Women and the Making of the Modern House Part 2

Posted on January 27, 2014 by tina

Hollyhock House

American heiress, Aline Barnsdall commissioned Frank Lloyd Wright to design Hollyhock House because she wanted to build a theatre for her newly formed theatrical company. Her goal was to use her experience and vast wealth to establish a centre for art theatre in American to rival those found in Europe. She wanted a place where her architect, Frank Lloyd Wright â€œcould build a theatre, a community, and a home that would match her dreams with a boldness and individuality of their own.â€Â Aline Barnsdall hoped her experimental project for an American theatre community would grow and prosper in California.

This collaboration between Frank Lloyd Wright and Aline Barnsdall during the period of 1915 and 1923 was unusual because it called for a rethinking of building types and challenged the â€œnotions of house design, family life, and domesticity.â€Â Hollyhock House was not designed for the private life of a family but rather as a centrepeice in a public garden, and a theatre complex.Â This freed up architect and client to push the boundaries of architecture including the experiences of monumental form, theatricality, and how the house framed the landscape.

The hollyhock is used as a central theme to the house, with many symmetrical decorations adapting the plant’s general appearance. Planters are decorated with the motif and filled with the plants themselves, and Wright’s stained glass windows feature a highly-stylized hollyhock pattern.

Alice T. Friedman contends that Hollyhock has a lot to teach us about “creativity and about the sorts of new experiences that become possible when conventions of social behaviour, program, and planning are challenged.”

Disillusioned by the costs of construction and maintenance, Barnsdall donated the house to the city of Los Angeles in 1927 under the stipulation that a fifteen-year lease be given to the California Art Club for its headquarters, which it maintained until 1942.Hollyhock has been used by various organizations and has had restoration work done over the years.Â The U.S. Department of the Interior designated Hollyhock House a National Historic Landmark in 2007 (Wikipedia)

All photos are from Alice T. Friedmanâ€™s book, or as noted by Rick McNees.

Women and the Making of the Modern House Part 1

Posted on January 19, 2014 by tina

Why were independent female clients such powerful catalysts for innovation in the modern house?

Women and the Making of the Modern House, written by AliceÂ T. Friedman, is a thought-provoking book that answers this question by exploring two seemingly unrelated topics: gender roles, and architecture.

Specifically, the book focuses on 6 innovative projects, involving female clients and well-known architects. These projects are the best-known examples of unprecedented architecture that had female clientele at the forefront of each project’s innovation. It combines social and architectural history to investigate the roles played by both the architects and the clients, and explores the processes of collaboration and negotiation through which decisions about program and design were made.

A conviction shared by modern architects and their women clients was that the essence of modernity was the complete alteration of the home â€“ its construction, materials, and interior space.

â€œNot only did women commission avant-garde architects to provide them with houses in which to live out their visions of a new life, but these visions rested on a redefinition of domesticity that was fundamentally spatial and physical. A powerful fusion of feminism with the forces of change in architecture thus propelled these projects into uncharted realms of originalityâ€

The 6 innovative houses are:

Hollyhock House, Los Angeles, 1919-21, by Frank Lloyd Wright for Alice Barnsdall

House 2: The Schroder House, Utrecht, the Netherlands, 1923-24, by Gerrit Rietveld for Truus Schroder

House 3:Â Villa Stein-de-Monzie, by Le Corbusier, was constructed from 1926-1928 and it is located in Garches, France.

House 4: Farnsworth House by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Plano, Illinois, 1945-51

House 5: The Constance Perkins House by Richard Neutra in Pasadena, California, 1952-55

House 6: Vanna Venturi House by Robert Venturi, Chestnut Hill, Pennsylvania, 1961-64

Stay tuned to learn more about these houses and how their women patrons of architecture were catalysts for innovation.

All photos are from Alice T. Friedman’s book.

Happy New Year!

Posted on January 12, 2014 by tina

This week was minted for me. Minted in all senses of that word; fresh, new, optimistic, tasteful and of value. Every year we receive a Christmas card from family friends, the Ds. Over the years, their family of 9, (seven children) has grown with each wedding, and with each new grandchild. This yearâ€™s holiday card was particularly beautiful. The D family photo was of all 15 of them on their 5^th childâ€™s wedding day. But this yearâ€™s card was different. This one was really beautiful. It had a pearlized, lustrous finish that made everyone in our household turn it over to find out who had printed it. It was by a company I had not heard of before called Minted.Â I had made cards through other companies but this one was very distinct.Â Because I do not have official permission to show you my friend’s card, at this time, I am just going to show you a slice, to give you a sense of what Minted can do.

Coincidently, a couple of days later I received an email from Matt from Minted. He asked if I would consider doing a review of Mintedâ€™s on-line stationary site. Normally I might not have paid any attention to the request, but because I had just received the D familyâ€™s Wedding announcement/Christmas Card, I was intrigued.Â Minted would like to introduce people to their 2014 wedding series. Here is the link to this new collection: http://www.minted.com/save-the-dateÂ .

What I noticed immediately about Minted is that they have an amazing collection of modern designs. The compositions are fresh, current and aesthetically pleasing. They have the look of being thoughtfully composed by trained designers. This is no coincidence, because Minted prides itself on their commitment to good design. They can give this assurance because of the Minted Design Challenge. Designers submit their ideas and the Minted community votes on which designs Minted should sell.

Minted has a great selection of announcements, as well as, photo cards.

Their â€œmission is to connect he worldâ€™s best design geniuses with a community of design-savvy customers who enjoy the creation and appreciation of good design.â€ Well, I cannot help but to agree with this statement. As a design-savvy consumer I instantly appreciated the quality and artistry of this yearâ€™s D family Christmas Card. I will be looking to Minted to give my family card the same â€˜lustreâ€™ and panache next year, and you should too. Given my own commitment to good design you can trust that I mean what I say.Â Have a look at the Minted options and see how you can wow your friends and family! www.minted.com

If you missed getting out your holiday card, try one of these Valentine’s Day cards and show your love!

Creating A Look

Posted on October 29, 2013 by tina

Mrs. Godfrey Chair by Jonathan Adler, $1,695.00 and available at Mint Interiors; Floral Arrangement by Quince Fine Florals, in vintage vase; Lamp by Letizia Chandelier, $583.

Barcelona Chair from Living Space; Carpet from East India Carpets; West German Vintage Vases, Attic Treasures; Painting by Hamish Todd

Revamped Vintage Chair, cushion and crystal glasses from Gild and Co. DIY flowersÂ by homeowner, Bette.

Designing Everyday Objects

Posted on October 17, 2013 by tina

Everything is designed, even household objects we use and look at everyday. Have a look at some of the beautiful everyday objects that I found at Vancouver Special on Main Street.

The ceramic bowl above, has a beautifully fitted wooden lid. The carafe, the juicer, and the bottle opener are all designed by Alessi, an Italian Design House. Alessi products are part of many permanent museum collections, which speaks to the quality of the designs they produce.

According to Alberto Alessi, “a true work of design must be able to move people, to convey feelings, to trigger memories, to surprise, to go against the grain… We work on expressive languages and on the expressive potential of the items… From this point of view, design intended… to conjure up images in people’s minds, which makes them a bit happier, still has tremendous potential. â€

I especially enjoy these objectsâ€™ mixture of utility and whimsy that puts the fun in functional.

The unique â€˜crumpled paperâ€™ cups above are another example of a witty twist on the expected. Not only are they aesthetically pleasing, but they feel good in your hands.Â The wooden spoons’ simple geometry are a departure from what weâ€™re used to, but very functional and attractive. The toilet brushes and scrub brushes are all designed with wood and natural bristles. The toilet brush in particular has a kind of material gravitas that allows this often hidden object to be tastefully displayed.

You won’t feel the need to hide the broom and scoop below because it is nice enough to show off.

This carpet is made from felted balls. Each carpet contains hundreds of felt balls, and will definitely brightens up any room while imbuing it with a hand-made human scale.

These classic vases are designed by Finnish Architect, Alvar Aalto, in 1936, and are still produced by Iittala. From the Iittala website:

“The Aalto vase dates back to 1936 and was first presented at the Paris World Fair the following year. Its fluid, organic form is still mouth blown today at the Iittala factory. It takes a team of seven skilled craftsmen working as one to create one Aalto vase â€“ an icon of modern design, Alvar Aalto is undoubtedly one of the greatest names in modern architecture and Scandinavian design.”

Itâ€™s truly amazing how clean, modern design continues to feel Â fresh 77 years later.

Next time you are about to buy an everyday used object think about how it is designed and why you chose it.Â For me this kind of thoughtful connection with the design, and the designer, is part of a life well-lived.

Vancouver Evening Style

Posted on October 14, 2013 by tina

Recently, I was at a friend’s birthday party at La Pentola Della Quercia in the OPUS Hotel Yaletown, when I looked up and saw something SPARKLE.

At the bar was a beautiful bride and her groom having a nightcap in full wedding attire. The brideâ€™s retro style was very evocative, and evidently she had designed the beaded, low-back gown, accentuated with jewelry and sparkly shoes.

Seeing this bride, just dripping with glamour, I got a distinctly nostalgic feeling. The look is such a welcome departure from the conventional, puffy or â€˜pufflessâ€™, strapless wedding dresses that seems to dominate the wedding scene.

This Gatsbyesque style dress by contrast is not only glamourous, itâ€™s practical. Â Â A bride, according to traditional wedding designer Reem Acra, â€œâ€¦wants the glamour, but she wants the flowy dress â€” so she can move â€” the sexiness and the embellishment,â€ she said. â€œAll these elements, in my mind, are saying â€™20s.â€

Jenny Packham, an evening wear and bridalÂ gown designer in London, comments, â€œIt was a wonderfully liberating time for women, to wear modern no-fuss clothing.â€ Thereâ€™s a â€œstrong contemporary relevance,â€ she added.

You donâ€™t want to overdo it though and risk looking like a period piece. Â Instead, like this bride, update the look by focusing on the Art Deco embellishments and dress cut. The long reverse pendant necklace is playful, and accentuates the bare plunging backline of the dress.

Back to the party……cousins with style.

Home Tours: Rochelle’s place in Vancouver

Posted on September 24, 2013 by tina

This is Rochelleâ€™s fabulous home. Rochelle and her family have recently moved back to Canada after living abroad for the last 23 years, and in Hong Kong, for the last 7.Â Rochelleâ€™s interior design degree from Parsonâ€™s in New York has served her well as is evident through the house. Wanting a pied-Ã -terre in Vancouver while her kids finished school, Rochelle and her husband took an old Kitsilano house and undertook a massive renovation.

They maintained the exterior character of their shingled Kitsilano house to respect the context of the neighbourhood. Only the large modern front door hints at what lies on the other side.

Typically homes of this vintage are comprised of small rooms where one must pass through one room to get to another. To offset this rabbit warren feel, Rochelle has opened up the rooms and totally modernized the aesthetic. Â The living room, dining room and kitchen are all one large space. She recognized that with so much openness, ample storage would be a must. So all along one wall are built in storage cabinets setting a clean datum line for art and accessories.

The stairs are pure sculpture. Glass rails are bolted with stainless steel fasteners transparently enlarging the space.

Cleverly tucked away behind the kitchen is the generous â€˜back of houseâ€™ where laundry, more storage, and home office reside. Recognizing that life happens, here the kids can drop their backpacks, shoes and what-have-you without impacting the pristine interiors of Rochelleâ€™s home.

Of particular beauty is Rochelle’s homage to China and Hong Kong, manifested through artwork, ceramics and the cinnabar high-gloss tiles in the powder room.

The couple are avid art collectors, and have acquired work ranging from graduating artists at Emily Carr to eclectic pieces that span the globe.

Above is the Scandia Easy Chair, 1957, by Hans Brattrud of Norway.Â Their sophisticated design aesthetic clearly shines in their collection of classic modern furniture pieces, right from the entry porch with its Verner Panton chairs through to the Saarinen dining table with Tulip chairs, nicely rounded out by the Arne Jakobsen Egg and Saarinenâ€™s Womb chairs.

Even family time is design accented as the family plays backgammon on a Jonathan Adler tapestry board in the casual attic lounge.

A Musician’s Home in Los Angeles

Posted on September 19, 2013 by tina

This 1950s ranch-style home in Sherman Oaks was completely renovated for Foofighter’s bassist Nate Mendel. This Mid Century Modern, was one of my favourites on the Dwell Home Tours. The home had an eclectic, tasteful decorating style with hits of colour throughout. Although the house has a new two-story studio guesthouse addition, from the street-side point of view the house sits low and unassuming. A wood-clad box demarcates the entrance. A hedge of Japanese blueberry provides privacy on the street side, “where a translucent gate opens onto a splashing fountain, and a bridge to the front door spans a sunken bed of succulents in lieu of a pond” (from Garden Design, read more).

PolishedÂ concrete floors ground the interior along with warm wood accents, while huge windows and sliding glass panels offer great views of the entire Los Angeles Valley, with a backdrop of the Verdugo and San Gabriel mountains beyond.Â According to the Architects, Scrafano and Gus Duffy Architects, the muted accents of a gray palette provide relief from the brilliant Los Angeles sun. The clientâ€™s desire for environmental sustainability influenced all material choices, construction practices, solar technologies as well as lighting and water fixtures (from Scrafano Architects website). The project is a collaboration between Scrafano Architect, Gus Duffy Architects and Mark Tessier Landscape Architecture.

The bits and pieces:

All photographs have been taken by me unless noted on the individual photos.

Style: From Runway to Room

Posted on August 17, 2013 by tina

My birthday was August 14 and I spent the day with my daughter who is visiting from Los Angeles. We took a walk down Main Street, in Vancouver, which has become a funky, hip neighbourhood with many boutiques, antique and vintage goods, cafes, and recently, home decorating shops.

Here I am sitting on a sofa in Vancouver Special,Â at 3612 Main Street (read more below). My daughter took this picture and it made me realize the vintage dress I was wearing was perfectly matched to the decor in the shop. This brings me to two points I want to share with you. Firstly, my dress is awesome and it goes to show you what you can pick up for next to nothing at a vintage store. And secondly, fashion now, more than ever, is one of main predictors of upcoming home decorating trends.

Photo from Freshome.

The styles, patterns and colours that graced the runways of Milan, New York and Paris are soon strutting down the pages of glossy fashion magazines and then end up in our closets. Yet peopleâ€™s home decor would rarely reflect the fashions that they wore. (from Freshome)

Photo from Sourceable.

However, this is changing. What is happening in Fashion will often predict and inspire the latest looks in interiors. In recent years, the world of interiors has seen about a 2 year lag from runway to living room. Given the speed of information transfer now that time will only shorten. Fashion is not only about clothes and shoes anymore. Trends in the fashion industry have a direct impact on interior design all around the world.

So what exactly was I wearing on my birthday?

1. I am a big fan of vintage tiki and Hawaiian fashions. I found this dress recently at Community Thrift and Vintage, 311 Carrall Street. Cost $29.00. The dress is made ofÂ colourful heavy cotton in immaculate condition. 2.Â Shoes bought on sale for $50 from Madewell. 3. Silver charm bracelet handmade by Joan Scarabelli Jewellery Design. Each charm is a shoe based on the designs of Peter Fox Shoes and Manolo Blahnik Shoes.

â€˜Vancouver Special is a retail store offering aÂ carefully curated selectionÂ of contemporary furniture, sofas, design objects, household accessories, and art and architecture books.â€™

Vancouver Special is a term used to refer to houses built in a particular architectural style in the period from roughly 1965 to 1985 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and its suburbs. The Vancouver Special house style has had a bad reputation because of its proliferation, its cheap materials, bland forms, kitschy decorations, ease of permitting and the fact that it was designed for two family occupancy. The Vancouver Special will be a topic of discussion in a later blog post.

Home Tours: Oak Pass Road, Beverly Hills California

Posted on August 13, 2013 by tina

This modern guest house built in 2012, was designed by Architect Noah Walker “to take advantage of the views without blocking them, and also connect with the impressive tree canopy on the site. There are125 coast live oak trees on the property.”

The guest house and concert hall as seen from the trees. Photo: Nicholas Alan Cope

The guest house consists of a low barn, extensively renovated, which is used as a living room and a concert hall for classical music. Adjacent to the barn is another structure described as a ‘glassy tree-house’ overlooking the nearby canyons. The main house is currently under construction and was not part of the home tour we took.

As we approached the house, we were first drawn to the gorgeous vintage brown Mercedes, parked in front of the house, and perfectly matched to the house’s aesthetic. It was a nicely appointed grace note for the whole experience. Although a large part of this house was a renovated barn, the whole project felt new. The materials, concrete floors, glass railings, open living, and floor to ceiling glazing made this guest house a jewel in the landscape.

Skylight in the upper bathroom.

Chandelier in the concert hall rafters.

Of all the houses we saw on the Dwell Home tours this was the one that my daughter emotionally â€˜moved intoâ€™. When I asked her why – she said it was the house she could see herself living in very comfortably. Not to mention, ‘itâ€™s so cool.’