Indice dei contenuti per January/February 2018 in Dwell

In all the years since I started Dwell, this is the first time I’ve written an Editor’s Letter. I’ve lived on the peripheries of the day-to-day workings of the magazine, but I’m constantly thinking about Dwell, caring for it, tending to it. Lately I’m much more involved, serving as the CEO. Since the magazine launched in 2000, publishing has changed again and again. Through the upturns and downturns, we’ve always tried to be a voice of optimism for people who want their home to reflect their values and a champion of the professionals who can help them accomplish that. Those who know me know that I have an allergic reaction when I hear “modern” referred to as a style. Modern is a way of communicating with our culture and attempting…

CONTRIBUTOR’S CORNER “Like everyone else, I love nothing more than swooning over pictures of roomy spa-like baths,” says design writer and lecturer Dora Vanette, who spearheaded the Kitchen and Bath special for this issue. “But in my railroad apartment in New York, the biggest issue is the bathroom is too small to even house a sink.” Fortunately, the situation isn’t permanent, she says: “We’re moving soon.” The layout. Countertops cut the room in half and the low-hanging dark cabinets make us feel trapped. We’re prisoners in our own kitchen. Send help!! Richard Shanks When we did our kitchen, we didn’t want to see the microwave, so we got a 36-inch drawer unit and put it in the island. The problem: The 36-inch is just a 24-inch with a wider faceplate…

“For kitchen design, I think about layout and flow first, and only then about the materials. I focus on large items such as cabinetry and appliances and allow the rest of the details to unfold as I’m working. I always make sure to incorporate details that will distinguish the design, such as a splash detail, unique storage solutions, or new ways to use a material— for instance, creating cabinet faces and doors out of reclaimed wood and metals. I also always try to integrate a counterpoint, a beautiful, unexpected ‘aha!’ moment that brings a little soul to the space.” 1 LITZE ARTICULATING FAUCET WITH INDUSTRIAL HANDLE BY BRIZO FROM $732 A matte-black and gold-tone faucet by Brizo features a dual-jointed articulating arm with a semi-flexible hose and a convenient magnetic docking…

HOW HAVE THE LOOK AND PURPOSE OF THE KITCHEN EVOLVED IN RECENT YEARS? There is no longer just one look for a kitchen. People are increasingly using this space to showcase their personality. Since it’s become common to share your interiors on social media, most people don’t want to have the same white cabinets and marble countertops as everyone else. HOW ELSE HAS SOCIAL MEDIA SHAKEN THINGS UP? Similar to the way websites such as Travelocity have made people want to travel more, Tastemade and Buzzfeed’s Tasty are inspiring us to cook more. When you see dishes presented in such a format you begin to think, “I can do this too.” The next thing you know, you’re trying to make a pumpkin chili bowl out of a cutout pumpkin. More…

The chair that furniture maker Thomas Moser, now 82, sat in every night during family dinner in New Gloucester, Maine, bears witness to a lifelong passion for woodworking. “My father always carried a tape measure in his pocket, and the spindles of that chair are scarred from it,” says his son Aaron. “That’s the beauty of a natural finish. It takes on battle wounds, just like all of us.” That dining chair—an early version of what is now known as the Continuous Arm Chair—was Tom Moser’s first recognizable design in the world of fine furniture making. “The TMC was an important milestone in his life as a designer,” Aaron says, referring to the chair by its product SKU. “My father had designed many things before, but in a smaller way.…

When attorney Trey Berre and his wife, photographer Maria Ponce Berre, began searching the Chicago real estate listings in 2014, they were looking for land, or at least something to tear down. They imagined building a “forever home” that embodied their love of modern design, particularly midcentury Palm Springs. But when Trey spotted an ad for a 1954 split-level ranch on a corner lot on the city’s North Side, that plan went out the window. “As soon as I walked in, I knew it had good bones,” he says. The shag carpet and pink bathroom didn’t matter. Instead he saw clean lines and great natural light, a place where he could envision raising their daughters, Fiona and Alessandra. After calling Maria to get the go-ahead, he put in a bid,…

When Darla Anderson and Kori Rae came across a property for sale in Tiburon, a secluded town just north of San Francisco, they were enthralled by its intoxicating mix of site and structure. The 3,070-square-foot house was designed in a Japanese style that the couple love and is set in a thicket of tropical plants and pine trees that overlooks a cove, creating a sense of tranquility within striking distance of the city. “There’s such a grounding and spiritual feeling on the property,” Kori says. The dwelling, which Darla and Kori purchased in 2012, has the hallmarks of a traditional Japanese minka, with its dark wood siding, steeply sloped roof of ceramic tile, and post-and-beam construction. But despite its authentic appearance, the residence is neither very old nor entirely unique.…

The product-packed Modern Market section of Dwell just got even better with a fresh look and an innovative crop of new modern designs. In this highly shoppable section, you are guaranteed to discover that one unique item or special gift that makes you feel at home in the modern world! For more products and services, visit us online at dwell.com! Concrete + Diamond Dust KONZUK Continuum Collection The sparkle of diamond dust, set into black tinted concrete lined stainless domes, elevates the elegance of our minimalist jewelry designs. konzuk.com LéAna Clifton Cloud Train, Series I This body of work was photographed in Marfa, TX in 2017. Abstract images of speeding trains and sky-scapes. Archival prints available in various sizes. Work with the artist to create your own unique series leanaclifton.com…

Louis Kahn–trained architect and lifelong tinkerer Jim Cutler tells us about the little things he can’t work without. Drawing is an architect’s method of communicating. My staff draws on computers; I am older and draw by hand. At the end of each workday, I have to scrub the graphite off the side of my right hand from rubbing it over the drawings I do with my favorite pencils. The pencils are from the ITO-YA store in Ginza, Tokyo. The store ships a box to our office every six months or so. I love these pencils—they have perfect lead, which is smooth and capable of everything from sharp lines to shading, and perfect erasers that completely remove my mistakes. And they’re beautiful: red barrels and a black eraser that’s fastened to…

I love “Sparrow” house so much, I hollered “yes!” in the middle of the article and scared our intern!—Kernan Coleman I just wanted to send you this note of appreciation for the great story and photos of our home in the November/December issue [“Know Your Angles”]. Also, the theme of Visionary Design in the Editor’s Letter spoke directly to me: “Others may not like your style, your choices, your ideas. Who cares? Your project is not for them. It’s for you.” I found myself thinking and saying this many times during the process and after moving in. So thanks for everything you do! —Nolan Ploegman Thank you for your Editor’s Letter in the November/December issue. We are embarking on a new build that is somewhat daunting. It is our fourth…

“I love minimal kitchens and bathrooms. I always try to take down upper cabinets and replace them with interesting open shelving. My go-to material is steel and I always try to avoid the built-in look. With open shelving, not only can you showcase a great collection of white dishes, but you can mix in vintage showpieces or even small artworks. “In bathrooms, I love a prettily shaped freestanding tub. Bathrooms should have a sexy feel. I always want to bring romance into the bathroom—I usually place a small table next to the tub for bubbles, salts, and champagne. I also like an unusual chandelier over the tub with a dimmer.” 1 24” INTEGRATED COLUMN REFRIGERATOR AND FREEZER BY SUB-ZERO $6,665 With a refrigerator and freezer hidden behind one solid door, Sub-…

“When designing bathrooms, I’m often trying to create a jewel-box experience—you open the door and find yourself transported to a pristine little world. To achieve this, I strive for a seamless design from wall to floor. We’ve relied on tile of standard sizes for many years, but now there are so many different options for scale change within the bathroom. Plumbing fittings are the jewelry that makes the room feel more intimate, since the touch and feel of those fittings is ultimately what you’re engaging with. We’ve recently been using these wonderful cast glass faucets by Fantini that feel warm to the touch and have beautiful colors that you can use to animate other, more natural materials such as stone.” 1 TRIM SET IN CUSTOM MONTREAL BLACK FINISH BY AQUABRASS $869…

Back in 1998, Tom Givone was an advertising copywriter living in a tiny rent-controlled studio in New York’s West Village, dealing with a pain-in-the-neck landlord who was always trying to raise the rent. With the little bit of money he’d saved, he decided it was time to look for a place to buy. He ended up falling in love with a double row of 20 identical high-stooped wood houses, straight out of a Victorian fairy tale, on a cobblestone cul-de- sac called Sylvan Terrace. Located in the Washington Heights neighborhood of upper Manhattan, the houses—designed in 1882 by architect Gilbert Robinson Jr. to resemble an 18th-century mansion nearby—are anomalies in brick-and-concrete New York. When the house Tom wanted fell through, he was crushed, but he decided to just start knocking…

“I think of the project as a love letter rather than a biography,” says designer Bryan Boyer of his restored Ludwig Mies van der Rohe townhouse in Detroit. Indeed, the New York transplant’s take on the Bauhaus master’s legacy, which includes updates like a state-of-the-art kitchen, is more an homage than a reproduction. Built in 1960, Bryan’s home is one of 186 units and three apartment towers that Mies designed for Lafayette Park, considered by some the first urban renewal project in the United States. Although it’s just a stone’s throw from downtown, the 78-acre co-op has sprawling lawns, allées of honey locusts, and an enduring sense of community that has persisted over the years, despite the city’s changing fortunes. Some of its early residents still live there. Bryan credits…

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DWELL REPORTS LIKE KITCHENS THEMSELVES, GOOD KNIVES ARE BOTH PRACTICAL AND ATTRACTIVE. WE ASKED A SUSHI CHEF TO DEMO BEST MADE COMPANY’S JAPANESE CHEF KNIVES, A HANDSOME SET OF BLADES THAT MARRY STAINLESS AND BLUE STEEL. SEE THE ACTION AT DWELL.COM/SUSHI-KNIFE-VIDEO.…

1 DEERTRACK LANE JEFF JORDAN ARCHITECTS IRVINGTON, NEW YORK Architect Jeff Jordan typically prefers to limit the materials in his kitchens to a handful of compatible finishes and almost never uses more than two types of wood. However, in renovating a midcentury home in a suburb north of New York City, he decided to integrate oak, cypress, walnut, pine, and cedar in the same space, giving the kitchen a rich yet balanced texture. 2 GV HOUSE THIS IS IT GIV’ATAYIM, ISRAEL While renovating a 1980s kitchen in Israel, architecture studio This is IT employed a selection of cool, neutral materials to provide the residents with some relief from the strong Mediterranean summer sun. Gray terrazzo, black granite, concrete, steel, and glass predominate, while brass details are interspersed sparingly throughout the…

“Bathrooms are often designed with only functionality in mind, but they provide really interesting opportunities. They can be seen as moments of reprieve from the rest of the house, so they can be designed with a separate narrative. “When designing bathrooms, we think about ways to include tile in the space that doesn’t read as appliqué. We will often look to work monolithically with tiles throughout the entire room— whether we’re using simple subway tile or handmade Fireclay tile. Another thing that we do is place overscaled objects in the room. We often use full-wall mirror surfaces that cover much of the room—sometimes attaching lighting fixtures onto the mirror itself. “The right lighting is important. You don’t want a residential bathroom to look like an institutional environment. Since bathrooms often utilize…

You’ve stated that inclusion and diversity are priorities for you as the head of the IIDA. It’s something you’ve been working on already at Perkins+Will. How did that role come about? I had been managing director of the Los Angeles office for about eight years, and we typically rotate that position because you get kind of burned out. The CEO [Phil Harrison] asked what role I’d like to take on next, and I came back with a proposal—a new role as head of Diversity, Inclusion, and Engagement. The architecture profession has not been diverse at all, and the demographic changes in the world have been broad and global. We should mirror the society we serve. As one of very few African Americans in this industry and in this firm, I…

San Francisco couple Jim and Noriko would be the first to admit they never thought much about architecture—that is, until late 2013, when they took possession of one of the city’s many worn-out Victorians. By hiring acclaimed architect Anne Fougeron, they hoped to compensate for their lack of knowledge and create something extraordinary for themselves and their young daughter. “We went in with a pretty vague vision and put it into her hands—we trusted her judgment more than our own,” says Jim. “Anne is great on her own merits, but it was also nice to have a badass woman as our architect,” says Noriko. “Having a daughter makes you think about that.” For her part, Fougeron, who started her practice more than 30 years ago and is currently working on…

9 Table of Contents Cross Extension Table by Matthew Hilton for Case casefurniture.com; Bertoia side chairs for Knoll knoll.com; Meurice Rectangle Chandelier by Jonathan Adler jonathanadler.com 18 Cabin Cubism Prentiss + Balance + Wickline Architects pbwarchitects.com Robert Mancuso Construction rjmconstruction@interisland.net Windows and doors by Dynamic Windows dynamicwindows.com 18 Table by Urban Hardwoods urbanhardwoods.com; armchairs by Maruni Hirohima from Inform Seattle informseattle.com; Malta woodstove by Rais rais.com; Chouchin pendants by Foscarini foscarini.com 40 Home Schooled Design and interior construction by Tom Givone givonehome.com Architectural services by Cypher Design cypher-design.com 40 Shelf vases and sculpture by Object & Totem objectandtotem.com; La Trama e l’Ordito bowls by Alessi alessi.com; Pol lounge chair by Mark Albrecht Studio markalbrechtstudio.com; “Blueprint” wall sculpture and throw blanket by Hiroko Takeda hirokotakeda.com; chandelier from Bromfield Antique Fair, vintage;…