New House on the Bay

Today was the first time in exactly two months I've walked the beach and I was amazed that despite the appalling weather lots of progress has been made on the huge (and hugely contentious) new house.


From the beach side it looks rather like a hotel, from this angle more like two houses in one one. What's intriguing me is that little hut. It reminds me of a security booth, perhaps guests will be checking on - or maybe it's just somewhere to store the garden tools or patio furniture?


What I couldn't see is anywhere they could use the old weathervane and turret from the original cottage... I'll keep an eye on it for you.

Everything AND the kitchen sink

This bugs me on so many levels


Take the back wall: The sink off-centered between two windows - although the faucet seems dead centre; the tiny backsplash that serves no purpose. But most egregious to me is that the windows are cut off a few inches from their base. This looks odd from the interior and will look even more bizarre from outside. Believe me, I know; I lived this in the original kitchen, it's why I fought the carpenter to get zero backsplash on the new sink wall and at least my windows were sealed units.


Then there are the finishes. There is so much going on in this room: saltio floor, Calcutta Gold marble, glass tile backsplash, stainless steel, white and Anigre cabinetry, glass pendants, drum pendant, suspended pan rack and two kinds of wood furniture. Contemporary/traditional, cool/warm, square/rounded - this kitchen doesn't know where it's going.


Individually I love most of the fixtures and fittings but together it doesn't work for me. It's tagged as a Showhome Kitchen. Would you go for it?
via Houzz

Sustainable Energy vs Fossil Fuels

photo courtesy of BDG

Just over a year ago I wrote this post about a sustainable beach house in the process of being constructed on Long Island's beautiful south shore. With the catastrophic oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico on everybody's mind right now it seemed the most appropriate time to re-visit the project and ask what measures we can take - and by "we" I mean residents, homeowners, architects and designers - to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels while continuing to enjoy abundant heat, light and electricity.

photo courtesy of BDG

Built by Bouler Architecture, the house at Oak Beach received the highest energy rating on Long Island. With its geothermal system, photovoltaic solar panels, white EPDM roofing material and use of passive solar techniques - basically careful placement of windows and roof-lines to shade the sun in summer and heat it in winter - it has been performing at a far more efficient level than predicted. Even in the short, sunless winter days the house was producing electricity.


For the moment these "green" technologies incur a greater initial cost than power derived from carbon but they have irrefutable and overriding benefits. Using renewable energy sources, wind or solar, means less pollution of the air and water, and as we have experienced since April, when a disaster occurs in the extraction of oil or gas, the cost to wildlife and the local economy can be devastating.

For more on this sustainable project click on over to Bouler Design's blog where I guest-blogged today.

To help the wildlife affected by the BP oil spill visit Save the Gulf: Olivia's Bird Illustrations

Escape to another island

There's always a point in a construction or renovation project when you feel yourself snapping - maybe months of backorders have put you over the edge or the carpenter being a no-show six times in two weeks has you raging incoherently about his work ethic. At this time it's good to have friends who call with offers of wine and a shoulder to cry on and others who invite you to take an inspirational break and go see what the pros are doing.


So it was with great joy, after the most frustrating day on the kitchen renovation front, that we packed up and headed to the South Shore for a site visit to three new homes on Captree Island.


Bouler Design Group had been commissioned to build this group of houses for an extended family to enjoy. Stylistically each house is quite different but with their rough-hewn cedar shake roofs and siding they form a cohesive whole. The largest house is a Cape Cod shingle style with a wraparound porch and the signature James Bouler barrel roof - this time with swoop reminiscent of a Dutch girl's bonnet - a nod to the Dutch colonial architecture of a neighboring home.


The centre property has a craftsman feel, its deep porch with double posts on solid pillars invites you to sit and spend long days watching the ducks in the reeds and the boats bobbing in the water.


The third home is the original beach house, now an extended rambler with a simple two-storey addition. It has an organic feel, as if it grew to meet the changing needs of past (or future) occupants.


The three homes have been designed to take advantage of the amazing situation. Although the lot is relatively small, the position of the properties along the waterfront feels spacious and open. From the upper decks the residents will be able to take advantage of glorious views (360 from the roof deck of the Cape Cod style), drinking in spectacular sunrises and beach sunsets, or watching the egrets and plovers on the marsh.
To read more about this unique project and see some great interior shots visit Bouler Design Group's blog. Thanks to James and Nadine's hospitality (and their kids too!) we relaxed immediately and could have stayed on this island forever... in fact The Guy felt so attached to this project that he left a little piece of himself behind...

Krisel and more

My Krisel crush is well-known, and it's been happily fed recently, first by the sneak preview of Jake Gorst's upcoming documentary "William Krisel, Architect". I cannot wait to see the full version. A short time ago Krisel Keeper left a comment here. I followed the links and found her blog detailing the ongoing rehab of a Krisel ranch in Woodland Hills, California. Then there was the trip to Palm Springs, which is dotted with Krisel houses. It was like eating a box of chocolates all in one sitting, albeit really, really good Belgian chocolates while lounging in an Eames chair. I toured three Palm Springs neighborhoods, Las Palmas Estates tucked under the mountains, Racquet Club Estates and Twin Palms in search of the Alexander Construction Company homes designed by William Krisel of Palmer & Krisel. And as I don't have any Belgian chocs to give you, I'll share my real estate finds: three gorgeous examples recently on the market with links to more photos and to the realtors. Enjoy!

The earliest of the Krisel modernist tract homes, like this 1600 sq' 3 bed, 2 bath Alexander Sunflap in Twin Palms Estates, were built in the mid-fifties.


In Racquet Club Estates a 3 bedroom Alexander home built in 1959 is for sale at $399,000



Complete with mountain views a Krisel designed home in Las Palmas Estates, just a stroll from downtown Palm Springs.

Alpine Desert

This is perhaps the most stunning of the fifteen so-called "Swiss Miss" houses on the Las Palmas Estates in Palm Springs. Designed by Charles Dubois, and built by Alexander Construction in 1959, these alpine chalet inspired homes are quite distinct from the standard Alexander-built tract houses, most of which were designed by William Krisel.


This one was completely renovated in 2005 and is currently for sale at $1,095,000. There is also an option to rent at $595 a night or $3,195 a week through Vacation Palm Springs .



More on the unique Swiss Miss homes at Jetsetmodern and Eichler Network

Desert Realty

Driving around the Old Las Palmas neighborhood I was surprised at the number of For Sale signs, often four or more on one side of a block. I knew that California had been one of the areas most badly affected by the housing crisis but I hadn't realised how hard the state had been hit. Even in the more tony neighborhoods of Palm Springs, you could feel the pressure to sell - at any price. And the homes ranged in every condition from mint to almost abandoned; foreclosure signs placed despondently among the cactus and yuccas.
To be sure not all the homes had that aura of desperation, indeed a few retain that scent of celebrity and glamour:


Donald Wexler designed this house for Dinah Shore in 1963.


It's a glorious example of a Hollywood home in the desert that has been stunningly and sympathetically renovated. Listed at almost $6,000,000, double the price it sold for in 2003, it has been on the market since Spring.


A secret gem: One of Elvis' desert homes, owned by Liberace until 1971.


Already substantially reduced to $749,000 it's a 4 bed, 5 bath, 3000 sq' statue-bedecked MCM house full of flock and glitz


and the occasional piece of Liberace memorabilia.


Also on the market, for $1,295,000, is the former Tony Curtis/Janet Leigh home "Camp Curtis", a stunning 1960 Fey home that got smacked with a nasty granite kitchen in a recent remodel. Click here for more details/photos.
If you fancy experiencing the luxury lifestyle but don't want to relocate to the desert, you can always rent a vacation home for a night, week or longer. You could stay in Frank Sinatra's Twin Palms pad or hang out where Marilyn Monroe slept. On the other hand, given recent press, you might not want to spend time in this particular celebrity's Unusual Villa rental...

Desert Modern

So where was I? Oh, yes back in the desert...
I spent a couple of days doing the Modern Palm Springs Tour, a self-guided street-side peep around the exteriors of the best examples of mid-century modern architecture. I picked up a $5 map from the Visitors' Center, formerly the Albert Frey designed Tramway Gas Station - the first stop on the tour - and set off on a drive past residential and commercial buildings designed by Donald Wexler, William F. Cody, E. Stewart Williams and other designers who made the Coachella Valley the unique resort destination in the 50s and 60s.


The tour takes you past the Richard Neutra Kaufmann Desert House - newsflash they were doing some work on the air-conditioning system - via the Albert Frey designed Raymond Loewy House to the House of Tomorrow.
Although I've seen photographs of some of these homes, and in some cases written about them, it's always more interesting to see them in situ. You see how they fit into their environment, how they affect and are affected by the surrounding landscape.


The House of Tomorrow, for example sits on a cul-de-sac; other homes have been built around it and thickly planted trees and shrubs have grown to enclose it so that it now looks, at first glance, like any other suburban home. It's only when you look closer that you notice William Krisel's mid-century details: the huge projecting bay window, the angles, the cutaways in the roof.


The Raymond Loewy House is set back on the lot behind an elaborate fence structure, the more architecturally unique side of the house faces the mountains, hidden from passers-by.


While I had great fun driving round the neighborhoods of Palm Springs in the rented convertible (and getting a major case of neck burn from the desert sun) I was disappointed I couldn't get this trip to coincide with Palm Springs Modernism Week when I'd be able to view the interiors of some of the houses. So when I got back home I treated myself to Julius Shulman: Palm Springs, the late iconic photographer's tribute to the architecture of the city. If you can't get to Palm Springs I recommend you beg, borrow or buy a copy, you'll be instantly transported to the desert oasis where every building is a reminder of the shift in style that became known as mid-century modern design.

Baycrest Beauty For Sale*

Remember this tour and this slideshow of historical houses in the Incorporated Village? Both featured the wonderful domed towers and windows of this Victorian (1887) shingle-style beach cottage. It's been on the market as a rental for a while and is now for sale. If I had a yen for an older house I'd seriously consider this one. It's architecturally charming, the views to the Bay are lovely and I could fulfill all my Rapunzel fantasies from the turret.

4 Bedroom Guesthouse

The 1.6 acre property features a guesthouse and a barn plus all the desired amenities (pool, tennis court, beach rights). I can vouch for the roof being new, as I watched the shingles being stapled not so long ago, and I could hear the thwack of balls last summer so the tennis court is probably in good shape but there are no pictures of the pool, and all I know about the interior is what I can see on the agent's website and that doesn't include any shots of the kitchen. Red Flags!

*The list price is very fair for the size of the house and the area but the taxes might make you choke on your breakfast cereal... so put down your spoon before you click here (or here) for more details.

Real Estate Round Up: Easter 2009

Time for another real estate go round in the Incorporated Village, or at least a walk around the block.


First off some evidence of the housing price downturn. This completely renovated Tuscan style house was sold last summer for $1,675,000. It went back on the market for a similar price in the Fall but recently has been substantially reduced.


This red Dutch-style house also for sale last summer was sold in short order. We were afraid it would be bulldozed but hurrah, it got a sympathetic remodel, including a front huge extension and voila - a bigger, brighter Dutch farmhouse. We have to wait for another couple of weeks to see the inside but apart form an odd window placement (picky, picky, I know) it's looking good.


For sale, coincidentally enough, for the same price as the first house.


Lastly, this house was also sold September 2008 but within a few months had been re-listed for a trendbucking extra $249,000.
So there you have it, three houses in one block radius of the Village Hall, all sold late July to early September 2008, now on the market again with similar asking prices. The difference between them is their markedly different styles. Do you have a favorite?

Lieb House finds its new home

A month ago I posted this piece about the the start of the journey to move the Robert Venturi Lieb House from the Jersey shore to the north shore of Long Island. The beach cottage, which had been in danger of demolition, has been purchased by Deborah Sarnoff and Robert Gotkin, who plan to use it as a guest house to their own Venturi designed home. On Friday it succesfully completed the second leg of its journey from Manhattan's South Street Seaport to Glen Cove NY, a move that was documented both by news teams and by cameras for a forthcoming film Learning from Bob and Denise by James Venturi, son of the architect.
You can see the whole move in a New York Times slideshow and read the rest of the article here.
There has been a lot of discussion on architecture blogs about whether this is a judicious move, if the removal costs are justified in a recession and whether modernist beach houses should be preserved. I think you know which side of the argument I come down on but I'm interested to hear what you think. If you had the means to undertake such an endeavour, would you do it?