We are running a thread about what type of person you want to rub genitals with, but there are other 'types' also. I am a huge, huge fan of Mid-Century Modern design. Something about the combination of minimalism and retro-futurism just speaks to me. Sadly, I cannot in good conscience spend the money that it would require to actually live in a house with the objects of my desire, but there's always the lottery. In the meantime, I can view a collection of design porn collected by like-minded folks. Things that get me all turned on include: The Eames Lounge Chair: Case Study Houses, particularly #22: Wood Panels and Control Panels Don Draper's Office: Microgramma, Eurostile, and Neutraface. Pereira and Luckman's Marineland of the Pacific, combining mid-century modern sensibilities with brutalism. Vintage Posters for Modern Movies: FOCUS: Art, architecture, design - what's your "type?"
This is actually something I day dream a lot about as well. We actually have some of the same sensibilities. But I never got too deep into it because I grow tired really fucking fast of the infinite number of "periods" and "styles." Honestly having to differentiate through mid-centry modern post art deco pre modern bauhaus websites gets fucking tedious and boring. I break it into two lottery built dream houses. One a beach house like the one you have and a country house. Beach House: My Frank Sinatra style lair for entertaining and fucking models hopped up on ludes. Stone fire place, Quagmire style bar, sunk in flooring, white shag carpet, spiral stair case. Basically that fucking house Robert Deniro had in Casino, particularly the scene were Joe Pesci meets the banker in his family room. Jackie Treehorn's pad in The Big Lebowski is a good example and right on the beach like I'd like it. Country House: Little harder as I have yet to make up my mind. I visited a friend's buddy's house in high school, his parents owned 3 restaurant and had awesome pad. A white country house that had the deck that circled the entire house. Had to say I was impressed. But I think I'd want more of a gothic style cottage (not to knowledgeable on the exact styles) but a lot of dark stone and marble. The shot of the mansion at the end of There Will Be Blood is kind of a good representation of what Im thinking. The inside of that house too is pretty fucking sweet. I grew up in Cincinnati and we have a ton of Art Deco buildings, my absolute favorite is Union Terminal (the museum center and old train station), and I have always loved the style. If I had a posh apartment say in the Carew Tower, Cincinnati's main Art Deco sky scraper, I'd retro fit the interior to be completely art deco. There is an amazing 30's style bar in the building and all of the hallways and elevators are adorned with the style*. If you've seen Batman the Animated series from the early nineties that would give you an idea of what I like. It be a stretch to do this for my country house but if I had the money and a inventive designer that's the style Id most like to have. A picture of the bar Im talking about: * I had always imagined a film version of Atlas Shrugged to be done in the bars and buildings of Cincinnati. But they went modern.
As much as I can get behind the suits, and the drinking, and the not worrying about sexual harassment suits, I hate everything about the design of that office. Everything about it looks cheap to me. I can't imagine the door having any weight to it. The walls to me look like if Ikea made an office building. I like glass, and steel, and giant windows.
I like stuff that's old. With material that's old. Part of what I thought was really cool about Munich is that they rebuilt the city to look almost exactly as it was before the war. So where in North America the "old" part of various cities are there for tourists (like in Montreal), in Munich, the "old" part of Munich is, well, just plain old Munich, with normal shops and beer halls and restaurants that normal citizens visit all the time.
I agree with BL1Y about that looking cheap, but I don't really his tastes either. Assuming I had an infinite pool of money, I'd go for dark woods, heavy leather or wood furniture, dark hardwood floors, granite counter-tops, real wood burning fireplaces, etc. I'm not into clutter or lots of nick knacks, so I can definitely appreciate a minimalistic approach to decorating. On the other hand, I think that a comfortable, warm and inviting space is important. I don't know a lot of the terminology, so it is hard to google images to exhibit what I'm talking about.
I don't know shit about architecture, but I really love the whole black granite/marble look. To me, it feels very powerful and Roman, but still modern. That, or the whole ornate "I live in a fucking mini-castle" look: Fuck it. I just want to move into Versailles.
That last picture reminds me of my visit to Italy. I love classical architecture. The huge buildings right on the street with iron gates and interior courtyards that you could see from the street were really beautiful.
I too, prefer old stuff. I don't like most new house designs, unless they are modeled on something old and traditional. I love love Victorian architecture and would love to live in an old, traditional Victorian home - with all the gingerbread, woodwork and stained glass. But, if forced to live down south on a river, or any body of water, I would be extremely happy in a Tidewater style of house. Imagine sitting on that giant double porch overlooking a river while sipping a mint julep. And I also want a nice little lowcountry cottage, maybe in the woods somewhere. A place where there is a perfect spot for everything (almost like a boat) lots of big open widows - nice porch, hardwood floors everywhere. Honestly, there are so many more I am stopping myself, otherwise I would take up all the room here.
I'm on BL1Y's side. I'm not a fan of wood paneling of any sort, and rugs and ornate fixtures tend to feel stuffy to me. I like aesthetics that strike me as visually "clean." I want my ideal apartment to look like I'm living in 2311. In addition to the whole glass-and-steel schtick, an apartment like so would do the trick. Also, Le Corbusier and FL Wright made some houses and furniture that I really dig.
Post and Beam all the way. Renovated antique farmhouses or cottages especially. I've seen some Saltboxes that people cleaned up well, too. The wonderful classic facades are left while the interior is reduced to the wooden skeleton, then refurbished with modern accouterments. Old wood floors refinished and 100 year old beams and supports accenting every room; that's the stuff. New England seems to have a ton of these. Something along these lines: Spoiler Spoiler Spoiler I like wood, be it unfinished or lacquered until it glows. I also like windows. Dad was an architect. I'm still living in his house. Unfinished cypress accents every door frame and window, decorated with more cypress trim, and more cypress for baseboards. It's everywhere. Also, there's over 60 windows. Basically the whole place opens up and a good breeze can circulate throughout. Old man put thought and effort into his house. That's what I like to see; cookie cutter bothers me. My only beef with modern architecture is how cold a lot of it is. Lloyd's Falling Water is amazing, like Seventh Wonder of the World amazing, but it's not a home. Also a fan of the English cottage/farmhouse and garden. England also has the finest gardens on the planet. Spoiler Spoiler Spoiler
Seriously though, something along these lines is what I like to see. Always been a big fan of log houses. I can't edit pic size from this computer. Spoiler Spoiler
I worked for 10 years (until I was laid off) in a high end antique store that dealt with a lot of Mid Century. Part of my job was posting stuff on this site 1stdibs which most top designers use. I like the Mid Century furniture but the artwork is fucking dreadful. People would buy paintings for thousands and it look like a toddler did it.
I love bungalow-type homes that are older. I'd love to own something like this someday. It just looks like me.
I don't know anything about design periods, which I find shameful because I love decorating. I know exactly what type of vibe I like, but couldn't tell you what it's called. I know that all your minimalist, modernist tastes are making me sad. I like apartments featured in Apartment Therapy and The Selby. I want to live in a loft and then get married to type number twoand fix up a brownstone together. I want it to look very lived in and cozy and floor-to-ceiling bookshelves are a must. This is just some random photo from the first page of The Selby: Weird guy included, please.
I'm not sure what "type" of architecture this is, but Charleston style in general is heaven to me. 1800's build and a side two story porch and I'm sold.
The right mix of early 20th century art direction is always warm, classy, and inviting. The best example I can think of is below, The Campbell Apartment in Grand Central Station which is one of the nicest bars in the United States. Super-high ceilings, beautiful teak trimmings, those kick-ass wall lamps and the old-style Persian flooring. Tell me this does not just drip with cool: I'm also up for zany (sometimes) depending on the mix. Behold The Jungle Room in Graceland. It was Elvis' favourite room in the house and like the rest of the place it is marvelously tacky (that is some THICK shag carpteing there) (for size): Spoiler One of my favourite style of house is modern Tudor, not the original sod shit shacks but I think ones mixed with the right brick are the tits. Finally, a shout-out to Art Deco, I adore you:
Shit, I was going to post that earlier but couldn't remember the name, had Vanderbilt stuck in my head before. 13th century Florentine design, fucking gorgeous. I got smashed there on gin and tonics on time after getting my ass ripped out and shoved back in as a summer associate. I'm also a fan of steam punk, 1920s, speak easy type design. Dark colors, brick walls, exposed heating pipes, low wattage incandescent bulbs.