Retro, modern, eclectic, colorful and unexpected, Thomas Welles — owner of TG Architecture — has blended old and new together in surprising ways in his 1930s garage turned office + guest suite. We’ve never seen a space quite like this before — if you pull all the palettes apart, it “shouldn’t” work. But Thomas is a pro: His choices are so artful, that the space turned out off-the-beaten-track perfect. We love it!
We first discovered Thomas’ unique space when he emailed us about using a vintage fan grille from the stash of NOS Emerson Pryne vent fan grilles from House of Fans (update: all stock now gone)in his kitchen. However, when we saw a few glimpses his cottage, we wanted to see the whole thing.
Thomas initially wrote:
Pam,
Thanks for the compliment. First I have to say that I love your blog! I have read it for several years now, and it truly has morphed into a repository of knowledge of early/mid century craftsmanship.
This is a brand new efficiency sized kitchen that I designed for this space, which is a 1930’s garage that I converted to be a flex space (my office/ rec. room/ garden pavilion/ guest house). We just call it “The Cottage”.
I had purchased the Emerson Pryne fan cover when your story first ran about them being available through House of Fans. Back then, I was dying to contribute a picture to the original post. but construction was just starting on converting an old garage to a guest house, and now it is just finishing up.
[Editor’s note: There still are some Emerson Pryne fan covers — in two sizes — left. See this story. And note: A reader subsequently pointed out that these fans may not be specified for installation above a cooktop; so check specifications of the various models of fans for guidance on where exactly they can be installed. Also check your local building etc. codes.]
I had also purchased a Nutone chromed knob but lost it during construction, so the standard Plastic Broan knob is on there temporarily. The larger Broan knob is starting to grow on me, and I am thinking of getting it chromed.
If you look closely, there are a number of other products that you have featured in your blog installed in this little kitchen.
We pounce with questions for Thomas:
… The cabinet maker said he had fun making these
because all he does now is the same
TV show inspired greige/white,
full overlay, granite topped cabinets.
I had a cabinet maker build the cabinets. The smaller the kitchen, the more it makes sense to custom build the cabinets to take advantage of every inch of space. I normally would be okay with pre-manufactured cabinets (provided they could do the same design/layout) because of the cost.
Actually the cabinet maker said he had fun making these because all he does now is the same TV show inspired greige/white, full overlay, granite topped cabinets. The base cabinets were sanded smooth, have a couple coats of paint (spray applied) and a topcoat of high gloss clear. The wall cabinets and shelves are walnut with a satin clear coat. The star shaped vent design in the sink base was based on some vintage atomic starburst laminate I have on my kitchen wall in the main house.
That is a heated concrete floor, and the color comes from an acid stain with a sealer. Triple S Chemical Products – Weathered Copper.
I am currently starting my own business after working almost 20 years for larger firms. I will be focusing on single family and small multi-family homes, and small commercial in the San Francisco Bay Area. My office will be in this space, which is on the side of my house here in San Bruno.
A quick background: I started working on single family houses when I very young, having come from a family that has a small real estate business. After getting my education in Boston, I worked for architecture firms, initially focusing on historic rehab. That focus changed over the years to low-income multi-family housing, although I have also worked on everything from airports to high rises. After my daughter was born, all my priorities changed and l wanted to work for myself on smaller projects. Going back to my roots, as they say.
Analyzing this space
- He’s repeated shapes like the circles in the windows, spun acrylic light fixtures, and NOS Emerson Pryne fan grille cover.
- He’s repeated colors, such as the vivid bright yellow on the exterior door, kitchen cabinets, tile, patio furniture, and bathroom sink.
- He’s even been able to skillfully blend five different wall surfaces in this small space: plain painted wall, reclaimed wood wall (which was original to the space, not added), wallpapered wall, tiled wall and laminate wall — by using color. Though all of the wall treatments differ greatly, they all have grey and white in them, which helps mixing them together feel intentional. The grey of the weathered wall blends into the grey and white of the dandelion wallpaper, which blends into the white and grey laminate wall, which blends into the white painted walls and tile with grey grout.
- Even the patterns that Thomas uses relate to each other — both are dandelions. And did we mention how much we love that Thomas used laminate on a wall all the way up to the ceiling? Amazing!
Thomas’ cottage is also a study in textures and temperatures. Note:
- The rough texture of the reclaimed wood wall next to the smooth texture of the wood ceiling.
- The visual texture created by the wallpaper and laminate designs next to the texture of the clear spun acrylic lights.
- The warm wood window frames, cabinets and table near the industrial metal bathroom door and stainless steel refrigerator.
- The cool aqua floors against the warm yellow cabinets.
Everywhere you look, there are new ‘visual collaborations’ to see.
In one last email, Thomas added:
Thank you for making a story about the cottage, I had a lot of fun designing it; and while it is done to the point where we can use the space, there are still things to do (Isn’t that always the case?). I’m trying to find an appropriate exterior light fixture, and will be building some low, built-in bookcases under the two large windows. I am also torn on whether to paint the interior wood wall or leave it like it is… A wall like this is something you see all the time on those home improvement shows, and I normally hate it when I see designers add these indiscriminately. But in my case it was here originally. I figured I could leave it as-is for now, and make a decision later; but I have to admit that I kinda like it and would be just painting it just to buck the trend. I also have to tackle the landscaping. Please disregard the brown lawn; we are in the middle of a drought.
Thomas’ list of resources:
- New York Metal – aluminum countertop edging and cove molding
- Wilsonart – Kiwi – countertop laminate
- Abet Laminati – Serigrafia Longline – backsplash, wall and ceiling
- Practical Props – spun acrylic globe pendant fixtures
- Ceco Sinks – Little Corona – with hudee ring
- Emerson Pryne – exhaust fan cover
- Sanderson wallpaper – Dandelion Clocks
- Umbra – Stream – drawer pulls (now discontinued)
- Yellow bathroom sink — vintage enameled cast iron Kohler wall hung sink found at Building REsources in San Francisco. The sink was refinished to match yellow tile in the bathroom and the yellow cabinets.
- The bathroom faucet is Kallista – One series.
- Refrigerator from Summit – model FFBF181SSIM. Thomas says, “They manufacture commercial as well as residential refrigerators that are European styled. Small refrigerators (24” wide) that are decently styled are hard to find in the states, but are common in Europe. I was hunting for a narrow but tall, counter depth refrigerator. This one has 12.5 cubic feet of capacity and an ice maker.
Thomas, your space is a funky, creative retro modern eclectic work of art! Well done. What a great space to work and a fabulous getaway for guests. Thanks so much for sharing it with us!
Interested in working with Thomas?
Thomas is in the process of building his company website — we will add it to the story when it is up and running — and until then, you can email him at his work address twelles@tgarc.com.
Christy says
Thomas—the individuality of your design delights my eye!
Thanks for the extensive pictures.
Thomas says
Christy, thank you for the compliments.
susan says
Oh man. I want him to design a home for me! That’s marvelous and I love everything about it.
Thomas says
Thank you. If you live in the Bay Area and want to talk design, let me know.
susan says
Unfortunately I live on the east coast.
JanetCinNC says
Please forgive me if it’s there and I’ve just missed seeing it, but what is the source of those recessed ceiling fixtures in both the exterior overhang and the ceiling in front of the reclaimed-wood wall? They are similar to the ceiling fixtures in my bathrooms, one of which needs to be replaced. (It’s so broken, the previous owner actually used spackle to hold the cover to the ceiling.)
Your office space/guest house looks great!
pam kueber says
Janet, the info is not in there — I expect Thomas will pipe up with the answer, I’d like to know too!
Note, we did this story a few years ago — https://retrorenovation.com/2008/07/31/square-recessed-lighting-reproductions/
JanetCinNC says
Thanks for the link, Pam! I’m checking it out now.
pam kueber says
Cool. I will email Thomas also.
Thomas says
The fixture is from Nora Lighting. I have a couple pictures of them before installation that I will send to Pam. I painted the bezel of the exterior ones to match other metalwork. I used 110v housings and installed screw type dimmable LED bulbs, since the company doesn’t offer LED variants.
pam kueber says
Thanks, Thomas. Greedy: Can you post the links to the Nora lights — (are housings and diffusers purchased separately) you used? I am having trouble finding them on their website. THANK YOU!
Thomas says
Pam,
Yes, the housing is purchased separately from the trim (diffuser), and these fixtures are very inexpensive.
The housing:
http://www.noralighting.com/Product.aspx?&pid=8346
The finish trim:
http://www.noralighting.com/Product.aspx?&pid=8365
pam kueber says
Thank you, Thomas!!
JanetCinNC says
Thank you, Thomas! I need to see if they have the size I need. And thanks, Pam, for emailing Thomas for the info!
Carolyn says
Well…I see some problems with this office/cottage – how do you tear yourself away to go “home”? And how do you get the guests to go home?
Tiny houses (essentially camper trailers) have been in the news a lot the last few years but this is what I think of as a tiny house. Maybe Thomas will base his low-income housing business on this down the line? Or Elder Suites (when Mom or Dad can’t live alone but you don’t want them in a home so you build a little place for them in the backyard a la “The Southwest Corner”)? Challenging himself or others to do something similar using ReStore/thrift/ castoffs?
I look forward to seeing more of his inspirations.
Thomas says
Ha! We haven’t had that problem yet!
Yes, I built my career around designing/providing low-income homes, and it’s always been a real challenge to provide spaces that the occupants would feel proud living there given tight design/construction budgets. While this space is not for everybody and there was money spent on a few products that are higher end, I tried to get as much bang-for-the-buck as possible. A number of products in the space are used, reclaimed or were discounted, but one cannot get around the base costs for structure, plumbing, electric, waterproofing, etc…
Tracy says
Stunning. What is the wood used on ceiling?
Thomas says
Tracy,
The material on the ceiling is not wood, it is Phenolic Resin Panel, and is made out of stacks of paper, bound in resin, and baked into a solid panel in a press. It is made for exterior use primarily, and is impervious to the elements and dimensionally stable. The brand name is Trespa and the finish is called Pacific Board.
pam kueber says
Bakelite!
Thomas says
Wouldn’t that be great! Sheets of bakelite that you could use as raw material for whatever you want!
(I just noticed in the picture that I have a couple pieces of blue tape marking where light fixtures could go over the counter. Now that I pointed them out to everyone… disregard and pretend they are not there.)
pam kueber says
The earliest laminates were kraft paper impregnated with phenolic. That was actually what I was thinking about….https://retrorenovation.com/2013/06/04/how-laminate-is-made/
Diane in CO says
AND Couroc! That’s a phenolic resin as well.
pam kueber says
I feel so smart taking about chemistry stuff.
Jeneta says
So cool. I love it! Great use of color, design and placement.
Thomas says
Janeta,
Thank you. This space is very much a design experiment, and I’m happy with the way it turned out.
Gretchen in Greenwood says
The tile in the bathroom has an art-deco vibe- it is my favorite part of the space. This is a fantastic showcase for Thomas’s design skill- I’m sure he’ll be getting many clients once they see what he can do!
Thomas says
Gretchen, thank you for kind words. Yes, the bathroom tile is art-deco inspired. This space is not really anchored in one era, rather is a collection of early-mid 20th century styles. I think spaces (even small ones) can reflect the passage of time and can show some evolution in design; even if everything was built new in 2015. Since my main house is a Spanish Mission style and built in the early 30’s, that was the starting point that drove what styles should realistically be used for the cottage.
stacia says
What a fun space. I also like the mixture of metals. Chrome and brass and stainless and copper and galvanized and probably more. I find that most new things are stainless or at least silver, and many retro things are brass, so mixing it up with several different metals makes them all work.
Thomas says
Stacia, I am not wedded to matching every single piece of metal to one another, they can all live in their separate worlds. Cabinet hardware finish does not need to migrate to door hardware, light fixture finish, etc…
I do try to stay away from brushed nickel, as it is EVERYWHERE these days, but sometimes you can’t avoid it. Hell, I have brushed nickel items in my house because they were inexpensive, and looked nice otherwise.
In this space I have polished nickel and raw (un-laquered) brass. I want the brass to develop a natural patina.
Mary Elizabeth says
Thomas, you have created a wonderful space. Speaking of shape echoes, did anyone mention the coffee table and the kitchen peninsula? Thank the carpenter for putting the little tip-out trays inside the sink cabinet. (What do you call that panel that traditionally has a vent in it?) My husband and I have built that in most of the sink cabinets and vanities that we have designed, and they are very useful for storing away cleaning brushes, tooth brushes and toothpaste, and the like.
I’ll bet the carpenter did enjoy this project. He could be creative, too!
And don’t apologize for your brown grass. Thank you for not being a water-hog in the time of drought. We live in the East, but we have a well and never water our lawn. We’re big believers in planting drought resistant grass and other plantings and letting the yard take care of itself, as the season dictates.
Thomas says
Mary,
Yes, the coffee table was moved into the space from my living room for the photo, but unfortunately won’t live there unless I find a decent replacement. Off to the estate sales!
I gave the cabinet maker free rein in the vent design and that is what he came up with. I love it.
Robbie Kendall says
Dear Mr. Welles,
Please leave the wall as is as it provides a beautiful contrast to the other elements. As stated above, “The rough texture of the reclaimed wood wall next to the smooth texture of the wood ceiling,” gives this smallish space a good anchoring weight. As the ‘new’ sheen of the ceiling wears off, the textural difference between the wood surfaces will remain as the tonal difference diminishes for the better.
Thank you for creating such an inspiring space,
Robbie Kendall
Thomas says
Robbie, Thank you for your thought regarding the wood wall. Like I said, I’m torn; I like it, but because it seems to be the current trend on TV, it can be used to date the space to 2015. I’m definitely leaning towards keeping it as-is, because the fact is that it is a nice counter-balance to the other elements in the space.