Magazine covers

Do you think a magazine cover such as these would sell well today? No 'celebrity' Kardashians or overly air-brushed photographs of interiors; rather a well rendered image by an artist on a topic covered in the issue.

Imagine a special issue of Architectural Digest or Elle Decor on which Jeremiah Goodman produced the cover. Am I crazy or would this be a wonderful thing and have the design world abuzz? I'm not talking inside the magazine, just the cover; don't take away my pretty photographs!  If magazines are always looking for something new, isn't doing something this 'old' the latest thing?

Another 'old' thing I would love to see in a design magazine spread; Detailed floorplans (oh how a boy can dream.......). Everyone loves a floorplan! Yes or no, am I crazy (I realize thats a whole other question!)?

decorative lamp shades

Lampshades don't always have to be white (or my much preferred black with gold foil interior).  These sconce shades in a house decorated by talented Katie Ridder are a reminder of that fact and add such a nice detail, or layer, to the room in question.  Ridder is wife to architect Peter Pennoyer; talk about the designing duo of talent!

Weekend finds

This past weekend was perfect for shopping the local junk and charity shops and just enjoy the weather.  I was so excited to find this antique Italian neoclassical sidechair (and for only $25, no joke) at my favorite Christ Child Opportunity shop.  They've been in Georgetown for generations and support a great cause which is an added bonus.

I look forward to visiting Haute fabrics to find something appropriate for the chair to replace the green Naugahyde. Leather would be nice (calfskin?) but a deep chocolate or rust mohair would be lovely too -what do you think?

At my favorite local junk shop, Miss Pixies, I always find inexpensive silverplate that is my harmless addiction. It's so useful and at $1 a piece you can't go wrong!

 This pattern is by Century Plate and named 'Grosvenor' which seems really Adam-esque (if thats a word) to me.

I also picked up a few forks that match some of my other silver. It's amazing what a difference a little polishing will make - before and after seen above. Did you find anything exciting this weekend?

Pittsburgh from above

As long time readers of this blog know that while I've called Washington, DC home for nearly 13 years I'm originally from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; home to Heinz ketchup, robber barons, Andy Warhol, and Mr. Rogers.

This past labor day weekend I had the chance to play tour-guide for a few friends on a quick trip to the city which is thankfully only a 4 hour drive from DC.  Seeing your 'home' from a visitor's viewpoint is always eye-opening and left me with a new-found appreciation for the city.

After a day spent at Kennywood (a historic and very pretty amusement park set amid gardens) we visited downtown Pittsburgh from above. No not from a helicopter but on one of the 2 remaining funicular's or "inclines" which lead one from the river's edge up to the neighborhood of Mt. Washington overlooking the city. I believe at one time there were 13 of these cars operating along the river, some of which could even carry cars!

We had typical "Pittsburgh weather" as I call it - overcast and drizzly - but the sun was able to breakout a few times to enjoy the view.

If you ever find yourself in Pittsburgh treat yourself to a round trip on one of the 'inclines'!

A 'Duesy' of a Duesenberg

Recently while in Maine visiting friends I spent some time in the lovely, revitalized town of Portsmouth, New Hampshire; definitely worth a visit let me tell you, charming town! While walking the streets I noticed this fantastic car and thought 'WHAT IS THAT?'. Clean lines like a greyhound and obviously much beloved by its owner in pristine condition.

Duesenberg was an American luxury car company in operation from 1913 until 1937 when it succumbed to the depression. Each car was a limited production and entirely built by hand so they are obviously much valued by collectors today (such as Jay Leno and a fantastic looking car MUSEUM).

While I don't even own a car myself (believe it or not, Americans) and have never considered myself a 'car person' I definitely appreciate the design of many antique cars. Have you noticed any extraordinary cars lately?

Charles M Schulz Museum

While many readers of ArchitectDesign probably think I'm a boring, dry architect, I do have my whimsical side which comes out now and again on the blog. While in California last month I made sure to visit the Charles M Shulz Museum in Santa Rosa.

Designed by C. David Robinson architects, the post-modern building expresses this whimsy through its design. Charles Schulz himself was involved with the design before his death.

In the nearby separate gift shop building are a number of exhibits, one of which was an exact Lego replica of the museum. Compare the 2 photos above, the likeness is amazing!

The gift shop itself is worth a visit.

Located between the museum and the gift shop is a whimsical hockey rink and Warm Puppy Cafe which Charles Schulz would visit everyday and still in operation.

 The black and white facade of the museum echoes the cartoons made famous by Schulz.

Life-size statues of snoopy and the gang are littered around the grounds.

Charles Schulz's office where he drew decades worth of his cartoons was installed piece by piece into the 2nd floor of the museum; a period piece if you ever saw one!

 The colors throughout the museum echo the cartoon strips.

Artworks based on the Peanuts series are to be found throughout the museum as well as many of the original cartoons and stories behind them.

 I loved this 'Snoopy' version of the famous Knoll Bertoia chair.

The 'backyard' is a playful place to rest and enjoy the weather. One of my favorite pieces in the museum wasn't connected with the comic strip at all but rather was a wall mural Schulz created for his daughter early in his career which the current homeowners donated to the museum.

Any visit to northern California isn't complete without a stop to the Charles M Schulz museum in Santa Rosa; it will be sure to put a smile on your face!

Do you layer?

I think the most interesting rooms are layered with finds, accumulated over time, and not 'designed' all at once. This past weekend I picked up a pair of antique Italian gilded wall brackets to hang between the windows in my living room and display some white porcelain.

The treatment of this large set of windows has been kept simple to maximize the view of the park across the street (just one large bamboo shade to cover all 3 windows). I think the brackets add some interest to a rather window treatment -what do you think? too much?

My hope is that the simple lines of the porcelain detract from the ornateness of the brackets. But it's my own house so of course I can be as fussy as I please ;-)

Those trashy Greeks.....

No the title is not meant to be derogatory but hopefully it caught your attention!  Rather, how fabulous is this trash can in the "Greek style" from the 1967 movie Playtime. I watched this movie last night at the recommendation of professor Michael Djordjevitch from the NYC Beaux Arts Atelier. If you get a chance the Atelier is a wonderful organization which gives intensive courses in classical architecture and drawing ranging from 1 week intensive courses to 1 year programs (I've been meaning to take the 1 week course myself). The movie is notable for its intricate and daring sets which are a riff on modern architecture and urban planning -they make this funny movie all the better (thro.out greek style)! Be sure to add Playtime to your netflix queue, you won't regret it.

Happy Valentines Day!

In case anyone missed it, check out the video that is the Google banner today -and a very Happy Valentines Day!

Architectural wedding cake

While in New York this weekend I came across this early skyscraper similar to ones you find all over the country in major cities. While the building type was still new, architects struggled with how to deal with these taller buildings in a traditional/ classical manner. Here this vaguely classical building resembles an architectural wedding cake with many different layers topped with a gilded cupola. Don't get me wrong -I love buildings like this but when you stop to think about them they are rather amusing. On to real cakes; I passed this bakery, Empire Cake, and was blown away by this wedding cake on display which reminded me of the building above. Daisies are my favorite flower and their informal use here on the yellow background was just too pretty to not capture on my camera phone!New York always holds a few surprises for you.

Floorplan fun

During a quick trip to New York this weekend, I stopped into one of my favorite stores in the city, Fishs Eddy. They carry a pattern of dishes and products with different designs of floorplans; small studio apartments on small plates and palatial apartments on platters. Mugs have section drawings; the perfect gift for every architect or designer on your list! I first became aquainted with the pattern last year when a client would carry her renovation plans in the matching tote bag and they then proved to be very popular Christmas gifts from me!
See the entire collection HERE.

Burke's Peerage

I hope you're enjoying the second series of Downton Abbey! Click the image to enlarge. Hilarious! From the pages of GQ, Feb. 2012

Small inventions

Nothing pretty today, but I had to share with you the coolest feature of my apartment in Paris. The trash can was located under the sink on the back of the kitchen cabinet door, with a string connecting the lid to the side of the cabinet.

When the door was opened wide, the string would pull the lid open! I had never seen anything like this (do I live under a rock?). Simple but ingenius! Have you seen anything similar?

Scalamandre

A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of touring the Scalamandre townhouse in New York with Steven Stolman, the new president of the company. Meg from Pigtown Design also recently visited the townhouse so I thought I would add my experience as well!As an architect, I was admittedly a bit out of my league with the technical discussions of the fabric they were showing, but I could of course appreciate their beauty and history. Scalamandre was kind enough to pull some items from their archives for me which appealed to my inner design history geek!One of my favorites was the Boris Kroll designed scheme for Scalamandre from 1973 for the Continental Airlines premier 747 jet service to Honolulu. Imagine flying in such a chic and brightly colored plane on your way to paradise! The colors, seen in the photograph above, ranged from hot pink in first class to serene blue in coach. The fabric samples are attached to a floorplan of the plane itself.With much of their work focusing on historical restoration and recreation, Scalamandre had worked on the Metropolitan opera house renovation and recreated the stage curtains which have this immense gold trim at the base and lush red velvet, seen in the archival box behind. The challenge here was to recreate the original curtain but to meet all of the required codes regarding fire safety. Steven mentioned the seats were all upholstered in costly mohair as wool is a fire retardant.
One of my favorite fabrics from the archives was this charming Auntie Mame'esque chinoiserie print designed by the founder's wife, Flora Scalamandre, in the 1950s - I hope they bring this back!While known primarily for their prints and traditional fabrics, such as this great one on a sofa in the DC showroom, Steven vows to bring the company into the 21st century while leaving their whole legacy intact. His dream is that nothing will be 'out of print' and you can order any of the great fabrics from the companies history.Recent advances in digital technology make this dream possible and the company has developed ways of using the technology that meet or surpass the techniques of the past.

So many new gorgeous prints!

I loved this fern print - very Martha Stewart, don't you think?

This cheerful preppy fabric is meant for outdoors but Steven said that a lot of designers have actually been using this inside. This new ikat pattern is actually complexly woven with a raised, textured design. Another fabric from their new line is "muse ornamentale" which is an updated look at a traditional design. It reminded me so much of the tropically inspired grand fabrics at Vizcaya, which had Scalamandre in on its' restoration!Of course, what would Scalamandre be without their animal prints (we all know their iconic zebra!)

In their new collection is a metallic giraffe print that is beautiful on both sides!

Their classic leopard silk velvet is still available (and is one of their most popular despite the high price tag!)

A new addition and sure to be equally as popular is a tiger printed velvet in either a mottled green or hot pink!

And of course, Scalamandre's iconic zebra print is available in many colorways and as fabric, wallpaper or even umbrellas! I hope you enjoyed the tour as much as I did! Many thanks to Scalamandre and new friend Steven Stolman (who is also a CMU alum I found out!).