Let's do some demo!

That was said in my best Ty Pennington voice of course. The Architect and I are finally getting around to some home remodeling. The first stage is refinishing the living and dining room floors and hallway. We decided to rip up the carpet and nasty laminate flooring and do stained concrete floors.

Pictures of the progress so far:

The Night Before Demo:



Living room - everything that is blonde flooring is going, going, gone.



The dining room - blonde laminate be gone!



Don't get me started on my hatred for white berber carpet.

Day 1: Flooring and carpet removal



Remember a few years ago when the government asked Americans to stockpile plastic sheeting and duct tape in case of a chemical attack? That's what the house kind of feels like now.

Day 2: Patching and prepping the floor



It doesn't look like much, but the workers smoothed out the step and patched all the holes from the old carpet tacks that were on the floor before the previous owners laid the laminate flooring. Tomorrow the contractor will be staining with sealant to follow on Friday. So far the process has been incredibly smooth with no hang ups at all. I can't wait to see how the furniture looks on the new floors.

Don't forget, only a few more days to enter to win the Aalto vase (or bowl as some have said) from All Modern.

Weekend Plans

1. This is the last weekend to catch Merry Wives of Windsor, TX and Taming of the Shrew at the Shakespeare Festival of Dallas.

2. Dive-In Movie Night at the Fairmont Hotel: Guests can watch the featured film while lounging in the pool or while sipping a cocktail and eating dinner on the patio.

3. Pop on over to the Craighead Green Gallery for the New Texas Talent 2009: From over 600 submissions they whittled it down to about 50 artists. The exhibit opens on Saturday.

The Language of Things: Understanding the World of Desirable Objects

Go here to read a review of Deyan Sudjic’s new book, The Language of Things: Understanding The World Of Desirable Objects, and how good design perseveres in the Internet based world we live in.

H/T to FrontBurner.

Don't forget to comment here to win an Aalto vase from All Modern!

I apologize for the radio silence this week. Work has been crazy. Tune in next week for progress on renovations to the Quadrille MCM abode.

Who is liable when a building fails to meet LEED certification?

Interesting article discussing where the liability should lie when a building fails to meet LEED certification. There has not been a court case on this yet, so it will be interesting to see how the law shakes out.

Read the article here.

H/T to Jeston Green.

Don't forget to comment here to be entered to win an Aalto vase from All Modern!

Win an Alvar Aalto vase for your home from All Modern

I have partnered up with All Modern to giveaway this beautiful mini Alvar Aalto bowl in ultramarine blue.

So who is All Modern? All Modern has a fantastic selection of modern furniture and home accessories from many leading designers. Part of CSN Stores, All Modern is just one of over 260 retail sites that offer a diverse array of products from Herman Miller’s popular Aeron Chair to cookware by Rachael Ray.

How to enter: Anyone in the United States or Canada is eligible to enter. Just comment on this post to enter. A winner will be selected via Random.org.

Deadline to enter is Friday, July 31st at 12 midnight CST. Winner will be announced in a separate post the following Monday.

Weekend Plans

1. Taste of the Mansion - thru the end of the summer enjoy a three-course dinner for $49.00 either in the restaurant or out on the patio.

2. Late Night Summer Block Party in the Arts District - Free admission to the Nasher and Crow Collection, DMA is 10 bucks or less.

3. BubbleQue at Cork - Champagne and sparkling wine pairings with barbecue at Cork in West Village.

Art Conspiracy Fundraiser - August 7

On August 7, 2009 at Sons of Hermann Hall Art Conspiracy will be hosting a fundraiser to raise case to cover operating costs for their annual art auction that raises money for a local charity in Dallas. The Architect and I went to Art Conspiracy last year and walked away with some gorgeous art for the abode.

The fundraiser called SEED will consist of an auction of lanterns made from coffee tins and designed by local Dallas artists. Additionally, there will be live music from local Dallas bands.

More info here.

The Great Hotel Coverup

For those who love MCM architecture, you are probably familiar with the old Statler Hilton in Downtown Dallas. It has been vacant for years and has been listed on the National Trust for Historic Preservation's Most Endangered Historic Places.

Come October, the Main Street Garden will be opening across the street from the Statler. The powers that be don't want people to gaze upon a vacant hotel, so they have devised an architectural competition to design a scrim, shroud, sheet, shrink-wrap to cover the Statler Hotel. Unfortunately, the competition is only open to AIA members. But if you are an AIA member and want to submit a design, go here for info on the competition.

Lots of pictures of the Statler here on Flickr.

H/T to Unfair Park.

Weekend Plans

1. July at Patrizios is dollar bellini month. Get there early to snag a table outside.

2. Indie Shop Soiree at House of Blues - sip cocktails and listen to DJ spun tunes while shopping the wares of local indie designers.

3. Celebrate Bastille Day at the Hotel St. Germain. All sorts of French food to feast on and champers to toast to "viva la revolucion!"

SOL - Solutions Orientated Living in Austin - new sustainable housing development

I think we have all seen this song and dance before. Small modern development, add a dash of sustainability, tout affordability, houses under 2,000 square feet, etc. Look, I really want to buy into this idea, I really do. But call me jaded, I have been wanting something like this in Dallas for years and it hasn't happened. Sorry, Urban Reserve doesn't do it for me. Maybe us Dallasites haven't reached the tipping point yet for this to work. So SOL, prove me wrong.

Anyways, the houses do look pretty cool and if they accomplish everything they say they want to do on the website, Austin might be setting up a usable model for future developments.

Check out the SOL development here.

H/T to Apartment Therapy.

Posting will be sporadic this week. I am in San Juan, PR for work - really it is not as exciting as it sounds. Back to regularly scheduled programming next week.

Death of Pre-Fab Architecture?

So say the peeps at Build LLC. Read their top 10 reasons why they are declaring modern pre-fab architecture dead here.

Weekend Plans - 4th of July Edition

1. Head out of the bubble to Addison on Friday night for their annual Kaboom Town. Get there early to stake out a plot of grass at Addison Circle.

2. Go see Taming of the Shrew at the Shakespeare Festival of Dallas. If you have a membership, they will double the amount of people you can bring in. They also will time intermission to coincide with when Fair Park and Lakewood shoot of their fireworks, so it's two events for the price of one!

3. The W Hotel has a 4th of July special. For 179/night this weekend, you get access to Ghostbar and tab at Wet (their pool), and be in a prime location to watch the fireworks.