Architecture Babble

I've moved

2011-07-22T10:18:00.000-04:00

I've moved my blog over to wordpress. Please come visit me here: www.architecturebabble.wordpress.com

Until I figure out how to automatically redirect you...

Local beauty

2011-05-22T10:57:00.001-04:00

I had to follow up my last post’s criticism of local architecture with something more positive from the design files. When walking through a nearby neighborhood a few weeks ago, I spotted this fence.

Among the many hum-drum front fences of these townhouses, the horizontal wood planks are a welcome sight. It all looks very well-crafted.

Do you love that rolling gate?

I bet that is fun to come home to. My in-laws built and installed a similar door in their house. Good times. Noodle salad. (Can you tell me what that’s from?)

I commend you, neighbor! Job well done on that curb appeal!

Doodads

2011-05-15T11:01:00.001-04:00

Dr. Jay knows me so well. He sent me this link to a story from a local news site about the liberties taken with architectural elements in Arlington, the town next door. These pointless tiaras are the kinds of things that make most architects shudder. Or giggle. And yet they are rampant in Arlington, and across the country really. Take a look at these photos and tell me you haven’t noticed something like this on a building near you and wondered, “What the heck is that for?” It doesn’t provide shade or protect anyone from the elements. Is it protecting the building from predators, from other buildings?

This next one looks like it was slapped on at the last minute, when the designers realized they might have some extra metal laying around the construction site. It’s as if they finished and said, “Shoot, we forgot to add the flair!”

Clearly there’s a form-following-function rule being broken, and poor Louis Sullivan is rolling in his grave.

For a laugh, take a look at the full gallery of photos here. Like I said, Dr. Jay knows me so well. He knew I needed a laugh and he delivered.

Speaking of laughs, architecture geeks like me would love one of these:

[source]

And that’s it for me.

I’ll be here all week.

A first

2011-05-06T11:49:00.001-04:00

This weekend is Mother’s Day- a first for me and a first for many of my friends. This post marks my very first interview with an architect, a series I hope to continue monthly. It happens to be with Jen, a fellow new Mom and friend I’ve had for several years now.

Meet Jen.

This is kind of exactly how I picture Jen when I think of her. Smiling face and orchids. She loves orchids. I had the pleasure of meeting her back in January of 2005, when we were both traveling to Switzerland for an architecture studio. We were seat mates. Seat mates once we finally got on our way after being side-lined in the Newark airport for a full 24 hours due to a blizzard. Seat mates during a very bumpy, turbulent flight highlighted by lightening and air sickness. I won’t tell you which one of us got sick, but needless to say we became fast friends. Jen is easy to like because she’s just so darn sweet. And completely sincere. Jen is the friend who I trusted to do my hair for my wedding, and she put up with all my nit-picky opinions of hair-doing even though I have no idea of what I am talking about or skill to back it up. She also did hair for my attendants. And sat up with me the night before the wedding folding napkins. And the next day, in the June heat of Georgia, she arranged all the place cards on strings in our backyard. All 285-odd of them. A task I had no idea would be so tedious and difficult (apparently all the cards wanted to flip over on themselves and in general be big pains-in-the-neck).

This is the kind of girl Jen is. She’ll give 110% no matter what the task.

This is the kind of architect you want working on your building. One who won’t rest until it’s just as it should be.

I could go on and on about the things Jen has done for me. But I need to get on to her interview. She graciously spent some time answering some questions for me so you could get a better idea of what it’s like to be an architect these days.

Here we go!

Tell us a little about yourself- where you're from, where you went to school, what you are doing now, etc.

I was born and raised in the northwest side of Chicago. I stayed in the city for architecture school at the Illinois Institute of Technology, because what better city to study architecture and what better studio space than Mies's Crown Hall. I worked at the Chicago firm VOA Associates from my second year all the way through the summer of my graduation. The experience I gained there was truly invaluable. I then moved to Austin, Texas to pursue a post-professional M.Arch degree with an urban design concentration. I stayed in Austin for an additional three years, working at ERO International, a firm focusing primarily on educational and civic architecture. I know live Denver, Colorado, where I've been for three years. In 2009 I earned my architectural license and LEED accreditation. Last spring I had my first child, and I now am a project manager at a small commercial firm, Kenney Architects.

How did you get interested in architecture?

I was always captivated by downtown Chicago growing up, but had no real thoughts as to designing buildings myself. I grew up interested in art - particularly drawing & painting, and it was later pointed out in high school that I also had a knack for physics, geometry, and writing. So my parents prompted me to consider architecture. I honestly studied it because it made logistical sense - not really out of an intense passion for it. It wasn't until my semester abroad in Europe, where I traveled to 12 countries in four months, that I really found my love for architecture. And, the more I worked in an office the more I loved it as a career.

What projects are you currently working on?

Well, we all know times are tough right now, so I'm currently doing more marketing work than anything. But I do have a new bank under construction, as well as an attorney's office that's about to going into the construction document phase. Other than that, I'm trying to get a design-build team up and running for some dental office work, I recently revamped our website, and I'm working on a variety of proposals. You’re jealous...I know. :)

What do you think is the biggest misconception about architects or architecture?

Probably the glamour of it all. People outside the profession seem to assume more hours are spent on the creative ideas than is really accurate. Few people realize a typical day is more likely to include redlines, RFI's, and product research. Fortunately, I love the day to day tasks as much as the coveted design moments.

What's your most memorable project?

At this point it is still probably the Weslaco Middle School in south Texas. That project was my baby, having worked on it pretty much since day one all the way through its construction. While I didn't do it alone, I certainly lived and breathed it pretty much ten hours a day for a year.

What was the worst project you worked on and why?

Probably a toss up between an elementary school trash enclosure and a printing press addition in an existing room. I'm guessing your savvy readers don't need me to elaborate. :)

What architect or architects inspire you and why?

At the moment, I'm particularly inspired by Cameron Sinclair & Architecture for Humanity. They are a non-profit that does pro-bono architecture work around the world. I've always wanted a way to utilize my skill-set in a way that gives back. While I'm not at the liberty of picking up and taking off for a 9 month stint in another country, I have been fortunate enough to get involved with the local Denver chapter of AFH and was recently made one of the new co-directors. The Denver chapter has already had a successful relationship with Feed Denver, working on developing local urban farms. We are also exploring projects with the Denver Rescue Mission and Edge of 7.

What is your favorite city for architecture?

Berlin - such an amazing mix of old and new all jumbled together.

Do you read any architecture magazines or blogs, or design blogs?

Primarily just the magazines that come with the AIA memberships.

What work of architecture would you most like to visit?

Well, I'm very fortunate to have seen many amazing works. I always welcome a chance to visit Renzo Piano's various museums.

I think my next desire would be to see the architecture in Asia - Japan, China, India, etc. - but that won't be anytime soon.

What, if anything, would you change about architectural education?

I think it’s important to work on integration with real practice - through internships, collaboration with the engineering department, more study into building code and city codes, and a better education on working within a budget. Don't get me wrong, architecture school is a place to dream up big ideas, but wouldn't it be nice if the student could learn how to make them become a reality?

******************************

Thanks, Jen! And Happy Mother’s Day!

to think about

2011-05-04T22:22:00.001-04:00

My friend Robyn, an architect down in North Carolina, sent me an email recently with some words of wisdom from one of her favorite local architects, Randall Lanou who works in the Triangle area.

[source]

Some Things I’ve Learned:

Making Things Is Fundamentally Satisfying

You Never Know Who Is In The Room

Learn-Do-Teach Is A Powerful Cycle

There Is Only One Way To Make Good Home Design Available To More People

Service Matters

Listen First

Design Is A Business

Building Is A Business

Even Mission-Driven Businesses Must Be Profitable

The Design-Make-Design Loop Is A Powerful Learning Circle

Expensive And Difficult Mistakes Are Well-Learned And Incredibly Valuable

Wide-Ranging Travel Yields A Healthy Perspective

The Best Choices Are Ones That Allow Your Conscience To Rest Easy

Sustainability Is An Old Idea Rooted In Frugality

Utility Often Equals Beauty

Great Projects Only Happen With Great Clients

Green Building Is Simply Better Building

Mimicry Is Not The Best Design Process, Even In A Historical Neighborhood

Memories And Stories Are More Important Than Finishes And Area

The Actual Thing Is Far Better Than A Facsimile

Parameters And Constraints Can Inspire Good Design

Doing The Right Thing Is Harder The First Time Than The Second Time

There Is No Situation Where Your Actions Are Without Consequence

An Even Balance Between Work And Play Is Critical

Relationships Are More Important Than Contracts

Life Is Too Short To Eat Bad Food And Drink Light Beer

A Formal Education Is A Tiny Part Of A Good Education

Responsibility, Fairness, And Stewardship Are Fine Guides

You Don’t Get Where You Want To Be Unless You Make Plans To Go

Because I can

2011-04-29T16:05:00.001-04:00

Because I live vicariously through other people’s DIY projects.

Because our trip to the beach has been canceled because our baby has the sickies (a cold). I’m so bummed.

And because it’s almost the end of April and I have so few posts this month. Let’s not talk about my allergies, umK?

I’m sharing Bryn’s tiling project.

Be sure to read both Day 1 and Day 2. She’s done a really nice job describing the process, the materials they needed (and didn’t need) and the little bumps along the way. I so enjoy seeing a project through to completion. Even if it’s someone else’s. Heck, the closest we come to DIY around these rented parts is dropping our knives off at ACE to be sharpened. Oh wait, that’s still on the To-Do list. Sorry honey. Maybe that will happen this weekend, you know, since we won’t be at THE OCEAN.

Jeepers, Creepers

2011-04-21T22:11:00.001-04:00

Where’d you get those PEEPS?

[Source]

It’s that time of year again. The Washington Post Peeps Diorama Contest is upon us- or the winners were announced in last weekend’s edition of the WP Magazine, just in time for Easter this weekend. Has April whizzed by everyone else, or is it just me? It’s finally warm here, and that’s a good thing since it’s almost MAY. We’re not here to discuss the weather though. We’re here to discuss matters of high design. Ahem, PEEPS.

Who doesn’t love that marshmallowy goodness? Especially when disguised as a Chilean Miner rescue mission, as portrayed by the winning diorama. That one was pretty good, I’ll admit, but there were some other really impressive ones this year.

For example:

[Source]

This one depicts the Metro escalator malfunctioning at the Foggy Bottom Station, oh and a fire on the tracks. If you live around here, you know just exactly what that is all about.

Another travel-related entry:

[Source]

Yes, those are Peeps getting full-body scans and pat-downs at the airport. Even marshmallow bunnies can’t escape the TSA.

Another one of my favorites involves Tiger Blood:

[Source]

Yes, that would be Charlie Sheen receiving a transfusion of Tiger Blood. How on earth did they make those Peeps into little tigers I will never know.

See the rest of the 35 finalists (from over 900 entries) in a slideshow on the Post’s website.

Until next year!

Looks like we made it

2011-03-29T22:08:00.001-04:00

Well, good readers, Mark and I survived the trip down to Richmond last week to tour the Rice house by Richard Neutra. I’d even go as far as saying we thrived rather than just survived! I’ll spare you the details of the early morning drive south, other than to say that there was a necessary outfit change just prior to the tour and I am so thankful for a nearby Starbucks- not for its coffee but for the availability of a changing table in the bathroom. [Side note: fold-out changing tables in public bathrooms are great, but can we please start demanding that a hook be available nearby to hold the diaper bag?! Moms- let’s get together on this one. Just like there should be a hook on the back of every stall door for our purses, there NEEDS to be a hook near the diaper changing area. I’ll do my part as an architect to lobby for these!]

So, we were able to start the tour rested and fed (and changed!) and that made for a much happier baby. We also lucked out with two very nice gentlemen who carpooled to the site from the Virginia AIA office with us. One was a Richmond native who told me lots about the Fan District and surrounding neighborhoods and the other entertained Mark in the back seat. They didn’t seem to mind squeezing into my tiny vehicle made smaller by the car seat that takes over the back, and one even offered to carry Mark’s diaper bag (though, it is an Orla Kiely bag and what design-minded person wouldn’t want to carry that bag? Dr. Jay doesn’t even mind carrying it)!

On to the Neutra house- okay, okay, it’s the Rice house by Neutra. It was nothing short of spectacular. First of all, it’s situated on an island. An ISLAND! On the James River. How incredible is that? We had to cross a bridge specifically built by the Rices for accessing the island.

Here’s a view of the James from the drive leading up to the house.

It was a gorgeous spring day. Our tour guide was Bodil Hanneman, Director of the Foundation Board put together to preserve this amazing work of architecture. She is also a personal friend of the Rice family (Walter Rice has passed away but his wife Inger is still living). Here is Bodil Hanneman, who is also an architect.

She explained that the Science Museum of Virginia acquired the house back in 1996 when the Rice family donated it. It is the only house in Richmond built in the International Style. It was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in 1999. She has been working hard with a team not only to determine how best to proceed with renovations and repairs but also to help raise money for the cause. She mentioned that one of the contractors told her that if they hadn’t intervened when they did, the house would have surely fallen within five years because it was in such a state of disrepair. There was extensive water damage due to the poor drainage of the flat roofs.

There were workers on the roof laying new waterproofing on the day of our tour.

See the River out there? I must mention that all these shots were taken by me while I had Mark on my other arm, so they are not my best work but I certainly tried to capture some details. I don’t think there were any artificial light sources on at the time of our tour, so you can see how well this house receives daylight.

All of the fireplaces were double-sided, this one to both the interior and exterior.

This fireplace in the living area doubled with a fireplace in the master bedroom. That’s a cork floor, by the way.

Most of the furniture was built-in, a total work of design by Neutra. He was known for getting to know his clients really well, and was said to want to “be in love” with them before he worked for them. Apparently he spent a week with the Rices before he took on the design of their home. He was reportedly not thrilled to be working in Richmond but was quite taken with the site available to him and that was one thing that swayed him.

Here are a few more interior shots.

One side of the master closet which lead to the bathroom. There were matching bathroom/closet sequences from the master bedroom, and the bathrooms each had sunken tubs.

Here’s a shot in the dining area with the marble wall which extends from the interior to the exterior.

See the glass?

Mark absolutely loved that wall.

He couldn’t stop touching it and got upset when I finally pulled him away. It was Georgia marble. What can I say, the boy has really good taste.

Some shots of the pool:

Here are some of the stairs leading to it:

You are not mistaken- that is a very treacherous pathway leading to the pool. And though there will eventually be a railing along that rooftop balcony, there wasn’t one originally!

I feel so fortunate to have been able to take this tour. Having learned about houses like this all through school, I didn’t think I’d be able to see a Neutra house unless I took a trip to California. Having one so close in Virginia is incredible and it makes me so happy that there is such an effort to preserve it. I came away from this experience certain that Neutra was a true master of the plan. Each space was so carefully thought out and developed. It was by no means an enormous house, but Neutra made the most of every square foot and it of course felt more spacious because of all the glass and the fact that there was so much indoor/outdoor living. That part may have made more sense in California, where Neutra was used to working. Nonetheless, I have a wonderful memory of the day, as a mother and as an architect.

One last photo for you. I won’t do this often, but I have to share this with you.

Mark charming our tour guide:

Actually, I think he was charmed by all the zippers on her jacket, and maybe you had to be there, but it was a hilarious way to end the tour.

Random, random Oh how Random

2011-03-23T20:43:00.001-04:00

Some search terms I’ve been plugging into Google lately:

- Infant Heimlich YouTube

- How to disable a Maytag dryer buzzer

- Ricotta cheese and cocoa recipes

- Rice house by Richard Neutra

- Glen Echo park Maryland

- National Zoo

- National Cathedral

That’s a little glimpse into my life lately. How about you?

Image courtesy of the Science Museum of Virginia

I’m taking Mark with me to a tour of the Rice house by architect Richard Neutra on Friday. It’s being put on by the Virginia AIA all the way down in Richmond. When I received the email invitation last week I got crazy excited. Crazy excited. I decided I needed to sign up immediately and think about the logistics later. The logistics being what to do with Mark. I’m hoping he’ll put on his big boy pants and behave while I bring him with me on the hour and a half tour. And become a very cultured 7 month old. Pray for us [or think positive thoughts, whatever it is you do] that we make it through and I’m not super embarrassed about the way he acts in front of a lot of architects I don’t know. All in the name of Neutra.

[Don’t know who Neutra is? Well, he’s one of Modernism’s most prominent architects. Born in 1892 in Vienna, Neutra studied architecture under Adolf Loos and worked in Germany before coming to the United States in 1923. He worked briefly under Frank Lloyd Wright before joining friend and fellow Modernist Rudolf Schindler in California. He lived and worked there for the majority of his career, and was known for his residential work and the importance he placed on clients’ needs and lifestyles.]

Hopefully I’ll be able to snap a few photos if my hands aren’t too full of a wiggly Mark. Either way I’ll be posting about the trip- may have to use internet photos. Please come back next week to see if we survived!

Balloon Construction and other news

2011-03-16T13:03:00.001-04:00

Did you guys hear about this?

That’s right. The good people of National Geographic actually got a house to float with balloons, just like from the movie UP. Well, a small (16’x16’) house carried by 300 (three houndred!) LARGE eight foot tall balloons. So incredible.

[all images courtesy of National Geographic]

Apparently the house flew to an altitude of 10,000 feet and stayed in the air for about an hour. And, as one commenter on the National Geo blog asked, How’d that thing land? I guess we’ll have to watch the episode of “How Hard Can it Be” which will air on the National Geographic Channel later this year. Or you guys can watch it and let me know, since we’ve had a little snafu with our tv-watching recently. Let’s just say you’ll see me writing about HGTV a lot less.

In other current events around here, I’ve been reading this

with great interest. You may remember it from my holiday gift guide post. Dr. Jay took the hint and gifted me the two books for my birthday. A review to come!

And a few weeks ago, this sweet thing arrived from the grandmother fairy:

We love it in Mark’s room, though it’s only temporarily in a frame I had on hand. I’m thinking it needs a thin black frame with a little sliver of blue mat.

What do you think?

It’s all a front

2011-03-14T21:53:00.001-04:00

Mark and I had an errand to run last Friday so we left my comfort zone of Old Town and headed into the zoo that is Arlington. Okay, actually it wasn’t that bad. We returned unscathed and even managed to spot this oddity:

A construction zone… but look a little closer around the back:

What happened to the rest of the church?

Luckily the construction workers didn’t mind me snapping some photos with my phone. I’m not sure why this intrigued me so much, but I’m curious as to what they’ll be building as an appendage to this church front. I couldn’t really get close enough to read the sign as to what the project might be and the architects/engineers/construction companies working on it (I had Mark in his carrier on my front, so I couldn’t exactly sneak past the bulldozers for a closer look). I guess I’ll have to brave Arlington again in a few months to check on the progress!

File this under “That SUCKS”

2011-03-08T21:27:00.001-05:00

Evidently if you live in D.C. and installed solar panels last year in hopes of getting a rebate from the city, you are sorely mistaken. The D.C. Department of Energy has recently announced that it will not reimburse homeowners for their investment in solar because the allocated funds have been re-allocated to close a gap in the city’s budget. This means 51 residents are out about $700,000 in total, or, let’s do some quick math here… over $13,000 on average.

Yikes.

I think I’d be a little ticked. Or, maybe I’d realize that it’s not a good idea to rely on city government for reasons to invest in environmental responsibility. At this point (okay, especially at this point, with the economy and real estate as shaky as it is) taking on such a long-term investment is only smart if you can already afford it or you can afford to wait until those solar panels create enough energy to negate your power bills for the next, oh, 20 years and beyond?

No pretty pictures for this post. Hopefully I’ll be back with something inspiring soon.

Until then, keep the faith.

the coolest thing I’ve seen in a long time

2011-03-01T21:12:00.001-05:00

Sometimes I marvel at how completely behind I am on what’s going on in D.C. Here’s the latest (to me) on the architecture scene:

the Bubble addition to the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden (by Diller Scofidio + Renfro, who also have the coolest website I have seen in a long time. It’s seriously B.A.)

Here’s how the bubble works.

Got that?

Basically, the inflatable membrane will be erected for one month each spring and fall (beginning possibly in October 2012) filling the void of the museum’s courtyard and acting as an auditorium, cafe and meeting place. Read more about it here, which is where I read about it. In the magazine I’ll probably stop receiving soon since I am letting my AIA membership lapse.

Is anyone else worried about this bubble and the high-strength winds we tend to get around these parts? Surely they must have considered this possibility. Looks like they are employing both Wind Engineering consultants and Climatic Analysis consultants.

Goodman, again…

2011-02-25T20:38:00.001-05:00

I read this article in the Real Estate section of the Washington Post last weekend, and since I know you depend on me for timely dispersal of information, I thought I’d share. It’s about the house that Charles Goodman built for he and his family in the early 1950s- a structure that was originally a farmhouse from the 1850s which he gutted and added a very modern glass and steel pavilion for living. Today the house is on the market, attracting all sorts of interest, and not just from potential buyers. You remember Goodman, right? We talked about the neighborhood (Hollin Hills) he and developer Robert Davenport designed in Alexandria. Or you might remember him from this post about Reagan National Airport.

It was great to read about his personal home design and see photos like this one:

See more images on the Post’s gallery from the article.

One tidbit about the house is that it has its original St. Charles Cabinetry (though they’ve been painted over in black). I’d never heard of this company, but they produce steel cabinets. St. Charles Cabinetry is also used at Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater and Mies van der Rohe’s Farnsworth house, both on my list of must-see architecture. Maybe I should go to one of the open houses for the Goodman house?

p.s. Martha Stewart even uses them!

Happy Valentine’s and a little Etsy Love

2011-02-14T10:22:00.001-05:00

Just wanted to take the time to let you, dear readers, know how much I love ya and need ya! Thanks for continuing to read the babbles of this sporadic blogger. And I want to publicly thank my good friend, Carina, for helping me beautify and clean up my site. If you haven’t visited lately and are reading this through Reader or some sort of RSS feed, please stop by and check out my new digs. Carina, of Little Bird Creative, is a wonderful and patient designer who’s been helping me wade through HTML. She’s really spiffed up the Babble and I am very grateful!

Visit her shop on Etsy to find beautiful, handmade letterpress cards like this one

and this one

She also does custom work, so check her out!

Another Etsy find of late: the art of Kiki and Polly. I am in love. Here are just a few of my favorites.

I kind of really want that last one for Mark’s room.

Hope you are having a day filled with those you love! I know I am.

Martha, Martha, Martha

2011-02-13T21:22:00.001-05:00

She’s everywhere, she’s everywhere!*

Not only can Martha Stewart help you with the paint color, cookware, furnishings, crafts and library (not to mention television and radio entertainment) in your home, she can also actually design your home. Yes, Martha Stewart is an armchair architect. And has been for some time now. Were you aware that she has been working with national home builders KB Homes for the past five years? Evidently she and some of her staff have designed five homes in collaboration with KB Homes, the first four of which are based on her homes in New York, Connecticut and Maine, and the last of which was unveiled recently at the International Builders Show in Orlando. This most recent home is dubbed the KB Homes GreenHouse, is a net-zero energy home (meaning that over the course of a year, it generates at least as much energy as it consumes) and has earned a USGBC LEED Platinum rating, the highest in the LEED system.

I must say, it’s not much to look at, is it? I think it might be the color scheme, because it doesn’t appear that they’ve skimped on facade details like windows or garage doors. What is with those applied “architectural” pieces on the gables? I’m shuddering.

Actually, for a home that is priced at $380,000 and is 2,600 square feet (which must really change with local market conditions, no?), I’m fairly impressed. I’m definitely more impressed with the interior images I have seen.

If you’d like to take a virtual tour, you can register here.

Overall, bravo KB Homes and Martha. LEED Platinum? That is really some serious energy conservation. Apparently all of the energy to power the house is generated with a very large photovoltaic array on the roof. The house is still connected to a city power grid so that it can both draw from it on cloudy days and at night, and contribute any excess energy it might accumulate during the day back to the grid. I can see how this works well in Florida, where the house was built, but is probably not practical for every location. And I am guessing this house does not function at LEED Platinum capacity in an established, tree-lined neighborhood (cause those darn leaves and branches would shade the solar panels). It’s probably best in a neighborhood like this one, in Stapleton, Colorado, where there’s an entire community of Martha-designed homes.

I’m as big a fan of M.S. as the next gal. I save her magazines like they are museum pieces. I lament the loss of Blueprint magazine (R.I.P. you amazing publication, you).

But I’m not sure they went far enough with the KB Homes GreenHouse. To me, it's just your typical builder home with some major advances in energy generation and consumption. Shouldn’t the exterior indicate those advances in some way? KB Homes has probably done their research and decided that the majority of Americans don’t want their homes to reflect these advances, but I’m betting there’s an entire market of homebuyers who don’t know what they are missing. Isn’t this what happened with the Prius? For it’s first four or five years, the Prius was that crazy-weird car that got amazing gas mileage. Then it completely took off and hit its tipping point among mainstream car-buyers. Probably because Cameron Diaz bought one. I think Martha Stewart has that type of power here. Come on, Martha. Give us a Cameron Diaz moment.

*10 points if you can correctly identify the references of the post title and first sentence. I’ll respond in the Comments section.

Ch-ch-ch-changes

2011-01-28T17:46:00.001-05:00

I was going to title this post “How adding another piece of furniture to our living room is actually going to make our apartment feel larger”, but that was a little long. I need brevity these days.

So, I’m blogging to you from my NEW desk location in our living room. Yes, I am admit, one of the big mistakes I made while designing Mark’s nursery was assuming I’d still be able to use it as an office and blogging space sometimes. Oh, how naive I was. Yes, it turns out, there weren’t that many opportunities to actually sit at the desk and work or blog while he happily played nearby. The times when I was most able to focus on tasks at this computer were those when he was sleeping. I wasn’t exactly able to use the room while he slept because rule number one of parenting goes something like this: “Don’t wake the baby, for goodness sakes!”

I began scouring Craigslist for a desk to use out in our living room, where I can work while Mark naps or at night after he’s gone to bed. Wait, actually, let me back up. My first choice was this piece from CB2, which would visually “disappear” and magically give my computer that cloak of invisibility.

As good as my arguments were for this investment (it can be used as a desk now, or as a console table in our future living spaces, it’s CLEAR, it’s so COOL, etc.), I didn’t get too far with Dr. Jay. My economist husband couldn’t stomach $300 smackeroos on “a piece of acrylic”. So, off to Craigslist I went. Finally I came across something that fit my requirements for size, look, condition and price.

Enter our new (to us) desk:

I’m in love with the lines and details. It’s solid oak and has dovetail joinery! Score. The top is a little strange- it almost seems like it’s a laminate, but other than that it’s a real gem. I’d like to keep it natural, but I may end up painting it one day so the weird top isn’t noticeable. But that will not be any time soon. What do you think? Should I paint it? Color ideas?

Yes, it’s a little beat up, but overall in really good condition. I’d guess this desk is from the 50’s or early 60’s. Anyone know? There is a tag on the inside that says it’s from the Levin Furniture Company in Baltimore, Maryland.

Here it is all set up with my computer.

Yes, that is a PC. Not exactly my first choice, but Windows and AutoCad are so much happier together, so what are you going to do? (actually, there is finally AutoCad for Mac- if anyone out there has tried it, please let me know- I’d love a review!) And yes, that’s my baby on the desktop, just a few days old. Such a little chunk. And cords- I know, I won’t be winning any awards on UnClutterer.com, but I feel like I have my right arm back now that I can access my computer all day. You have to pick your battles, right?

I think I’ve won this battle.

And it's 2011

2011-01-18T14:42:00.006-05:00

So, to be clear I AM still here. I've had lots of post ideas so far this year, but little time to produce them like I would want to. But I was reminded of Ira Glass and his thoughts on Persistence and Creativity last week in a post from Nicole Balch's Making it Lovely blog and I just had to make sure to share it with you. Thank you, Nicole. Thanks for your blog. I have a big blog-crush on you. If you haven't visited her site, try it out immediately. This girl is impressive. And one heck of a coder. Back to Persistence. I heard Ira Glass give this talk a few years ago when we were living in Austin and it made such an impact on me. Please watch: It was (IS) so great to hear someone like Ira Glass admit that it's okay to be bad at something in the beginning. And years into it. I still make reference to this talk he gave- in fact, I was telling my good friend Brandy about it last fall. It's great to hear those words again and be reminded, with the help of YouTube, that you don't have to have it all figured out in the beginning. Heck, you don't need to be good at whatever it is that you are doing. The important thing is to do what you love and keep doing it. Over and over again. And then some more. It meant a lot to me to be reminded of that last week. The week that I told my former architecture firm that I won't be coming back after maternity leave. I made the decision over our Christmas vacation that my family is what I want to spend my time on for the next couple of years. It was not an easy decision. I had a great job, supportive bosses, and a flexible schedule. It would be nice to have the extra income as we save for a house. But my heart wasn't in it and I didn't feel like I would be doing either job well (architecture or mom) if I split them up right now. I know others that do it really well, but I don't think it's for me right now. So back to persistence. I'm a new parent. I definitely don't always feel good about the job I'm doing. But I'm going to keep it at. It's my full-time job now. And I'm still working on the architecture part. Hopefully it's still a viable career for me in a few years. In the meantime, I'll be here. Parenting and trying to blog and stay current with architecture and design. I might even be able to do a project or two eventually. Just wanted you to know that I'm not giving up. Cue the corny Persistence poster. Hope that wasn't too much over-sharing. But that's what blogs are for, right?

Deck the Halls

2010-12-18T11:49:00.001-05:00

So here we are, a mere week until Christmas morning. This year I give to you the Babble's first ever
HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE for DESIGNER-TYPES
I've put together this list of must-haves for the designer-type in your life (or maybe that's YOU!). Happy Last-Minute Shopping. There's no time like the present to shop for presents, as I always say.
Books
Identifying American Architecture: A Pictorial Guide to Styles and Terms, 1600-1945

I've been eyeing this book since I spotted it in my boss's office last year. As an architect, I'm always being asked "What style is that?" Of course, so much of what's built today is a big mish-mash of styles, no style at all, or something so out-there and modern that it doesn't have a style, but a reference book like this would give me a place to start to answer those burning questions. And who doesn't love a good reference book?

Dwellings: Living with Great Style

This book looks beautifully put together, and if you’re wondering about style, I’d say it’s about the “New Traditional”.

Calendars

I love a good calendar, and I hate starting the New Year without a new one. Here are a few that inspire:

2011 Charley Harper Wall Calendar- a classic in every way

Linnea 2011 Collectable Poster Calendar- these are beautiful every year, and somewhat hard to find. Usually Paper Source has them!

2011 Datebook from POST Impressions- I bought this for my self last year and LOVE it. It was a leap of faith on my part, because I'm not typically a weekly calendar type of gal (I like the month overview) but I was desperate to get organized and this gorgeous little book helped me do so stylishly. Last year I got it in the gold. Tiffany blue for 2011, please Santa?

Toys

MoMA Modern Playhouse- I saw this last week while walking through the children's department at Nordstrom's. Sure, it'd be great for kids, but I know a lot of adults (ahem, ME) who would love to play with this. Put together the interchangeable walls and furniture and you have hours of fun.

Tired of relying on your iPhone for vintage-looking photos? Want to step back in time and create lo-fi images with a tried and true film camera? Urban Outfitters offers a whole slew of cool cameras like the Lomography Diana + Parisian shown above, exclusive to UO. Don’t want to wait for that film to be developed? Try the FujiFilm Mini Instax Instant camera.

This little number will give you cute, credit card sized images in an instant, and no shakin’ that Polaroid picture. Any photo or film buff would love these or the other cameras Urban Outfitters has to offer.

And lastly, if you want to be a really generous gift-giver to your designer-type friend, consider the Modern Shed.

This company, a husband and wife team out of Seattle, can provide the ultimate backyard getaway, workshop, or studio (yoga, anyone?) for your lucky designer friend. I don’t think you can go wrong with this one. Who would not want their own little shed for doing what they want, when they want?

That’s it for me this holiday season. Please stay tuned in 2011. I’m looking forward to a stronger year of babbling, what with our almost 5-month old teaching me all about it daily. I have hopes and dreams for the blog in the New Year- thanks for sticking with me.

P.S. I was not paid or perked by any of the aforementioned companies. These are all just products I’m interested in telling my readers about, plain and simple.

the Canadians

2010-11-15T18:37:00.001-05:00

I mentioned the Canadians are taking over HGTV. Have you noticed how many shows are hosted by Canadians now? There’s our beloved Sandra Rinomato from Property Virgins, Carter Osterhouse from Carter Can and Red Hot & Green, that guy (Scott McGillivray) from that stupid rental show (Income Property), of course Candace Olson from Divine Design (love her, but why does she always use quartz for her solid surface countertops? I ponder things like this), and Sarah Richardson from Sarah’s House and Design, Inc. Am I missing anyone?

Our neighbors to the North really are not so different from us in terms of design aesthetic, though I do crack up when I hear them pronounce the word “house” and see spellings like “favourite”. I spent the better part of my son’s naptime the other day researching Sarah Richardson, as she is my current interior design hero. I absolutely love watching Sarah’s House, a show in which she renovates a house room by room, each one being an episode of the show.

She’s a snappy dresser, too.

There have been two seasons of Sarah’s House so far: one of which she renovates and creates an addition for a 100 year-old farmhouse and one in which she remodels a 60s era split-level (or back-split as the Canadians call it) house. I can’t decide which one I like more. The farmhouse has incredible character, a beautiful setting, and she’s managed to update it and make it functional without mitigating its charm in any way. Click here for a slideshow of photos and inspiration from the farmhouse.

And the 60s home retains its ranch-style cool while gaining light and a functional basement with a gorgeous laundry room, storage and guest suite. Here’s an image from the guest bedroom. I really love the green, black and white color (colour?) scheme.

See more images here.

Here’s a bathroom from the portfolio on her website. This project is known as the “Hilltop Contemporary”. Sounds like my perfect dwelling.

Isn’t that marble penny-round tile incredible?

Sarah’s style is practical, innovative and pretty. She reminds me a little bit of Mary Poppins. And I love her side-kick, Tommy. Would he be the shorter version of Bert to her Mary P? hmmmmmm.

Some other cool things about Sarah? Well, she started her career as a prop stylist and set decorator. That sounds like such a fun job. She’s a mom of two daughters and has a solar-powered weekend home on an island. Ummmm, SUPER COOL.

AND, from checking out her website, it looks like there will be a new show called Sarah’s Cottage chronicling her work on the off-the-grid house. I can’t wait. HGTV, you better bring it to me.

+++All photos courtesy of HGTV.com and SarahRichardsonDesign.com+++

Announcement

2010-11-09T18:29:00.001-05:00

Little miss Kristen over at Hoot Design helped us finally (formally) announce the birth of our son in a very special way. Thanks, Kristen- you’re the coolest! Check out her amazing work here. Or, if you’re one of my 10 loyal readers, you’re probably going to receive this in the mail anyway!

I promise I’ll be back with more on the Canadians. I promise!

Let’s talk TV

2010-10-29T20:16:00.001-04:00

HGTV that is. I think I first became obsessed with HGTV when Trading Spaces was in its heyday, what, like 10 years ago? My how time flies. My mom asked me the other day whatever happened to some of those designers. Well, the great ones (Vern Yip and Genevieve Gorder) still have shows on HGTV and are still my favorites, style-wise. And a little known fact about the Babbler? I actually met Paige Davis, the host of Trading Spaces,

a few years ago when I was living in Austin. I spotted her one morning at Austin Java when I stopped for coffee on my way to work. She was sitting at a table with her parents and I got all starstruck but had to make sure it was really and truly her, so I went up and asked and proceeded to gush about how great I think she is (like the dork that I am). Good thing my husband wasn't with me- he would have been completely mortified. I also met The Bachelor (the Austin-version) on another occasion, in another Austin Java, but that's another story.

Back to HGTV. Currently, I'm obsessed with a couple of shows on the network. Home on maternity leave, I'll admit there's occasionally some background t.v. on while I nurse. Here's where Dr. Jay would interject with "Occasionally? Try 24/7", but I ignore him because I know HGTV is quality programming and I feel it's part of my job to stay current with design and real estate. My t.v. watching has actually decreased dramatically lately since our little man has become much more aware of that bright picture box, and the American Academy of Pediatrics says that is a major no-no. Really, back to HGTV. I love Curb Appeal: The Block, hosted by John Gidding. And it's not just because he's another pretty face.

First of all, he's a real for sure architect. I was skeptical at first, thinking HGTV might be trying to pull one over on us, so I checked him out and though he is a former model (okay, if you want to see something really funny, go here- really, that is John Gidding), he's also a Harvard GSD graduate. If you watch the show (or another show he does with HGTV- Designed to Sell) you'll see he's a very talented designer. I just love the concept of Curb Appeal: The Block because they work to upgrade the curb appeal of not just one home, but a few on the street to improve not only area property values but also foster a sense of community and value to a neighborhood. It's such a design school trope, but the team really seems to pull it off and the results are never the "quick fix" as are so many of the design show solutions. Check out this slideshow of neighborhood makeovers. Here’s a before and after.

What an incredible transformation from bland to “Come on over and party, friends”. And there’s a yellow front door, which we all know I heart.

John seems like such a down-to-earth guy. AND, all his projects take place in Atlanta-area neighborhoods (shout out for the ATL) so it's fun to see some of the places I'm familiar with, and some neighborhoods I'd like to explore. If I ever ran into John Gidding in Atlanta I would freak out. Seriously, like an eight year old girl probably does when she sees Justin Bieber. Who the heck is Justin Bieber? I have no idea, but I know people go crazy for him.

Next post... the Canadians are taking over HGTV. Stay tuned.

Don’t get excited

2010-09-27T15:14:00.002-04:00

But somehow I’m pulling off a blog post today. I’m determined. I can’t say this will happen regularly (still working on this whole “schedule” with a baby) but I’d like it to happen at least once in a blue moon.

Yes, we had our beautiful baby boy in early August. He’s a joy and a handful and Dr. Jay doesn’t want me to mix baby and blog so I won’t say much other than we love our family and it keeps us B-U-S-Y. I don’t really have to spell things out around here yet, just practicin’.

What got me on the blog today, besides a baby napping in his crib (!!!!!!) and not on me for once? Well, trolling around on the interweb, I read through my first online magazine. I am so incredibly impressed by Southern Flourish. And inspired. I don’t own a Kindle or an iPad, and frankly thought reading a magazine online could never be fun, but I was so so wrong. It’s so easy to page through and the images are crisp and clear. I also love that it’s free to look through a magazine like Southern Flourish and that they feature up-and-coming designers (all Southerners, I believe) who I’d probably never hear about otherwise. I read about it over on Young House Love, bloggers who are featured with a “Day in the Life Of” article that the magazine (is there a term for online magazine that I don’t know about?) seems to do regularly. I enjoyed reading about the days of a few other interesting Southerners.

In short (cause I have to be short these days) if you’ve never flipped through an online magazine, now’s the time. It’ll change your life. Well, that’s probably an overstatement, but I bet it will change your attitude about online magazine reading.

Southern Flourish, are you looking for any new writers?

Cue the baby waking up.

Airport Style

2010-08-02T21:04:00.001-04:00

So last week I wrote about Hollin Hills, a neighborhood nearby, and mentioned that it was laid out in the early 60s by an architect named Charles Goodman. I also wrote that Goodman was the original architect of National Airport (now known as Reagan National Airport). Well, that’s not entirely true (I need to remember that Wikipedia isn’t always a reliable source of information), though he was part of the original team of designers. See, after I wrote the post, bells started going off in Dr. Jay’s head. On a trip through Reagan (the airport) a few months ago he happened to pass by what looked like a lobby preserved in time in Terminal A. He’s been saying we should go check it out ever since, so on Sunday we finally did. After an hour and $2 to park in the short-term parking garage, we’d learned all about the history of the airport. It sits on land which used to be Abingdon Plantation, owned originally by Captain John Alexander. Abingdon was purchased in 1778 by John Parke Custis, the adopted stepson of President George Washington, and was the birthplace of Washington’s beloved granddaughter, Eleanor “Nelly” Parke Custis. Ruins from the original house (which was destroyed by fire in 1930) still remain on the grounds, and artifacts are preserved in Historic Terminal A.

Visiting Historic Terminal A is also a great way to see the first airport building’s unique style, which was definitely a blend of the classical architecture President Franklin D. Roosevelt requested as a way to pay tribute to the rest of Washington’s architecture and of the emerging modern aesthetic demanded of the technologies present in an airport facility. Here’s some of what we saw:

Pshhhha- we went in anyway. There was no function.

Here’s a final photo of the more recently designed Cesar Pelli addition to the airport.

If you’re ever in Reagan and near Terminal A, stop in and check it out the Historic Lobby. It seems as if they will be further restoring it to its original early-American airport style. Don’t miss your flight or anything, but it’s worth a looksy if you’re stuck at the airport for some time.

Go West

2010-08-01T18:31:00.001-04:00

I received J.Crew’s August catalog last week. Gold star for me for not ordering anything, even though I have a both a gift card and a credit to my good name. Actually, it’s pretty easy to avoid buying pretty clothes when you’re many many #s above your normal weight, but I like to give myself a pat on the back whenever possible.

So, why am I talking about J.Crew? Cause I love that each new season brings a different location for their catalog shoot. This month’s catalog was shot at Lake Powell in Arizona, and gosh is that some amazingly breathtaking landscape. The rock formations have such an incredible architectural quality, I couldn’t resist writing about them on the Babble. I’ve been wanting to take a trip out West for some time now: hike the Grand Canyon, see Lake Mead, do some crazy whitewater rafting, take Ansel Adams-esque photographs. You know, the usual.

(All images courtesy of the J.Crew August catalog)

I’m also coveting this bag, in case you’re interested.

Mad house in D.C.

2010-07-30T10:43:00.002-04:00

Well, actually the winning house from the Washington Post’s Mad Men Look contest is in Silver Spring, Maryland, but it’s all the same up here in the DMV (I’ve heard that’s the new term for the D.C./Maryland/Virginia area). The winner was announced in last weekend’s Real Estate section, and of course I am right on top of things reporting to you, dear readers. The house, built in 1953, is owned by Melissa and Christopher Talley. They’ve been recreating the past with 60’s chic decor since purchasing the home in 2007. Melissa collected mid-century furniture and accessories for many years, so finding the perfect house in which to showcase her collection was like divine intervention. Check out the Post’s slideshow for images of their home, plus those of the other winners. Second place went to a Bethesda home, and third place to a home in Hollin Hills, a neighborhood in nearby (to me) Fairfax county.

In fact, reading the article last weekend lead us to take a trek out to Hollin Hills to check it out for ourselves. I’d originally heard of this neighborhood from a co-worker that’s lived there for almost 30 years. It was developed in the early 50s, designed and site planed by architect Charles Goodman and developed by Robert Davenport. The firm, Charles M. Goodman Associates, designed 14 models of houses for the neighborhood. The current neighborhood association is actually trying to get it into the National Register of Historic Places. Goodman is interesting because he’s also responsible for designing the original National Airport (now known as Reagan National Airport) and also served as head architect to the Treasury Department.

Visiting Hollin Hills was a nice departure from the historic revival styles so frequently seen here in Alexandria and the D.C. area. Though the lot sizes were smaller than I imagined, there are lots of trees and foliage to provide privacy. Most of the facades feature a high percentage of glass, and I’m told each of the lots came with a landscape plan designed to both maximize views, light exposure, and maintain privacy. You might say much of the landscaping looks a bit overgrown at this point. I took lots of photos (while trying not to be too invasive of privacy) so take a look at this mid-century neighborhood for yourself:

I think I’m in love with this house:

This one is for sale:

Want to guess the price?

Marble Re-Cap

2010-07-27T19:41:00.001-04:00

I’m going to attempt to recreate the post on marble I wrote last week . Sheesh, technology and I aren’t always on the best terms. Sometimes, technology wants to see other people. It’s fine. We were on a break last week. We’re back together for now, until this baby takes over my life. So if the blog goes dark for a while, you’ll know why. ‘Til then, I hope to have some more posts for you, and of course I’ll plan to be back eventually.

On to marble. I received a reader request the other day from a homeowner who wishes to install marble countertops in her kitchen (swoon). The question- honed or polished? As much as I’ve gone on and on about my love for marble, I’d honestly never really considered the issue. So, this required some research. I did some online investigating and I visited a local kitchen and bath showroom so I could see for myself. Here’s what I found:

First of all, marble is a type of metamorphic rock (remember those three types of rock: igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic) meaning it has changed form from its original composition. In the case of marble, it results from the metamorphism of sedimentary carbonate rocks (most likely limestone or dolomite rock). One of the reasons I probably like marble so much is that it’s cousin is limestone, my other favorite rock!

Moving on, because of marble’s crystalline structure, it’s extremely soft compared to other rocks, though relatively shatter-proof. This makes it ideal for sculpture. Heck, the entire Taj Mahal was carved from marble. Varieties of marble can be found all over the world, and I love that there are Georgia and Tennessee varieties so close to my roots.

So, honed versus polished? Both are finish levels of production, honed being just one step before polished at the factory.

Honed = matte finish

Polished = shiny (polished) finish

While polished marble is actually less absorbent than honed, and therefore less vulnerable to stains from dark liquids like wine, juice or coffee, it is more likely to show scratches or etches which can occur from sharp objects or acids. These are actually probably more of a risk, since with a liquid spill there’s a little leeway time for clean-up before the stain sets in. Honed marble, on the other hand, already has a somewhat etched finish and will be less likely to show the everyday wear and tear that comes from kitchen use. Whichever finish is used, it’s important to periodically seal the marble (sealant products can be found easily at places like Bed Bath and Beyond) to ward off stains. Sealing will not prevent stains, but it will buy you some time for clean up after a spill.

So, in my world, honed wins as far as finishes. I was further convinced when I visited the kitchen and bath showroom and naturally gravitated towards the honed marble anyway. And now for another question for the homeowner: what type of edging? 1/4” bevel? Dupont edge? Bullnose? So many decisions. Now let’s look at some beautiful marble applications.

(from Coastal Living)

(from Cote de Texas)

(from House Beautiful)

(from the Washington Post)

Aren’t those green fixtures amazing?

Do you have any burning questions about home products or design? Let me know. If I don’t know the answer, I promise I won’t make one up. I’ll do some research and hopefully write an interesting post about it.

A World Architecture Survey

2010-07-21T23:08:00.001-04:00

Dr. Jay alerted me to this article on VanityFair.com not too long ago, and since he may be responsible for deleting the entire post I’d written for you guys about marble and I’m not up to recreating it for you at this hour of the night, I figured it was finally time to share the VF article with you.

If you’re interested in learning what some of today’s top architects consider to be the most influential works of architecture in the world (constructed since 1980) check out the results of their survey here. You can click on each participant (most of whom are architects or designers of some reknown) and see their top five picks. You can also view a slideshow of some of the most popular works of world architecture. I loved skimming through it to see how many of these buildings or structures I’ve been to or seen in person. And making a list of where I need to visit. It’s a long list.

Are you a Betty or a Peggy (or a Joan)?

2010-07-05T19:29:00.002-04:00

(Pretend this post was published on July 4th, 2010, as I originally intended it to be)

Happy 4th of July everyone! This is one of my favorite holidays, and though we’re sad we can’t celebrate as we usually do in Atlanta with our family, we’re excited to spend time with friends tonight and watch the D.C. fireworks from a rooftop in Alexandria. A day off tomorrow will also be nice. We’re headed to Mt. Vernon, which I’ve been talking about since we moved here almost a year ago.

We’ve been watching a lot of Mad Men around here lately, still catching up on Season Three. It’s such a fascinating show- one of the best on t.v. right now. Thank goodness for Netflix and Hulu, because we certainly don’t make time to watch t.v. as scheduled anymore. In today’s Washington Post I noticed that they’re running a contest looking for the most Mad Men-esque home in the D.C. area. You can enter a photo by July 11 and they’ll pick a winner and document the winning home in the July 24 edition, in time for the start of the newest season of the show. Does your home have a 50s or 60s Modern look to it?

In case you’re interested, while searching for images for this post, I found this article from the L.A. Times about the set decorator for the series and her secrets on the best vintage shops in Pasadena. Oh, and if you’d like to create the Mad Men version of yourself, try it out here.

(that’s supposed to be me and Don hanging out in Rome)

The nursery revealed

2010-07-03T10:40:00.004-04:00

I’m feeling very parental already today. We were up and to the Farmer’s Market early this morning (6:30 a.m. !) and last night Dr. Jay installed the car seat. Not sure what has gotten into us, other than the fact that it’s T-minus 25 days until the due date. Parenthood looms. I’m wrapping up projects at work and trying to get our place in order (getting all my ducks rowed up, as a former boss used to say). And we’re putting the finishing touches on the baby’s room, which I know is why you are all here today. I’ll get to the photos, but first I am compelled to say a little more about the process. What kind of designer would I be if I didn’t bore you with the details? And of course, if you’re really curious you can just scroll down to the After photos anyway.

So I must tell you about some of the challenges of the nursery design, the first of which is that we are in a rental unit which brings about all sorts of constraints. We had been using the room as an office/guest room (there was a pull-out couch) and decided that we really still needed some sort of desk area in the apartment and there was no good reason to move it completely out of the room (the desk wouldn’t fit anywhere else, it has sentimental value, etc). So the room became 2/3 baby and 1/3 desk area. Eventually (pretty soon, actually) we’ll be removing the computer from the desk and setting up my sewing machine, but that’s another blog post.

One of the other constraining issues is the fact that we are not finding out whether our little Lima Bean is a he or a she. So it became my mission to figure out a stylish way to do neutral without reverting to one of the two gimmicky “themes” available at places like Babies R Us. Nothing wrong with that store or neutrality, but let’s face it, from what I’ve found there’s a pretty limited palette in the market place today for old-fashioned minded folks like ourselves. Take a look around at baby stuff these days and you’ll see what I’m talking about. And that last constraint? Oh yeah, budget. We’re not exactly rolling in it since we’re diligently saving for a house (you know, so Lima Bean doesn’t always have to share a room with a sewing machine) so we wanted to stretch every dollar.

Here’s a plan of the room, just so we’re all on the same page.

It’s not a very large space (less than 12’x12’), and of course there’s that “fire”place we had to deal with. There’s a long, not-to-be-blogged-about story on that one, but just know that it’s not a real or functioning fire place, it’s just something that has to stay in our apartment somewhere, and in this room it can at least be somewhat hidden by the crib and serve as a shelf. I tried to come up with a plan that allowed the two remaining useful elements (the desk and the tool chest) to remain without being in the way, functionality between the crib and changing table, and of course a rocking chair, which I wanted from the beginning. Here’s a very rough sketch I did on the plane back from our Miami trip in February. This was when I figured out how it should work, and set about finding furniture to fit in this configuration.

I know it’s crude, but I needed a quick way to get on paper all the elements I had in my head and to explain to Dr. Jay what I was envisioning. This was helpful, because I do believe he asked me what a changing table was for.

Here are BEFORE images of the room.

Yes, that room became a catch-all for extra boxes of books from grad school, as well as framed pieces we weren’t sure where or if to hang in the rest of the apartment. We eventually figured out what to do with all that stuff (for the most part). We sold the couch on Craigslist (bye-bye houseguests), took the books to Dr. Jay’s office, and either hung or stored the rest of those pictures. Did you notice the lovely brass wall-lights behind the couch? We removed those for storage (replacing them with new lights became much more of a project than I anticipated) and added more kid-friendly lights instead. We kept the room the same neutral tan, not because I’m in love with it, but because this is a rental we only plan to be in for another year. I decided the paint color would have to work with whatever color scheme we eventually went with, and if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, right?

We took on several DIY projects for this room. We bought a bentwood rocking chair off Craigslist and painted it (project no. 1, which I plan to write more about in another post), my mom and I sewed curtains and a re-positionable crib skirt (yay for storage underneath the crib!), and we customized frames from Michael’s for the artwork. Because I know you’re ready, here are the AFTER photos.

Here’s what you see to your right as you walk in the door. We added an organizer for all those little baby things to the back of the closet door. Note the new wall lights. We still need to figure out the best thing to do with those cords. The bookcase (from Target) is the newest addition to the room, and is holding all the books we received at a shower (love that!), parenting books, and all of Lima Bean’s clothes, blankets, and various baby items.

Panning around.

The crib was a gift from my mom, a J.C. Penney find if you are interested. I love the dark finish, simple lines, and of course the fact that there is storage underneath (it’s where we’re storing some clothes that might someday fit me again and things like a swing and baby tub for Lima Bean). My mom and I had fun creating the crib skirt, following directions from a tutorial over at Young House Love. Though we did actually sew it instead of using the iron-on hem tape, just cause I like using my sewing machine.

There are actually black-out window coverings pulled up behind the curtains. I think those will be great for nap time!

An heirloom, created by my grandmother when I was a baby! This was probably the first poem I ever memorized because I saw it so often.

And here’s the room from another angle.

I plan to cover up the fireplace with another removeable skirt. I’ll be working on it later today. It might be my last sewing project for the room, unless I tackle a bumper for the crib. I haven’t been able to find one I like enough to purchase, and it’s another excuse to use my sewing machine.

We get beautiful eastern morning light in this room, so this photo is a little washed out. The changing table is part of the set that matches the crib. I know, I broke my own rule about being matchy-matchy, but the size and finish worked perfectly, and it didn’t require any painting or sanding which made Dr. Jay very happy. He got me that cool bird mobile for my birthday this year. It was one of our first nursery items.

Here’s the other side of the room, the “work” side, a.k.a. blog and sewing area.

My sister-in-law painted that colorful fish painting especially for our Lima Bean. I think the colors work perfectly. In fact, many of the items in these photos were handmade by family and friends. It means so much to us that people took the time to make something special for our baby.

Please let me know if you’re interested in a sources list. I was planning to add one, but this post is already long and I’m sure no one is reading by now.

I think that about sums it up. We’re so grateful to all the help we’ve received from friends and family on this several-month process, from gifts to advice to storage (thanks, mom!). There have been some challenges, but Dr. Jay and I have loved every minute of putting together this room for Lima Bean and we can’t wait to get that little baby in here!

Latest Inspirations (distractions?)

2010-07-01T22:06:00.002-04:00

This color has inspired me a lot lately. You’ll see more of it when I publish nursery images. It really just makes me so happy when I see this particular yellow. Whenever anyone has asked me about the nursery, I explain that there’s not really a theme (themes make me cringe) but the color that ties everything together is yellow, and not a quiet, pale yellow. It’s a bold, bright yellow, “like a sunflower or a taxi cab”, which usually gets me a confused look by whoever asked. Oh well, babies like contrast right?

Two other blogs have been great inspirations for me lately. One is called Better After and is a blog dedicated to Before and After photos of DIY projects. It’s right up my alley. If we had a proper garage or yard workspace, I’d probably be tackling some of these myself. Here’s one of my favorites, an old “entertainment center” (another term that makes me cringe) turned in to a play kitchen for a kid:

and

How sweet is that? Read more about that project here.

Another blog I’ve loved checking in on is BungalowBungahigh, written by a couple of architects (they’re a couple, and they’re architects!) about the bungalow outside of Chicago that they’ve been renovating for the past year. I’ve really enjoyed reading about some of the interesting projects they’ve taken on, they update it fairly frequently, and they’re brief and to the point, which lately gets major kudos in my book. I find too many distractions, which I like to call “inspirations”.

Any great blogs or projects that have inspired you lately? What about colors?

I’m baaackkk !

2010-06-27T20:16:00.001-04:00

Well, sort of. I’d like to try this whole blogging thing again, but I’ll be taking it slow. Don’t want to over-commit and under-perform, you know? So here’s a little something to keep you going until we “finish” the baby’s room. I say “finish” because, with me, nothing is every really complete. I’ll be working in here ‘til this little Lima Bean arrives, and probably some after (but much later, of course). It will come to a level of completeness very soon though, or Dr. Jay might go completely bananas on me.

Here’s a sneak peek of the current situation:

H * I * A * T * U * S

2010-05-17T21:37:00.001-04:00

After much thought, I’ve decided to take a hiatus from this blog. I hope you all will understand. Obviously I have not posted in a while, not because I haven’t wanted to, or haven’t had material, but because life has gotten busy. I feel like I am pulled in a million directions right now. I need to take some time, step away and focus on other commitments (family, pregnancy, friends, job). I love this blog, I know it can be so much more, and I feel guilty every time I have an idea for a post and don’t have time to give it full attention.

I’m not sure how long this will last. I hope only a month or so, and I hope to come back stronger than ever.

Thanks for reading. Til next time!

Monday, Monday

2010-04-19T23:23:00.001-04:00

And my hubby was gone all weekend, so I’ve taken advantage of him as much as possible tonight. Not in that way- get your mind out of the gutter. So far, we’ve been to the dog park (I am dirty from this, and all I did was watch the running around!), made roast chicken and broccoli, ordered a wedding gift, posted an ad on Craigslist (already received about 5 interested parties and someone +might+ be coming by TONIGHT), put together a gift for a friend, oh and mostly assembled a changing table (that was all him- I just supervised). This is all since I returned from work at 5:45, but its the usual sort of antics around here, which is why blogging can get pushed to the bottom of the list. I apologize. I miss you guys. I have a list of post topics as long as my arm, and I am struggling to stay current. I don’t want to bombard you all at once, but here are some things that have been on my mind lately:

Virginia bans the cul-de-sac. Actually, this is old news, as it is legislation that passed last year, but it’s news that probably passed me by since we didn’t live here at the time last year. I’m still searching for the exact wording of the law and when it comes into effect, but on the surface, I agree. I absolutely love living in an area with gridded streets. I think the idea that culs-de-sac (the proper French plural) are safer is a false sense of security, and I like the connectivity and sense of orientation that the grid provides. What do you think?

One of my professors has a new book.

My esteemed studio professor from UVA, Ed Ford, has a new book about the five houses he’s built for himself and his family and the lessons in detailing he’s learned along the way. Professor Ford is most well-known for his books The Details of Modern Architecture, volumes 1 and 2. As was the custom at UVA, I was able to visit one of these homes in Charlottesville he was completing while I was a student in 2001. I remember being astounded by some of the incredible ideas within this house and how they had been executed. This man knows his stuff. I have added this book to my Amazon wishlist. It’s gotten to be quite the list lately.

And lastly (for tonight): the Washington Post Peeps contest winner from Easter. Boy am I behind. This year’s winning entry featured a scene from the movie Up. Check it out here, along with the other creative confectionary entries. I’ve taken notes. I so want to enter this contest next year. I think my favorite from this year, aside from the winner, was "Peepocalypse 2010: Dupont Circle Snowball Fight", which of course depicted a scene from the infamous D.C. snowball fight that erupted in police intervention. Oh, Washington.

the first day of Spring

2010-04-08T22:11:00.001-04:00

Let’s all think back to what we were doing on Saturday, March 20th, the first day of Spring 2010. I was very lucky to embark on a trip to Lucketts, Virginia, a small town about 15 miles north of Leesburg known for its collection of antique shops. The weather cooperated (though I can’t say as much for my allergies) and we had a gorgeous day of scouting out the scene. Here are a few of my photos from the two shops we visited, The Old Lucketts Store and On A Whim, both of which had indoor and outdoor displays and merchandise.

So many things to do with old doors!

There were these outdoor sheds filled with goodies. Check out all the chandeliers.

I know the above seems useless, but I can think of lots of fun things to build with those posts and columns.

Anyone need board shorts, Chuck Taylors, or half of a canoe? That thing would be so cool in a little boy’s room (or a man room).

I really wanted that old hardware store sorting bin. It would make a killer kitchen island. I have to keep telling myself that things like this will still be around when we are finally furnishing our own house (or I am designing one for someone else) because someone needs to have this thing in their kitchen.

The Old Lucketts Store is great because not only does it feature these low-priced gems outdoors, but indoors they have already-styled pieces put together in rooms to show you how to incorporate them into your home. I didn’t take any photos indoors (that seemed like it could be a no-no) but their website does a great job of enticing you. Also, in researching this post, I have since found an Apartment Therapy post about Lucketts from February of last year.

Though I had a great time browsing, I came up short with the main focus of my hunt: an interesting piece of furniture I could use for a changing table. In the end, I couldn’t find something that would fit both the size requirements of a changing pad, the size requirements of the room, and our budget. I’ve settled for the path of least resistance and ordered the changing cabinet that matches the crib. It’s currently in pieces, awaiting assembly in our soon-to-be nursery. You’ll just have to wait for a post about nursery design (on a dime, in a temporary shoebox).

GaGa

2010-03-30T22:38:00.002-04:00

I am just GaGa over this kitchen.

GAHHHH!

It’s so springy! I love the farmhouse sink, the dark cabinets, the dark trim on the windows, and of course all the yellow accents and the milk glass. What else? Oh there’s the wood table for an island, and marble countertops which I have decided are a must for my dream kitchen. I’ve read a lot about them (pros, cons, opinions) and have decided that they are worth the little bit of extra effort. And like Genevieve Gorder (my Trading Spaces idol) says, they’ve been used for centuries, so what could be wrong with a product like that?

What are some things I might change? Well, I’m not so sure about the hood over the range. I think I’d need to see it in person to be convinced. In fact, I’d like to see the rest of this house! Where did this image come from? Geez, I neglected to source it! I emailed it to myself last week from Apartment Therapy and now I can’t find it through a search. I +think+ it came from a Country Living article?

Today is the greatest

2010-03-25T22:35:00.001-04:00

Today has really been a great one, full of good news from old friends, new discoveries, and amazing connections. I just love the blog-world. If you had told me last year that this blog would lead me to this many powerful and affirming experiences, I never would have believed you. But I’m glad Dr. Jay talked me into starting it, as I am with most things he talks me into.

What am I babbling about? Well, for one thing, the universe spoke to my question and I now have an answer. The architect of Twomey Cellars in Healdsburg, California is Jacques Ullman. The project won an AIA Chapter design award in 2004 and is featured in Wineries II: Architecture and Design. Mr. Ullman somehow found my post on the winery (which was originally called Roshambo) and answered my question in the comments section. Thanks, Mr. Ullman! If we make it back out to Northern California, I will definitely look you up. And thank you, blog-world, for making the universe seem a little smaller once again.

Happy Spring

2010-03-23T21:44:00.001-04:00

It’s finally here! After 4 long months of cold and dark, it’s finally Spring here in northern Virginia. And so the allergies commence! Frankly, I had forgotten how bad my allergies can be because I’ve been on medication for them for several years. Now, in my delicate state, I can’t take my regular prescription strength allergy meds and have been relying (miserably) on over-the-counter and home remedies. The past two weeks have been kind of a haze due to Benedryl, Zyrtec, and sleepless nights, but I think I’m back in business thanks to a new allergist and a new prescription.

All my sinus woes got me thinking about how many things I’d become complacent about in our living situation because I was relying on medication. There are many things you can do to avoid allergens in your home, from the construction of the house to its decoration. I thought I’d list some in case it can help anyone else suffering the plight of allergies.

To clarify, I am allergic to both indoor (dust, mold, cat hair, etc) and outdoor (tree pollen) irritants. I get all the classic symptoms: itchy eyes, itchy throat, sneezing, post-nasal drip, and even (though rarely) hives. Here is a list of things you can do in your home to mitigate the number of allergens in your home:

-Remove carpet in bedrooms, especially if your home is slab on-grade. Moisture can seep through the concrete and and become trapped between the concrete and the carpet, causing mold and mildew which often goes undetected. Hardwood or hard-surface floors are best because they are easier to clean and are less likely to trap allergens like dust.

- Avoid using heavy curtains or draperies, which can attract mold, dust-mites and bacteria. Use lightweight curtains or shades which can be easily cleaned.

- If you have pets, bathe them frequently during high-pollen season, or at least wipe them down after they’ve been outside. Don’t allow them to sleep on your bed or get on the furniture, which will only bring any pollen or dander on them closer to you. We’ve just recently made this change in our house and I think it’s worked wonders.

- Minimize soft furnishings and excessive decor in your home, which only collect dust.

- Vacuum often (if carpets and rugs are present) and preferably with a vacuum that has a Hepa filter, which is designed to filter particles like dust and cat dander.

- Maintain your air conditioner and change the filter frequently, also using a high filtration system if possible.

- Use allergen-impermeable covers on your pillows and mattress and wash all sheets, blankets and mattress pads in hot water (130 degrees) at least every two weeks.

-Remove your shoes upon entering the house as they can track in dust and pollen they’ve picked up outside.

Hope you are enjoying the change of seasons. Happy Spring!

Happy St. Patty’s Day

2010-03-17T19:04:00.001-04:00

This is what pregnant ladies do with their wine glasses: drink green smoothies. That wine glass is one of my favorites, not only because it’s extra large, but because it reminds me of our trip to San Francisco and Northern California last January. We visited the Twomey Cellars winery in Healdsburg, California and it’s the site of the Babble’s header photography. I was blown away by the design of the building, which takes advantage of incredible views of their vineyards in the Russian River Valley. I know the architect is local to the area, but I can’t seem to find it listed online. Does anyone know who designed this building?

Weekend Thoughts

2010-03-13T11:58:00.002-05:00

We're in New York this weekend spending time with good friends. I wanted offer a few thoughts I had yesterday, but didn't get a chance to post:

Just a few Friday things on my mind. First of all, I found my new favorite song of the moment when I was searching for "White Liar" by Miranda Lambert on GrooveShark this morning. If you haven't checked out Grooveshark, try it! You can search for practically any song and make a play list to listen to for FREE. I've really liked White Liar lately (yes, I was born and raised in Georgia and still have a country station preset in my car) so I thought I'd see if Ms. Lambert had anything else I might enjoy. She DOES. My new favorite song right now is called Airstream Song. Go take a listen. Another thing that's been on my mind this morning: Sierra Leone. Meg Duerksen of the Whatever blog (another favorite inspiration of mine) traveled there last week on a mission trip. Her first set of internet-published photos came out this morning, and they speak volumes. I've traveled in third world countries, and her photos are still shocking, moving, brave and sweet. Visit her blog today and have your outlook changed.

And the pillow goes to…

2010-03-11T20:15:00.001-05:00

Wow, you guys must have really like those pillows! Thanks to everyone that participated. It’s been really fun to read the comments, and I loved that there was such a nice distribution of tastes.

Without further adieu, the winner of a brand new pillow from AllModern.com is:

Suzy!

Suzy chose the Zig-Zag pillow from Twinkle Living, and in her words:

I like the zig zag pillow and would put it in the rocking chair in our soon to be completed nursery.

That’s exactly what I would do with it, Suzy!

Suzy, please send me an email with your shipping information and we’ll get the pillow on its way to your nursery.

the Babble’s first giveaway

2010-03-10T13:11:00.002-05:00

Happy Wednesday everyone! Today is a special day for Architecture Babble because I am hosting my first ever reader giveaway! A few weeks ago I was contacted by a cool company that sells lots of fabulous stuff, everything from kids bedding to swanky modern furniture. Lately, I’ve been checking out the selection of crib sheets and retro/modern nursery furniture. They’ve got some pretty great stuff, like the Eames rocker.

The generous folks at the CSN stores (who own cool sites like AllModern.com and AllChildrensFurniture.com) have offered one of my lucky readers a chance to sample one of their products. I chose three pillows from AllModern.com, and all you have to do is leave a comment.

(from L to R: Zig-Zag pillow from Twinkle Living, Green Chrysanthemums pillow from Thomas Paul, and Juniper Square pillow from Unison)

I'm psyched about these options and would love to win any one of them. Sadly, I cannot enter this giveaway, but YOU CAN!

Here’s how to enter to win your choice of the above pillows: -Leave a comment on this post telling me which pillow you like best and where or how you will use it. -Contest will be open until 8 pm on Thursday, March 11, 2010. -I'll randomly select a winner (using a random number generator) and announce it on the blog on Thursday evening. -Contest is open to U.S. and Canadian residents only (sorry to my international readers).

Thanks for reading and good luck!

my Etsy find

2010-03-09T20:05:00.003-05:00

Last week I was browsing on Etsy (and thinking why don’t I buy everything from Etsy?) and caved with this purchase.

(Click for source)

It arrived yesterday and I’m pretty excited about it. This vintage-style map of North America is paired with a Tiger Swallowtail butterfly and I plan for it to hang in (drumroll please) our Nursery! Yes, I’m making the official blog announcement that we are expecting our first child in July. We are blissful and happy, and hopefully my condition explains the sporadic nature of the blog these past few months. We’re beginning to figure out a nursery design (in the room that is currently an office/guest room), so plan to see upcoming posts on that front. I’m tending towards bolder colors as opposed to pastels, and we aren’t finding out the sex of our little one until the big day, so that is a fun, creative challenge as well.

Please come back tomorrow- I’ll have another (not quite as) exciting announcement and a first for the Babble.

the blueprint chair

2010-03-05T11:20:00.003-05:00

Is it crazy that I want this chair just because it's called the blueprint chair? Well, that and it's on sale. I know exactly which over-sized pleather office chair this can replace (sorry, Dr. Jay). Find it at CB2.com

Miami Vacay

2010-03-04T21:38:00.001-05:00

We returned Tuesday from a short but well worth it trip to Miami over the weekend. Rudy is helping me unpack.

That fur to the right of him is his pelt. Don’t ask.

We were able to get some much-needed sunshine, eat Cuban food (thanks Amy and Max!), swim, fish, and be inspired by architecture.

Here are a few of the photos I took in the Art Deco District on Sunday morning. Tip for all you vacation photographers: Sunday morning is the best time to capture a city because there are fewer people and less traffic, and if you time it right you can get great light. We probably should have gotten up a little earlier for the best light in a sunny city like Miami, but hey, we were on vacation.

This next one might be my favorite of the old hotels.

Here’s where we stayed.

Just kidding. We didn’t stay there. But we drooled over this strip of hotels from the beach.

I absolutely loved this one (above). Isn’t that little balcony amazing? It’s the Ritz-Carlton, so I tried not to get too attached.

Just that morning I was thinking how much I like terrazzo flooring, and lo and behold we came across this:

That’s not your average terrazzo, friends. The embedded stones are huge. Here’s a scale photo with my sandy foot in it. Keep in mind I have freakishly large feet.

These steps are gorgeous and belong to the Hotel Gansevoort (designed by the Stephen B. Jacobs Group) which we checked out in search of a restroom. We were directed to their coffee bar, Cafe Bustelo, which turned out to be A-mazing.

Rows and rows of their coffee line the walls to the tall ceiling.

It is beautifully designed, and great for people-watching.

Just across the street (Collins Road) is the property I’d be interested in purchasing and redeeming:

Anyone want to go in on an investment property? This one’s a winner: prime location and great mid-century bones.

One last architecture photo from the trip.

That’s a parking garage. Isn’t it astoundingly cool?

Nothing like a trip to a new city to gain some inspiration. Miss you already, Miami.

My life right now

2010-02-25T19:18:00.001-05:00

This week (month) has been fraught with the trials and tribulations of being a professional architect, mainly those associated with licensure. It’s been such a complicated process that I thought I’d make a little venn diagram (inspired by this blog) to help describe the mess.

Now that I’ve got that off my chest…

I’m bummed that I won’t be able to enter The Washington Post annual Peeps Diorama Contest because we’ll be out of town this weekend and it ends on Monday, March 1st. But, I can’t wait to see what comes of it. The past years have been beyond impressive.

Flaming House

2010-02-24T22:02:00.004-05:00

Would you ever guess that the room above part of a home in Oklahoma City? It's a remodel for Flaming Lips member Wayne Coyne who grew up in the area. The whole place is as unique as the bedroom and you can see more of it here. The architect is Fitzsimmons Architects, an OKC firm who has some other really neat non-OK style homes like the OKasian house. Thanks to Kids Prefer Cheese for bringing this to my attention.

BLOGOVERSARY

2010-02-24T14:36:00.002-05:00

It's my one-year blogoversary! Can you believe it? I can't. Thankfully, it coincides closely with my own birthday (the 23rd of February) so it's hard to forget. I'll be back tonight with a proper celebratory post.

Cheese isn’t actually structurally sound

2010-02-18T00:01:00.002-05:00

Behold

Looks like paradise, right? But wait, is that a potato? And salmon?!! Take a gander at the work of Carl Warner and his foodscapes here. Yes, that is all real food. I promise you won’t be disappointed.

Here’s an image of Carl at work on some processed meat.

A picture is indeed worth a thousand words. And thousands and thousands of calories.

Where I would like to be...

2010-02-15T16:41:00.002-05:00

Since it's snowing in Virginia again, I thought I'd share my wish with everyone. I'd rather be here, lounging by this pool, sipping a cold one. Click on the image for its source, a blog about "Los Angeles Real Estate for the Design Conscious". Sign me up!

Some sweet stuff online

2010-02-08T20:06:00.001-05:00

Yep, we’re pretty socked-in with snow right now. And there’s more on the way. I am trying hard to not think about snow as jail, but it does feel a little bit like that to me. Certainly not what I anticipated when moving to Virginia. I know, it snows this close to the Mason-Dixon line, but generally not this much. I think I know what those Minnesotans feel like each winter, without all the appropriate gear and expertise.

So, this weekend was filled with working on some home projects (yay spiffy closet!), sewing, eating hearty food, watching Rudy enjoy the snow, and of course internet-browsing. I’ve been wanting to share a few sites with you, loyal readers. Some I’ve known about for a while, and some I’ve recently found and just must share as my mama always taught me to.

Young House Love. Have you seen this blog? I think I am behind the times on this one (I usually am) but these people are pretty much my idols. They bought a sweet little 50s ranch house outside of Richmond and have been renovating it for the past few years, blogging about it, and turning that into their full-time job. Incredible. I don’t always agree with their style, but I love that they give full-on tutorials of most of the projects they’ve tackled, complete with their mistakes, photos, and what everything cost. They’ve been featured on numerous websites, magazines, and are now contributors to Better Homes and Gardens Do It Yourself magazine. Sheesh. So I go there every so often and check out what they are up to, though I still haven’t added them to my Reader. I’ve got a little bit of blog-reading guilt (read: I probably spend too much time reading about other peoples’ lives) so I’m very picky about what I add to my Reader. But I’ll probably add YHL soon. It’s addictive.

Ten Dollar Drawings. I can’t remember how I found this site, but I heart it. I will definitely be asking her to make me a drawing for $10. I just need to decide what I want drawn. Ideas?

SpringPadIt. Another one I’ve known about for a while but finally took the plunge and set up an account last week. Previously, if I found a great website, I would either keep it up as a Tab for weeks (okay, it’s still a habit I’m trying to break) or email myself the link. But with SpringPad, you can keep track of all the cool things you find online, and categorize them. So far, I’ve set up a recipes file and one for potential blog material and various other things I’ve come across (mostly through Apartment Therapy). It’s been great to have all my links in one spot, and I don’t have to freak out if my tabs are closed unexpectedly.

Hope you check one of these out sites. Let me know if you do.

Visiting the Holocaust Memorial Museum

2010-02-05T19:59:00.001-05:00

Last weekend we had a friend in town, and despite the snow storm on Saturday, we made the trek into D.C. to spend the afternoon at the Holocaust Memorial Museum.

I have to admit, this museum hasn’t been high on my list to visit. It’s one that though I wanted to experience, I knew it would be emotional and other D.C. sites always seemed to take precedence. But my friend requested this museum, and frankly, it made a lot of sense to go on a snowy day. The bitter weather of the day ended up being eerily appropriate for the subject.

I am still in awe of the experience. I had no idea the museum was so well-designed. It opened in 1993, before great design was really on my radar, so I never really knew what I was missing. It was designed by James Ingo Freed, and as far as museums go, this was one of the best I have ever visited. We spent three hours there, only in the permanent collection (there is a current exhibit there about Propaganda) and I think I read almost every placard. I learned an incredible amount in such a short period, and I was emotionally drained.

There’s no photography allowed in the actual exhibits, but I was able to snap a few of the transitional spaces, which I think are really important to the impact of the museum. This museum was really well-conceived. Even on a snowy, winter day, there were a lot of visitors. It’s not technically their high season (which is from March to August when passes are required) so I was amazed at how many other folks were present.

Without further adieu, here are some of my photos. These next few are from the light-well in the center of the building. Again, the snow was strangely appropriate when thinking of the conditions of the Holocaust.

This one is looking down into the lower entrance level. I couldn’t get over those guys in uniform (see below, on the stairs). I thought they were character actors from the time-period and I was trying to figure out what the uniform might be representing. I finally asked one of them where they were from. Turns out they go to West Point and they were at the museum on a field trip. Whoops.

You see all these roofs from the walkway in between the levels, and incredible reminder of the many European cities affected by the Holocaust.

I wish I could have taken photos of some of the exhibits, but all I can say is that if you have time in D.C., this is a must-visit. I’m really glad we were convinced to go.

Here are a few other photos of the snow in Alexandria this week, as I brace for the impending blizzard this weekend. Maybe I’ll get to blog some more, but only after I dig myself out of the closet I plan to reorganize tonight. I would show you “before” photos, but I’m too embarrassed of its state, so I’ll just blame the poor lighting conditions.

The one above is my office, and that loading dock leads to the Ice House, which back in the day used to store ice. Now it stores old drawings.

New York in pictures

2010-02-03T18:33:00.001-05:00

My friend Brandy went to New York last weekend and, being the incredible photographer that she is, took some stunning images of the city. I told her they were very architectural, but hey, why put labels on things? Oh yeah, cause I have that little labeler tool on the right that helps me categorize my babbles.

Check out the photos here, at her blog Modern Toile. And I wasn’t exaggerating about her being a photographer. She is. You can hire her. Please tell her I sent you.

Mid-Century in the Movies

2010-01-26T12:57:00.001-05:00

Over the weekend Dr. Jay and I tried to go on a date to see Crazy Heart, but arrived a little late and the only seats available probably weren’t together (not date-worthy) so we ended up seeing Tom Ford’s A Single Man.

We had seen the previews for this movie back in the fall and were intrigued. Well, it’s not that romantic of a movie (if you are heterosexual) but the architecture is amazing. Colin Firth’s character lives in a 1949 John Lautner designed home supposedly in Santa Monica (though it’s actually in Glendale, thank you Apartment Therapy) and the images from the movie are still with me. I enjoyed the movie for the architecture. That sounds like a completely ridiculous thing to say.

Look how the house is formed around the tree. Incredible.

The house is for sale right now- it’s two bedrooms, one and a half baths, two car detached garage: listed for $1,495,000. Actually, that’s a steal compared to home prices around here.

If you’re wondering why I am posting in the middle of the day during a work week, well, I am waiting for the plumber. He is LATE.

Do you need an architect?

2010-01-23T14:37:00.001-05:00

One question I’m frequently asked by friends or family is, “When do you have to use an architect? If I want to build a custom home, do I (by law) have to use an architect, and if not, why would I want one?”

It’s always a tricky answer because typically, someone building a single family residence is not required to use an architect, BUT there may be exceptions to this based on the square footage or area of the country (things may be more strict in an earthquake zone like California). These laws are determined by states, and some are more strict with their rules than others. I was recently looking in to my registration in Texas (I know, I live in Virginia, but I took my exams in Texas and am therefore registered there, which doesn’t really have much consequence for my job now since I am not a principal in the firm and will therefore not be signing and sealing drawings) and I found this great chart on the Texas Board of Achitectural Examiners (the folks that gave me a license) website which explains when to engage an architect in the state of Texas:

(Click on the image to see source).

I think this chart is really valuable for explaining which types of projects require an architect, though I doubt an architect created it because it is so hum-drum. I’ve been looking and looking online and haven’t found one similar for other states, though I will keep you posted if I find one for Virginia. The rules in this chart more than likely are applicable for most places, but this was of course created specifically for Texas so keep that in mind.

While searching for similar charts for other states, I came across this article from the Wall Street Journal about the value of hiring an architect, even if it is not required. I heartily agree.

I think I can, I think I can

2010-01-18T17:59:00.002-05:00

How are those New Year’s resolutions coming along? I guess this is just about the time when most folks either bend or break around the new habits they resolved to form. I know I made several personal and professional goals for the year, and I am trying my best to keep the momentum by reminding myself daily what I resolved to do.

Recently I read a great article on RealSimple.com called The 9 Secrets of Motivated People. As someone who has attempted to run a small business (that being just me), trained for and run three marathons,and been on the seeking end of employment more times than I’d like to recount, I know a little something about striving to maintain motivation. It takes effort every day.

In this article, all the tips are helpful, though the two I indentify most with as helping me in my struggles with motivation are #7 Challenge yourself and change things up, and #8 Keep on learning. While working for myself, these were both very necessary habits but not something I realized I could channel in order to maintain motivation. As a runner, I use both many of these 9 techniques to stay focused on a goal, but hadn’t always thought to apply them to my career goals.

You may be able to see where I am going with this. 2010 will definitely be a career-changing year for me. And I plan to use many of these techniques to power through it. I’ll try to keep you posted, though hopefully you’ll be witness to positive changes on the blog. My one year blogoversary is coming right up next month!

What are you trying to stay motivated to do?

Back by popular demand

2010-01-10T20:29:00.002-05:00

Well, I don’t know about popular, but Dr. Jay has been bugging me to post and I finally decided that this was the weekend to come out of shadows I’ve been lurking in for over a month. Was the last time I posted really a month ago? I guess it was. I do apologize, dear readers, but life became very busy in December (there was a blizzard, the holidays, two separate trips to Georgia, a new starter for our vehicle, among other things) and I know that shouldn’t really have kept me from blogging, but they sapped me of time and energy and posting sank lower and lower on the priority list.

It’s a new year and I have new resound for the Babble though. I hope to be making changes to my site soon, which is one thing that has kept me from being overly-enthusiastic about posting. I want my blog-environment to be reflective of me and my design aesthetic. I’ve been super basic here from the start, so it’s time for me to finally figure out how to code something and make some changes. I’ll keep you posted.

On the architecture end, one piece of news I read in December and meant to write about is an interesting little thing that occurred in Switzerland back in November: the Swiss voted to ban the building of minarets. Though not supported by the government, a referendum vote on the issue passed with 57.5 percent of the voters and in 22 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons. Because the ban was backed by a majority of voters and cantons, it will be added to the Swiss Constitution, which could take up to a year. The Swiss Constitution, like that of the United States, guarantees freedom of religion.

(image of a minaret in Zurich courtesy of the NYTimes)

Do you think that’s ever happened before in a Westernized country: that an entire type of architectural form could be banned? As the article states, of the 150 mosques or prayer rooms in the entire country of Switzerland, only four have minarets, and only two more are planned. I’m not sure if those planned will be affected by this new law or not. The minaret form, tall and striking in the landscape, can be quite dominant, especially in a country where low-lying traditional buildings dot the landscape.

It’s striking to me that the Swiss people have such direct influence on the built form in their communities. When I visited Zurich for a school trip in 2005, the city was in the process of voting on the design of it’s first real skyscraper, which was an exception to its restriction on high-rise buildings. There was an exhibit with models and drawings of the various ideas created by about ten different architects from around the world, and citizens were invited to visit and observe the possibilities and then cast votes to determine the fate of the cityscape. It was amazing to me that something that in the U.S. which would have been decided by private, commercial parties or with the local government, was to be decided by citizens of the community. The Swiss have a completely different way of determining how their cities will be shaped.

Do you agree? Do you think Americans would ever show up for a vote banning a certain type of architecture, or to vote on a new building in their town or city?

Off to watch Herb and Dorothy, finally!

Are you ready for the holidays?

2009-12-03T22:55:00.002-05:00

I am! Well, I’m getting there. I started tonight by putting up my new wreath. There are a few other door decorations up in our building, so I hope to wow the neighbors. Hopefully we’ll get our tree this weekend. Dr. Jay, are you reading this?

Sorry I have been MIA so far this month. An (almost) full month of blogging really took it out of me and I needed a break. But I’m brimming with ideas to post so hopefully I can keep some of that momentum from my November challenge.

I wanted to do an update on a few of my hanging chads out there… I know you are all curious about the newly painted apartment. I’ll do my best to represent the Before, During (when I freaked out about the color) and After (my happy place).

When we moved in, the apartment was an inoffensive tan. I think my landlady called it Safari Tan. I liked it alright, and even received a few compliments on it, but after a month or so I didn’t dig it so much any more. The floors in our place are light, and there just wasn’t any contrast between floor and wall surface. And then there’s the fact that there are some lighting issues in this apartment- not much natural light, very few overhead lights. It’s cause for shadows and distorted colors, and the tan was looking very peach-y to me at times. It got to a point where I just couldn’t stand it. Our land-lady agreed that I could paint if I would paint it back to Safari Tan when we move out if she doesn’t like the new color. Here’s a shot of our place in Safari Tan:

Again, I don’t think the true color comes through in any of these photos. I know, it looks totally fine in tan, but I just needed something different. I decided I wanted a "”sophisticated blue grey”. I went to my local hardware/~~crack~~ Benjamin Moore dealer and got several samples which were promptly draft-dotted to the wall. For weeks. I looked at these blue-greys for literally a month before I was sure which one I wanted. It’s this large chip in the front, and all the others were the ones that didn’t make the cut.

Well, long story short, it’s not just greens and reds that are hard to get right in paint, it’s also blues. This particular paint boggles my mind. I still like the paint sample. I like it sitting on our table. But on five of our walls at once, in a small, poorly lit apartment? Oh, it suddenly became an aquarium. I don’t know what possessed me to keep painting after I saw how bright and blue it was. I guess I kept thinking it would dry differently or look better in different light. But by the next day I had my mind set to change it. Again. During my second week of work. Here are the next set of paints that I decided between on top of the crazy blue. This time I bought the mini-sample paints and painted squares on two walls which have completely different lighting. I will ALWAYS do this in the future.

Okay, it’s very difficult for you to tell from the photo above exactly how bright the blue is, but if you can see how much lighter the new colors are, and when you see the ultimate color that I went with, you’ll have some idea of how blue the original was. The color I ended up choosing was the first one, which is actually Ace paint (had to go cheaper the 2nd time around) in Dover Grey. But it also has blue in it, it’s just not as intense as the first color. I’ll spare you my whining from the week of painting hell (I think I already did that in a previous post) and I’ll finally show you the results:

One with the light on and one without. Oh, and we moved the furniture around.

I took these during my lunch break the other day when it was actually sunny here. We’ve had a series of dreary, rainy days and it’s pitch dark when I get home at night, so I knew I’d never get accurate paint color photos in those conditions.

So, there’s a little blue in it still, but I like the grey tones and frankly it’s a very soothing space to be in. And I’m so glad it’s done!

And one last update. The chair debate. Thank you to those that commented and offered your thoughts. Dr. Jay has actually relented that he doesn’t mind the chair so much (an afternoon of shopping and much time internet browsing may have convinced him) and he’s willing to consider it. And I decided that it’s crazy to order a chair online (it’s not available in a store) unless I at least first have a fabric sample, so I called last weekend and am having a fabric sample of the first chair and its sister chair sent to us. Then it will be decision time:

OR ?

What do you think? Click on the photos for their source info.

In the news

2009-11-30T21:25:00.001-05:00

I hope everyone’s re-entry today went well. I am struggling with exhaustion. Sorry I wasn’t able to post yesterday. We had a 12-hour day in the car and blogging just wasn’t in me when we finally returned last night.

I had a few ideas for tonight’s post, but I received a tip about this article featuring Dr. Jay’s uncle and it immediately rose to the top of the list.

Read all about how builders like Michael are using their talents and building knowledge to retrofit existing homes to become more energy efficient. It’s all part of the Energy Independence Program in Sonoma County, California which aims to significantly reduce the county’s carbon footprint by 2015. In a state where there is currently an excessive of new homes and unfinished construction projects, this type of work provides a completely different business model for the traditional home builder.

Battle of the (Furniture) Sexes

2009-11-28T23:05:00.002-05:00

Is this chair too girly? It's the current debate in our house, and you probably know the side I'm on. We both know we really need a chair, but can't exactly agree on which chair. This one fits all my credentials (size, style, color palette, price!) but Dr. Jay isn't convinced. What do you think? Is it too feminine?

Fiction + Architecture

2009-11-27T22:40:00.003-05:00

I finally finished the book I've been reading this fall, which I enjoyed, but only slowly made my way through it. I'm really excited to start The Pillars of the Earth, by Ken Follett. I've heard several people rave about this book and I know it weaves architecture with fiction so it should be right up my alley. Dr. Jay is currently reading The Fountainhead and can't put it down, so I think that'll be next on my list. I'm ashamed to say I haven't read it yet since it's among the best works of literature of the 20th Century, but it's a goal for 2010. Have you read any architecture related fiction? What are your favorites? p.s. I did read Devil in the White City over the summer (loved it), but that deserves its own post.

Happy Thanksgiving

2009-11-26T22:36:00.001-05:00

Not much to report from here. Back to the Texas game. See you tomorrow!

Transformation

2009-11-25T18:45:00.001-05:00

Because we’re in a rush to get out of town (actually, I don’t rush, but Dr. Jay does, and he’s ready to go!) I’m relying on another link from a reader to get me through today.

Check out the incredible transformation of this Cold War-era bunker in London into a beautiful, non-bomb shelter looking home. It is the residence of architect Daniel Smith of SLLB Architects. There’s a slideshow here. Sorry no photos- it’s a Flash slideshow so I can’t grab the photos.

Cocoon Remake?

2009-11-24T22:16:00.001-05:00

I wish. No, a friend sent me this link and I just love it:

It’s called the Cocoon Building and it’s in Zurich, Switzerland. Camenzind Evolution (the firm that designed it) has turned your average office building on its ear and created one that’s more like the Guggenheim and less like Dunder Mifflin. Read more about it here.

Thanks, k8e !

Whoopie! Alvar Alto!

2009-11-23T22:12:00.001-05:00

I’m making this post quick tonight because I am making these babies for the Thanksgiving feast I’m having with my family on Thursday. Thanks for the recipe, Amy!

YUM- Pumpkin Whoopie Pies! Click on the photo for the recipe.

This was an incredible post on Apartment Therapy (I know, I say that all the time, but really this is good!) today: one of their “house” tours of Alvar Alto’s Design Studio Workspace in Helsinki, Finland. I think I’m going to save every image to my computer. And hang up my T-squares and triangles.

Read the post from AT here.

The Yellow Front Door

2009-11-22T21:55:00.002-05:00

I have a new love… the yellow front door.

As I’ve mentioned, we live in Alexandria, Virginia where many things are as historic as they get in America. There are brick and cobblestone sidewalks and streets, real shutters that work, and historic rowhouses dating back to before the father of our country was in long pants. I love seeing all these structures on my rides to work- the rhythm of the rowhouse is comforting. But every once in a while I have to do a double take. Behold, the yellow door:

This is one I absolutely adore- the canary yellow looks incredible with the more subtle green and grey.

Here’s another one, in a mustard tone. It looks more stately:

I started looking around online for yellow doors, and came across an article from Martha Stewart’s late publication Blueprint, which I sorely miss!

Click on the photo above to read the article.

And one last Yellow Door image that I dig:

Do you agree? Anyone else out there have or want a yellow front door?

Living in the “right now”

2009-11-21T23:45:00.001-05:00

I really enjoyed this post from Apartment Therapy the other day, the theme of which is “Live the house you want right now.” Sometimes it gets me down knowing that we are still renters and will be for a while until we decide where to settle down (and have enough cash for a down payment!), but this article reaffirmed what I’ve thought for a while about renting, and that is to make the most of the situation and really maximize enjoyment in the space. We aren’t exactly in our dream house, and there’s always some question as to how much to invest in a rental home, but I think it’s a quality of life issue. So I don’t mind the time it takes to paint (even if it takes me two attempts at color) in order to improve how I feel in the small amount of square footage that we have. That being said, after I read this article I started thinking about some things in our apartment right now that are not contributing to the betterment of my life. Namely, a whole lot of extra stuff that we are not using. I’ve made the decision to get rid of the boxes (yes, plural) of design magazines that have moved twice with me now and have yet to serve any useful purpose. I honestly can’t tell you why I thought I’d need them, but I’m making it my mission to get rid of those items which are not part of my life right now (and haven’t been in years!) and also not to keep those items which will serve no future purpose. Long story short, if it doesn’t bring me happiness, peace, or money, I am not going to hoard it. It’s not going to be easy to get rid of those beautiful magazines (I think I’m going to have to do it quickly and without thinking, like removing a band-aid or jumping in to a cold pool) but I bet I will sleep a whole lot better without them weighing me down or crowding me out.

Good night!

The Economic Value of Green Buildings

2009-11-20T22:20:00.003-05:00

Looks like it's finally a good investment to go GREEN, according to economists. A paper forthcoming in a leading economics journal, The American Economic Review, finds that buildings with LEED or Energy Star ratings yield an 16% higher return than similar buildings without those ratings. Thanks to Dr. Jay for the tip.

Visual Acoustics

2009-11-19T22:34:00.001-05:00

As promised, I want to give my review of the film Visual Acoustics: The Modernism of Julius Shulman. First of all, if I had to give it a grade: solid B+. I’m a tough critic though, and I definitely recommend seeing the film.

I absolutely left the theater feeling awestruck and inspired and in love with architecture. And photography, of course. Shulman, for all intents and purposes, was essentially the father of architectural photography. He was the the first to recognize the importance of an environmental context for buildings, which so many modernist architects in California were striving to achieve, and he was the first to recognize the importance of real people in architectural images. In fact, one of the elements I liked most in this film was that Shulman, at 97 or 98, returns to talk with people who either still live in one of the houses he photographed (as in the case of the iconic Pierre Koenig house) or with the current owners who are trying to restore a house he originally photographed (as with the Kaufmann house). It was amazing to hear him relive what he was thinking about when he first saw these houses, however many years ago, and what those folks think about the houses now. Shulman worked with some of the most influential architects of the 20th century (Richard Neutra, Charles and Ray Eames, Rudolph Schindler, Frank Lloyd Wright, Frank Gehry), but he also loved to “discover” new talent and helped to put Modernism into mainstream America.

So what didn’t I love about the film? Well, there were some interjections of animation that really detracted from the message of the film. I guess they were attempting to make the documentary less serious, but it was really inconsistent with the way the rest of the film was made. I think the interviews with Shulman were a great way to make the film less serious. He was very light-hearted and honest and quite the entertainer- you could tell he loved being a part of the documentary. It was like his victory lap, and I loved watching him guide us through it. I didn’t need a cartoon explanation of the history of Modernism, though I can appreciate what they were trying to do. In general, I don’t think the cinematography did justice to Shulman’s incredible still photographs, so that was kind of a let down as well. So there you have it- B+.

Has anyone else seen this film? What did you think? Am I being too harsh?

Our favorite Texas architects

2009-11-18T18:44:00.001-05:00

Lake|Flato Architects are some of our (Dr. Jay and my) favorite architects, not to mention Texas architects.

Check out more of this house and their website here.

Good night!

Is this for real?

2009-11-17T23:19:00.001-05:00

I received a “Forward” at work today. It was in that typical “Forward” font that makes me want to discredit it before I’ve even finished reading it. I know, I’m jaded.

But, I had to keep reading once I saw the photo which I was sure was Photo-shopped. Doesn’t this look fake?

Someone please tell me if this is real or not. Apparently, according to the forward-fairies, it’s a:

Water Bridge in Germany . What a feat!
Six years, 500 million Euros, 918 meters long.......now this is engineering!
This is a channel-bridge over the River Elbe and joins the former East and West Germany , as part of the unification project. It is located in the city of Magdeburg , near Berlin ..
The photo was taken on the day of inauguration.

I’ve tried researching this online but all I’ve found are this same text and more photos with no real context. Snopes and Urban Legends were of no help, either. Does anyone know?

QUIZ TIME

2009-11-16T22:58:00.001-05:00

How much do you know about significant buildings around the world? I just took this fun quiz (okay, confession time: I needed a quick topic and Googled “fun architecture facts” and this is what I found!) about structural skeletons and was surprised by some of these answers. I answered 7 of 10 questions correctly. How did you do? Try it here: QUIZ

The art of architectural photography

2009-11-15T22:11:00.001-05:00

I can’t wait to see this film this week.

I’ll give you my review after I see it.

On a side note, the re-painting of our apartment is going much better. Much. Photos to follow when I finish.

I am now halfway through my challenge of posting every day in November. I’m actually kind of hooked!

Just leave a message

2009-11-14T11:00:00.000-05:00

Dr. Jay and I are off on our Philadelphia adventure today, but I wanted to make sure I did my part to fulfill the challenge, so I set up this post to publish while I am away. Goodness, computers are amazing.

Rankings of architecture schools recently came out and were published in Architectural Record. Here are the standings:

TOP 10 UNDERGRADUATE ARCHITECTURE SCHOOLS

1 Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y.

2 Syracuse University, Syracuse, N.Y.

3 California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, Calif.

4 Virginia Polytechnic institute and State University, Blacksburg, Va.

5 University of Texas, Austin, Tex.

6 Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kans.

7 University of Oregon, Eugene, Ore.

8 Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, R.I.

9 Rice University, Houston, Tex.

10 University of Southern California, Los Angeles, Calif.

TOP 10 GRADUATE ARCHITECTURE SCHOOLS (M.ARCH.)

1 Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass.

2 Yale University, New Haven, Conn.

3 Columbia University, New York City

4 Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Mass.

5 University of Texas, Austin, Tex.

6 University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio

7 Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y.

8 Virginia Polytechnic and State University, Blacksburg, Va.

9 University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Va.

10 University of California, Berkeley, Calif.

**************************************************************************************************

These rankings are determined by a think tank in D.C. called the Design Futures Council. I’m proud of my schools (The University of Texas at Austin and University of Virginia). All I can say is Hook ‘Em and Go Hoos!

Have a great Saturday!

Happy One Hundred and Three, Eva!

2009-11-13T23:00:00.001-05:00

Today is Eva Zeisel’s 103rd birthday! Who is Eva Zeisel? Well, basically, she is an extremely influential industrial designer and became one when few women were doing such a thing. I know of her because of this:

One of her iconic designs. We have this tea kettle- thanks very much, mom-in-law! It’s something she designed just a few years ago and was available at Crate and Barrel the year we got married. I love this tea kettle because it has a traditional shape but it also has a little finesse. I think it looks great in both a kitchen with more modern appliances, or one with severely out-dated appliances like ours:

Read more about this woman and her incredible life story here.

Happy Birthday, Eva!

Philly- I’m headed your way

2009-11-12T22:16:00.002-05:00

Yup, Dr. Jay and I are packing up for the day and heading to Philadelphia on Saturday. I haven’t been there since I was a kid and I really only remember the Liberty Bell, so this should be cool.

I’m looking forward to seeing this:

It’s the PSFS building! I remember learning about it in History of Modern Architecture, which I took in under-grad and TAed for in grad school. Here’s my condensed version:

Built as the headquarters for the Philadelphia Savings Fund Society, it was the first International Style skyscraper built in the United States. The International Style as a term was coined with a book by Philip Johnson and Henry-Russell Hitchcock, written in 1932 to record the International Exhibition of Modern Architecture held at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. But clearly, the PSFS was among the esprit de corps that lead to such an exhibition. It was designed by George Howe and William Lescaze between 1925 and 1932. This was a revolutionary undertaking for its time, and I am sure the stock market crash of 1929 didn’t help matters. The company’s initials at the top stand 27 feet tall in red neon. Interestingly, the PSFS was founded in the 1816 and was the first savings bank in the U.S. Prior to that, savings banks were merely a European notion.

The building was extremely cutting edge for the early 30s. It was the first building of its size to be fully air-conditioned, and most of the furniture and design elements had to be custom-designed because nothing like them existed in the U.S.

It sits at 1200 Market Street in Philadelphia. See you there, PSFS!

Australian Inspiration

2009-11-11T23:07:00.001-05:00

I am officially sick of painting. What has it been, 8 days now? Oh wait, only three. And I have three more to go. Tonight I got primer in my eye. It was not pretty. Sorry for the “tude”. I am just a tired gal. And I am missing a fun social outing involving karaoke in order to paint tonight. I think I have some sort of sick love of torture. Only I would choose to paint a rental apartment for the second time after I have challenged myself to a month of blog posts AND during my second week at a new job. Ay yi yi.

Because I’m in to the whole brevity thing tonight, I just want to show you a pretty picture of a cute little house in Australia:

This house won a 2009 award for Residential Architecture from the Australian Institute of Architects. It was designed by Neeson Murcutt Architects (not sure if there is any relation to Glen Murcutt) and I really enjoyed their website. The Whale Beach House is another beauty.

Good. Night.

Kitchen love

2009-11-10T23:02:00.002-05:00

This post is dedicated to kitchens. Oh how I can’t wait to design one for our house. This is the mythical house that exists in my head. Recently, Dr. Jay and I made up an extensive wish list for the house we’ll someday own. It included everything from the necessities (large mud/laundry room) to the extravagant (gym, pool). But, hey, it’s a wish list.

One thing I left off the list because I didn’t know it existed was this amazing shelving system for the kitchen:

Now that is a beautiful kitchen. I love the light floors, the multiple ovens, the fireplace, and of course those incredible metal and glass shelves. Swoon.

This is from Darryl Carter’s D.C. townhouse, recently featured in Elle Decor. Who’s Darryl Carter? I guess he’s a designer in the area, but I’ll know his name now!

Check out the full slide show of his home here.

Another kitchen I am loving right now? This one, with it’s sweet ladder!

Look how it tucks right in to a nook by the window.

Yup, I am in LURVE with this kitchen!

I need this

2009-11-09T20:20:00.003-05:00

You can find it at a wonderful site called Reform School.

I need this because Saturday’s painting didn’t turn out so well. I guess you win some and you lose some. This was definitely a loss. It’s a good thing I like hanging out at hardware stores, because I’ve been there a lot lately. Oh well, my color catastrophe should be fixed by the end of the week.

In the meantime, look what the mail brought today:

Perhaps I should frame it? And weren’t we just talking about this?

All’s well that ends well.

The house that I am scared of

2009-11-08T23:59:00.005-05:00

First, let me say I’ve just had the most amazing dinner with friends. A.mazing. It’s been a full Sunday and I only have 5 more minutes to get in a post for 11/08/09.

I’m passing on a link sent to me by a loyal reader about a house in the Charlottesville, Virginia area on the market for $100 million. 100 million dollars? After looking through the slideshow of photos, though, I have to say I’m (not lying) scared by this house. It’s so over-the-top ostentatious I can’t believe it’s not part of Las Vegas. It’s in beautiful horse country Virginia, yet it boasts Versailles-like statuary. And a home theater. As if those two go hand in hand.

Take a look for yourselves.

Weekend fun

2009-11-07T16:41:00.002-05:00

Just wanted to fill you in on what I’ve been up to today.

By the way, a very Happy Birthday to my mom!

See ya tomorrow!

Friday’s post, a little later

2009-11-07T10:13:00.002-05:00

Just pretend this showed up on your Google Reader 12 hours ago.

I realized this morning as we were taking a leisurely walk before the start of a busy Saturday that “Aghhh! I forgot to post last night!” So, I already screwed up my challenge, but Dr. Jay reassured me that having an average of one post daily for a month is what I should be trying for, so that’s now the new goal for the end of the month. Don’t you love it when people change the rules in the middle of the game?

This morning, while rifling through a week’s worth of newspapers to find some usable drop-cloths (more on that later), I ran across this article in The Washington Post Real Estate section about Larry Sabato’s home on the UVA Lawn. Sabato, a well-known political analyst and UVA politics professor, has the honor of living in Pavilion IV on the Lawn. It was a nice chance to read about what goes on in the Pavilions, and that he likes to sit and read (generally unnoticed) on his balcony overlooking the Lawn. He also lived on the Lawn in Room 16 East as a student at UVA. I wonder how many professors at UVA can say that?

It would have been nice to see more photos in the article, since they describe it as having two distinct styles, one more modern and one more Jeffersonian (I love how that’s a word. Like Academical, both of which you hear all the time in Charlottesville.) Check out the article though- the Post provides a pretty nice slide show with a few more photos than in the newspaper. I’ve never been inside one of the Pavs, but I’ve attended a reception in the garden of Pavilion IX where the dean of the School of Architecture resides. The gardens are some of the most pleasant places to pass the time, and most are open to anyone at anytime.

I’ll be back later today with more babbling, you know, keeping up my average.

Oh, FLW

2009-11-05T21:17:00.004-05:00

As a follow-up to yesterday's post about the architecture profession: “A doctor can bury his mistakes but an architect can only advise his client to plant vines." ~ Frank Lloyd Wright !Good night!

When do you get to be an architect?

2009-11-04T22:35:00.004-05:00

The blog-topic gods were kind to me today. I had no trouble coming up with a topic, in fact I now have several in my head so I hopefully the trend continues during the November Challenge. It started innocently enough. I was taking a quick break from work to check out Apartment Therapy (I swear I look at other blogs! I just needed to do a little research for my sister-in-law and I ended up there) and lo and behold there was this great post about a new documentary called God's Architects. It's a film by Zack Godshell and, as AT describes it, "The film is an in-depth look into five structures built without blueprints or end goals. We got the chance to preview the film, and we think if you're interested in architecture, folk art or religion you'll find these structures and these architects quite intriguing." Seemed interesting enough, and when I saw that there is an upcoming screening in Austin at the Alamo Drafthouse, I knew this must be a good one. Then I scrolled down and read some of the comments to the post, and that's when things got really interesting. The first commenter derided AT for referring to the builders in the documentary as architects, saying that it is a title that must be earned. A second commenter commended her and went as far as to say that becoming a lawyer or doctor in the U.S. is easier than becoming an architect. What followed was a litany of arguments about the proper use of the term and who deserves it and who doesn't and which profession is more difficult to obtain. Wow. I could probably spend a good long while on this topic, and it's actually something I've been meaning to write about since I know it can be a bit confusing to the general public. What is an architect? When can you call yourself an architect? Well, it's a big subject, and one I have had lengthy discussions about among friends, both architects and non-architects (and by that I mean people I work with or have gone to school with and those that are in other professions). I don't really know where to begin, other than saying that technically (by the letter of the law) one shouldn't refer to herself as an architect unless she is licensed as such. Obviously, this is mostly in the case of printed materials (you cannot advertise yourself as an architect if you are not licensed) and in terms of trying to obtain work in which you are paid. Architects are licensed by state, and some states are more strict with this law than others. Texas, where I am registered, is quite strict with the use of the term. Georgia, where I was living this past year, not so much. I haven't figured out Virginia yet, but it doesn't matter because I'm registered and a card-carrying member. I'll admit, I was pretty hesitant to use the term to describe myself even though I'd been through 6 years of school specifically for architecture, I was working in architecture, and I was taking the exams. But after a while it gets tiresome explaining the finer points of the law (read: it was a downer at parties) so I would just say "architect" when someone asked me what I did for a living. It's tricky though, because we architects are silly and we call anyone working in an architecture office with the intention of becoming registered an "intern architect" which is just dumb, because no one beyond college really wants to be referred to as an "intern". Thanks, Ms. Lewinsky. And the thing I've always wondered is why is it no big deal to call someone an engineer, even if they haven't earned their Professional Engineer status, but the architect is somehow set apart from this logic. Honestly, it's just semantics that delve into legal-speak and I hated being in that gray-area. I am so glad to be in the free and clear now. There are some famous "untrained architects" by the way: Tadao Ando and Thomas Jefferson are two I can think of offhand. No one really questions their abilities or knowledge or asks about their stamp. Would I call Michael Pollan an architect? I don't think so, and I would guess he wouldn't either since most of his profession has been about writing. But what a great coincidence to be considering all this after yesterday's post. One final thought. During my second semester of grad school I had an amazing studio professor, David Heymann, and we got in to a similar discussion one afternoon during studio. I remember him telling us to quit thinking of ourselves as students and start thinking of ourselves as architects. It was so empowering. It really changed the way I looked at work and school because I suddenly had this ownership over it. It didn't matter that I technically still had a few years ahead of me before I could legally call myself an architect. The only way to make any progress was to think like an architect- be an architect. Those were important years, not to be wasted waiting to be an architect. Just be an architect.

The Architecture of Michael Pollan

2009-11-03T22:37:00.005-05:00

First, I almost forgot to post! Now, I am having internet difficulties. Typical. See I told you this would be a challenge. Did you know that Michael Pollan, of Omnivore's Dilemma and In Defense of Food fame, also wrote a book about architecture? Geez, this guy is all over it. Back in the 90s, Pollan took on the task of designing and constructing a writing cabin for himself, his own "primitive hut". He then wrote and published a book about the intellectual struggles he faced attempting to play the roles of both designer and builder, and I might add, client. A new edition of A Place of My Own: The Architecture of Daydreams was recently published and I read a review of it in the October issue of Architectural Record. Has anyone read this book? I haven't read any of Pollan's work, and I know I am a little behind the curve on that one, but I think this one might be worth checking out of the library. Then I could write my own review.

And so it begins

2009-11-02T22:46:00.001-05:00

First day of work? Check.

Some highlights from my day:

I have a window at my desk!

I have either a 15 minute walk or a 5 minute bike ride for a commute, so I was able to come home at lunch and walk mr. Rudy. I count myself very among the very fortunate, especially in this traffic-plagued area.

I have forgotten how to use Microstation! I hope it will come back to me, but thankfully I’ll only have to use it part of the time. I think.

That’s about all I can say for the new job right now- you know how it takes a while to get a feel for everything. But so far, everyone is incredibly nice and I am very happy to be employed.

Now, please feast your eyes:

I love the bistro chairs on the wall. We totally need that at our place. Please read the rest of the article from New York magazine about the renovation of this 1869 brownstone with it’s garage door walls. And definitely View the Slideshow. I almost wrote about an Airstream again people- there is also an article pertaining to one on the New York magazine site- but I chose this one, so go figure.

Bewitched

2009-11-01T22:27:00.001-05:00

Isn’t this great? I read about these prints from artist Mark Bennett the other day on Apartment Therapy. I love thinking back at Bewitched through the eyes of an architect. There are several other famous house plans available, too, like the Jetsons and Bruce Wayne.

It’s November now, can you believe it? I start my new job tomorrow, so I better turn in, but I wanted to announce a challenge I am attempting this month. I am going to post something every.single.day. I know, I don’t believe it either, but it’s something I think I really need to try, and there’s no better time than the present.

See you tomorrow! I mean it.