A Mid-Century Renovation

I see a home renovation in our neighborhood and I can't help but be politely curious. However, if it's a Mid-Century home I am an all out stalker.  This house is about 5 blocks away from us.  I've been watching it for a while. It went on the market for about a day and then the for sale sign came down and the chain link fence went up.  I feared it would get demoed because the house has no back yard. Zilch. Seriously the house is about 20ft from the neighbor's fence.  But it does have a massive front yard which was filled with loads of trees and thick ivy.   I figured someone would prefer to reconfigure the large corner lot. But instead it's getting what seems like a marvelous redo and a major extension to the sides. I'm guessing the square footage has doubled. The ivy is gone and the trees have been thinned out. The front is getting some sort of exterior living space that looks to be blending well with the house's Mid-Century lines. I'm dying to go inside. I'm actually dying to see the plans and drawings.  If only I had some sort of architectural press pass, was taken seriously and allowed to do an interview.  One day... Anyway, the house is looking beautiful and I'm excited to see it develop!

Nelson Clock

A year ago we bough a Nelson Clock from here.  For $80 + shipping I thought it was a steal.  It's not an original but for right now I'll take what I can get.  This one piece, coupled with our Eames dining table, has really changed the feel of the living/dining space.  It's taken me a year to share it because I have not been able to get a good picture. I haven't been able to showcase it's detail and beauty while showing it's significance in our space. I recently found this picture of P moping and I don't know but I love it.  I love how she looks and I love how the clock looks in our space even when were in the middle of cleaning.  

PS. Apparently the clock isn't selling for $80 anymore, but $110 is still awesome!  

The Farnsworth House

Last month we took a trip to Chicago to visit our dear friend Anthony.  He planned the most amazing trip!  We saw so much from the perspective of not just a local but an architect.  The best part was we never felt rushed.  In fact, it was so mellow (albeit in the end exhausting for everyone) that we did a last minute trip out to Plano (an hour outside of Chicago) to see the Farnsworth House.  

We happened to be there on Mother's Day and it was really special to see this great work of architecture with my family.  I knew of the house but have often confused it with the Phillip Johnson Glass House. I didn't know much of it's history or about Dr. Edith Farnsworth, who commissioned the house.  

In a nutshell, what started out as a modest, weekend get away turned into a total nightmare for Dr. Farnsworth.  By the end of the construction the cost had more than doubled and her friendship with Mies van der Rohe was ruined.  So, that's pretty standard in the world of construction;  costs balloon and relationships end.  However, as we were told more and more of the history and I walked through the house and I put myself back in time to the 1950's the more I felt I could "read" between the lines. 

Dr. EDITH Farnsworth.  A female doctor.  A highly successful female doctor in the 1950s. That alone speaks volumes. I can't imagine her success came easy or without a heap  of condescending, sexually infused comments on a daily basis.  She was looking for a tranquil, secluded weekend home to retreat to. She intended to go there often which is why it's relatively close to downtown Chicago. That again speaks volumes. When you see the place you feel it's isolation.  Her work must have been tough and to survive it she needed to get away from people. 

So, she hires Mies van der Rohe, a brilliant well-known architect. The story of how they came to work together is recorded from each of their perspective.  Her's in her diary and his in a court transcript.  They met at a dinner party, that's about the only thing their stories have in common.  It may as well have been two different events.  

There are details in the house that would have angered me terribly if I was the owner.  They almost seem like passive aggressive stabs at Farnsworth, specially for being a woman. Of course this is solely MY opinion and not based on anything said by the docent. Mies didn't set aside an area for Farnsworth to put her clothes. There was no wardrobe space or furniture.  He said she should store them in the kitchen. Can you imagine the kind of wardrobe a successful female doctor has?  Put your Chanel in the kitchen! I can certainly imagine the reaction that would elicit today! 

The longest room or area is the kitchen. And it's so obvious that we had a discussion amongst ourselves about it.  It was as if Mies was saying that's where she belonged. I don't know, it was just odd. Keep in mind the house was never meant for more than one person.  It was never an "entertainers" home.  Why such a large kitchen? 

Mies chose all the furnishing for the house  and only included one lamp.  When she asked how she was suppose to see throughout the house he said she should carry the lamp with her and plug it in wherever she needed. I guess he figured she had nothing better to do that to carry around a lamp.  

Farnsworth took Mies to court. The write ups and gossip surrounding the event are all about her being in love with him and that she was angry the friendship didn't turn into anything more. Or the other option, that she was a scorned lover.   No one thought it was about a house that started out costing $45,000 and ended up costing $90,000.  

I have no personal knowledge of either side's personality.  However, knowing the era and knowing what creatives with egos are like, its as if the house spills its secrets when you walk through it.  

Ok, enough about the drama of the house.  The house is beautiful. The details are exquisite.  The landscape is serene.  The lines of the house flow with the river that runs along side it.  It's pretty cool.  If you are a lover of architecture this has to be on your top 10 list of homes to visit. And here are some pictures!

It's almost a mile walk to get into see the property.  So, if you go wear appropriate footwear. 

Mies took into consideration that the area gets flooded by the river but even so it got flooded just 2 years after completion and several times since. 

Details.  Look at the centering of the beam to the tiles.  

This is the porch. You have to take off your shoes and wear socks to go inside. 

You can't photograph the interiors but you can photograph them from the outside.  I want every single piece of furniture in there! 

Anthony with our wonderful docent.  You can see the kitchen to the left.  

Dave and little G. Cooler dad picture?  I don't think so!

Oh how I love this picture.  My girls and I and amazing architecture. 

How Memento are the next two pictures?  This happened by accident btw.  Dave taking a picture of Anthony's feet going up the stairs while I took a picture of Dave taking a picture. And we took them as they are, one in black and white and the other in color!  Just like Memento!  Ok, I'm geeking out!  

Children were welcomed on the tour.  They were very kind. I think it helps to have a stroller that blends in with the good design.  Hee hee!

One of my favorite photos of the entire trip to Chicago.  Anthony, is an architect.  We've been friends since high school and he's known he's wanted to be an architect since then.  Mies van der Rohe is his favorite but this was his first time at the Farnsworth House.  Very special day for all!

Mies did end up building a wardrobe and entertainment piece for the house.  However, he delivered the piece to Farnsworth under a different name. At that point they were no longer speaking to one another. Mies didn't want another person designing the furniture for the interiors but he knew if he delivered it as his own design Farnsworth wouldn't want it. I only got a picture of the wardrobe side but the other side has a sound system.  The whole things is brilliant.  The sound comes out to you when the doors are open and when they are shut the sound goes up creating a surround sound effect in the entire house.  

This piece is now in a separate building on the property because it's received too much water damage from the numerous floods.  It's here for it's own safety.   

6235 Lubao. The bedrooms.

Finally, here are the bedrooms for the house on Lubao!

 I love the simplicity of the door molding.  Dying to take ours off and make it simple!

Great built ins and I love that you can open the closet entirely.  No sliding back and forth! You can have full access to your entire wardrobe with the folding doors. 

I'm not sure if this is a style of the era or one of his designs but what a great way to make the space feel bigger. The door looks taller while making a space for the AC vent.

So many homes in this area have had the windows shortened and it kills the space. These floor to ceiling windows make the bedrooms feel bigger and open. 

Another detail I found interesting was the height of the light switches. They're lower than the standard height today.  I like them lower. If you notice they are at the same height as the door handles making the overall look cleaner. 

This is the master bedroom. Again, great built ins.  The spot lights into the closet are brilliant. The wattage was dim which I imagine is perfect for when you need to turn on the lights in the dark while your spouse is sleeping.  Otherwise the natural light in the room is perfect for picking clothes out. And the hanging pendants are also perfect and brilliant. 

Great pendants! I want something similar in our room.....Not the style per say but the elegance of zero visible wiring with hanging pendants. 

Master bedroom sliding door to the garden and door to the master bath.

Built ins!  Simple. Elegant. Storage without cluttering with furniture. 

This is a horrible picture but it was the best I could do and I wanted to show you all this great tub with a view. Although in my house I'd have two little girls on the other side smooching their noses up to the glass if they knew I was realizing in the tub.  

This detail above the tub window is so smart. It lets air in and out which I feel in a bathroom is key. 

6235 Lubao: courtyard and kitchen

The house has a beautiful courtyard adjacent to the den, the garage and a breakfast nook area.  The fourth wall/boundry is frosted glass and makes up part of the entry way path.  

We left off with the backyard. This is a picture I posted before. The sliding glass door on the right has the breakfast nook on the other side of it. 

This is a view in through the sliding glass door. The kitchen in on the right and the breakfast area is on the left. You can see the brick that carries through from the outside all the way to the courtyard. 

And this is the reverse view looking out. 

As I mentioned before, my girls were with me so you'll see them quite often in these pictures.  So now here you can see the sliding glass door to the right leads outside. The door where my daughter with the purple hat is standing, leads to the courtyard and my youngest is in the kitchen.  The bright overhead light in the kitchen is a skylight. The skylight was an add-on Rudy designed. None of the other homes originally designed by Krisel have skylights.  I love the transition of these spaces.  And remember Rudy had an herb garden right outside the door that goes outside. How amazing to pick your basil for pesto sauce right outside your kitchen door?! You can even do it in your slippers because you're not trampling through an entire muddy garden. 

Here in this picture you can really see the brick leading all the way through from the courtyard to the breakfast nook and it continues past the other door/window. 

The courtyard made the entire house feel zen.  There was another couple looking at the house when I was taking pictures and I heard them mention a few times how calming this space made the house. The choice of plants and stones was perfect of course. On the other side of the frosted glass wall is the entry to the house.  

This door to the garage provides a short cut directly into the kitchen. I thought it was so brilliant for when you come home fully loaded with groceries!  

This kitchen is so well designed. Remember this was done in the 70's. Look how well it translates into 2014. It fits with the era of the house while still looking modern.  I love the details like this pull out cutting board. I've seen these in many kitchens including my childhood home, but the boards are always rather small.  This one is nice and big.  Another detail not missed!  

Ok, thats it for today but more pictures to come! 

6235 Lubao Interiors: backyard

I couldn't resist the opportunity to photograph this house!  Who knows who will buy it next and I want to remember it as Rudy (the owner) had left/designed it. This is exactly how it was intended to be!  I'd also like to copy many of his details for our house.

I took many, many pictures.  With Dave out of town I had both girls with me.  You will see them quite a bit.  You will also notice many tilted shots and other peculiarities but this is as good as I could get it on a Sunday afternoon after a long weekend.  I'm so grateful to Hilary and Debbie for letting me come in at the tail end of their open house! 

Because I shot so many pictures, all worth sharing imho,  I'm dividing them up by sections. Today will be the backyard.  The first thing I noticed in the picture above was the great large tree at the southwest corner of the lot. It was giving the backyard amazing shade at 3pm when I took these pictures. The tree is ideally placed. 

You'll also notice that the back patio isn't parallel to the house. Instead it jets out and I'm not sure why but this positioning propels you out into the yard and also draws you back into the house. 

 There's a path that circles the backyard and it starts off with a perfect fountain!  Perfectly placed and perfectly designed. 

Outside two of the bedrooms there is a row of olive trees and just past them is a rose garden. From the inside you feel shaded by the trees with highlights of the roses. The brick pathways seem to "announce" the outside. In a portion of the house that integrates the inside and outside you will see how these particular bricks play a part in the continuation and delineation of spaces. 

I love the garden art. 

I love the lines of the house from all angles. 

At the far northwest corner of the house there is a huge silver dollar eucylaptus tree. When you look out towards the back yard  the two large trees at each corner anchor the space. Then there are two sections with multiple trees that have obviously been kept shorter and the same height.  I'm not sure if the electric/phone wires are dictating the height or if it was a stylistic choice. 

I love the different heights of the garden. So smart!  And I love the hanging vines! 

These cement rounds line one fence. Not sure why. I sense it's a function thing and I like the solution.  

I love the different types of brick and how they coordinate/complement one another. 

This is the north wall of the house. The kitchen and dining are on the other side. The dirt patch is where they kept an herb garden. I love the genius placement of the herb garden and how useful, not just ornamental, the outdoors was to them. 

This is part of the area I mentioned where the brick integrates indoors and outdoors. Inside the sliding glass door is an indoor patio that follows through to a courtyard. The brick sets the three spaces apart and unties them: the outdoors, the indoors that feels outdoors because of all the floor to ceiling windows and the outdoors surrounded by indoors. Brilliant!

A fence detail.  Just having redone part of our fence I loved seeing that this is the same fence style we used for the back.  Except, he capped it with a plank which makes it more refined and Mid Century. The plank might also help keep water from going inside all of the wooden planks below.  Better to replace one plank than all of them! 

Details of the recessed exterior lighting in the patio. 

This is sheer genius. He left spaces where the wiring could easily hide instead of it hanging out and messy. 

I love his philodendrons. I love his pots. I love the brick. I just love it all!

If you love Mid Century architecture and you want to see the house call Hilary and Debbie!  

I'll post more of the interiors tomorrow!