Architectural Dinosaur Reborn

If you grew up in rural Wisconsin (like I did) it's nothing to drive from town-to-town and see the countryside dotted with old wood framed barns. However, over the past 30 some odd years, as urban sprawl has pushed out, further and further into rural areas, farmers have been forced to either modernize their operations to keep pace or sell off their land. This has resulted in the American barn becoming a bit of an Architectural Dinosaur. These great historical structures have been left sagging and weathered and eventually replaced by a pole barn (low long buildings made of post and beam construction and wrapped in industrial steel siding) or raised for a new development of homogenized McMansions.

Over the past 6 months or so I have been following the journey of a great dinosaur revival. The project/house known as Bare Hill Barn or BHB, tracks the journey as a Massachusetts Teacher/Historian and his family as they work to convert a two-hundred year old barn into a modern green friendly home. Their is great deal of information on their green products and approach to the property so check it out. Additionally, the home will also be featured on the Discovery Channel Network, Planet Green on the show Renovation Nation, so look for that episode, if you'd like to see a little more of their great story.

Incredible Stairs

When it comes to architecture, I have a bit of an obsession with stairs. In my opinion, stairs can make or break the continuity of any architectural design. It either creates the moment in which two spaces connect or it works only as a functioning way to travel between levels. So when I saw this set on SmallProjects.com I new I had to share it. Faced with the design challenge of fitting a staircase into a narrow space between two walls and the desire to not block off light to the areas below. Small Projects came up with the ingenius idea of utilizing perforated steel sheeting to create treads and risers. The sheets of steel were bent into place and then pin mounted to the wall to supply the structural integrity for the stairs, while creating a surreal sense that the stairs float in the space.

Perfectly Imperfect—Sneak Peak

The "Perfectly Imperfect" Credenza stands 23" tall, 16" deep and is 48" wide and is made form reclaimed Douglas Fir Timbers from the Duluth Timber Company.


So often I hear people say "they don't build them like they used to" but that is no-longer the case. High-end, modern cabinet maker (Eastvold Custom) is now offering custom design/build furniture pieces to their line of products. On Friday, July 11th, from 4-9pm they will be having a gallery showing at the 9th Street Entry Gallery in the Rossmor Building, St. Paul, MN. However, they allowed me a sneak peak of some of the work that they will be showing and one piece in particular caught our eye. "Perfectly Imperfect" a reclaimed Douglas Fir timber credenza with exposed nail holes, a series of random planes making up the front and all of it nicely wrapped in a solid box of beautiful Doug Fir. I fell in love with it the moment I laid my eyes on it as I'm sure you will as well. The credenza along with other pieces will be for sale at the showing, so if you're interested in buying the next family heirloom, I suggest you arrive early.

Design Reality

Unlike many design competitions the C2C Home design and construction competition results in actual home construction. This years winner by Coates Design shows not only some really wonderful innovation in the building itself but also uses the landscaping as a key feature of the over-all design. As a huge fan of modern green friendly design, the integration of indoor and outdoor living in this years winner was particularly interesting to me. My favorite feature of the house is the use of a grid to create an almost pixel like pattern in the patio landscape. The entire design is really revolutionary in it's thinking both on a design and environmental level so check it out.

Fin House

There is something about Finnish design with it's stark beautiful simplicity that allows the rustic functional style, to blend almost seamlessly with the design aesthetics of modernists fans. SO when I stumbled on this incredible little rural residence via thecoolhunter.com I couldn't help but share it.



(clipped from thecoolhuner.net) Humlegård House is the stark-looking, year-round residence of a former Finnish TV documentary producer. He moved to this house, located in the town of Fiskars, 78 kilometers west of Helsinki, from a central-Helsinki heritage apartment. Many aspects of Humlegård, especially its placement to respond to the forces of nature, resemble the owner’s childhood home, a large country manor in central Finland.

Eames Stamps Available Today

In a previous post I wrote in anticipation of the Charles and Ray Eames commemorative stamps due out this summer. Wait no longer because today is the day you can officially go out and get yourself this well designed sheet of stamps featuring 16 designs. You can even save yourself the trip and order them directly from the USPS Postal Store.

modern retreat

If you've ever had the dream of building a modern retirement retreat, than you'll love these sketches of an in progress project that Michael Huber Architects is working on. The structure will sit on 10acres of heavily wooded landed, with steep inclines, overlooking a river and horse pasture. The owners are a semi-retired furniture designer (thus the large garage section) and a retired furniture buyer. The project is still in preliminary stages of concepting but they plan to look into using some alternative materials like Thermomass and Structurally Insulated Panels to form the structure. I can't wait to see how this project progresses over the next few months, so we'll keep our eyes on it.

Book Club - Eames

Book Description
The epitome of Modernist style and luxurious comfort, Charles and Ray Eames's leather-upholstered rosewood-veneered chair and matching ottoman, launched in 1956, is a design classic of the twentieth century. This major publication, celebrating the Lounge Chair's fiftieth anniversary, explores the design in detail and places it in its cultural, historical and social contexts, offering fresh insights into this revered icon and its equally revered creators

Modern Design Deck Alphabet

Please do stop by the Please Be Still shop at Etsy and take a look at illustrator Jen Renninger's Modern Design Deck series of prints. This series includes 30 wonderful illustrations that showcase modern designers for every letter of the alphabet- highlighting the work of Charles and Ray Eames, Arne Jacobsen, and Hans Wegner to name a few. Available as individual prints if you’re keen on any design in particular or if you can't pick just one you can purchase the Modern Design Deck poster that features all 30 designs. Of course this would be great for a nursery, but I think they are suitable for any space.

Glass Mulch

It's hard to argue that there is anything more important than great curb appeal when it comes to your home. Often times this translates to making beautiful or bold statement with the surrounding landscaping through the use of plants and flowers. For most of us it proves to be a big challenge to keep that color lasting for more than a few weeks, before everything loses it's blooms and turns back into a world of green. So when I found this website for American Specialty Glass a few weeks ago promoting the idea of using glass as a "mulch" material, it really peaked my interest.

Made from tumbled glass the product won't cut and comes in a wide range of colors offering a unique and vibrant option to traditional earth colored rock and mulch. As an added bonus the product is made from 100% recycled content, which means you can feel good about using it as well.