EPIC room rearrangement - then we moved it all back

What are you going to do? We should have suspected. Gordon was competing with his own design - I think his very best design for us. Gordon thought we could get a fresh look while eliminating the messy buildup and without spending a dime.

On Saturday we made the plan, on Sunday we made the moves.

JoAnn, Gordon, our 6'2 mid-twenties son, his strong bud Spencer, and I went at it all afternoon. We had a really good attitude and we needed it. That stuff is heavy.


Spot the messy buildup?

This is not a "home-office." It's an office-office in our home. Over the years we'd bought real office furniture, private brand stuff by Steel-Case. In 2005 Gordon turned it into a spectacular looking space that was spectacularly efficient.


We call it the Green Room. The walls are covered in grasscloth painted dark green. It has a modest tray ceiling that takes it up to about 9 feet.

It's a special room meant to impress guests as they enter the house. It's has 6"2 windows on 3 sides with French doors to the foyer, designed and built by Bill Harrison in 1988-89.

The time lapse starts about midway through. We're getting a little tired.

Green Room Redo Time Lapse (1:07) Thanks to Duet for Theremin and Laps Steel for the music.


We moved everything back where it was, less the clutter.

That was Sunday.

Today we bought a big carpet remnant from Carpet Liquidators' Chamblee store. But that's for another room, installation this Wednesday.

Classical Coverup on North Highland

I'm participating in Metamorphosis Monday at Between Naps on the Porch. Thanks to Susan!

It's being renovated for new tenants. In the process they are covering the classical decorative details c. 1920.


I'll be happy when it's occupied again. It was a Wolf Camera most recently but it's been vacant for a while, a hole in a favorite walking street.


But I'm very surprised that they are covering up the decorative details.


I thought designers treasured these things and showed them off.

They don't detail like this anymore except in mansions.


There are doing a nice job of protecting it as far as I can see.


The details didn't shout. You might have "seen" this as you walked by, but probably not.

Did they look interesting enough to study, sketch, or take a picture?

I remember something being there, but not exactly what.


It looks poignant now, framed in 2x4's.


So I thought I'd show you while I could.


I wish I'd been there the day before.


Few will remember it...even tomorrow.


It will still be there though.


As long as it stays dry and nobody knocks a hole in it - not knowing it's there...


...it should be a great rediscovery one day. "

They'll say, "Can you believe somebody covered this up?"

They'll appreciate how the carpenters tried to protect it.


So I don't think it's tragic. They left everything right where it was.


But I'm surprised.


Every owner and designer would make their own choices against time and budget. We might yet love the finished project or at least respect it.

But my first instinct would have been to let the old parts show.


Here are Key Lime Pie and Surin of Thailand just down the street. They left things alone for now.


I guess it depends on the look you are going for.

What do you think?

Thanks to Metamorphosis Monday at Between Naps on the Porch.

My "Windows on Design" Expedition

"Windows on Design" is a project by Atlanta's Design Collective. "It pairs one Showroom window with a Designer to create a one-of-a-kind window display."

I headed out with my trusty maps. I had no hope of capturing these displace with my camera, so I made it all about me. After all, there was prize.


On the west.




Verde Home featured Liquid Design Studios and it looked good enough to eat.




Jennifer Schwartz Gallery & Balance Design looked great in the rain.




Redefined Home Boutique & New Mood Design did a bed and a dress.

I headed east.






At Regalo Antiques, Taylor Galen Workroom with Charm Home Design pushed all the eclectic buttons.




At Robuck and Company, Mill and Forge showed a metal table with beautiful reclaimed wood.




Rebecca Keller built a studio / map room at Beau Holland.




Jenn Ryan Designs built a dining room inside Moattar.

Congratulations and thanks to all.


Thanks to Regalo Antiques for sending me this picture.

A room with Migraine lighting

WARNING - Migraine Sufferers Should Avoid this Post - WARNING

Warning - don't scroll down.

Really: thinking about migraines is a migraine trigger for many folks.

Warning - don't scroll down.

Warning - don't scroll down.

Warning - don't scroll down.

Warning - don't scroll down.


It made me sick. The memory of the room makes me sick.

Do you get migraine headaches? Do you recognize your triggers? I get them and I can sometimes recognize my triggers.

Last night I went to a lecture in a trigger room. It's brand new, it's wonderful, it's huge, it still has the new car smell. It made me sick.


I exaggerated the contrast in this picture but it captures the essence. It's an evenly lit grey room with bright slivers on the walls and ceiling. The house lights were low so we could the the slide show. That emphasized the bright slashes.

Instinct warned me. I found a seat at the very front and cupped my hands like horse blinders so I couldn't see the walls. I enjoyed the lecture and bolted as soon as it was over.

When I encounter trigger room, a room with migraine lighting, I just want to shake some sense into the designer.

Don't they teach this stuff in lighting design school?

There is another lighting problem in the room, not a migraine problem but one that works against human comfort.

Design Pattern 252. POOLS OF LIGHT

"Uniform illumination - the sweetheart of the lighting engineers - serves no useful purpose whatsoever. In fact, it destroys the social nature of space, and makes people feel disoriented and unbounded...One word of caution. This pattern is easy to understand; and perhaps it is easy to agree with. But it is quite a subtle matter to actually create functioning pools of light in the environment."
A Pattern Language: Towns, Buildings, Construction by Christopher Alexander, Sara Ishikawa, Murray Silverstein.

"87.63% Unattractive" - Kinder Baumgardner

Kinder was describing his take on Atlanta's downtown connector.

Central Atlanta Progress, and the Midtown Alliance hope to change that and they are making plans.

Kinder Baumgardner is Principal and Director of SWA Houston. He spoke last night at Georgia Tech. As planner dialed to "11" he presented breathtaking ideas to engage the public and excite the stakeholders.

"Push your client to do something great."

Your humble architecture tourist has expended big chunks of his life on the downtown connector. But I've never connected the connector with "beauty" until last night, listening to Mr. Baumgardner.



Did you know there was such a thing as a "I-75/85 Connector Transformation" project? Well there is; it even has a Facebook page: "Atlanta Connector Project."

"Museum of Freeway Art" a 5 mile linear museum.

Let's look at a few layers:


Left: the "green" layer. The connector corridor is a huge swath of land and there is room for trees and vertical gardens, a lot of room.
Center: the "lighting" layer.
Right: the "art" layer. The blue circles are art centers we already have.

"Art Tourists Spend More Money. It's a demographic to cultivate."


Folk Art Park is smack on top of the connector right now.


After a few more layers, I felt a bit hopeful.


I was thinking about the 5th Street Bridge which covers a bit of the connector. It demonstates how often-competing stakeholders can partner to do something great.


Students, professors, Midtown Alliance, and Central Atlanta Progress folks got an eyeful and an earful.

You can learn more in this brief presentation.

Find out about the Georgia Tech School of Architecture lecture series. They are free and challenging. The next one is on Wednesday, September 14, 2011 6:00 PM - 7:30 PM featuring Jeff Sheppard.

Indoor acoustics: what do they teach?

What do they teach residential architects and designers about acoustics and noise? I mean inside noise, entertaining noise, party noise.


When Reggie talks, people listen - if the acoustics are good.

I walked into a kitchen and couldn't hear a thing.
JoAnn and I went to shower at a wonderful 1920's bungalow. We headed for the kitchen. It was beautiful. They'd just finished a kitchen re-do that belongs in a magazine. It was big, and comfortable There 10 folks in there and room for 25.

Inside though, I couldn't "hear" a female voice even when she stood right in front of me. I doubt it's a problem in ordinary family use. But it got me thinking.


Professionals plan acoustics for theaters. Last night the Balzer Theater was a sanctuary. The conversation and Klimchak's music were delightful.

But do acoustic engineers deal with houses? Do they teach acoustics in design school?


The westside Sky Bar at 5 Seasons Brewing Company is spectacular but I can't take it inside.

My children warn me about loud places. For them a loud place is likely a fun place. But they know how it affects me.

I expect unpleasant noise in bars and restaurants but not in a house.


So it made me think about our 4th party. There were more than 50 folks in there and yet I could hear. Was it planned or was it a fortunate accident? Was it the sloped ceiling, the stairs, the angles, the "L's?"


Can you have this conversation with 40 folks in the room? I hope so.