Airstream the New Penthouse
Gilding’s little brother is but one year away from making the big decision of community college or university — to go away for school, or remain in the safety of a clucking mother’s home for just one more year while attending our local college. Since his Freshman year in high school he has been of the opinion that he will attend straightaway to his degree at Auburn University, and he has worked steadfastly at it. But given that this is a blood relation to Gilding you know damn well this plan of his couldn’t possibly be of the normal account, and lo-n-behold last month he revealed the master plan he knew would irritate the shit out of his older sister. No dorm room living, apartment hunting, house shacking up for this gilded brother. Nope, he wants to purchase a camper and live in that. See, just hearing that you know that’s going to irritate the living hell our of Gilding. All that closed in space, recycled air, and what-not. And don’t even try to argue with her about the recycled air thing. That close in proximity to anything let alone everything leads to recycled air. There’s simply not enough space for exhaled air to disipate before you breathe in your next breath. Blech!
And then Apartment Therapy had to go and find these Airstream Penthouses.
The Greand Daddy Hotel in Cape Town, South Africa, has re-imagined the concept of “penthouse” using vintage Airstream trailers perched on the roof of the hotel. Each trailer was decorated by one of seven artists/designers from Cape Town. Other than the interesting concept, the trailers offer an amazing view of Africa’s Table Mountain offering an idyllic camping experience.
Trailer 1: Afro Funk by Carla Soudien
Inspired by the street fashion of Cape Town
Trailer 2: Love of Lace by Tracy Lynch
This feminine boudoir was created by Lynch and utilizes her favorite color.
Trailer 3: Dorothy by Sarah Pratt
Fine artist Pratt took the a theme inspired by the Wizard of Oz’s heroine’s dress and carried it through to the smallest detail. Every inch of this trailer down to its accessories is covered in light blue and white polka dots.
Trailer 4: Goldilocks and the Three Bears by Mark and Joe Stead
Another fairy tale inspiration, this cheeky trailer appeals to families as its the only trailer that comes with a bunk bed. Or it could appeal to the naughty adult — the closet is stocked with plushy bear suits.
Trailer 6: Pleasantville by Liam Mooney
The creative director of Whatiftheworld as well as the creative director of the Penthouse Park Project, Mooney decorated his trailer in this 50′s style hom, taking ues from popular colors and fabrics from that era. Mooney recreated the look and feel and even paid close attention to the details, such as the bookcase that is stocked with cheesy romantic novels from the 50′s. Oh, and there are wall ducks!
Trailer 7: Earthcote Moontides by Susan Woodley and Brigitte Dewberry
Gilding is diggin this one. Ok, she’s digged all of them, but she could picture her brother liking this one. This dreamy trailer is about taking “a soul journey” and is decked out inp pearly, luminescent textures and muted earth tones.
More images and details about each trailer is available at The Grand Daddy Hotel Cape Town.
[Via apartment therapy]
Wallflower
Gilding would scratch someone’s eyes out to have this installation in her home. Bit too dramatic? No, you say…Gilding thought it was an appropriate reaction as well.
This paper flower installation was created by Jo Lynn Alcorn for Maya Romanoff Wallpapers at Kips Bay Decorator Show House 2009. Its a stunning wall treatment full of whimsy, tactile sensation that both begs and shies away being touched, and has such a pleasing neutral color palate that is warm and soothing and natural. The touch of gold hue in the branches sets an aires of the regal, and lets just face it, the whole thing looks indulgent.
[Via ullabenulla]
Editors Note:
Gilding’s cousin made comment of the beautiful ironwork featured on the staircase. Upon doing some research to see if the ironwork was designed for the installation being discussed or if it were an a;ready existing feature, Gilding found out this interesting tidbit.
The Kips Bay Decorator Show House 2009 was held in a double wide townhome at 22 East 71st Street in Manhattan. Gilding googled the address and discovered a plethura of articles written on the townhome because of its recent listing on the luxuray market.
Most recently the home of the Salander-O’Reilly Galleries, the townhome, near Madison Avenue, provided a museum-like space to display old master paintings, tapestries, and sculptures. The entryway itself gave indication of the kind of decadence you are about to surround yourself with as visitors entered through arched wrought-iron gates in the Italian Renaissance facade, and up a few steps under a vaulted ceiling of coffered plaster. Polished marble ran underfoot as one roamed the gallery, and stone walls and the broad staircase designed by C.P.H. Gilbert in the 1920′s continued the picture. So there you go, Cous’. There’s the skinny on the staircase.
The gallery, though, went into federal bankruptcy court as it waded through a tangle of lawsuits from angry collectors who said the dealer behind the gallery, Lawrence B. Salander, had defrauded its customers.
Though the propery had almost seven years more to go on its lease, it gave up the property at the end of April. Two brokers at the Sotheby’s International Realty — Serena Boardman and Meredyth Hull Smith — put the propery on the market in the hopes of gettin the highest price ever for a Manhattan mansion: $75 million.
The townhome is double the width of a typical town house, some five stories high, and has an English basement. It is topped by a green mansard roof and a series of balconies surrounded by stone balustrades. The building has about 22,000 square feet, with the right to build about 13,000 sq ft more.
The mansion was built in the early 1920s as a mansion for Julius Forstmann, a wool merchant from Germany who founded a worsted mill in Passaic, NJ. When he died, it was donated to the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York and used as a convent and center for the blind.
The house was owned fro a time by the sports agency IMG, then was bought in 2004 by Aby Rosen, a real estate developer, and his business partner Micheal Fuchs. A few months later, they signed the lease with Mr. Salander’s gallery that was to run through 2015. You can read about the gallery’s troubled history and the what was to become the building’s fate in this NY Times article.
Below are some of the real estate images to the townhome (sans the Kips Bay Decorator Show installations).
“Harmony”
So, GIlding is digging the new Toyota Prius commercial “Harmony.” The concept is clever and organic and graphic.
Below are two versions of the commercial and lastly is the making of:
Dreaming Weddings
Insanity it may seem, but Gilding has had a niggling desire to do another wedding.
Right?!? Do we remember the insanity that insued when Gilding made the floral arrangements and then some for her brother-in-laws wedding — actually, there really wasn’t a thing in that wedding that Gilding didn’t make. The above Bride’s bouquet alone made Gilding’s fingers bleed, but damn the end product was worth it. Just look at that beauty.
Then, of course, there was my sister-in-laws wedding where, thankfully, she hired out many of her needs, but I made the special moments things such as the ring bearer’s pillow, the family corsages and boutenniers given to the immediate family members, and Gilding also had the pleasure of playing their photographer for the important family events that happen before the wedding ceremony, but that aren’t included in a traditional photographer’s packages.
And though Gilding swore she was pretty well done with weddings, the fruitcake has found herself missing them. It didn’t help that upon deciding to peruse Etsy for whatever, they happen to have a news article on all things wedding beautiful today. And, of course, Gilding’s fingers clicked the link faster than her brain could tell her to “AVOID!”
Oh well…she did find some beautiful things though. Perhaps even a few inspiring ones.
Though this original gown is inspired by a peaceful afternoon, the triple layerd, floor length silk dress features a demur and playful ruffled train made of the three layers of overlaying silk of the gown. The gathered swoop of the cowl that wraps around the waist is flirty and flattering and is delicately topped of with an antique lace belt. Both this dress and the one below are from the same deisigner, sarahseven, and can be purchased in her Etsy shop.
This gown is from sarahseven’s Spring 09 Bridal Collection, and is the original design to her peaceful afternoon gown. Made from a creamy ivory silk, the gown is pleated at the bust with ruffles down to the waist. Antique lace also decorates the waist, and those same beautful ruffling cowls go from waist to bottom of the gown.
Hapitat’s white vintage lace and feather fascinator is delicate and dramatic, and it’s probably a good thing Gilding doesn’t own one — yet — because she would wear it with everything. The flower has been made using vintage fabric and very old vintage lace, and this one in particular, features light blue feathers that Hapitat rescued from a 1940′s era hat. This fascinator and more can be found in hapitat’s Etsy shop.
But really, what could be more elegant than a birdcage veil. Part of 5eizen’s Flo series, the birdcage veils are modern take on the traditional and are made using premium felt in dramatic and simple accent designs. This particular one uses a simple loop in a dramatic bright wide and bold size. The loop can be detached from the veil so it may be worn alone or so the veil can be worn to either the front of the back. May be purchased in 5eizen’s Etsy shop.
This bandeau style veil isn’t very popular with many of the traditional brides, but its just so unique and minimalist and this one in particular is so modern its just had to make this list. The Milan Feather Flower and Veil consists of a white star feather flower of ten dyed feathers. The “flower” is attached to a white spotted bandeau veil which pulls across the face and is attached to the other side of the head. Avaiable in Tie and Feathered’s Etsy shop.
Gilding is all about unique jewelry for special events, but more importantly, she’s all about unique jewelry that she can wear after that special event. These beautiful pieces have that regal air of baroque patterns with the charm of the organic design of flowers. These pieces from A Thousand Joys are cut from sterling silver, soldered, and then polished by hand. Then, a sulfur patina is used to bring out the details and give the piece an antique feel. Available in A Thousand Joy’s Etsy shop.
And let’s not forget the panties. Seriously, did you think you could get through a gilded lily post without a spot on panties if one were afforded. This pretty from Anastasiajamin is her thong for brides-to-be. A comfortable pair of cotton thongs made even more flexible with an adjustable ribbon tie on the side, and frilled flowers made in super soft beige and white cotton tulle and lace. Its cute, and its virginal when you most likely aren’t, so its like dress-up only naughtier.
And finally, this one’s here because its precious. A print of this one, Le Marriage, or one of Sibylle D’s precious others, can be purchased at her Etsy shop.
I Heart
these acrylic rings by qift.
This particular set features a bulldog in black acrylic and clear acrylic, but currenly qift sells a total of 10 breeds of dogs and 6 different postures of cats, though all combinations of dogs and cats are welcome. And while the rings sell at a mere $12, qift has a special discount for purchases of one pet ring with two and four side rings.
House of Chanel’s Sinister Fashion Soft-core of Lagerfeld Confection
OoooKaaay…this is a fashion WTF moment. A fan of Karl Lagerfeld’s clothes but never of his attitude, and both a lover of the photographic beauty of his ads but hater of his hateful and subjegated portrayal of women, Lagerfeld has really just be-fucking-fuddled Gilding with this tidbit of fashion soft-core porn.
Now, as if the foul language and questionable content often put on this blog weren’t enough of an indication that Gilding is no prude, then lets get that tidbit out of the way now and never let it be said that Gilding didn’t warn you that she’s no prude, in fact, she can be down right raunchy. But there is something just sooooo wrong with this film created by Lagerfeld for the house of Chanel and featuring model Lara Stone. Maybe its just knowing what Lagerfeld looks like that does it for Gilding, for it is admittable that if Steven Meisel had shot it, while it would still be on the creep-factor side, it probably wouldn’t ick Gilding out so much. But what really drives that creep-factor home is Lagerfeld’s sinister and just down-right disturbing voice of his in the background giving Stone and her companion model direction.
Oh, and it can’t help but be noted that the “film” has no basis to it other than to have the models parade around in admittedly gorgeous clothing, act snide and snotty and, well, spoiled, and make-out with one another. Ok…that part’s kinda hot, but not enough so to sway Gilding into liking it…Those clothes really were gorgeous though…
Oh, and between being creeped out, check out the guys trench. That is one badass jacket. Marvelous even, simply marvelous.
[Via FashionIndie
Clockwork Appeal
For all other intents and purposes, Gilding ha no use for watches or wall clocks. With cell phones an ever constant presence she has no need of wearing a watch, other than perhaps its aesthetic, and with a functioning microwave there’s no need for any other time piece in her apartment. But these clocks could very well change her mind.
The SEIKO’s Electrophoresis Display watch is a new design development of the company, infusing chic elegance with cutting edge technology. Utilizing “electric ink” technology along with an electrophoretic display, the new watch design is able to achieve super-high contrast, high image sharpness, low energy consumption, and a display which is able to feature different sizes and even flexibility.
The watch is also an expression of SEIKO’s emotional technology. The wearer is able to set the watch to display in a manner that is befitting of their place and/or mood, such as an ‘efficiency’ mode which the display is informative and easy to read, and a ‘mystery’ mode in which the display panel expresses the time in a more imaginative, evocative style. Oh, and this September girl can’t help but be partial to the 360-degree sapphire crystal.
A creation of artist Dale Mathis, Quater Till, and its companion clock kin, are more like pieces of art, both in creation and in display. Check out his gallery and you’ll understand what Gilding means. As Mathis writes, “his creations speak from the heart of the dissident life of the inner city.”
These two beauties are the creation of Clayton Boyer and come not as complete clocks, but as a set of plans for a DIY project. Built from wood, the clocks look like something from one of Leonardo DaVinci’s sketchbooks with a sort of steampunk appeal and some even with a swoopy graphic appeal.
And while Gilding would never build one of these, she is certainly not above bribery to get someone else to build it for her.
[Via Dark Roasted Blend]
I Heart
these works by Bjornik. Well, these works and more. Each piece comes with their own story into their conception so they are as much about a story as they are a story in and of themselves.
The Dichotomy of Man
The Dichotomy of Man, detail
Galatea’s Gala
Galatea’s Gala, detail
120 Days
From Jane Pain Lingerie “Psycho Candy Campaign”
The 120 Days of Sodom was written by the Marquis de Sade while he was imprisoned in Bastille. The book tells the tale of four men who want to have the ultimate orgy. To accomplish this, they seal themselves away a gaggle of young men and women. Within the story is actually an exhaustive catalogue of sexual abberations and the first systematic exploration — a hundred years before Krafft-Ebing and Freud — of the psychology of sex. The sex quickly turns sadistic as the mens’ sexual appetites turn towards humiliation, pain, and killing. Pretty much every debased and bizarre sexual fetish is explored in detail, crossing lines that most even still have in place today. An amazing feat given that the book was written in 1785.
The 120 Days is considered to be Sade’s crowning literary achievement and the cornerstone of his thought. Lost after the storming of the Bastille in 1789, it was later retrieved but remained unpublished until 1935.
From Sade’s Last Will and Testament: “Imperious, choleric, irascible, extreme in everything, with a dissolute imagination the like of which has never been seen, atheistic to the point of fanaticism, there you have me in a nutshell, and kill me again or take me as I am, for I shall not change.”
Oh, here’s a bit of trivia for you. While many know of Salvadore Dali’s illustrated suite Marquis de Sade, consisting of 25 lithographs, you may not have known that Dali’s wife, Gala, was of some familial relation to the de Sade family.
Dotz Me Organizing Crazy
Gilding just may splurge on these. But they’re such a great price and such a handy dandy organizing treat that she hardly feels guilty about it.
The concept is simple enough and just by looking at them you can pretty well tell what they are for. But basically, if you are suffering a beef with cords that won’t bend to your organizing will, then these three different accessories are here to wage complete cordy submission war for you: Dotz Cordidentifiers, CordStraps, and CordWraps. And not only are they sensible, they come in bright colors and with cute organizing graphics. Yep, they’re hot. Available at Dotz
[Via Yanko Design]
Artemis Eternal
Straight from the mouth of Artemis Eternal: “Artemis Eternal is a professional sci-fi fantasy short intended for film festivals and traveling screenings. The film is the premier crowd-funded, professionally-led, studio-quality film with absolutely no studio intervention, and the way production is approached tackles issues of media consolidation, independence and a lack of diversity in cinema as well as eliminating the middle-man and connecting artist to audience in a direct, meaningful way.”
The central idea to this SCi-Fi/Fantasy motion picture short is that of “crowd funded.” The project is being financed entirely by micro-donations from individuals who contribute to the cause for nothingmore than the opportunity to see, and in some way be a part of, the creation of a professional level film but outside the absurd and broken studio system industry. Basically, with no obligations to a studio, the filmmaker can make their story the way it was intended and without the interference or influence of studio economics.
[Via the escapist]
An American Stonehenge
Photo by Dan Winters
America has its very own Stonehenge? Who knew!
Looming over a barren knoll in northeastern Georgia, five massive slabs of polished granite rise out of the earth in a star pattern. Standin 16 feet tall, four of the slabs weigh more than 20 tons apiece, while their supporting capstone weighs 25,000 pounds. Having the appearance of Stonehenge meets the ominous monolith from 2001: A Space Odyssey, the stone structure was actually built in 1980 and quietly await the end of the world as we know it.
Called the Georgia Guidstone, the monument remains a mystery — nobody knows exactly who commissioned it or why. The only clue to the monoliths origin are on a nearby plaque, which gives the dimensions and explanation to the series of notches and holes that correspond to the movements of the sun and stars. The “guides” themselves are directives carved into the rocks, appearing in eight languages ranging from English to Swahili and reflect a New Age ideology. What are these guiding ideologies? Some are vaguely eugenic as they prescribe GUIDE REPRODUCTION WISELY — IMPROVING FITNESS AND DIVERSITY. Others are like the writings of the hippies issueing hippy mysticism such as PRIZE TRUTH–BEAUTY–LOVE–SEEKING HARMONY WITH THE INFINITE.
More on the Georgia Guidestones can be read in the Georgia Guidestones Guidebook written by Elberton Granite in 1981. Also in this article written by Randall Sullivan for Wired Magazine.
Ghost Peaks
Photo by ph. Oh Jung Seok for Vogue Girl Korea, December 2005
A mountain range never before seen by humans, yet in 1958, Soviet geophysicist Grigoriy A. Gamburtsev discovered the subglacial mountain range during the 3rd Soviet Antarctic Expedition. Since then scientists have been in the business of “seeing” the mountain range, nicknamed “ghost peaks” but actually named after the Gamburtsev for discovering them. In October 2008 geologists and researchers decided to attemtp to map the mountains using radar, among other methods.
Matching the size of the Alps in scale, the Gamburtsevs lay covered by up to 4km of ice. Geologists struggle to understand just how such a massif could have formed and persisted in the middle of the Antarctic. Late last year an interntaional team comprised of scientists, engineers, pilots and support staff from the UK, the US, germany, Australia, China, and Japan, set out on a deep-field survey get some answers.
The mountain range is an enigma in several facets. Other than its obvious curiousity of existing in the Antarctic, and being burried under miles of ice, the range sits in the middle of the continent, a peculiarity as most mountain ranges are on the edges of continents. Furthermore, the mountains don’t seem to have been created in either of the two conventional ways in which mountains are created: 1) collision of continents, though the last collision was 500 million plus years ago; 2) a hotspot, where volcanoes punch through the crust much like in Hawaii, but there’s no evidence that underneath the ice sheet the temperatures are hot enough. So the current theory is that the mountains are a nucleation point for the vast East Antarctic Ice Sheet. It is thought that as the Earth’s climate cooled just over 30 million years ago, the snoes that fell on the mountains produced mighty glaciers, which then merged to form one giant spreading ice-mass.
More information on the mountains and the current expedition that is underway can be found in this article, at the British Antarctic Survey site, and the Antatrtica’s Gamburtsev Province site.
The Bordello of Geekdom
Every gamer’s wet dream came true as Devil’s Playground presented Video Game Girls burlesque at Bordello on May 9th. The dancers arrived armed and outfitted for epic arcada battle, and included Princess Peach (Super Mario Bros.), Samus Aran (Metroid), Chun-Li (Street Fighter), Link and Princess Zelda (The Legend of Zelda), and Rayne (Blood Rayne).
Burlesque slideshow goodness of dancers available here, from LAWeekly,.
I <3 Abandoned Industrial Buildings
Gilding once, some time long ago, saw this show in which they toured the home of some model whom had remodeled an abandoned concrete factory into this chic modern home. At the time it was an unusual thing but it was the start of what would become a trend in the world of remodel. It was then that Gilding fell in love with the idea of purchasing some abandoned industrial building and turning it into a home built of dreams and oodles and oodles of cash.
Its not just the sqaure footage — though the sqaure footage of an industrial building is obviously a built in perk in roominess — and its not just the concept of sustainable living by repurposing whats already there to fit new needs with little more impact on the environment. But its the unique architecture that is afforded with such a building. True, doing the same with a modern, fairly newly built but no longer used industrial building that was designed more for purpose and profit only and less for aesthetic doesn’t afford for the architectural beauty one desires of a home. But industrial buildings of yore, like those built in the 1900′s and even as late as the 60′s have so much character and regal elegance that is rarely recreated in new construction.
It’s probably just a pipe dream — the money to purchase an abandoned industrial goliath is hardly cheap and reoutfitting one for suitable living wouldn’t be either, but wouldn’t it be awesome to be able to. Here are some inspiring abandoned substations and power plants that would be just architecturally delicious to turn into a home — and just by the sqaure footage of some of them, a mansion.
Photos by Mark Obstfeld
Built in 1930-5 for the Westminster Electric Corporation to the designs of C. Stanley Peach, with C.H. Reilly as assistant, the Duke Street Electric Substation in London sits just off Oxford Street, a main shopping street. The building actually rose to greater heights than the original designs had comtemplated, with a balustrade all around, Diocletian windows along the sides to light the galleries of the engine rooms which occupied deep basements, and a garden above that was paved and allotted trees and tubs that no longer exist. More information on the building can be found on the English Heritage site.
Image from Jakob Ehrensvärd
This is but one of some fifty underground bunker substations built in Sweden during World War II. Concealing powerful generators, the substations were bomb-proof and cooled by underground rivers.
First photo by Steven Ballegeer; remaining images via 1, 2, 3, 4.
This appealingly gothic-like abandoned hydroelectric power station belongs to BC Hydro in Vancouver, Canada; one of a couple. Built in 1903, for (at the time) a staggering $1.3 million, the power station operated until 1964.
Photo by Vida J. Morkunas and Laura Blumenthal
Another power station on the Indian Arm, near Buntzen Lake, Vancouver, Canada.
First photo by Elephi Pelephi; remaining photos from EarthMagnified.
Built in 1906, the Glenwood Power Station in Yonker, NY, was abandoned in 1960 and has never been used since. Like the New York Power House, this plant was built to power the electric railroad system. this one also happens to be a personal favorite of Gilding’s.
Via Dark Roasted Blend.
