Interior Design

The Hanging Gizmo

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Nickel-plated-solid-brass knob. I’ve always enjoyed having a hanging calendar in my kitchen with all the dogs’ treatment dates marked out. And since the kitchen is kind of retro (actually it honors the retro look without being a total slave to it) and completely brand new, the last thing I wanted to do was to use a thumbtack which could badly damage the wall over a period of time. So my solution was to purchase a drawer knob in the same finish as the rest of the kitchen hardware. Satin/brushed finish nickel plated solid brass. I went to Elliott’s Hardware, picked out the knob, then trudged over to the screw department and asked for a double threaded screw that could replace the knob’s screw, and the other end of this screw could be used with a plastic sleeve drywall anchor. Et voilà! I do believe this is a brilliant solution. I wonder if Martha Stewart has already thought of this trick. Probably.

Architecture

Pilates + Architecture

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Julie Harrison Studio. In 2008, architect Susan Appleton, AIA, LEED AP, was honored with an AIA Dallas Merit Award for her design of this pilates studio. From the home’s garage, she was able to create an elegant and simple space on a very tight budget. The original garage door wall was replaced with a very cool steel framing system. And insulated glass was inserted into this frame to brighten the studio and maximize the natural northern light while at the same time avoiding the harsh Texas sun during its peak hours. And then a shed roof tops it all. A new carport was constructed next to the space using a steel framing system and 5-foot-by-10-foot cement board. The framing apertures measure 5 feet wide and were designed to hold these panels creating a sense of privacy. The carport’s roofing system is a combination of corrugated metal and a hog wire trellis on which greenery can grow adding even more protection and privacy.

Film: Design & Architecture

Sugar, Almond Paste, Fruit and Flowers

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Can blown sugar be a lost art? There are certain historical films that no matter how many times I view them, I will always notice something about the past that I hadn’t been aware of before. This happened to me while viewing Vatel. In two scenes, Gérard Depardieu, as François Vatel, creates two sugar arrangements as gifts for Uma Thurman, who plays the love interest of several men (Louis XIV being one of them). These works of art were so mesmerizing that I had to find out more about this process. Maybe I don’t read enough lifestyle magazines to know if this art form is still in existence today. All I had to go on in my search was Tim Roth’s line describing the process as “spun” sugar. But the images that Google returned were the crazy strings of caramelized sugar that’s often seen on fancy deserts at fancy restaurants. After multiple google searches and relying on the resulting images, I found the right term, “blown sugar”. Unfortunately, there’s zero information on its history, but it’s definitely not a lost art and is still taught in culinary schools. To illustrate and share this technique with you, I have captured some stills from the film.

Landscape & Gardening

From Flower to Fruit

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Flowering Quince. Just because the fruit looks like a green apple does not mean it can be eaten like one, as in raw. Even the birds and other critters don’t seem to like it. After counting a grand total of twelve on my two shrubs, I searched the internet for some recipe options. Only jellies and quince butter were recommended. Because of the twelve hour minimum cooking time needed to soften them, this project just would not be worthwhile for me. So once they ripen and drop, they’ll be added to my compost heap.

Travel: Culture & Architecture

Recycling a Sarcophagus

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Should you come upon an empty sarcophagus, consider placing it in your grand garden and planting it with seasonal color. This photo was taken September 2007 in the gardens of Villa Carlotta on Lake Como. I think. I’m not sure, but I am pretty sure. If the date and time on my digital camera can be relied upon, then this was taken in the gardens of Villa Carlotta.

Interior Design

It’s a Keeper

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Above is the original dining room light fixture. And now, that the room serves a dual purpose as a library and dining room, this fixture can’t be more perfect. When I first moved into the house in 1985, this light fixture was a three-way. See the brass knob ball at the base of the light fixture? Turning it allowed me to alternate between having just the top five on, or just the bottom bowl on, or have all six illuminated (which was way too bright). But, all good things must come to an end, and the internal stem (or whatever it’s called) finally broke. Some day I plan on taking the whole thing down and locating someone who could fix it. In the meantime, a dimmer switch has been installed and works just as well as the three way if not better. But still… It would be cool to have it working in its original condition.

Travel: Culture & Architecture

Color Choices for Outbuildings

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In September 2004, I joined The Institute of Classical Architecture & Classical America on an four day tour of the Berkshires’ aging “cottages” of the Gilded Age. Bunny Williams, as a member of the board, was gracious enough to host all of us at her home and gardens in Connecticut. Unfortunately, the photos I took are all outdoor shots. I don’t remember why. Maybe I thought it would be rude to photograph the interiors. Maybe we were told not to. I just don’t remember. I won’t be posting all of these photos today. Instead they will be used at different times in the future to illustrate a point.

(above) Note how the building’s color allows it to blend in with its environment. When it came to choosing colors for my garage, my architect gave me two suggestions. The first one being to paint it the same color as the wood boards of my house (cream), or as the second choice, allow the building to blend in with its natural surroundings (too nice of a description for my unsightly backyard). I chose the latter. Now, after going through all these old photos, I realize that Bunny chose the same color concept for her outbuildings. A lucky and happy coincidence for me.

Interior Design

What Is that Funky Texture?

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The living and dining rooms’ wall texture is original to my house (built in 1938). My next door neighbor and other older homes in my neighborhood have the same finish. When I first moved into the house I thought it looked depressing and grandma-ish. But now, I’m so glad that I kept it.

What was the technique called? Did it even have a name? Even my painting contractors found it unusual and had a difficult time emulating it while repairing patches. When the 1960’s kitchen was torn out, we discovered that the original breakfast room originally had this same texture. The rest of the house (the remaining original rooms) has what looks to be the knock down texture which carries the orange peel effect one step further by semi flattening the raised bumps. The orange peel technique had also been used originally for all the ceilings in the house and is the texture we chose for all of the reconstruction’s painted surfaces.

Contemporary Art

Art Trolling at The MAC (part 2, the last stop)

Above is a still from Quin Mathews' video now showing in the third gallery at The MAC.
Above is a still from Quin Mathews’ video now showing in the third gallery at The MAC.

The McKinney Avenue Contemporary (The MAC). If I hadn’t known better, I would have thought I had stepped into a church. And there was Leslie Connally and Judy Niven constantly reminding me to tone it down while Kitchen Dog‘s play was performing in the black box theater next to the galleries. Normally, all three galleries would have had festive Mexican music shaking the place up for this show, but not on Kitchen Dog’s nights. And then there was the church smell, aging flowers and burning candles.

Contemporary Art

Thursday Evening’s Art Trolling (part 1)

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The Impossibility of Doing Nothing at The Reading Room. Across from Fair Park on Parry Avenue in a tiny space, Karen Weiner has set up an unusual kind of gallery experience. Described in her own words, “A project space which, through occasional readings, performances and installations, will explore the many ways in which text and image interact.” Personally I believe that most, if not all, good things happen only in small rooms.