PrairieMod reader, Paul R. sent us a really interesting article from a blog called buildllc.com. In the article, the myths and misconceptions of pre-fab designs are laid bare, resulting in their proclamation that the pre-fab home movement is dead. Read about it here and let us know your thoughts in the comments section.
Image via buildllc
The blog Curbed LA (along with everyone else) jumped on the Ennis House-for-sale story this morning, but also added some circa-1924 construction photos of the "Textile Block" residence courtesy of the Ennis House Foundation. Check them out here.
Image via Ennis House Foundation
Mark Hertzberg sent us another update for his blog, Wright in Racine, but this time it's about Wright in Milwaukee! Check out new slide shows exhibiting the wonderful restoration work on one of Wright's earliest prefab housing designs: an American System-Built house on Burnham Street. See it all here.
Image copyright Mark Hertzberg
Mark Hertzberg had a chance to visit New York and see the new exhibit "Frank Lloyd Wright: From Within Outward" at the Guggenheim Museum. He offers up an in-depth review at his blog Wright in Racine. Check it out and lots of great photos here.
Image copyright Mark Hertzberg
I came across this really cool design blog called "Dinosaurs and Robots." It covers all sorts of quirky, vintage design-related objects and artifacts. I especially enjoyed their post about a recent auction of Modernist posters. Read more here.
Image via Dinosaurs and Robots
It's amazing what a little sleuthing on the internet can yield. Here's a link to a story about Stanley Marcus (of Nieman Marcus fame) and Frank Lloyd Wright, the house Wright almost designed for Marcus, and the less-than-polite correspondence (in PDF form) that occurred between the two. There's also news of how preservationists are trying to save the Marcus House that was built. Read about it here.
Image via Unfair Park, the Dallas Observer Blog
Frank Gehry, eat your heart out! Ponoko Blog posted on the finalists of the 2009 corrugated board chair design competition and I must say, those are some interesting looking former boxes. Check it out here.
Image courtesy of Ponoko Blog
Design*Sponge posted a great interview with Bay Area garden and "green-guru", Flora Grubb. There are also plenty of photos of her absolutely amazing floral planters, wreaths and other creations. Check it all out here.
Image via Design*Sponge
I thought we'd end the week with a link to MocoLoco's best objects of the week. I'm especially digging the beaded cords and the minimalist füsball table. Check out the complete list here.
Image copyright Piet Hein Eek
Scandinavian Superstore, IKEA has a slew of new products that would work great in any PrairieMod Kitchen (the Pope-Leighey one, included). I especially love their new Drömmar angled baking pan. Check it out here.
Via Apartment Therapy The Kitchen.
Image copyright IKEA
Apartment Therapy's The Kitchen blog featured a look at a classic small kitchen: the sunlight-filled Wrightian "workspace" at the Pope-Leighey House. Check it out here.
Image: Flickr member cliff1066
Author, Mark Hertzberg has posted a very different type of article on his weblog Wright in Racine. In it, he describes the importance of looking (and reaching) beyond the regular Wright-ophiles. Read about it here.
We'd like to hear from PrairieMod Readers: What do you think should be done to reach out as Mark describes? Give some feedback and who knows, your ideas could be put into practice!
Image copyright Mark Hertzberg
I came across this post on the Dwell Blog discussing great speeches from the world of Architecture. Of course, that means a Frank Lloyd Wright mention was not far behind. Check it out here.
I stumbled across an interesting blog by Ben, a former student of the Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture. He writes extensively about what it was like to be an apprentice at the School, some of his travels and other general musings on art, architecture and life. there's also some great photos of many of the Wright sites he's visited. Check it out here.
Image copyright Ben
Mark Hertzberg at WrightinRacine.com has posted a new article about the challenges of restoring the Samuel Freeman House, one of Frank Lloyd Wright's California concrete block designs. Check it out here.
Image copyright Mark Hertzberg
Mark Hertzberg has posted a new entry over at his blog, Wright In Racine. This entry is all about the amazingly restored Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Willey House in Minneapolis, MN. Check out this interesting story and Marks fantastic photos by following the link.
Image copyright Mark Hertzberg
I stumbled upon a photography-related blog that had some great shots (including the terra cotta griffin shown at left) and thoughts on Louis Sullivan's Merchant's Bank in Grinell, Iowa—one of his "jewel box" bank designs. Check out the post here.
Photo copyright Bo Mackison
I recently stumbled upon a amazing blog by Kristina Werner. There are great tutorials for everything handmade. I really love her tutorial on how to make an Origami Gift Box. I think this will come in handy next month! Head on over and enjoy her beautiful site.
Image copyright Kristina Werner
Here's a great blog entry I stumbled upon that shows a bunch of old postcard views of Chi-town buildings. Check it out by following the link.
Image copyright dbostrom
There's a couple of important PrairieMod Squad birthdays coming up this week and I've been looking for creative ways to celebrate and decorate. I found this great post at How about orange on decorating cakes with stencils.
How cool is that! I'm thinking of making a square cake with this stencil.
Let me know if you have any great ideas for birthdays and celebrations.
Image copyright pointclickhome.com
Interested in getting weekly updates on the restoration progress at the D. Martin House in Buffalo, NY? Then check out the blog of Curator for the Martin House Restoration Corporation, Eric Jackson-Forsberg. Follow the link to see more.
Graphic copyright Eric Jackson-Forsberg
An average couple in Toronto, Canada want a bigger house to start a family. After looking and not finding what they wanted, they decided to tear down their postwar bungalow and build the modern eco-house of their dreams.
On the surface this seems like a fairly straight forward, everyday situation. However, it seems regrettable that all the inherent energy and materials in that quaint little bungalow have to be wasted in order to pave the way for a bigger, better "green" house. Could a well-designed remodel have been the answer to this issue? I'd really like to know what readers think. You can follow the progress and get more details at their blog by clicking here.
Photos copyright 360 Winnett Ave.
Mark Hertzberg has posted an excellent article on wrightinracine.com about the recent book, Louis Sullivan’s Merchants National Bank. Check out the article by following the link.
Photo courtesy of Wikipedia
The blog, Chicago History, posted an interesting article on the contents of Louis H. Sullivan's private library and its sad fate. Check it out here.
Image courtesy of Chicago History.com
The Mid-Century Modernist receives regular posts from people to their Flickr photo pool. The most recent uploads by m.bibelot feature some gorgeously warm images that are a tasty little afternoon treat.
See all of them here.
Image copyright m.bibelot
One of our readers sent us a great link to I Wear A Hat, displaying 1920s and 1930s travel-related ephemera. It's great to see design from that era.
Thanks Paul!
Curbed LA has brought to light 2 realtor faux pas's recently. The first was calling "B.S." on a claim that a listed house was designed by Lloyd Wright (Frank Lloyd Wright's son) when it clearly was not. The second involved a realty listing of a house designed by the "Fred Lloyd Wright Foundation." Check it all out here.
Photo courtesy of Curbed LA
WrightInRacine.com has posted a new article on the fabulously restored Ennis House in Los Angeles, CA. There are plenty of great photos and a riveting account of how this architectural masterpiece was saved. Check it out here.
Photo copyright Mark Hertzberg
We had the pleasure of meeting with design guru Naz Hamid a few months back and exchanged business cards. Turns out, he must of liked the card because it showed up in a photo of his fridge on his personal blog NZRN. Check out the top center card!
You'll also see several other very cool cards.
Image copyright Naz Hamid
I just found the blog i love typography and I'm enamored! Not only is there great information about everything typography, but they have giveaways as well. Pictured here is one of their free desktops. Head on over and check the site out.
Image copyright Hamish
Looking for a quick easy way to change the look of a room? Well check out this article from House Calls on iVillage for 9 Ways to Decorate with Pillows. Topics covered:
:: Use pillows as art—Seasonal makeover
:: Mix fabrics like a pro
:: Inexpensive updating
:: Bring the outdoors inside
:: Take the indoors out
:: Keep the peace
:: Dressing up a child's room
:: What's hot now
Pillows shown:
AILC-Ailanthus in Chocolate $60 by inhabit
AILW-Ailanthus in Wheat $60 by inhabit
This coming weekend I'm having a dinner party with family and I was looking for some tips on throwing a great party. So I cruised over to my favorite entertaining blog Hostess with the Mostess. There I found a great article on Modern Entertaining Essentials. Topics covered:
:: Oh-So-Versatile White Dinnerware
:: Basic Glass Barware
:: The Essential Stemware & Beverage Servers
:: Attractive Ice Buckets
:: Wine & Bottle Openers/Tools
:: Drink Tags
:: Beverage Napkins
:: Neutral Serveware and Serving Utensils
:: Kitchen Gadgets
I got some great info and I'm ready for my party!
Image copyright HWTM.com
Photo copyright Mark Hertzberg
The Little Red House has found a kindred spirit! The Brick House follows an owner's efforts to fix-up their 1950s brick ranch within budget and with style. If you cruise through the posts, you'll see lots of cool and thrifty antique finds the owner has gathered to make the house uniquely theirs. You can check out the site by following the link. Enjoy!
Graphic copyright The Brick House
Image copyright Postwar Steel
We recently heard from our friend Mark Hertzberg over at wrightinracine.com that he's had a little bit of technical difficulties lately that contributed to an unwelcome hiatus in his blog posts.
Well, things are back on track and in addition to today's post on the Hollyhock House in Los Angeles, he's making up for lost time with a fantastic set of stories that are in the works...
I found the image above via Coudal. Click the image and read them, they're pretty hilarious.
Image copyright Coudal
You never know where your going to run into a Prairie School reference on the web. I happened upon a website called BibliOdyssey that had a really nice write-up about Walter Burley Griffin and Marion Mahony Griffin, along with some fantastic images from their overseas work in Australia and India. Check out the site by following the link and enjoy!
I've really been enjoying photographer, writer and architecture critic, Lee Bay's weblog, The Urban Observer. He cruises the city of Chicago taking cool photos of its built environment and adding his interesting comments and critiques.
Lee's recent post on the Yale Apartments and the accompanying photos were especially enlightening. Even for a Chi-town resident tuned into the design scene, it still amazes me how many architecture gems there are out there waiting to be experienced.
Check out Lee's site and enjoy looking and reading all about Chicago's architectural gems.
Photos copyright Lee Bey
Wright in Racine has a new post! Writer and photographer, Mark Hertzberg, provides insight into the exhibition, "Hollyhock House and Olive Hill: Frank Lloyd Wright and Edmund Teske," which runs from April 19 through June 15 at the Villa Terrace Decorative Arts Museum north of downtown Milwaukee. As always, Mark gives fantastic info surrounding the exhibition and the importance of the Aline Barnsdall project (including the Hollyhock House) on Olive Hill in Los Angeles, California. Check out the entire article by following the link and if you're in the vicinity, take the trip up to Milwaukee to check out the exhibit. See you there!
Drawing copyright Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation
Blair Kamin, architecture critic for the Chicago Tribune, has started a new blog called "The Skyline" with the stated goal of "assessing the highs and lows of Chicago architecture."
So, does Chicago need another architecture blog? Anyone who is familiar with Mr. Kamin's writing and critical analysis will answer emphatically: "Yes."
Speaking as a designer, you can never have too many computer fonts. That said, with the seemingly endless supply of choices out there, there are times you can't find that perfect typeface to go with your design. So what do you do? Settle for using Eaglefeather for the umpteen-millionth time?!? Why not consider making your own font instead...
I'll be traveling south below the Mason-Dixon line this Christmas and was excited to recently discover a blog that covers MCM design across the Southeastern US. Desperately Seeking Modern is a blog maintained by John Eaton, who hails from the ATL. Some great posts to check out are a couple about mid-century architectural treasures near Clarksville, TN....not too far away from my former college home of Nash Vegas.
Montgomery Central High School....
The Morgan Building Supply offices, who once made mid-century concrete formed blocks....
Plus, a recent trip to Frank Lloyd Wright's Auldbrass Plantation.
Kudos John! I'll be making some extra pit stops on my drive from Chi-town to the deep south.
Images copyright John Eaton
If you feel the way we often do, that homes being built today lack character and environmental responsibility then you should check out Image Design, LLC. As described on their site, Image Design is:
"an award winning Organic Residential design firm specializing
in timeless sustainable residential design. We create the designs of
yesteryear while presenting a modern interior layout. We believe that
most houses built today lack the personality and character of the
timeless architecture of the past, such as the Arts & Craft,
Prairie, Old World and Cottage Styles."
If you read through the blog posts, you'll see a healthy mix of entries on sustainable building, organic architectural philosophy and energy efficiency. Add this site to your web-reading routine and if you're in the market to build an organic-designed home, drop them a line and see what they can do for you--any firm that quotes Alden B. Dow on their blog will never steer you wrong!
Our Tiny Oak Park Bungalow is the name of a blog that has a PrairieMod heart. We recently stumbled across it while cruising the web and thought we'd share it with our readers. It's a perfect example of how people choose to live in a small home and put the time and energy into making it special and uniquely for them. Plus they're doing a great job fixing it up and following some Principles while they are at it. We especially approve of the time and energy spent stripping paint off of the wood trim. Check out the blog and see how one blogger is living PrairieMod!
Image copyright Our Tiny Oak Park Bungalow
We have a special place in our hearts for the number "10" here at PrairieMod (after all, we have 10 PrairieMod Principles). So we were glad to see our friends over at justartpottery.com run a series of Top 10 lists in honor of their 10th anniversary. My favorite so far has been the "Top 10 Arts and Crafts Pottery Makers." My only quibble would be to put Teco pottery a little higher on that list, but that's just me...
Read the rest of the Top 10 lists on the site's blog and Congratulations, Just Art Pottery--here's to many more years to come!
Image copyright justartpottery.com
As a 30-something, I'd like to agree with the name of the blog I recently stumbled upon. Life Begins at 30 is the name of a food, lifestyle blog run by Jennifer Maiser. She has a passion for the idea of eating local and blogs on such subjects as fantastic food and naturalist writer, Michael Pollan, highlighting the perils of relying solely on organic certification in choosing “farm-friendly” edibles, or simply looking into eating out and eating in, Jennifer serves up heaping helpings of useful information for anyone who thinks twice about what they're ingesting. I especially enjoyed the article called "10 Reasons To Eat Local," it got me thinking about visiting my local farmers market and looking into planting my own garden. Check it out and enjoy!
Image copyright lifebeginsat30.com
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