So it's been a while right? Summer was happening- no time for blogging. I took the kiddos home to Louisiana for a few weeks, we went to OKC, and did some other fun summer stuff. And my Big Boy Con-Man started Kindergarten last week!!! OMG how did he get so big?! More on that later- For now I am excited to share a farmhouse design I completed for a client who is buying land in Pennsylvania. They hired me to design a garage apartment. Their desire was to build an apartment they and their two girls would live in until their final dream home would be designed and built. They wanted the apartment have the same look as the home they would one day build- so it's a pretty awesome garage apartment. It's complete with 2 bedrooms, playroom, living and kitchen area, and dining room. The exterior has dormer windows, a pergola, and cupola complete with weather vein! Not to shabby for a garage-
I was also excited to be able to use SketchUp to render a 3D of the home. I have used SketchUp in the past but am trying to further my skills and this client was willing to let me go the extra mile for them. So grateful!
Pretty cool right!?
Right now the couple is still looking for the perfect plot of land - hoping they are able to complete their dream home (and garage) soon!
Valentines is Right around the corner so when I saw this collection of architectural inspired Valentines on Houzz I had to laugh- and share it with you of course!
In Design School Frank Gehry was and still is one of my favorite architects. When we were in Seattle I had to go see his Experience Music Project just so I could say I have been to and seen one of his buildings. (Unfortunately on that trip my camera crapped out and I lost all photos...)
His envelope pushing style and design gets a lot of praise and a lot of criticism. Either way when I heard he had designed a "Make It Right" Home for Hurricane Katrina Victims I had to check it out! "Make It Right" is the charity started by Brad Pitt to help Hurricane Katrina victims in the Ninth Ward build new housing. Local architects and designers throughout Louisiana, along with a lot of nationally known architects have have been donating time and resources to build new, affordable, green homes for the residents to move into.
Gehry hasn't designed many homes in his career so this is kind of a big deal. The home he designed for New Orleans is in the vernacular style of southern Louisiana joined with his personal style.
Homeowners get to choose their own exterior colors of the home. This one is a duplex and both homeowners choose bright fun colors; both from Benjamin Moore's Natura and Aura zero- VOC line. It's said that Brad Pitt encourages this and all the Make It Right homes and bold and colorful.
The interior seems pretty simple. Materials for the home are Green and costs are kept down. Each home is supposed to cost about $150,00- $200,000 and homeowners pay what they can toward the house. I'm not sure if materials are donated or purchased. The flooring is made from postindustrial recycled content.
Windows are abundant throughout the home. Natural daylight was important to have according the Gehry.
This home has 4 balconies for each home owner including a rood deck. Snazzy! The solar panels and geothermal energy heating and cooling systems keep the energy costs low- I believe one homeowner said her energy bill is only $25 a month!
I also found this video explaining more about the house- enjoy!
I love the outside, the style and all those balconies! Awesome! The wood flooring is beautiful and I love that it is green. The kitchen is pretty bare but that's expected since costs are kept low.
So what do you think? Do you totally dig it or can you live without it?
