Introducing... Flashbent!

After a year of interior design school and with some hearty instruction under my belt, I present to you Flashbent. We finally started our own company that not only provides interior design services, but also event planning/coordination, personalized web shoppes, and potentially more to come!

Simple logo that is clean and crisp.
Purposefully does not shout "interior design" since the company encompasses many fields.

We are a husband and wife team whose mission is to use the creative gifts God has given us to serve others (1 Peter 4:10). The name Flashbent is precisely that. Flash is to show or showcase. Bent is a natural talent or inclination. So Flashbent is to show our God-given gifts.

Specifically for Interiors, the goals of the company is to provide interior design and decoration services for residences in the Greater San Francisco Bay Area. This can include floorplan design, floorplan remodels,  color consultations, furniture selection/acquisitions, and furniture arrangement.

We also have our first real (as in not family) Interiors client in San Francisco!!! A huge thank you to my colleague (Anna) for recommending me! As the design process unfolds, I will post more about the color and furniture selections.

Stay tuned!

{Rashida}

Lighting Spec Sheet Project

Fundamentals of Lighting was an eye-opening class that I took in the Fall of 2012. I did not imagine how important lighting and layers of light was until this class. See my post entitled "Light it Up" about the layers of light.

For our final project, we were to design a lighting and switch plan for a young, single male in his thirties who designs custom motorcycles. He rents a city apartment that is a Live/Work space with a lot of exposed construction elements. His current furniture is Mid Century Modern and the lighting fixtures should coordinate with that style.

We received the floorplan and our teacher set us loose.

These were all of the decorative, task, and display lighting fixtures that I used in the design. Also included were the ambient lighting fixtures, which were basically can lights.

I used multiple layers of light in many of the spaces and developed a lighting plan with a lighting legend:

 Each symbol corresponds with a specific lighting fixture listed on this "Spec Sheet".

For details on the the light fixtures, such as photos and other lighting dimensions, I put together a Lighting Fixture Cut Sheet with all of the manufacturer documentation.

All in all, this project definitely taught me how intricate it is to put together a lighting plan, but it also showed me just how many fixtures were needed to have a well-balanced lighting plan in a project. It was very eye-opening.

{Rashida}

Residential Project: Choosing Textiles

In my Introduction to Textiles class at Chabot, we are learning about the properties of different fabrics and their uses. Our first assignment was to select a series of fabrics for a living and dining room space that we had to draw to scale.

The criteria was as follows:

• fabrics | a minimum of 3 patterned (more than one color, not tone on tone) fabrics in each room 
• spaces | dining and living rooms must be open to each other somehow
• measurements | walls to be 6 inches thick and both spaces need to have a combined area of approximately 600 square feet total
• scale | 1/2" scale on 11" X 17" paper
• furniture + decor | living room needs to have six specified items, dining room room needs to have 4
• presentation | fully color rendered floorplan, 3" x 3" samples of each fabric, and written descriptions of textile fibers

This assignment initially posed as a challenge for me because my design aesthetic is very minimal in terms of colors and patterns. But as a designer, I know that it is important to be nimble and flexible because my clients are not going to be just like me. So, I took this assignment as an opportunity to learn, grow, and expand my skill-set.

I am very intrigued by the Moroccan lattice designs and used that as inspiration as I began to explore patterned textiles.

Different lattice patterns that I used as inspiration for the final design.

Simultaneously, I began to create many floor plan iterations of my adjoining living and dining spaces. The many iterations occurred because plotting on AutoCad at 1/2" scale was posing to be a problem.

My first hand-drafted iteration of the floor plan. It ended up being too large of a footprint and wouldn't fit on the 11x17 paper.

There was not enough clearance for some of the furniture in this iteration.

This pretty much ended up being the final design, with a minor adjustment to the ottoman selection.

Eventually, I found a design that fit and went through a process of pairing fabrics together and pairing fabrics with furniture to see how they complemented each other.

This is what I ended up with:

I am very pleased with the final product (as was my professor). You can find the full presentation, with a detailed look of the fabrics and furniture selections here: Moroccan Twist Textiles Assignment.

I am now excited about working with different patterns in fabric and can't wait until I get to implement textiles in a new design.

Cheers,
{Rashida}

It looks like wood, but it's porcelain!

I have fallen in love with a new material that I can't wait to put into our future home. (No, we are not moving, but can't a girl dream? :) )

It's porcelain wood tile!

You would think this is wood, especially with the irregularity of pattern.
This is such a beautiful color too!

It can have all of the beautiful texture and aesthetic qualities of wood, but has the maintenance of regular old tile. And since the tile is porcelain, it is virtually indestructible... unless you took a sledge hammer to it. But just like your toilets, porcelain does not chip or scratch, and can be cleaned with regular everyday cleaning supplies.

Casa Dolce Casa Belgique Collection: It looks very authentic like a wood floor, but it's all porcelain tile.

I was first introduced to it in my Materials & Resources class at Las Positas College. We went on a field trip to All Natural Stone (formerly Callahan Tile). The owners showed us around their showroom, which is absolutely fabulous. If you thought Home Depot had a lot of tiles, you will be blown away by the amount of tiles, stones, and slabs in their showroom.

Anyway, these gems were tucked away in a back room.

Casa Dolce Casa Belgique Collection: Wood Porcelain tile on wall and floor.

Casa Dolce Casa Belgique Collection: Looks great throughout a home.

My guess is that the Casa Dolce Casa's Belgique Collection is pretty pricey. Home Depot also has a few selections of the porcelain wood grain tiles.

So for all the people who have always wanted wood, but:

• didn't have the budget for it (the wood + stain + installation);
• have kids and pets that would wreak havoc on a wood floor; or
• can't muster up the time or funds to maintain a wood floor;

...all hope is not lost. You can have it all.

Dream big my friends,

{Rashida}

The Master Bathroom Project | Recap + Reveal (Part 8)

At last!

It is with great pleasure that I announce that this is the absolute last post on our Master Bathroom Remodel Project! After 3 weeks of experimenting with new products, learning new skills, and having a messy and unusable bathroom, our master bath remodel is finally complete!

Our Master Bathroom is complete!

Here's the journey of our bathroom transformation:

1. We first mocked up our bathroom in Google SketchUp so that we could start toying around with potential designs for our new bathroom.
2. We selected which design we liked the best and the next step was to remove the existing mirror from the wall (without breaking it or creating a massive hole in the wall).
3. Using Rustoleum's Cabinet Refinishing kit, we refinished our cabinets to a color called Kona. It was quite a tedious process, but I imagine that it was easier than sanding, and it was a huge transformation to the room.
4. We decided to do the electrical next, while we gave our cabinets time to cure for a bit. Jason from Oak Electric came in and wired new lighting, new electrical outlets, and a new switch.
5. The second biggest transformation was painting the walls in a black and gray.
6. Once the paint dried, we moved on to creating two framed mirrors. This was, by far, the most tedious and most experimental part of the entire process, but we got through it...eventually.
7. Finally, we finished up with some minor finishing touches.

Here are all the "Before, SketchUp Design, and Afters" so you can see the complete transformation in different angles.

Master Bathroom Bird's Eye View

Master Bathroom Entry (Ground)

Master Bathroom Sink & Vanity

Master Bathroom Tub Area

Master Bathroom Entry (Mid-Level)

Our total cost for the project was around $440. (We probably paid somewhere around $350 since we had many of the painting supplies already).

Overall, it was a good experience and we learned a lot along the way — e.g. never build your own mirror frame :).

We have to figure out what our next home renovation project is going to be. When we do, you'll be the first to see the progress! In the meantime, I am going to enjoy my new clean bathroom.

Cheers,

{Rashida}

Personalized Wall Canvases

This is a fun project that we did to replace our wedding photo that was above our mantel. It's been a little over two years since we got married and we wanted to update some of the pictures around the house.

Personalized wall canvases are very common and can come in various different forms:

The hubby came up with an idea to take a series of photographs printed on canvas to hang above the mantel.  He was envisioning that I would take 5 photographs making various faces and then he would do the same. Then as our family grows, the collage of pictures would continue with each family member.

This is the originally sketched concept.

As we were brainstorming, we refined the idea. Ten canvases would be a lot of money, so we went down to five. Instead of doing individual pictures, we decided to take photos together showcasing the important parts of our marriage. Pray. Love. Laugh. Live. Play.

 Here's the revised sketch we did to convey the types of pictures that we needed to take.

We waited for a sunny day, took to our Canon Rebel T2i and a tripod, and started shooting some pictures. It was actually kind of exhausting because we had to frame the shot, set the timer, run back to our spots, and pose all within 10 seconds. (We took at least 100 pictures.)

We created our own templates and used Zazzle to create our own personalized wrapped canvases.

Check them out below!

Finished photoshopped images in one long strip

The completed set adds a nice touch to the wall. (And there is space for others canvases to go up as our family grows)

Wanna create your own? Do it on Zazzle!

Black Bar One-Word (live) Template Canvas Print by Personalization_Shop

Much love,

{Rashida}

The Master Bathroom Project | Finishing Touches (Part 7)

I'm back! I know it's been a while... I had final projects, presentations, and tests for school so I was in focus mode. And now that's over and done with, I can finish up blogging about my Master Bathroom Remodel project!

This is the second-to-last installment in my Master Bathroom Remodel project. To remind you all of what has happened so far, check out my previous posts:

• Part 1 - The Design
• Part 2 - Removing the Mirror
• Part 3 - Refinishing the Cabinets
• Part 4 - Wiring for the New Lights
• Part 5 - Dual-tone Painting
• Part 6 - Adding the Framed Mirrors

This post is just about the finishing touches. We built a small shelf, purchased a wall scone for additional task lighting, and purchased two decorative candle sconces for the back wall. This completes our original design and adds a little bit of interest to the bathroom itself.

---

PART 1- Building the Shelf

SUPPLIES:

• One 6" x 4" wood plank
• Paint (same paint/stain from the Cabinet Refinish Project)
• Two L-Brackets (you want to buy one that is as long as your shelf protrudes from the wall for support)
• Wall Screws
• Edgemate White Melamine Roll
• Drill

DIY STEPS

Time frame:3 hours

1. Iron on the Melamine around the edge of the shelf.

This provides a smooth edge and eliminates the need to sand the edges. Simply line the edges and use and iron to adhere it to the surface.

Iron on White Melamine Strip

2. Paint.

Paint all surfaces of the shelf. The paint should adhere fairly well to the Melamine and to the wood itself.

Painted Block of Wood

3. Measure and mark where you want your shelf to sit.

4. Drill holes for the screws.

Based on your measurements, mark where the L-brackets will sit against the wall and on the shelf. Pre-drill the holes into the shelf and the wall for the L-brackets.

Note: If you are screwing into a stud, there is no need to pre-drill. When using a wall anchor in place of a stud, pre-drill.

5. Attach L-bracket to shelf according to measurements in step 3.

Make sure to use short screws (1/2") so your screws do not appear on the top surface

Note: We didn't buy appropriately long brackets. We bought these little guys... which obviously did not support the weight of anything on the shelf, let alone the shelf itself. So we had to build our own "L-bracket" out of left over pieces of wood. Save yourself some time and buy one that actually fits your shelf!

Our makeshift shelf support with the small L braces used to attach it to the wall.

6. Attach the bracket/shelf unit to wall.

For this step, use the longer screws that will actually fully penetrate the drywall.

Drilling in an extra screw for support at the end of the shelf.

PART 2- Attaching the Sconce Light

This was part of the reason for the pre-wiring in Part 4 of this blog series. Again, thank you Oak Electric!

SUPPLIES:

• A wall sconce of your choice
• Drill

DIY STEPS

Time frame: 10 minutes

Follow the instructions in the box. Each lighting assembly will be different. Be sure to purchase the correct bulb before leaving the store!

The sconce is up and running!

PART 3-  Decorative candle sconces

SUPPLIES:

• Decorative candle sconces of your choice
• Drill

DIY STEPS

Time frame: 10 minutes

1. On the wall, mark where you want your sconces to sit.

It may be helpful to have someone hold the sconce to the wall, while you step back to take a look. Mark the spot where the screw would go into the wall.

2. Drill the hole (if necessary) and attach the sconces.

PART 4-  Touch Up
Touch up the paint on any places that seem to need it.

After the sconce light was installed, we realized the mirror frame needed some touch ups.

We never painted our makeshift bracket. So that needed some paint too.

TOTAL COST: $48

• Wood ~$3
• 2-1/2 Wood Screws (Box of 20) ~$2
• 1/2" wood screws ~$2
• Wall Light Sconce ~$20
• Decorative Candle Sconce ~$15
• Edgemate White Melamine Edging ~$6

OVERALL IMPRESSION

Our bathroom looks more complete with those extra touches. New towels and other little trinkets, such as posters/photos, candles, vases, are great ways to jazz up the bathroom. 

We are finally finished!

The official "clean up" photo.

The last post will have before and after shots to see the scope of the full remodel from beginning to end.

Stay tuned!

{Rashida}