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).
Polished 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. 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 client’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.
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, 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.
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 people’s home decor would rarely reflect the fashions that they wore. (from Freshome)
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 of colourful heavy cotton in immaculate condition. 2. 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.
‘Vancouver Special is a retail store offering a carefully curated selection of contemporary furniture, sofas, design objects, household accessories, and art and architecture books.’
Vancouver Special is a term used to refer to houses built in a particular architectural stylein 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.
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 ‘moved into’. When I asked her why – she said it was the house she could see herself living in very comfortably. Not to mention, ‘it’s so cool.’
Bruce Nassbaum, in his book Creative Intelligence, talks about the new ‘maker movement’ that is happening. He talks about how Generation Y has seen the negative effects of globalization and ‘throwing your lot in with a big corporation that has no loyalty to you’. Craft, is popular again, as we can see from on-line commerce sites like Etsy. Individuals can now put out their own music, make their own movies, and sell their home-made goods in a variety of ways. This is making.
We all have a need to create things, and we want real, tangible, authentic goods. HGTV television has shown us we can make through DIY projects. We recognize that organic or locally produced foods are better, and we love when our table is made from found materials. We are moving towards a climate of what I call, ‘local is the new black.’ In other words, GoLocal is the new Global. By buying recycled or used items (and locally made items with no transportation costs) we can realize some of the savings that were only to be had by exploiting underpaid foreign workers in unregulated environments.
Granville Island Markets, Vancouver.
My husband’s theory on two key contributors to the decline of Rome, (and comparable to our own experience) and relevant to mention, are:
Mercenaries doing the work of Romans so the ‘locals’ forgot how to make, and therefore, became lazy, relying completely on others expertise.
Decline in technical innovation – how do you innovate when you stop designing and making?
A lovely new shop, called Gild & Co, has opened my neighbourhood. The store is where ‘Modern meets Vintage’. As a collector of vintage goodies I have a real soft spot for what proprietor Bonnie is trying to do.
Bonnie explains her philosophy:
“Each piece at Gild & Co. carries a unique story; where it came from, how we found it, and why we brought it into the store. Our collection of inspired modern furnishings and embellishments is rounded out with revamped vintage gems, fusing classic forms with modern inspiration.”
She breathes new life into furniture that was manufactured at a time when high quality was the norm. With our tendency to over-consume, and when so many of the products of western culture ends up in landfills, it is exciting to know that buying vintage reduces the need to manufacture new furniture and harvest new materials. It is the ultimate in recycling because there is something very nostalgic, evocative and connective in rediscovering the classic artifacts of our shared past.
My friend Bette bought these beautiful Mid-Century Modern Chairs from Gild & Co to go with her new L-shaped sofa in a relatively small room. The chairs are the perfect scale, and are so comfortable and well made. It goes without saying, that it’s likely no one else will have these chairs! They are originals!
Beyond the great collection of furniture and embellishments, Bonnie is doing something for the vitality of our neighbourhood. It is not an easy neighbourhood in which to run a business. I have seen many businesses come and go, but as a designer and collector of modern furniture and cool stuff, I really want Gild & Co to be successful.
So please go out and support the local businesses that keep our cities vibrant!
Little did I know when my daughter suggested we have a drink at the Chateau Marmont, after a day of home tours in the Canyons, that it was the quintessential Los Angeles Hotel. Apparently the Eagles’ 1977 song ‘Hotel California’ is rumoured to be about the Chateau Marmont.
I have to thank the Vancouver Art Gallery’s latest show called, Grand Hotel: Redesigning Modern Life for enlightening and informing me of the hotel’s notorious reputation for being the ultimate hedonist’s hangout. Without seeing this exhibition, I doubt I would have delved further into the seedier history of Los Angeles. Although I knew something was up when the hotel staff asked me to put my camera away. Anyone who knows me, knows, this is very hard for me to do. I did manage to sneak a few pictures, but my friends were nervous about being thrown out, so I had to limit my shots. We did see some recognizable faces in the courtyard so I assumed this request was in deference to their guest’s privacy. Evidently the Chateau’s tradition of carefully guarded guest privacy dates back to its opening in 1927.
The hotel was loosely modeled after the French Loire Valley’s Chateau d’Amboise and was purposely built and envisioned, as a place where entertainment industry talent could feel at home. The hotel was designed to allow guests to come and go discretely, resulting in the Chateau’s reputation as a place for intrigue and indiscretion. Most importantly, guests could come and go without being observed by the press.
The Marmont was originally conceived as a deluxe residential apartment complex. However, with the onset of the Great Depression, changes to the business model were required, so the Chateau became a hotel instead. The new owner capitalized on the flagging economy by purchasing antique furniture from estate sales, resulting in the Chateau’s distinctive style, so loved by visitors.
In the late 60s and 70s the Chateau Marmont was very popular with musicians and became the locus for the emerging Los Angeles music scene based in the Laurel Canyon. According to the exhibition, Grand Hotel: Redesigning Modern Life, the Marmont was a retreat for some of the most famous musicians of the folk-rock revival, including Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, Jim Morrison, The Mamas and the Papas, and the The Byrds. The Marmont emerged as the place to meet, hang out, jam and engage in a variety of shenanigans.
The exhibition further explains, “The stories are legendary: Janis Joplin wandering the halls at all hours of the night in a drug induced haze; Jim Morrison, in a fog of Jack Daniels and LSD, falling from his second-storey window and injuring his back; Led Zeppelin, in a juvenile gesture of rock ‘n’ roll tomfoolery, famously riding their motorcycles through the lobby; and Alice Cooper engaging in a spirited game of nude football. The Marmont assumed a tawdry feel in the 1970s, becoming a place to score drugs, entertain suicidal thoughts or hide from the world for a while.â€Â John Belushi died of a drug overdose in his room, Bungalow #3 at the Chateau Marmont. Below is a 1956 view of the Marmont bungalows.
It wasn’t just musicians who made the Chateau Marmont their home. It also was a favourite place for old Hollywood from the 1930s through the 1950s. “Deals were made, careers established and destroyed, and relationships were forged and broken within the hallowed walls of the Marmont.†The founder of Columbia Pictures is known to have told young actors, “If you must get into trouble. Do it at the Marmont.â€
Personally, we found the service to be incredible. When we were indecisive about which wine to order, our server brought us 3 varieties to try! I want to thank my agents provocateurs, Shelina, Devon and Paisley for making our Chateau Marmont experience so memorable! When in Los Angeles, pay the Chateau Marmont a visit, and if you are in Vancouver, go see the show, Grand Hotel: Redesigning Modern Life.
Listen to Lana Del Rey’s interview on youtube where she talks about why she uses the Chateau Marmont in her videos.
Photo credit: All black and white photos are from the Vancouver Art Gallery and all others are taken by me.
“A city is about having a center, or an intersection people tend to associate with culture, gatherings, and activities. A vibrant city has a core and a pulse that is always beating and when you visit that core place your spirit is lifted and you leave having experienced something new and different.” (from CEOs for Cities)
Keeping our cities vibrant: Vancouver’s example:
Citizens of Strathcona rejected a freeway through Chinatown in 1967 “Immediately, protest came from every part of the city, and a crowd of 800 people gathered in City Hall to shout down the consultants’ proposals. The Chairman of the city’s planning commission resigned on the spot, and a year later, the plan was scrapped. Apparently, the spirited editorializing of the local papers in favor of cutting out civic blight with a concrete knife had influenced no one but a handful of architects.†read more
Having just spent a few wonderful days in the Annex and Kensington Market, I am so happy to see a neighbourhood pull together to voice their concerns over the negative impact of big box retail.
“People don’t walk to stores in a walkable city, they walk through neighbourhoods with stores,†said Vaughan (a Toronto City Councillor) while at the podium. “Big box is the antithesis of a walkable city.†read more.
Have a look at Toronto’s Annex and Kensington Market through the eyes’ of a traveler (me).
In the lanes of the Annex, graffiti artists show their work. Every garage was the canvas and the lanes became the gallery.  For some, their work is political.
People are at the center of vibrant, livable cities.
To fully articulate a space beyond colour, finishes and furnishings, there are two key framed compositional elements that come into play; Windows and Art.
Of these, one is the window into your surrounding landscape, carefully edited to accentuate or conceal its strengths and weakness.  The other, your art selection is a window into your tastes and even your inner self. Few interior choices say more about the inhabitant than their art collection. As such, the ‘painting to match the couch’ phenomenon is to be strongly avoided. Naturally, what qualifies as art extends to include sculpture, textile pieces, glass and ceramic artwork, prints and fine crafts.
Artwork provides an unequaled opportunity to create interiors with a unique and personal feel. Art chosen for a space dramatically affects the overall mood and ambiance and can ‘make or break’ the impression you are trying to create. There’s are many talented artists in almost every community, pleased to find appreciative buyers. So, purchasing original artwork is always an option, even with a limited budget. In addition, buying locally will often add a contextual regional flavor to your composition giving it a grounded and authentic presence.
An internationally recognized architect, urban planner, and educator since 1953, Ray Kappe‘s much awarded and published work is considered to be an extension of the early Southern California master architects: Wright, Schindler, Neutra, and Harwell Hamilton Harris.
Some good advice In the words of Ray Kappe:
“I’ve always sought out the edges, the views, and a feeling
of expansiveness.”
“I was once asked what I think are the ten most important principles that helped make me a successful architect, planner, and educator…
(1)Â Think positively, not negatively.
(2)Â Accept structure but know that it is to be questioned and broken when necessary.
(3) Always be willing to explore, experiment and invent. Do not accept the status quo.
(4)Â Know yourself and keep your work consistent with who you are and how you think.
(5)Â Maintain good moral and social values.
(6)Â Be humble, honest, compassionate, and egalitarian.
(7)Â Have conviction about your work.
(8)Â Be open and say yes to most ideas and requests. The good ones will be valuable, the bad ones will cease to exist.
(9)Â Allow employees and fellow workers freedom and the ability to work to their strengths. Avoid hierarchy.
(10) Money should be the residual of work, not the goal. But do not compromise your worth.”
A serendipitous trip to LA allowed us to take part in the Dwell Magazine home tours of the LA Canyons and Valley. This Valley house was built and designed by Ray Kappe in 1964. Mr. Kappe is one of Los Angeles most celebrated Architects, and was the founder the highly regarded architecture school, SCI-ARC, in Los Angeles. Designer Sarah Rosenhaus’ recent restoration of this LA modernist classic shows a refined sensitivity to the spirit of Kappe’s original design. The house is now furnished with a mix of custom and vintage mid-century furnishings. Here it is…….. Â
The bits and pieces:
All photographs have been taken by me unless noted on the individual photos.
