Full Exposure/Part 1

Here I go again, if you follow my blog, I love, love, love glass houses!!!!!!
People who live in glass houses …

A modernist statement — the use of industrial materials such as glass and steel for domestic home construction .

These homes blur the line between indoor and outdoor spaces and are studies in transparency and reflection.
The saying that people who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones predates the building of the first glass home, but it certainly is good advice for anyone looking to live in one.
Glass homes continue to make statements in residential design, though it does take a certain kind of person to feel comfortable with all that exposure. Life in a modernist fishbowl requires either a lot of chutzpah or plenty of private acreage — not to mention some tight security to keep those gawkers away.
For now, take a look at the best see-through homes on the market.



This is MY choice, love the white and clean lines, I'm ready to move in!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Glass Pavilion

This Montecito, Calif., home was designed by Phillip Steve Hermann, who also designed homes for singer Christina Aquilera and comedian Lenny Bruce. It's going for a cool $35 million.

The Glass Pavilion is set within a 3.5-acre estate of oak groves in one of the wealthiest communities in the U.S. Inside – if you can call it that – is more than 14,000 square feet of living space.


WOW, WOW, I LOVE this room!!!!!!!!!!! Takes my breath away!!!!

The foundation

The home is almost entirely constructed of glass, with massive structural steel beams, and took six years to build. The large glass panels are Star Fire Glass, an incredibly clear glass often used for jewelry displays. The multiple fireplaces are made of statuary marble.

Extra space

The home has five bedrooms, five and a half bathrooms, a grand hallway and a large wine room. It also includes an art gallery where the architect, who designed the home for himself, displays his vintage car collection. The space accommodates more than 30 cars within its walnut-lined walls.



First of all you will need a lot of acreage for privacy, but I could do this...talk about serenity!!!!!

The view

Bathe within full view of the outdoors in an Antonio Lupi free-standing tub. Fortunately, there is plenty of security to keep the peeping toms at bay. The home is in a gated estate at the end of a long driveway and comes equipped with a high-tech security system.

Slide show:  10 superexclusive gated

Read More

Glass Walls

About NanaWall®

Perceiving an unmet need for flexible solutions to large architectural openings, the founders of Nana Wall Systems delivered their first wood-framed, opening glass wall in 1986. Three years later, Nana Wall Systems, Inc. was incorporated, with the mission of finding, creating, and delivering an ever-broadening array of flexible design solutions. In 1996, Nana Wall Systems entered into partnership with Solarlux of Germany, the world leader in operable glass wall technology. Today, with manufacturer's representatives throughout the continent, Nana Wall Systems is the dominant provider of opening glass walls in North America.

A Diverse and Distinguished Clientele.

For nearly twenty years, the NanaWall® — vanishing glass wall system has re-defined interior and exterior space — and the boundary between them—in thousands of commercial and residential buildings throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean. Nana Wall Systems' architectural customer base includes such esteemed names as HOK, Gensler, WATG, and SOM; projects have ranged from press-boxes and suites at the new Philadelphia Eagles and Seattle Mariners stadiums to luxury pool houses in private residences. NanaWall® vanishing glass walls can be found providing innovative and versatile design solutions for offices such as Starbucks' headquarters; restaurant and resort patio areas (including the Sheraton Wild Horse Pass Spa); community hubs such as the Skirball Cultural Center; as well as a multitude of libraries, car dealerships, and churches.

If you can imagine it, you can create it... with NanaWall®.

At first glance, the NanaWall® looks like a wall of floor-to-ceiling glass windows, but that's where the similarity ends. Each panel is articulated on a hidden overhead track, and the panels themselves can quickly and easily open and stow away out of sight, creating breathtaking open-air vistas. With straight or curved layouts, along with hundreds of colors, finishes, and configurations at your disposal, there are virtually no limits when it comes to designing with the NanaWall®. Folding and individual panel sliding systems are available: among other virtues, folding systems create opening widths of up to 36 feet, while individual panel sliding systems offer a virtually unlimited opening-size.

 Frames are available in aluminum, wood, or aluminum-clad wood. And to make the completion of your project even easier, Nana Wall Systems maintains a complete network of independent, factory-trained installers throughout North America.

Read More

Architectural Design

Fish House Built on Water Takes Eco-friendliness to the Max

If you love water and nature in general then you'll love the Fish House in the pictures below. Designed by Guz Architects in Singapore, this spacious house seems to be built on water and it's definitely fun to live in.

Besides the impressive pool that seems to endlessly revolve around the Fish House, you also have a spectacular view of the ocean that's just outside. Moving on we find a great interior dominated by wood finishing and plenty of natural light that comes in through those impressive windows. And yes, that's a green patch of grass on top of the Fish House that will let you enjoy some time outdoors without actually leaving this ingeniously designed house. So if you live in Singapore and you're looking for a great house idea then I think this Fish House on the beach is just what the doctor ordered.

 

Read More

Edible Living Wall

Restaurants love the idea of growing their own vegetables. But in an urban environment where space is tight, the typical garden has to be rediscovered to operate in a small footprint. Tournesol Siteworks is a commercial-grade sitework company that manufacturers irrigation systems, site furnishings and planter systems. A recent example of their work can be seen in Los Angeles, at Pizzeria Mozza. The living wall grows lettuce, peppermint, celery, parsley, sage, and other edible plants. The area of the wall is 10’ by 12’ and protrudes roughly 15 inches from the surface. Apparently the staff is enjoying the wall so much, they have picked some of the plants clean.

Tournesol VGM Modular Living Wall consists of recycled plastic planting modules and powder-coated hanging rails. The wall comes pre-grown to provide instant coverage for any vertical surface, and can be used with a variety of plants suited to any climate or situation. Each VGM module has a possible depth of 4.5” or 8.5” of soil which promotes healthy plant life. The modular planting boxes take from one to three month to grow prior to installation.

The concept of having active plan life integrated into architecture and design is common. Tournesol’s edible living wall is exciting for its ability to provide not only aesthetic value, but also healthy sustenance.

Read More

Minimalist Kitchen

What are you looking for in your kitchen? The sublime new shapes and styles of La Cucina Alessi? The eco-durability of new materials as in Silestone’s Countertops and Kitchen Surfaces? Or perhaps you prefer the modular disappearing trick of the Logica Kitchen System? If, however, you’re after a subtler kind of prestidigitation (as in shrinking costs), you should have a look at Pedini’s Magika. This kitchen was conceived with an eye to the easy balance between a buyer’s bottom line and the demanding aesthetic imperatives of what some might rightfully claim as the birthplace of the modern kitchen.

Magika is handsome minimalism on a budget. The kitchen combines the sleek lines and handcrafted finishes of Italian cabinetry with economical production and fast delivery times, thus making the divine and desirable touch of designers like Domenico Paolucci more accessible to the masses. We last saw the work of Paolucci back in October with the extraordinarily colorful and highly-textural Outline Kitchen. That scheme—with its dashing touches of rich green and deep wood striations—spoke to me of autumn change. Magika, to the contrary, is light and lithe like a summer breeze. It’s so efficiently arranged as to be all but invisible. Because Magika knows that, in the kitchen, negative space means room to roam—room to coordinate the particular choreography of your culinary magic.

Optional features for Magika include vertical handle or hand-less channel openings with an aluminum profile. Choose your finish from textured melamine (white, red, cream, or dark grey); wood (grey oak, dark brown pine, or teak); or glossy white lacquer. Cabinetry plinths come in white, gray, black, and matte silver. These attractive options enable a great degree of personalization, but the bottom line with Magika is its admirable fusion of affordability and aesthetics: “featuring simplicity with a high degree of practicality and quality, Magika combines innovative features with conventional uses, representing a synthesis of inspiring form and rational layout solutions.”

Read More