Daily Archives: March 12, 2014

Design Lessons From Tiny Homes | Bedford Hills Real Estate

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There are small spaces, and then there are microspaces. The architects and designers who show at the MicroDwell exhibition specialize in the latter. Architect Lynne Reynolds’ Lean2 home is just 189 square feet. It’s inspired by 19th-century landscape follies and built with recycled aluminum billboard sections and translucent panels. Meanwhile, architectural designers Hunter Floyd and Damon Wake built their 200-square-foot Cinder Box home using glass and charred wood siding, finding a way to include a sofa, a desk alcove, bookshelves and a sleeping loft.
These tiny structures are joining a dozen others at MicroDwell 2014, the second annual small-space building and design exhibition held at the Shemer Art Center.  The projects, all well under the 600-square-foot maximum requirement, were designed and built by architects, builders, artists, hobbyists, students (high school as well as college) and others as tangible experiments to learn how to do more with less, as well as be creative with materials. This year’s theme was live-work, so many of the projects have office, commercial space or studio themes.
I checked out the event, which runs through March 23, 2014, and realized there’s a lot everyone can learn from living small.

Play with materials. Small spaces mean smaller material needs, allowing budgetary leeway to try something new, like the Japanese shou-sugi-ban-style charred wood siding used here on the exterior of Hunter Floyd and Damon Wake’s Cinder Box.
Use slim, low-slung furniture. Inside the Cinder Box, the tight space feels spacious with a sleek sofa, an almost-there coffee table and a slimmed-down chair.

Get a Perfectly Built Home the First Time Around | Pound Ridge Homes

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There’s a myth going around to the effect that you’ll never get your house built just right.  There will always be something you forgot, something you’d do differently, something that’s just not quite right.  I’ve heard folks tell me time and again that that’s just the way it is.  There’s just no getting around the simple fact that the house you build just won’t be 100 percent right.
Well, I have to say that this is simply not true.  There are steps anyone can take that will ensure that a house will be perfect, with no regrets.  Here are some of them.

Know thyself.  Who are you?  What do you like?  What do you hate?  What is your ideal living arrangement?  What is your favorite season?
What do you enjoy doing?
These are some of the many questions you’ll have to answer to create the perfect home.  You see, we simply don’t live in a space bounded by four walls, a ceiling and a floor.  While we all share a lot of common traits, each of us is unique.  So yes, start with a room count and a square footage and a style, but then take that to the next level by tailoring the plan to you and yours.

Unusual Mixes of Old and New in Texas | Bedford Corners Real Estate

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Any architect will tell you that the key to a successful building is a good client. Of course, what exactly a “good client” is can vary greatly. For architect Hugh Randolph’s renovation of a 1935 house in the Clarksville neighborhood of Austin, Texas, good clients were a creative couple who were passionate about the history of their house as they and their daughters became its newest residents.
Going so far as to document their research in a blog, Ryan and Kim Battle worked with Randolph to find inspiration in the house’s history. The result is a traditional house with modern touches that are sometimes subtle and sometimes overt, ultimately making something new and personal.
Houzz at a Glance Who lives here: Ryan and Kim Battle and their 2 daughters Location: Austin, Texas Team: Architect: Hugh Randolph; interior designer: Kim Battle; builder: Risinger Homes Size: 2,890 square feet (268 square meters) Photography by Whit Preston and Casey Dunn

The decision to buy and remodel the house started with Randolph’s taking a shortcut in his car one day along Palma Plaza and seeing the house for sale. He thought of Ryan and Kim Battle, who were living in one of his modern commissions at the time but wanted something smaller and more sustainable. Six months after the discovery, the Battles bought the property and hired Randolph to help them transform it.
Looking at the symmetrical, southwest-facing front, it’s hard to see any dramatic changes, outside of the three modern dormers that replaced an existing pair, and the standing-seam metal roof. The dining room is to the left of the entrance, and the master bedroom is to the right.

12 Key Decorating Tips to Make Any Room Better | Armonk Real Estate

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I hate to break it to you, but designers don’t follow a secret rule book. There are no hard and fast laws governing what we do. We are creative types by nature and love to imagine, dream and explore, following our intuition. That said, there are some rough principles that guide us to ensure a great result every time. They are just tried and true things that work. And these aren’t tricks or skills that take years to master. Anyone can do them from day one. Consider this a foundation for developing your own quirky, creative, rule-breaking intuition.

1. Pick the paint color last. I get calls all the time from homeowners who want to pick a paint color before they move in. I get the logic. Why not arrive to walls with a fresh coat of paint? Of course you can do it this way, but in my opinion it’s not ideal.
There are thousands of paint colors with various tints, tones and shades. And each one looks different from home to home, because light sources vary, meaning what looks good in your current home might not in your new one. You want the color that best complements your upholstery, artwork, rug and whatever else. You can pick that color only if your stuff is actually inside your home.

Rain Will Turn To Snow Late Wednesday In Mount Kisco | Mt Kisco Homes

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Rain is expected to fall much of the day across Westchester County, but as temperatures drop, it will turn to snow late Wednesday as yet another winter storm makes its way to the Northeast, the National Weather Service said.

Westchester will be spared the wrath of the storm, which is expected to drop as much as 18 inches of snow across northern New England.

The storm will begin as rain Wednesday, mainly after 4 p.m., with about a quarter of an inch possible. High temperatures will approach 50 degrees.

Rain and snow showers are expected Wednesday evening, becoming all snow after midnight. Some thunder is also possible.

Snow accumulations of 1 to 2 inches are possible in Northern Westchester. Less than half an inch is expected in Central and Southern Westchester.

Temperatures will drop into the mid-teens overnight with blustery southeast winds of 13 to 18 mph becoming northwest at 19 to 24 mph after midnight.

Dutchess County is under a Winter Weather Advisory from 6 p.m. Wednesday to 11 a.m. Thursday. The warning does not extend as far south as Westchester County. But it warns of sleet and freezing rain as well as a flash freeze overnight as temperatures fall.

 

http://mtkisco.dailyvoice.com/news/rain-will-turn-snow-late-wednesday-westchester-county