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Showing posts with label photography. Show all posts
Showing posts with label photography. Show all posts
Monday, March 31, 2014

Let there be light

One of the most underrated light fixtures in my humble opinion is the sconce. Mounted at eye level sconces create flattering light unlike the shadow lines created on ones' face from overhead lighting. Also, they don't take up precious table space like lamps or clutter a room like floorlamps.
This weekend I helped a friend install some antique sconces we had picked out at Artisan Lamp (my favorite lighting source here in DC) onto some existing built-in bookshelves in his den. The effect is magical particularly in this small room without any existing lighting!
Not only are they the jewels of the room, the warm light cast by them is ultimately flattering and practical. Don't forget sconces in your next project!
Unknown antiques, artisan, georgetown, Georgetown project, Interiors, lighting, my work, photography
Friday, March 28, 2014

Chapin Residence floorplan

One of my favorite books that I've mentioned before is the monograph of H.T. Lindeberg's residential work. Many of his smaller projects are shown including just these 3 intriguing photographs of a rather odd house in Lake Forest, Illinois in 1926 for Lowell C. Chapin, Esq.
If you study the plan you'll notice that the house consists of a rather small entry vestibule and an enormous living room. Thats all for public space! A warren of servants quarters fill the remainder of the first floor while the 2nd floor holds 4 bedrooms. Strange but ultimately practical.
And as you can see the 'simple' house packs a lot of punch with that steep French roofline.  Rather a quirky house and it leads me to wonder how it has changed over the past 90 years or is even still extant.
Unknown architects, books, floorplans, houses, Lindeberg, photography
Tuesday, March 4, 2014

Classic style doesn't date

 As you well know I'm a firm believer that classic style doesn't date.  An example of this is a room by talented designers Tom Fox and Joe Nahem from the 1980s when they decorated the dining room of the Castles on the Sound showhouse (featured in the book Interior Visions).
Working with the great bones of the space, mahogany paneling and a stone fireplace surround, they re-envisioned the formal dining room for everyday use TODAY (or at least 1980s today). Beautiful classic furniture, art, and objects create a space that anyone would be happy using in 1980 or 2014. How many times have you redecorated your own living or dining room since 1980 and at what cost? Do we need any more reason to shun the overtly trendy and revel in classic style
Unknown books, designers, designers at work, houses, Interiors, photography
Monday, February 24, 2014

Santos Museum of Economic Botany

Sometimes museums which might sound rather dull (to design aficionados such as myself) can be held in the most astonishingly beautiful buildings. Such is the case with the Santos Museum of Economic Botany at the Botanic Gardens of Adelaide, Australia which my penpal recently sent to me.
This little classical gem of a building from 1879 was just extensively and sensitively renovated. The structure wasn't built as the Greek temple it resembles but rather as the science museum it remains.
The ceiling is a good example of how the Victorians were able to meld together decorative detailing with highly detailed and rather commercial looking steel structure. I love the gilded mechanical vent. If you can't hide it -make a feature of it!
The collections themselves are just as decorative as the building - these rather amazing Victorian models of mushrooms above are entirely made of wax! I remember even as a child going to the Buhl Planetarium in Pittsburgh which at the time was the science museum (now the Children's museum of Pittsburgh) and being more interested in the beautiful building than in the exhibits themselves. Design inspiration can come from the most surprising places, no?
Unknown Architect, Australian, history, images, Interiors, penpal, photography, pittsburgh
Thursday, January 9, 2014

Le Pavillon de Madame, Verailles

As promised here I bring you another small mansion from the book "The smaller houses and gardens of Versailles", this one simply entitled "Le Pavillon de Madame".  While the address is stated, 63 Avenue de Paris, I can't find any information about the house and according to a googlemap search it has either been torn down since 1926 or the address has changed. If anyone has any information I would appreciate learning more!
The house is a delightful arrangement in the French tradition in that there is no front facade and each of the 4 facades is equally attractive.
The exterior is a light grey painted stucco to mimic limestone with a rusticated base and quoins (corner treatment) on the upper floor. The mansard roof is slate while the beautiful dormers are of lead.
As you can see in the site plan above the house is situated in an enormous garden which hides the surrounding houses. It provides a very formal French garden which is in fact a potager or kitchen garden -where flowers mingle with fruits and vegetables. At the end of a path is the orangery where more exotic fruits and plants could grow.
The tall trees surrounding the garden not only hide the neighbors but other agricultural necessities; a chicken run, a rabbitry, and numerous outbuildings.
The plan is unusual in that it is laid out as a town house. The dining room on the main floor opens to the garden and terrace with kitchens and service spaces surrounding it. Only up the staircase are the other rooms you'd expect to find on the ground level. Even in a small house such as this there is a stair for the master and another for the servants.
The house contains only one bedroom going back to what I talked about in the last post HERE that these houses were private retreats from the palace of Versailles and not meant for entertaining or even families.
The rooms are all small and cozy but feature fine detailing such as this painted boiserie in the entry hall which the article states was painted white.
The stair has interesting faux-marble painted boiserie and patterns that I think show the 18th century interest in the discovery of Herculaneum and Pompeii. Notice the beautiful chevron patterned floors.
Behind the front hall the dining room continues the chevron floors with pale green painted boiserie covering the walls. Notice the painted scenic overdoors.
This is probably the most charming room in the house, don't you think, with French doors opening out to the terrace?
The eclectic array of furniture is very of the 1920s and today for that matter; a very comfortable arrangement.
This seating group by the fireplace is probably where the owner spent a lot of time before and after meals.
Upstairs the boiserie is left natural and unpainted with the carved details picked out in gold leaf.  The chandelier is of course more in the French taste while the assortment of furniture almost feels English to my eye.
No shortage of light or garden views from up here either. I love how the chandelier reflects the light even without the electricity turned on.
It pains me to think this may have been torn down! What do you think -could you live in a mini mansion such as this? Live stylishly in a smaller space is what this house screams to me!
Unknown books, floorplans, Gardens, history, houses, Interiors, photography, small living, versailles
Wednesday, November 13, 2013

Cardboard architecture

This past weekend while reading the Wall Street Journal Magazine (Nov 2013) I noticed a short article on the demise of Gilbert Scott's neo-gothic Cathedral in Christchurch, New Zealand which had been decimated by many recent earthquakes.  The replacement (which the article failed to mention was temporary) was designed by architect Shigeru Ban completely out of cardboard! Ban, who has donated his services on similar churches throughout areas of the Eastern Hemisphere which faced similar acts of God, expects the cardboard cathedral to last 50 years if needed.
Above you can see Scott's stone ChristChurch Cathedral from 1904 before the damage and below the devastation numerous earthquakes in recent years had wrought.  The decision phase has been hard on the church as they decide whether or not to rebuild or if the damaged building was salvageable; turns out that sadly the existing church could not be saved. The city and preservationists were also involved as the Cathedral is a local landmark and a category #1 historic place ranking within New Zealand.
When I first read the article I was outraged at the current state of the architectural profession that a 50 year life expectancy was deemed an adequate replacement for such a structure - or in fact any structure. We talk so much about being 'green' but replacing buildings every 20-50 years is the anti-thesis to green. Buildings in Europe are in use that are a thousand years old which is a whole lot more 'green' than a lot of current building practices.....but that's a topic for another blog post. I was wrong in fact and the cardboard Cathedral is a temporary structure; crisis adverted.
Can you imagine such a tragedy to your own church or landmark? So sad.
Ban's design was a simple A-frame structure of huge cardboard tubes covered with a clear polycarbonate roof to keep off the weather. The ends are then infilled with stained glass with super-imposed photo images from the old Cathedral (see last few images). 
Above you can see the structure getting erected a few blocks away from the old Cathedral while it continues to be demolished and the site prepared for rebuilding.
The finished project is a beautiful example of modern ecclesiastic architecture in my opinion, and you know I'm primarily a classicist!
The finished space holds 700 parishioners.  I love that it includes something of the old Cathedral (the stained glass images) while leading the way for the congregation to the future and their rebuilding; hopefully a structurally sound replica of the old Cathedral.
What do you think of the temporary replacement and cardboard buildings in general? Could you worship here?
Images sourced from various news sources and not my own.
Unknown Architect, churches, design, Interiors, news, photography, published, Wall Street Journal
Tuesday, November 5, 2013

Thomas Pheasant: Simply Serene

I was so excited to receive a copy of internationally renowned local designer Thomas Pheasant's book, Simply Serene, that I sat down and read it immediately upon opening! Pheasant is well known for his contemporary classical work that is precisely the style I admire most as well as his beautiful collections of furniture for Baker Furniture.
The book is organized into chapters and even sub chapters in an organized fashion that one expects from Pheasant based on his work. The formality ends there though as the book is intimately written on his musings on design, his background, and what got him to where he is today.
Pheasant finds inspiration everywhere and is not shy about sharing his secrets with the reader. While the book features huge lush color images that invite the viewer to study them in detail, every 3rd image or so is in black and white so one can focus on the form or actual design of the space in question.
Included in the back of the book was a great surprise: under the "perfection" chapter a number of before & after projects shown in succession so that you can see just where his work and vision begins. Pheasant believes that before the decorating begins, the space and architecture must be right. I couldn't agree more!
While symmetry abounds in the book I was particularly drawn to the b&w image above of a asymmetrical hallway with interior window, skylight, paneling, and beautiful detailing. This is what doing it right looks like! Pick up your copy today and devote some time to learning from a master!
Photography provided by Durston Saylor and Thomas Pheasant.
Unknown book reviews, books, DC, designers, Interiors, photography, Rizzoli, Washington
Wednesday, September 18, 2013

Beyond Chic: Truth in advertising

Of the many exciting design books out this fall one of the most highly anticipated must surely be that of photographer Ivan Terestchenko.  His book Beyond Chic has just been released by Vendome Press and I have to say the book lives up to its title.
For the past few decades Ivan has been capturing the world's most stylish interiors, people, and events for the most influential magazines. In doing so he has had privileged access to the inner sanctums of some of the most creative individuals of our day which he now shares with us in Beyond Chic. Not surprisingly these are not overly-decorated nor predictable abodes but truly personal, stylish, and creative homes; One almost feels as if they were trespassing.
If a picture is worth a thousand words this book has a billion while still short on terms. The short introductions are soulful and descriptive while letting the work, the photographs, speak for themselves.
Definitely add this book to your fall book order and you won't be disappointed.
Photographs courtesy of Vendome Press by Ivan Terestchenko.
Unknown blogging, books, designers, Interiors, photography, reviews
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