Philip Johnson- house for sale!

The first home Philip Johnson ever designed is now up for sale for cool 2 million.  Built in 1946, the Booth House is another example of Philip Johnson's iconic use of glass and his minimalist style.  It formerly housed two architects who surprisingly made a lot of interior changes to Johnson's original design. 

Johnson is probably better known for his work, The Glass House which was built after the Booth House.  Tours of the home opened up in 2007.  Last year I traveled to the Hudson Valley and took a tour of Kykuit, the mansion that was home to 4 generations of Rockefellers.  This year I would really like to get up to Conneticut to take a tour of the Glass House. It was originally built for the architect himself and like the Booth House, the facade is almost completely constructed with glass.  It would seem that a house of this nature would afford zero privacy but it was built on a private estate behind a stone wall and one side overlooks a pond. The surrounding views are proxies for wallpaper- pretty cool.

Reading Corner

I moved some furniture around and created a lot of space next to my bed.  I decided to make a reading corner, who knows how much use it will get. I bought a cheap chair off Ebay that is pretty similar to the Eames Shell Chair, but mine is made by Chromocraft.  I was a little hesitant at first because this is what Chromocraft produces now (kind of scary), but the chair looked pretty similiar to the Eames one.  It finally came after some stressful email exchanges with the seller, it's in pretty vintage condition, but pretty sturdy and took 3 minutes to attach the base.   On top is the real deal, below is my purchase.  My next purchase is a camera that takes actual pictures, these ones are from my phone ugh. 

Since I couldn't afford my obsession with Pendleton, I bought a pillow from an Etsy seller that uses the blankets to make covers.  Here's the chair with the pillow and a sheepskin rug from Ikea. 

Corner Headboard

I ended up pushing my bed up against the corner of my bedroom.  I have a platform bed from Ikea, meaning no headboard, so I decided to paint three canvases to create a makeshift one.  I saw this quote in a picture of a pretty cool blog called Grey Blog.  It's the front of the Michelberger Hotel in Berlin, pretty hipster, no?  Anyway I kind of liked this image and the quote for above my bed.  I later learned that it is very similar to a quote in Where the Wild Things Are.  It plays at the beginning of the trailer here.  

I bought 3 30'' by 24'' canvases.  I printed the letters out in Word in a font I liked, then traced the letters on contact paper, cut out the letters, and then laid them out and stuck this to the canvases.  Then I painted the whole canvases a burnt umber color in acrylic and after the paint dried, I peeled away the contact paper to reveal the letters underneath.  It was a very tedious process, but all in all it turned out nicely.  One canvas will hang at the side and two will hang directly above my bed. Here is a picture of one of the canvases, it been a slow process to get them all done, but was way more inexpensive and creative than buying a headboard. When they are all hung, I'll show the finished project. 

Grids & Mid-Century Modern Furniture Prints

I have a large wall across my bed that right now is pretty plain. I took inspiration from these photos from apartment therapy. They took vintage flashcards and hung them up in a grid pattern.  I like how how the hanging incorporates a large portion of one wall and just a little bit of the other, framing the long white console.   

I just purchased these flashcards from Etsy seller belles lettres.  They are a series of cards each with a famous mid century modern design on the front and the designer's name and picture on the back.  They are about postcard size and should fit perfectly into these Ikea Ram frames.  I bought about 20 frames (only $1.99 for 3 (they're pretty simple)).  The flashcards were a bit expensive, but I wasn't going to find them in this size somewhere else. Overall this project cost me less than $45.  When my flashcards arive I'll put pictures up of the finished wall. 

The new apartment!

I finally made the big move to my first apartment.  It in the Lower East Side of Manhattan, and is actually quite spacious for the location.  Moving was a hassle to say the least because its a 5th floor walk up.  I've spent the last two days assembling furniture, flattening boxes, unpacking, and dreaming up ways to make my new home feel like a home.  Thanks to my sister and parents for helping in the process.  Posts with pictures to follow.

Ikat Prints

Continuing with my Navajo/Native American print kick, I'm starting to really like Ikat Prints now, eventhough very popular in interior design for awhile.  They're somewhere between the hard lines of some Native American prints and the unrestrained patterns of tye-dye.  Here are a few things I found in my search for Ikat:

1) Antropologie Eventide Ikat Rug

2) Urban Outfitters Indigo Ikat Slipper Chair

3) Target Ikat Comforter Set

4) Etsy Seller ginnette123

5) Jane Wilner Ikat Curtain

6) Indigo Chevron Ikat Beach Towel

Muji Ash Desk/IKEA version

I found this sleek desk in Muji's catalog.  I didn't even know Muji sells furniture, I always thought of them as a stationary/kitchenware/clothing/linen kind of company.  It makes sense to add furniture to their lifestyle concept.  This desk fits perfectly with Muji's asthetic, simple, clean, and contemporary.   The ash tabletop and legs are sold separately (top- $245, legs- $180) for a total of $425 dollars.  Of course this is a little pricey for me.  so I found something similiar at Ikea.  It's not exactly akin to the Muji desk (those ugly castors), but it could do.  Each Vika Runtrop leg is $12.50 and you can choose between various inexpensive tabletops.

Etsy- Alchemy

My roomate and I are very specific about the coffee table we want, we've found a ton we like, but of course they are all out of our budget.  Alchemy could solve our problem.  It connects people who wants things and people who can create those things.  All you do is post a a request on Etsy's website with the exact specifications of what you are looking for whether it be a a coffee table, a dress, custom stationary, etc.  Then people with the cabailities can answer your request, make a bid, you accept, they create the piece, and voila you have what your looking for.  Like Ebay and other Etsy stores, you can leave reviews of the creator. 

Here is an example of a table that was requested. I can't wait to see what it looks like.

The house in Chloe

I finally saw Chloe this week.  The storyline of the movie (which is based off the French film- Natalie) was disturbing in a good way and Julianne Moore and Amanda Seyfried were pretty amazing as an afflicted wife and as an irresistible temptress respectively.  However I was most attracted to the set design including a pretty unique home in Toronto which was a central part of the film.

Casa Sugar did the dirty work and found the home was designed by Drew Mandel.  It features very visible interiors from the outside and overall the design is quite minimal, clean, and natural.   There are lot of cavernous spaces and abundance of glass which make for some pretty unsettling shots of the characters.   The photo on top is of the home, but the movie actually used the facade of a different home for exterior shots, that of Architect Stephen Teeple, which is just down the street (on bottom). 

Here are other interior photos of the Ravine Home by Drew Mandel.  

Movie I want to see- Please Give

This is my kind of movie- a black comedy about a couple who owns a trendy furniture store (a lot of mid-century modern apparently) and their frustrations with old people.  In Please Give the couple basically buys furniture very cheaply at estate sales and then mark up the hell out of them in their store.  And they're also waiting for their neighbor to croak so they can take her apartment.

Okay I'm sure there's much more to the movie, but I'm already sold. 
Stars: Katherine Keener, Oliver Platt, Amanda Peet, and Rebecca Hall.
Comes out April 30th in NYC.

Eames inspired heels

Props to the big sis for finding this one. Now I can wear Eames on my feet thanks to United Nude's Eamz Shoes.  These designs have been around for awhile and take their inspiration from the classic Eames Chair.  Apparently they are actually quite comfortable.  I especially like the camel strappy ones below.   

What if the heel could instead incorporate the wire base that is also famous under Eames Chairs.  Here's my quick and dirty version using Microsoft Paint. 

Look what Urban Outfitters is selling...

The collection went on sale 2 days ago! The Pendleton blankets I posted earlier are now being sold at Urban Outfitters.  The selection isn't that big, but they've chosen many of the newer, trendier patterns.  They're also selling some similar patterns in towels.  I have a feeling this Navajo inspiration is going to become pretty popular, but who cares I'm definitely getting a few for my new apartment, they look so cozy!

Kinky Furniture

It's actually not that kinky, only in the literal sense, I love the "parti" behind this furniture.  The German designers, osko + deichmann, created this furniture by purposefully damaging steel tubes to in order to mold them to their design.  The minimal finishes of the wooden planks combined with the industrial tubes, make for an understated design.  They call it "functional damage" and it is part of  "Prophets and Penitents: Confessions of a Chair," a showcase of 25 furniture designers in Milan. It is being held at the Basilica of Sant'Ambrogio, one of my favorite sites from my travels in Milan.  I remember it had a beautiful enclosed courtyard at the entrance to the church grounds, a great place to show off some cool chairs.  

Images via designboom.com

As pretty as the furniture is, I wonder how functional it is.  Isn't the durability of the steel tubes compromised by forcing dents into them?  Wouldn't be too fun sitting in one of these chairs and suddenly falling to the ground as the steel tubes give way.  Nonetheless they sure are pretty to look at, and what do I know, these are German made after all.  

Pritzker Winners- Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa of Sanaa

Awhile back I posted on the NYC museum designed by Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa of Sanaa Architecture because of its use of stacked structures. Well congratulations to the team, they won a most prized award in architecture, The Pritzker, today.  They are the first female/male duo to win the award.  Here's some of their work:

New Museum of Contemporary Art, NYC, 2007

Zollverein School of Management and Design, Essen, Germany, 2006

Drop Chair, 2005 

Christian Dior Building, Tokyo, Japan, 2003

Small House, Tokyo, Japan, 2003 by Kazuyo Sejima