I have that morning sluggishness which means only one thing: I've spent yet another night staying up way past my bedtime watching the 2008 Olympics. This year, the olympics has been an athletic treat while also providing amazing visual feasts.
I watched the opening ceremonies and was moved by the intricacy of the production. As I researched the creative minds that envisioned the production, I learned an interesting fact: the Olympic stadium was designed AFTER the opening ceremonies had been created. The stadium was created FOR the opening ceremonies, not the other way around.
I believe this approach gives voice to a design philosophy that I embrace: design around what is going on in the space, not around gadgets, furniture, or technology. While often flying in the face of vapid consumerism, I find that keeping what's important -- often people and their needs -- is at the heart of what good design, good art is all about.
No doubt, designing a multi media, diverse production such as the opening ceremonies of the olympics is a design project beyond any scale that I may ever do, I have to applaud the simplicity of approach that is universal: knowing who is using the space determines the course of the design.
Friday, August 15, 2008
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
The Mamma Mia Factor
I escaped the heat by ducking into my local theater to watch the movie version that features songs from my high school days. "ABBA" provided the background beat that my generation listened to as we "drug main" and other quaint rituals that no longer exist. (By the way, "dragging main" meant that you started at the A&W Root Beer Restaurant and then turned around and drove all the way down to the Sonic Drive In, got a coke and hung out with your friends, then repeated this until after midnight.)
This was before IPODS and downloadable music, when we would have to make a financial obligation to our music -- we'd have to purchase the entire album (CD's didn't exist) so when we made a committment with our music we were "all in". An entire paycheck would be spent to pick up the latest Fleetwood Mac, Eagles or Bee Gees tunes.
As I watched the movie, I became aware again of one truth: Music has the power to transport and transform in remarkable ways. The move is poorly acted, the editing is sub-part, the scenes agonizing. Still, I could not leave the theater when the music started: it had the power to concrete me to my seat and make me stay, no matter how badly Pierce Brosnan mucked up my favorite song.
Flat pictures in magazines and renovation design books can be beautiful but I often look at a design photo andand ask, "what music is being played in this space?" Few homes or businesses are devoid of music and I believe it is a strong influence in the overall way a space is inhabited. Music soothes and comforts, it energizes and revitalizes. It provides the space for grieving tears or celebratory shouts. It is an artform that is fluid, rich and alive.
It even provides a sacred space in a dingy neighborhood theater on a hot sultry day.
This was before IPODS and downloadable music, when we would have to make a financial obligation to our music -- we'd have to purchase the entire album (CD's didn't exist) so when we made a committment with our music we were "all in". An entire paycheck would be spent to pick up the latest Fleetwood Mac, Eagles or Bee Gees tunes.
As I watched the movie, I became aware again of one truth: Music has the power to transport and transform in remarkable ways. The move is poorly acted, the editing is sub-part, the scenes agonizing. Still, I could not leave the theater when the music started: it had the power to concrete me to my seat and make me stay, no matter how badly Pierce Brosnan mucked up my favorite song.
Flat pictures in magazines and renovation design books can be beautiful but I often look at a design photo andand ask, "what music is being played in this space?" Few homes or businesses are devoid of music and I believe it is a strong influence in the overall way a space is inhabited. Music soothes and comforts, it energizes and revitalizes. It provides the space for grieving tears or celebratory shouts. It is an artform that is fluid, rich and alive.
It even provides a sacred space in a dingy neighborhood theater on a hot sultry day.
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Disney's Future Home
Wanna see the future of the Great American Home?
Check out http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2008/07/09/style/disney-multimedia/index.html
David Rakoff's view of Disney's "Tomorrow" Home. Four years in the making, here is one rendition of the home for the future.
Check out http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2008/07/09/style/disney-multimedia/index.html
David Rakoff's view of Disney's "Tomorrow" Home. Four years in the making, here is one rendition of the home for the future.
Friday, June 27, 2008
Colors of 2008
Looking for inspiration on color? Visit Sherwin Williams www.colororinspiration.com and enjoy personalized journeys in the magic of color. At this site, you can select images that appeal to you and voila, a personalized analysis of a palette will emerge. Even if you may not see the colors on the walls of your space, you can use those colors in other applications such as furniture, flooring and artwork.
Please note! EA&I will be closed during the week of June 30 - July 5 for summer inventory. We are also getting ready to unveil some big new enhancements for you including a signature furniture resource, new artists loft for local artists and much more! Make sure you visit us in July and watch for more exciting news!
Please note! EA&I will be closed during the week of June 30 - July 5 for summer inventory. We are also getting ready to unveil some big new enhancements for you including a signature furniture resource, new artists loft for local artists and much more! Make sure you visit us in July and watch for more exciting news!
Monday, June 16, 2008
Stuff and more stuff
When you look at the Haas-Lilienthal House (www.sfheritage.org), you might not think about the basement as the most interesting part. But as Gallagher points out in Chapter 10 of "House Thinking" the basement of this house marks a fundamental shift in the way that the original owners thought about their home. It was, in effect, the first "rec" room where the owners entertained, played and celebrated their family. (p192). This room was created in renovation where the house was planned around the family, a concept that I wholeheartedly endorse.
Thinking about one's environment, especially one as personal as their home, requires a steady focus, I think, on what is important and what is necessary. Designing a space requires understanding what, and who, is important and how these two components will live, quite literally, together.
For many of us, including myself, the summer is a time to stop and reflect. This is a great time to go through your space and try the following simple tasks:
1 - Find a storage area where you can make 4 piles. Use boxes or plastic organizers. 1 for "keeping" , 1 for giving away, 1 for "throwing away" and 1 for "not sure". This exercise is one of the first lists I give clients at the beginning of a renovation because renovation means to "innovate again". The first goal in doing that is to see the things and the space in a new light. As mentioned in previous posts, this takes guts and courage.
2 - If your space and "stuff" are large and the task is intimidating, call in reinforcements. Ask a friend to stop by, play some music, make it fun. As you wade through the space ask yourself these questions:
a - what item is meaningful to me? Even if it isn't the latest trend, your mother's box of treasures is something that needs to be kept and perhaps celebrated in your new space.
b - what item(s) need to go? If it is broken, not useable or simply just something you no longer value, put it in either the "give away" pile or the "throw away" pile. Most important: make a deadline or date that you will take that pile to the charity of your choice or to the dump. And keep that date, it's important!!
As you make space from these questions, you will find the space enlarges and gives way to a new function or a new ideas. It is an exercise that while challenging, can produce freeing and fun results.
By the way, "stuffing" stuff in a garage or closet until you "get around to it" will only detain the process and keep you stuck. Our garages and utility rooms have become the place where we dumps stuff that we no longer really want but can't yet part with. They are the transition spaces that can signal to us that the use for these items may be gone but we may still be holding on.
Thinking about one's environment, especially one as personal as their home, requires a steady focus, I think, on what is important and what is necessary. Designing a space requires understanding what, and who, is important and how these two components will live, quite literally, together.
For many of us, including myself, the summer is a time to stop and reflect. This is a great time to go through your space and try the following simple tasks:
1 - Find a storage area where you can make 4 piles. Use boxes or plastic organizers. 1 for "keeping" , 1 for giving away, 1 for "throwing away" and 1 for "not sure". This exercise is one of the first lists I give clients at the beginning of a renovation because renovation means to "innovate again". The first goal in doing that is to see the things and the space in a new light. As mentioned in previous posts, this takes guts and courage.
2 - If your space and "stuff" are large and the task is intimidating, call in reinforcements. Ask a friend to stop by, play some music, make it fun. As you wade through the space ask yourself these questions:
a - what item is meaningful to me? Even if it isn't the latest trend, your mother's box of treasures is something that needs to be kept and perhaps celebrated in your new space.
b - what item(s) need to go? If it is broken, not useable or simply just something you no longer value, put it in either the "give away" pile or the "throw away" pile. Most important: make a deadline or date that you will take that pile to the charity of your choice or to the dump. And keep that date, it's important!!
As you make space from these questions, you will find the space enlarges and gives way to a new function or a new ideas. It is an exercise that while challenging, can produce freeing and fun results.
By the way, "stuffing" stuff in a garage or closet until you "get around to it" will only detain the process and keep you stuck. Our garages and utility rooms have become the place where we dumps stuff that we no longer really want but can't yet part with. They are the transition spaces that can signal to us that the use for these items may be gone but we may still be holding on.
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
New Bathroom
The world's ugliest bathroom is now a beautiful oasis.
I can say that because the bathroom is my own. After years of thinking about it and planning it, I am now enjoying what I hope my clients enjoy -- a space that is uniquely their own and one that they look forward to inhabiting each day.
Although trendspotting is a part of a design, this bathroom is a good reason I recommend to avoid trends. I think fashion is one thing -- whereas style is quite another. At some point this "interesting" cultured marble was probably all the rage but it quickly became dated and after over 8 years was in dire need of an update.
In the photo at the left, there is still work to be done -- lighting needs installing and mirror needs hanging, but the progress is clear. Even cabinetry that needs a bit of color looks far better with a new counter top than the old.
I took the opportunity to do a complete clean out of closets and organizing and now a space that I dreaded to use is my favorite spot to visit.
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
House Thinking (4)
I have a confluence of ideas running through my head regarding this next entry. Maybe it is because I spent the weekend with many artists friends and that always inspires and excites. And the spring weather is in full swing and I've had several lovely evenings in my garden proving once again to me that yes, environments greatly impact how we think, feel, act.
And then there was this spot on article in Sunday's NYT that did what powerful articles written by skilled writers can do: it really made me think. I've been thinking about it all week since reading it.
The article (http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/18/magazine/18wwln-lede-t.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=peggy%20orenstein&st=cse&oref=slogin) is about how women in impactful roles are perceived and I couldn't help but be pierced by it. My grown children (one male, one female) will be influenced in big ways by the way in which roles among women are changing.
So what does all this have to do with design?
Quite a lot, I think.
If we believe, as Winifred Gallagher suggests in her book "House Thinking" that we first shape our environments and then they shape us, then the development of people -- particularly those that inhabit the spaces that are designed, should be the key issue when designing spaces.
And so as we set forth in designing spaces for young people how do we do that best to encourage them to develop in ways that are conducive to creativity, imagination and intelligence?
That's a big question. Some might think that it is to cram all the latest technology into a space. Others might say open fields and simple accessories. Still others might imagine spaces that are devoid of any distrctions.
And all would be right.
Because for design to be "right" it has to first be personal. It has to fit the occupant and it has to be theirs. This takes a lot more than flipping through magazines and finding things that "look good" to make design functional and pleasing. It takes thought, effort and a willingness to know oneself or one's clients.
Tough stuff.
And then there was this spot on article in Sunday's NYT that did what powerful articles written by skilled writers can do: it really made me think. I've been thinking about it all week since reading it.
The article (http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/18/magazine/18wwln-lede-t.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=peggy%20orenstein&st=cse&oref=slogin) is about how women in impactful roles are perceived and I couldn't help but be pierced by it. My grown children (one male, one female) will be influenced in big ways by the way in which roles among women are changing.
So what does all this have to do with design?
Quite a lot, I think.
If we believe, as Winifred Gallagher suggests in her book "House Thinking" that we first shape our environments and then they shape us, then the development of people -- particularly those that inhabit the spaces that are designed, should be the key issue when designing spaces.
And so as we set forth in designing spaces for young people how do we do that best to encourage them to develop in ways that are conducive to creativity, imagination and intelligence?
That's a big question. Some might think that it is to cram all the latest technology into a space. Others might say open fields and simple accessories. Still others might imagine spaces that are devoid of any distrctions.
And all would be right.
Because for design to be "right" it has to first be personal. It has to fit the occupant and it has to be theirs. This takes a lot more than flipping through magazines and finding things that "look good" to make design functional and pleasing. It takes thought, effort and a willingness to know oneself or one's clients.
Tough stuff.
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