very modern: millennium park chicago; what i did on my summer vacation part 3

I know. You wish I would stop. But I can't. You see the problem is, I used to take pictures and put them in albums. Then I took pictures and made scrapbooks. When the digital age happened, I went online and made photo books.

I would make one for every single vacation. And then, one day, I didn't.

what we did on our summer vacation part two: chicago architectural boat tour

Those of you out there in the Midwest know how absolutely hot and humid it can get.

And, you would never voluntarily plant yourself in July, on the upper deck of a boat, in a river, surrounded by buildings...with temps and humidity above ninety degrees, for ninety minutes of slow moving sight seeing. That's what we have tourists for, right?

farnsworth house: midcentury modern minimalist miracle

We had the good fortune to spend the week of the 4th of July in Illinois and Indiana. My parents both hail from Indiana and my sweet cousin lives in Chicago. When we travel to the Chicago area, my cousin always indulges my architectural fantasies. She gave me a list of houses to pick from for this trip. Imagine my shock and awe when I looked through her links and brought up this home:

OMG. I have seen the Farnsworth Home so many, many times in various books, touted as the quintessential example of mid-century modern minimalism. I never noticed it was near Chicago. SCORE.

eichler in orange sneak peak: virtually untouched from 1962

Lucky, lucky me. I was invited to a "Sneak Peak" opening party for an Eichler that isn't "quite" on the market yet.

And someone else is going to get really lucky. This beautiful piece of classic Eichler real estate shows signs of being gently loved with the prior owners keeping their power tools in the garage. (Exactly where I think they should be, if you must own any at all.)

cliff may 1954 rancho-style mid-century in long beach - #2

Okay, I can't hold out. You really need to see the second Cliff May I toured last Saturday. The first one was exquisite, honestly perfect in every way. This little beauty is an equally special treasure.

It does give out a bit of that mid-century tiki bar party vibe. For sure.

cliff may 1953 rancho-style mid-century in long beach - #1

The California ranch is quintessentially mid-century modern. And, Cliff May is considered the father of the ranch. Lucky for me, I live just a few short miles away from Long Beach and some of the largest Cliff May housing tracts in the United States (okay I made that up, but I think for sure it may be).

Step inside. And feast your eyes.

pristine eichler on the market in fairhaven orange tract

Orange, California is known for three Eichler housing tracts. I keep an eye on them since I am a bit gaga for Eichler who was a well-known mid-century modern developer.

The pictures from the listing looked suitably colorful and the lines looked right. I decided to pop up the freeway and take a look for myself.

Richard Neutra's Desert Oyler House: Film Screening

Curbed L.A. yesterday featured Neutra's Desert Oyler Home. I had never heard of it, and I do so love all things Neutra.

Curbed L.A.

ten reasons why i love the new newport beach civic center

In 2010, Newport Beach finally broke ground for the construction of a new Civic Center and Park. Projected costs were about $110M. Fundraising and planning had been going on for years.

The "cynics and the critics," as Mayor Keith Curry referred to them in his dedication speech on Saturday, May 4,  fought long and hard to prevent this project. As a lover of all things modern and beautiful, I am happy to report, THEY DID NOT WIN.

venice eclectic - modern architecture from the '70s and '80s

I never met a house tour I didn't like. And the Los Angeles Conservancy Venice Eclectic tour held April 20, 2012 in beautiful Venice, California was no exception. Even with absolutely no mid-century modern homes to be seen, I made do. #VeniceEclectic #CurratingTheCity

Exit from Tasty Spuds (Charles Arnoldi Studio). 

The tour consisted of four commercial spaces, a dead famous actor's houses (no inside pictures) and a downtown roundabout. So I won't break this up into six posts like usual. I am just gonna splat it all at you. HANG ON.

the liljestrand house by ossipoff in hawaii: the amazing recreation room and landscape (part 3)

A few weeks ago on vacation in Oahu, Hawaii, we had the good fortune to take a private tour of a quintessential Hawaiian Modern home, The Liljestrand House, whose famous Hawaii architect is Vladimir Ossipoff.

Part one of the tour was the living room, dining room and kitchen. The kitchen was magnificent. And Part two of the tour was all the bedrooms with the creme de la creme being the master. Our final section of the tour is the amazing downstairs rec room and the landscaping. Here we go!

the liljestrand house by ossipoff in hawaii: tour continues with bedrooms (part 2)

The magnificent Liljestrand House tour continues. In the last post, we showed the house at street level, and saw the living room, the dining room and the magnificent kitchen. Part Two of the tour is the bedrooms. The final post is the downstairs rec room and the beautiful landscaping.

First we need to exit the kitchen through a little hallway room.

the liljestrand house by ossipoff: hawaiian modern magnificence (part 1)

The absolutely best part of our recent trip to Hawaii, was a private tour we fortuitously lucked into of a mid-century modern treasure.

Come with me and I will tell you the story of The Liljestrand House which is a masterpiece of both mid-century modern and Hawaiian design. This is part one of a 3 part post (part 2 and part 3 here). The house is just that wonderful.

mid-century modern oahu hawaii? seriously?

I know many of you are still under a foot of snow. Please don't hate me, but we spring broke for Oahu, Hawaii. However, mid-century modern was never far from my mind.

Hotel above the Versace store in Waikiki

Actually mid-century modern was all over the place, because, of course, Hawaii, like many other places, had a housing boom after WWII. We were extremely fortunate to get a private tour of a very special home in Oahu. That is coming up in the next post. In the meantime, let me whet your mid-century modern appetite with a few other photos.

#psmw palm springs modernism week 2013 continues with a palmer and krisel house tour

I have many posts stored up now regarding last week's trip to Palm Springs for their 11-day mad celebration of all things modern.

The door alone lets you know you'll love it, right?

#psmw not saving the best for last: frey house ii

My mom and I have been having an OUTSTANDING time at Palm Springs Modernism Week 2013. The docents are wonderful and the coordinators of the event have done a fantastic job. One of the highlights of our trip was this astonishing 26 foot tall statue of Marilyn Monroe.

Mom and this crazy Marilyn statue.

Just kidding!!! Although Marilyn is truly captivating and definitely mid-century, we were significantly more impressed with Frey House II.

#psmw home tour: desert one by jim jennings

Palm Springs Modernism Week, Feb.14-24, 2013,  has been loaded to the gills with (guess what) mid-century modern homes. Most have been true vintage and represent the iconic architects of Palm Springs. But not all.

We saw one home that was neither vintage nor iconic, but, at the same time, represents the mid-century modern ideals in perhaps the purest form of any of the homes we toured.

save this eichler, ferndale ave., orange ca

Eichler. Oh how I love an Eicher. I was trolling our local real estate listings, and I found an Eichler that is hard even for a mother to love.

814 E. Ferndale Ave., Orange Ca 92865

What would Eichler himself say to this?  The over grown tree gives you a bit of a clue.

usc and modernism: william krisel

Who knew the USC architectural school was a critical driving force in modernism in Southern California? It stands to reason, as the university is famous for far more than its football team and **ahem** MBA program. USC is well known in the creative endeavors like music, film, drama, and architecture. A fellow patron of mid-century modern architecture, Ron Hudson, pointed out this article in the August 2012 USC alumni magazine, USC Trojan Family, Modernism for the Masses.

Home by Modern architect William Krisel '49.
Twin Palms Estates in Palm Springs, California.
Picture of Krisel's wife, Corrine, and photo take by famed architectural
photographer Julius Shulman as seen in Trojan Family magazine.

artistic eichler exactingly embellished

Another Eichler for sale in the coveted Orange Fairhaven tract. This one is a real beauty. What I love about it, almost more than the fact it is an Eichler, is the decor. The owners really know their mid-century modern. These pictures are courtesy of EichlerSoCal who holds the listing. Take a step inside ...

You are typically greeted by a rather plain front entry in an Eichler home. Honestly, these homes don't look like much from the outside.