kappe house

I had the privilege of being invited to a salon at the home of architect Ray Kappe and his wife last month.  It was pretty exciting for me as I have worked on 2 Kappe homes and am a huge fan.

Nestled in the Santa Monica Canyon, I have driven past the home a few times.  I have even stopped in the road and stared at the house in admiration a couple times wondering how many have done the same, and if the Kappe’s must think we are all nuts…

They love their house, I’m sure they understand and appreciate that we do too.

The sunken living room.

Standing in the dining room looking across the living room (middle, below) to the lounge.

Standing in the lounge looking back across to the dining room and kitchen above that.

The lounge (above), the office (below).  The living room falls somewhere in between.

Interior/exterior detail.

Master Bath.  I LOVE the ladder towel racks, poured into the concrete as an architectural yet functional element.

Guest Bath.

LOVE this window seat!!!

Exterior steps leading up to the pool and rooftop deck.

The end.

wallpaper cabinet, finally!!!

The wallpaper cabinet that I had made was finished over a month ago and I finally had a chance to take a few snapshots…

I’m really happy with the result, remember when it looked like this?

What do you think?  You like?!?!?!?

The room is still a work in progress, a new light fixture over the dining table and art for the back wall are next…

algue

When I worked for Vitra they came out with this product called Algue.  I loved it and wanted to find an opportunity to use it.

Then I forgot about it.

I have been looking for something to put on the wall above a client’s dining table for months with no luck.  The objects that I have found have been out of budget, and even more challenging, my client didn’t want anything to cover the grasscloth that we had installed on that wall.

So I have been looking for something with presence, that is interesting and has a light airy quality that allows the shimmery grasscloth to shine.

I was at Dwell on Design in June and it hit me.  I walked past a display with some poorly executed Algue in it and I knew that it was perfect.

I told my client about it and we ordered it right away.

We ordered 2 boxes of the product, each box includes 25 approx. 12″ x 10″ pieces.  My client and I spent a day last week assembling the Algue ourselves and are quiet proud of the result.

What do you think?

We started assembling on the dining table.  This is 4 pieces of Algue snapped together with little pegs that are provided.

We kept holding it up to the wall to see how we liked it.

We realized that in order to keep adding on to it we would need to mount the piece to the wall.  It was becoming unruly to move it from the table to the wall.

In this image the algue sculpture is nearly done, we added a few more on the right side and decided to walk away for the day to live with it and see if we wanted to add more.  When we know its complete, I’ll share a few pics of it in the space.

gaultier at the de young

I was up in San Francisco this past weekend and had the opportunity to visit the newly opened Jean Paul Gaultier exhibit at the De Young Museum.  I have never been an avid follower of Gaultier, but I have to say that the exhibit was stunning and his work inspiring.

Here are a few of my favorites.

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dwell on design 2012

We went to Dwell on Design last weekend and it was great.  Not amazing, but good.  I think I was so impressed last year that it was just a tad bit of a let down this year.

Here were some of the highlights for me…

This color adjustable light box made me think of James Turrell

so cute by modfire

joey roth planters

Kishani Perera designed space in partnership with West Elm

Geometric by Bend

Terra Trellis

The Kohler shipping container display

wallpaper cabinet – part 3

Due to the fact that this cabinet I am having built is nearly 8 feet long, we determined that it will need a center support.

Not thrilled, but necessary.  While discussing the best way to support the center something got lost in translation and my builder did the exact opposite of what I asked him to do.

I found this out in a picture text message late Friday afternoon, a fabulous way to start my weekend.  My simple cabinet all of a sudden looked like 2 little cabinets fused together.

I ran downtown early Tuesday to have a look and figure out the best solution.  Luckily the problem is easily solved by cutting back the center support by 3 inches and then enlarging the 2 center drawer fronts by 1/2 and inch.

Otherwise, I am happy with how the piece is coming along.  I dropped off the hardware when I went to visit as well and am very excited to see the finished product!

Here it is with the center support, not what I envisioned.  Next post it will be fixed and ready for the wallpaper!

The center support and leg are being cut back 3 inches (the thickness of the top) so that they are recessed and less prominent.  The drawer faces are being re-made 1/2 inch longer.

 Here is the pull, 10 inch polished nickel.  Sleek and shiny!

So pretty!

wallpaper cabinet – part 2

I went down to check on the cabinet that I am having made.  It is coming along and there were a couple of details that I wanted to discuss and check on.

Overall I am really pleased with the way that this piece is going to look.  Having never covered such a large piece in wallpaper before, this is a bit of a risk for me.  I hope it turns out as good as it looks in my head!

I brought the paper to the builder’s shop and unrolled it on the top surface of the cabinet. I needed a little instant gratification, and I wanted to make sure the pattern was going to sit the way that I had envisioned.  Very exciting.

Here’s a few pics…

Here is the basic frame of the cabinet.  No drawers have been installed, and neither has the center support.

The pattern on the paper is sitting perfectly center on the top of the cabinet.  I am very pleased, this cabinet is going to be gorgy!

Here’s a little detail with an idea of what the center support will look like.  I go to pick up the pulls for the drawers tomorrow…

werk

This is a room I just had wallpapered in a Knoll vinyl paper.

Pictures by a real photographer to come…

Please stand by.

wallpaper cabinet – the beginning

I am having a cabinet made for a client and it is going to be wallpapered.  I thought it would be fun to share the process with you from start to finish.

Here is a sketch of the cabinet being made, a sample of the wallpaper that will be applied and a picture of the room where it will sit when it is complete.

Look for images of the cabinet in process next…

The cabinet will be just shy of 96 inches long and will be made of MDF.  It doesn’t need to be pretty, just a smooth surface for the paper.

The paper is from Cole & Sons geometrics line.

The cabinet will sit against the black wall in the background, just beyond the 72 inch round vintage walnut dining table.  The light fixture is being swapped for a spectacular off white David Weeks masterpiece.  The living room in the foreground is in progress as well…

should I?

You like this kitchen?  Me too!

For my summer give-away I am thinking about choosing 1 lucky reader to get a complimentary kitchen/family room make-over from SRID…

What do you think, should I do it???

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