2000s

Sipan Residence
Master Bath Remodel
2008 | (Fletcher Hills) La Mesa, CA

This master bathroom was a lot of fun for me. The homeowner had very specific ideas as to what materials and overall look she wanted in this room, but no idea how to rearrange the old bathroom to accomplish her goals. The original photos show the original condition of this 1930's vintage bath. The key to the plan was rearranging the bath so there were no fixtures on the outside window wall. One of the two existing windows was actually covered up in a dead space when someone had added the shower some time in the distant past.

Tucker Residence
Master Bath Remodel
2006 | (Mt. Helix) El Cajon, CA

The master bath was enlarged by integrating space form the original bedroom closet area. A new larger closet area was added as part of a new room addition. This larger bath area allowed us to create a separate toilet room and making to main part of the bath large enough to have a separate sit down vanity area on the opposite wall of the two sinks.

Pierce Residence
Mission Style Cherry Kitchen
2007 | South Park

Great care was taken during this project to make sure the new kitchen, office, and adjoining room cabinetry fit in with this South Park Mission Style home. The kitchen was rearranged to create more usable counter space and storage while tying into the existing cabinets in the dining room that pass thru into the kitchen and an existing bookcase in an area re-purposed as an office, with a small drop down table that doubles as a breakfast area. This table has been used by me many times and was originally published in "Better Homes and Gardens" in the late 1980s.

Turchin Residence
Home Office for Two With a View
2007 | Fletcher Hills

This home was built with a very small office or potential maid’s quarters located next to the garage and hallway that leads to the laundry room and kitchen. It was a very long and narrow hall. The clients wanted to have an office in which both the husband and wife could have a workstation. The solution was to remove the wall between the office and hallway to create a larger more comfortable room that still acted as a path to the laundry and kitchen, but was now large enough to create a very comfortable office for two.

Tucker Residence
Kitchen & Walk-In Pantry Remodel
2006 | (Mt. Helix) El Cajon, CA

When this custom home was originally built a little over 20 years ago, Dan helped designed the kitchen and supplied the generic oak cabinets for this home. When the homeowner undertook a major addition and remodeling of the home in 2006, they called Dan to help with the kitchen remodel, pantry, wet bar, new bedroom, hall storage cabinets, and master bath remodel portions of the project. Jan Tucker, an accomplished interior designer, had very definite ideas as to materials she wanted to use and had very specific storage and work flow needs. This clients needs and vision were captured successfully with Dan's ability to listen and communicate then use his space planning, technical knowledge, and attention to detail.

Weimar Residence
Unconventional Corner Kitchen Remodel
2006 | Tierrasanta

I love the challenge of making a small kitchen more functional. In my opinion, it’s a far more challenging task than designing a big kitchen with lots of space available. This kitchen was no exception, and I hope you agree that my solution not only added a unique look and focal point, it most importantly made this kitchen function as well as possible for the space it had available.

Umekubo Residence
Euro Style Bath Trio Remodel
2005 | Bonita

This was the second major project we did for this Bonita Family. This project included 3 bathrooms, and a laundry room remodel. The Master Bath was done first, then the other two baths and laundry room were done concurrently. Two of the baths and the laundry kept the same “classic white painted cabinet” look we used in the kitchen for their first remodel.

Miyamoto Residence
Bright and Functional Kids Bath
2005 | Bonita

This is the second project we did for this young couple. We did their master bath as soon as they bought this home. A few years later, when they were expecting their first child, they called to focus on this kid’s bath, with the priority to get it done well before the expected due date.

Jagoda Residence
Contemporary Master Bath Makeover
2005 | Carmel Valley

As you can see from the photos, this bath is open to the master bedroom with no door to close and the wall between the two rooms does not extend all the way to the ceiling, leaving the air space in the main area with shower completely open to the bedroom. This is a great mechanical advantage when it comes to the air in this bath holding water — the air volume is so big there are few instances where the air can get super saturated. The client had lived with this basic configuration for decades and felt no need to improve the room’s ventilation or add a heater as we do in many projects that have more closed off air spaces.

Arrieta Residence
Kitchen, Entry, & Living Room Remodel
2004 | El Cajon , CA

The main criteria in this homes remodel was to remove a large wall separating the kitchen from the Formal Dining room and Living room to make one Great Room. As you can see in the photos opening these rooms up to one another allows a great deal more light to flow into each area. This is now a great area for entertaining friends and family.

Borgia Residence
Timeless Maple & Black Hub Kitchen
2004 | Solana Beach

The task here was to remodel the kitchen in such a way that it became the hub of this family’s active lifestyle. The kitchen was situated in the center of the home, surrounded by the living room, dining room, breakfast nook which led to the patio, and the family room that also had access to the patio. The clients wanted anyone working in the kitchen to stay connected to everyone in the family room. To maximize the connection between the two rooms, we opted for the unusual solution of moving the sink into the island so anyone working at the sink would also be facing the family room and TV. This island sink, counter, and cabinets are the center of this kitchen, and in turn the central hub of the home’s common areas. We accented the island with pendant lights for decoration as well as recessed down lights for function.

Blane Residence
Great Room Kitchen & Baths Remodel
2004 | La Jolla, CA

This was a major home interior remodel in which we had to remove two adjoining bearing walls to open up the large great room area just off the kitchen. This home is now ready for lots of entertaining that this client does. The backyard and patio are now an accessible part of this area after adding the large sliding glass doors you see in the photos. The kitchen is fully equipped with all the features to open up dead corners and get the most out of the cabinets and countertops.

Miyamoto Residence
Summer Flame Stone & Glass Bath
Complete Master Bathroom Remodel
2003 | Bonita

This young couple’s first project when they moved into this home was to redo the master bath and closet. They really valued my suggestions regarding creating a functional bath. We incorporated all my basic components while helping them create a space uniquely tailored to their own sense of style and design. This project was a fun one, particularly the task of creating the walk-in shower for two, Which we accomplished by installing two independent shower systems, one fixed showerhead on one side of the shower and the other an adjustable hand held on the opposite side of the shower.

Umekubo Residence
Traditional Antique White Kitchen
Kitchen Remodel to Update 1960's Home
2003 | Bonita

This client was referred to me by a family friend, as most of my clients are, and was looking to simply upgrade and replace all the existing kitchen components. In regard to layout changes, the Wife could not imagine any modifications that could be made to make the kitchen more efficient. When I suggested considering a few minor placement changes for the sink, range, and fridge, she showed a great deal of resistance. As I do with all of my clients, I explained why the changes would make the kitchen more usable in extensive detail to give her the necessary information and context to make an educated and informed decision, and asked her to simply think about it for a few days before she finalized her decision. After talking to her grown children, one of which was a successful professional chef, she not only embraced the changes I had suggested, but added on other changes the family chef offered as well. To this day, whenever I see her she reminds me how much she likes the changes we made to her kitchen.

Jagoda Residence
Sleek Modern Red Cherry Kitchen
2003 | Carmel Valley

This project started as a kitchen remodel, but with change orders grew in scope to include a new family room entertainment center, revamped wet bar, entryway flooring, and fireplace facade & mantel. The homeowners were both looking towards retirement in a decade and wanted to do an upgrade for the 30 year old home that would markedly enhance their enjoyment of the home for years to come.

Gary Residence
Corner Sink Makes Small Kitchen Function
2003 | Rancho Bernardo

This client’s primary objective in updating this small 1950's kitchen was to try to get more counter space, particularly between the sink and cooktop, as this is every kitchen’s most utilized food prep and work area. The original builder, like most do, put the sink and cooktop almost right on top of one another in the left corner of this kitchen. Our primary layout change was to move the sink to the right and place it in the corner, still affording it a view out the window but no longer centered to the window. This change gave the client the work counter they were missing and made the kitchen much more functional.

Goodwin Residence
Master Bath to Private Patio
2001 | University City

This is the third major remodeling project we did for this client. The style is in keeping with the South American country look we created for them in their kitchen and home’s other core areas.

We removed a tile sunken tub and replaced it with the reconfigured walk-in step-down shower with recessed shampoo shelves and grab bar. Note the robe hooks and towel rings attached to the tiled post.

Fong Residence
Built-In Wok Kitchen
2000 | College Area

A dedicated high BTU gas commercial grade built-in wok was the unique element that became the focal point for the majority of the cooking done by this wonderful Chinese family. When they had us update their original 1950’s kitchen, this wok was at the top of their wish list. They did not want the wok attached to the main cooktop, but instead on its own with a higher BTU rating than was available at that time from residential wok cooktop add-ons. The small island that was added provided extra storage, but was primarily intended as the prep and serving area for the wok as it is situated directly between the wok and water supply, while also being only a step away from the fridge.