Dark Style

Dark Style has moved!

2009-07-21T12:35:00.000-07:00

The move is complete. Dark Style is live on Word Press. Please make sure to resubscribe to our new feed to receive new stories and content from Dark Style.
The new site location is http://houseoffoust.com/darkstyle/

Our new domain will be included in the next few weeks, the address above will still be good at that point too.

All of the old content has been moved over to the new Word Press site and the old Blogger site will remain active for now. Expect new stories later this week!

Dark Style is moving to Word Press!

2009-07-02T06:44:00.001-07:00

If you were wondering where ongoing posting went, I have been in the process of moving Dark Style to Word Press. As soon as the transition is complete the new address and feeds will be posted here.

Victorian Fish Tanks

2009-05-01T08:40:00.000-07:00

The Victorians had a keen interest in nature. House plants were a novelty as were fish. A few rare examples of Victorian era fish tanks do exist. The one pictured is a reproduction of a Victorian tank based on illustrations from the era.

Other tanks look more like modern rectangular tanks. The cast iron rectangular tanks provide some ideas on how one might decorate a modern tank to make it more fitting to a room's decor. This large image of an antique tank has great detail to work from (click here for that image).

Clip Art Books For Your Creative Adventures

2009-04-24T09:09:00.000-07:00

Dover's collection of clip art books has seen some improvements over the years. They now almost exclusively include a CD of all of the images so they are ready for use. Some of my older Dover books do not include CDs, making their use a bit tedious. Dover also began doing full color books for certain publications.

These are some of my favorites for black and white line drawings, hotlinked to Dover's site.

Dover also carries a line of books with full color and vector images that can be resized. The Pictura series are extremely detailed and useful for even large scale projects.

Pictura includes books of design and art from most of the world's cultures and detailed books of buterflies, flowers, insects and various art styles.

Black and White Conservatory

2009-04-17T08:54:00.000-07:00

I stumbled across this image from the Milestone Hotel in London. The hotel's conservatory is done in this striking black and white scheme. The striped draperies and black furnishings have an interesting balance to the all white room.

This pulled together style could be easily recreated for a conservatory, sun room or room with a white on white theme of woodwork and built in cabinetry. Painted or upholstered black furniture and the striped window treatments are the core design elements.

Something that makes the draperies really excel is the combination all done in the same fabric. There are roman shades, regular draperies and a double valance.

Furniture: Victorian Balloon Chair

2009-04-15T08:23:00.000-07:00

Design Toscano is carrying this unique reproduction Victorian Balloon chair. This is one reproduction you don't see every day. It is also currently on sale.

Old House Tours, Loch Aerie Victorian Mansion

2009-04-10T07:56:00.000-07:00

Old House Tours has a huge photo and video tour of Lockwood Mansion aka: Loch Aerie in Chester County PA. This unique property is a rather rare combination of Italianate and Victorian Gothic on a sprawling estate.

The home has numerous porches, small conservatory areas, ornate plasterwork and a grand central staircase. There are some other oddities in the photo tour. What looks like some sort of wood burning central heating system or a complex wood fired kitchen store. A large wood barrel of some sort installed by one of the spiral staircases makes one wonder about the origins. If your interested it is on the market for $2.2mil and is zoned for commercial.

Old world luxury home design, Clive Christian

2008-12-31T08:00:00.000-08:00

Clive Christian is probably more well known for being the company that sells the world's most expensive bottle of perfume.

They also have a reputation for high end cabinetry based home interiors.

Most of their designs are based off of old world designs but done with a modern cabinetry layout scheme.

Something of note with most of their designs is that they incorporate three elements. Crystal chandeliers, lots of wood molding and mirrors. When you break that down these are relatively inexpensive materials available at any big box home improvement store.

Crown molding either stained or painted to match the walls is a fairly easy project even a beginner could tackle. Basic cabinets could benefit from added crown or base moldings stained to match. Front molding and finials are also readily available and could be added to the front of cabinet bases or open shelving. Crystal chandeliers can frequently be found at garage sales, flea markets and house fixture reuse stores. Walls can benefit from frames made of molding that are mounted to the wall. When doing so on a painted wall, painting the frames to match makes them look built in. The bedroom pictured could be mimicked using a love seat and two wardrobes. A used hotel furniture warehouse would be an idea source for a pair of matching wardrobes or armoires. The heavy use of mirrors is another features that is relatively easy to recreate. Standard unframed mirrors from a big box home improvement store could be installed on the wall and framed out with the finish moldings to blend into the wall.

The Victorian indoor pool, Sutro Baths San Francisco

2008-12-26T08:00:00.000-08:00

The Sutro Baths were officially opened in 1896. Adolph Sutro, mayor of San Francisco created the project that was the largest indoor baths at that time.

The baths had seven pools, all but one fed with ocean salt water of varying temperatures. The building was styled similar to a large conservatory with intricate iron framework and hundreds of thousands of panes of crystal glass.

Sutro was a populist and wanted his facility to be accessible to all. Entrance included use of a suit, locker and of the amenities on site. The building had 500
changing booths.

The decor was ornate Victorian with Grecian influences. The building held a large population of palm trees, ferns and other plants.

The baths also had a theater, multiple restaurants, automata displays, mummies and many other strange and exotic items on display.

The baths were a marvel at their time. Recreating them today would be a monumental and expensive
task. This makes their creation in the late 1890's even more amazing.

Find out more about the Sutro Baths at these websites.
Historysmith.com
Western Neighborhoods Project
SutroBaths.com
1897 Edison Mfg. film of the baths

Crosley reproduction radios and phones

2008-12-25T08:00:00.000-08:00

You might have seen some of Crosley's retro turntables at national retailers. Crosley has a much larger line of reproduction audio and telephone products.

All of their items have current technology inside including USB connections, CD recorders, XM radio depending on the model.

Items range from Victorian to 50's in style so finding items to fit your decor should be easy. Their products make more design sense when your trying to finish a room with a historical design or other decor where modern items just do not work.

The line of phones will work on any system that provides a normal phone jack. So VoIP with a router hooked into your home wiring or other systems that provide a normal land line connection at the end should work with their phones. With an adapter you could even use these phones with free services like Skype. Find out more and see more products at the Crosley website.

Metallo Arts, artisan metal kitchen finishes

2008-12-19T08:00:00.000-08:00

Metallo Arts creates custom metal finishes for kitchen cupboards and appliances. Pictured to the left is a finished dishwasher integrated into a custom kitchen. Metallo can also create artisan metal finishes for refrigerators.

Metallo's key business is in their unique range hoods. These old world styled metal hoods are certainly not your typical big box store fare.

Metallo has also begun a venture with French range manufacturer Delaubrac to do their magic on this high end range line.

Find out more at the Metallo website.

The best office suite in DC.

2008-12-17T08:20:00.000-08:00

The office suite pictured to the left is in the Old Executive Office Building, Washington, DC. It was the background of a recent interview with outgoing VP Dick Cheney. This piqued my interest in the location that served as the backdrop for the interview. The office used by the VP, is the former office of the Secretary of the Navy. The office suite has had multiple uses over the years and are currently the official offices of the VP.

If you look in the background of the first two images you will notice a solid black Belgian marble fireplace mantle. In an up close view it is heavily carved. The room still has the original, now restored highly detailed paint scheme and plaster work. The paint scheme features classical ornaments with nautical themes worked into the green and burgundy color palette. The large light fixtures are the original gasoliers that provided for both gas and electrical lighting.

The original state of the room shows a detailed wood floor patterned with multiple species of wood. This image also provides a good view of the ceiling detail work.

A close up of the restored wall motifs between the windows. The designs are extremely detailed but due to the color choices don't become busy or distracting when viewed in the room as a whole.

You can see in the image to the left the intense level of not only painting detail but plaster work detail, much of it finished in gold leaf. The office suite is a significant departure from the typical federal style light colored rooms of the White House and similar official locations. It is enough to make you consider running for office.

Find out more about this building at the Navy's history page.

Dark Style.....at JcPenney's

2008-12-11T12:41:00.000-08:00

JcPenney recently came out with the Linden Street product line.

I was very surprised to find these kind of old world industrial style items at JcPenney. They are reasonably priced for the level of quality and right now most of the items in their Linden Street line are half price.

The items are available via the catalog, online and in stores, plus JcPenney is currently offering free shipping on orders over $25.

Discover the whole Linden Street line at JcPenney.

Book Review: The Queen Anne House, America's Victorian vernacular

2008-12-03T12:50:00.000-08:00

I picked up this book over the summer, it now has a key spot on my reference shelves. The book covers 22 Queen Anne style Victorian homes in the U.S.

The examples in the book are quite different from many historical home books, the examples are more ornate and lean more toward the darker colors and more masculine styles of the period. The rooms are generally large with emphasis on woodwork and architectural details.

The photography in the book is of extremely good quality allowing for minor details within the rooms to be much easier to see. There is also plenty of historical information on construction, hardware and the evolution of home building during the era.

Postapocalyptic Edwardian Croquet

2008-11-21T08:55:00.000-08:00

A group of urban explorers donned their best Edwardian gear for a game of croquet in an abandoned Packard factory in Detroit.

Hmm, formal dinner in an abandoned missle silo? High tea at a clandestine WWII ammo base?

Bathroom Chandeliers

2008-11-14T13:40:00.000-08:00

Apartment Therapy is showing off some recent work for a client where they used a chandelier in a half bath. Using chandeliers in unexpected places has been becoming popular as of late.

Chandeliers appear in small hallways with high ceilings, bedrooms and bathrooms. I posted a few months ago where I took an old chandelier and repurposed it into a bedside swag lamp.

This same idea could translate over to a number of decor styles. A more Victorian style chandelier, Arts & Crafts style rustic swag light fixture or a gothic styled fixture. I frequently find gothic styled units at architectural salvage stores from old churches. If your unable to change light fixtures in your space the corded swag conversion mentioned in my post would be an ideal option in places where moisture and water are not in the picture.

Dandyism

2008-11-12T08:16:00.000-08:00

Some men still aim to dress well, Dandyism appears to be making a comeback. I am not complaining. Going out can be such a disappointment when you make an effort, go somewhere nice only to see guys in shorts, flip flops and baseball hats. I recently attended a wedding were a number of people showed up in disturbingly inappropriate dress. Haynes sweats and rubber flip flops are not proper attire for attending a wedding.

The resurgence covers everything from the Victorian aesthetic to modern day dress.
Style doesn't stop at your home so check out Dandyism.net and TheDandy.org

Donovan Designs Art Lighting

2008-11-05T07:29:00.000-08:00

Art Donovan's current collection of art lighting is extremely diverse and creative, spanning everything from mod to Tiffany. He also boasts an impressive clientele list.

I am quite in awe of both the skill and composition in Art's work.

This hanging fixture really caught my eye. It is an interesting mix of old gothic and something more modern. It would look great over a kitchen island or large table.

The hanging fixture feels almost mid century and slightly gothic. I love the burl wood styled sides that seem to glow themselves.

This very simple pendant lamp by Leslie Tarbell Donovan is rather neat. The pattern inside the lampshade outlined in metallic sets off a basic shade shape.

This idea opens up all sorts of possibilities.

Check out more at Donovan Design

Sanatorium to Become Hotel

2008-10-31T12:30:00.000-07:00

A 1920's era sanatorium near Louisville, Ky is slated to be turned into a hotel. The Waverly Hills Sanatorium has long been a site for ghost hunters and has been featured on a number of TV shows.

The building is on the National Register of Historic Places and the plans seem to be coming together to make the project happen. Plans include a hotel, spa and meeting space.
Courier Journal article.
Waverly Hills Sanatorium website

Photo by Alex Davis, The Courier-Journal

Kitchen and conservatory, Practical Magic.

2008-10-29T09:47:00.000-07:00

Sometimes the best part of a movie is the sets or the costuming. Over the years as we have searched for our perfect house I have had at least two requests, a large kitchen and a conservatory.

The house sets in the movie Practical Magic are wonderful examples of just that. Sadly, there was no real house used in the movie. It was all well conceived sets and a temporary facade.

The huge kitchen set from the movie. They never make kitchens big enough in real life.

Dining room wall decor

2008-10-24T09:10:00.000-07:00

I found this dining room image at Architectural Digest. The wall behind the table has a high impact but look closer, it is a very simple design.

An iron curtain rod hung high on the wall with a tab top curtain(s) in a basic fabric is used as the back drop. The images are hung using a series of hooks or chain to suspend them from the rod.

The main piece of art is the painting in the middle. You could use a featured piece of art or even an art poster if it was well framed. The surrounding frames appear to have photos or ink drawings. All of this could be done on a theme such as one main work of art by an artist and then use smaller prints from the same artist in the other frames.

This would also be easy to do with a group of frames from a thrift store painted black and filled with small prints, art images scavenged from a calendar or cards with art fronts.
Image: Architectural Digest

Jay Walker's library: something to covet.

2008-10-22T10:29:00.000-07:00

Wired did a piece on Jay Walker, a technology millionaire and his library of awesomeness.

It is a mix of old styled library, historical science museum and a geek-fest. Walker has everything from an actual Sputnik satellite to an Enigma machine and various medical oddities.

There are more images in the Wired article including more views of the library and of various ancient books and artifacts.

Chicago Colombian Exposition, stroll the white city.

2008-10-17T08:01:00.000-07:00

The Chicago Tribune has a slideshow of the 1893 Chicago Colombian Exposition. All that remains of this expanse of buildings is the one that is now the Museum of Science and Industry.

Most of these buildings were built with wood framing and plaster and either burned down or decayed quickly. Even by today's standards the end result done specifically for a one time event is amazing.

70's gothic dining table DIY rehab

2008-10-15T10:04:00.000-07:00

We bought this table about ten years ago for $50, it was not in great shape but the style of the table was just too cool to pass up.

It had cracks in the legs and chunks of the wood veneer top missing. This was one of those projects I said I was going to do every spring and never did.

It was stripped and sanded and then given lots of woodfiller. That was the main reason I painted the table, staining was not possible with all the damage to the wood.

The table was taken apart and all of the pieces were given 2-3 coats of water based black paint and a coat of polyurethane. The top received three coats of poly.

The gold was painted in between the black and the top coat. The chair in the background is one of our mismatched chairs. They will be stripped and stained with an ebony stain to keep the look of the wood but tie them into the set better.

I think it will also look much better when we get the floors redone in wood to replace the vinyl tile.

The free antique piano

2008-10-10T10:08:00.000-07:00

Dr. Dreadful asked me if we wanted a free piano. One of his co-workers found it left behind by a former tenant in one of her properties. If we removed it we could have it.

I was told that it had white paint on it, had lots of carving making it look old and it was made in the 1960's. It sounded cool so I agreed sight unseen.

After much fuss and aching backs Dr. Dreadful and friends showed up with the piano at our house. It was indeed very cool.

Whomever painted this with a thick layer of interior wall primer does need a serious beating. Upon further inspection the piano didn't look to be constructed in the 1960's. After some serious googling I found that it is actually an antique. Based on the serial number it is around a year 1909-1912 Smith & Barnes. A similar one fully restored sold for around $9700. It does need a small bit of work, one of the hammers was broken but otherwise is one of the most amazing sounding pianos.

I did discover that the finish underneath the primer is recoverable. By using a piece of extra fine sandpaper I was able to get down to pure finish without damage. So this will be my January and February project, hand sanding the entire piano.
My sanity in March remains to be seen.

The images do not do justice to the detailed carving.

Dark Minimalist Monochromatic

2008-10-03T09:04:00.000-07:00

This minimalist room done in a monochromatic mostly dark palette stood out among the tons of modern designs being pushed lately.

The larger elements of the room are done in the dark color and the light color is used to highlight everything else. The room is minimalistic but doesn't seem as cold as most do.

The Steampunk Home

2008-09-26T11:03:00.000-07:00

I wanted to point out the blog The Steampunk Home. Writer Sara has an extensive chronicle of interesting commercial spaces and both vintage and steampunk styled home design.

The image to the left is the Bradbury building in LA, the building used in Bladerunner. Steampunk Home has more pictures in the post about the Bradbury.

Some other posts of note include this one on a Paris Metro station that looks like something out of a Jules Verne novel.
Also, this gem about brass contact paper.

DIY: Vinyl Wall Art Using Contact Paper

2008-09-19T17:33:00.000-07:00

Britsteiner at Instructibles posted this useful DIY for creating vinyl wall art using black contact paper. All of the step by step instructions are in the project at Instructibles. The basis of this project could be used for just about any theme. Architectural element, words, repeating patterns, gears, scrollwork etc.

Swank High Quality Furniture For Pennies On The Dollar

2008-09-12T14:04:00.000-07:00

Want some really high quality good looking furniture but your short on cash? Look for hotel furniture liquidators. Not the Motel 6 variety liquidators, the ones that liquidate places like the St. Regis in NYC or the Four Seasons in Chicago.

The right places sell some really nice furniture for $10 to a few hundred for pieces that would cost thousands if you tried to buy them at a furniture store. The furniture is commercial grade, making it even more of a bargain. Commercial grade chairs, sofas and tables have to put up with the heavy use of being in a public space. So the frame and other components will be much more durable. Some designers score pieces from these places to recover and sell to clients because the frames are so sturdy, all they need is a face lift with new fabric.

Fort Pitt Hotel Furniture in Chicago is a great starting place.
Cooper Hotel Furniture in Chicago is another touted source, their selection is sometimes less awesome than Fort Pitt's.
If your not near Chicago try doing a google search for the nearest large city and hotel furniture liquidation.

Decorating A Two Color Room, Plumbing Pipe Canopy Bed

2008-09-10T08:35:00.000-07:00

This high impact designer room looks expensive and very pulled together. The room is based on two complimentary colors done in multiple ways and is relatively easy to do if you break it down. The fabrics used are striped, toile, two color jaquard and single color jaquard. The trims used are simple tassels, braid and tasseled fringe. The other items in the room are done in the same two colors. The walls are done in the gold/tan color and furniture items painted in either the blue or the tan, like the small table is.

One big hint on this bed. It looks expensive but could be done easily on a budget using the ABS plumbing pipe plans from Christopher Lowell as a basis.

This project will need lots of fabric. Your best bet is to have solid idea of the two colors you wish to use and some reference item either paint chips or fabric swatches of the two ideal colors as your starting point. Start by finding the more expensive and complicated fabrics first such as a two color jaquard or toile. Both are more difficult to find in the exact color match your after. Generally finding upholstery or drapery fabric in stripes and single color jaquard fabrics is easier so find those after you have found the others. Another option for additional fabrics are patterned cottons found either in the decor or quilting sections. Even the quilting section frequently has stripes and non calico patterned fabrics that would work well for this design project. Cottons and solid color fabrics can also be a lower cost way to fill in with your more expensive fabrics. Also look for your smaller yardage less dominant to the design fabrics in the reminant bins. They are usually about half the price of buying cut yardage. With the large total yards of fabric needed for this, locating fabric warehouses or outlets may get you deeper discounts. Another option is to use paint and painted patterns to substitute for fabric in some of the portions of the room.

Image: Architectural Digest

Vintage Style Table Fans

2008-09-05T13:28:00.000-07:00

The hot part of the summer is winding down but these fans are still available. I found this uber cool Hunter brand vintage styled fan at Target earlier this summer. They had an end cap display full of them one weekend I stopped in, by the next weekend they were all gone. Luckily I found one stuck on a back shelf a few weeks later.

The black and antiqued nickel finish is quite nice and blends in well with furnishings. So much better than your typical plastic fans. This one I don't mind leaving in the living room. The fan itself is quite heavy and sturdy.

Normally these vintage fan styles from Hunter cost well over $100, the model from Target is $59. They still carry them online if your interested in picking one up.

1900's French Tile Sign on Etsy

2008-09-03T11:20:00.000-07:00

This hand painted reproduction of a 1900's era tile bakery sign from France is now up on Etsy.

It is currently unmounted so it could be installed in a backsplash or other tile installation. The tiles are a 2x2 standard commercial tile and the artwork is fully fired to the tiles.

More information and close up images are on the Esty page where the mural is currently for sale.

The Gothic Computer Mod

2008-08-29T10:49:00.000-07:00

Datamancer has a new computer mod that was unveiled at the Steampunk art show in Bridgehampton, NY.

The computer is an all in one unit, the cpu is in the base below the lcd screen. A matching vintage keyboard also has the quatrefoil design incorporated.

For more images of The Archbishop pc mod and Datamancer's other creations check out his website.

Art Deco Building Becomes New "W" Hotel

2008-08-27T15:10:00.000-07:00

The Foshay tower in Minneapolis debuted in 1929 as the dream of Wilbur Foshay. The building was quite a big deal at the time and was opened with great fanfare. Then the stock market crashed, Wilbur Foshay was broke. His check to John Phillips Sousa for the song and performance at the building opening bounced and the building went into receivership. Foshay never was able to occupy the top floor apartment suite and all the detailed art deco designs within the building.

The Foshay operated for decades as office space and retail space at the street level. The details of
the building were never stripped out though
many were covered up during the 70's.

The building also housed one of the few
observation decks in the city. The IDS tower had
one during the early 70's but it was closed to the
public a few years later.

In August of 2008 an extensive historical
rennovation was completed and the Foshay
opened as the "W" Hotel in Minneapolis.

Starwood has done an excellent job of keeping
true to the history of the building while creating
a state of the art hotel.

Most of the pictures of the rennovation show the old world details of the hotel, but Starwood has done the rooms in a modern style that compliments the modernist feel of many of the deco accents.

The Foshay building is a few blocks from the nearest light rail station, giving quick access to the airport and the Mall of America. It is also centrally located in downtown close to most major business or entertainment venues.

Find out more at the "W" Hotel's website.

DIY: The $6 Nightstand Goes Designer

2008-08-22T09:19:00.000-07:00

I found this sad piece of furniture at a local Goodwill Store. Multiple people passed it by without a closer look. It wasn't very attractive with the stickers all over it and a padlock stuck on the drawer pull. But the piece was solid wood except for the laminate top surface and they only wanted $6 for it.

The materials used:
Citrus based furniture stripper
Plastic paint scraper
Rubber gloves
Fine sandpaper
Black latex paint (1 qt)
Paint pens

After scraping off the stickers and removing the old drawer pull the item was fully stripped and cleaned. It was given a light sanding and three coats of semi-gloss black except for the top. A new $4 handle was put on the front. The top like many pieces of 70's era furniture had a formica faux wood top. I am assuming this was to add durability but it causes some issues for refinishing the item. I had initially planned on painting the top with a coat of plastic compatible spray paint and then finishing it with the rest of the painted areas. But since the faux wood top was still in good shape I decided to leave it. I found images of the pattern used by looking online at wood inlays. The top was covered in masking tape and the design drawn on the masking tape. Then the sections to be painted were cut out of the tape with an xacto knife. The black was painted with the paint pen and then all of the masking tape was removed to outline the areas with a gold paint pen. The final result was impressive. It resembled inlayed wood and brass. The total cost for the nightstand and supplies was about $35.

Turn Formica Countertops Into Faux Granite

2008-08-20T09:12:00.000-07:00

Countertop Transfauxmations claims they can show you how to turn old formica countertops into a realistic looking faux granite through their DVD. Looking at the pictures, if the average person can replicate the "after" images it would be well worth the purchase.

The idea does seem quite possible since a number of DIY shows have claimed you can paint old countertops if removing them isn't an option.

This technique could be a boon for people trying to improve a kitchen on a limited budget.

Dark Travels; Eureka Springs, AR

2008-08-15T11:25:00.000-07:00

I haven't been to Eureka Springs in decades, but I stumbled across an article about this unique mountain town that reminded me of how cool it is.

Eureka Springs is a small town in the Ozarks near the Arkansas Missouri state lines. It has one of the largest concentrations of Victorian era homes and buildings in the US. Mainly a tourist town it is full of shops full of work by local artists, restaurants and hotels.

One hotel of mention is the Crescent Hotel that has been in operation since 1881. I was there before they began the rennovation. It looks great.

Dark Crafts: Chinoiserie Eggs

2008-08-08T08:14:00.000-07:00

This craft project from Style At Home is much easier than it looks. Acrylic paints, Asian inspired stamps, a gold paint pen and some paper with oriental text are all you need.

This technique could be used to produce other styles or themes using other styles of stamps and paper clippings.

For the complete instructions check out the page at Style At Home.

Stuck With White Walls?

2008-08-06T10:34:00.000-07:00

If your renting or otherwise restricted in painting your walls what do you do with those miles of white? White space can be a good thing, it gives the eye a break and helps define other objects in your room. Find ways to balance the white and work with it by using dramatic areas of dark or intense color. In the images the small red accent wall balances out all of the white on white and draws your attention in to that area. A large piece of furniture, bed or window coverings could serve as the big focal point in a room. Another option is to go with a pure black and white pallete.

Image 1, Architectural Digest.

Image 2, Point Click Home

Paris Apartment Library

2008-08-01T11:04:00.000-07:00

This amazing looking library is more simple to put together than it looks. The chesterfield sofa and matching chairs are relatively expensive purchased new, but they can frequently be found where old office furniture items are resold. Law offices getting rid of their old furniture can be a real score for items like this. I have spotted similar sofas at the PPL Store in Minneapolis.

The three covered chairs are very similar to the armed dining chairs from many traditional dining sets. Mismatched chairs of that nature are fairly easy to find at thrift stores and used furniture stores.

If you take a close look at the walls, they are painted the same color as the chair fabric and the simple draperies match the leather sofas. The rug appears to be a simple grey low pile berber.

Image and details from Architectural Digest

Places to see, The London Library

2008-07-25T08:00:00.000-07:00

If I am ever stuck in London for a few months this is on my list of things to do. The London Library is the world's largest private lending library. Started in 1841, the London Library's membership reads like a who's who list literary list.

The library works on private membership open to anyone willing to pay the membership fee, 375 pounds for an annual and 190 pounds for a 4 month visitors membership. Since the library has a policy of never throwing out books it is one of the most in depth repositories of old knowledge.

The library boasts ample quiet work space devoid of the disturbance level typical in most public and university libraries.
They also offer more services than your typical library.

If you don't have months to comb the steel floored catacombs of literary knowledge they do offer introductory tours on some Saturdays.

The London Library

Laptop turns vintage typewriter

2008-07-02T14:45:00.000-07:00

Writer Mary Robinette Kowal modded her laptop inspired by old vintage typewriters. A combination of custom laptop stickers and a key mod to make the existing keys look like old typewriter keys created a cool project with minimal invasive work on the laptop itself.

Check out the entire laptop project and how-to's at Mary's blog.

Travel in style, atlantic crossing on the QM2

2008-06-27T08:00:00.000-07:00

If flying these days reminds you more of a torture session or riding a Greyhound bus, there are some far better options. Well, at least if your looking to cross the Atlantic.

Cunard's Queen Mary 2 has been making transatlantic crossings for a couple of years. The QM2 was specifically designed for transatlantic crossings, providing a comfortable ride far better than most cruise ships can do. QM2 does at least two crossings a month with the European port varying.

The trip takes six days, rather than the six hours a transatlantic flight usually takes (minus delays). But there are more than enough activities
to keep you from being bored.

The cost of taking the QM2 if you book one of the mid range cabins with a balcony is about the same as a coach class flight. Pictured to the left is one of the moderate class suites.

The QM2 offers plenty to do. They have a library, multiple restaurants, bars, night clubs, champagne bar, cigar bar, Canyon Ranch branded spa, gym, theater, museums, indoor and outdoor pools and an onboard pet boarding kennel. They also have a cyber cafe, wifi and satellite TV in the rooms.

So far the reviews have been positive rating it a far better experience than some of the discount Caribbean cruises full of noisy drunks.

Find out more about the Queen Mary 2 at Cunard's website.
Find out what other's said about their trip at Cruise Critic.

Private rail cars, travel in style.

2008-06-13T08:00:00.000-07:00

Private rail conjures up images from "Wild Wild West" or old movies. It certainly isn't your typical RV.

A number of people throughout the country have saved and restored old rail cars to use on a little known travel option that still exists today. You can have a private rail car connect to a scheduled Amtrak train and ride in style. With the price of gas being what it is, the cost to hitch a ride sounds pretty reasonable. Currently Amtrak charges $4000 a year for certification and 75 cents a mile. Compared to the cost of gas in some of the mega-RV's on the road this isn't that bad. Private cars cost in the range of high end RVs.

If your not into putting forth a small fortune for a private car, many are for hire for trips. There are also a number of private trains available for charter like the Virginia City pictured above.

If old Victorian isn't your thing there are trains like the Cedar Rapids, owned by friends of the 261. This modern styled car makes occasional trips in Wisconsin and Minnesota.

The back solarium of the car seats 12 and is lined in oak.

If you really have some money burning a hole in your pocket. There is one of the last art deco Zepher trains for sale. A similar one sits in the Museum of Science & Industry in Chicago.

If you want to find out more about private rail cars or to see more images check out the links below.

Architectural Digest private rail feature.
The Virginia City Rail Corp.
Friends of the 261.
Dover Harbor private car.
Cincinnati Railway (rail car club).
Chapel Hill private car.

Steampunk Keyboard & Monitor

2008-06-04T08:00:00.000-07:00

This has made the internet rounds and has been featured in Wired and Newsweek so you may have seen this before. The steampunk inspired keyboard. "Jake" Von Slatt at Steampunk Workshop built this out of an old IBM keyboard, old typewriter parts and some rather involved brasswork. Check out more images and how he put together this really cool keyboard.

He also built this LCD monitor mod. Both would go great in any older style decor.
Since Dell probably won't be coming out with these any time soon I might have to go dig that old LCD monitor out of the garage and see if I can find it a power supply....

Check out Von Slatt's website for more really cool mods of everyday stuff.

Transatlantic tunnel telescope - Victorian mad science

2008-05-30T08:00:00.000-07:00

This bit of Victorian mad science is a joint venture between New York and London. Victorian engineer Alexander Stanhope St. George dreamed of creating the Telectroscope, a giant tunnel under the Atlantic connecting two giant telescopes.

Now people on the street in London can see people on the street in New York. Well actually it is an art exhibit that uses broadband and cameras to allow people to "see" across the Atlantic. The art installation is created to look like a Victorian era invention. It is a great reminder of the kind of fantastic things dreamed up during that era. The installation will be open until June 15th for those who want to go check it out.

More on the exhibit from CNN.
More on the exhibit and artist Paul St. George.

Frank Buchwald Machine Lights

2008-05-26T08:00:00.000-07:00

Artist Frank Buchwald's mad scientist machine lights turn an every day object into other worldly art.

Every aspect of each pieces construction including the bulbs is created by Buchwald.

Check out the full gallery of Buchwald's lights.

Greenhouse in a plastic milk bottle

2008-04-24T11:41:00.001-07:00

I developed this system last year after reading a book on French market gardening. One of the techniques in French market gardening involves glass cloches to act as a mini greenhouse for seedlings. We have a very short growing season up in the north so anything to make better use out of the warm months the better.

The bottles used are clear plastic PET type milk bottles. I have also seen various types of fruit juice sold in these bottles. They work extremely well and are usually free. How the process works is to start the seedling out in the reconstructed milk jug with the cap on. As it matures you can then loosen the cap and eventually remove the cap. You will still need to periodically water through the process as needed. These mini greenhouses work great in a windowsill or shelves in a larger window to maximize warmth and restrict evaporation. I would not put them outside until it is warm enough to put them in the ground with shelter. I have also used another milk jug with the bottom cut off as a larger greenhouse to shelter seedlings and keep them warmer after transplanting them into the garden.

The best way to get labels off of these jugs is to fill them with hot tap water, let them sit for about 5 minutes and carefully peel the label off. If you do it right the entire label will come off in one piece.

The next step is to drill a hole in the bottom to allow drainage. Keeping the cap on tight helps keep the bottle rigid while you drill the hole. In the picture with the empty bottle is a container of old coffee grounds and oven dried eggshells. I use this as a soil augmentation and put about one inch in the bottom then fill with potting soil.

Use a box cutter or utility knife to cut a one inch slice into the jug about 2/3 of the way up the bottle. Use a craft scissors to cut the top off of the bottom. Use the scissors to cut four 3/4 inch slits in the top portion. This makes rejoining the top into the bottom easier.

Fill the bottom with dirt and plant your seed or seeds. Water well. I use a plastic yogurt container lid underneath to catch water.

Make sure the cap is on the top half of the bottle then join the bottle top to the bottle bottom that now has the seed planted in it. You can either push together the bottle top letting the 3/4 inch slits overlap or spread them apart to go over the outside of the bottle bottom.

Place the mini greenhouse in a windowsill or on shelves near a sunny window and check them every few days to see if they need additional water. If you have specific questions please leave them in the comments.

I will be putting out a follow up post when we get ready to transplant.

Gothic Steampunk Industrial

2008-04-17T14:48:00.000-07:00

What a cool mix of industrial with a bit gothic Victorian and rather steampunk all together. The Edison in downtown LA has put a true twist on using an old industrial space.

Outside of the left over huge iron generators and other parts from when this was a functioning electric power plant, most of the decor is rather straightforward in execution. This design twist would be really easy to pull off in any converted industrial space, loft or unfinished basement.

The main elements are dark leather furniture in vintage styles, oriental rugs and turn of the century fixtures.

Many times people stress quite a bit trying to cover and hide raw elements such as concrete or brick walls in a space. The design ideas used in the Edison instead embrace those things making this idea for a rental situation or one where full traditional room finishes are not practical.

Check out the visual tour of their website and keep an eye out for some of the interesting takes on vintage and industrial elements. The chandelier in the image to the left is made out of vintage style edison clear light bulbs and old glass telephone pole transformers.

See more about the Edison at:
The Edison Downtown

Freecycle Crystal Chandelier

2008-03-26T07:17:00.000-07:00

I got this cool chandelier off of freecycle. I had no idea what I was getting when the previous owner offered up an old chandelier, this was the cool surprise I found waiting in an old cardboard box.

I wanted to rewire it so it could be hung up in our bedroom as a bedside hanging lamp. After much futzing around at Lowes trying to find all the electrical parts to do what I needed I found a kit in the lamps department that has everything you need to convert a fixed hanging light into a swag light with a cord for about $9.

I did end up getting some different wire connectors though. These round male/female connectors worked better.

Materials:
Swag lamp kit
Wiring connectors
Phillips screwdriver
two pairs of needle nose pliers
Wiring stripper cutter tool
Some new bulbs and some shades

I started by feeding the chain onto the new cord, yea you have to do that first, it will make sense later. Then I connected the wires from the chandelier to the new cord with the wiring connectors. I wrapped them in black electrical tape, you could use small bits of black shrink tubing if you wanted to be a perfectionist about it. Then I added the switch, it is one of those roll and click on the cord switches. I had to try it twice to get the teeth inside to bite into the cord. The swag lamp kit does have step by step instructions on how to do this. Then we fed the chain back over the length of the cord, tightened a few things, added bulbs and lampshades and gave it a test.

We added the lampshades to give it a bit more weight to the look, dim the light a bit and to tie it into the red & black color scheme of the bedroom. The lampshades have an ivory satin lining but gold lined ones would work also.

Back from hiding

2008-03-26T06:14:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to drop a note since a couple of people asked where the blog went. Winter wasn't good to me. The nearly three straight months of frequently below zero weather was rough on my health so various projects like the blog got put to the side until spring.

High End Black Kitchen Ideas

2007-12-09T16:18:00.000-08:00

HGTV has some tips on using black in your kitchen. The one pictured is just too cool. Between the glossy surfaces, mirrored backsplash, extensive lighting and white floor it doesn't look closed in.

There is a whole series of ideas for adding black to your kitchen at HGTV's website.

Dark Holiday Goodies, Grab Them While You Can

2007-11-13T11:06:00.001-08:00

It looks like the recent trend of black or dark themed holiday items may be running its course. Most retailers still have some in their lineup but are favoring other color themes this year like copper and teal. With colors like black, dark purple, and burgundy being pushed out for whatever is considered new and trendy this year and into next season this may be all there is for a while. If you see something you like grab it this year because next years offering are going to be even slimmer. Style trends at major retailers rotate and this one seems to be on the way out.

Still I did find a small few options at places like Target, Macys, Menards and Sams Club.

The links list of some of what I found at least online:

These cool black and rhinestone tree icecicles at Macys.
Walmart still has black trees, and a pure white one.
Unusual colored trees at Michaels, including red and burgundy.
Factory Furniture Store has a 110 box of black & white ornaments online.
Christmas People has color themed selections like this grouping of black and red items.

It's A Dress, No It's A Lamp

2007-10-31T16:33:00.000-07:00

Elle had these Moschino lamps as part of a lighting style collection based on fashion objects. Moschino doesn't want to divulge how much the lamps go for so they are probably expensive.

Recreating one of these yourself might be a real possibility using lampshade making basics. It could also be a great use for a really cool corset find.

What To Buy November 1st

2007-10-31T06:20:00.000-07:00

Other than the standard Halloween candy that will be on sale tomorrow, don't forget to stock up on a few other things this time of year.

Post Halloween sales are your best bet to stock up on anything black. Candles, gift wraps, papers, plates, glasses, table clothes and decor items. Just about every store has some fairly basic non Halloween themed items in black that are part of their Halloween offerings.

Many stores have also had some actual Halloween items that might fit well into more gothy or victorian decorating. Skulls in a crystal globe would look great mixed with old victorian medical items. Bowls with subtle spider web designs could be integrated into other designs without looking like a Halloween hold over.

If your really into decorating for Halloween, November 1st is the best time to snatch up those huge Halloween decor items. Halloween retailers do not want to store big items until next year. Spirit, Spencer Gifts Halloween temporary seasonal store rarely carries over product until the next year. This year they had quite a few large resin figures. Those may be very well had at a deep discount after the holiday.

Skull Wreath DIY

2007-10-27T18:57:00.000-07:00

This wreath was fairly easy, taking about an afternoon to complete. Materials cost about $20

Materials:
Grapevine wreath
Black gloss spray paint
20-30 hollow plastic skulls
2 black rose silk flower clusters
1 roll wired sheer black ribbon
black pipe cleaners
wire cutters
scissors

Spray paint the wreath with the black paint. You won't get it everywhere but that seems to add to the old aged rotted look.

The skulls I found were hollow with a small hole in the bottom. A pipe cleaner could be pushed through the hole and curled up inside the head, holding it on the pipe cleaner. Insert the roses, one from each side across the bottom of the wreath, cut off excess stem with a wire cutters.

Start with three skulls at the top and insert the skull topped pipe cleaners through the wreath so the skulls sit together with the tops of the heads pointing at the top of the wreath. The wired ribbon was made by making one bow about 6in wide on each side of the bow with long tails. The inside bow the skull sits in is repeated folds of ribbon, about 3-4 on each side. All of the folds of ribbon were secured in the center with a staple. Both bows are set on the bottom of the wreath, the 6in ribbon down first with the ribbon of repeated folds on top. Use one of the skulls in the center and wrap the black pipe cleaner around the wreath and ribbons. Bring the end of the pipe cleaner around and wrap around the base of the skull to secure.

Feed remaining skulls into the wreath so they follow the curve of the wreath, using an even number of skulls on both sides. Wrap the ends of the pipe cleaner of each skull around the back twigs of the wreath as you go.

We used pipe cleaners to secure the wreath to our door, a regular wreath hanger could be used.

Last Minute Halloween

2007-10-27T18:36:00.000-07:00

If your in a last minute panic for Halloween, the projects below were some of the better, easy to do projects out there this year.

Projects:
Tombstones
Tombstones (2nd version)
Permanent Jack-o-lanterns
Black-o-lanterns
Bottle labels
Spiderweb eggs

If your trying to get jack-o-lanterns carved, get out the power tools! Drills and dremel tools can be handy pumpkin carving tools. Drills can be used for pilot holes for small saws or to drill accent holes. Dremel tools have become the new pumpkin carving tool. Wood carving round headed bits work great for taking off the layer of outer rind with better control and speed. Pointed dry wall saws offer good control with faster cutting than the pumpkin carving saws do.
Even Williams - Sonoma jumped on the dremel tool kick selling an orange one as a special pumpkin carving tool.

If your still shopping for Halloween, Martha Stewart has some great items this year. They are available through the Martha Stewart website or at Michaels Craft stores.

Target has some unique items this season. Their tactic to offer more products that mimic items from high end stores pays off again.
skull crystal ball
feather wreath
silver skull

Urban Archaeology - preserving the old

2007-10-26T11:23:00.000-07:00

Urban Archaeology started out salvaging and restoring architectural antiques. With the high demand of restoration items and the popularity of "old" new items they have turned their salvage business into one of the better manufacturers of reproduction pieces.

The reproduction offerings range from lighting fixtures to bathroom and kitchen equipment.

Some of the more interesting finds reside in their salvage section of unique finds. The collection is hard to pin down since it is such a variety of oddities and unique architectural find. Most of the salvage items reflect their rarity and are considerably pricey. You might not have the $35,000 for the library ladder from France pictured above, but the item are certainly food for inspiration.

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2007-10-25T16:27:00.000-07:00

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