a [house] of a different color

i think one of the first projects any new home owner tackles is painting, and we were no different.


the kitchen of the house we moved into was kind of a light peach and light green...almost sherbet like colors.  although not horrible, we felt it could use a fresh coat of...some other color.  wanting to go pretty bold we decided on blue.  i'm not sure if i'm just the victim of watching too many house hunting shows but blue and kitchens seem to be a thing.  i was nervous going with such a bold color but i felt the all white cabinets and appliances we currently now own, would help balance out the boldness.  i was also hoping to make the white trim pop.

as an architect, i've specified countless colors for rooms, but none of those were going in my own home.  i spent several hours researching blues and shades of blues to determine the best color.  even at the store i requested four different shades to try out on the wall, and to see how they looked in the different light that would hit the room.  finally after tormenting myself, we made the choice, "dyers woad" seemed to be the perfect mix of grey and blue.

my wife ans i spent the entire weekend taping, trimming and painting our new little kitchen. naturally during the course of the project, i kept needing new supplies, so i went from a couple of brushes and pans to the owner of several different brushes, cups, spackling paste, drywall sander, 5 in 1 painters tool, a goofy looking roller to get behind the radiator and a ladder.

in the end, just getting the project done felt good and it allowed us to unload several boxes and get the kitchen organized.  as much as i had researched the color i'm not thrilled with it.  i wish it would have turned out just a tad greyer, but it's a happy shade and my wife really likes it.  also it really did make the white trim pop.  more importantly than the actual color, there's something about a fresh coat of paint that makes a house feel more [yours].  maybe it's the covering of the old layer, or maybe it's the fact that it's a decision you made about the house, but our new [blue] kitchen made us feel more at home.

new flooring will probably make it seem like our home too... but that's later down the road.

 

 

duck, duck, [cheese]

i'm a fun of duck architecture.

if you're not familiar with the term "duck" architecture, it's basically any building that takes on the form of it's actual use.  a business that sells ice cream cones from a building that looks like an ice cream cone is an example of "duck" architecture. the term came about from two architects, robert venturi and denise scott brown, referencing a building in long island that sold ducks and duck eggs that was shaped like, you guessed it, a big duck.

for those of you who are curious, there is an opposite to "duck" architecture which is a "decorated shed;" a term for any generic building covered with sign on it, so you know what it's function is.  this is actually most of the buildings you see in the world. 

to me, that's why "duck" buildings are so entertaining; you don't see them a whole lot.  which is why if you're traveling in the car with me, and i spot a duck, we will for sure be turning around and stopping to take pictures of it.

now imagine my surprise when i found out there was a classic duck building not too far from portland.  it was a building that sold cheese, shaped like a giant wheel of cheese!

a company called "the cheese house" built several cheesy buildings in the new england area in the 1960's.  some have been bulldozed, some added onto, some remolded beyond recognition, but the one in wells, maine is still in pretty good shape, though it's now called "the cheese shop."

needles to say, on a recent trip back from boston, i pulled off the interstate, and made my wife take a 30 minute detour with me, to see a giant wheel of cheese.

now i'm not saying "the cheese shop" in wells, maine should be on anyone's architectural bucket list, but it is a building that will put a smile on your face...


which actually seems like a pretty good goal for any architect to have.