pages and pages

I've got several file folders full of pages and clippings from magazines. Sometimes the magazine just had one or two things worth saving so this was my way to toss the magazine and keep the good stuff. I've been doing this for 15 years! I'd like to get all these clippings organized. This week I pulled out 7 or 8 clippings and tried searching the internet for digital images that I could keep here at HousePet. And I came up with one, a home designed by architects, Haga & Grov. And the photo here wasn't nearly as amazing as the one published in that Wallpaper from 2001...



Haga & Grov also had these great photos of other homes...



There was a living room featured in Lucky Magazine in 2001 as part of a feature called the Lucky Home Guide.


Ten years later, this living room still looks good to me. Lots of classic pieces... although I still hate the purple on the walls but that's just paint. And maybe the homeowner is wondering why they ever went purple in there too. Who knows. This person with this living room cofounded a design firm and MCM-Scandinavian Design-Vintage seemed very important to she and her then boyfirend. I google searched on the homeowner's name thinking they might have a blog or be part of an interior online zine. I searched on her Design Firm's name. Nada. Did she get married and change her name? Did she give up on this style and now she's devoted to Shabby Chic-Moroccan? I thought it would be so cool to see what her living room would look like now, ten years later. And then I could blog it here. But no. I found nothing on the internet.

The big nothing happened again and again. I searched on more architects names and the amazing projects I had clippings of didn't exist at all on the internet. It was all so very odd to me and such a bummer. I was trying to organize but was being shut down at every door. I'm going to try some more this weekend. Seriously, I have hundreds to search on and I'm bound to find some of them.

fence love

salvaged plank fence. designed by Eric Gomez: Valle de Verde

Got the new issue of Sunset magazine on Tuesday and haven't had time to really sit down with it. In a quick flip through, this fence immediately caught my eye. So amazing! I have wanted to build something like this for a long time. I bought our house numbers for this dream project over a year ago and I hope we can get it built this summer.

rolling huts

The new issue of Sunset was in my mailbox yesterday and the cover shot put a smile on this cabin loving lady's face immediately. I had a crushing migraine headache yesterday so I couldn't even dive into my new mag however I did take a quick peek at the Rolling Huts website. Looks amazing and totally for those who love camping in a pop up or small pull behind. This is no luxury suite but it looks exactly like something I'm interested in... in the Spring, Summer, or Fall. Snow and Winter are not my friends. I'm still investigating the Huts (or Herd as they call them) so if you like what you see, here's the link - rollinghuts.com

Elle Decoration: February 1998 (British Issue)

Busted out a stack of Elle Decor UK the other night. I'm in the process of revamping our bedroom and remembered an issue that had the vibe I'm hoping to achieve in there... February 1998. Definitely still as inspiring today, 12 years later, as it was the day I brought it home. They featured advertising superstar Doug Lloyd's NY apartment which was minimal, full of fantastic pottery, natural textures, tons of black and white photography, and the color palette that I'm striving for in our bedroom. Next up was "White On White" - who doesn't love a Wegner chair in a lovely white room! What a nice mix of white shades and natural textures. I think I'll leave this issue out on the coffee table so if you stop by, be sure to thumb through it. The photos I attempted to show here hardly do it justice.

boulders and barstools and one amazing house

Mills House 2
New Canaan, CT
Architects: Sherwood, Mills and Smith




Mills House 2 was built in 1956 by Willis N. Mills, a principal in the architectural firm of Sherwood, Mills & Smith, as his private residence. The house received design awards from Architectural Record and the Boston Arts Festival. It was constructed on a rocky slope where many thought it was impossible to build. The uncomplicated geometry of the rectangular floor plans was offset by the diagonal balconies and terraces. The site drops 45 feet from the street level entrance and the three-story house follows suit, with cantilevered sections at each level.

In 1999, the house was purchased and renovated by architect Craig Bassam and Christopher Scott Fellows. This resulted in a number of alterations to the structure, including the removal of several interior walls and the replacement of a section of the solid wall on the rear façade with a wall of glass. At the time of this renovation, the wood decks had rotted and were replaced with new decks in the same footprint. Steel and wood windows were restored, wood windows were replaced with steel units, and aluminum windows were replaced with aluminum units. A new stone-clad garage was constructed to the north of the house. The original garage was integrated into the living quarters and the north wall of the house was re-clad with stone to match the garage. Dwell featured this home in their March 2005 issue.

How anyone walks away from a home like this boggles my mind yet the property was sold to James C. Seuss in 2007. Not sure if James already got bored and sold it – 2007 is the where my trail ended on my little internet search last night.

And why was I even looking at an issue of Dwell from 2005…
I have been going through my old magazines looking for boulder-landscape inspiration. You see I have boulder on the brain and MUST have some giant rocks in my yard. I set out after work yesterday to see exactly how one purchases a ginormous rock and gets it back to their home. There are a few places that sell boulders around here. Where I went last night - place number one - will sell you a gigantic rock for kind of a lot of money and deliver it to your curb for $60. Then I would be left to get it to its final resting place in my yard which means I would have to rent a bobcat type thing. I wonder if this is why there are so many boulders at the ends of people’s driveways around here. Hopefully the next place I try will offer to set it in place. Probably not but I will continue to ask around. Not to be completely denied of my boulder dreams, I did purchase 3 rocks of decent size last night. Two of which are still in my truck since it will take at least two dudes to get them out - luckily I have nice neighbors that will give my husband a hand later today.

Back to New Canaan…
I LOVE those barstools!

My Fantasy Landscape

Amazing.
Located in Palo Alto, CA
more photos available at landscape architect's website...
http://www.bernardtrainor.com/

Featured in Garden Design - March 2009 issue

I hate zone 5

Just want to say how much I envy all of you in plant hardiness zones 8 and 9. I'd even take zone 7 over where I'm at! My taste in plants and landscaping are difficult to make happen in zone 5...but I try to make it work anyway. The May/June 2004 issue of Metropolitan Home is an issue I always go back to for coveting plants that do not grow natively here. (imo, the home they chose for the cover of this issue was gross - too contemporary) However... another featured home in that issue, a 1949 built Neutra, had the most beautiful landscape. Kangaroo paw, succulents, agave, flax, foxtail fern - all growing giant and beautiful. I love the look of those plants unfortuantely they are only annuals here so I have to purchase them year after year. Huge BUMMER! I bring many of my plants in during the winter months but I really do not have the space for them, nor the windows for light, and it's frustrating. I have a good sized foxtail fern that practically dies every winter but manages to hang on by a thread until I can get it back outside in May. Our white bird of paradise survived indoors this winter but the plant is enormous. I can't wait to get it out of the house!! Some succulents (hens and chicks) actually are perennials here and it's amazing to see them poke out of the snow. I'm buying more and more of them each summer and am already planning to put some in the bed out front where I usually plant zinias.

Not only was the landscaping fantastic at this Neutra home, the interior was beautifully decorated. I still drool over their Arne Jacobsen dining set.

Wallpaper May/June 1997

With the basement remodel in full swing, I've been trying to convince myself to throw out old stuff that I just do not need to store down there. But my magazines... nope. I can't throw them out. What if I need to go back to that issue of Dwell from 2001? The May/June 1997 issue of Wallpaper is partially to blame for my Scandinavian furniture obsession. I fell in love with everything in this featured Stockholm home. I needed this furniture and pottery. I can remember thinking back then how amazing it would be if I could EVER live in a place like this. Oh Swedish flat, you still look so good to me. Even after all these years...






I ended up getting my bangs cut back in '97 after looking at all the cute models with their bangs. A highly influential issue in so many ways.