Prefab Homes

As this blog evolves, I'm beginning to understand that it's more about aesthetic appreciation than strictly design. So, in that line of thought comes the next blog post. My wife and I have been looking at our options for buying a home in California, and the options are both overwhelming and generally disappointing. Thankfully, there are some good looking options for buying a new home that don't include living 10 feet from your neighbor, mostly found in prefabricated housing. One company that has particularly stood out in our search for modern, clean-lined, prefab housing is mk designs. I am a particular fan of the Breezehouse (seen below), but wanted to share the video from the process of the Solaire house literally unfolding on a concrete slab (see link below).

I'm impressed by not only the design of their houses, but also the way that they economically package and efficiently build these homes on site. Understanding that there is a lot that goes into preparing a plot of land to get to the point where mk designs' crew can show up and pop your beautiful house into place, the building process is incredible and fast. Check out the video at mk Designs website.

JB

Big Sur

Some friends of ours just got back from a trip to Big Sur, and I'm all nostalgic. Ed and I spent five days in Big Sur last July. It was Ed's birthday, and we wanted to do one last road trip just the two of us before the baby arrived.


Big Sur is one of the most romantic places I've ever been. It has a magical quality. It was the first trip Ed and I took together (almost 4 years ago!) and we have taken many trips since, but this place makes me fall in love with my husband all over again. We camped in the Los Padres National Forest - check out the front cover of Sunset's July issue. That's our spot. Seriously.


We drove to Carmel for a day, walked on the beach with Otis, had breakfast at Deetjen's (I made Ed promise we could stay a night at this funky place on our next trip), checked out the eclectic Henry Miller library, and spent a lot of time talking about how excited we were to meet Leo (of course we didn't know it was Leo at the time, which is hard to wrap my head around now.)


This has got to be one of the most beautiful places on earth - it's no wonder this landscape inspired some of the greatest creative minds of the 20th century.

KL

Photo Album

In the world of iPhoto and Flickr, the idea of a physical photo album seems outdated. I remember looking through my grandparents photo albums, the yellowing acetate overlays sticking to the photos and becoming brittle from years of sitting in drawers. While this may happen to this stylish freestanding photo album in another forty years, at least it will look cool all the way there.

Clean, simple design that functions standing on it's own as an art form, folded out like a book, or spread out in an accordion fold (sweet way to look at the album as a whole). Check out more inspiring home accessories from Better Living Through Design.


JB

The Addenbrookes

{Photos by outstanding local photographers We Heart Photography.}

It's hard to believe that Kelley and Matt have been married for almost four months now! Their wedding was such an awesome new challenge for us. We designed all the paper goods - invitation, program, menu, place cards, seating assignments...

Thanks for trusting us with this project - you have impeccable taste, and we loved working with you. Your wedding was so much fun - especially the first dance. LOVE it.

For more photos from the Addenbrooke wedding, click here.

KL

Portland Timbers

As a soccer fan, I've been impressed with the way the MLS teams have chosen names for their teams over the years, often relating the team name to something historically significant from the city. One of the newest teams to enter the MLS is the Portland Timbers.
Beyond their great logo (seen above), colors, and ideal location, the team has put out an incredible ad campaign to promote the team's inclusion into the MLS. Using local people as their subjects, the campaign shows these ordinary (and therefore interesting and unique) people posing with tools of the lumberjack trade. No words, just the image is enough to communicate the message. Nice work, Timbers design team!


JB

New Year

Happy New Year from Post Box Press! The last several months have been a little crazy for us - Ed and I had Leo at the end of September, and Joel finished his second-to-last semester at Sacramento State.

And yet! We managed to finish a few projects: Our first ever comprehensive wedding suite - invites, programs, menus, place cards...(you name it, we designed it), a ridiculously cute baby announcement for the happiest baby ever (yes, I'm biased), a mermaid themed birthday party invitation, and the Cabreras annual Christmas card (our best yet, I think).

Up next: Jen and Andy's wedding in the Russian River Valley, and a website for our dear friend (and amazing artist) Di.


On my board: a piece from Di's senior show, one of my lovely Leah Duncan cards (a gift from Sarah), a photo of Gwyneth from the August 2010 Vogue (my elegant mom inspiration), an Egg Press gift card, Leo's darling birth announcement (thanks, Joel!), Leo at 20 weeks in the belly, Leo at 2 weeks, and the Scrabble push-pins my husband made me for Christmas.

KL

Alphabet Book

My wife and I received a subscription to a great magazine, titled GOOD for Christmas. Each issue focuses on a particular topic or area of the world, in which "good" is being or can be done. In an issue featuring New Orleans, an article about "Love Letters: Visual Index of New Orleans." Most of us read, or were read alphabet books as a child, something similar to what's seen below (also great design, by Steve Mack).
The Visual Index of New Orleans is not exactly a book to read to your children, showing fluffy and cute animals that correspond to the letter of the alphabet. As you can see below, each of the letters correspond to an important aspect of the New Orleans culture (as well as the alphabet, of course). I'm posting this because this work is visually inspiring, connecting the image to the letter in a very interesting ways. This page is "C is for Crawfish."


If you're interested in reading more about this article click here, or to receive a free copy of The Visual Index of New Orleans, contact ness@iamalwayshungry.com

JB