Reclaimed brick

It's been a fun week of on-site work at the restaurant. While we pester the city wait patiently for building permits, design choices are being finalized and ridiculously great purchases are being made...

Feast your eyes on this 150 y.o. firebrick. It's being delivered today. So excited. The color variation is stunning, from red to blue to yellow to white. These colors are more prominent when the bricks are placed lengthwise.

I stumbled upon these while searching for shiplap on Craigslist. I was chatting with the seller about his shiplap and he casually mentioned he had 'loads of firebrick' if I was interested. He knocks down old chimneys and claims the 'guts.' These bricks are a refractory ceramic material used to line fireplaces. I asked him to send me a picture and I was sold hook, line and sinker!

The plan is to use the brick on the back wall. By the way, for those of you who think the life of a designer is beautiful and glamourous, this picture is definitely a better representation of reality...dusty and dirty! (Love every minute of it. Wouldn't have it any other way.)

Where I've been and what's next?

We've been fortunate enough to travel a bit this summer. I've been relishing in the memories which means blogging and projects have taken a backseat for now. It's all about priorities, right?

Care to guess where we've been? Here's a clue...

Bryn was in heaven on the Disney Cruise.

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And, Reed's little slice came via Atlantis. Water slides that take you through shark tanks?! Yes, please.

And, last but not least, keeping with this heavenly theme...If there was any doubt that my husband is Christ-like, he just squashed it. Yes, that's right, here he is walking on water! ;)

So, what's next on the career front? A restaurant! I've been busy questioning my abilities dreaming up designs for a restaurant near Austin.

When I started designing I never really considered venturing into the commercial side of the business but recently it seems this is the path I'm being led. I often pray for God to lead me to the next project HE needs me to complete. So, when random projects pop up out of the blue I look at it as his leading.

I'm not going to lie, I doubt my abilities every.single.time I start a new project. John's probably getting a little tired of hearing me say, "I'm scared! I'm not sure I can do this one." He's really good at saying, "Remember the last time you said that, Dana, and the time before that? Now, let's remember how those turned out." In other words, 'Ya dope...of course you can do it!' 

Here's a little peek at the concept board I threw together to present at our initial meeting. I was super excited when they said they were going for a contemporary/industrial aesthetic. I drafted a crazy, cool wall treatment idea and presented it to the contractor earlier this week. We're waiting on his bid so see if it'll make the finial design or not. I'm crossing my fingers!

The projected completion date is October/November...I'll keep you posted!