Design elements that age well?
6 years ago
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'Patterns on the ground are a basic element of landscape design.'
Comments (53)I think that subjects like this get convoluted when they go from learning concept to application. While it is true that some have applied these principles in more literal forms as noted several times in this thread, it is more about developing a sense of a space for the most of us. It is when a landscape is being converted to a sculpture or art object as its primary use that the more literal application of these concepts are used. Few of us work in that circumstance. Most of us gain by studying these concepts along with every other design concept. We gain an undestanding of them and do most of the application through more of a subconscious process rather than directly and literally calculating. Whether it is use of color,rythm (I hate that word, I have to look up the spelling each time I use it), form, texture, or whatever, we seldom rationally calculate it once we have it well studied. Most of us gently blend in these things that we learned about from direct study in what becomes something that feels intuitive rather than calculated. We would not have as much of that ability without the direct study of concepts like this. What I am saying is that it is imortant to study these concepts, but once understood, there is seldom reason to go through these excercises in each design you work on. You use information and excercises to gain knowledge, but you do not necessarilly reverse the process to apply the knowledge. Projects have a set of values that are born with them. We can generally bend the balance of those values in various directions, but seldom are we put in the position to have carte blanche to use a piece of real estate with someone else's money as a canvas to express concepts. Most of the time we are blending multiple elements of design theory through an intuition that was built from studying concepts some time earlier. I am always concerned about people reacting to the book of the day or trying to literally apply every concept that they read about. I am of the opinion that it is best to learn these theories in isolation to understand each one deeply. This can be from reading and doing little excercises until you get it burnt into your brain as knowledge. Your brain should become a well stocked refridgerator or kitchen. You don't need to drag out every ingredient in the house to make lunch. You more of less know what you have, what feels right at the moment, you reach in knowing where these things are stored, put together a nice meal, maybe add a little spice here or there to enhance it, and lunch hits the spot. Or maybe you break out the diet chart and let it dictate your meal, I don't know. My belief is that the theories should be learned and understood to a point where you are not conciously trying to figure out how you are going to apply each or any on a given project before taking on the project. You will apply them through your knowledge and in a more intuitive way....See MoreShowstopping bathroom tile - need advice on other design elements
Comments (19)Wow!!! I'm so impressed with all of these ideas - keep them coming! I think each would work, but would make for a very different look - high contrast, traditional, MCM, etc. I shared all of these ideas with my husband and I think we're both leaning towards subway tiles in the shower - either light gray or white - and probably oversized as Nancy in Mich suggested. Each hex pattern is about 6 inches in diameter so they're quite large and we agree a larger subway would balance it out. Any ideas for grout color if we go with white subway? A light gray grout? My husband loves the idea of accenting the shower tile with black or graphite-colored trim and bullnose pieces to tie in the dark accents in the floor tile, so we'll likely do that, as well. Pricklypearcactus, we definitely want frameless glass for the shower but still waiting on our quote... scared to open that email. :) And I think brushed nickel is the winner in the fixture department, though I may throw in a little gold by way of accessories to warm things up a bit. We're still trying to decide between a few things: - Pickled wood, white or dark gray painted vanity and either floating or shaker-style - Solid white or marble-type (quartzite?) countertop - Light gray or gray-blue on the walls, but I think this depends on the other finishes. And jrueter - thanks so much for including photos. That really helped us visualize how the gray subway would look. We'd never even considered anything other than white! Williamsem - I'll be sure to post pictures of the finished product, but you'll have to be patient with us. We're buying everything now, but not installing until after Christmas. :) Thanks again all! And please do chime in with any other ideas/suggestions - you've been SO helpful!...See MoreGood design always ages well
Comments (59)I can't stop playing with the ceiling in this one. I sort of like a cathedral tray in this room. After removing the Tuscan detail on the columns, I am not sold that it is an improvement. I think they were used because the house was built in the post-modernist period and any house that is designed to be contemporary to its time (versus a historical recreation) is going to be influenced by the period. No matter what the primary style is. This is why there are light fixtures that are Deco and Colonial Revival at the same time. These two houses were designed by Venturi, Scott-Brown Associates. The house in Stony Creek was designed by Steven Izenour specifically. These are strongly post modernist and the columns here are caricatures, really. The fireplace in the Stony Creek house is a single fat column. Anyway, the house above took period influences. In Architectural Record there is a discussion of the removal of the "columns" on one side of the Stony Creek house. It improves the view but it also strongly dilutes the façade. And the cathedral-tray:...See MoreBookwise: What Aged Well/What Didn't?
Comments (41)Lydia, thank you for letting us know. I'm glad you enjoyed your reread of GWTW. It's a helluva a story, in my opinion, in so many respects. My apologies for not responding to your post just previous to the last one. I didn't finish Bridget Jones's Diary. I couldn't stand her whinging -- what was it, ten years ago? -- so I doubt I would tolerate her any better now. I have no idea if future readers will think she's "so 1990s/2000s", or whatever dismissive phrase they invent. But I think you're right in noting the similarities between Bridget and her ilk and the snarkiness of the characters in Georgy Girl. Whatever is trendy in a contemporary novel is bound to be old hat to successive generations of readers -- even when they like vintage styles. Something you, or someone, said above (or elsethread) struck me: (paraphrasing, since I can't locate it to quote directly) readers like historical novels written in their own times better than preceding generations' contemporary novels because the sensibilities have been redone to suit what the writers and readers want those times and the characters to have been.The more I think about it, the more convinced I am that's right. Let me guess about Summer of '42: Are the readers nowadays hostile about the young boy losing his virginity to the older woman? I can see how that would be a 'modern' take. It sure didn't seem to be awful to Raucher's character in 1942...Hermie, I think was his name. And I don't think it was considered obscene back in the early 1970s when the book came out, but we have become sensitized to the 'issue' of cougars since. (Even the term cougar is ugh-worthy!)...See MoreRelated Professionals
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