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The Saguaro Palm Springs, brought to you by the developers of the Ace Hotel, opened last week, just in time for Modernism Week and well in time for those heading out for April music festival Coachella.

Designed by NYC-based Peter Stamberg & Paul Aferiat of Stamberg Aferiat Architecture, the hotel is a re-vamped a three-story Holiday Inn from 1977, re-imagined in serious Technicolor. The color palette reflects the vibrancy of the Southwest, in hues derived from 14 indigenous flowers of the Mojave Desert.

Guest rooms boast multicolored striped bedding, orange furniture, a bubble gum pink accent wall, and royal purple carpeting. A wood table and chairs and black and white images by Palm Springs photographer Jim Cornett ground the rooms with a bit of natural realism.

There are 245 rooms, a second floor public space with a wild red Bird-of-Paradise wallpaper on the ceiling, an expansive pool in a lush courtyard complete with a cabana pool bar, a spa, and two restaurants by Iron Chef Jose Garces, one with a tequila bar, the other with a wine bar.

The Saguro Palm Springs, 1800 East Palm Canyon Drive, Palm Springs, California.

Filed under: . REGULAR FEATURES, Architecture, Design Diary, Rooms

Architecture: Martha’s Vineyard Campmeeting Association

StyleCarrot — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 18:54:57 +0000

I don’t know much about Martha’s Vineyard. I went for the first time last year, to see a house for a Globe magazine piece. I had a few hours to walk around Edgartown (got a cute Michael Stars ombré dress), so it was fun. Not long after, I went back for story for Cape Cod & Islands Home. This time it was in and out – I think I was on the island all of two hours. I ferried over again yesterday, for another piece for them. Again, a quickie, but I had two hours to kill in Oak Bluffs before my return crossing. After grabbing a sandwich and assessing the shops as tourist trap junk, I decided to wander. I happened upon this sign: The Martha’s Vineyard Campmeeting Association. Hmm. Looked like a little village; the houses were charming, all gingerbread cottages painted pretty colors, huddled together like, well, camp cabins. I took a ton of pictures (unfortunately it wasn’t sunny, so the colors don’t shine), and when I got home did some brief research.

According to the Martha’s Vineyard Campmeeting Association website, the enclave contains “the most perfectly preserved collection of Carpenter Gothic style architecture in the world.” How they came about is really quite interesting. The association is a non-profit religious organization that was established in 1835.

According to the MMVCA, from the first campmeeting in 1835 until 1859, ministers preached from a makeshift stand. In 1869, a huge tent was raised over Wesleyan Grove (a common area) to protect the congregation from the heat and rain. In 1879, the iron Tabernacle was built in Wesleyan Grove, which was restored and upgraded in 1999 by the architecture firm Durkee Brown.

Photo courtesy of Durkee Brown Architects

Thousands attended the services. They were housed in large tents knows as “society tents.” Conditions were cramped, with men and women sleeping dormitory-style on opposite sides of a central canvas divider. Over time, families began leasing small lots on which to pitch their own individual tents. In the 1860s and 1870s, the family tents were rapidly replaced with permanent wooden cottages. At one time there were about 500 cottages; today there are just over 300.

The cottages are privately owned; many have been passed down through generations. Some are pristine, others are a bit ramshackle, but all are adorable. There are usually some available for rent – see the current listings here. The Tabernacle hosts all sorts of events, and interdenominational worship services are held there on summer Sunday mornings.

Here are my photos of the cottages:

Posted in Architecture

Designe Diary: Jim Higgins’ Pre-Fabulous House in Maine

StyleCarrot — Tue, 12 May 2009 05:30:33 +0000

This is the weekend home of Jim Higgins, Boston architect, a principal with PH Partners. I found him through my hunt for dream homes. Although the house didn’t make that issue of the Boston Globe Sunday Magazine (Your Dream Homes), I was able to do a “Designing” column called “Modern, Naturally”, which ran this Sunday. It’s a prefab, designed by Missouri-based architect Rocio Romero. Higgins spotted the structure in Dwell, and it was love at first sight. He flew down to Missouri to check out Romero’s own home and decided he had to have one for himself. He ordered one for the plot of land he had recently purchased on Spinney Creek in Eliot, Maine. (The original plan had been to design and build a traditional New England house, but this is definitely much more fun.)

Photo: Traci Roloff

Th is an LVL Home from Romero’s LV Series kits. The houses are 1,453 square feet, with a kitchen, living room, dining room, three bedrooms and two baths, though he made some changes, such as flipping the plan to better fit the site and take advantage of views and rearranging some interior walls.

If you look at the top photo, which is the back of the house, the rooms are as follows, left to right: master bedroom, guest bedroom, living room, dining room/kitchen. The second photo is the front of the house. The narrow strip of windows on the left are the windows above the kitchen counter, and the little windows on the right are in the bathrooms. Let’s take a tour. . .

Entry

Photo: Traci Roloff

The exterior is corrugated panel siding called Galvaloom. The walkway (scroll back up to the second photo) is a docking system, so it’s actually a little bridge to the front door. He eventually plans to add a deck out back constructed from the same material.

Living Room

Photo: Traci Roloff

These are the scouting photos Jim sent me initially. (I visited in the dead of winter, on the first snowfall of the season.) The white Petrie sofas are from Crate & Barrel (there’s an outlet in nearby Kittery), as is the red nylon rug, which cost just $99. The floor lamp is CB2. The chairs are the real thing – the Risom Lounge Chair from Knoll, and the marble-topped coffee table is Florence Knoll. The painting is actually a portrait of Jim, done by a friend of his, Marblehead artist John Bonner.

Photo: Traci Roloff

This shot shows you a better view of the Spinney Creek, which is used as an oyster and clam farm. It’s clean enough to swim in, and he has a dock, as well as a flotilla of kayaks. So pretty.

Kitchen

The stainless steel cabinetry is IKEA. The counters and island are white Caesarstone. The backsplash is a 2×2 white gloss tile. I love the fridge – it’s a white glass front Jenn Air – I’d never seen one before. The three little squares are $29 lights from Lightology, that match the little recessed ones in the ceiling.Stools from Crate & Barrel.

Dining Room

Jim has his eye on a pricey Florence Knoll dining table, but in the meantime uses this outdoor dining set he picked up at an end of season sale from Sears. He hung IKEA tracks for the curtains, which he had made from cheap white material he bought at JoAnn Fabric. The African sculpture in the corner was a gift from his partner’s parents.

The floor looks like planks of pickled oak, or weathered grey shingles, but is actually Italian ceramic tile with a wood grain texture, in a plank design. And it’s toasty – he did radiant heat underneath. (I took this photo – notice the grey day outdoors.)

Interior Entry

Photo: Traci Roloff

The stairs lead to a finished basement. The rail still needed to be built when this picture was taken, so they turned a glossy red IKEA bookcase on its side and topped it with a white cushion, to use as a bench and barrier. You’re looking down the hall, to the master bedroom. Notice the full height doorways, which, at $1,000 each, were a splurge.

Master Bedroom

The bed is IKEA and the bedding from Dwell. The stool is Knoll, but he doesn’t remember where he purchased the marble cubes. In front of the bed there’s a patchwork cowhide rug from Paris. The painting is by Massachusetts artist Mark Allen. Sconces from Lightology.

The sink is open to the room; the shower is to the left, the toilet to the right. The floor to ceiling mirrors are actually IKEA wardrobes that he built in. The sink, cabinetry, hardware, and plain wood-framed mirror are also from IKEA. The tile is the same as the tile in the kitchen.

Take a look at the recessed baseboard, which has a brushed aluminum reveal. It is a white melamine baseboard (durable and no painting required!) from IKEA. Easy and cost effective.

Guest Bedroom

Love the tangerine bedding. Bed and mirrored storage from IKEA. Painting by a French artist, purchased from a furniture store that was going out of business. Sconces from Lightology. There’s a Florence Knoll side table and a Bertoia chair too.

Guest Bathroom

Photo: Traci Roloff

Bathroom cabinetry and hardware from IKEA.

Basement

There’s a full basement, accessed by a custom metal staircase with custom stained ash treads. It’s a large space, great for parties, and movies. Jim hosts a Halloween party with dancing, and a white party in summertime.

Doorbell

Come again soon!

Posted in . REGULAR FEATURES, Architecture, Design Diary, Furniture, Rooms

Architecutre: $2.7 Million for a Frank Lloyd Wright

StyleCarrot — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 22:18:47 +0000

Imagine living in a house built by Frank Lloyd Wright. Near San Francisco. On 80 acres. Including a Japanese garden, an eight-acre walnut orchard and FLW-designed swimming pool. My husband sent me a link from Boing Boing yesterday about this gorgeous Frank Lloyd Wright ranch house for sale, called The Fawcett Ranch House, for $2.7 million two hours southeast of San Francisco. Seems like a steal. It is 3,700 square feet, with six bedrooms and 4.5 baths and spectacular grounds. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, the house is the third-to-last California residence drawn by Wright, and one of only two currently on the market.

According to the The Fawcett Ranch House website, the house was commissioned by Randall and Harriet Fawcett, who were barely thirty years old when they went to meet Frank Lloyd Wright in 1954. Wright was eighty-seven and at the peak of his career, designing the Guggenheim Museum in New York.

The house includes FLW’s signature stone fireplace with built-in modular seating (Here’s a picture of the fireplace in the living room of Falling Water.) Master woodworker George Nakashima was commissioned to build the dining table and its ten chairs, the living room coffee table, and three additional chairs.

I’m not in love with a dark wood kitchen, but there are plenty of skylights and interesting window screens to let light in, and the appliances actually look pretty up-to-date. Apparently Harriet Fawcett loved to cook and entertain, and the kitchen was the center of activity of the home.

The wall of glass sliders, the built in cabinetry, the stained glass windows, the woodwork detailing, the angular roof with copper fascia detailing, the patio, the pool. It’s amazing.

The Japanese garden was built by landscape architect and Japanese garden designer, Jim Kamimoto. Many of the garden’s granite boulders came from one of his trips to the Sierra Nevada Mountains.

Posted in Architecture

Design Diary: Hutker Architects

StyleCarrot — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 18:26:37 +0000

Tomorrow I’m taking the ferry from Wood’s Hole to the Martha’s Vineyard. Like most little jaunts these days, the day trip is for an assignment. Last summer I went to Martha’s Vineyard for the first time. (Still haven’t been to Nantucket.) Brooke at the Globe magazine (who’s last day was Friday – I miss you Brooke!) asked me to write a piece (“Everything Is Illuminated”) about a guest house built by Hutker Architects. The homeowners needed extra space so their kids could visit with their families. Although it lacks the main house’s spectacular view of the Aquinnah Lighthouse, it’s a great space, with lots of Shaker wood cabinetry, Mission furniture, a big stone fireplace, and a pathway that leads up, over the house and down again on the other (water) side.

Photos: Brian Vanden Brink.

Posted in . REGULAR FEATURES, Architecture, Design Diary, Rooms

Architecture: Modernist Enclaves in Lexington, Mass.

StyleCarrot — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 08:51:58 +0000

Everyone has a back up plan. The New York Times ran an article on Sunday called “What’s Your New Plan B?” It talked about folks who once upon a time dreamed of abandoning real life to run a B&B or some such idyll. But now we need real Plan Bs.

I live in Boston. City living (which is the only kind I can stomach) means paying exorbitant private school tuition for our kids. What if we couldn’t afford to do that anymore, and had to move to the suburbs?

Well, I’ve picked one out. I’m hoping it’s an academic exercise. I hate to drive. I think yards are overrated. I can’t stand when Girl Scouts ring my doorbell.

It’s Lexington, MA. There are two synagogues, academics and scientists rather than hedge fund managers galore, a symphony, a decent school system, and , this is what got me, an interesting architectural history.

Researching an article for the Boston Globe magazine (to be published Feb. 22), I learned that Lexington has nine modernist neighborhoods – more than anywhere else in the country. They were built by two groups, one led by Walter Gropius and the other by Walter Pierce. People adore these neighborhoods. Some residents are the original owners, dating back to 1954. Even Walter Pierce, now 88, still lives in the house he built in 1958.

From the outside, the houses are what some would call ugly. But they were revolutionary, and today’s developers could learn from them. The only trees that were cut for these 1,800 square foot houses were the ones that absolutely had to be cleared to make room for the house. This means nicely wooded lots. The houses could be turned this way or that, allowing flexibility in siting them, on ledges or whatnot. So houses are not lined up in Stepford Wife rows, all facing the street. There’s lots of glass so you can commune with nature. Community land was set aside, some with fields, streams, playgrounds, even pools. And they were affordable for young professional families.

Here’s what quick real estate search turned up. Not the city, but not bad.

Posted in Architecture