Home voyeurs.... a peek into homes

Waking up in a dumpster

Posted on September 11, 2011 | Leave a comment

It sounds like the morning after a bender with a few drinks too many. However, if you ask Berkeley California-based Gregory Kloehn it can be a regular morning ritual. Gregory managed to fit an entire home in a dumpster. And, in line with Bay Area standards (at least to my knowledge from living there back in the late Nineties) the home is fit with hardwood floors and granite counter tops. In this video Gregory tells us all.

Little things

Posted on September 8, 2011 | Leave a comment

A little red flower I found right outside my door. It must have blown away from the planters outside my neighbours kitchen window. I put it in a small vintage vase. It makes me smile.

Little red flower

Taylor Swifts historic Nashville mansion

Posted on September 1, 2011 | Leave a comment

American country singer Taylor Swift paid $2,5 million for this wonderful historic Southern Belle. A bargain, insult almost, compared to the prices in the greater Los Angeles area! The home, known as Northumberland Estate was built in the 1930s for Guilford Dudley, Jr, who was an ambassador for the USA in Denmark. The house is a perfect example of 20th-century Southern architecture. It used to sit on hundreds of acres but the land has been subdivided since.

Taylor Swift's Northumberland Estate in Nashville USA

The sellers are Universal Music Group chairman Luke Lewis and his wife, Lauren. The couple hired renowned architect Manuel Zeitlin when they bought the home to turn it into their dream home. They sure managed to maintain its historic integrity. I truly hope Taylor Swift has the same eye for historic value and will treat this wonderful home with the respect it deserves.

Foyer of Taylor Swift's new Nashville Home. I love the mirror slates

The lounge. The black (or is it dark blue?) walls are a magnificent touch. I love how it gives it a very classical and dramatic feel.

Dining room

Now there's a library! Love the chairs!

Sources: Lily at Hookedonhouses.net and Casasugar.com

I took an Apartment Journey

Posted on August 24, 2011 | 7 comments

My personal heroes at Apartment Therapy shared some wonderful photographs taken by a guy in his apartment. He was forced to spend some time at home due to a sprained ankle which was a break from his otherwise hectic working life. He started playing with his Hipstamatic app on his iPhone. The result was an amazing series of pictures of his home. “I started looking for unique angles, small vignettes arranged by my girlfriend, or gathered in their own organic way (messes). I looked for textures and viewpoints that I miss in my daily busyness. I even caught a couple of cat naps that I rarely see when working late hours.”

The pictures made him look at his place with different eyes. Only after seeing these images he realized the uniqueness of it. He saw things he never noticed or never appreciated up to then. Apartment Therapy recommends trying this yourself. They say “This is such a great exercise on multiple levels – it adds to your emotional connection to your home and creates an opportunity for design improvements. Taking a step back and seeing your home’s objects, arrangements, colors and textures through photos allows you to evaluate and appreciate them in a different way, opening up the door for both change and acceptance.”

So I did. I didn’t use the same lens as I believe that is one of the ones you pay extra for but I still like the result, a lot. And it works. I see my place through the eyes of a first time visitor now. It’s great! I had to force myself not to look as a photographer or as a designer but just look for unusual angles, shapes, forms or items I would otherwise not have captured. A lot of the pictures didn’t work at all, but quite a few came out pretty nice if I say so myself.

If you feel like sharing pics of your own apartment journey please do. But also please share them with the guys at Apartment Therapy as they inspired me in the first place. They always do.