Posted in Found Objects, tagged Alvar Aalto, Brooklyn, color, exposed pipes, industrial chic, interiors, New York, painted pipes, pipes, plumbing, restaurant, utilitarian, value, whimsy on November 25, 2012| Leave a Comment »
This cafe in Brooklyn, NY has done a good job of turning what would usually be considered a highly undesirable feature into what almost might be considered an asset. (Sorry that all I have are quick snap shots with my phone.)
Plumbing waste line painted and wrapped in rope ala Alvar Aalto’s Villa Mairea
Plumbing wasteline continues
more pipes
Cheerful blue pipes
Posted in Found Objects, tagged ahwahnee, furniture, historical styles, interiors, kitch, lighting, lighting design, national park architecture, paint, patterns, rustic, Wawona, whimsey, yosemite on November 5, 2012| 1 Comment »
I just returned from a weekend at Yosemite National Park. We enjoyed the fall colors and the stunning natural beauty, but there are also some nice architectural details in the park. The Ahwahnee Hotel is full of decoration and geometric designs. Painted decoration, upholstery, and patterns made of wood and steel are everywhere. The Wawona Hotel, at the other end of the park is a timepiece from the early 1900s with simple white-painted buildings and cute pine cone chandeliers in the dining room.
Posted in Design Projects, tagged Berkeley, interiors, patterns, tile, wood stove on October 2, 2012| Leave a Comment »
We did a bit of rearranging in our apartment this summer. The chimney and hearth have been screaming replace me since I moved in. The closet behind them was also not very functional – very deep with a small door, so not very efficient storage. Now the closet is very efficiently laid out to store the vacuum and brooms and other cleaning tools, and the litter box fits nicely behind the stove with a private cat door at the back. The stove is now recessed into the wall leaving room for a generous raised hearth and a clear pathway to the kitchen beyond. I took pictures of most of the steps.
Posted in Design Projects, tagged Berkeley, cabinets, green, houses, interiors, paint, remodelling on May 16, 2012| Leave a Comment »
The painters are finishing up. All the trim, doors, and cabinetry are painted with Bioshield Aqua Resin Trim Enamel, a very pleasing product that is also very green.
Linen
Guillaume and Freddy, of Canivet Construction, making sure everything is ship-shape
Posted in Design Projects, tagged Berkeley, cabinets, holes, interiors, natural light, process on April 6, 2012| Leave a Comment »
These are “sketches” of a cabinet upgrade. This existing deep cabinet will get glass doors and translucent glass back so that light from the stairwell skylight behind the cabinet will light up the glassware and shine through into the dining room. I’ll post a photo when its built.
Posted in Found Objects, tagged fir plywood, furniture, interiors, New York, paint on October 11, 2011| Leave a Comment »
This long apartment with windows at each end is in a building from the early 1800s. It hasn’t been staged for the photo shoot and the owner hasn’t finished moving in yet, but I was moved to capture some of the artistic decorating details that are already in place.
The fact that there are only windows on the ends, and the middle is dark might not be ideal, but the open plan allows a long view across the length of the apartment through the windowless center to the bright room on the other side. The simplicity of the unusually long space is nice.
Posted in Design Projects, tagged Berkeley, children, fun, interiors, kids, Lofts, whimsy on September 29, 2011| 1 Comment »
There is something really nice about climbing up a bookshelf ladder to a cozy loft and looking down on the party from above. (photo by Joma Jones)
Posted in Information, tagged green, interiors, paint on July 31, 2011| Leave a Comment »
For those of you who are house painters or who have done some painting you know that oil based interior house paint has been virtually eliminated from the market because of the dangerous off-gassing. The mainstream paint companies have replaced traditional oil paint with latex semigloss trim paint that in my opinion is kind of rubbery and sticky and unpleasant for the perfectionist painter to apply.
I am not a professional painter, but I have done a fair bit of painting- around my own house and also artistic painting on canvas with both oil paints and acrylic.
For a trim paint that flows like oil paint, dries to a low sheen, can be sanded between coats for a super smooth result, try:
Bioshield Aqua Resin Trim Enamel
I am not being paid by Bioshield, I just love their paint. In addition to the pleasing qualities, I am pretty sure the paint is zero VOC and compostable.
Posted in Found Objects, Information, tagged color, informal dining, interiors, New York, table setting, vegetable centerpiece on May 13, 2011| Leave a Comment »
I found this instructive video on an old friend’s website.
Bunny is very authentic and truly inspired by her beautiful table setting. I like the mixing of modern and antique. Formal dining rooms are becoming a thing of the past for people who desire efficient living in small spaces. Eating areas that are closely connected to the kitchen fit well in the foody lifestyle of the early 21st century.
Posted in Design Projects, tagged alternating tread stair, Berkeley, children, color, copper, copper pipe, houses, interiors, kitchen, lapeyre stair, lighting design, Lofts, passive solar, small buildings, small spaces on April 9, 2011| 2 Comments »
Last week Akhila gave me a tricycle tour of her crib.
She recently commissioned deedsdesign for an addition including a master suite, expanded kitchen, and family room. Popping up the roof just a few feet allowed for a vaulted ceiling and high windows over the kitchen and an attic loft over the master. The kitchen is on the north side, so the high south windows provide southern sunshine while leaving room for enough cabinets on the north wall. (click on the thumbnails to see enlarged drawings)
The dining room gets a lot of southern sunshine and has french doors leading to the deck.
The Lapeyre stairs provide easy access to the loft above. We enclosed the loft with low walls to hide any boxes stored up there, but added open railings for the last 18″ or so. This way the required 42″ tall “guards” don’t seem so tall and a bit more light circulates.
I didn’t get any photos of the loft itself, but it has built-in shelving and a fir plywood floor, finished with polyurethane. (As you can see the project isn’t quite finished yet)
The homeowner waited for me below while I toured the loft area.
Posted in Found Objects, tagged buildings on the water, Cold Spring Harbor, doorways, houses, interiors, value on September 21, 2010| 1 Comment »
Portière: a curtain hung in a doorway, either to replace the door or for decoration.
I visited my friend Duncan last week at his parent’s house in Cold Spring Harbor, Long Island:
I learned this word from Duncan’s mother, Elizabeth Watson, an architectural historian. She has a these good examples of simple, utilitarian portière in her own house:
This architectural term comes from the French word for door, porte. Common in wealthier households during the Victorian era (according to Wikipedia,) curtains are still a great way to create privacy, mitigate drafts, hide a messy closet, subdivide a space, or create a cozy nook. Its much more affordable to put up a curtain than install any sort of door, and it is especially appropriate if you need a temporary or quick solution, or if you get excited about fabrics or a splash of color.
Here is a fancier example of Portière from the National Gallery in Washington DC:
I also found this drapery design blog with all sorts of examples of portière.
deedsdesign 