CasaSugar

Have You Ever Taken a Navy Shower?

CasaSugar — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 14:00:16 -0700

In a recent New York Times article, writer Stephen Treffinger tested 17 low-flow shower heads. The Waterpik shower head he tested features a dial that essentially lets you take a "Navy shower." In a Navy shower, you stop the flow of water to soap or shampoo up, and then turn the water back on and rinse off. Would you ever take a Navy shower?

Open House: Would You Register For a Housewarming?

CasaSugar — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 08:30:18 -0800

In Philip Galanes's latest Social Q's column, a 32-year-old woman wrote in saying that she'd decided that marriage wasn't for her. However, since she'd been in eight weddings and had to contribute oodles of presents over the past decade, she wanted to register for gifts for her housewarming party.

Galanes advises,

But the difference between their weddings and baby showers and your housewarming scheme is that their sole intent was not to rack up gifts. Don’t get me wrong: a housewarming is a great idea, and you may nab some nice loot. No gift registry, though. The party should be for celebrating your new place with friends, not for telling them how to outfit your kitchen.

This situation reminds me of an episode of Sex and the City. Can you guess which one? Find out when you read more.

In season six, episode 83, "A Woman's Right to Shoes," Carrie's Manolos are stolen at a baby shower. To recoup her losses, Carrie decides to register at Manolo Blahnik, in celebration of her marriage to herself. In the end, her beloved shoes are replaced, and all ends well for our heroine. While I admire Carrie's nontraditional registering, I don't think I'd have the audacity to do something similar. Would you?

By the same token, do you agree or disagree with Galanes's advice for the woman interested in registering for home items? I know that in the past I've felt annoyed by the many, many baby presents, bridal shower gifts, and wedding presents I've purchased in my lifetime, but since I'm now married, I have absolutely no right to complain about these things anymore. However, I know that my attitude might be different if I were still single. What are your thoughts?

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In the News: Cabins Go Green

CasaSugar — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 07:00:19 -0800

In a recent New York Times article, "A Cabin Is Not a Shack," writer Louise Tutelian reports on the emerging trend to green second homes, or "cabins" as these houses are identified. One such cabin featured in the article, which is pictured below, was built in Montana using only local and reclaimed materials.

The article maintains that currently, cabin culture is defined by the following:

Ditch the deer heads and moose antlers. Put away the caps with flaps. There is nothing musty, creaky, saggy or squeaky about the new cabin culture. Across the country, cabins are being reimagined in sustainable yet stylish ways. Some combine industrial materials like mesh, oxidized steel and concrete with traditional wood. Others employ reclaimed or recycled material to stay eco-friendly and keep costs down. “Turnkey” models arrive fully constructed, ready to be dropped onto a site. Still other cabins are off the grid, but with the comforts of home. And despite the advances in design, cabin owners want the same thing they always did: a place that provides an escape into the natural world.

To tell me what you think about this trend, and read why I think it's nothing revolutionary, read more.

Granted, the use of solar panels and the expense of $40,000 or more in green technology is a new trend. While economic worries will definitely put the kibosh on this type of spending, the use of recycled, local, and "green" materials is as old as cabin culture itself. Since most cabins are built in very rural areas, using local materials (such as stones and trees in the immediate area) is not only economical and eco, it was often the only option, historically. I also know of a family friend whose grandparents repaired the roof on their cabin with - get this - coffee tins! You see, this couple grew up with the Depression-era mentality of "waste not, want not," and thus reused and recycled everything they bought. When they couldn't find a use for the empty coffee tins, they carefully cut them, flattened them, and then used them to replace roofing. While the greening of cabins as reported in the New York Times may be dressed up as a revolutionary new trend, it's really a new chapter in the same, sensible old book.

Does your family have a cabin or cottage? Is anything about it green, whether by design or happenstance?

Lois Shelden for the New York Times

Guess Who Made This Chair?

CasaSugar — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 12:00:09 -0800

This master bedroom features a papa bear chair, which sits in a Frank Lloyd Wright house on the Potomac River. Can you tell me the name of the designer of the papa bear chair?

Guess Who Lives Here?

CasaSugar — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 07:45:43 -0700

In Oklahoma City, OK, an eccentric rock star and his wife live in an equally eccentric home. I love many elements of it, including this arachnid-like chandelier made of task lamps. Can you tell me the name of this rock star?

Casa Verde: Eco DIY Ideas

CasaSugar — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 09:15:29 -0700

Recently, I interviewed Tyler Velten, whose apartment had been featured in a New York Times article about designing on a student's budget. Tyler has a lot of cool, creative ideas for making eco changes on a budget. Check out some of his household experiments in the slideshow. Photos Courtesy Tyler Velten

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Casa Interview: Tyler Velten

CasaSugar — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 07:45:16 -0700

Tyler Velten, a student at the Yale School of Architecture, was recently featured in the New York Times article Lighting Changes Everything. However, Tyler wasn't interviewed for his architectural projects. Instead, his artistic re-use of found objects and repurposing of Craigslist furniture and even the hated plastic bag were featured in the article. Tyler recently found some time between his busy school schedule to answer some questions for CasaSugar about his home design experiments.

CasaSugar: What was the first object you found that inspired you to start augmenting your apartment?

Tyler: We moved into the apartment knowing I was going to play with the space. It is a gorgeous apartment with great natural daylight. When it was empty, it felt more like a studio than an apartment. The first task was to somehow distract attention from the white walls. We found a kitschy brass table lamp complete with a tattered latex shade on the street. Instead of placing it on an end table or dresser (which we didn't have), I hung it from the wall. Lizzie [Tyler's wife] has teased me for years about taking it down. As a relic from our first days in the apartment, the lamp simply cannot be replaced.

For the rest of my questions, and to find out how Tyler's wife feels about his experiments, read more.

CasaSugar: How do you feel your architecture training has changed your ideas about interior design, if at all?

Tyler: I have been making art for many years now, whereas architecture is a fairly new adventure for me. Although I do think that my first year in architecture school has helped inform some of my newer pieces, like the woven light shade beside the bed, I believe most of my ideas regarding space were born a while ago. The real benefits of the program are the community of designers. I am surrounded by creative people thinking about culture and objects at all different scales.

CasaSugar: How does your wife feel about your lighting and décor experiments? Is she a part of the creative process?

Tyler: Absolutely she is part of the process. There are pieces she adores, and others, she could do without. Most of the pieces use non-traditional switches or are situated in awkward ways. My desire as an artist is to challenge our interactions and perceptions of functionality with everyday objects. In doing so this often inhibits their purpose. Lizzie is always helping me refine and focus my pieces, to make them intuitive without sacrificing their idea. She is my voice of reason.

CasaSugar: What projects do you have in the works?

Tyler: The real task in our apartment, and consequently the real derivation for most of my non-lighting projects, is to create more storage for our tiny apartment. We only have one closet in the apartment and the kitchen has one tiny counter top with a few small cupboards. I am constantly trying to find more storage space for our things. Although I would love to make a new bed and headboard, the real pressing projects are coming up with creative storage systems.

CasaSugar: When do you have time to work on this? Do you find these projects relaxing/therapeutic? What motivates you to work on them?

Tyler: I do not have much time because of school. Most of these projects manifest themselves over Winter or Spring breaks. Nonetheless, they do not take much time. Most of these projects take an hour or less. Aside from the grocery bag chandelier, every other project was quite simple. Adding doors to bookcases requires a bit of measuring, but the assembly is very quick, a few saw-cuts and a few screws. Although I love to design unique objects, I feel the most satisfying design is to re-purpose/recycle waste into useful things. By filling up wine bottles with water, then burrowing them upside-down in the soil of a large potted plant, one can make a great slow drip-irrigation well for indoor plants.

It is tremendously therapeutic to think of ways to use the waste that we create in unique ways. We throw away so much stuff, stuff that is really beautiful. It is very satisfying to make an object like a grocery bag transcend its original purpose by becoming an elegant light filter for a chandelier.

CasaSugar: What are some of your dream projects?

Tyler: I would like to have more specific big ideas, but that usually gets me into trouble. I can only hope to continue to experiment and play.

Phil Mansfield for The New York Times

In the News: Celebrating the Outdoors in a Manhattan Penthouse

CasaSugar — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 07:00:49 -0700

What's the first thing you do when you buy a $4 million penthouse in lower Manhattan? If you're Matthew Blesso, you don't move in; instead, you allow two Yale professors to use the space as a giant experimental classroom.
Fred A. Bernstein's recent New York Times article In the Penthouse, a True Garden Apartment, celebrates this collaboration between architect Joel Sanders, landscape architect Diana Balmori, and real estate developer Matthew Blesso. The professors teach a course called Interface that integrates architecture and landscape architecture, the latter of which is often overlooked in projects. And so, with Mr. Blesso’s blessing, the two professors turned his $4 million apartment into an extended classroom. Luckily for all parties involved, the results were more than satisfactory for everyone, with Sanders and Balmori getting their living lab, and Blesso a truly unique living space.

To find out more about this penthouse, read more.

After renovating the penthouse for around $1 million, Blesso moved back in. Now, he performs his morning ablutions at a sink that's overshadowed by a large vertical garden on one wall. Striped dracaena add life to the staircase; outside, an outdoor shower and lush vegetation mingle, and mint plants climb up the bulkhead. The effect is soothing, design-forward, and wild at the same time.

Of course, I can't forget about this home's other design elements. The interior design is also a mix of chic and wilder elements, with products such as Tom Dixon lamps framing a graffiti mural, Livingstones scattered on the sofa and floor, Hans Wegner shell chairs lending a mid-century vibe, and other lovely pieces, which are wonderfully integrated in the home. Blesso, who's currently working on affordable housing developments in Central America, among other projects, definitely has a coveted crib. If you know what's good for you (and your need for real estate eye candy), head over to The New York Times to check out the full slideshow of his home.

Laurie Lambrecht for The New York Times

In The News: Where the Sidewalk Ends

CasaSugar — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 04:30:02 -0700

If you've ever lived in a large city, such as New York or Los Angeles, you know that space is at a premium, especially outdoor space. Yards are virtually unheard of, so what's a gal to do when she wants to dine al fresco? Why, take it outside - out to the sidewalk, that is. In a recent New York Times article, "The Dining Room Takes to the Streets," writer Penelope Green looks at a group of rather atypical rebels who assert their elbow room by dining on the sidewalks outside their homes or even in nooks atop the Brooklyn Bridge.

It turns out that hauling your dining table and chairs onto a sidewalk is actually perfectly legal. Janette Sadik-Khan, commissioner of the Department of Transportation, says, “Public space is the glue that holds our city together and makes it worth living in . . . I always say the streets are the living rooms, so I guess that makes the sidewalks the front porches. We’re trying to remove the barriers to enjoying that space. The D.O.T.’s priority is safety. If someone wants to use the sidewalk for a casual dinner, they just have to be considerate of the neighbors.”

Andrew Henderson for the New York Times

In the News: Redefining an Architect's Legacy

CasaSugar — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 11:00:44 -0700

Many of us have seen architect John Lautner's modern, unusual work - we just didn't realize it. The bachelor pad that Charlie's Angels's villain Eric Knox inhabits is based on the design for the Chemosphere. This eight-sided home was built in the Hollywood Hills in 1960, and sits atop a 30-foot-tall concrete poll, which was Lautner's solution to building on the steeply pitched site.

A recent New York Times article, "Bonding Humanity and Landscape in a Perfect Circle," reviews a current exhibit on Lautner at LA's Hammer Museum. The exhibit attempts to remedy misunderstandings about Lautner's body of work, which some people interpret as space age-y and removed from the landscape. Instead, we discover through the exhibit an architect who possesses, according to the article, "a keen structural knowledge wedded to an environmental sensitivity - a seamless bond of nature, space and humankind."

While the Chemosphere may not be your cup of tea, it's undeniable that the building solution for this piece of property reflects Lautner's understanding of site-specific construction. My favorite Lautner home is probably the Mar Brisas House, which was built in 1973 in Acapulco, Mexico, and whose lines echo the beach and water below (seen in this photo).

To see some gorgeous images of Lautner's homes, and to find out how to visit one yourself, read more.

Lautner, who trained with Frank Lloyd Wright, went on to influence numerous architects, including Frank Gehry. While the New York Times's review of the exhibit says that it errs on the serious side, and notes that "the curators have toned down the fantasy and sensuality that make his houses so intoxicating," I think that this show would be fascinating for architecture or mid-century design buffs. The exhibit is open through Oct. 12 at the Hammer Museum in LA, and you can also take a house tour of one of Lautner's LA-area homes.

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