Category Archives: Famous buildings and movie locations

Cameron’s house from Ferris Bueler’s day off for sale

Posted on January 6, 2011 | Leave a comment

On a recent trip to Chicago I did a little John Hughes tribute tour. We went to see Ferris Bueler’s high school and the house of his movie friend Cameron. Imagine my surprise to discover that the famous glass house is for sale! It’s on the market for $1.65 million.

Photograph from Gawker.com website

The house, located in the leafy suburb Highland Park, was designed by architects A. James Speyer and David Haid in 1953. It offers 5.300 square feet of living space and floor to ceiling windows throughout offering views of the ravine that give this part of Highland Park, Ravinia, its name.

Photograph from Huffingtonpost website

The house is featured in a very famous scene from the movie. It’s when Cameron has a breakdown when he returns his dad’s Ferrari and discovers that hundreds of miles have been added to the odometer. He and Ferris decide to take mileage off the odometer by putting the car in reverse on a jack. The jack however lets go when Cameron kicks the car out of frustration and sends the car crashing through the glass and into the ravine.

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Posted in Famous buildings and movie locations, Homes of the rich and famous, See how others live, Unusual homes

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Sears Catalog Home Capitol

Posted on December 19, 2010 | 1 comment

The village of Downers Grove Illinois, USA lures tourists with an unusual concentration of Sears do-it-yourself catalog homes.

Sears Catalog Home

Sears is an American department store famous for its elaborate catalogs. From 1908 to 1937, a person could order an entire house from this catalog. All the parts were measured and sawed at a Sears factory and delivered to the customer. Mostly transported by train, as the homes sometimes filled up to two boxcars. Prices ranged from $150 to $5,000.

Sears catalog home

Downers Grove was home to a large rail yard, which made it easy for Sears to deliver the home to its residents. Most of the catalog homes, in fact, are located within four blocks of the tracks that are still there.

Some 300 were assembled in Downer’s Grove, and many still exist. Visitors to this town can do walking or driving tours.

Sears catalog home 'Vallonia'

Coincidence has it that I will be in the area in about a week. I am definitely taking the tour!

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Posted in Design, designers and online finds, Famous buildings and movie locations, See how others live, Unusual homes

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Katy Perry moves East Coast!

Posted on November 21, 2010 | Leave a comment

It might be to be closer to her mother in law, as hubby Russel hails from good old UK, or maybe it is just to be where some of the other action is. Katy Perry bought a modest sized anything but modest prices apartment in NYC. The newlyweds are the happy reported owners of 1,500 square feet, 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms in New York’s SoHo district.

image snatched from the real Estalker

If you’re thinking she’ll be singing “East Coast represent, now put your hands up!” you’re wrong. Mrs Perry (or is it Brand now?) stays true to her roots. Just last year she and then still live-in boyfriend Russel splashed out $3,250,000 for a -not sure what country but surely mediterranean style – mansion in the trendy LA hood Los Feliz. Cause you could travel the wo-orld, but nothing comes close to the Golden Coast.

Image courtesy of the Real Estalker

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Posted in Famous buildings and movie locations, Homes of the rich and famous, See how others live

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Diane von Furstenberg’s Manhattan rooftop studio

Posted on November 19, 2010 | Leave a comment

Inventor of the much appreciated wrap around dress, American Diane von Furstenberg Studio’s recently moved all her business ventures into one building. The new headquarters fit perfectly in New York City’s fashionable Meatpacking District. The six-story building has been beautifully restored in keep with the surrounding buildings. But once inside be prepared to be surprised. The center of the building consists of one gigantuous stairway slicing the building diagonally past all floors. One corner of the structure is topped by an Olot, Spain-made faceted glass sphere that is part of the penthouse suite.

Photo © Elizabeth Felicella

Basically, von Furstenberg wanted to bring together her business’s activities in one building that would include a flagship store on the street level, a 5,000-square-foot showroom and event area, along with office space for 120, plus her own office and living quarters. How’s that for working from home?

New York based architecture firm Work Architecture Company (WORKac) was in charge of the renovation and design.

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Posted in Design, designers and online finds, Famous buildings and movie locations, Homes of the rich and famous, See how others live, Unusual homes

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