Monday, November 17, 2008

House Styles

Hi Folks ,
Iam back again, this time I wanted to give an overview of different styles of houses found in USA. Iam not writting about all the different styles but a couple of my favourite house styles and their interiors as well.
Hope you'll enjoy !!

This house stlye is Mediterranean. These homes have slightly sloping roof. Arches with columns. They have arched Palladian windows. Red clay tile roof. White stucco exteriors. Small balconies or wrought iron balustrades.



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This kind of house style is Modern. There is an honest revelation of buiding materials with a pedominance of horizontal lines and asymmetrical balances. Open planning, large areas of glass and a minimum of decoration are typical features.




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Monterey houses are a result of many mixed influences. Long second floor balcony with onamental railing of wood or iron. These are cool for hot weathers, but second floor balcony darkens first floor. Usually 2 stories in height.


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Victorian houses have mansard roof or wide, heavy, overhanging cornice. They have Projections, turrets, bay windows,ornamanents and trim without unity, harmony or purpose. They have high ceiling and large rooms.



Sunday, November 9, 2008

Art Collection

I sometimes see homes only with furniture in it , I believe books and art are also important elements to bring life to a room. Else it would look like a furniture showroom. Here are some of the interesting art collections that I found and wanted to share with you... (click on the image to enlarge)


In the living room are Roy Lichtenstein’s Reflections: Spray II, left, and Thin Edge by Ralph Humphrey.

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Terra-cotta-colored walls offer a rich backdrop for the salon’s art and furnishings.

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This a purposeful balance of antique and contemporary style in the area of the master bedroom, The poster is a Tobias Stranovius’s 18th-century Peacock and Peahen.

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Damien Hirst’s 1997 acrylic Caesium Carbide 89 is the focal point of another part of the living room.



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Yes, 1963, by Joe Tilson hangs above a 19th-century butcher’s table in the entrance hall

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Over the living room’s fireplace is a 1960 Franz Kline oil. Andy Warhol and Jean-Michel Basquiat’s 1984-85 GE Tobacco Section is at left.

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Stone standing figures are displayed in the living room along with a 1935 painting by Fernand Léger.


Saturday, November 1, 2008

Winchester Mystery House

We had a field trip the other day as part of the Interior design curriculum. We visited the 'Winchester Mystery House' which is in San Jose,CA. It was a Victorian mansion, designed and built by the Winchester Rifle heiress, is filled with so many unexplained oddities, that it has come to be known as the Winchester Mystery House.



Sarah Winchester built a home in 1844 that is an architectural marvel. Unlike most homes of its era, this 160-room Victorian mansion had modern heating and sewer systems, gas lights that operated by pressing a button, three working elevators, and 47 fireplaces. From rambling roofs and exquisite hand inlaid parquet floors to the gold and silver chandeliers and Tiffany art glass windows, you will be impressed by the staggering amount of creativity, energy, and expense poured into each and every detail.
Chandelier
Living Room
Ball Room
Hand painted window panes


A psychic in Boston told Sarah that the spirits of all the people and animals of those who had been injured by the Winchester rifles would seek to avenge their deaths. The only way to appease the spirits, said the psychic, was to build them a house. As long as the house was being built, the spirits would not haunt Sarah. For 38 years, until Sarah's death in 1922, carpenters worked 24 hours a day, 365 days a year building the strange monument to the spirit world. At the time of Sarah's death there were 160 rooms (in various stages of completion) in the house. However, it is estimated that over 600 rooms were built and then torn down over the 38 years.

These stairs that lead to the ceiling are just one of the many bizarre features that Mrs. Winchester designed and had built.
Well, I had a wonderful time checking out the mysteries all around ... thank god I havn't come across ghosts though ;) some people say its haunted !!