This gorgeous floor, which was hand painted by Catherine, won the Design*Sponge prize for best use of pattern in a home. I can definitely see why. I know a lot of friends who have concrete floors in their homes, but I've never seen any of them painted with patterns. Now, I'm going to have to bend their ears about this cool idea.

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If I had the dough, I'd buy the Cottage & Bungalow Casablanca Six Drawer Chest ($3,440) based on its name alone; you know I'm a fan of anything with Moroccan roots, and 1940s romances get me every time. But thanks to this chest's good looks, that wouldn't be necessary. Despite its hardware-less minimalism, it's stunning and truly eye-catching. I love its clean lines, plaque-like imprints, and unfussy, cerused oak. If the pennies added up in my bank account, I'd buy this beauty in heartbeat . . . and then write my own romance about it.

• 2Modern introduces us to Keep it Cartesian, a group of kids with bright ideas.
• AT:LA considers adding fabric to a bookcase.
• AT:SF gives us a vocab lesson on cargotecture.
• Charles and Hudson has 20 tips for staging your kitchen for an open house.
• Danny Seo makes butterfly crayons from old ones!
• Daily Dose is right that sometimes boring is better.
• Desire to Inspire shows us new work from Buckingham Interiors.

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Los Angeles is known for its modern architecture and architects, with homes built by the likes of Ralph Rapson, John Lautner, and Pierre Koenig dotting the urban landscape. One such house, which was featured in the LA Times 50 years ago, has just resurfaced in that paper's pages. Dubbed the Times Home Magazine House, it was designed by architect Edward H. Fickett and the interior was designed by Arthur Elrod.

The Encino home, which was built as "a suburban house that embodied forward-thinking design," was, similar to the case study houses, meant to be affordable for a middle-class family. Half a century later, the house still manages to appear private, beautiful, and of the moment. Now owned by Warner Walcott and Jonn Coolidge, whose prior residence was also built by Fickett, the current inhabitants have brought their own sense of coolness to the house while maintaining the home's integrity and original intentions. They also have, as the LA Times article notes, complemented the home's style "with an art and furniture collection that's at once retro yet contemporary — and unmistakably California cool."

While I'm a bit too scattered and cluttered to ever make a modern home like this work to its full advantage, I do admire the "California cool" look of these homes. There's something soothing in their clean lines, placid pools, and deliberate blurring of indoor and outdoor spaces. To see the house in all of its splendid glory, check out the whole article.

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Architectural and interior designer Tom Scheerer combines an architectural sensibility with a comfortable, refined aesthetic in a look he calls "relaxed modernism." His interiors favor well-planned rooms, spatial arrangements, color, and texture over purely decorative elements, and he uses antiques sparingly and artwork decidedly. Having practiced design since 1985, his work can be found in New York, East Hampton, Nantucket, and the Bahamas as well as the pages of Elle Décor, House & Garden, Architectural Digest, and House Beautiful, and he is often named one of House Beautiful's "Top 100" designers. Check out the gallery below to see some of his work.