Current Digs

Before I get more into this new house, I thought that I would post a few pictures of our current house. Granted it is not pictures of the entire house, but a few of the better areas that we may try to some how incorporate into our next home.  How I will incorporate these ideas into a Mid Century home is beyond me at this point, but I will save that for another blog.

The first two images are of the foyer as you enter our home.  My husband had bought me the Quan Yin statue a few years ago for my birthday, as I always wanted to have one in our home. Tables are by West Elm, along with other tchotchkes that I had collected from little boutiques and various antique shops throughout the years.  The wallcovering  is from Romo, one of my favorite designer wallcover and fabric companies.  

The last three pictures are of the office, which as you can see is black.  It was quite a ball-sy move on my part, but it was a pure white canvas when we moved it.  I decided to take the plunge with the design in this room, and it became a design experiment on my end.  I actually was very happy with the way it turned out, especially with the creme colored crown mouldings in which we had installed.  Again, the wallcovering is by Romo along with more collected treasures displayed in West Elm floating shelves.

As you can see, it is a fusion of many different styles. The crown mouldings almost seem a little 'French' combined with Asian statuary and patterns on the walls.  How it will all come together later in conjunction my current design inspirations for this new home will be revealed in a later post. 

Till then,

Kellie

Do Your Homework First...

Before I get too excited about this house - trust me, I am about to burst! - we have to do our due diligence before we close and finalize the deal.  Being that this is an older home, built in 1965, we have to take in to consideration that there will be a ton of remodeling and revamping of the older infrastructure.  

We are in the process of consulting with and receiving quotes from contractors, going to showrooms to choose the perfect materials (new millwork, wood flooring, marble tiles for the baths...), and having roofing and a/c experts to come out and check for any red flags that may occur any additional expenses and to avoid any surprises later on.

Taking on a renovation is no easy task, so as a word of advice - wether you are buying an older or newer home, always do your homework first!

Kellie

Travel Back in Time...

Design, Architecture, and Fashion has always been my passions.  Looking back, what was it about Mid Century Design that caught my attention?

I remember as an Architecture student in Hawaii spending countless hours online researching the photographic works of Julius Schulman, an American architectural photographer who documented many Mid Century works. He was most famous for his photos on the Stahl House in Los Angeles, designed by Pierre Koenig (which I will come back to...). I was mesmerized by his black and white photographs that depicted a wonderful play of light and contrasts, and the lifestyle of the 50's and 60's which was captured in his photos.


Stahl House -
Architect - Pierre Koenig
Photographed by Julius Schulman

As an architecture student at USC, I took a building and construction class from no other than Pierre Koenig.  At the time, I was not familiar with Mid Century architecture - hey, I was younger back then and did not do my homework in researching who he was.  A few years later when I was studying architecture in Hawaii, his name came up during a class and this was his famous design.  I remember he was a beautiful older man, always pristinely dressed in a black suit with his silver hair. I wish at the time I knew who he was, and would have probably attended class more...

Photo: DWR

As far as I could remember, my Mom, who is also a design addict would receive the monthly DWR catalogues.  I would spend countless hours thumbing thru the pages, perusing not only the furniture, but the wonderful Mid Century spaces they occupied. I would admire the clean lines, muted tones, and most crucial to the overall composition - the negative spaces.



After moving to Las Vegas in 2005, I discovered that Las Vegas, of all places had these wonderful pockets of Mid Century communities amidst the bright flashing lights of the casinos, and endless streets of manufactured tract homes.  Communities like the Scotch 80's, Paradise Palms, and Winterwood once again sparked my interest in these Mid Century treasures.  After living in 2 apartments and 1 house later, and being that my husband Matt is a realtor, we began our hunt for the perfect Mid Century home.

Hello All You Design Fanatics!

Just starting this blog today to document the renovation and design process of a home that we are purchasing in Las Vegas, NV! The home was built in 1965 on Winterwood Golf Course, an older community is Las Vegas with the charm and design details of old Las Vegas.

Being an Architect and Interior Designer, I always had a passion for older homes. Not so much the newer track homes here in Vegas, but the older communities with tree lined streets and homes with character and wonderful design details.  It was always my dream to find a Mid Century home in an older neighborhood, and renovate it to my taste while still keeping the overall architectural integrity of the home.

After much searching with my husband, who is a realtor here in Vegas, we finally found our little jewel! We should be getting into contract today, and are ecstatic to start on our renovation!

I will be posting pics soon, I am still in the process of figuring out how this blog thing works...

xoxo,
Kellie