Beach House

Through the windows

2012-04-26T16:29:00.000-04:00

Integrating the outdoors into the interior design is a central tenet of mid-century architecture; strategically placed windows enhance the views, banks of clerestory windows allow light to flood rooms, low ceilings draw the eye outside, sliding doors open to patios and gardens. This house was designed around an enormous Mountain Pine that dominates the west-facing side and the landscape enhanced by judicious planting. Every window captures a specimen tree, shrub or planting, an aspect that serves to bring the outside in. It's especially appreciated at this time of year when the deciduous trees have opened up and the azaleas are in full bloom but the chilly wind makes it too cold to sit outside.
Looking East

Facing North

South-West aspect

Facing South

Kitchen-facing West

Den-due East

Living room to the East

April to April

2012-04-16T18:34:00.000-04:00

The last twelve months have flown by, hardly time to post to the blog what with all the twitter twaddle and facebook folies to constantly update. I knew this would happen, I'm basically lazy so if I can say it in 140 characters or less that's the option I'll take, thank you very much. But on the warmest day of a warm April that succeeded the hottest March ever, preceded by a no-Winter that meant no snow and no photos of 2" icicles hanging from the garage roof (and therefore no threat of decapitation when dragging the trash cans down the drive), I've had time to reflect on the past year.
Firstly, that Spring-like Winter has meant everything in the garden is blooming a good three weeks ahead of normal. This was last April 16 - in past Aprils we've still been salting the back drive this time of year.

The same view today, the forsythia is over, the hostas are up and the azaleas out. It's also 87F and not raining so big bonus, there!

I even pruned the forsythia the was obscuring the pink azalea but not without a minor oops moment.

What was the tenet about bringing the outdoors in... or making lemonade out of lemons?

The early blossoming Spring holds true for the magnolias, too.

Last year May 5.

This year April 8

Secondly the house is looking more put together, even if all the major renovations finished way back in 2010. A lot has to do with the new placement of art and the way we are using the space. The eat-in section of the kitchen is a spot where we spend a lot of time now we are free to laptop/iphone/tablet roam with wifi, often it seems we don't even bother visiting our offices, we just sit at the breakfast table and do our respective things. Sometimes, though I clear up and it's quite serene

Thirdly, I am still nuts. On one of the hottest August days last summer I swapped the rugs in the den and dining room. On my own because The Guy flatly refused to indulge my crazy one more time.

The orange rug headed back to the den

and the cream rug was dragged into the great room. It felt so good I bought it a couple of new cushions in a mid-century inspired pattern in the sale at Crate&Barrel. It's so much lighter in there that I'm sitting there typing. The newly fixed sliding doors are open and I'm listening to what sounds like a duck in the yard. I'm expecting the fox will appear again tonight. April to April... plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose!

Silent Supermodel

2012-03-11T09:55:00.006-04:00

Corsi: The World's First Supermodel-Documentary a new film by director Jake Gorst takes as its subject the most famous model you never heard of, yet a man whose face and body is familiar from countless works of art.
Have you ever wondered about the faces you see in paintings? How they appeared so lifelike on the canvas? Artists' imagination? John Singer Sargent, Edward Burne-Jones and Pierre-Auguste Cot all used Antonio Corsi as their model. Those rippling muscles sculpted in the body of the Native American warrior "Appeal to the Great Spirit" by Cyrus Dallin, reproduced on the Beach Boys' Smiley Smile album? Cosi posed for the statue. This film will tell the story of Corsi's life from gypsy boy to silent movie star and famous artist's model; how he overcame prejudice and befriended royalty before losing his fame and wealth, ultimately dying of consumption, that most tragic yet romanticized death, in 1924.
Wander over to the kickstarter page for more information on this fascinating man and pledge to get the movie made. This is a story begging to be told.

Three Gifts

2012-03-10T10:26:00.004-05:00

New art in the house

Bob Boreman monoprint abstract landscape

Cathryn Arcomano Mix Media

Yes, I know I should iron the duvet
I never know what to get The Guy for birthdays, anniversaries or the holidays. Unless he specifically asks for something I am stumped. I did manage to surprise him four years ago with the Jamie Geller Dutra abstract painting so when we moved that out of the master bedroom and into the kitchen I thought maybe I could kill two birds by getting him another piece of art that could hang in our room.
I searched, we searched but nothing came out of it. Too small, too dark, the wrong colour; it seemed nothing would fit. Then he mentioned this book and I thought: Problem solved. I ordered the book, wrapped it and hid it where he would never think to look, in amongst the wrapping paper and ribbons in my office closet.
Fast forward a couple of months, I'm wasting time on ebay when I come across not one but three pictures that would fit the wall in the master bedroom and make a unique present for The Guy. I successfully bid on two, one more than I needed but BOGO! I dropped them into the Rockstar Framer at Ripe Art Gallery to work her magic, swearing her to secrecy. Three weeks later I was back to pick them up and then came the difficult part, getting them home, hiding them and keeping my mouth shut for a week until The Guy's birthday. The Bob Boreman piece is oversized and wouldn't fit in my car so I had to stealthily borrow his. It is so large it wouldn't fit in his trunk either but Cherie managed to slide it into the back where it balanced precariously as I drove home at 15 MPH avoiding all the potholes and bumps. I managed to hoist it upstairs, hide it with the other picture at the back of my closet covered them with clothes and held my breath every time he went in there.
The morning of his birthday I pulled the art out of the closet and went to look for some wrapping paper, which is when I discovered the book I'd bought months ago for his birthday... I've told The Guy he can consider himself gifted up to and including next xmas!

Again with the Art?

2012-03-03T10:28:00.003-05:00

Somewhere between this post and the end of the year I forced The Guy to move some of the art around. Again. I thought the steel colour of the frame was better suited to the kitchen with its stainless appliances than the glassy blue-green and black colour scheme of the bedroom. I also reckoned the purples, blues and red in the painting went with the Impala chairs. This Jamie Geller Dutra Abstract had hung in the same place for almost four years, which is pretty much a record for me and it deserves to be seen by more people. I'm very pleased with the change but it's left me with a problem: what to put in its place on the master bedroom wall...

Palm Springs Modernism Week 2012

2012-02-28T13:56:00.001-05:00

Loewy House
We spent a good period of our days in the desert peeking at other people's modernist homes and took advantage of the mid-century house tours organised by Palm Springs Modernism Week, including the Frank Sinatra Twin Palms house, the PreFab Showcase, the Raymiond Loewy House and El Rancho Vista Estates.

The Elrod House blew us away. It's such a fun house, built in 1968 by John Lautner, it is one commanding central living space and a master suite nestled into the rock with breathtaking views of the mountains and the valley below. A guest suite addition was built a couple of years later. Of all the houses we've toured over the years it's the one that most reminds us of our house, it has the same open yet embracing feeling, the same party house atmosphere.
You know what else you can do in Palm Springs?

Visit Palm Springs Art Museum

Shop for mid-century furniture and accessories

Soak up some desert sun

Drink really weird martinis and have lunch in a date garden

and if like us you fly into LAX, you can visit the beach at Santa Monica on the way home-30 minutes from the airport

Modern Love

2012-02-27T11:04:00.017-05:00

We were in Palm Springs last week for Palm Springs Modernism Week, and particularly thrilled to attend the world premiere screening of Modern Tide: Mid-century Architecture on Long Island.

From the Frank Lloyd Wright Rebhuhn House in Great Neck Estates designed in the late thirties, via the whimsical beach houses along the south shore designed by Andrew Geller in the 50s and 60s to the Herbert Beckhard House built by the architect for his family in Glen Cove in 1964, Long Island is dotted with modernist treasures. This film showcases the unique architecture across the island, a testament to beach cottages that still stand fifty years later despite hurricanes and rising property values, and a remembrance of others that have succumbed to the developer's wrecking ball or been remodeled out of all recognition. Academics, historians and family members reveal fascinating details about the architects' vision, the influence of artists from Fernand Léger to Jackson Pollack and the effect the proximity to New York City had on their work.

Of course if you love architecture, especially modern architecture you will want to go see this movie but if you have any interest in Long Island, in its unique geography, urban planning and building codes, you should make a point of seeking out Jake Gorst's documentary. It raises important questions about how design and architecture fit into our surroundings and the lives we choose to live.

Modern Tide: The Movie

2012-02-19T14:39:00.003-05:00

Modern Tide: Midcentury Architecture on Long Island from Design Onscreen on Vimeo.

Just two short months ago historian and film maker Jake Gorst was here taking shots for his documentary on mid-century modern architecture on Long Island. Now the movie is finished and Modern Tide:Midcentury Architecture on Long Island will have its world premiere at Palm Springs Modernism Week 2012. From the clip above and the stills I've seen the movie will be powerful, an homage to the great architects who worked on Long Island, amongst others Frank Lloyd Wright, Albert Frey, Horace Gifford and Andrew Geller, celebrating structures still standing and mourning those that have been lost. And with the beautiful Long Island scenery as its backdrop how can it be anything other than a must-see ticket?
We will be in Palm Springs for the premiere, soaking up some desert sun and touring a few modernist homes including the Twin Palms Estate E. Stewart Williams designed for Frank Sinatra, the Albert Frey designed Raymond Loewy house and the Wexler and Harrison El Rancho Vista Estates. More later...

R.I.P. Andrew Geller

2011-12-26T07:43:00.001-05:00

Genius, a photo by modernemama on Flickr.

Mid-century architect, designer and artist Andrew Geller passed away yesterday leaving a huge legacy. He will be greatly missed by all. Our condolences to his family at this sad time, we are thinking of you.
Andrew Geller, April 17th 1924-December 25th 2011

View from the hill

2011-11-30T13:09:00.004-05:00

Coindre Hall, Long Island. Thanksgiving weekend 2011

Curvy

2011-11-18T18:06:00.003-05:00

Panoramic shot of the great room taken by Jake Gorst at the movie shoot yesterday. All those hard lines and angles suddenly transformed into soft curves. How cool is that? Very cool, is the answer. Very cool indeed.

The Making of a Movie

2011-11-17T19:18:00.006-05:00

When Friend of Beach House, documentary movie maker, historian and writer Jake Gorst, asked if we would mind him filming our house (designed by his grandfather, noted architect Andrew Geller, we were thrilled. I had assured him the weather would be beautiful, skies blue and absolutely, positively, no rain, guaranteed. That turned out to be a promise I couldn't deliver but at least it was warm, dry and bright inside. Our house is the last of the houses to be shot for the movie, which is now officially in post-production. It's scheduled to be released Spring 2012 - tomorrow in film making time - and I can't wait to see all the fabulous Long Island modern architecture featured. Until then we'll have to make do with a few shots of the shoot...

Jake Gorst on the last day of shooting for an upcoming Long Island Modern Architecture film

Lenny Marks checking the shot, lighting and a million other details

Tracey Gorst, Jake Gorst and Lenny Marks reviewing the Martini Shot

The final, final shot of the day, starring Cassis the Cat. I guess this is the Pousse-café shot!

San Francisco and beyond

2011-11-17T17:15:00.002-05:00

San Francisco skyline

Fort Point

Golden Gate Bridge

St Dunstan's Bell at Sterling Vineyard, Napa Valley

Vegetarian Home

2011-10-07T14:50:00.001-04:00

For the last few weeks I've been cooking only meatless meals at home. Notice I say cooking not eating because when we order take-out we still choose our old favorites and a plan to make clear vegetable soup flew right out of the kitchen door when we opened a bottle of Heartland Stickleback and found it needed a really juicy steak to do it justice. That entailed a quick sortie to the local steakhouse, purchase of delicious rib-eye with garlic butter to go so we could enjoy the now fully breathed wine. Our local haunts can rest assured we will still be ordering heavy on the fish and meat when we eat out but when we make a meal at home it no longer contains any protein with a face.
This decision comes not from any ethical standpoint but rather from a lack of interest in the meat offered at the supermarket. We stood together one Saturday morning gazing at the cuts of meat on offer and I knew I just couldn't face simmering another ragu, stewing another shank or grilling another chop. Call it laziness if you will but it felt like an epiphany: I will only cook vegetables, beans and lentils this week. That week became two, then a month and more until, somehow, we are one of those households that doesn't eat meat.
This is actually nothing new. For the first few years we were together we were vegetarian, driven by one part conviction and one part poverty. We lived on hearty stews made from carrots, onions and split peas, ate a huge amount of homemade Indian and Chinese dishes and learned new recipes from the "Cranks" cookbooks. It was only when we moved to a village with a master butcher who specialised in game that we introduced meat into our diet. Perhaps if we were able to procure more interesting meat here our vegetarian spree wouldn't have lasted this long. I do know that my stomach thanks me for making the switch-no more bloating and feeling queasy after meals; my only disappointment is that I haven't lost an ounce since I gave up meat.
I don't know if the coming cold weather will entice me to make 5-Spice Shortribs again or if I'll make Aduki Bean Casserole instead. I have a feeling we are in this for the long haul.

Determination

2011-09-14T10:10:00.003-04:00

This morning he's tried to drill holes in the dogwood, rhododendron and the teak top on the garden chimes. So long as he stays off the redwood siding he's safe, otherwise I will be enacting wrath of the homeowner, seen here and here against the pretty but destructive Downy Woodpecker

What now?

2011-09-08T15:13:00.005-04:00

I love when a long renovation comes to an end, the feeing of tranquility that descends when you know you don't have to be dressed and decent at 7:30 AM, when the day will no longer be interrupted by shouts of "You did want the molding removed, didn't you?" or worse "Can you come here a minute, we may have a problem" and when all the power tools have finally been silenced. Even the mental anguish you experience knowing you went over budget despite swearing you wouldn't or the nagging feeling you overpaid for something trivial, there is, at last, a moment of peace that you, in your naivety, imagine will last forever.

At some point, though, this security blanket of home repair denial will be rudely snatched away from you, leaving you exposed and shivering in the cold light of reality. For me it came with the trifecta of the garage door that would no longer close properly, the loose mortar on the chimney and the holes in the fence the fencing guy swore didn't need replacing because it was "good for at least two more years". We set to work. The garage door was repaired by us and when the temporary fix no longer did the trick an "expert" came to fix the problem... and caused another bigger issue that blew the motor. Needless to say the firm's promise to make good meant they ran in the opposite direction and for the whole summer we parked the car outside. But winter will be here before we know it and neither of us fancied digging the car out of a snow bank so I gave in and called another firm. The garage door was fixed without further drama and at a better price than the first guy quoted. The chimney cap blew off in the hurricane, so we locked in a date to fix that and the crumbling cement pronto, except every time the masons came to start the pointing it rained. And by rain I mean tropical storm downpours. Today they found a few hours of sunshine and got the job done. The fence? Well in a rerun of this scenario, we braced and secured the fence. I was promised two more years and I will make sure I get those last few months, if I have to stand there and hold the thing up day and night.

So all was done and I was singing a happy song until I heard a thud that seemed to come from under the dining room floor. Just as the last issue had been taken care of, just as I was thinking we were done for this year, one of the basement windows, the one that had been nailed in place seven years ago by a contractor who thought it wouldn't open and then found he couldn't get it shut, one of a suite of four, fell off its opener. Just because it could.

After Irene

2011-09-03T10:14:00.008-04:00

Hurricane Irene blew through bringing floods

and high winds.

The beach disappeared under a high tide

that washed the kayaks into the playground.

The storm had other consequences, not least the debris and getting dressed in the dark.

But we ended the day as we usually do, watching the sunset over the bay.

Diamond Eyes

2011-08-25T08:25:00.004-04:00

Racing to get to the beach before the sunset last night I snapped the birds on the dock before I noticed the flash was on. What should have been a photo for the discard pile turned out to be a not only a good representation of the variety of gulls on Long Island Sound but an atmospheric, almost arsty shot of blinged-out beady-eyed birds in the dying light. Click to embiggen for the full effect.

Backyard Color

2011-08-14T09:07:00.003-04:00

Someone else's beautiful

bird-adorned backyard

on super relaxing, laid back, do nothing, summery Cape Cod.

Wildlife

2011-07-31T09:20:00.004-04:00

Domesticated wildlife

Undomesticated wildlife

Four cats and we still have a family of mice in the yard!

Long Island Sound

2011-07-28T21:16:00.000-04:00

Sailing at sunset, into the thunderstorm.

Big Pink Sun

2011-07-24T14:59:00.002-04:00

Setting sun over Lloyd Harbor with Huntington Lighthouse in the foreground

A Night at the Beach

2011-07-13T20:53:00.003-04:00

Wednesday evening: race round the bay. From Lloyd Harbor

to the Long Island Sound

to Eaton's Neck

and back to Huntington harbor

Cool off

2011-07-13T18:25:00.004-04:00

The obligatory pool shot: inviting and so irresistible, especially as we're into a streak of hot summer days.

Time to don the Oliver Peoples sunglasses and dive right into the pool

Soft Geometrics

2011-07-12T12:38:00.007-04:00

Warp and Weft, the luxury custom rug manufacturer, has launched a new collection of silk and merino wool hand-tufted designs. The Organica Collection features bold geometric prints with a soft color palette like the Arch Marscapone pictured above and these beauties selected below:

Mum Gilt

Echelon Gilt

Ophidian Orbit Smoke

Yumi Slate
The rugs carry the Goodweave seal certifying they were manufactured free of child-labor. These sumptuous Warp and Weft rugs can be fully customized for color, size or texture and are available to the trade only.