Sophisticated Simplicity with Suzanne Kasler, Jeffrey Dungan, and a booksigning!

The great designer Suzanne Kasler is at it again with her 3rd book from Rizzoli, Sophisticated Simplicity, sharing more of her timeless projects. This new book looks at a number of her recent projects ranging from town to country, mixing high and low, and with a lot more modern than we're used to seeing from her!

The project below in South Carolina had the homeowners taking Suzanne out of her comfort zone with their love of bold colors.

Many of the projects however feature Kasler's signature of beautiful neutrals with light-filled interiors.

The project in Maine, seen in these 2 photos, showcases the homeowners' love of blue &white and is what relaxed coastal living is all about!

But the event I'm excited to share with you is a booksigning with Suzanne Kasler, Architect Jeffrey Dungan, and photographer William Abranowicz, that I'm hosting through our chapter of the ICAA in conjunction with Circa lighting with whom Kasler has a lighting line. Dungan is a talented architect out of the South who recently released a monograph of some of his impressive work to date. This book is not to be missed!

The free book-signing event will be hosted at the Circa showroom in Cadys Alley, DC on the evening of Tuesday, October 2nd, 2018.  The first 75 attendees will win copies of the books courtesy of Circa!  A fun giveaway raffle from Circa and the ICAA is yet another reason to come! Kasler, Dungan, and Abranowicz will all briefly speak about their work featured in these 2 interesting books.  Books will be available for sale in addition to the free copies.  I hope to see many of you there! 

All images courtesy of RizzoliUSA

Visiting Dumbarton Oaks, Georgetown

This past weekend offered beautiful fall weather, perfect for our Mid-Atlantic ICAA tour of Dumbarton Oaks arranged by landscape architect and boardmember Jennifer Horn.

Dumbarton Oaks has been owned by Harvard University since the early 1940s and hosts a number of their graduate programs on campus.  Sections of the famous gardens are open to the public and their renowned museum has a separate entrance on 32nd street NW.

Although much changed and constantly evolving, the gardens are the the work of famous landscape designer Beatrix Farrand, seen in the portrait above.

Unfortunately the house is undergoing some renovation work (roof and some structure being replaced) so scaffolding covered the neo-Georgian facade. You can see photos of the house at my earlier post from 2009 HERE.

The library is housed in the wing seen above designed by Thomas Waterman -a really spectacular period room in which one can study the antique landscape books in an elegant setting.

This grotto is only one of the many charming spots to be found throughout the gardens. The modern balustrade is very plain-jane compared to others found throughout the property but I suppose it meets code (most ugly railings do).

One of the best parts of attending the ICAA tours (everyone is welcome btw!) is that you get an opportunity to see many behind the scenes areas not open to the general public.

I had never seen most of the campus before and was thrilled with many of the original structures like the green house above, where plants are still grown for the gardens. The brick structure in the center was originally designed to be the library until someone came to their senses and realized antique books and water don't mix!

Washington is enjoying a spectacular fall this year which doesn't often happen. So often I feel we move directly from summer into winter.

 Many of the older structures such as the garage above have been wonderfully preserved on the exterior while the interiors have been unfortunately gutted and rebuilt in an institutional manner. Don't even ask about some of the modern buildings I'm not showing here and other work done on campus by architectural firm Robert Venturi - the less said there the better ( # inappropriate, # generic, # ugly ).

Many of us architects marveled at the lovely back door above - nicer than the front doors on many houses! Also notice the intricate brick paving patterns designed by Farrand.

The use of ornate brick and stone walls throughout the hilly, terraced gardens is one of my favorite aspects.

 While these are special details, they are to be found throughout the entire property.

Above is one of the many railing designs by Farrand - this may not meet modern day codes but is none-the-less pleasing to the eye.

Even the simple wooden garden bench above has lovely details; notice the scrolled bracket to the sides.

Inside the museum there are more wonderful treasures to check out. I particularly like the antique byzantine mosaics which are built into the flooring. The rather strange addition by Phillip Johnson, celebrating its 50th birthday, is growing on me and is a great example of marrying a modern addition to a classical structure (Robert Venturi take note!). Please join the ICAA on our next adventures and be sure to check out Dumbarton Oaks while in Washington, you won't be disappointed!

Sanssouci details

While summertime 'downtime' (obviously) continues on this blog I thought I'd share some images my Australian penpal was nice enough to share with me of Sanssouci.

 I've blogged about the rococo palace in the past (here and here) and it never gets old.

 While this style may not interest you the attention to detail cannot fail to impress.

 This collection of porcelain on gilded brackets above reminded me of Howard Slatkin's NYC apartment.

 Notice the very successful jib door (closed) to the left of the chairs in the guest room above.

The chairs have a very modern looking ikat type fabric. Many of the fabrics and wallpapers were recently replaced by a company in Lyon.

 I especially love the blue version. Notice the matching curtains.

 Here you see the same fabric in green to match a green guestroom.

 The marquetry work in this small cabinet is amazing. These side chairs sport a more expected silk damask.

My favorite room at Sanssoci, as I've said in previous posts, is surely the Voltaire guest room which he inhabited for a time.

 The polychromed boiserie are so fun and cheerful.

 Birds and fruits sit next to monkeys and parrots - could it be more whimsical?

 Notice the very modern looking grotto-esque icicles at the top of the mirror.

 The parrots almost look entirely free standing on their brackets.

 The wallpapers are also a riot of pattern and color.

Notice the intriguing electrical switch below which blends right into the paper. Of course in the 18th century they wouldn't have had any switches so it's nice to hide them.

 Again with the modern fabrics, doesn't this fabric below remind you of something from the 1950s?

I hope you enjoy these delicious detail shots of Sanssoci Palace!

Those fine 'Fine Paints of Europe'

As an architect you constantly find yourself specifying interesting and beautiful products but how does one get to make an educated decision over which products to use? I decided to try one out myself - Fine Paints of Europe. Fine Paints of Europe, or FPE as I'll call it in this post, is an oil based paint renowned for its glossy, almost glass-like appearance. To achieve this shine a rather detailed process is involved and on a recent project I decided to try it myself rather than leave it to the painters so that I could really get to understand the process.

Lets start at the very beginning shall we?  The project was an old and rather, lets say, 'dated' townhouse in Georgetown.  Above you can see the 100 year old door forlornly hidden behind an ugly security gate and layers of pink paint.

The first step was to get the house right. Painters were brought in to banish the pink and white scheme and new landscaping was installed. Dated storm doors in the city? No thanks, rip that out! Much better already, no?  After the long missing shutters were re-installed the only thing remaining on the street front was how to make that front door a focal point. It had to be something really special I felt - a bold color - and a shiny finish would be the finishing touch. Rather than a traditional red or green accent door, purple was decided upon. Yes - PURPLE. If you're gonna go for it - GO FOR IT!

Picking up my paint brush I was careful to follow the FPE instructions. After removing all of the brass hardware (to be thoroughly polished) and sanding the door (a very important step as the high gloss would show any imperfection), a specialty primer by FPE was used. This primer was so thick and rigid, like super glue, that it created a smooth surface to work on; not an easy feat on a rough old Victorian door! This took about 3 HOURS!! The 3 day holiday weekend was a perfect time for this as it took an entire day for the door to be sanded, primed, and then dry. The 2nd day was the 1st coat of paint.  The paint was also thick, although not as rigid as the primer. It went on smoothly and after very careful brush strokes, miraculously produced a perfect glossy surface!

The first coat dried perfectly and I was tempted to leave well enough alone but the directions said to apply a second coat. So the 3rd day I woke up early and did as directed. The 2nd coat was somewhat difficult as the paint dries as glossy as it is while wet so making sure I was achieving even coverage was a bit of a chore (viewing the door sideways helped). After drying for 12 hours I was able to re-install the now gleaming brass hardware and voila!

I was so happy with the end result and think it puts the finishing touch on this lovely Georgetown townhouse. On future projects I'll now be able to instruct painters with assurance having tried the product myself.  Lesson learned: follow the directions, they're there for a reason!
I received no compensation for this post but rather I wanted to share my experience with a great product!

Frank Lloyd Wright's First Christian Church

This past week I visited Phoenix, Arizona, and unexpectedly fell in love with the city. The desert landscape, friendly locals, warm winter weather, and dry air all impressed me.  Of course knowing me you know there was also a lot of architectural tourism going on!  Late in his life Frank Lloyd Wright moved to nearby Scottsdale to escape the cold winters in Wisconsin. His legacy is strong in Phoenix and many buildings bear his stamp.

One of these buildings designed by Wright was actually built more than a decade after his death. The First Christian Church was designed for another organization in 1949. 20 years later the church needed a new building and bought the plans from Mrs.Wright at his nearby camp and school, Taliesin West, where the plans were stored.

Finished in 1973 the church appears to be triangular from any angle to reflect the Trinity (Father, Son, and Holy Ghost), while in fact is not 3-sided at all. Stone, concrete, glass, and copper fit in well to the desert landscape.

This interesting concrete jungle near the entry provides a beautiful shaded outdoor spot to congregate away from the strong desert sun.

While I remain a classicist my rules soften in different climates. Don't you agree this is a more suitable style in the circa 1973 suburban desert than a Gothic cathedral?

Join me in the following weeks as I feature some of my discoveries in beautiful Phoenix, Arizona!