Oh, To Live In A Glass House

Note: Originally published at the 2Modern Design Talk blog.

You may have noticed; as much of the consumer buying public did, that clothing company J.Crew placed the photo shoot for their last catalog on the immaculate grounds of the Richard Neutra-designed Kaufmann Desert house.


Kaufmann Desert House

If you didn't get enough modern design love from that, there are a few more design gems from that period in architecture that are still standing.


Phillip Johnson Glass House


This building, known as Da Monsta, is the visitor center at the Philip Johnson Glass House site. The site also includes numerous constructions by Johnson in a few different styles.

The National Trust for Historic Preservation has acquired two new modern-era designed buildings, the Philip Johnson-designed Glass House and the Ludwig Mies van der Rohe Farnsworth House. Both houses can be seen in this month's (May/ June) issue of the organization's Preservation magazine which discusses a new appreciation of Modernism in terms of architecture and the need for on-going protection.


Farnsworth House

Other modern masterpieces around the country include:


A Rudolf Schindler House


Philip Lovell House


Pierre Koenig Case Study Home

Photos from Time magazine and MOMA.org.

The beat of a different drummer

I have always loved the the metal lockers from the IKEA PS collection. Though they don't fit into my decor, at the moment, I always like seeing them pop up in rooms on sites like Apartment Therapy, Decor8, and Design Sponge.

I just wanted to put this out there for anyone that starts to tire of their pieces or want to buy them but not in the available colors.

On the site for RustOleum paint, they show that you can use their Painter's Touch spray paint on these exact same pieces to change the look. The paint works on wood, wicker, metal, plaster, masonry, unglazed ceramics, and comes in 42 glossy and 28 satin colors. Shown here is a gloss Seaside Green.

Are you having as hard a time finding the right RustOleum color in the right product and in the right size as I am? You can now order from their recommended online retailers, Ace Hardware Outlet and Builder Depot.

RustOleum has also come out with a new water-based spray paint called Aqua. The convenience of a spray without the clean up and apartment asphyxiation that comes with mineral spirits. Yes!

With a good deed, came a good deal of pain

This is the morning after Rebuilding Together Day and I feel like a two-by-four because I MUST be made of wood. I can not bend or twist at all. Almost every part of my body hurts, except my hands (lucky blogger me.) All my other joints and parts hurt, including my ankles and right behind my ears (oh, the neck pain!)

But it was a great experience.

Our house was a pretty unusual project for a Rebuilding Together Day. Their projects usually involve tasks that can all be completed in one day. However, this project had been started weeks before and is still in progress. The recipient of our volunteer help developed diabetes and lost one of her legs. Therefore, her house was remodeled in order to be handicap accessible. The kitchen, bathrooms, and all doorways were altered for wheelchair access. Before yesterday, a beautiful ramp with seating at the top had been built, new kitchen cabinets and task lighting had been installed, the bathroom had been enlarged taking some space from the living room, and a new wall had been erected before we arrived.




Along with another person, I was tasked with painting the ceiling and walls in her living room. I remember thinking when I walked in, 'wow, it's a small room, we should be finished in no time at all.' As it turns out, even with additional help, we ended up going thirty minutes over the deadline of 5PM (meaning an hour and a half past the "stop and clean-up" time) and we were almost the last people there.

Why? Well, let's just say, I never want to paint a ceiling again. (In truth, I didn't paint much of it, because I must be the weakest girl in the world when it comes to upper arm strength. Thank god, the other volunteer was a pro at using a paint roller extension pole!)



The color on the ceiling and walls that we thought looked off-white turned out to be a definite tan color once we tried to paint a REAL off-white on top of it. So two coats were required on the ceiling and all of the walls needed to be primed first. In addition, lots of windows, four doorways, baseboards, and a fireplace mantel called for a lot of preliminary taping.



But the final outcome was gorgeous!



Despite the pain, I know I will be volunteering for this next year.

So, check out the national site for Rebuilding Together and find an affiliate in your state for next April 26.

National Rebuilding Day!

HGTV Green Home Giveaway!

I am so excited! This weekend, after years of vocal support for Rebuilding Together-Richmond and ACORN I will finally be putting my muscles to the test for these organizations. I will be finally working on my first volunteer home repair project. I was lucky to get into this group project because someone in my office sent out an email asking for volunteers.

By coincidence, my Historic Preservation professor (an ACORN board member) has also volunteered and will be working on the same house with me. Wow, I don't even have to try to stalk this woman, she is everywhere.

Would you believe, that knowing nothing about me, they tasked me to paint! How perfect. I have to put together a list of all the painting supplies that I have so I can bring in some stuff to supplement what they will have on site. I think I might have to clean out my cars' trunk so I can bring my four-foot ladder too. I just hope it doesn't rain as it has been for the last three days. The pollen and mold have sapped about 50% of my strength and stamina.

The neighborhood I am working in is also directly behind my "pet" neighborhood, Woodland Heights, so that adds to the goodwill.

It may be too late to participate in the 2008 National Rebuilding Day but there is plenty of time to get involved for next year's event. Volunteers rehabilitate and improve the homes of low-income Americans at no cost, recipients of services include the elderly, disabled, military veterans, and families in need. To find a Rebuilding Together affiliate in your area, enter your state or zip code on the national organization's main page.

Also worth looking into is the HGTV Change the World: Start at Home effort with Rebuilding Together, the National Trust for Historic Preservation, and the Natural Resources Defense Council. This campaign "focuses on revitalizing communities across the country and helping consumers make smart choices for the environment within their homes and daily lives."

I will report on my Saturday next week after I've recovered from my all-day giving effort.

Getting somewhere, just don't know where...

Oh did I ever mention that I started receiving press releases from designers and artists? Yeah, wow. Blogs are most definitely being noticed for the influences that they are on the consumer public.

Though I am on Jonathan Adler's press release list I haven't received anything from Domino magazine, which seems to be the sign that your home blog has really made it. Remember all that bloggy love about Drew Barrymore's office/home a month ago?

I am already listed on their site though as I am part of Scrappy Girl's blog list. She is a kindred spirit. However, you would think that Domino would send to everyone on the blog list of one of their online blogs wouldn't you? It doesn't really matter, it was just more of a "hmmm?" situation than anything else. No matter what, I would only post about something that I personally thought was cool (not that I don't think Jonathan Adler is cool!) and I do receive the magazine every month.

Though of course it would be nice to receive it before it shows up on the newsstand!

By the way, cute bull or sun ornaments on sale for $12. ; )

The State of the Blog

I apologize.

I fell behind and I have been neglecting this blog. The updates come sporadically I know, however…

• I have four SHELTER Study interview requests out there. (I have received one interview back, so now the ball is in my court.
• I have at least five draft posts saved. (I need to complete some more research and track down or scan in a few more pictures.)
• I am working on a new header and there are some other design changes coming around the corner (I need to finalize the designs with the graphic designer.)

I want to write about:

• My discovery of two out-of-print home design books and how to get these books back into print
• What I have learned at my new (three months now!) job
• An interior designer I just found during an unrelated web search
• My first and only foray into designing and constructing a DIY mosaic table top, a project from 2001.
• My favorites from this years Small Cool contest on Apartment Therapy.

I have been:

• Participating in Sewing Therapy and Wardrobe Therapy on An Unexamined Life, my other blog.
• Dealing with my sleeping and eating issues…basically a lack of both.
• Dealing with financial issues. In a nutshell, I need more money.
• Learning a lot at my new job.
• Writing a weekly post for the 2Modern Design Talk blog alongside blog favorites Design For Mankind and sfgirlbybay.

The spring school semester ends in a few weeks, so expect more frequent posting this summer for sure. See ya soon!

Pick A Pocket Neighborhood

Erin Cottage

A year ago, I wrote a post mentioning Ross Chapin Architects and their designs for small homes used in planned "pocket neighborhoods." These neighborhoods were the idea of architect Ross Chapin and Jim Soules, founder of The Cottage Company*. Jim's definition of a pocket neighborhood is "a group of homes that face and relate to one another around a landscaped common area..."

This month, the April issue of Cottage Living magazine features them, their designs, and the history of their first project together, the Third Street Cottages neighborhood in Puget Sound, Seattle created in 1995.

*Definitely check out the Cottage Company link, they now have a 180 degree video tour of their model home on the main page. Yum!

The Only Sofa You Ever Need Buy

Note: Originally published at the 2Modern Design Talk blog.

The Jean-Michel Frank sofa.

You might not be familiar with the name, but you are familiar with the look. It is everywhere. It is classic and clean and works with most modern (after 1930) interior design. If you own this shape sofa, it will fit in almost anywhere, though it might not follow the other lines in your furniture designs, it will not interfere, stand out too much, or compete. It possesses straight sides; is not too puffy, and depending on the chosen upholstery, also not too unusual.

Jean Michel Frank [1895-1941] was born near the end of the 19th century. Consider what furniture movements were around at that time and you can see how this shape would have been considered highly unusual to some or extremely pedestrian to others.

The proof of this design as a classic style and the fact that it plays well with others is that almost every major furniture retailer has a similar style in their core collection, such as:

• Room & Board: Dean, runner ups: Essex, Winston
• Crate and Barrel: Axis, runner ups: Lombard, Cameron
• Restoration Hardware: Austin
• Pottery Barn: PB Square
• Macy's (as close as it gets) Corona
• IKEA (close but not it) Karlstad
• DWR: (close) Portula

For more on Jean-Michel:

• Jean Michel Frank: The Strange and Subtle Luxury of the Parisian Haute-Monde in the Art Deco Period, by Pierre Emmanuel Martin-Vivier, $64
• Architectural Digest Design Legends: Jean-Michel Frank
• Architonic: Products

Note: Jean-Michel never licensed his designs. The only way someone can guarantee that they have one of his pieces is if it can be documented that it was a part of an interiors he designed for a client's home.

Time saver, water saver, and all around good thing

I just saw this on Erwin House.

I'm famous for taking long showers. I have in fact been late to many an appointment because I would step out of the shower (which I need to fully wake up in the morning,) look at the clock in horror, and then have to rush out like a demon.

The one I did have didn't have an alarm and it kept falling off the shower wall. This one is cute but I would like to find one a little cheaper, but that's just me.

The company also makes a four-minute timer. Only four minutes!? It takes you up to 24 hours to get dirty and in only four minutes, poof, you are clean? Am I the only person who thinks that is too short?

Bold Color from my scrapbooks

An alternative idea for a traditional headboard and a great use of bold color.

Image: Mademoiselle magazine, 1983

My dream, so close...

$247,900

Single Family Home in Woodland Heights
Richmond VA

1,742 Square Feet
4 bedrooms, 2 baths, and a full basement

Bright and sunny updated cape cod in Woodland Heights is modern yet has all the charm intact! Lovely living room is separated from dining room with Craftsman columns and built-in leaded glassed bookcases. Wonderful updated kitchen with a corner breakfast eating area. Kitchen has upgraded stainless steel appliances; range, convection oven, dishwasher, and refrigerator. Two well sized bedrooms downstairs with attractive built-in bookcases. Master bedroom upstairs with a renovated full bath and the fourth bedroom, plus a second-floor screened porch! Back yard with off-street parking. Great 18'x16' garage for a workshop or a car. Full basement.

This is my dream house and it is currently for sale. Years ago I had a friend who was my "partner in crime (or more aptly, sarcasm)." At one point, he was renting space from this couple he knew in high school. The first time I walked into that house I fell in love, not only with the house, but also with their darling dog, a sweet Rottweiler*. The house is a deceptively spacious cottage with a full-length front porch with piers and columns, very craftsman-like details. This house was different from any I had seen in my adolescence. The most unique thing about it was that it seemed as if it had been designed for the owners to have a lodger. Perhaps it was?

The first floor consists of living, dining, and kitchen spaces, a den, bathroom and a front bedroom. As you enter, the right side of the house holds the living and dining rooms. What is unique, is the left side of the house.



The bedroom, bath, and den area (the fourth bedroom in this ad) are arranged in a line. However, this entire suite of rooms is separated from the right side of the house by a door and a small hallway connecting the two larger rooms. This creates a private mini-apartment, a sort of mother-in-law suite. The connections to the rest of the house are through this door and another one out the back of the "den" that opens to the kitchen. One could close off these rooms from the rest of the house and it would be possible to not see this person for days.



Directly in the middle of the first floor is the staircase, seen above. It is within the walls and reached by a door that can effectively close off the upstairs rooms too, if needed. I assume it might have been built that way to preserve heat on the first floor rooms when using them. I first saw this ad a month ago and have no idea how long it has been on the market. The old owners; the ones I knew, went to the open house and I heard that they didn't think these sellers would get this asking price for it. It's a bit high for a house that size in this neighborhood.

In the past, you have heard me wax about the type of house I want to have one day. Now you have seen that house' inspiration. Truly, if some one gave me this house tomorrow**, I could never want for more.

** Hint, hint, hint.

* I have had a soft spot for the breed ever since and for years was convinced that was the breed I would get. Now, I'm thinking wiry, wiggly black Lab.

A hint of something great to come?

This is a new house tour from Apartment Therapy written by Jeanine, a blogger trying out for a spot on the new AT: Boston team. This is her home. I think AT will pick her because anyone with this sense of fun and whimsy will be a great addition to the staff.

This is a teaser photo, but go and check out the rest of the tour here.


(Hint: Check out the small details in her photos)

Slowly losing a friend...

My blogging life started at the same time as my discovery of Apartment Therapy. My first few posts were about either the first Small Cool Contest or the first AT Cure. So, it is very sad that AT and I are growing farther and farther apart. We are just going in different directions. It's not them...it's me.

1) I now dread reading the comments for House Tours or any of the contests. It is not that the negativity or snarkiness has gotten worse, it is just that as time goes by I can handle less and less of it. In the beginning, I would read every one of the comments only stopping when I reached the end. Now I read a few and if I hit a snarky or downright nasty comment that's it for me, off I go.

2) I check the site maybe once a week now, so even with the addition of AT: Boston and AT: DC, this probably will not change. I now use the main page to go through the four city sites.

3) Even though I signed up for this round, I haven't followed the Cure posts at all. I am still a fan of the idea and I will keep taking care of the Apartment Therapy Cure (Unofficial) Flickr group I started, however, I just can't keep up on a daily basis.

4) I have only seen five of this year Smallest Coolest contestants so I am not voting this time. In the past I used to keep refreshing the page all day long to keep up. Now, I'm only looking at the ones that catch my eye with their first picture. In the earlier years, regular readers mentioned the discrepancy in incomes and expertise among the contestants. This year, I noticed two more problems that need mentioning:

• They increased the size limit to 850 square feet. It's not naive to say that someone with a 850 square foot apartment does not have the same storage and clutter challenges as people in living spaces under 500 sq feet, let alone ones under 350 sq feet. There are family homes with yards that have the same square footage all over the country. That is not small. Here is one from the March issue of Cottage Living.

• People are not submitting pictures of their whole spaces but shots of fireplace mantels and candlesticks or lamps on end tables. The contest is about where they live, not just what looks cute through the camera lens. We want to see their storage solutions, which I think was the main reason for this contest on small spaces in the first place, right? If we're lucky, we might see a picture of the main couch or bed wall in the living room or bedroom. There are barely any kitchen pictures seen, unless the kitchen has just been remodeled and almost no bathroom photos. I first started not voting for an entry if it was mostly art photos, which then turned into me not voting for any.

AT, I will always support you; however, you have to become a much smaller part of my life now.
Take care.

Paint the whole world by numbers!

Many companies (more than you would expect) still produce and sell paint-by-number kits. Unfortunately, many that you see in craft stores are for children, which are not only limited in complexity but also in subject matter. There are far too many adorable baby animals and sea creatures available. Far too many.

However, the best quality kits are still available online and the best are landscapes, some of them vintage designs like mine below.

Autumn Gold

There is also a very modern New York street scene and a French cafe scene I've seen before that I would love to own, but examples like these are few and far between. If you find a great kit, snatch it up because I haven't seen that New York one in years!



I wish paint by number would catch on again. In a way it did after an exhibit at the National Museum of American History in 2001-2002. Produced at the same time was a companion book called Paint By Number: The How-to Craze that Swept the Nation. Here are some other books and combination book and kits on the craft that are available.

RealArt! The Paint by Number Book and Kit

Paint By Number Kit: Everything You Need to Re-Create 8 Vintage Masterpieces Complete Paint-By-Number Set

Painting By Numbers

Painting the Great Masters by Number

Painting by Number is definitely a great way to relax, which is why it was so popular in the post WWI years. They do not need a lot of skill or talent but still impart a feeling of accomplishment when done and hanging on your walls.

Here are some online sources where you can still buy quality kits:

CraftHouse

Craft-Stop

Dimensions/PaintWorks - the best collection of the bunch

HobbyLinc

Hobby Masters

Jo-Ann's

New England Arts & Crafts

Reeves