Organic Wooden House

Organic Wooden House designed by Seattle’s Pb Elemental Architect.

Seattle’s Pb Elemental Architecture is putting an organic notch on the city’s concrete skyline. The Dang Residence is a two-storey private wooden house of 3,600 sq. ft., clad in naturally beautiful cedar. Interiors are divided into a series of modern loft-style living spaces, including three bedrooms, 3.5 baths, a media room and a study. Throughout the house, thoughtfully placed skylights and windows light up corners and crannies, and unique architectural details like art niches. More information about Organic Wooden House [via] Modern House Design.

tablescape thursdays white house style

what's going on at the white house with the decor and china selection? cote de texas a blog y'all seem to know says the obama's interior designer michael smith has been canned. there has not been one picture of anything michelle obama has been doing with all the pottery barn stuff she's been buying. why are they holding out? she's cool about showing us her fashion style, & now we want to see the living quarters of the white house. give it up mrs. o.

for this tablecape thursday i am featuring presidential china & table settings. i turn to this guy eddie ross who really knows everything about plates and setting tables. go here to see all about presidential china. maybe he can help the first lady choose some for the white house from his etsy store.

this is a pictures of a lunch prepared for president obama at the white house. no wonder he's so skinny. look at the formal way the table is set.

this is a photo from a cell phone at an official obama dinner at the white house, well actually it's a photo of the dessert of huckleberry cobbler and caramel ice cream. i don't really know what a huckleberry is do u? i only heard of huckleberry hound. i like the chocolate with the white house seal embossed on it.
laura bush loved her some china. the set she had made for the bush years cost over $400,000.
the table at this white house dinner is set formal and classic.

more laura bush. she seems to love using a bowl of roses in the center with four candlesticks around it.
here's the laura bush $400,000 china. i like the knives with the mother of pearl handles.
here's tish baldridge at the white house. she was jackie o's social secretary. both those girls knew how to set a table.
or post them if anyone has any cell phone photos of the decor at the white house send them to cote de texasur self! the suspense is killing to the point of not caring.

tablescape from between naps on the porch

go bnotp to play tablescape thursday.

dumpster diving

would you swim in a dumpster?this is goin' green in a major way.
totally cool in every way.
pool party brooklyn style.
read how to make a dumpster swimming pool here.

what's ur crime?

funny meets cute party favors at sundance film fest in this photo booth silliness.

so many celebs have a real mug shot and number hung around their necks.

it got me to thinking about my own crimes. decorating crimes. social crimes. relationship crimes. on the job crimes. petty crimes. big time crime. traffic crimes.

if u tell me urs i'll tell u mine.

pillow humping

does ur dog hump the pillow? do u use a body pillow?

this guy has a body pillow girlfriend he takes everywhere. he doesn't date real girls anymore.

weird wonderful, or a sick fuck? go here to read more, and here to tokyo mango a cool blog.

snarky is dead

from the urban dictionary:

A witty mannerism, personality, or behavior that is a combination of sarcasm and cynicism. Usually accepted as a complimentary term. Snark is sometimes mistaken for a snotty or arrogant attitude. Any language that contains quips or comments containing sarcastic or satirical witticisms intended as blunt irony. Usually delivered in a manner that is somewhat abrupt and out of context and intended to stun and amuse.


anthony bourdain was the first one i heard use the word snarky.


then elaine decorno.


then a zillion others. to me it just reminded me of my grandpa who used to say nobody likes a snarky wiseguy except when he makes you laugh.


i don't know. with a book by david denby called "snark" and every fucking one saying snark and fearing it or loving it, is snark dead? is an opinion delivered with a smart mouth still okay? do we use snark or foul language as a crutch? hell yes. social cripples one and all.


have bloggers ruined snarky snark fun? decorno bores. anthony is married & old. bloggers play it safe. kathy griffin is great. and shecky was the best.

Glass Home Hangs - Japanese Home Design

Like a bird nest, Japanese Glass home designed by TNA Architects.

The contemporary, curved weekend house reaches off the hillside and around the trees, connecting to the other side. Inside, the house takes shape as an elongated floor plan, where one area of the home opens onto the other, separated by walls of glass. Apart from glass, the main material of choice for both the interior and exterior is wood. And true to this Japanese architect’s signature style, interiors are furnished with a minimal, modern edge. More information about Japanese Glass Home [via] Modern Home Design.

Contemporary Designer Recliners

 
Orbit  Contemporary Designer Recliners

I am not usually a fan of recliners.  The traditional overstuffed giant recliners tend to be a white elephant in a room.  So needless to say  I was very happy  while researching seating for a media room to come across these contemporary well designed recliners by Darlings of Chelsea in the UK.  They describe this recliner as: "One of their best selling recliners which reclines, swings, swivels and orbits to your desire"....and it claims to be "seriously comfortable".

Dakota Contemporary Designer Swivel Recliners

The mechanism for these contemporary designer recliners operates by leaning back on the chair and using your body weight to hold back.

What do you think? 
Would you have one of these seriously fun contemporary designer recliners in your home?

Patricia Gray writes about 'WHAT'S HOT 'in the world of Interior Design, new and emerging trends, modern design,
architecture, and travel, as well as how your surroundings can influence the world around you.
© Patricia Gray Interior Design Blog, 2009

LoftLife Magazine

For those of you who haven't checked out the magazine LoftLife Magazine - The Loft Style Guide to Life in the City, it is a must read. And I don't say that only because I am on their 'Board of Experts' - the Editors and Creative Directors at LoftLife Magazine are top notch. Their style and editorials are fresh, relevant and timely. Last fall Kyra Shapurji, Managing Editor and Linden Hass, Photo Editor of LoftLife Magazine paid me a visit at my office in Vancouver to firm up a feature they were doing on favourite shopping spots of mine and a few other Design Professionals in Vancouver (see Spring 2009 Travel/80 Victorious Vancouver: Canada's design & architecture capital.) Linden Hass shot a few pictures of me and the drawing below is what resulted.

LoftLife Magazine
Board of Experts

I love the illustrations for LoftLife Magazine done by the talented Graham Smith from San Diego. He illustrates the masthead and the Panel of Experts for LoftLife Magazine. This month LoftLife Magazine is going to be on national newsstands: Borders, Barnes and Noble, as well as Hudson News. So pick-up your copy and read their articles. In the current Summer 2009 issue of LoftLife Magazine I particularly like:

• LoftLife - Allure of Amsterdam: Dutch Design Beyond Droog. (I am lusting to visit Amsterdam)
• LoftLife - Paper or Plastic? (really gets you thinking and hopefully acting)
• LoftLife - Big Blank Wall: The mirrors on our minds. ( Love this round-up of mirrors)
  among others..........
  LoftLife Magazine also has a great Blog.
  
  Happy Reading!
  Please let me know if you have read a copy of LoftLife magazine and what you think of it by leaving a comment.
  
  

Patricia Gray writes about 'WHAT'S HOT 'in the world of Interior Design, new and emerging trends, modern design,
architecture, and travel, as well as how your surroundings can influence the world around you.
© Patricia Gray Interior Design Blog, 2009

paris newyork london

can't get away this summer? the ultimate armchair traveling, or in this case settee traveling.

teo jasmin makes this cool furniture and other great stuff.


bon voyage! see ya later! cheerio!

Valley House - Luxury House

Architect: Guilherme Machado Vaz
Client: Júlio Machado Vaz
Location: Vieira do Minho, Portugal
Project: 1998 2002
Construction: 2002 2005
Consultants: SGPE, lda.
Contractor: António Dias Ribeiro, Lda.
Constructed Area: 350m2
Budget: 250.000 EURO (US $386.200)
Photographs: Leonardo Finotti

When you enter the site you see the house hidden behind nature without any constructed way to the entrance which makes it look even more as an isolated element in space. This ` surprise element ‘ (Montesquieu) contributes to stimulate the observer and its perception of the relation between the space and the house. The architectonic experience is made to the base of sensorial stimulations. The entrance is a covered exterior space that gives access to the garage and to the interior of the house. The stairs lead to the entry hall that separates the veranda from the living room. Each space has a different relation with the surroundings which confers a unique identity to them. The opened veranda, protected by the trees, is a place of libation of nature, where we get lost inside ourselves.

The bedroom’s area consists of two identical nucleuses with a hall, two rooms and bathroom. The house is made of concrete, used as a constructive and finishing element, searching a hard materiality and contrasting aesthetics with the chromatic and textural diversity of nature that encircles it. On the inside, this contrast is emphasized through the neutral color that coat walls and ceiling and by the ‘monotonous’ way that space is designed. More information about Valley House [via] Modern house design.

Guthrie House

It was explicitly requested to build a house for sale, therefore, massively attractive, which “façade” the target public could quickly be absorbed with.

Notwithstanding, the project location raises as a natural belvedere toward the valley of Chicureo, a zone peripheral to the city of Santiago of growing real estate development and considerably mediocre quality, where the condominium of serialization houses finally owns large green areas. It deals with new neighbourhoods with architectonic imports of every type, where “style” seems to be the worthiest slogan of the offer.

Our proposal was a house without façade, a building to be developed from the street level downwards, rescuing that initial condition of natural “belvedere” over the valley the site proposed. The Guthrie house, therefore, is not just the answer to a housing issue over a medium gradient site, but a critical reflection to the real estate system which final target is to sell “attractive” and at a “good price” houses , built by “goodwill architects”.

Architects: Felipe Assadi & Francisca Pulido
Location: Chicureo, Santiago, Chile
Constructed Area: 140sqm
Site Area: 840sqm
Project start: 2005
Completion: 2007
Material: Concrete, Glass
Photos: Guy Wenborne
more information about Guthrie house [via] modern house design.