CasaSugar

Coveted Crib: Victoria's Deco Dream Apartment (Part Two)

CasaSugar — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 09:15:28 -0800

Yesterday, we toured Victoria's fabulous entry, living room, and studio space. Victoria, a jeweler living by "the jewel of Oakland," Lake Merritt, is the lucky inhabitant of a Deco-era apartment that features much of the original detailing, including several stunning chandeliers (such as the one shown here). To continue the tour with a turn around her study, check out the slideshow.

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Coveted Crib: Victoria's Deco Dream Apartment (Part One)

CasaSugar — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 12:00:40 -0800

It only makes sense that Oakland, CA, artist Victoria Skirpa makes stunning sculptures and covetable jewelry from her one-bedroom apartment overlooking Lake Merritt. After all, the lake is known as "the jewel of Oakland," and Victoria's apartment, location, and beautiful jewelry (she's having a special invite-only sale this upcoming weekend) are all equally treasurable. When I visited her home, I was literally drooling over her crazy views, as well as her very cool vintage furniture finds, original artwork, and unbelievable closet space (I am incredibly envious of this last item). Since there's so much good stuff to see, we'll take this tour in bite-size pieces, starting with her entry and studio/living room.

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Midday Muse: Brilliant Ceiling

CasaSugar — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 11:38:43 -0700

This amazing light fixture is from the gorgeous Deco-era Paramount Theatre in downtown Oakland, California. I love the formality of the curvature here, as well as the warm light that reflects off the gold-painted ceiling. How would you incorporate this formal brilliance into your own home?

Chairs That Became Art

CasaSugar — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 14:05:46 -0800

Earlier this year, I went to an exhibit at Johansson Projects called Excavations. This gallery show featured an exhibition of landscapes that attempted to blur the typical boundaries between nature and artifice. Eight artists participated in the show, including artist Yvette Molina, and displayed everything from nature-based paintings to ceramic branches that sprouted out of walls. One of the pieces I was most drawn to though was Scott Oliver's "The Valley," a piece made from a chair (I suppose this shouldn't be a surprise, given my interior-design obsession).

Scott found an overstuffed chair at a garbage dump, and deconstructed it into a wall sculpture of Hetch Hetchy. Using just the stuffing, threading, and other innards of the chair, the artist formed trees, cliffs, and hillsides.

To see another chair that intrigued me, just read more

"Portrait of George" by artist Elyse Hochstadt was another favorite of mine from this exhibit. The formal armchair was completely reupholstered with black feathers, and one large wing is draped against the chair's side. Apparently I wasn't the only one who loved the piece: I more recently spotted the chair at Oakland's uber-hip design studio/gallery/store FiveTen Studios.

What's your take on these reimagined chairs? I find them inspiring, but I'd love to hear what you think, too.

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On the Market: Spend Some Green on this Green Day House

CasaSugar — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 10:57:25 -0700

While Green Day lead singer and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong may hail from working-class roots, his Bay Area home, which is now on the market for $4.85 million, shows that he's certainly not living on a boulevard of broken dreams.
I wouldn't read anything into the decor of the house, or Armstrong's punk sensibilities (or lack thereof), since I'm sure that this house has been staged within an inch of its life. Whoever staged it seems to have taken a little too much inspiration from Napa Style, Pottery Barn, and a really unfortunate mix of poorly sourced Moroccan influences.

The house itself isn't bad, though it's certainly not one of my favorite celebrity homes. To see why, and to view lots of interior and exterior photos, read more.

Located in the swanky Upper Rockridge neighborhood of Oakland, the Mediterranean-style five-bedroom, four- and two-half bath home spreads across 7,000 square feet on a nearly 1/2 acre double lot. Built a little more than 10 years ago, the home features a pool, pool house, and professional music studio.

The listing for the property notes that the "original Julia Morgan steps [are] intact." Armstrong's house was built on the site of Red Gate, a gorgeous mansion built for Charles Wells by one of my favorite architects, Julia Morgan. The home apparently burned down in the 1991 Oakland fires. And while I'm sure that Mark Becker, the architect commissioned by Armstrong to build his home, is a fine designer and builder, hardly anyone can, in my opinion, compare to Julia Morgan's sublime style.

The home is being shown this month by appointment only, and if you have the dollars and the down payment, you can make an appointment here.

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Etsy Find: Handmade Maple Bench

CasaSugar — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 10:00:30 -0700

Need to add some organization to your entry? Then try this Handmade Maple Bench ($279). With its streamlined, modern design, compact size, and multiple compartments, it's the perfect place to tuck away everything from shoes to laptop cases when you come home at the end of your workday. This pretty bench is handcrafted from Forestry Stewardship Council-certified Maple, and finished with a clear lacquer that highlights the wood's natural beauty. I also love that its built-in handles make it easy to move. I can see this coming in handy as extra seating for a party - just pick it up by its handles and move it to your living room or dining room.

The builder, Josh Ganshorn, an Oakland-based designer and contractor, will add hinged front panels to this piece if you want to keep the look even more streamlined, and also offers different finishes or paints to match your home.

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Michelle Kaufmann Designs Closing Doors

CasaSugar — Thu, 28 May 2009 12:15:02 -0700

I am very sad to report that Michelle Kaufmann Designs is closing, due in part to the credit crisis and the closing of factories used to manufacture MKD homes. The green prefab firm, located in Oakland, CA, designed homes guaranteed to achieve either gold or platinum LEED ratings, the two highest ratings from the US Green Building Council. Homes such as the Glidehouse and mkLotus won MKD international acclaim, and were proof that prefab and green were a natural fit.

According to the LA Times:

Kaufmann has been working with her clients -- some with houses in construction, others earlier in the design process -- to put them in a position to build their projects with other firms, if they choose. She said she has been in preliminary talks with large home-building companies that may be interested in producing her designs or working with her as a consultant.

While I've been saddened by a number of stories in the real estate and architecture world lately, this one definitely hits me the hardest. Michelle Kaufmann is truly an inspiration, and I wish her the best of luck in her next, undoubtedly impressive project in the world of architecture and sustainable living.

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Coveted Crib: Hippie House Gets Modern Makeover

CasaSugar — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 11:00:29 -0700

When Oakland, CA, architectural firm Envelope A + D took on a house reno project in the neighboring city of Berkeley, CA, it had its work cut out. The two-level "hippie house," as the firm dubbed it, needed an aesthetic upgrade to bring it into the 21st century. Besides the aesthetic considerations, the house was also in major disrepair. Working with the clients, the entire house was rehabilitated, and the home's facade was given a modern makeover, with a streamlined edifice that borrows from Japanese design.

For photos of the home's new look, as well as more details on the reno, read more.

Envelope A+D added 1,000 square feet onto the structure to accommodate the clients' growing family. This expanded footprint made additional bedrooms, a family room, and a luxurious bath/steam/sauna room possible.

I love the home's streamlined, understated exterior, as well as the thoughtful modern design on the interior, which manages to look warm and welcoming while keeping excess furnishings to a minimum. The generous fenestration also takes advantage of the wooded landscape. What a wonderful view to wake up to, don't you think?

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Casa Interview: Vern Yip

CasaSugar — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 08:30:47 -0700

Designer Vern Yip is a household name for many Casa readers, thanks to his judging on Design Star as well as his hosting and creativity on his tear-inducing show Deserving Design. Vern is currently contributing his design expertise to two very worthy community organizations, the Tenderloin Family Apartments, which are home to 4,000 low-income San Francisco families, and the West Oakland Boys and Girls Club, which has been serving youth in this neighborhood for over sixty years. I was thrilled to talk to Vern about his design renovations for these two community spaces.

CasaSugar: I’ve been out to both the Tenderloin Family Apartments and the West Oakland Boys and Girls Club, and they’re very excited about their renovations.

Vern Yip: This is such a wonderful and amazing opportunity for me. The renovations are being funded by Bank of America. This is part of their celebration of renovating their 118 Bay Area banking centers, so as part of the celebration they’re renovating two spaces for two Bay Area non-profits. Having been there, I’m sure you can tell that these are two organizations that are really deserving and could really benefit from a facelift.

To read more of the interview, read more.

CasaSugar: What's happening with the Boys and Girls Club?

Vern Yip: The Boys and Girls Club is providing such a huge service and a lot of these boys and girls would not have a space to go to otherwise. We’re giving them an activity room facelift so they can have a beautiful, and functioning place to hang out. That’s a really great thing. I’ve been talking to some of the people involved with the boys and girls club and gauging what they need . . . Initially I was looking at the floor in pictures and thought it was nice, but apparently it’s really worn, so we’re doing a top to bottom renovation including new flooring, new lights, and of course great new paint colors and a new space plan so this space can work much better with a new layout. We’re also going to do some really functional things like a new check-in desk and a new media corner. We’re going to use really durable materials so this facelift will hopefully last a good long time.

CasaSugar: I was reading up a little bit about your plans for the Tenderloin Apartments. What are you excited about with this project?

Vern Yip: You know, the really great thing about this space is that it’s used by the entire community. Everything happens in that space, from weddings to birthday parties to meetings and movie nights. So you want that space to really pull people together and feel celebratory. Right now it doesn’t feel celebratory. It’s a little dour and office-like, so I was talking to some of the Tenderloin Family Apartments staff trying to gauge who lives there and what are there needs. And it’s really a wide array of people, a mix of Russian, Asian American, Chinese, African-American, and Hispanic people.

I was doing some research to determine what were some key colors that represented all of those communities, and oranges and reds are two colors that are represented in all of those groups. So we’re putting in a new floor that’s going to be beautiful and patterned, but it will be made of VCT [vinyl composition tile], so it will be really durable. We’re going to do a custom mural on the wall that’s a tree with a large canopy done in a white silhouette on top of these wonderful warm orange walls, so it’s really going to stand out. A tree to me is really symbolic of bringing community together, it’s that life force. Another issue was, just like the boys and girls club, the residents didn’t feel safe hanging outside, so I thought, if we can’t bring them to the trees we’ll bring the trees to them. And then we’re hanging these incredible George Nelson lamps in a series, in two shapes, in a saucer shape and a cigar shape. We just want to make a space that the residents can be in and enjoy. That’s the goal and the purpose. I’m really excited that Bank of America made all of this possible because certainly these two non profits definitely deserve it.

CasaSugar: Definitely. And of course without outside funding they could’ve never done such an extensive renovation. Is this renovation going to be on Deserving Design?

Vern Yip: No! I wish it was. I wish we could fly our whole crew out and shoot this. I do hope it will be an inspiration to the show and network to tackle community-oriented spaces. We’ve been focused on individual spaces, and we’re just starting to branch out to community spaces. As you can imagine, it’s pretty cost-prohibitive to renovate such a large space. It really takes someone like Bank of America stepping up to the plate and saying, “We’ll do it as part of our renovation celebration.”

I’m very excited about this. My whole show and my heart and soul is all about giving back to the community through design, and the power of design to affect people’s lives. This is such an amazing opportunity to affect so many people’s lives in just two spaces.

CasaSugar: It’s going to make a huge impact. Thanks in advance for flying out and making such a wonderful contribution on the Bay Area community.

Vern Yip: I’m thrilled for the opportunity and thrilled that Bank of America brought me on board to do it. It’s a wonderful opportunity to change people’s lives.

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Cool Idea: Deserving Designs For Families in Need

CasaSugar — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 09:15:33 -0700

Remember when I told you about the Boys and Girls Club in West Oakland that Vern Yip, host and designer of HGTV's Deserving Design is renovating? I've been so curious as to what Vern might do to improve the space.

In one episode, Vern makes over a garage into a game room for a military family's children. He cleans up the space and stocks it with interactive games, spaces for gathering, and lots of kid-friendly storage space. I think that this design might be a good indication of what the deserving kids in West Oakland might get.

To see the video, read more.

Stay tuned for my interview with Vern, as well as the after pictures from this community center!

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