Retro, modern, eclectic, colorful and unexpected, Thomas Welles — architect and 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 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.
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.
Pam says she loves Loves LOVES the way the laminate goes up to the ceiling. GENIUS! The entire space is genius! She put the word ‘genius’ in the headline. She declares: This is what the future of contemporary interior design should look like!
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.
Did you make the 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.
The cabinets were designed to feel like they have been there for decades. However, they have more modern elements like wide drawers in the base cabinets instead of doors/shelves, and soft close drawer guides.
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.
I presume the floor is painted concrete?
That is a heated concrete floor, and the color comes from an acid stain with a sealer. Triple S Chemical Products – Weathered Copper.
Are you a designer?
I am currently starting my own architecture 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
Why does this space work so well — considering there are a variety of color palettes, patterns, styles, and finishes going on simultaneously?
Thomas used repetition to give the whole space, both inside and out, a cohesive feeling. How did he do it. By creating repetition and relationships. Some examples we can spot:
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.
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