Guest posts for the next couple of days

OK kids, I'm off to the bright lights of Chicago and I'll be back next week. I will be brimming with all of the wonders of not only Chicago but of all the cool stuff I'll see at KBIS. While I'm gone the following brave souls will be minding the store. Be nice, laugh at their jokes and leave them lots of comments please.


Raina Cox, Thursday 4/15: Raina writes the must-read blog If The Lampshade Fits. The divine Ms. R. is a blogospheric superstar and it is an honor indeed to have someone her stature fill in around here.

Bob Borson, Friday 4/16: Bob writes Life of an Architect. He's the now-infamous architect with a blog from Dallas and has become the voice of his profession in a few months. He is definitely someone to watch. And read. Friday's also his birthday.

Julie Warner, Saturday 4/17: Julie writes Warners' Stellian Kitchen and Home Appliance Blog. She's the world-travelling, marathon-running, reigning queen of Minnesota appliances.

Bill Buyok, Sunday 4/18: Bill writes Tile Talk and lives in Beverly Hills. As if that weren't enough, he sells some of the most beautiful tile I've ever seen.

Sarah Lloyd, Monday 4/19: Sarah writes Kitchen Clarity. She is England's loss and the US's gain. Sarah's rapier wit and laser focus originates from Los Altos, CA these days but her heart's still in England.

Kelly James, Tuesday 4/20: Kelly is the Ottawa half of Design Ties, one of the most popular design blogs on both sides of the 49th parallel. Kelly has a keen eye and more energy than should be allowed by law.

Nick Olsen in the new Lonny

The design blogosphere has gone bonkers over the new issue of Lonny and there's an apartment by Nick Olsen featured that's getting a lot of that attention.

Decorno wrote about it on Monday night and her headline read, Nick Olsen Is an Opium-Addicted Chinese Hooker. The woman is everything I aspire to, I swear. Anyhow, in Decorno-speak that's high praise.

I got in the first comment. It was one word. Hideous. I think it is really hideous. I get it, Olsen's making a name for himself and he's playing around with archetypes. While it might be clever, it's still ugly. I think my real objection to it comes from his use of all those gloss paints. Well, that and the clutter. But the gloss paint just kills me.

It photographs like a crime scene or a set from The Silence of the Lambs and living with it's no easier. Every flaw in that wood and plaster work is exaggerated by the sheen on those walls. It's awful.


An anonymous commenter left this a couple of comments after mine.

"Horrible," screamed the blogland zombies who want their Weinrib fabrics and their inspiration boards.

Please. Yes, I'm a blogland zombie for saying that I think purposeful, studied ugliness is ugly.

What do you guys think?

Optical illusion Wednesday

The ever brilliant Richard Wiseman strikes again. This is without a doubt the most persistent illusion I've ever seen. Click on the image and it will get larger.

My brain is so determined to see spirals that even when I trace what are clearly circles, I perceive a spiral. I don't know about you guys but I cannot force myself to see these circles. Man! These spirals that aren't spirals won't go away.

Human brains are pattern recognizing machines. I say that all the time. As such, the need to see a pattern can override reality without a whole lot of prodding. I'd love a real explanation of this particular illusion from a physiological perspective. Seriously. What structures in my brain are overriding what my eyes see? Wild stuff!

Melody's new venture

A great friend and occasional contributor to this blog, Melody McFarland, has launched a new venture and I want the world to know about it. In addition to being one of the coolest people I know, Mel's also a very gifted photographer. And her new venture is her unique spin on pet photography.

She calls her take on pet photography documentary style. No props, no poses, just a beloved animal being itself. She works in a 30 mile radius of our hometown, Lancaster Pennsylvania and will extend her reach as needed.

This is Melody's dog Sinbad and he is the most eerily photogenic dog on the planet.

If you're in her part of the world, give her a call. If you're not in her part of the world, join me in wishing her tremendous success in her new venture. Go get 'em Melody!

Check out the rest of her portfolio on her brand spanking new website.

When people live in glass houses, where do they buy furniture?

The great Alice Liao from K+BB Collective found this yesterday and I couldn't pass it by.

Carlo Santambrogio and Ennio Arosio are visionary architects and designers base in Milan. Their vision is remarkably transparent.

Together they run an architecture and design firm called Santambrogio|Milano. Alice's article yesterday dealt with their architectural concepts and they are thought provoking to say the least. What I can't get past is their furniture and fittings. Santambrogio|Milano is committed to exploring a fully transparent world.

A true glass cook top

A deconstructed and redefined kitchen sink.

A stair.

Double vanities.

A sofa.

A bath tub

A lamp and a chair.

Of course it's impractical, but I think there's something to be gained from what they're proposing. Where do you go when there's nowhere to hide? Is it possible to furnish a room and set a tone with the room's surroundings? I believe firmly that things like genuine warmth comes from the lives of the people who inhabit a room, and an all-glass room really puts that belief of mine to the test.

Could you like in a glass house? Live with a glass room? Cook in a glass kitchen? Sleep on a glass bed? Does ordinary furniture enhance or does it hide? Hmmmm.

Check out Alice's post to see what they do with architecture.