Happenings

Serendipity and a Sliding Door

metal designer Sliding Door

A couple of years ago Heather Cleveland , invited me to present to a group of female designers that she meets with regularly, all of whom are talented and very supportive of each other’s work. What an honor to meet this fabulous group of women! One of the designers attending our presentation that day was Jodi Janzen of Janzen Design. Fast forward two years, and here is Jodi sharing a bit of background on her Northern Californian project which includes a Modern Metal door insert!

“When we first found this home in Lucas Valley nestled in the green hills with a lovely garden and the pool in the backyard, it was rather dated with grouted tile in the kitchen and the floor plan wasn’t open or conducive to the clients’ use. We removed the wall between dining room and kitchen and relocated the kitchen to what was the Family Room to give wall space for creating a Chef’s kitchen and walk-in pantry appointed with all the state of the art appliances ( including wall built-in coffee maker, LaCanche 55″ wide cooker, Wolf steam oven and Sub-Zero suite including wine column at the bar).  As a result of the renovation, most of the interior was entirely new.  The walls were smoothed to a Level 5 finish, new European Oak flooring, all new doors and all new blacked framed windows throughout. The client wanted the modern amenities of contemporary living with a European cottage charm attached.  We introduced some small details into doors, heater registers, lighting, handmade tile, repurposing of antique furniture to give the mostly rebuilt home a sense of time and European charm.  We used a Modern Metal custom piece from the pattern Square Squared to inset into a door frame for a custom pocket sliding-door that from the kitchen that peeks into the Pantry.  The metal panel allows a beautiful light to be cast from “Baker’s counter” in the pantry into the kitchen in the evening.”

Jodi specified our Square Squared pattern in 11 gauge steel, in a custom weathered brown powder coat. The panel measures approximately 68” x 22” and was insert into a custom made wood frame which slides in and out of the wall.  It was an easy and speedy job for us to fabricate and deliver, just a flat panel!

Jodi had quite the vision,  a beautiful door in a spectacular new setting, but the best part for me is the story of how it came to be.  It was serendipitous that Heather and I met (I THINK via Instagram).  It was just a zoom presentation, which led to a project, yet I’ll always think of Heather, Jodi and the rest of the women fondly when I look a these photos.  Since then Heather and I have also worked on several projects together.  Serendipity indeed!