Architects and Designers: Who does what and how do they work together?
The field of home building and remodeling has a clear path from design to construction, then on to āthe finishes,ā and lastly, the furnishings. After the initial design plans are complete, architects can and often do play a role throughout the construction of the project. But, when do interior designers [...]
Arana’s Bay Area Home Services Buyer’s Guide 2023
Welcome to our list of trusted colleagues in the home services, contracting services, and building and remodeling industry! Our team has personally vetted these providers in our two decades of serving with or beside them for our shared clients. We hope that this guide is a resource for you, our [...]
Then and Now: Buestad Builds an Alameda Civic Gem
Based in Alameda, Buestad Construction has proudly contributed to the growth of local community resources for 75 years. This work included building a new Alameda Public Golf Clubhouse in 1958. In the striking facility, ānatural building materials were left exposedā which ānot only reduced construction costs but achieved an eye-pleasing [...]
Alameda Architectural Walking Tours: Wander, Learn, and Adore on Foot
You may be surprised to learn that there are no "Victorians" in Alameda. We are as guilty as anyone, talking about homes in our portfolio (in Alameda and other parts of the Bay Area) and using that term. According to historian Dennis Evanofsky, who regularly leads architectural walking tours in [...]
Color(s) of the Year 2023
What is the āColor of the Yearā and why is it relevant? Is there just one? Under the heading of nothing is as simple as it sounds, there are multiple answers to these questions. Color of the Year, as announced by the Pantone company annually in December, is a relatively [...]
Anatomy of a Victorian ā The Not So Secret Symbolism of Decoration
As painting contractors, we revere the inspiration of the architects responsible for the many historical and modern styles of housing in the Bay Area. In particular, we are awed by Victorian-era homes. While painting these beauties, we feel that we get to reopen the channel for whatever inspiration was brought [...]
Top 10 Home Interior Maintenance Tips for Summer
It's summertime, and this list, which we originally wrote in 2021, is still a great resource, so we are sharing it with you again! In addition, our friends at Porch.com offered us their summertime maintenance tips article, and we thought it was worth sharing bonus tips from that blog with [...]
Honey Homes Simplifies the Handyman Relationship
As anyone lucky enough to find the right person knows, a really talented and trustworthy handyman can be hard to find! The idea for Honey Homes came to company founder Vishwas Prabhakara soon after he and his wife purchased their home in Lafayette in 2020. Inspired by the challenge of [...]
Organizing Tips for Your Home
These days, even the famous Marie Kondo admits that staying on top of clutter is a difficult job and sometimes itās okay to live with a little chaos. However, if you are wanting to clear your space because you have an interior paint job coming up or are preparing to [...]
Designer’s Favorites: Quinn Morgan on White Interiors
We recently interviewed a number of prominent Bay Area interior designers on their favorite shades of white for painting interiors. In this post, Quinn Morgan weighs in. (To return to the introduction and access links to other designers' interviews, click here.) Quinn Morgan (www.quinnmorgandesign.com): Benjamin Mooreās Capitol White, Simply White, [...]
