Interior Design Sense

I’ve got a few reader’s home to share with you on this (TGI) Friday. The first is from Jenn Feagans: “I am an aspiring interior designer. I would love to submit pictures of my home if you are interested. I have a humble budget and currently live in the suburbs, but do my best to bring style and personality with a mid-century modern feel. My previous home was a mid-century modern home in the Ridgewood subdivision in St. Louis, Missouri designed by the architect Burton Duenke. It was modeled after the California Contemporary style. We remodeled the kitchen and tried to stay true to the original feel of the home while bringing in contemporary style. Our current home is more traditional, but have tried to incorporate classic mid-century modern style. We have a mixture of designer pieces including George Nelson and Saarinen, and also have newer contemporary. We have a passion for vintage and antique finds that we bring to the mid-century inspired style.” (Note: The last 5 photos are from Jenn’s previous home, and the rest are from her current one).

Providing “comprehensive protection from evil, power surges, and AC contamination.”, this unusual electrical extension comes from architect Alexander Pincus and was designed for Means of Production. What you can observe in the pictures below is a surge protector shaped like a crucifix which has no less than 12 outlets. The project’s name is “Power”, which does not come as a surprise, considering the amount of energy it can offer indirectly. The product can also accommodate oversize adapters, ones that don’t usually fit in a common single power outlet. We have to admit we were a bit surprised to see the shape of this surge protector, but hey, perhaps the designer was not so much trying to shock, but rather offer a practical solution. What do you believe his intention was?- via Dezeen

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Read the rest of NASA Architect’s Cricket Trailer Showcases Space-Age Designhttp://www.inhabitat.com/wp-admin/ohttp://www.inhabitat.com/wp-admin/options-general.php?page=better_feedptions-general.php?page=better_feed

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Post tags: cricket trailer, eco design, garrett finney, green architecture, Green Building, green design, lightweight design, mobile home, tiny house, tiny house design

Located in Venice Beach, California, this inspiring contemporary home comes from architect Lewin Wertheimer and combines modern living with quality design. Here is a general description from the architect: “The house was stylistically conceived as a hybrid of early modernism, influenced by architects such as Rudolph Schindler, and contemporary Japanese, Mediterranean and Californian architecture. These styles respond to the climate of Southern California and the eclectic nature of Venice Beach.” The total surface of this residence is 288 square meters (3100 square feet) and its architecture is mesmerizing. Aside from the more “common spaces”, this family home houses a garage for two cars, two bedrooms and a guest studio. Large windows create a strong bond with the exterior and allow unobstructed views towards the patio, garden, porch and pool. All the rooms within the residence are “L”-shaped and are said to create “a three dimensional harmony of form and proportion”.

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Look, up in the sky — it’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s the Heliotrope! The brainchild of Architect Ralph Disch, this rotating solar home was the seed for the extraordinary Sonnenschiff Solar Development and the modern solar movement in Germany. The home takes full advantage of the sun by rotating with it, allowing daylight to course though its triple-pane windows and energize its large roof-mounted solar array and solar thermal pipes. The result is one of the first zero-energy modern homes in the world — one that actually ends up generating five times the energy it consumes.

Read the rest of Heliotrope: The World’s First Energy Positive Solar Homehttp://www.inhabitat.com/wp-admin/ohttp://www.inhabitat.com/wp-admin/options-general.php?page=better_feedptions-general.php?page=better_feed

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Post tags: first solar home, german solar home, Heliotrope, kinetic house, net zero home, plus-energy home, Ralph Disch, solar home, solar thermal, Sustainable Building

The Safe House below looks like a modern fort and it definitely doesn’t excite the eye, at least not at first. But once you pass through those concrete gates and enter the actual Safe House, you’ll be surprised by its inner beauty. And it’s not a cheap cliché either but a marvelous architectural idea. The “Beast” looks simple on the outside, but it’s on the inside where the architect really shows talent. The Safe House looks like an actual two-story safe as it has plenty of moveable components that will isolate you from whatever is happening in the world. Once you open those doors and windows, light comes in and we get to see everything. Would you go for such a secure mansion? Via kwk promes

Post from The Safe House: Beast on the Outside, Beauty Inside

Polyhedron Habitable is a charming tiny relaxation space from Colombian architect Manuel Villa located in Bogota, the capital city of Colombia. The owners of the home near by wanted a special miniature crib in their back yard where the parents and their small child could spend some time quietly. “Polyhedron Habitable” is meant to serve as a refuge and shelter, but also as a getaway. The wooden unique-shaped building will soon be the place where the smallest family member will play and escape whenever he feels the need. From this point of view the building can be resembled with a tree house.  Here is more information from the architects: “The outcome is a Regular Polyhedron –a “Truncated Cubic-octahedron”– transformed into a inhabitable space; a self-standing volume with one of his faces opened to the surroundings, and little windows on the sides and at the top that supply day light and optimal air circulation conditions.”

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As I’ve mentionned a couple of times, my husband and I have been doing a bit of research looking for architects to help us plan the additions we want to make to our WAY too small and WAY too boring home. Our cat-sitter used to live on a street a few blocks from us where there was one of the coolest yet simplest homes I’ve ever seen around Ottawa. We recently saw the home in Ottawa Magazine and found out it was designed by local architect John Donkin. It’s 1700 square feet and his client had 3 requirements: a garden, a visitors’ apartment, and a strong street presence. The visitors’ apartment is cantilevered sideways over the lot which creates a shaded area in summer and a covered parking spot and sheltered entrance in winter. The mix of materials on the facade is exactly what I’m looking for and the kicker is the front of the home (iron?) has rusted over time and turned the most beautiful deep orange shade (second photo found on the blog Move That Bus!!!). Check out more of his designs after the jump.

Many city dwellers would love the opportunity to grown their own vegetables, but they often lack the space to do so. Seeking to provide a solution, New Zealand-based architect Tim Stephens has designed an urban farm that we think city folk could really dig their hands into. Spotted at ArchDaily, the Huntington Urban Farm is a model for urban gardening that provides individuals and families with container plots and creates a place for markets and community gatherings in the heart of the city.

Read the rest of Elegant Urban Farm Designed for Long Islandhttp://www.inhabitat.com/wp-admin/ohttp://www.inhabitat.com/wp-admin/options-general.php?page=better_feedptions-general.php?page=better_feed

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Post tags: eco design, Gardening, green design, long island, New York., organic gardening, tim stephens, Urban design, urban farm, urban garden, urban park

Are you a person that works from home on a regular basis? Then, instead of trying our space-saving office solution why not “plant” your office in your garden? The Garden Office in the images below is definitely a daring concept, which will make working from home a lot more interesting. Shaped almost like a regular cubical, the Garden Office offers you the possibility of taking coffee breaks right in your own back yard while also giving you the feeling that you’re leaving to work every morning and coming back from work every evening. The Garden Office has plenty of open spaces that will let you enjoy your garden while working and it’s pretty easy to build. Before hiring your architect friends to build it for you, make sure you actually have a tranquility oasis / garden to go to work to every day. Via Jordan Ridgley

Post from Garden Office, A Cubical for Work in a Tranquility Oasis