Why don't you?

Why don't you refashion your chipped or broken china as beautiful desktop accessories? Here I'm using a chipped Wedgwood jasperware creamer to hold paperclips on my desk at work.

Waste not, want not; Definitely cheers up my day!

My New Camera

You may remember I broke my old camera a few months ago and was on the search for a replacement. My replacement is a Canon Powershot SD1200 is and I can't say enough good things about it. I think the photographs have been excellent at 10 MP (judge for yourself though, the last 2 months worth of posts have used this camera); it's tiny and fits into my pocket and is super easy to use. My previous camera was also a canon powershot from 2002 but the difference is really amazing; Technology has come so far!Recently at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History, I got a chance to see just how far camera technology has advanced. Above you see a number of cameras from the last century in all shapes and sizes.

This Ansco Cadet has the most enormous flash but is basically the 1960s version of my canon amateur powershot. You need luggage to tote this thing around though, definitely NOT pocket size!

This Thorton-Pickard Mark III Aerial gun from 1915 was used during WWI to spy on the enemy. I wouldn't advise this for everyday use unless you want an adventure in prison!

This little promotional velveeta camera was probably my favorite; so cute! I don't know if you had to save up UPC points from boxes or not to earn this, but it was definitely worth it!

Sidenote: this is not a paid advertisement of the Canon! Actually, the camera did have a fault in that it did not include a memory card and so was not 'ready to use' ! This is a very annoying thing to find out after you get it home and can't even try it out till you find an SD card!!! Canon - include basic memory cards with your cameras, please!

Taste of spring

Just a short post to share this taste of spring with you. Cherry blossom time is finally here and tourists are crowding the city to see our beautiful springtime.

I hope everyone is having a great weekend!

Don't fence me in

Unless it's a beauty like this one! After yesterdays post, celebrated blog commenter Toby Worthington contacted me with this fence he designed for his own house.

Toby based the design on a fence in upstate New York found in a book by a local architect. The design complements his 1860s Gothic painted brick house; Now THATS something I'd want to see, how about you? Thanks for sharing, Toby!!

Fencing

Washington is a city of fences. Most townhouses that have any garden at the front inevitably have an antique iron fence guarding their plants and hard work from passerbys and dogs. At the 'patina' house I spied this neoclassic design, seen below, very unusual here in DC where a more Victorian approach is typical, like seen above.

Do fences make for good neighbors? Love to see examples of fencing in your area!

Click my images to see detail.

Grand Entries

Recently in Georgetown I spotted this elegant entry. I love the stone stair and curved railing with integrated lamp posts. I might paint the door a brighter contrasting color, but this is conservative Georgetown afterall!

I hope everyone has a great weekend. Remember, design is in the details!

China in DC

There is a charming 1920s Chinese building in DC that always seems to draw my attention at L and 11th street.

Formerly the Chinese Community Church building, it now lies vacant and is ripe for development, don't you think? I wonder what the interior is like...

I love the turquoise and red color scheme and the iron light fixtures. And who can't help but notice the clay tile roof and brackets! The patina on the facade is charming, but I know people in the neighborhood think this wear is just a sign of neglect. I just worry that a developer will get ahold of the building and take away every last ounce of originality and charm!

Inside ArchitectDesign

Yesterday Catherine from The Shiny Pebble tagged me in her Bag tagging post. I feel so guilty that over the past 3 years (and change!) I have been tagged quite a bit and have never played along; Bad blogger! I thought it might be interesting to compare my workbag to a woman's purse as all of the other nominees were ladies. However -my messenger bag is basically a 'manbag' as you can see - so purselike it's embarrassing! Lets dig through this mess, shall we? Don't judge!

-Reading materials for the bus - check! Vanity Fair and Veranda today.

-Sketchpad (courtesy of Little Augury) and drawing pens.

-Ipod, flashdrive and camera (obviously not pictured) with associated cords

-Wallet and keys. Yes -my keychain is a measuring tape, I am an architect after all!

-Library card, work access card, extra business and blogging cards and a random coupon.

-2 burts bees chapsticks (I'm addicted to these but still not sure why I have 2), powder paper (to 'clean' my face if i'm going somewhere after work), gum, random old allergy medication tablets, a mint and some hand lotion stolen from a hotel (don't make fun -I get VERY dry skin in the winter - ouch!).

-Ordinarily I carry lunch and a snack to work and papers and drawing sets home as needed. Neither of these were in my bag at the time so they're not pictured!

The bag is a hard canvas messenger bag with leather trim by Jack Georges which I love and always get compliments on! Simple, practical but still attractive; I've been using it for about 3 years now. Thanks Catherine for thinking of me! On with our regularly scheduled programming tomorrow.

The real Brideshead

Have you read this month's Vanity Fair (they have a great website btw!)? Featured is a book called 'Mad World: Evelyn Waugh and the Secrets of Brideshead' by Paula Byrne and I can't wait to read it. As most of us know, Brideshead Revisited was highly autobiographical for Waugh and this book digs into the details. I can't wait to read it!

I had to include this photo of Waugh from his wedding to Laura Herbert as it was so charming. How elegant is Laura - so wispily pretty and that dress is very modern!

You may recognize Madresfield Court, the real Brideshead, at the top of this post as well as the stairhall above, as it has been used in numerous masterpiece theater mystery episodes. I love this room! Cozy yet grand, mixing the best of the antique with the new -photographs and portraits, electric light and fireplace. During World War II, the house was planned as a place of evacuation for the Royal family.Here is Hugh Lygon, the 'real' Sebastian -quite dashing in his double breasted suit and slicked back hair- but not quite as handsome perhaps as Anthony Andrews who played the part in Brideshead revisited from 1981.
Above is Lord Beauchamp, the inspiration for Lord Marchmain, who was in exile from England like in the book, but for much more scandalous reasons! The real story behind this family was even more extraordinary than depicted by Waugh in Brideshead, hopefully this new book is a good read. I'll let you know!

See great 3-d tours of Madresfield HERE

All images from Vanity Fair

Making a grand entrance

UPDATE: The architects were Porter, Lochie and Chatelain, and the entrance is by John Joseph Earley an amazing local architect and concrete artisan. Thanks to Neil in Australia for this information!!Driving up 16th street this weekend in tight traffic, I had time to appreciate the beautiful buildings which line the road which ends at the south with the White House. One of these many buildings was the Scottish Rite Temple of DC. Less renowned than their House of the temple by the famous John Russell Pope just down the street, I think this building also merits some attention. The copper and enamel entablature over the front door is really extraordinary, making it one of the most colorful buildings here in the district. I think congratulations are in order for keeping palm trees alive through our harsh winter or in this climate at all for that matter. If anyone has any information about this building, I would love to know more about the artist who created this doorway.

Ironworks

Old buildings typically have the most interesting details, don't you think? Walking around DC on a typical day, you find many examples of beautiful metal work. Above, a detail from an old banister at the National Portrait Gallery. I love how they have saved pieces and display them as art. A detail from a cast iron facade downtown. Thanks to the industrial revolution, ornate details like this are common on buildings from the turn of the last century. Much more interesting than the blank glass facades going up today. On a side note, I think a clever place to hide surveillance cameras would be in the eyes of this figure!

This piece of an unusual round iron fountain used to be in the courtyard of the national portrait gallery in an earlier life before it was enclosed. I love the patina on this piece. Imagine how beautiful it was with flowing water inside and geraniums planted in these urns.

Hope everyone is having a great weekend!

Thank you, Examiner

Many thanks to Kerry Steele who, for some reason, thought I was interesting enough to feature in an article on examiner.com! If you're so inclined, you can read the interview HERE.

Patina

Recently on a walk through Georgetown, I noticed this beautiful house. Not just for the gorgeous greek key design on the entablature but for the paint finish.So often, we architects try to mimic an older house and details such as peeling paint are a way to create instant 'history' but there is no subsitute for the real thing. Do you like patina like this or do you prefer clean and new?

Color of the moment

It seems everyone is talking about the April issue of Elle Decor in the blogosphere, which will hit newstands next week, the travel issue. However, I'm mostly interested in seeing the stylish Paris apartment of Olivier Gagnere......well, that and 12 things Nate Berkus can’t live without, my favorite monthly column! I'm sure Nate will have fascinating finds to share with us.

Purple seems to be everywhere this year. I tend to scoff at trends and have not been on board with purple until I saw this photo. I love this chair with velvet upholstery paired with accents of red and black against a gray background; this is a trend I can get on board with! I'm thinking a purple accent pillow for my couch in my gray apartment with black accents. Start small, baby steps, and maybe someday I'll be trendy!

Cover photo for Elle Decor by Simon Upton

Is it just me....

Is it just me, or did Tim Burton borrow heavily from the artist Maxfield Parrish for Alice in Wonderland, particularly the scenes with the White Witch (played so unconvincingly, in my opinion, by the beautiful Anne Hathaway).

Seeing this movie in 3-d was spectacular: like walking into a painting by Maxfield-Parrish meets a watered-down/commercialized Tim Burton landscape. While I doubt it will be winning any awards next year (sorry!), I definitely call it a 'must-see' for anyone interested in movies purely for aesthetics. I think my general summation of the film was that it is to Tim Burton what the original Hairspray was to John Waters.

Palais Royal garden

Spring is in the air this morning. After a long hard winter, I can hardly wait for the first buds to flower here in DC.

One of my favorite memories of Paris this past fall was having lunch at the Palais Royal in the gardens. The roses were the most fragrant I have ever smelled!

Spring, come quicker so I can take some time to smell the roses!

Beauty from nature

The January 2010 issue of the World of Interiors featured a stair that I just couldn't get out of my head; it looked so familiar. The Copenhagen police headquarters is a masterpiece of modern Neoclassicism from the 1920s that contains this gem.

This image looking up towards the skylight finally reminded me of where I had seen this before. Nature!

The spiral stairs perfectly mimic the shape of a chambered nautilus shell. Does this prove that most beauty is derived from nature? Perhaps not, but it sure is an arguement for the statement!

Photographs from WOI, January 2010 by James Mortimer

Petit Trianon: Boudoir

Arguably, the most important room to the mistress of a 18th century house is her boudoir. The derivation of the word is from the French word Bouder or 'to pout' . Here she can unwind in her own personal space, far from the worries of her household (simliar to a 'mancave' today I think)! Technically, the boudoir is a private sitting or dressing area off of a bedroom. In the case of the Petit Trianon, this little room has some big impact, impressive features!The room lies in the northeast corner of the first floor, in between the Salon (to which there is a jib or secret door) and Marie Antoinette's bedroom, marked in blue above.

Here in her private sanctuary, Marie Antoinette would entertain her closest friends (the bedroom was still a semi-public space at the time) and nap. Rather than draperies which posed a security risk, the room was lined with very simple boiseries with inset mirrors that at the turn of a crank in the room below, recede into the wall exposing the window on the east wall and the french doors to the terrace on the north wall.
Many of the details match that of the adjacent bedroom, including the pale blue color scheme. However, as this is a less public space, the boiseries are even simpler than in the bedroom. They saved the most showy spaces for the public, much as we do today in our own homes. The level of ornateness often would correspond to the level of privacy held by the space.
Above you can see the mirror half covering the window. While in the full height position, the mirrors act as part of the paneling and you can't even tell they are covering anything. A daybed (for naps or lounging) as well as a tea table with comfortable chairs furnish the room.
I wish I had a better photograph of the fireplace than the one above, but the drawing below shows it in detail. Beautiful white marble, delicate carvings and the diminutive scale emphasize the femininity of the small space.

The room in the service quarters below houses the 2 mirrors when they are lowered, which then in turn cover their windows. Here you can see the mirror from above which is half covering the above window and starting to be visable in the servants quarters.

Amazing 18th century technology that is still marvelous (and functioning)!