Alt Build Expo

Friday + Saturday
May 6 + 7
10-5pm
Santa Monica Civic
Lots of good speakers and things to see, I'm going!

info HERE

Liking The Mirrors

From Interior Design

Long Beach Update

Soon!

bettershelter And WoodSmithe

bettershelter is an admirer of WoodSmithe; we have discussed working together on a few projects.
Recently Nina dropped off some WoodSmithe stools to help stage our Ave 54 home.

bettershelter loves the combination of simplicity and sophistication in these stools.
A great addition to any home!
For stool info please go HERE

Great Use Of Color

Usually all these colors together is a disaster.
This example is quite the opposite.

bettershelter says: BRAVO FOR EASTER COLORS!
pix courtesy of dezeen

Best. Signs. Ever.

As seen at MOCA Art In The Streets Show.
Go see the show!!!

Great Partition Design

As seen driving around Long Beach, CA
I think we will try a version of this.

The Twins

The Twins from skatefairy on Vimeo.

The Sweet Spot!

An illustrated example of how personal projects feed into your professional life and vice versa.

Personal side projects can lead to new professional opportunities and where the two intersect in the end is perfection.
So true!From Swiss Miss

Pulp Fiction Illustration

Love This

Perfection!
I could certainly live here.

Amazing Cover Song

"And they called it paradise, the place to be. They watched the hazy sun sinking in the sea"

Gawd, perfect.

So many great lines in this song, genius.



Brilliant song, great commentary on California.

bettershelter Promoting Sustainability AND Community

We had to tear down 4 barn spaces in the back of a property we are working on.
The barns had to be close to 100 years old.
The city said they had to go.

The first 2 barns made it into Schodorf’s Luncheonette (blogged about here already).
We posted the last 2 barns on Craigslist and the wood was picked up for a treehouse project in Silver Lake!
The owner emailed us pix to show us the results.
I was floored, no pun intended!

Last of the barns on our property, below

exterior shot of Silver Lake treehouse, below

wood flooring made from our old barn wood! AMAZING!Thanks to Chris for making all this happen.

Slated For Demolition

As a member of the LA Conservancy, I get notices of buildings that have design or architectural significance that are slated for demolition.

As an active developer, I don't like people telling me what I can or cannot do with my property.

I was on a panel discussing urban planning and I will never forget one panelist telling the crowd: "You can't save everything" And I agree with that.

Having said all that, it is amazing to me that cities and municipalities don't realize the significance and importance these types of buildings have for their respective communities.
Case in point: the city of Long Beach.
Ugh!
Slated for demolition:"Designed by prominent African American architect Roy Sealy, the hotel was completed in 1963 and originally called the Edgewater Inn. The large site features two sprawling zigzag guest room wings originally housing 200 hotel rooms. These two-story buildings are symmetrically arranged to create partially enclosed courtyard spaces and offer each room a courtyard or ocean view. A separate building houses the public components, including the hotel office, restaurant and lounge spaces, and meeting rooms.

Although the complex suffers from deferred maintenance and later additions, the buildings maintain a high level of architectural integrity, with distinctive features including unique Y-shaped piers supporting a diamond-patterned roofline of the main building; a folded-plate roofline of a circular office wing; decorative concrete block screens; and original diamond-patterned metal railings."

Talk about a diamond in the rough.

Sometimes cities are like the homes I buy; most of the authentic integrity that made the homes so great in the first place has been ripped out to make way for some gross Home Depot remodel.
Hopefully Long Beach realizes what it already has.

Coming Soon To Pasadena

Coming soon to Pasadena:
A 3 bedroom, 2 bath mid century modern home!
We're excited!

Coming Soon To Atwater Village

A 3 bedroom, 2 bath home in Atwater Village.
Should be ready approx 4 weeks.

Art In The Streets

Mandatory viewing at MOCA.
C.R. Stecyk's installation wall

My OCC Class

I am substitute teaching an events class at Orange Coast College.

The fashion dept just moved into an amazing building designed by architecture firm LPA.
We are having an open house Tues, April 19
6-8pm
Hope to see you there!

I'm Loving Macrame

For a project I am working on.
Created by The Modern Beachcomber.

Perfect Home For A Fairy Tale Princess

A friend's daughter is OBSESSED with princesses.
What 6 year old girl isn't??

I thought of her when I drove by this house.
As seen in Jefferson Park.
PERFECT.

Summer Coming Up!

Yup, that's me on the right with the mask on......

Hand Stitched Vogue Covers?

Rad!
From Inge Jacobsen

Billy Reid At Home

GREAT interview with Billy Reid.
Love his approach and attitude to his home decorating and his store interiors.

SoLost: Billy Reid at Home in Alabama from Dave Anderson on Vimeo.

Cliff May Home Tour

I went on a Cliff May home tour in San Diego recently.

"Cliff May, unlike other architects, did not initially desire to become an architect. In fact, he did not become a certified architect until the last years of his life. His career as a designer began soon after he dropped out of college.

A student who excelled in music, May attended San Diego State College, but due to the Great Depression, dropped out and joined his parents’ neighbors, the Styris family, to design and build furniture.

His work sold so well, he was encouraged to place his Monterey style furniture in a new home that was for sale. The house was soon sold, and it was due primarily to May’s furniture.

May continued to place his furniture in homes, and the homes continued to sell fast.

His popularity encouraged May to decide to design and build a home himself."

He built his first home when he was 23!

The homes were great, lots of well thought out details that still work well for today's homes.

Loving the garage door designs!