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

Real Estate Stalking - Gorgeous Midcentury Modern Eichler

There are so many gorgeous rooms in this house I couldn't

decide which one to showcase first. I decided to settle for
the kitchen. I don't know if many of you know, but I am a
huge fan of Midcentury modern Eichler homes. This one
just came onto the market north of San Francisco and it is
absolutely gorgeous. It's a gallery Eichler styled home that
was very tastefully renovated and the home was extended
to 2,400 square feet. I'm not even a huge fan of gallery
kitchens but I like this one.

Now to pull back from the grandeur
to a more humble entrance.

Eichler homes are always designed with atriums in the
middle of the home - it's sort of a signature of the unique
architectural style.

This atrium or courtyard is absolutely fabulous -
complete with the perfectly balanced landscaping.

Always tons of windows that let a lot of light in.

With prominent ceiling beams. It's neat that
the flooring to this room is sealed cement.

A cozy little dining area.

And a very spacious master bedroom - again with
the floor to ceiling windows and sliding doors.

This looks like a small bathroom - but it's not.

It's a gorgeous bathroom complete with a full tub and
glass enclosed shower. Whoever designed and chose
the fixtures and the furniture in the home did a fantastic
job.

Here's another look at the lovely bathroom.

This photo really says it all - quintessential midcentury
modern design. It's absolutely wonderful.

What's great is that this home has a view as well.

You don't find many midcentury modern homes in such
fantastic condition and with such views. Now if I only had
$1,550,000 USD laying around...

Hope you enjoyed the tour.

Eichler Homes: Design for Living

In the meantime, if you're interested
in seeing or reading more about Eichler
homes, here are a couple of great books.

Eichler: Modernism Rebuilds
the American Dream

This book is in black and white. The Eichler
home is named after Joseph Eichler who initially
designed these homes en masse. Can you imagine
owning a track home that looked like the above
home? He designed huge tracts of track homes in
the 1950's and 1960's. To this day, his homes are
highly in demand and they are still as hip as ever.
His firm designed and built over 11,000 homes in
Northern and Southern California and they've come
to be known as simply "Eichlers."

Midcentury Chic Living Rooms

I've always loved chic midcentury modern living spaces.

I've never been of the minimalist and sparse camp, but
I can get into clean lines as long as there is texture. I love
the creamy white shaggy carpet with the curvaceous sofa
and organic coffee table. It's got a luxe feel to it.

This living room is more quintessentially modern
with midcentury modern furnishings, wood floor
and low to the ground furniture. Again the shag
carpet and sheep skins give texture and soften out
the lines.

Who wouldn't love views like these? Natural looking beige
with creams and whites. Can you really go wrong with that?

Here's a peek at the rest of the apartment. Very cool egg
chairs and dining space. I love how low and expansive the
coffee table is.

The large crystal pieces on the coffee table are unique and
the round ottomans on the left side really match the round
pillows on the sofa.

Low furniture always makes a space look so much bigger.
It really does come down to scale. It's so nice and bright
in this room.

This coffee table just looks like a super thick slab of marble.
I love how wide and low the sofa is. I can never say no to
bookshelves! The see- through bookshelves are such a great
way for separating space without taking too much visual
weight up.

I love open space plans. Aren't the rectangular backed dining
chairs cool or what? You certainly don't see that every day.

The mini dear heads mounted are the wall are whimsical.

This is definitely an all midcentury modern living area.

I don't know where the owner found this sofa but
it's Really cool! Can you imagine having a party
or pajama party in this space? FUN!!

What a cool lounging area with a pool table
and midcentury modern accents. The light
pendants and the colored glass really top it
off for me.

Scandinavian modern furnishings and a really
cool geometric pattern for the flooring.

Atomic Ranch


As many of you know, I have quite a collection
of books and magazines at home. Here are some
of my personal picks for Mid-Century design.
Atomic Ranch is one of my favorite with great
photos and images for inspiration.

Classic Modern: Mid-Century
Modern at Home


This book is not as readily available anymore,
but again - fantastic inspiration and images.

Mid-Century Modern: Interiors,
Furniture, Design Details

Here's a look at the design details and
furniture of putting together a mid-century
modern space together.

Atomic Ranch Magazine
Midcentury Marvels

And last but not least, probably one of the
only niche mid-century modern magazines
in the world. Very well done with great
images and articles showcasing midcentury
homes from all over the country (U.S.)

Midcentury Modern Dining Room Inspirations

While there is a broad range of styles that I really

love, the Midcentury Modern movement is one

of them. This post is focused on midcentury styled

furniture in the Dining room.

I really love the above open dining space with the

cowhide modern chairs and especially the gorgeous

wood finish of the large dining table. I can definitely

seeing this table serve double duty for a dining table

and a working space.

Lucite is another extremely popular material

during the midcentury era. I really love the

lucite bases to this dining table.

Who can forget chrome and metal finishes from this era?

They don't make chrome furniture any more and most

are replicas from that time. The above dining table

has a lovely X patterned chrome base.

I thought this was a wonderfully modern

dining table complete with a midcentury

styled light fixture and lucite chairs.



I couldn't tell whether this was a conference table or a

dining area. Quite honestly, it could be either. Either way,

the style is most definitely midcentury modern with Saarinen

tulip chairs and lovely pops of yellow.

This is one of my favourite table scapes using midcentury

furniture. While everything in the room is white and

neutral, the accessories really make the room pop. The

designer chose beautiful pieces of glass vases and flowers

to dress up the table and room.

I love the arrangement of art pieces

on the wall in this small dining space.

It really gives the space personality.

Isn't the oval dining table just gorgeous?

Midcentury modern with a feminine twist. The aquamarine

color theme and the silver nailheads on the chair really make

the space polished and charming.

This room just goes to show that midcentury furniture

can fit in almost any environment. The juxtaposition

of such modern furniture in such an old world room

is surprising... But it does work.

I quite liked the shape of this table - not

your usual oval or round table. It's sort

of a squarish circle or a square with very

round corners.

Hope it's given you some midcentury modern inspiration.
And if you thought Midcentury modern was way too expensive
with all of the remakes, Ikea actually sells a super reasonable
rendition of the round white table for $150.

I was totally drooling over this open plan kitchen and

dining space. I love that the glass panels closing off the

shelves on the back wall are colored.

Hope it's given you some midcentury modern inspiration.