Thank you, Mt. Angel Abbey, for hiring Aalvar Aalto back in 1966.
A must see for anyone who will lives in LA or will be visiting in the next month.
It’s a kind of player piano that reads the city like a score. The music it creates is not “harmoious” per se, but then again, what city is? The analogy of architecture as music and vice versa has always been a source of fascination. Goethe was quoted as saying “Architecture is ‘frozen music’… Really there is something in this; the tone of mind produced by architecture approaches the effect of music.”
Device above: ‘stadsmuziek‘ at Milan Design Week 2011 by Akko Golenbeld
I follow quite a few blogs, and they can be roughly divided into these categories:
- architecture
- business
- design/fashion
- food/cooking/eating
- parenting
I just wrote down those categories in order of professional importance, but in reality, the ones I read first are from the three bottom categories, and I make it back up to the top of the list when I have time. (That’s just between you and me.)
In all of my readings, what gives me the most happiness is when these categories cross over, and fashion blogs talk about architecture, or parenting blogs talk about food. The kitchen below is from one of those crossovers.
I liked that this kitchen photo was paired with a photo of the latest bag from American Apparel. There’s a sensibility that we can all appreciate, whether it’s fashion or architecture.
So, here are some things I have learned from this photo, which you can adapt to your kitchen (or any other room). Just like you would take that bag and pair it with your favorite shoes.
- you can mix new architecture (clean lines, minimal details) with traditional elements (architectural details, vintage furnishings, salvaged pieces) if the architecture can act more as a backdrop or canvas. The space should be light-filled, and clean, but neutral and flexible.
- identify the predominant colors in the room, and stick with 2-3 of them. Use accent colors as needed, but the rest of the “field” should be a concept of 2-3 colors. For the kitchen above, the predominant colors are black and white. Notice that even the floor is white. Wood/brown is the third color, but only used as a grouped accent color.
- even an open kitchen can look clean if you group similarly colored items together. Pots, pans, furniture – keep them grouped and compact, as if they are one larger piece.
Try it on a room in your house, and let me know how it goes.
Stairs to go up, slide to go down. (of course you can use the stairs to go down, too). It’s not the slide per se, but the idea of a little playfulness in the design. Do you want a slide in your house? Thank you Mike, for sharing this fun project with me.
