Happy Thanksgiving 2010 from Palm Springs & Los Angeles

http://www.stahlhouse.com/

I wanted to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving.  This Thanksgiving, I am

spending it on vacation with the other half in Palm Springs and Los Angeles.

It is my first time to Palm Springs and it has been many years since I've been

in the City of Angels as a tourist.  Staying in Santa Monica next to the pier

and promenade and dragging the other half on a tour of star homes :)  I've

been to Los Angeles so many times but I never went on the tour.  Secretly, I

just want to ogle all of those neighborhoods of gorgeous homes...



As many of you know, I'm a midcentury modern architecture nut and

 I thought this vintage illustration of Turkey day is very appropriate.

This is probably one of the most iconic midcentury house in Los Angeles.  Case

Study House #2 (the Stahl house) by Pierre Koenig.  The house has been owned

by the same family since the house was built (the Stahl family.)  Julius Schulman

the beloved and famous architectural photographer made the two houses in this

post iconic with his photos.  I had no idea the house is now open on specific

weekends for showings.  If you're ever in the LA area and would like to see the

house, check out their website:  The Stahl House

Isn't the house just wildly amazing?  It has been in many films and advertisements.

Who could resist such as setting, view and wonderful architecture?



The second house is in Palm Springs and was designed by famed midcentury

architect Richard Neutra (Viennese born architect) in 1946.  The photo is

 also by Julius Schulman.  Architectural historian Beth Edwards Harris and

her then-husband purchased the home for $1.5 million in 1992 and hired

 the L.A. architecture firm Marmol Radziner & Associates to
meticulously restore the house to the original design by Neutra.

Another iconic photo of the same house by Slim Aarons who

captured the beautiful, bold and jet setting rich and famous in

their native environents.

A photo of the Kaufmann house by Neutra after the renovation.

It is called the Kaufmann house becuase Edgar J. Kaufmann Sr.
hired Neutrato design the house for the family.  Kaufmann was a
Pittsburgh department store tycoon. The interesting thing is that a
decade earlier, Kaufmann had commissioned Frank Lloyd Wright
to build Fallingwater in Pennsylvania which is probably the most
 famous residential houses that Frank Lloyd Wright ever built. 
Wright was not happy that Kaufmann had hired Neutra instead of
 him to build his desertgetaway.  It seems that Kaufmann had quite
an eye for architectural talent having comissioned not one, but two
of the most iconic midcentury homes every built.

A Place in the Sun

by Slim Aarons

My book pick of the week of you that liked the photo by

Slim Aarons above.  Slim Aaron's photography makes for

really great art on the wall.  I would definitely check his

books out - they make gorgeous coffee table books as well

as have collections of his photos in conveniently bound

tomes.

Thoughts on midcentury houses, architects and designers?

Favorite things in Palm Springs or LA?

Photos from Google Images & Julius Schulman

Strange & Creative Buildings Architecture Series - Part 1

You might think this is an artist's rendered image but it's not.  This is a real 

Stone House home located in Guimarães, Portugal.  Isn't it fantastic?

Here's the entrance.

This is the Crooked House in Sopot, Poland.  It's a tourist attraction that has
 restaurants, shops and bars in it.  The architect, Szotynscy Zaleski drew
inspiration from children's illustrations by Jan Szancer.  The Crooked House
has become the most photographed building in the country.

Isn't that trippy?  It's like a real version of the buildings in Toon Town Disneyland.

I got confused when I was trying to figure out where this library is.  This library

is in Kansas City, Missouri.  I was thinking Kansas the state, but nooo...The
shelf on the building showcases 22 titles as voted on by Kansas City readers
and then selected by the Kansas City Public Library Board of Trustees. 
Pretty cool isn't it?

Very cool indeed!

This housing complex is called Habitat 67 and it is located in Montreal, Canada.  

Can you believe that it was built in 1967?  I thought it was built more recently.

It was built for the Expo of 67.  Now that's what I call a condo complex!

And a closer look at the complex.  Cool isn't it?  It's like Jenga for architecture.

Now that's an office building that reflects a company's business!  The
Longaberger Basket Building is in Newark, Ohio.  The company
manufactures hand crafted maple wood baskets and other home and
lifestyle products.  Funky isn't it?

House Attack!  The house is an outdoor sculpture at the 

Museum Moderner Kunst (MuMoK) in Vienna, Austria.

This building is in the amusement park Wonder Works located in Pigeon Forge,
Tennessee.  The park features over 150 interactive exhibits.  It's certainly a
way to make a grand entrance into a park!

Nuts huh!

Last but not least in this post is the Wooden Gagster House that was

located in Archangelsk, Russia.  The house was started in 1992 but

pulled down in 2008 - what a shame.  It was a 13 story home that 

was at one time, Russia's tallest wooden house.  It was constructed

by Nikolai Sutyagin and his family for over 15 years without formal

plans or a building permit.  Nikolai ended up spending a few years in

prison on racketeering charges and in 2008, it was condemned by the

city as a fire hazard and the courts ordered it to be demolished.

I hope everyone enjoyed this post today, more to come on strange

and creative buildings.  In the meantime, for any of you who live

in the bay area The Trove in Berkeley is having a fantastic sale on

What: Sale at Trove (Indian Shopping Soiree)
(Extra 15% off John Robshaw pillows and Bedding, 

10% off entire store, raffle prizes, small bites and cocktails.)

When: August 12 from 5-8PM.

Location: 1310 10th Street, Berkeley

Website:  www.trovehome.com

If any of you are interested, please RSVP to rsvp@rubypr.com 

and let them know that you were referred by Alkemie blog. Trove

has a great selection of items for the home at great prices to begin

with.  I just wanted to pass this opportunity on to my readers.

Photos from BoredPanda.com and StrangestBuildings.com

Another Church Conversion ~ We Turned a Church Into a Home - Part II

About 2 and a half weeks ago, I did a post on a church conversion that 

resulted in a fantastic discussion in the comments section.  It was really

 interesting to see the various opinions and takes on turning a type of 

building like a church that has held religious and symbolic meaning 

for many into a home.  

I managed to find another church conversion to showcase.  This one is 

noticeably more modern in it's architectural elements than the church in 

my previous post.  

Most older churches have impressive ceiling 

height and this building does not disappoint.

You can see from the renovations that an entire wall was taken out to be

 lined with floor to ceiling glass doors.  It makes the place very bright and 

airy. What a fantastic and open place to hang out in for a living room.

The space is used in a completely modern way with an open plan living 

space where the living room, dining room and kitchen are share the same 

space.

In the corner is a wonderful grand piano with an ornate music sheet stand.

You can tell from this shot, the eaves under the slanted roof of the church.

White washing all of the walls really help give the space a further feeling of

airiness.  Check out the wacky modern floors.

Here's a close up of the kitchen area.

The side of the kitchen area has a fabulous diva-like fushcia chaise.

In this photo you can see just how the ceilings are in this building.

Here's a partitioned off area for a lounging area.

The way to the bathroom.

I love the trio of windows in the bathroom.

The same pattern of windows in a bedroom.  This bedroom looks

absolutely fantastic if I do say so myself.  It's a room that would

make me feel secure, comforted and safe.

A pink - more feminine bedroom.

The same bedroom from another angle.  The 

small bed and miniature chair are so cute.

Last but not least is the courtyard outside which is very tastefully done.  So 

what do you think of this conversion?  If any of you saw my earlier post, 

any different feelings this conversion evoke compared to the other one?  If

 you missed it, you can find the first church conversion post I did here.

Photos from 1st Option London

We Turned a Church into a Home

Only in England can you find a gorgeous Georgian church like this that has

been renovated into a home.  Converting a church into a modern home was

a long process for Sally Onions and her partner Ian Bottomley.  Few people

have the imagination to convert a ruined church into a home. 

It's really quite unique.

Type of house: Converted five-bedroom Georgian church

Location: Kyloe, Northumberland

Purchase price: £92,000

Money spent: £300,000

From the entrance hallway, you can glean a view of the wonder to come.

I am posotive that it is very difficult to show the actual height of the

ceiling in these photos.  The scale must just be amazing.  Putting sky

lights into the roof is genius and probably a must to brighten up the

place.

The wood floors really give a warme feel in such an expansive place.

A nice and open kitchen with rustic looking wood finishes for the cabinets.

I love how they put lights up in the eaves of the ceiling -

it gives off a lovely glowing quality.

What a way to showcase a bed - in this perfect nook.

White washing the stone really brighten this room up.

For the grand finale, what a fabulous place for a bathroom - complete

with a floor to ceiling stained glass window.  Absolutely stunning.  I

hope you enjoyed this tour as much as I did.  What do you think? 

Would you live in a converted church as your home?  Would it be

cool or would it be too weird for you?

Photos from House Beautiful UK