Holiday Weekend

Let the summer begin!  It's time for us to head back to the beach and I'm so ready for it.

A friend of mine reminded me the other day of this photo my husband took of our early morning beach set up... he was so proud he just had to document it.  I have to say it was pretty sweet arriving at the water with a good spot all ready for us with hardly a soul on the beach.  

A lot of people ask about our umbrellas.  We ordered them online at Frankford Umbrellas.  Little did we know that the company is located not far from my mom's childhood home in Philadelphia.  I think it was quite a find as they are great quality (many umbrellas have flown by us on the beach while ours stands tall). They come in a bunch of vibrant colors too... I never have any trouble finding our party on the beach!

Hope you all have a great Memorial Day weekend wherever you go!

5 Design Ideas from Italy

The beautifully vibrant artwork in last post got me thinking about my own trip to Venice with the in-laws a few years back.  It was a great experience and I enjoyed sharing it with our family.  Even my sis made an appearance... perfect timing to take this picture!

Piazza S. Lorenzo in Lucina, Rome

So I went back through  my photos for a chance to relive it and I started noticing some themes.  I decided to pull out photos that represented applicable architectural lessons... ones I might use in my own residential work. I found 5 design ideas that you might find interesting too...  

1.  Real Working Shutters:

Nothing feels more European (and vacationy) than operable blackout shutters.  They add depth and texture to a facade that could never be replicated with fake shutters that we see all over the US.

Facade in Venice

The mahogany doors behind them contrast beautifully with the dark green shutters.  And the detail work on the railing is pretty sweet too. 

Here are the shutters on the windows and doors of our hotel room that looked out to the balcony.  I love when you can black out your room... but you better ask for a wakeup call!

Hotel Ala in Venice

Here's an interesting track detail in lieu of hinges.

Shutters found on our walk down from San Miniato, Florence

    

2. Handmade doors

I took a lot of pictures of doors because they can offer so much character to a place.  I love the richness of this material and the simplicity of the design.  It's hard to tell if they are new or have been there forever.  I like that in a door.

Doors somewhere in Venice

These are more modern but just as rich in material.  As you can see, I like the horizontal board look.  

Storefront doors across from the Duomo in Florence

I particularly like the lean steel edge detail seen here...

Storefront doors across from the Duomo in Florence

Okay, so I'm cheating on this one...it's from another trip to Italy.  But it's such a welcoming entry I couldn't help but include it.  Nice 6 panel doors and a charming wood framed terracotta awning...

And from the same trip... this balcony is amazing for so many reasons!  The generous glass door, real working shutters, and a terra cotta ceiling, which leads me to my next idea...

3. Brick Ceilings:

The ceiling is often an afterthought, but with one like this people will be sure to notice.   This would make a beautiful porch ceiling or maybe a rustic kitchen ceiling.  Create your very own Tuscan villa!

Small covered alleys in  Radda in Chianti

I happened upon this store and got all excited about the great shoes and then... I looked up!  And I love the little window with the deep angled return. 

Shoe store in the small town of Radda in Chianti

4.  Architectural Use of Foliage:

This lush pergola creates a welcoming shaded area to sit.   It was located on the grounds of a Murano glass factory.  One of their pieces is thoughtfully displayed in the arch.   

 Murano glass factory 

Who doesn't love lush window boxes?! Again this feature adds depth to the facade and at the same time bringing the outdoors in close view from inside.  

  

Residence in Venice

What a lovely balcony fringed with geraniums.  They softened the edge and frame the beautiful views beyond. 

 View of the Ponte Vecchio bridge in Florence

5.  Clever Skylights



This isn't really a skylight but rather a way to ventilate the heat created from the glass production.  Can you believe such an amazing timber framed clerestory structure would be located in a factory?

Glass Factory on the island of Murano

I thought this was such a fun little skylight.  At the time, I was working on a project where I had a low sloped roof and this might have been a unique solution to bring some light into a bathroom.  I found this skylight tucked away between buildings in the Uffizi Gallery.

Uffizi Gallery skylight

I hadn't noticed at the time, that there is a flood light above that can give you the same effect at night! Makes a great little oculus feature in a small exiting hallway of the gallery.  

Speaking of oculi (what a great word!) ... this is the best one I've ever seen.  So I'll leave you with it... the one place I will never tire of visiting.

Pantheon in Rome

Where have you travelled that has made an impression on you and how you live?  A place where you just want to bottle it up and bring it home!

595 Days to Venice...Here in Hoboken

MackeyBlue had a "Meet the Artist" afternoon last weekend and I managed to get over there to check it out.  And I'm glad I did!  There was beautiful artwork, lovely people and I was able to have a glass of wine with no little person tugging on my pants!



But seriously the artwork is great; if you're in Hoboken you should stop by. The work is by Lynn Hofher and the photographic series is called "595 Days to Venice".   For more info you can go to MackeyBlue's new blog.  Here's a teaser of Lynn's work...

Karen Marsh, the owner of Mackeyblue, hosts a get together with wine and cheese when a new artist's work is put on display.  You can get on the mailing list to be notified of these events and new items that have come in to the store.



I took some photos at the event... and hey, there's the artist!

Spending time there sipping my wine, I started to reminisce about working with Karen to get the store set up way back in 2006.  The lighting, tin ceiling, paint, wallpaper, and the signage...

Someone mentioned how much they liked the wallpaper, which is great to hear.  We took a lot of time to find a pattern and hue that would be fun, yet homey, and go with all the blue-greens that Karen loves.  I think she ultimately found the wallpaper on Ebay!

These great images have me thinking about our trip to Venice with the family.   Hmmm, I think I've got a topic for another post... Canal hopping with the in-laws!



If you get a chance to check out MackeyBlue and the artwork, let me know what you think!

"What I Did on My Spring Vacation"

I spent the week in Carlisle, PA visiting the folks and wanted to share some photos of our trip. I debated whether this is relevant to my blog's 'purpose'... but it has a bit of architecture (a beautifully landscaped home), and some design (a fluorescent 'skylight'), and plenty of life (a toddler loving trains!)  I do appreciate that what I do for a living just happens to blend with my life.   Enough talk, here are the pics...



Can you believe this is a bulkhead to a basement?  I love its tiny scale, cheery red door, and moss covered shingles. Feels like it's from a fairy tale.

 

Have you ever seen a charming driveway?  Well, here it is...

Not only does it look nice, but it's sustainable; no repaving or maintenance. And it's better for the environment; less runoff into a near by stream. 



Speaking of the stream, it's a beautiful meandering backdrop to the springtime blooms and sculptural solar clock...

At my parent's house... I took a peak at the new laundry room my dad has been laboring over.  I was quite impressed with his sheetrocking abilities.  Here he inset a utilitarian 2 x 4 fluorescent fixture into a sheetrock soffit.  Given the great light quality, I'd swear it was a skylight... if it weren't in the basement!

Here you can see how the small molding holds in the fixture and allows the panel to be popped out to replace the bulbs.

We took a trip to Strasburg, PA in Lancaster County to check out the railroad museum.  I hadn't been there since I was a little kid so I wasn't sure what to expect.  Wow, I underestimated the grand nature of these majestic machines.

And I was amazed by my 22 month old's excitement! He was in train heaven. Here's what I like to call the 'train dance'...

Did you just have a spring break too?   Where did you go and what did you do?  Please, do tell!