangelo Photography
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