A Look Inside and Out of Thomas Cowen's Seashell-Inspired Big Sur Beach House.

You may have seen this modern concrete and wood structure, with it's living roof, referred to as the Seashell-Inspired House or The Abalone House. The unusual modern home (it's really just a small beach house) in Big Sur, California has been recently featured, with few images, on several blogs (trendir, designyoutrust and inthralld for example) and Pinterest, even though it was completed four years ago.



The above two images are from unknown source. If you know who to credit, please tell me.

It's no wonder it's difficult to find more images and information about this modern structure (which is only 775 square feet). The Carmel, CA architect, Thomas Cowen, has no website. The landscaping company from which the images in the aforementioned blogs were procured did not credit the photographer and they misspelled the name of the building contractor in their credits. But with some serious research, I have uncovered several more images of and information about the home I have yet to see on any blogs or architecture sites and am excited to share them with you.

Rana Creek the landscaping company who designed the living roof calls it the Abalone House.





The glass skylight you see on the roof of the structure is actually above an interior shower:



From the aerial image of the property below, you can see how it's been termed the Seashell-Inspired house because it's more of a Nautilus than an Abalone.



It's set on a private road (9525 Pias Ranch Road), just off the bluff, south of Sycamore Canyon Road and the owners of the home are venture capitalist Alex Balkanski of Benchmark Capital and wife Sybilla.



Below are images of the circular structure and its interior, complete with concrete walls, wood beam ceiling and curved cabinetry:






The spiral shaped concrete structure was actually a second floor addition to a three bedroom three bathroom single-family dwelling totaling 775 square feet. And according to the approved development permit for the Balkanskis (PLN040665/Balkanski), it also was intended to have a detached 575 square foot underground wine cellar, a 120 sq. ft. mechanical room, a 375 sq. ft. pool and spa with a retaining wall and deck. Whether or not these were all completed, I do not know.

Completed: 2008
Client/ Owners: Alex & Sybilla Balkanski
Location: Big Sur, California
Architect: Thomas Cowen
Contractor: Kevin Rider, Rider Construction

photos courtesy of photographer David Bryan and Rider Construction

Throw Pillows Handmade From Your Instagram Photos - Stitchtagram.

Instagram, the free photo sharing app that lets you transform your images with various filters, has been all over the news lately given Facebook has purchased the popular app for $1 billion dollars.

That said, it's no wonder various creative folks will be coming up with ways to turn those images into keepsakes and products. Stitchtagram is one of the first of those concepts.




With Stitchtagram, your Instagram photos are digitally printed on a 15" square linen-cotton canvas pillow, hand sewn in Washington, DC.




The 15 inch pillows come complete with a soft and fluffy removable insert and a dark navy back with an envelope-style closure.




You can design your own layout using as many or as few images as you wish on their site, but beware, they are very pricey. (note: Those with computer and design skills could simply make their own montage on Photoshop and upload their images to Zazzle, Cafe Press or many other sites that offer pillows for a far lower price - only they won't be bleed images and the colors of the backing fabric are usually limited to black.)




Whose behind Stitchagram?
Stitchtagram is the brainchild of brother/sister team Doug and Rachel Pfeffer.

Doug Pfeffer makes stuff on the internet, including this. Find him on Twitter at @pfeffunit, or see more of his work here.

Rachel is the jeweler behind Rachel Pfeffer Designs. When she's not designing/packing/shipping/carting around pillows and fabric, she's soldering in her DC apartment.

All of Stitchtagram's products are sewn and assembled in Washington, DC and the internet bits have been hand crafted in Boston, MA.

For the next 20 hours (from the time this post was written), discounted coupons for either two or one Stitchtagram pillow are available from Fab with my invite link: http://fab.com/y06r4g 



Start designing your pillows at Stitchtagram here.

The Concrete Kitchen by Martin Steininger Wins The 2012 Red Dot Design Award.

Steininger designs for several manufacturers such as Boffi, Living Divani and Porro. They have received the prestigious Red Dot Design award for the newest of their designs, The Concrete Kitchen, assigned by a 30-member expert jury. Creative heads and manufacturers from all over the world submitted a total of 4,515 designs to the renowned product competition. With its fine design language and appealing looks, the concrete kitchen received the globally sought-after red dot design award.




The innovative kitchen is made of ultra-thin 8 mm concrete, which is sturdy yet light. Concrete's heat resistance and food safety make it a material perfectly suitable for kitchens. The manufacturing of it, however, requires a certain know-how and commitment to accuracy.




Every step of the process demonstrates handmade craftsmanship; the form-work is precise; the elaborate finishing is characterized by exact dressing and polishing of the stone.





The combination of solid wood in both the seating area and interior shelving and the integrated fresh herbal beds create a juxtaposition which is interesting and optically appealing.






Design: Martin Steininger

E-Mail: office@steininger-designers.at
Homepage: www.steininger-designers.at

Melissa Borrell's Glass-Etched Shadow Bulbs Are On Sale. Finally.

I usually don't start my posts with a cheesy retail ad-like line, but I've been waiting for these etched light bulbs to be reasonably priced for years. Really. I blogged about Designer Melissa Borrell's Shadow Bulbs way back in 2007 and have been waiting for the expensive bulbs to be within a price range I could justify.



At the time of my posting, five years ago - told you I was a trend-setter ;) - the 5.5" 60 watt glass etched bulbs were $90 a piece. For the past few years they have been priced at $75 a piece. Now, for only three days, the bulbs are on sale at Fab for only $39 a piece.



The glass bulbs, which cast beautiful shadows, are 5.5-inch, 60-watt incandescent globes that fits into standard light sockets.

You can get them at the reduced price by using my Fab link, but only for the next 3 days.

http://fab.com/y06r4g

Limited Edition Typography Scrabble For Designers, Typophiles and Font Lovers.

A special edition of the classic Scrabble board game made of solid walnut wood tiles which each feature a variety of fonts has been created by Andrew Clifford Capener.





The game board is lined with slip free cork and made up of six panels which come in a walnut wood storage case with drawers.





Metal tile racks and a Birch wood box complete the set, which is signed and numbered.




all images courtesy of Andrew Capener

Only 2100 sets were made and there are very few left.

Key Features:
• Beautiful solid walnut storage case with drawer
• Six-panel solid walnut magnetized gameboard lined with slip free cork
• Beautiful solid birch cover
• Metal tile racks
• Solid walnut tiles featuring a variety of different and exciting fonts
• Each limited edition set will also be signed and numbered

Product Dimensions: 19.00” x 17.50” x 6.00”

Pre-Order Now Here
Price: $199
Available: August 2012

Thanks to Daily Design Joint for bringing this to my attention via Materialicious