Market Monday: Kate Morton & William Morris

"Wars make history seem deceptively simple.  They provide clear turning points, easy distinctions: before and after, winner and loser, right and wrong.  True history, the past, is not like that.  It isn't flat or linear.  It has no outline.  It is slippery, like liquid; infinite and unknowable, like space.  And it is changeable: just when you think you see a pattern, perspective shifts, an alternative versions proffered, a long forgotten memory resurfaces."

 Kate Morton is the brilliant author of this quote.  I just finished reading her book, The House at Riverton, and I loved this paragraph for a couple of reasons.  First, it summed up succinctly the way I've felt about  history in just a few lines.  Second, the same can be said about design.  It seems linear until you think about what determines a trend.  Following the outline of one style to the next you can see how what is happening in the world has everything to do with how we choose to adorn ourselves, our homes.  Studying history in conjunction with my love for art and design gives me little thrills as I see the one affected by the other.  The Victorian opulence being followed by the Arts and Crafts is the example I'm thinking of today and Kate Morton's books have a way of weaving beautiful stories including details of the architecture and details from the lifestyle that make history really come to life for me. This particular novel was a perfect choice because it is set in time as everything was shifting from the very conventional to the more free spirited movement.

So while the Victorian has never been one of my very favorites in terms of style, I can appreciate all that hand crafted detail and the pretty feminine lines. I've spent some time the last couple of weeks studying it so that I can better understand the Arts and Crafts movement since I'm working on a home being built in that style.
  
Which leads me to my second feature: William Morris.  He was a big player in the movement from Victorian to Arts and Crafts.  {I'll be talking more about this later.}

I especially love the paper products with his patterns on them.

{source source source}

#11 - Terra Numa {St. George Parade of Homes 2011}

Big surprise that Kayenta's home was my favorite this year. {if you aren't catching the sarcasm, this statement is drizzled in it}  I love Kayenta for a lot of reasons.  The landscaping is kept at bare minimum, {I believe grass is outlawed} so that the homes blend into the landscape. Plus, the Coyote Art Village is a great place to spend the afternoon with art galleries, photography, and other shops.

While we were there an art festival was going on and I came home with some lavender spice that I can't wait to use.

The floor plan was what sold me on this house. 

{built by J2 Construction/design by Gulch Design Group. above image borrowed from here.}

While I might add a bit more pattern here and there, change a painting or two, the design and color scheme is right along what I consider very livable and could imagine living in this home and being very comfortable.  I would love the proximity to all the great hiking, biking, and general outdoor fun.  Being out there surrounded by so much natural beauty, my obsessive compulsive photography would probably reach new heights of neurotic.

The doors in the master suite are on tracks to slide back out of the way and become just another beautiful architectural detail.

Not pictured is the great fireplace, built in book shelves and fire pit outside the huge windows.

LOVE the gray and white stripe!

When can I move in?

#9 - Streams of Flowing Water {St. George Parade of Homes 2011}

Setting out to do the parade in one day we knew we couldn't see all 26 homes featured so we picked a few from the catalog in addition to the homes we already knew we wanted to see.  #9 was on the short list but we were starting to think about dinner {sushi!!} and almost skipped it until I ran into a friend who strongly suggested we make time to see it. And I'm so glad we did.  As we walked in the gorgeous front door the sun was hitting the chandelier {above} sending prisms of light sparkling through the living room.  The jewel toned color scheme was subtly mixed in throughout the home and the unexpected details like plexi glass stair rails made this home really stand out to me. 

"This villa exudes peace and relaxation, allowing one to take in one of nature’s most majestic and cataclysmic scenes. Ancient fields of molten lava are juxtaposed amongst the angular masses of pillars, planes and spires." Split Rock Home Information

 One of the things I love about the popular architecture style in St. George is bringing nature inside.  This home had so many applications of this, I noticed water was part of each room design with windows opening up to natural pools and creative bathrooms.  The bathrooms were amazing. 

I'll feature my favorite home next!

St. George Parade of Homes 2011

I am so {SO!} excited about this weekend.  I'm going home to enjoy some incredible desert winter weather and join the crowds of people at the St. George Parade of Homes.

This has been one of my favorite events in St. George and I'm looking forward to seeing my friends who have homes in the show this year, like the home above by AJ Construction.  Also looking forward to seeing designs by Robert McArthur and Alice Lane down there.

10 Most Amazing Buildings In The World

Bahá’í House of Worship a.k.a Lotus Temple, Delhi, India

Bahá’í House of Worship mostly known as Lotus Temple was constructed in 1986 and is a Mother Temple of the Indian subcontinent. It is open for people of all religions


Cubic Houses, Rotterdam, Netherlands

  Piet Blom had an idea of cubic houses in 1970s. Some of them were built in Helmond and when Rotterdam city asked him to build housing on top of a pedestrian bridge he chose this concept.

Piet Blom had an idea of cubic houses in 1970s. Some of them were built in Helmond and when Rotterdam city asked him to build housing on top of a pedestrian bridge he chose this concept.

Dancing Building, Prague, Czech Republic

The ‘Dancing Building’ is a nickname given to Nationale-Nederlanden building that is located in Prague’s downtown. Designed by Croatian-Czech architect Vlado Milunić in collaboration with Canadian Frank Gehry the building was completed in 1996. The building was built instead of the one that was destroyed during Bombing of Prague in 1945.

Ferdinand Cheval Palace a.k.a Ideal Palace, France

Ferdinand Cheval Palace was built by a postman in Hauterives, France, who intended to use it as his own tomb but haven’t obtained a license for that. His Ideal Palace is now known around the world.

Forest Spiral Hundertwasser Building, Darmstadt, Germany

Forest Spiral Hundertwasser was built in 2000. Designed by Austrian architect and painter, Friedensreich Hundertwasser the building has 105 apartments and features colorful and organic design.

Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao, Spain

Built by Nervion River Guggenheim Museum of modern and contemporary art was designed by Canadian-American architect Frank Gehry. The building’s silhouette resembles the ship while the design was random, which helped it, according, to architect catch the light.

Kansas City Public Library, Missouri, United-States

As an incentive to visit library the design in the downtown of Kansas city was made in shape of books that according to people of Kansas city represent Kansas.

Ripley’s Building, Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada

Known for the collection of odd and unbelievable things and artifacts Ripley’s Believe It or Not! franchise just had to have this kind of building.

The Crooked House, Sopot, Poland

 Started and finished in 2003 The Crooked House was design was based on Polish artist and child books illustrator, Jan Marcin Szancer’s and Per Dahlberg’s, Swedish painter pictures and paintings.

The Ufo House, Sanjhih, Taiwan

The Ufo House in Sanjhih, Taiwan is actually an deserted resort project. It earned this nickname from Taiwanese for its strange futuristic design.

Beautiful bus stop

 One German rode a bicycle through almost the whole of Russia and Ukraine.He brought from his journey here has such an interesting collection of photos of bus stops.