Houseplans.com Hot Sheet

EYE ON DESIGN: News from PCBC

Talking Points

At this week's Pacfic Coast Builder's Conference in San Francisco the glass was half empty and half full: in other words there was an understandable air of worry about economic realities but also a sense that this is an exciting time of reinvention with its own set of opportunities. Two speakers made me think about a key aspect of my job -- editing our universe of 28,000+ plans down to manageable collections.

Consumer research guru J. Walker Smith (president of Yankelovich, Inc. and author of Generation Ageless: How Baby Boomers Are Changing The Way We Live Today...And They're Just Getting Started) spoke about how our lifestyle aspirations are changing dramatically. The super-abundance of choice has paradoxically created numerous scarcities. For example, if you Google something and get hundreds of thousands of results, that's not very useful -- there's a scarcity of truly relevant information despite all the abundance. We need ways to smarten or personalize the search for what we want. And that's what I hope I'm doing when I assemble groupings of plans out of our huge inventory. I want to be your "Smart Plan Searcher."

Take this delightful house.

It's plan 64-168 in our Summer Living Collection. I included it in the collection because to me it immediately says seashore vacation. I think it's romantic and wonderful. And here's another in the collection:

I can imagine enjoying an evening meal outside on that covered terrace (plan 410-123). My goal is to help you think about what you want in a home by gathering houses that illustrate particular ideas or design approaches. So if you're interested in the concept of summer living -- which is all about a relaxed outdoor-oriented lifestyle that's not confined to cabins -- I hope this collection helps you clarify what you want in a house.

Also at PCBC, best-selling author Malcolm Gladwell spoke about the mechanics of good judgement; how the process of making accurate assessments of the world around us is fragile and easy to undermine. He was elaborating on themes in his recent book titled Blink (a fascinating read). I think looking for the right house is a good example of what he's talking about: while you're judging what plan is best for you it's easy to be distracted by insignificant details. This "tail wagging the dog" or "woolgathering" syndrome happens to me sometimes as I organize plans around a theme or feature. (It also happens when I'm driving and take a wrong turn because I've been admiring a building instead of concentrating on where I'm going...). I always need to remind myself to concentrate on the clarity of the plan or elevation and how it relates to the subject of the collection. It's no wonder that coaches are always yelling "Focus!" at their team members.

Home Show Hit Parade

Several new products at PCBC caught my attention. 

Wireless Light Wizard. I was impressed by a new wireless, radio frequency-based lighting control system that reduces the amount of wiring needed in a new home. It's called the Whole House Lighting System from Verve Living Systems. Once it's installed you can change where you want to put your light switches. In effect each switch becomes a remote. You can even keep one in the car so when you get home in the dark you can click all the lights on as you enter the garage.

Flexible Faucet. Kohler has introduced a cool new articulating kitchen faucet. The segmented neck can move in any direction for aiming the spray, even upwards to create an instant drinking fountain.

And the gear-shift like handle is seductive too.

Canopy Kit. Many new houses don't have weather protection over entries. Here's a fine solution: the LightLine canopy kit from Feeney Architectural Products. It's a sturdy ultraviolet light-resistant acrylic (clear or tinted) panel supported on stainless steel brackets. It comes in a kit you assemble and then screw to the wall.

The same company makes handsome handsome railings out of stainless steel cables that almost disappear.

Skylight Power. Velux, the people who bring you a huge range of versatile skylights have now created a skylight lookalike that's actually a solar powered hot water heating mechanism.

It looks just like a skylight. Pretty cool.The hot water tank is separate from the solar panel. Stay tuned for more product news.

EYE ON DESIGN: Miles of Tile

All Fired Up

Decorative ceramic tile is way cool: there's an almost infinite array of colors, textures, styles, and motifs. Using it is one of the simplest ways to inject a little personality into your new house. Consider it for a kitchen backsplash, a shower, or even as a permanent rug in your front hall floor, like this example:

Here are more examples to get you thinking. Bet you can't look at just one.

 

The latter two examples are from California Pottery and Tile Works, which continues a long tradition of ornnamental tile manufacture going back to the early 20th century in places like Malibu, California. In fact you can still see examples of the original tile made by Malibu Potteries, which was a precursor to California Pottery, at the Adamson House in Malibu. The handsome Spanish Colonial Revival style house was built for the daughter and son-in-law of Malibu Potteries' owners, Frederick and May Rindge, in 1929 and is a veritable tile showcase. It's now a state park so you can tour it. My favorite features in the house are the tile rug shown above and the dog-washing tub outside the kitchen, shown below.

Even without the tile this is a good idea for dogs -- and humans too! -- on hot summer days.

Or here's an example of Arts and Crafts tile from Pewabic Pottery in Detroit, Michigan, which was founded in 1903 and also has a museum you can visit.

The tiles have a handcrafted look.

I use this spiral one -- it's three inches square -- as a coaster on my desk. Maybe some day it'll go into a backsplash.

If modern is more your taste, then consider Heath Ceramics, which was founded in the 1950s in Sausalito, California and has been beautifully revived and reinvigorated in the last few years. Heath's elegant minimalist architectural shapes and subtly layered colors add depth and character to any space. I'll have more to say about Heath in a future posting.

EYE ON DESIGN: New Perspectives & Products

Be the Change

I've heard Ghandi's famous phrase often recently with regard to green building. But last Friday at the Dwell On Design Conference and Expo in Los Angeles it seemed relevant in more general terms. Take the panel on evolving modes of architectural practice moderated by the multi-talented Frances Anderton, Dwell's LA editor and the producer of the design and architecture program "DNA" for KCRW Radio (I was the mystery guest). The architects talked about how they weren't just designers but also builders, branders, fabricators, and even developers. It struck me once again that the best architects are trained imaginations, adept at seeing problems as opportunities, especially as they spoke about looking for new materials, new uses for old materials, and new ways to make good design available to more people. That's where I came in, because like Dwell and Sunset, Houseplans.com is also about changing the architectural paradigm so that better home design becomes accessible to a wider audience. The idea of changing perception was visible throughout the expo. For example, here's the "Bollero" light from HOM Lifestyles.

It makes you think about light as a kind of rope trick, which in a way it really is if you include the cord!

Or here's a raised bed that rolls. It's called the Food Map Container, from Food Map Design, founded by a landscape architect.

The tub is made of 100% recycled post-consumer plastic. Its comes in short and tall sizes and is perfect for small patios or decks where you want to grow something quickly and move it around easily. It brings new meaning to the phrase "garden variety."

More for Outside and In

Some other products caught my eye, like these long narrow modular concrete pavers.

They're from Stepstone Inc. and create a deck-like pattern on the ground.

Or, getting back to Ghandi -- I mean green -- here's a company that makes bamboo cabinets.

They're from Bamboo Hardwoods in Seattle. They're durable, sustainable (bamboo is a grass and grows very fast), and the cabinetry radiates a honey-warmth.

Kirei Board is getting more attention. Here it's used for a vanity.

Manufactured in Japan from reclaimed sorghum straw in a nontoxic adhesive, Kirei Board is a strong, lightweight substitute for wood. My friend and former colleague at Sunset, Peter Whiteley, has even used Kirei in his woodworking projects. See his handsome "Eco Table."

These products complement many of our plans, like #48-254.

When you start looking, new possibilities abound. See the change!

EYE ON DESIGN: Fire the Imagination

The Strength of Simplicity

Recent stints on two design juries reminded me that inspiration often derives from limitation: constraints in materials or budget have a way of freeing the imagination.

City College of San Francisco's ARCHISTRUCTERIOR competition celebrating the Architecture Department's 60th anniversary took the form of a happening in a downtown plaza. Each team of students was asked to design and build a full-scale construction representing the cultural, social, and ethnic diversity of specific San Francisco neighborhoods within four hours. Building materials: two kits of parts; one supplied by the department of architecture and containing things like boards and wire, the other containing "neighborhood elements" assembled by each team. Winners included the the following:

The team representing Chinatown created a dense mini-street under a canopy of Chinese take-out menus:

The team representing the Haight-Ashbury fashioned an evocative hilly landscape out of long-playing records melted in a microwave:

 

Both celebrated distinctive neighborhood qualities, features, or memories in vivid ways. In other words you can do and say a lot with just a few elements.

The strength of simplicity also became apparent in Atlanta where the Chrysalis Remodel Awards Jury reviewed more than 500 entries from across the country. Here's a photo of the entry binders burying Ken Canline, the organizer of the program:

Judges included yours truly (in the green sweater), Leslie Plummer Claggett (in white), Editor at Woman's Day Special Interest Publications; Oma Blaise Ford (in black), Senior Deputy Editor, Home Design, Better Homes & Gardens; and Louis Joyner, Photographer and former Home Editor, Southern Living:

Here the residential remodel projects that made it to the top of the heap often demonstrated an elegant simplicity: they didn't use too many different materials and they solved space problems in clear and uncluttered ways.

So how does all this relate to finding your perfect layout on Houseplans.com? By way of a little common sense advice: Stick to the basics: a well thought-out home plan should help you get the best out of where and how you want to live without adding extra complications. Simplify and savor!

EYE ON DESIGN #3: Links and Lots

NEWS AND IDEAS ABOUT HOME from Dan Gregory, Editor of Houseplans.com, the largest online source of architectural stock plans

MEDIA COVERAGE

Zahid Sardar, Design Editor of the San Francisco Chronicle, reports on Houseplans.com's intention to develop a collection of plans inspired by mid-century modern designs like the one shown below, by Cliff May, which is included in my book Cliff May and the Modern Ranch House:

The article also describes our interest in providing more plans that explore the relationship between house and lot, like this one, for a sloping site. It's Houseplans.com # 64-166.

Other articles about the book have appeared in the following publications:

Architectural Digest

California Home & Design

C magazine

Men's Vogue

I'll keep you posted on future developments.

 

EYE ON DESIGN #2: Mid-Century Mod

NEWS AND IDEAS ABOUT HOME from Dan Gregory, Editor of Houseplans.com, the largest online source of architectural stock plans

This Just Out!

My book Cliff May and the Modern Ranch House, published by Rizzoli with photography by Joe Fletcher, who does a lot of work for Wallpaper, and foreword by film producer Joel Silver, is now available in bookstores.

Cliff May was the father of the suburban ranch house, a rambling, modern, romantic, outdoor-oriented house form that took the country by storm after World War II. He was not the only ranch house designer but he was the most influential, thanks to his gift for innovation, canny salesmanship, and flawless timing. He popularized a seductive and yet very practical concept of California living. Among the features he perfected were the slab foundation, the window wall, the vanity, the ridge skylight, and the whole-house intercom.

He personally designed more than 1,000 homes and commercial buildings, including the offices of Sunset magazine, built in 1951, where I was privileged to work for many years. Sunset's glass-walled lobby is shown below. You can see it and tour the extensive gardens designed by landscape architect Thomas Church (80 Willow Road, Menlo Park, California) from 9 to 5 Monday through Friday. Or subscribe to the magazine and learn about Living in the West. The corporate headquarters and the magazine remain vital extensions of each other. There's even a "Test Garden" where stories are developed.

Cliff also designed the famous Robert Mondavi Winery of 1966
in California's Napa Valley, illustrated here with a wine label showing the iconic arch and tower.

Rediscovery And Renewal

Builders and developers loved Cliff May's plans: you can find his houses in suburban neighborhoods across the country. Now a Cliff May renaissance is under way, especially in places like the Long Beach Ranchos in Southern California. Doug and Rochelle Kramer exemplify this trend: they're realtors who live in a Cliff May and specialize in restoring and selling his designs. See their current offerings at Rancho Style. Here are two:

 

For more evidence of May (not March!) Madness visit The Cliff May Registry, a labor of love by Cliff May homeowner Stephen Meade, who has created the largest online national listing of Cliff May designs. Mid-century modern tract house designs are also part of the general discussion groups at a website called Lottaliving. The Architecture & Design Collection at the University of California at Santa Barbara will soon be fanning the Cliff May campfire with a major exhibition on the ranch house tentatively scheduled for 2011.

A Book Stampede

The May revival is part of a larger renaissance of interest in mid-century modern home design of all kinds, prompted by such books as Alan Hess' The Ranch House and Forgotten Modern, Kathy Samon's Ranch House Style, Eichler: Modernism Builds the American Dream by  Paul Adamson and Marty Arbunich, and Michelle Gringeri-Brown's Atomic Ranch, which is a sister publication to Atomic Ranch Magazine.

Eichler houses have an important champion in the Eichler Network, which publishes an informative magazine called CA-Modern. 

Meanwhile Back At Houseplans.com

All this interest in mid-century modern tract ranch houses has made me want to start a Mid-Century Modern Collection at Houseplans.com. We're beginning to work on it now, so don't be a stranger; click on Houseplans.com to see our ever expanding inventory of architectural plans.

EYE ON DESIGN #1

NEWS AND IDEAS ABOUT HOME from Dan Gregory, Editor of Houseplans.com,

Showtime!

With more than 100,000 attendees and hundreds of exhibitors, last month's International Home Builders Show in Orlando was a good place to see new building innovations (many before they hit the consumer market), identify home trends, and meet Houseplans.com designers. Here are some new products that rose above the fray for me at least, and other highlights:

 

Color in the Kitchen

Viking Ranges  now come in much more than silvery stainless steel and black. These substantial units cook with color: rich red, cobalt blue, and vibrant orange.

Basin and Range (Apologies to author John McPhee)

The rectangular ramp sink is appearing in more and more product lines. Usually the drain is at one end of the sink and the basin is a sloping rectangle, turning it into functional abstract sculpture. One particularly handsome version is the Boutique Collection of solid surface sinks by MTI Whirlpools.

Soap Opera Success Story

GE Profile introduced its remarkable new front load washer with “SmartDispense” technology coming to market in May 2008. A drawer at the base of the washer holds a 6-month supply of detergent and softener that’s automatically dispensed according to the size of the load. No need to lug those big jugs of laundry liquid home more than twice a year. I know a family with 8 children who are eager to have this mighty multi-tasking washer.

Green Day

Eco-friendly and energy-efficient products and ideas are burgeoning. We saw a number of gas and even electric tankless water heaters, which are more energy efficient than conventional gas water heaters because they only heat water when it's needed. For example, Noritz offers a wide range of capacities.Viridian is a new company developing an electric tankless water heater that’s designed to run nearly 100 degrees cooler than other brands (while still providing the same hot water temperature­) so that the elements extract less mineral content from the water (which causes mineral build-up in the system). The product line is scheduled to debut in the fall.

Green guru architect Bill McDonough was at the show signing copies of his important book Cradle to Cradle written with chemist Michael Braungart, which goes beyond the mantra “Reduce, reuse, recycle” to propose taking nature itself as the model for making things. It’s really a new way of thinking about production. Provocative and fascinating.

Ideas to steal

The NextGen demonstration house introduced Lifeware a software that integrates a home's lighting, security, thermostat, appliances, family photos, TV, and music onto one simple interface controlled by touch screens. It's a version of the digital future. (But can you touch a screen and have the house clean itself and take out the recycling and garbage?? That's what I want to know...) Balancing the futuristic elements were several good old fashioned space-saving ideas, including a laundry sink counter that folds out of the way when not in use, and a simple shelving system built over the toilet.

What Home Buyers Want

Better Homes & Gardens' Consumer Preference Survey identified five key elements that people are looking for in a new home. Here they are. Do you agree?

1. An all-new kitchen that looks great, is fun to work in, and that's more than a kitchen

2. The right amount and type of storage

3. A master suite that feels like a luxurious hotel room

4. Well-designed spaces that consumers can personalize

5. A separate, convenient, and sizeable laundry room

They're useful criteria to consider as you explore the more than 27,000 plans at Houseplans.com . Stay tuned!