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September 30, 2007

Ready, Set, Camp

I'll be heading to the great outdoors this upcoming holiday weekend, and am always looking for new and modern camping gear (a twisted oxymoron).

Such products can be hard to find -- so if you've scored some mod camping finds send them my way.

So far on my quest I've found the SylvanSport GO - a unique and modern camping and travel trailer. Weighing in at a mere 700 lbs. it can be easily towed by small vehicles -- and at $6,000 it's a great camping find!

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Product info:
Therm-A-Rest mattresses (equal to a king size and a half sleeping surface)
Stargazing windows
Multiple living space configurations
Waterproof gear storage and electrical system
800 lb. load capacity
LED lighting

--allie

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Table for 4 (or 8)

Gargantua_table_2 Love this table! Whether it's a party of 4 or 8 the Gargantua table and InUmbra parsol adapts to your social-gathering needs. First introduced to the market in 1964, Extremis' first product from Dirk Wynants has been accommodating family and friends for more than 40 years.

With four removable benches the table can comfortably seat up to 8, as well as those in wheelchairs. The adjustable benches adjust to four heights, making dining easy for small children and adult alike.

Constructed from Jatoba wood and stainless steel the table is as visually appealing as it is functional.

--allie

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Category: MODERN DINING, MODERN KIDS, PATIO & OUTDOOR | Permalink | Add Your Comment (0) | TrackBack

Modern wallcoverings

Modern design has seen a surge in wallpaper -- and they are bolder than ever. Check out the vinyl wallcoverings from Vycon. Available in 7 color families (including the hot jewel tones for 2008), the vinyl design allows for little to no moisture permeability. Worried about mold? All Vycon wallcoverings can be outfitted with the micro-venting option, allowing moisture to pass easily from from side to the other.

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--allie

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Category: ART & ACCESSORIES, COLOR | Permalink | Add Your Comment (2) | TrackBack

September 29, 2007

MUON, Giant Speakers by Ross Lovegrove

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For serious audiophiles, great speakers are a necessity. For serious lovers of modern design, sophisticated style matters just as much. Rarely have the two needs come together in such size and shine as in KEF's MUON loudspeakers.

Music lovers know KEF as the British manufacturer of top-quality speakers, and they're chomping at the bit to at least get a listen to the 7 foot tall, four-way speaker system. For design snobs the allure is MUON's looks and rare pedigree. Made of high-shine aluminum, vacuum molded into deep curves, MUON was created by modern industrial design icon Ross Lovegrove. 

Only 100 pairs of these speakers will be made, and with each pair valued at $140,000, every lover of sound and design can't possibly own them. Assuming they fall into one of these categories: Esquire Magazine guests, high-profile philanthropic donor, celebrity or other VIP though, they may get a chance to sneak a peak through November. One pair will be displayed in Esquire Magazine's project bachelor pad, Esquire North: The New View, a triplex penthouse apartment in NYC's Central Park North.

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September 28, 2007

Frank Lloyd Wright Boathouse to Open Saturday

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Originally intended for a waterside spot in Madison, Wis. a boathouse Frank Lloyd Wright first designed in 1905 will open its doors Saturday in Buffalo, NY.  The posthumous building of Wright's work has touched off controversy that inspired architecture critics around the world to pen strongly worded columns on their perspective. In the end, and as a curiously strong showing in Buffalo shows, most of the buildings went up anyway, and they're markedly different from Wright's original drawings.

Visitors to the Boathouse will see a concrete structure, although the building was originally intended to be stucco and wood construction. That idea was for the University of Wisconsin rowing team, but the university decided against it. Wright still wanted to see his vision built and revisited the project again about 25 years later, this time drawing plans for a brutalist version of exposed concrete.

More updates on the design and photographs of the finished project can be seen at Buffalo News.com.

Related Stories:
Interview with Anthony Puttnam, one time Wright apprentice and consultant on the Buffalo projects.
Darwin Martin Complex restoration.

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Arclinea's Glass, Modern Kitchen Cabinets

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Arclinea, the award-winning contemporary Italian kitchen manufacturer, has introduced a new line of glass-front cabinetry for kitchens. Already known for elegant, ergonomic cabinets in finishes like teak, natural oak, and solid ray laminate, Arclinea's foray into glass marks a shining new trend for the fashion-forward company.

Called Stopsol ®, the cabinets feature tempered glass doors with a bronze metallic substrate.  Stopsol ® panels provide UV protection and are carefully crafted to maximize strength and stability.Their furniture quality details include an integrated recessed handle and bronzed aluminum frame, a fully customizable look available now available stateside through Arclinea's Boston showroom, arclineaboston.

-- caroline Barry

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September 27, 2007

Modern Cabanas

Once the private, getaway destinations of jet-setters and Hollywood moguls, modern  cabanas are now available to more down to earth folk, and right in their own backyards. Modern Cabanas are pref-fab, environmentally conscious designs that  arrive flat packed and can be fully constructed in as little as one weekend. And while these sleek builds have the look of a practiced architect's close involvement, any DIY-er can build one with just a few basic tools.

These buildings fill the void in an empty backyard, add space to a smaller home or become a detached getaway for an office, writer's studio, musician's sound lab or even a yoga studio. The latter is the fate of the first cabana architect Casper Mork-Ulnes designed with his brother in law, a general contractor.

Mork-Ulnes came up with the idea when he was designing a residence for owners who needed a temporary space while their new home was being constructed.  "As I searched for small prefab units, I realized that there were very few alternatives available that were aesthetically pleasing and had a contemporary design sensibility," Mork-Ulnes says.

He talked about it with his brother in law, and the two decided to build their vision themselves. Here's how it all turned out. See more and order at Modern Cabana.

Modern_cabana

Photography byBruce Damonte

Category: ARCHITECTURE, CAROLINE BARRY, GREEN DESIGN, PATIO & OUTDOOR | Permalink | Add Your Comment (1) | TrackBack

September 26, 2007

MARCEL BREUER: DESIGN AND ARCHITECTURE

National Building Museum to be exclusive U.S. venue for retrospective of Breuer’s work

WASHINGTON, DC—Marcel Breuer may not be a household name in the US, but several works by this 20th-century architect and designer are among the most widely recognized icons of modern design. His “Cesca” and “Wassily” chairs, with their characteristic tubular steel armatures, have become staples of contemporary living and working environments all over the world.  By virtue of his innovative furniture alone, Breuer could be ranked among the most influential designers of the modernist period.

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But Breuer’s significance extends far beyond chairs and tables, as is evident from a new, comprehensive exhibition of his work, entitled Marcel Breuer: Design and Architecture.  This retrospective of Breuer’s prolific and varied career offers a balanced exploration of his furniture, interiors, and buildings, revealing that he was a powerful force in the architectural theory and practice of his era.  Organized by the Vitra Design Museum in Germany, the exhibition has been touring Europe since 2002 and makes its exclusive North American stop at the National Building Museum from November 3, 2007 through February.

The exhibition opens with a section entitled Materials, which chronicles Breuer’s use of various materials—most notably tubular steel—in his furniture design. Featuring more than 50 original pieces, as well as drawings and photographs of his designs, this section reveals his explorations in solid wood, steel, aluminum, and even plywood. Breuer’s architectural works are presented in three sections: Houses, Spaces and Volumes.

The Houses component includes examples of the often modest yet consistently innovative single-family houses that brought him critical acclaim; Spaces presents Breuer’s four churches as examples of his masterful manipulation of structure and light; and Volumes offers a corollary analysis of his compositional skill. Twelve large-scale models of his buildings, along with drawings, floor plans, photographs, video projections, and digital media, help to illustrate the scope of Breuer’s architectural legacy.

The exhibition closes with a section entitled Motifs, which presents central elements and themes in Breuer’s designs. Throughout his career, Breuer experimented with and reinterpreted motifs such as protrusion, horizontal bands, and reclining rectangles in his furniture and architectural designs. November 3, 2007 through February 17, 2008. The exhibition opens with a section entitled Materials, which chronicles Breuer’s use of various materials—most notably tubular steel—in his furniture design. Featuring more than 50 original pieces, as well as drawings and photographs of his designs, this section reveals his explorations in solid wood, steel, aluminum, and even plywood. Breuer’s architectural works are presented in three sections: Houses, Spaces, and Volumes. The Houses component includes examples of the often modest yet consistently innovative single-family houses that brought him critical acclaim; Spaces presents Breuer’s four churches as examples of his masterful manipulation of structure and light; and Volumes offers a corollary analysis of his compositional skill. Twelve large-scale models of his buildings, along with drawings, floor plans, photographs, video projections, and digital media, help to illustrate the scope of Breuer’s architectural legacy.

The exhibition closes with a section entitled Motifs, which presents central elements and themes in Breuer’s designs. Throughout his career, Breuer experimented with and reinterpreted motifs such as protrusion, horizontal bands, and reclining rectangles in his furniture and architectural designs.

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September 24, 2007

Vintage Japanese Modern Design

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The strength and natural good looks of cedar made it the right choice for a chair custom made for a Sumo wrestler. 

The hard to find Kashiwado chair became a modern icon in 1961, when it was designed by Isamu Kenmochi for Tendo Japan. Kenmochi created the piece for Kashiwado, the famous Sumo athlete whose body this piece fit perfectly. Still made one at a time over several weeks, the Kashiwado chair is created in stages. Nova68, a shop selling the obscure icon, describes the process:

Craftsmen first cut out several blocks of the bottom roots of a Japanese cedar. They carefully select the best wood with the most tree-rings. The blocks are carved and layered on top of each other with a special process. The chair is polished and coated afterwards.

The price for such fine sculptural furniture? $9,950.

Category: CAROLINE BARRY, MODERN FURNITURE | Permalink | Add Your Comment (1) | TrackBack

September 22, 2007

Light Icons

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LiteTouch, Inc., a leading manufacturer  of lighting control systems for the residential market, introduced a new Designer Icon Series as a new engraving option on its Metropolitan, Euro, S-Series and E-Series keypads.

Typically LiteTouch buttons are custom engraved with words to describe the function, such as “SCONCES” or “PATIO.” The new Designer Icon Series offers users the opportunity to choose from over 50 functional icons, all intuitive and attractive ways of controlling their lighting and othe integrated systems via LiteTouch keypads. In addition to lighting-related graphics, the new icons also offer options for fans, fireplaces, blinds and shutters, security systems and more.

The Designer Icon Series is a new feature built into LiteTouch’s September 2007 release of LiteWare® 3.8, the latest version of the lighting control system programming software, used by LiteTouch dealers and installers to easily customize each LiteTouch lighting control system to the individual homeowner.


Category: ART & ACCESSORIES, CAROLINE BARRY, MODERN LIGHTING | Permalink | Add Your Comment (0) | TrackBack

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