"At Terry Hurt Interior Design, we enjoy the community where we live and it shows through our work. ... While the majority of our projects are right here at home in the Sierras, we do have projects that span from the wine country of California to Oregon, Alabama, and Florida...."
(from Terry Hurt Interior Design, used w/o permission)
The Lemming's sometimes gotten the idea that "interior design" is supposed to be something that's done in places like New York City, Los Angeles, Singapore, and other major metropolitan areas. And that it involves spending enormous sums of money on shiny metal, glass, and - for the 'sustainable' folks - rusty equipment sheds.
That's not the way it is, of course. Although "interior design" tends to focus on the more upscale settings, where folks have a discretionary budget that'll accommodate paying someone to pick out the drapes and wallpaper. Or whatever.
What impressed the Lemming about the Terry Hurt Interior Design home page was the style of the interiors on display. There's more than that slide show, on the "Galleries" page. Warm colors and traditional materials are not what the Lemming would necessarily have expected.
"Four-Square Reformer" Barrymore Laurence Scherer, Arts & Entertainment, The Wall Street Journal (November 3, 2010)
"If one name most widely represents the style of the American Arts & Crafts movement in Theodore Roosevelt's era, it is Gustav Stickley. From 1900 to 1913—his most inventive and productive years—Stickley (1858-1942) designed and manufactured furniture whose solid, four-square lines and meticulous workmanship offered a bracing, masculine counterpoint to the turnings, curves and carvings of the Colonial Revival that dominated middle-class American domestic interiors at the time. Now visitors to the Newark Museum can closely examine not just some of Stickley's finest furniture, but also his contributions as a reformer of American interior design.
"Organized by the Dallas Museum of Art under the curatorship of Kevin B. Tucker, who edited and contributed to the sumptuous catalog (published by Dallas Museum in association with Yale University Press), this is a handsome show, comprehensive without being overwhelming.
"Comprised of more than 100 examples of furniture, metalwork, lighting and textiles produced by Stickley's designers and workshops, the show illustrates the philosophy of simplicity, functionalism and hand-craftsmanship that Stickley adapted to a factory production system. In addition, the exhibition draws attention to Stickley's work as an architect through an illuminating representation of architectural drawings and related designs for houses and domestic interiors...."
Who knew that interior design needed reformers now and again?
These days, "the philosophy of simplicity, functionalism and hand-craftsmanship" wouldn't stick out quite as much as it did in the early 20th century. America was getting out of the Victorian age, when the guiding philosophy for design seemed to be that not a single square inch of visible surface should lack an unnecessary flourish or two.
I'm not a huge fan of the sort of sensory-deprivation Modern styles, but the sort of thing Gustav Stickley was doing didn't go to that 'abstract art you sit on' extreme.
The Lemming also isn't so sure about the 'people's revolution against capitalistic oppressor classes' take on the Arts & Craft movement that crops up - maybe so, but I was doing time in American academia when it seemed that just about everything was part of a class struggle against male-dominated authoritarian - you get the idea.
Well, maybe that's what Arts and Crafts movement was all about. Or, maybe not.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History has some pretty good photos: "The Arts and Crafts Movement in America." And, sure enough, the second sentence reads "Anxieties about industrial life fueled a positive revaluation of handcraftsmanship and precapitalist forms of culture and society."
Like I said, maybe so. I'll credit the Met with having some balance: "Unlike in England, the undercurrent of socialism of the Arts and Crafts movement in the United States did not spread much beyond the formation of a few Utopian communities."
And, like I said, there are some pretty good photos.
Take a look at the furniture, and you may see something that looks a whole lot like things you've seen in a furniture store within the last decade or so. The Lemming hasn't been tracking furniture fashions, but there may have been an Arts and Crafts revival.
Or maybe somebody saw and A & C piece, decided it looked good, and made one with just enough differences to be 'original.'
Back to that Wall Street Journal article: The style's a bit on the artsy side, which makes sense, considering the topic. And you'll find quite a lot of discussion of Gustav Stickley's work. Again, that makes sense.
It's long on text and short on photos: but does a pretty good job of covering the topic, in the Lemming's opinion.
"The New York School of Interior Design opened its exhibit Inspired Impressions: Interior Paintings by Jeremiah Goodman last week and will keep it running through Dec. 20.
"On show will be a retrospective of the New Yorker's signature room portraits and the iconic magazine covers he created for Interior Design Magazine. Carolina Herera, renowned clothing designer and style icon, could be seen among the guests admiring the works, one of which is a painting of her room.
"According to the New York School of Interior Design, Goodman is treasured in the interior design community for his rare ability to infuse static rooms with warmth and personality and bring them so vividly to life.
" 'I got to be known for interpreting a decorator's style,' Goodman told Home Miami.
"Still energetic and fully engaged in his work at 88, Goodman told Habitually Chic writer that growing up during the Depression instilled in him a strong work ethic, and that he still gets up every morning to draw and paint...."
The Lemming isn't sure what the status is, just now, of an artist who's chiefly known for painting representational pictures of interior designs that someone else made. I think it qualifies as "art" - but then I think highly of Norman Rockwell's work, too: including what he did before he became 'relevant.'
Which is another topic.
Sort of. Goodman is known for being the creator of covers for Interior Design magazine: which might suggest that Interior Design magazine covers are "art," while Saturday Evening Post magazine covers aren't. Or weren't.
The Lemming wrenches himself back on-topic again.
There's more detail in the article about the exhibition and Goodman's art. Which will be on display until December 20th. Even better, admission is free. All you have to do is walk over to the New York School of Interior Design exhibit at 161 East 69th Street. Folks who aren't in New York City? Well, that is yet another topic.
"Like clothes, kids can grow out of their rooms quickly. She may like Sponge Bob today, but want a Barbie bedroom tomorrow.
"So when it comes to decorating a child's bedroom, the best advice is: Keep it classic.
" 'If you're going to spend the money to decorate, choose classic, not cartoon-y type fabrics,' said Page Palmer of Page Palmer Interior Design. 'Choose classic fabrics if you want the room to stay. Keep the fabrics more solid and the lines clean.'
"But that doesn't mean your child can't have style. A solid yellow wall and a pale pink bedspread could be accented by a Sponge Bob throw pillow or a Barbie beanbag chair...."
The Lemming's household hasn't had to worry about interior decoration on this scale: but this sort of thing is a real issue for some folks.
The article's mostly common sense observations, which the Lemming would suggest taking with a pinch of salt.
For example:
"...[Palmer Interior Design's Page] Palmer seconded the sentiment. 'Your child may want to have lavender or purple or even brown or black walls. I would let them express themselves. It's important to let them have input and work with what they choose.'..."
P. Palmer has a point. Particularly if a parent started out by giving the kid carte blanche about how the room would look.
On consideration, though, what the designer described was - interesting: a room with black walls, trimmed in gold, with silver fabrics and "lots of white." "Cosy" might not be the first word that comes to mind: but it sure would be distinctive.
"Interior Designers" Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2010-11 Edition, Bureau of Labor Statistics, United States
"Interior designers draw upon many disciplines to enhance the function, safety, and aesthetics of interior spaces. Their main concerns are with how different colors, textures, furniture, lighting, and space work together to meet the needs of a building's occupants. Designers plan interior spaces of almost every type of building, including offices, airport terminals, theaters, shopping malls, restaurants, hotels, schools, hospitals, and private residences. Good design can boost office productivity, increase sales, attract a more affluent clientele, provide a more relaxing hospital stay, or increase a building's market value.
"Traditionally, most interior designers focused on decorating—choosing a style and color palette and then selecting appropriate furniture, floor and window coverings, artwork, and lighting. However, an increasing number of designers are becoming involved in architectural detailing, such as crown molding and built-in bookshelves, and in planning layouts of buildings undergoing renovation, including helping to determine the location of windows, stairways, escalators, and walkways...."
First, the good news: Interior designers work in fairly comfortable surroundings (usually), and are paid to be creative.
Now, the bad news: Interior designers deal with deadlines, budgets, and clients who may or may not be all that reasonable. Or agree with the interior designer about what's "creative" and what's "crazy."
Still, it looks like nice work - if you can get it. That's another thing: A whole lot of very talented folks want to be interior designers. Which means that newcomers to the field will have a lot of company - and a finite number of clients.
Turns out that some states make interior designers get licenses. What the legislators are afraid of, I don't know: exposure to clashing colors, maybe.
"Even if one isn't building a recording studio, there are times when a home or business owner will want to reduce the amount of sound coming into, or out of, a room. While many methods are available, choosing one will depend on the room itself and the amount of money the owner is willing to spend.
"To understand how to soundproof a room, it is first necessary to understand a little about 'sound.' Sound is composed of waves that travel through a medium. Some mediums, or materials, are more resistant to sound than others. Air, for example, offers little resistance and is therefore a major contributor to unwanted noise in a room. To soundproof a room, however, more is needed than just blocking the flow of sound through air...."
So far, so good. Then came this:
"...Another source of unwanted noise in a room can come from vibrations. A vibration occurs when a sound wave travels back and forth from one object to another. This can happen, for example, when a sound wave strikes one wall in a room, bounces off that wall, and transfers its energy to the opposite wall. That vibration can create an annoying noise problem...."
The Lemming is pretty sure that the author meant "reverberation" instead of "vibrations" in that paragraph. ("Reverberation: the repetition of a sound resulting from reflection of the sound waves" (Princeton's WordNet))
Still, it's a pretty good introduction to how to deal with a room's accoustics.
"There must be a good reason for you to be looking for sound dampening curtains. Sound dampening curtains or soundproof drapes are basically just like the regular curtains, except they are made of thick and heavy, sound dampening fabric, or plastic. Are you a parent of a budding musician who is delighted that their offspring plays a musical instrument or sings, yet would like to get some more privacy in other parts of the house when the kid is practicing? Or perhaps, you are a musician and know that sound attenuating curtains can improve the way your voice sounds or the way your instrument projects its voice.
"Regardless of why you are looking for sound dampening curtains, in this article you will find three types of uses which are good reasons for anyone to purchase them. The types of uses are: Blocking the sound from the outside, Blocking the sound from the inside the room, and Sound absorption. Let's see how these play out with what you are trying to accomplish...."
This article focuses more on the practical aspects of making a room usable for singing or instrumental work. And, has two links near the end - which the Lemming appreciated.
The Lemming had a personal interesting while researching this post. I learned that my youngest daughter isn't satisfied with the acoustics in the room we've assigned as her music studio. Taking a look, I can see why. The six surfaces - walls, ceiling and floor - are hard and flat. Great for dust control, but not so hot for making - or teaching - music.
These two articles were the first resources the Lemming found that weren't geared for industrial applications. The foam-core high-density quilted vinyl sheets I'd found earlier might have contained the sound of a drill press: but the Lemming is nearly certain that his daughter would not have been happy with their aesthetic qualities.
"When a patient makes a doctor's appointment or a homeowner hires an architect for a renovation project, he or she expects that doctor or architect to be a professional. And that term 'professional' is measurable.
"To earn their titles and become qualified to practice in their fields, doctors, lawyers, architects and other professionals must fulfill strict sets of educational and experiential requirements.
"Right now, the interior design field is not a recognized 'profession' in the state of Tennessee, and as such, interior designers' scope of services within the building industry is limited...."
Doctors? Lawyers? Architects? - and interior designers? I just about stopped reading there, but I'm glad I kept going. Since America runs on rules, and since larger companies are required to follow those rules: yeah, regulating interior designers almost makes sense.
"...'Interior designers are the only major design participants in the construction industry that are not licensed,' said Leslie Shankman-Cohn, a registered interior designer, partner in Memphis-based Jill Hertz Interior Design.... Because of that, interior designers - even ones who have voluntarily fulfilled the education, experience and testing requirements needed to become state registered and nationally certified - are not allowed to practice independently in certain commercial and institutional settings...."
I see the point: We've got rules that say that a company can't have someone come in and pick new wallpaper and carpets for the office, unless that person spent money to get certified - and that's a little rough on the folks who know what they're doing, but don't have a piece of paper that says they're okay.
Maybe Tennessee needs to set up another layer of bureaucracy, to make sure that its citizens are safe from unlicensed interior designers.
Or, maybe not.
I really don't know.
I do think that it's a bit of a stretch, comparing the legal controls over doctors, lawyers and architects to the situation with interior designers.
It's not that I don't respect what interior designers do. But look at it this way:
Somebody claiming to be a doctor makes a mistake
Somebody else dies
It happens with regulated doctors, too
But never mind that
Some dude says "I'm a lawyer" and makes a mistake
Time's wasted
Until someone who does know how the law works sorts out the mess
Somebody claiming to be an architect designs a building
It gets built
People move in
The building collapses
Lots of people die
So, what's the worst-case scenario with an interior designer? The way I see it, some fellow comes in claiming to be an interior designer. He looks at the place, makes interior-designer sounds, and creates an ambiance that is not only over-budget, but hideous.
Nobody gets hurt, aside from maybe "emotional pain and suffering," and the fellow doesn't get another job.
My take is that having unregulated interior designers is a relatively risk-free, self-correcting situation. The people who know what they're doing get more jobs, and the ones who don't go into another line of work.
"It takes a unique mind to perfectly design and decorate a room. We get inside a few interior designer's heads and find out just how they do it.
"Whether economic times are lean or high-flying, not everyone can afford the services of an interior designer. Most of us browse the internet, flip through home magazines, collect paint chips and watch design shows on TV only to feel like we're ready to tackle a room and then realize we're totally not. Decorating can be pretty overwhelming: You have to choose a style, shop for items, create (and stick to) a budget.
"You need to learn to think like an interior designer, which very few of us do.
"To make decorating easier on you, we asked three designers to share some inside info about the decorating process; when they walk into a space, what goes through their minds and where do they begin? How do they come up with a design concept, and most importantly, how do they execute it? Here's what they said:..."
The headings are:
First, focus.
Become a student of the space.
Make an inspiration board.
Know your budget.
And now, the fun part.
Then, the post has "tried-and-true tricks of the trade." I get the impression that the author like alliteration. So do I, for that matter.
I suspect that the 'inspiration board' may be more for explaining ideas to the client than as a tool for the designer - but I can see where it could be useful in the planning process, too.
This post was a refreshing change from some of the gushy, vague, and hideously high-end articles I've run across. The advice seems practical, detailed enough to be useful - but not so detailed that you'd need to live in the same neighborhood as the writer to make use of it.
And, as I've usually found in 'interior design' posts and articles, there are quite a few nice-looking photos.
"Last week, I introduced my new venture, Beauclair Communications, to Peace Garden Writer. Though it may seem as though it's happened very quickly, most know that in reality, dreams can take a while to build. Now that I'm further along, I thought it might be helpful to share some of the more concrete steps I've taken to turn thoughts into reality.
"Step 1: Reaching Out. Over the course of the last six months or so, I began networking, building on existing relationships that had the potential to turn into something more. I knew this would take time, but it was an exciting part of the process. Since I love discussing ideas with people, this did not feel like a chore at all, and it's something I look forward to doing even more often in the coming months. Over time, those efforts have led to a firming-up of some ..."
She gets to the matter of reclaiming and reorganizing a work space in Step 3. Besides text, there are eight photos.
The post covers quite a range of topics, from marketing to office design and writing habits. The one thing I missed was a diagram or floor plan, showing spatial relationships and flow patterns - but the gist of that information is in the text, and can be guessed at from the photos.
This anecdote from the post stuck in my head:
"...Stephen King once used a closet for his writing space. When he became rich and famous, he moved into a comfortable office with a beautiful wooden desk. He quickly found, however, that the work he produced in that beautiful office was lacking, so he returned to a more modest corner once again. What a great lesson for all of us. Our working space need not be extravagent [sic} to be productive...."
That's an important point, I think. I'm working at a desk that belonged to my father, tucked between a china hutch and a window air conditioner. It's not the ideal arrangement - but it works for me, for now.A tip of the hat to Peacegardenmama, on Twitter, for the heads-up on this post.
"...Featured on HGTV's world premier of 'What's With That Really Expensive House'. The signature of a Patrician! A commanding estate palatial in its carriage; global in its attitude. Rich architectural embellishments; the great hall evocative of the palaces of fairy tales...."
(from The Luxury Brokers, used w/o permission)
And, if you have to ask how much it costs: you can't afford it. The asking price is $40,000,000 USD.
The page's literary style is a trifle florid: but it's real estate advertising copy, after all.
This place is - big. As the description says: "The specification are too elaborate and detailed for an all inclusive list." They had a shot at it, though. In addition to "unparalleled dining salons," the mansion has "a master suite of epic proportions encompassing the marble bath, personal workout gym, a wardrobe wing."
I particularly like that phrase: "a wardrobe wing." I'd like to know how many square feet it covers, and if there's more than one level.
The 22,779 square foot house was built in 2001, with four fireplaces and at least one room that looks like an upscale hotel lobby.
This Mercer Island mansion is probably worth the $40,000,000 price tag: it's on 2 acres, with 175 feet of lakefront - and space for a 140-foot yacht.
Mention of room for a yacht made me curious. Real estate listings can be - imaginative. There was a time when "secluded" might mean "you need a helicopter to reach it." Maybe you need a boat to get to Mercer Island?
Nope. I checked. Mercer Island is just east of Seattle, Washington, connected by Interstate 90. Looks like you can get there by boat - but that you've got the option of driving.
The Luxury Real Estate listing cautions that this mansion is "Only for the discriminating." I'm inclined to agree. The description doesn't use the word, "opulent," but it very well could have.
Remember, the brokers said: "The specification are too elaborate and detailed for an all inclusive list."
Toward the bottom of the page, they have a shot at listing them, anyway:
Basement
Bathroom Off Master Bedroom
Bonus/Rec Room
Den/Library/Office
Dining Room
Double Pane/Storm Windows
Family Room/Great Room
Fireplace
Hot Tub and/or Spa
Security System
Sunroom/Solarium/Atrium, Indoor Vaulted Ceilings
Wall-to-Wall Carpet
Boat Dock
Bus Line, On or Near
City View
And the list goes on. There are several more photos, including one of the water - taken around sunrise, or sunset, it looks like.
As I've written before, I'm glad that some folks are able to afford places like this. When they come up for sale, I get the fun of reading about them, without the hassle of having to take care of two acres of landscaping and a house that's got almost as much floor space as five basketball courts, if I did the math right.
"The BBC's Richard Scott watched the plane coming in to land with chief project engineer Mike Sinnett
"The Boeing 787 Dreamliner has landed at Farnborough for its first appearance at an international air show.
"Boeing's flagship aircraft is different from conventional aircraft, having been built largely out of light-weight composite material.
" 'This is the first time we've had a new airplane at an air show since the early 1990s,' Jim Albaugh, boss of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, told the BBC.
"The plane has been delayed by more than two years after a series of hitches.
"When it was first conceived, the Dreamliner was a revolutionary concept, but rivals have since done much to catch up...."
The BBC article includes this two-minute, 26-second video. You may have a better experience with it than I did. The video itself is fine, probably. But the feed was the sort of choppy off-again, on-again sort that I've learned to associate with online video from old-school companies:
The Lemming linked to a few of the better (my onpinion) YouTube videos covering Boeing's Dreamliner, later in this post.
The BBC announcer said that the Dreamliner is, to a great extent, a "plastic" airplane." He's right, although it sounds cooler to say "carbon fiber."
I'm not terribly surprised that Boeing had "hitches" in production of its Dreamliner. The technology is new, the aircraft is a complex bit of machinery, and American regulations seem focused more on making sure that a new aircraft passes all its tests, than making sure it meets its deadlines.
The Dreamliner is more fuel efficient, uses materials that didn't exist when I was growing up, and advanced avoinics. What's more obvious is the window dressing. Literally.
If you're sitting by the window in an airliner and don't want the sun shining on you, you move a bit of material over to cover the window: pretty much the same technological principle we've used to control light levels since someone put a flap of cloth (or leather) over a cave entrance.
If you're a passenger in a Dreamliner, you'll have the window turn darker or lighter. No leather flaps.
The interior design of the Dremaliner is remarkable - but more about that, after the videos.
Here are those YouTube videos I mentioned. Despite the "raw video" in the first one's title, it's a fairly polished bit of editing.
"Thomson Welcomes the Dreamliner - Farnborough Airshow, July 2010...."
Thomson Airways has ordered at least one Boeing Dreamliner: and they want to be sure that their potential customers know about it.
"Boeing 787 makes maiden flight" [video available on YouTube only] ReutersVideo, YouTube (December 15, 2009) video, 1:08
"Boeing's revolutionary lightweight 787 Dreamliner took to the skies for the first time, marking a new era in air transport as it became the largest passenger jet to fly made mostly of composite materials."
Boeing's 787 Dreamliner's interior design caught my eye. Boeing probably wants to be sure that airlines - and the folks who fly Dreamliners - don't forget that they're looking at a seriously up-to-date aircraft.
Here are Boeing photos I found in a December, 2009, Autopia/Wired article:
The Lemming did a post on this magnificent house a little over a year ago. (March 8, 2009)
From the looks of it, someone decided they liked The Mansion, and had the £35,000,000 to pay for it - or a mutually acceptable amount. I haven't found indications that it's still on the market.
Here's one of the more complete descriptions of the Varma Mansion I found, that's still online:
"Harrison Varma have created 'The Mansion', a luxurious home, located near the Kenwood House in the Hampstead area of London.
"This magnificent modern mansion located in Courtenay Avenue has been built to the highest specification with over 16,300 sq. feet of accommodation comprising of 8 bedroom suites, 6 reception rooms, cinema, indoor pool, gym and leisure facilities, staff apartment, 8 person lift as well as secure underground parking for 6 cars.
"The property is currently [March 12th, 2009] for sale with Savills for £35,000,000 ($49,000,000)."
Harrison Varma has maintained a couple of good-quality photos on the harrisonvarma.co.uk website, but for the most part The Mansion seems to have passed from the Web.
The three exterior views on this post are from househomedesign.com and the Varma website. Housedesign.com has a number of interior views which I presume show the mansion - but I wasn't able to verify that.
Why revisit an upscale house across the Atlantic - that's probably been off the market for a year? Good question.
I noticed that the 2009 post was being visited a bit more often than others from that period: and when I looked, the photo link was broken. Contemporist had taken down the page I'd linked to: which is a fairly common practice for online periodicals.
It makes sense, from a dollars-and-cents point of view: document storage costs money (not much, but it adds up); and quite a few outfits are - well, I suppose "budget conscious" is a good way to put it. It's a little rough on folks who come, looking for information that's not there any more: but that's the way it is.
That's also why The Lemming seldom removes posts - and why I keep 'old' pages on my websites. That's another topic.
Besides: I liked the look of the Varma Mansion, and wanted to come back for a look from time to time, myself.
Varma this, Varma that: who or what is this "Varma," anyway?
Harrison Varma is an architect, working in England, who has found a rather specialized niche for his talents. And, Harrison Varma is an architecture firm. From the about page of the Harrison Varma website:
"Harrison Varma is a boutique design-and-build company specialising in the creation of individually crafted, contemporary, luxury homes built to the highest standards.
"It has its own workforce of over 100 specialists and craftsmen and an independent joinery company...."
I'm near the other end of the income scale, from Varma's clients: but I'm glad that Harrison Varma is around, and that folks with the wealth it takes to build those houses are interested in having places built in the Hampstead, Highgate and Kenwood area of England.
This way, I get to look at photos of magnificent residences - without having to worry about maintaining them.
"Opulence is a word easily applied to the grandest of Newport Rhode Island's summer 'cottages' - The Breakers. The 70-room house was built on the grandest scale, designed to be splendid in every detail, yet including family quarters that could almost be described as intimate...."
(from Patrick O'Connor, courtesy of The Preservation Society of Newport County, via New England Antiques Journal, used w/o permission)
"...Italian Renaissance Palazzo In 1892 a fire destroyed the original wooden structure on the site and Cornelius Vanderbilt II commissioned architect Richard Morris Hunt to replace it with an Indiana limestone Italian Renaissance palazzo inspired by the sixteenth-century palaces of Genoa and Turin. It was to be constructed of non-flammable materials and was completed with amazing speed by a team of some 2,500 craftsmen and artisans between 1893 and 1895. The family took residence immediately, and in August 1895, the Vanderbilt's daughter, Gertrude, celebrated her coming out party in the house...."
(from John Corbett, courtesy of The Preservation Society of Newport County, via New England Antiques Journal, used w/o permission)
That's The Breaker's dining room. You could just about put my family's first house on the floor. By volume, it's quite a bit bigger. That's also what the first floor was supposed to be like: big, impressive, just the thing for having a few hundred of your close personal friends over for an evening.
The second and third floor, according to the article, were where the Vanderbilts actually lived - and was designed on a more human, domestic scale.
Speaking of domestic - this house was designed about a century ago. Things were different then - including what sort of a staff it took to maintain a house. These days, in America, all but the very rich do their own maintenance and domestic chores. Even upscale mansions don't seem to have room for a very large domestic staff - although I'm no expert on that.
A century ago, folks like the Vanderbilts didn't have labor-saving appliances. They had a staff that made the house go.
"...Everywhere there are very narrow passageways for servants and footmen for the purpose of hanging coats, delivering trays, and running errands. The servants were almost inconspicuous and the intent was to make it appear that the house was run almost by magic. The mansion is installed with a very sophisticated servant communication system. Initially, it consisted of a call bell system monitored from the butler's pantry. Speaker tubes were connected to the family quarters as well. A 70-room house with three full floors requires an enormous staff. In the north wing alone there are 33 staff bedrooms. Caretakers also lived at the cottage by the gates and more lived off-site by the cutting gardens, greenhouses, and carriage house...."
One of my relatives had a house (on a smaller scale) with that sort of internal infrastructure. During the Great Depression, my kinsman had cash - and the man who owned the house needed cash rather badly. As a result, I had the chance to see the marvelously efficient layout of service stairs and call bells - but that's getting off-topic.
The New England Antiques Journal article gives a pretty good description of this old house, and how it ties in with America's history.
There's more about The Breakers, on another website:
I'd better explain about me, my extended family, and that mini-mansion my relative bought. My ancestors, and their cousins, uncles, and aunts, weren't all that rich - with a few exceptions - but they weren't all that poor, either. Except for the ones who might have considered a job in The Breakers as a huge upward career move: getting to work indoors would have been a big plus.
My current extended family is about the same way. Some of us are more-or-less in the position of my household: with a roof over the head, walls to keep the wind out, a solid floor and amenities that were beyond the dreams of emperors not all that long ago.
Others are fairly well-to-do, even by American standards.
I think it doesn't matter so much, how much wealth a person has. What matters is learning to be content with what one has. I'm still working on that.
"Having settled on their new property in Poland Spring, the Ricker family wasted little time establishing themselves as Innkeepers, offering rest and nourishment to travelers along the newly built highway to Portland...."
The rest of the text is mostly excerpts from histories of Poland Spring. About 18 thumbnailed photos and illustrations run down the sidebar, linking to larger versions - including a floor plan of the the place when it was a four-story structure.
It's good to see that folks are seeing to it that what's remembered of landmarks in their area is preserved.
"Contemporary fashion home interior decorating ideas"
(from Best Design , A Photo Blog, used w/o permission)
That bit of redundant text is *it,* as far as I could find, when it comes to explaining what we're looking at. I suppose a "decorating ideas" post doesn't need that sort of detail. It is a "photo blog," after all.
That lemony-yellow double-height room was so wonderfully cheery, I figured it would be a nice way to cap off Monday's posts. Speaking of lemons: Does anyone else see a sliced lemon in that ceiling fixture in the balcony's ceiling?
I'd like to know which way this room faces. From the looks of it, there's a good-size window 'behind' the camera. If it faces east, south, or west - can you imagine what it looks like whet the sun hits those walls?
There are two more photos in this post: one of them might be inside the home of someone who loves sparsely-furnished upscale employee lounges. The other is a dead ringer for a two-desk office. Well, some folks work at home.
"Norwegian furniture designer Amy Hunting (currently living in London) has come up with this fantastic bookshelf! To create this innovative and exciting design, Amy has used blocks of over 20 types of wood, found in a London timber importers waste bin and cotton rope. Using off-cuts of wood, Amy makes the most of what others might ignore or throw out, demonstrating an eco-conscience without losing her savvy. Because Amy won the the 2nd award at Green Furniture Award 2010, her prototype has been taken on by Green Furniture Sweden and has been put into production using wood leftovers from a wood flooring factory in Sweden...."
What impressed The Lemming about this bookshelf is not that the designer is "demonstrating an eco-conscience" - it's that the thing would actually work, and efficiently uses materials that might otherwise get discarded. Maybe that's what the writer had in mind with the words, "without losing her savvy."
Seriously, folks: This is the way to approach design. Start with materials that don't cost an arm and a leg, aren't particularly exotic, and might get tossed out if you don't salvage them.
Put them together in a simple, functional way. Then, if you must, use words with "eco" in them, to show that you care.
This design philosophy isn't as new as you might think. For decades, my father used a sturdy bookshelf made from bricks and planks. I've been using essentially the same design, with empty coffee cans instead of bricks. They take up more space, but the assembly has a trifle more lateral stability.
"Could your home finally be a haven if you had endless funds to make it so? Maybe you're a buyer for this mansion, which offers a flower cutting room and a gift wrapping room along with the more predictable theater and bowling alley. In fact, the Spelling mansion is the largest house in Los Angeles-- which surely is an accomplishment-- and is on the market now for $150 million. That price tag makes it also the most expensive home in America....
"...Candy Spelling turns blogger, doling out advice we'd love to follow-- if only we had an obscenely rich dead husband-- on how to make your home a haven. (Hint: cash and way too much of it!)
"Oh, but sour grapes aside...."
Kudos, sort of, to the reporter for recognizing the "sour grapes;" and moving on. The article/post ends with "...Important questions have to be asked: Who gets the doll collection? Who will work in the beauty parlor? And are the candy and roses that match the bedrooms included with the sale?"
There's less - resentment? - in this Forbes video, which was embedded in the San Francisco Chronicle piece:
forbes, YouTube (November 17, 2009) video, 3:04 [I've reduced the size of this video, to fit this blog's format. I recommend viewing it on YouTube: "America's Most Expensive Home." The image quality there is quite good.]
"Legendary TV producers Los Angeles property prices at $150 million."
Let's face it: not all that many people have $150,000,000 dollars available for buying a place like this. Property worth that much, period. But some folks do.
This mansion is - remarkable, to put it mildly. The Forbes video has quite a bit of information about the place. And, mercifully, devotes most of the three minutes and four seconds on showing us features of the place: not someone talking into a microphone in front of something we'd like to see.
The estate, according to the video, was owned by Bing Cosby at one time. The Spellings lived there since 1991. And, apparently, did quite a lot to the place.
The estate is called "The Manor" now. The house has a more-or-less "W" shaped floor plan: There's an areal shot that gives you a quick look at the layout of the house and grounds. Part of the grounds, anyway.
Because of its shape, the house is called l'oiseau - which the video's narrator says means "wing of the bird." My French is shaky at best, but I think it's "the bird" - but what the hey, it's French, and it sounds cool.
The Manor is designed for entertaining. Lots and lots of entertaining. It's got:
A movie screen rises from floor in one room
5 kitchens
5 bars
27 bathrooms
And parking for over 100 cars
In case the house gets too crowded, there's lots of mingling space in gardens. Plural. Looks like there's a lot of variety in those gardens: one has a koi pond, another is a rooftop rose garden.
Right: and 30 foot ceilings in the entry.
I've seen a few seriously upscale homes - and viewed photos and videos of quite a few more. Some of them - were not designed with my aesthetic sense in mind.
The Manor is, I think, a very attractive house. It's got a sort of 'corporate' look to it that I wouldn't be particularly comfortable with: but then, the house I live in doesn't cost upwards of an eighth of 1x10^9 USD: and I don't invited more than a hundred people at a time over to watch movies.
Some of the family get-togethers have involved a fair fraction of that number - but that's another topic.
The Forbes video says that there are folks interested in the place, from Europe, Russia, Middle East, Asia, as well as locals. I'm not clear on why someone from Asia would want a pile like The Mansion: But I suppose there could be advantages to being able to entertain guests and clients in a place you own, rather than renting a facility. Los Angeles, California is, after all, a major American city: There's quite a bit of business done there, besides making movies and television shows.
Bottom line? That's one fantastic house. The video is a decent 'sampler' for what the next owner of The Manor will be getting.
And I'm content to enjoy looking a photos and videos of places like that: let someone else be concerned about maintaining them, and paying the utility bills.
"Be honest. Is your home office more like a workspace/storage closet/guest room? You're not alone. It's a common challenge around the home: If you don't have enough rooms for a separate workspace and guest suite, then you might have some kind of hybrid space.
"You probably know all too well that it's challenging to get a room intended to serve two purposes to do both things well. But thanks to some simple design tips and transformational, space-sensitive furniture...."
Although it's short, you'll have to click through several pages to get the whole article. On the up side, you won't be doing much scrolling.
The points are in numeric order. Sort of. I'm not making this up:
1: Get Organized 2: Make a Plan 3: Create a Multifunctional Space 2: Provide Storage Space 1: Keep It Clean
Then there's a page titled, "Lots More Information." It's got a few links, and URLs for three retailers. No links: just the text URLs.
The five-point plan has some nice photos that sort of go along with what's being discussed. And, happily, you don't have to have a huge operating budget to do some of what they describe.
Overall? I'd say this (article? post?) might be worth skimming, if you're thinking about refitting a room in your house as a bedroom/office.
"In Berlin-Charlottenburg, situated near the river Spree, Iris Steinbeck Architekten realized a new interior for the rooftop apartment as private residence, for a businesswoman internationally active in the field of lifestyle and sustainable development...."
There's that word, "sustainable" again. And not one mention about that ultimate sustainable resource, lint!
But, hey, if saying "sustainable" helps somebody feel good about their pad: that's fine by me. And this is a really nice-looking place. The CoolBloom post has seven photos and a floor plan to help readers get an idea of what the Berlin-Charlottenburg apartment is like.
(from Iris Steinbeck Architekten, via CoolBloom, used w/o permission)
(from Iris Steinbeck Architekten, via CoolBloom, used w/o permission)
There are some high-end residences where I wonder if whoever commissioned the things told the architect something like, "I don't care what it looks like, as long as it looks expensive." This isn't one of those residences. In my opinion, anyway.
It helps that I like the colors and (very) clean lines. I'd probably give a place like that a distinctly lived-in look in under 24 hours: but that's another topic.
Like I said, there are more photos in the CoolBloom post, and a little more text.
"Cool water" The Gazette (Montreal) (January 19, 2010)
"His Filter system is more than something that works and is eco-friendly. Manuel Desrochers shows 'functional objects can be beautiful, too'
"Manuel Desrochers didn't set out to design an award-winning piece of utilitarian sculpture.
" 'I'm not even a designer,' is the first thing Desrochers, the 34-year-old Montreal creator of the Ovopur water-filtration unit, says about himself.
" 'But I've always been preoccupied by water and how underappreciated it is in our society. We open the tap and let it pour, or we buy it in plastic bottles and then throw them away.
" 'In our society, water is taken for granted or hidden away.'
"It's that sentiment that prompted him to come up with an eco-friendly water-filtration system for the home or office that is at once functional, environmentally friendly and aesthetically pleasing. His Ovopur, which retails for about $690, is an egg-shaped water-filtration system of handmade porcelain and mouthblown glass that filters tap water through a reusable glass filter and keeps it cool without electricity...."
(from Pierre Obendrauf, via The Gazette, used w/o permission)
The Gazette gives Mr. Desrochers and his Ovopur, quite a write-up. Deservedly, I'd say. Even if that photo hadn't been in black-and-white to show how sophisticate and elegant the Ovopur is, I think I'd have been impressed. The thing has clean lines; looks like the glorified jug it is; and seems to be fairly easy to use.
Great!
I've run into goofy 'environmentally aware' tech over the decades. Like the eco-toilet that used half as much water as the usual sort for each flush: Just one problem, it took three flushes to get the waste out.
It's gotten to the point where I tend to cringe when I see "eco" in an article.
This time, though, it see,s we're looking at something that actually works.
Whether you call it trafficking in persons, human trafficking, or slavery, buying and selling people isn't nice. And, in quite a few cou...
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