Almost back......

the olympic

I'll be back shortly finally from my beach week to moderate comments and participate in blogland! Isn't this photo of the olympic marvelous? I wish cruise ships were still elegant affairs :-(

08.08.08

Today is 08.08.08! I love symmetry so this is really pretty cool, don't you think? So in honor of the date, I've posted (and reposted) some images of symmetry in design! Enjoy!!cottage from May 2008, Martha Stewart

Soane Ranger's kitchen from Habitually Chic

Medicine cabinets

You know who has my favorite medicine cabinets for the price? Restoration hardware.Mirrored on the inside with adjustable shelves , beveled mirror on the outside-they're really done with an eye towards quality and detail. I prefer the vintagey looking version with the frame seen above, but frameless is available as well.I love these small retro old -fashioned ones too -how great would these be in a powder room?

Glass House

So if you're at the beach, by a lake or in some picturesque location -what better way to take advantage of the views than a glass house. I always think you need isolation for this (unless you want people watching you like a show on the boob tube). Modernists have favored this type of get away cottage for years, did it start with Mies van der Rohe perhaps?
Phillip Johnson's weekend retreat -the aptly named 'Glasshouse'

The Farnsworth house by Mies van der Rohe during the big floods a few years ago -i think there is something magical about seeing it floating in the water like that.

Frank Lloyd Wright's masterpiece, Fallingwater - pretty glassy itself! This new house captured by Nick Bowers, takes all the best aspects of a glass house and puts them together- I would love to stay here!

Vacations

So this week has me thinking -where is your ideal vacation spot? A quiet beach, an exotic location, a safaria or a fast-paced city perhaps? Personally, I like 2 smaller vacations a year; one week to the beach (seafood and nice weather, Cape Cod anyone?) and a week in a European city. Do any of these look appealing to you? Is there a place you return to year after year?

the beach

Posting will be light this week as I'm on vacation at the beach, but I'll still be blogging! I love my yearly pilgrimage to the beach to just relax and unwind, do nothing and catch up on my reading! I would love to have a little place by the beach someday -maybe something like this.......Ok -just kidding! haha Thats the petit trianon and not even on the beach! No, more something like this PERFECT beach cottage below.....

Nice and low maintenance!!!! I hope you're enjoying your week as much as I am!

Wow

I LOVE this living room, the colors, the furniture, the ambiance -I could spend my entire week of vacation HERE! I might do away with the zebra print ottoman and use a brown and orange paisley print. I love the crystal lamp on the right - nothing is cozier or more elegant than a lamp with a dark shade, in my humble opinion. That secretary in the back is just amazing too! I could go on all day long :-)

Oh Dear

If you have a spare $250,000 laying around -you could buy this....ahem....'castle' in Kansas....on ebay HERE...... ya - i'm scared - i wish there were interior pictures!!! Be afraid....be very afraid, and yes, this is for REAL! Someone built this! I think they got the architect's plans mixed up with their kindergardener's drawings. It's not all pretty around here at architect design....

Turquoise and red

Some new turquoise and red accented rooms for your viewing pleasure today :-) Alexandra Rowley va desire to inspireA white hallway with turquoise window frames and a red chair at the end!maybe more pink accents than red -but notice the little red vases on the mantel, so chic!

How about this light turquoise painted kitchen from a vintage magazine with red painted interiors! Maybe the red adjoining flooring and toekick is a bit much.......

PS - to show how much I love the red - here I am as a little boy with my red shoes!

Carnegie International

The Carnegie International is held once every 4 years at the Carnegie Museum of Art in Pittsburgh, PA. The exhbition was started by Andrew Carnegie in 1896 to bring bright 'on the cusp' artists to public light, per his love of modern art. Each year there is a theme and this years was 'life on mars'. Artits were invited to submit a piece that speaks on these questions.

ARE WE ALONE IN THE UNIVERSE?

DO ALIENS EXIST?

OR ARE WE, OURSELVES, THE STRANGERS IN OUR OWN WORLDS?

Many incredible artists have particpated in this event over the years -the 'greats' of the art world so to speak - including in recent times. Whistler, Miro, Winslow Homer, Mary Cassatt, Pissaro, de Koonig, Magritte and Pittsburgh's own Andy Warhol to name just a FEW.The museum then has the option to purchase the pieces for its own collection.

This was the 3rd carnegie international I have attended and I have to say I was a bit underwhelmed this year - surprisingly so. The past 2 exhibitions have really opened my eyes to the depth of modern art. However, there were a few pieces I did enjoy.Ryan Gander's piece was simple enough, a bunch of crystal balls with sheets of paper etched into the center spread out over a gallery floor. However, upon looking closer, you could examine the room through the balls, distorting your view of your surroundings; a 4th dimension as it were.
The most interactive and 'fun' work was by Thomas Hirschhorn, entitled 'signals'. A whole gallery was transformed into a cave through cardboard and packing tape-like you were on mars. you walked under, over and through it. Scattered among the rooms were artifacts of our society that made you wonder: if we moved to another planet, are they worthwhile? Pornography, tabloids, sociology, different types and styles of governments, trash in the form of empty soda cans, books and knowledge. While on the surface a fun house, this had depth and was really thought provoking. The 3rd piece that attracted my attention was by Friedrich Kunath and was untitled. It was the silhouette of a man with luggage, walking towards the line drawing of a very modern house in ruin; behind it was a beautiful, almost atomic sky. This painting tugged at your emotions, you could feel the yearning for home and for the past. It showed a dismal view of life, despite the colorful sky - a lost soul.The fourth and last installation I'll mention was by Richard Hughes. While he had a few pieces shown together, the one that caught my eye was 'the aura of a savage man - signals'. The walls of the gallery were shown with many layers of paint, stripped and chipped away to reviel the layers beneath - a beautiful rainbow of colors. This felt like modernity and mankind stripped away, left to rot. There was beauty in the decay.I must say that quite a few pieces felt like afterthoughts. I didn't see a connection to any of the questions posed, and they raised no thoughts or emotions. Parts of the exhibition felt like a garage sale; were the artists clearing out their storage units? While it wasn't the best I've seen, I must say it's still worth visiting.
the rear courtyard, an installation piece was played out here

All photos are my own or were taken from the offical website listed above.