Euro Style Home

Sidney based architecture firm Andrew Maynard Architects took this old Victorian home with tall surrounding walls and turned it into a super cool modern home. We approve.

Simple forms, minimal furnishing and mixed materials all work together to create the home's modern look. When your minimal furnishings include cool, modern accent chairs go ahead and consider yourself on-trend.

Cool appliances, simple modern lighting and dark colored furniture make this place stylish for both male and female inhabitants.

Images: Andrew Maynard Architects

Hope you all had an amazing Labor Day Weekend! Many of us spend so much of our time working and not enough time playing so I hope you had a chance to relax, enjoy family and loved ones. The best long weekends are when you can be at peace with nature and your surroundings.

Rewarding yourself is sure to keep your energy flowing. How will you reward yourself this fall?

A trip to the picturesque Ram's Gate Winery in Sonoma seems like a perfect reward! "In a world obsessed with making things faster, where speed is valued above all else, Ram’s Gate is our way of pressing pause."

The architecture is a modern interpretation of it's natural surroundings and weathered farmsteads of Carneros, while the interior is an eclectic mix of classic contemporary and urban cool. 

Designer, Orlando Diaz-Azcuy did no wrong here and created something exciting at every turn. The interiors were designed with close attention to detail, from the open beam ceiling, the reclaimed wood walls, and the natural stone tops to the mill-work. Large glass pendant lights work great in open spaces because they make a gorgeous statement without cluttering the space.

Clusters of seating create intimate environments. Low coffee tables are always great for casually seating spaces. 

The large island in this modern kitchen creates a perfect area for serving and gathering.

Can't you just feel the calmness of Ram's Gate Winery through these photos? What a serene setting!

Images: Ram's Gate Winery

Walking through the historic Schindler House in West Hollywood this past Sunday, I discovered something amazing about recessed lighting: namely that something so hidden could look so amazing. 

First a little history lesson: Austrian born R.M. Schindler worked under Frank Lloyd Wright and in 1920 was sent to Los Angeles to oversee the construction of Wright's Hollyhock house. In 1922 Schindler set up his own practice with the construction of his Kings Road House in West Hollywood.

Fast forward nearly one century to this past Sunday, and I found myself strolling through the nearly empty rooms of the house (now managed by the MAK Center, "a think tank art, architecture, urbanism, design, and international discourse") listening to the sound of reel-to-reel tape recordings in a sound art performance curated and produced by the Society for the Activation of Social Space through Art and Sound (SASSAS). The layered, eerie tape recordings were mesmerizing. But so was the space itself. 

What struck me most was how the furniture-less rooms hardly seemed empty. There wasn't excessive ornamentation in the rooms (Schindler's work is philosophically absolutely opposed to that), yet there was an extraordinary sense of depth. Materials like wood and cement mixed beautifully in the rooms. Daylight didn't stream in per se; in fact, the space was designed such that it feels like daylight is allowed to enter by permission only.

Looking about, I noticed that, aside from two pendant lights in the main room, visible light sources were conspicuously absent. Instead, the entire home was lit tastefully by recessed lighting, giving it a dramatic, staged look. Subtle architectural details took on a new life under these tucked away lights.

LR6 12 Watt LED 6" Recessed Light Module

Sometimes the beauty of an object lies in what you don't see, as is the case with the Schindler House's lighting design. Modern energy efficient recessed lights stow away nicely, and an LED fixture (pictured above) in particular will produce relatively little heat. For a warmer, spotlight style like I found in much of the Schindler House, you might want to consider a halogen light (pictured below).   

Juno 4" Low Voltage Flush Gimbal Recessed Light Trim

Some recessed lighting fixtures are adjustable as in the above, allowing you to swivel or tilt the light, and some are fixed...and as I recently learned, in the right space, they can all be stunning.

Don't believe me? Check out the MAK Center website for upcoming events at the house. You won't be disappointed. 

Images: Moby, Wikipedia, Markus Canter, Architecture Week

Modern wood paneling has no doubt progressed since the 70's, proving it's a trend that will be around for a while! We love the use of wood paneling on walls, ceilings, floors, and all-over because it has the ability to soften up a space. The white wood planks on the walls of  this kitchen (above) create a very clean, natural feel. The oiled white oak floor warms up the space and the use of the same material over the hood is a feature design element. See how even this little accent of the natural wood on the walls can make such a big statement.

The marine plywood panels on the ceiling create a unifying element within this space. The use of wood on the ceiling allows you to use tile on the floor without the space feeling too cold.  

Reclaimed wood walls are a very popular trend right now. They mix so beautifully with bold colors and industrial elements. The use of industrial wall sconces against reclaimed wood is the perfect pairing.

HOLTKOETTER UP-DOWN 5 1/4" WIDE OLD BRONZE WALL SCONCE

Wrapping the walls and ceiling of this rustic bathroom in un-milled, reclaimed wood is a great way to achieve that rustic modern cabin feel. The use of light wood planks and the light concrete floor feels bright and airy, creating a beautiful contrast with the black vanity.  

Today, restaurant design uses reclaimed wood to achieve an industrial modern feel. It's a trendy look, creates a cozy atmosphere, and also helps absorb sound. Bronze pendant lights really are the perfect metallic accent in any modern, industrial interior. Gunmetal accents also work perfectly with this industrial modern feel.

JAMIE YOUNG SINGER FLOOR LAMP

Whether you're going for a modern-rustic or chic-industrial, incorporating wood paneling or reclaimed wood into your space can provide you layers of textures that bring softness and warmth. It's a trend that will definitely be around for awhile!

Images: Style Files, Est Magazine, Remodelista, Yatzer

Despite the playfulness of his current Small Skyscraper architecture/art installation, make no mistake: it's a burden to be Chris Burden. 

He's been shot in the arm, nailed to a VW beetle, electrocuted and crucified. He's even taken out prime time ads in Los Angles and New York. He's done it all throughout the 70s and 80s in the name of performance art.

More recently, Burden has focused on sculptural installations. His Urban Light  installation (pictured above) features 202 found street lights, and is a permanent fixture (pun definitely intended) at LACMA (DIY tip: you can shop Euro Style Lighting's selection of post lights if you'd like to build your own Urban Light replica).

However, it's Burden's current work, Small Skyscraper (pictured at the top of this post and below), that finally compelled me to write about the artist. 

On view at Pasadena's One Colorado, Small Skyscraper is a playful adaption to a Los Angeles County building code loophole (since closed) that allows buildings to be built up to 400 sq. ft. and 35 feet high without permits. This fun, if a bit impractical, four story piece actually combines for an impressive 1600 sq. ft. of floor space. Small Skyscraper was inspired by a loophole Burden first discovered in 1991 when building his studio on rugged terrain in an unincorporated section of Los Angeles County. The installation itself may be up to code; his documentation of it below, however, is probably less than sufficient for the permit process:

Work like Burden's is hard to commodify, and yet in an age when museum attendees are asked to exit through the gift shop, I feel like I should leave you with something to purchase. So in that spirit, the following are a few floor lamps that, unlike Small Skyscraper, are nearly certain to conform to building codes for the foreseeable future.

Possini Euro Three Tier Wood Slat Frosted Glass Floor Lamp (left), Rattan Rectangular Column 40" High Floor Lamp (right)

See Small Skyscraper between now and November 11, 2012, at One Colorado in Pasadena. The exhibition is presented by the Armory Center for the Arts.

Images: Architect's Newspaper, Telegraph, Grupa O.K.