Container Zen
It may be a cliché but the new year makes me feel – if only for a moment – a new determination to simplify. Take books for example: what I really should do is edit down my library to whatever fits one bookcase, like this clever “reading ring”
sculpture by Danish architect David Garcia, founder of MAP Architects. According to the artist the work, titled Archive II, “is a circular library for the Continue reading
Posted in Design ideas, Storage, Uncategorized
Let It Snow — Or Not
After all the feasting it’s time for a change of pace and some fresh air for the new year, so here are two innovative and unusual mountain cabins by Seattle architect Tom Lenchek and his firm Balance Associates, to whet your appetite for an architectural escape. Let’s start with Tom’s own retreat near the
Methow Valley in eastern Washington. The strong shed roof profile matches the slope of the site. Inside, a dramatic double height great room rises from a glass Continue reading
Posted in Cabins, Uncategorized
Edible Architecture
To celebrate the holidays we decided to make a gingerbread house based on our exclusive and historic Plan 447-1 by William Turnbull, which was originally designed as a cottage for The Sea Ranch, the famous second home community on the Northern California coast. Here it is — the simple gable roof (standing seam
metal out of royal icing) and porch evoke the quintessential mountain cabin. Snow on the doorstep (more royal icing) indicates an unusual weather event for the Sea Ranch and the chocolate mint pathway pavers and gumdrop shrubs give new meaning to the term “edible landscape.” The view below shows how the Continue reading
Everybody’s in the Kitchen
It’s just as we suspected — when we’re at home we spend most of our time in the kitchen and family room. Now there is documentation to back up that assumption, along with this compelling diagram, thanks to a fascinating new
study by the Center on Everyday Lives at the University of California at Los Continue reading
Five New Architecture and Design Books for your Holiday List
‘Tis the season to give architecture — as literature, I mean. Here’s a quick roundup of titles to consider for the design buff on your list.
Actor’s Equity. Stimulating the architectural imagination through playing with basic forms — the toy block approach! – is the theme of actress Diane Keaton’s
beautiful new book House (Rizzoli, 2012). It’s a lavish and mesmerizing Continue reading
Posted in architectural toys, Books, Uncategorized
Eye on Design is the blog of Houseplans.com, where Editor Dan Gregory covers home design — from products to process.