Insect Screen - "Screenmobile"

Can you see the insect screen or its frame in this picture? Well, we looked for an absolutely minimalist modern look for this one.  To make it work we called in the professionals and were absolutely pleasantly surprised.  Screenmobile is a nationwide outfit offering a wide array of screen products.  We worked with David Winters of the Charlotte, NC, franchise.  Not only was he a blast to work with, and  to explore our minimalist, contemporary detailing, the execution of his work was also impeccable.  On all accounts we can only recommend him and his services.

In this project, we incorporated various aluminum framing products, the smalles of which was but 1"x1/2" in size.  The finish, a dark anodized bronze, worked beautifully with our dark steel structure, The "H" channels fit snuggle into the sandwich design of our post-and-beam members.  David's selection of structural pieces around the screened doors, the sreened doors themselves, and the pieces going against the brick walls of the house, worked perfectly with the simple modern look.  He worked wonders fitting large screen areas with small, next to non-existing, framing pieces. For the screen itself we picked a charcoal colored fiberglass product.
The end result was so perfect that we had to figure out how to keep our clients from walking into the screened areas. The view out was absolutely unencumbered.

"Screenmobile of Charlotte is the Nations #1 mobile screening and sunroom service, with over 100 locations nationwide. Serving the entire Charlotte Metro area, from Lake Norman to Rock Hill, Gastonia to Concord and all points in-between. Screenmobile offers the best in quality screening products and services to your door. We rescreen as well as fabricate new custom window screens, screen doors, porches and sunrooms."

manufacturer's info
manufacturer's info for builders

Ceiling, Wall Light - "Lock" by IKEA

This one has been one of our favorite stories about our design approach. Because we design and build our local projects, we can monitor the costs closely, while perfecting our modern and innovative design ideas through to very end of each creation. Here you can see a frosted acrylic counter that is multi-layered and holds drawers out of the same material.  Three young girls share this bath, their colorful hair-bows shining through, livening up the counter bringing playful, colorful moments to the design.  We developed the design of this counter through the project and had it manufactured at a local shop.  It was quite pricy, but became an absolute must for our clients.  To work with the circular stainless vessel sinks and the playfulness of the inhabitants, we thought we had to have a lot of differently sized circles "growing" over the walls.  The best fixtures and mirrors, we could find, where very, very, very cheap at Target and IKEA.  They were perfect, however.  Good design and a good products that work with it, do not hinge on a high price tag.

The Lights are called "Lock" and are sold at IKEA for $4.99 each!

"Frosted glass gives no-glare general light. Diameter: 10", Height: 4", Grounded, Hardwired installation, Light bulb sold separately. IKEA recommends SPARSAM low-energy bulb E26 11W. Base plate: Steel, Pigmented powder coating. Shade: Glass"

manufacturer's info

purcahse ($4.99)

LED Landscape Lighting - "1548BZ" by Hinkley Lighting

This light worked beautifully for the landscaping of a project of ours. It is installed with this peculiar angle and gives off a warm soft pool of light. With its 15" it does not intrude visually and yet offers a little pizzazz.

It comes in various finishes. We opted for the dark anodized bronze, so it wouldn’t be too fussy.

It is offered as a LED fixture, which is perfect for long distance runs in the yard. Normally low voltage has been not quite ideal for landscaping because the fluctuating voltage over long distances would constantly burn out bulbs. Not with this LED light. It takes the voltage changes without a problem and insures a long life. The low voltage makes installation, of course, quite easy.

This one is a keeper.

"Width: 1.75", Height: 15", Certification: c-UL-us Wet, Notes: Etched Acrylic Lens"

manufacturers' info

purchase ($138 was the price we paid)

LED Accent Light - "MiniDisc Light" by NSL

Okay tigers, we found quite a neat accent light that we were able to use outside for a modern addition and upfit of ours.  It is a LED light and therefore quite low on its energy usage.  We used it in stone steps and had out mason bore holes into the stone to receive the fixtures. We also installed it in a dark grey, smooth finish, concrete freestanding wall.  It come with a sleeve for these applications that we mounted in the form work of the concrete and behind the stone and had the low voltage cables run prior to pouring the concrete and installing the stone.  these disks come in different colors and also with and without a little nose, a scoop that points the light down. It was perfect for adding a few touches of light to a pathway and the front porch of our project

"Both cover and barrel are die cast aluminum for corrosion protection, strength, weight, and consistency of finish.  Each LED Driver can power up to 100 MiniDisc Lights by parallel wiring ("daisy chain") between fixtures. One wire completes chain. No custom cord required. NOTE: Use LW-18G-CL2 for all in-wall applications. Use LW-18G-BUR for all outdoor and burial applications"

manufacturer's info

purchase (we paid $43 per light)

Door Stop - "DSIX04" by Inox

Allright, so this is the wall mount door stop we found. Good price, hot look and quite sturdy. They are sold online, however, our local hardware store was able to give us the best price. They are made out of stainless steel and a tough rubber cap.

"Base 1 13/16" x Top 3/4" x 3 3/16"Projection"

manufacturer's info

purchase (we paid $15.86 at our local hardware store)

Door Hardware - "Stuttgart" by Emtek

This is a beautiful set of hardware we just installed. We ordered it through our local hardware store, but called up the manufacturer first to figure the right configuration. They provided us with the right item numbers to order.

Of course they come in different finishes and different details. we chose in this case square mounting plates and a satin nickel finish.

"These stylish door levers and rosettes are constructed of the highest quality materials and cast into spectacular modern designs. Lever and rosette assemblies are provided for both sides of the door. Each lever and rosette is hand polished and expertly finished. Available finishes are Satin Nickel, Polished Chrome, and Oil Rubbed Bronze."

manufacturer's info

purchase (we paid $58.50 at our local fan supplier)

Ceiling Fan - "Cirque" by Minka Air

Okay, we have to admit, we found another modern fan that works. We used this one, Cirque by Minka, for three children room's. The soft shapes reduced the children's aprehension against menacing rotary blades. The insets of the padels can be unsrewed. We are going to use this advantage to paint them several colors to match the rooms' decor. The fan comes with a fan control switch. The overall heihgt was surprisingly low and workes well with a 8' ceiling

"The cutting edge design of the MinkaAire Circue pushes boundaries, and rediscovers the artistic balance between art and function. The Cirque features six oval shaped blades, a simple round body, and a built-in halogen light fixture and comes with a full function wall mount remote control that replaces any normal light switch without the need for extra wiring. "

manfacturer's info

purchase (we paid $399.95 at our local fan supplier)