Maurice and Charlie’s ennui has given way to annoyance with the increasing level of difficulty.
Stoop Seats
Our east facing front steps provide a cozy perch for autumn morning coffee and summer afternoon wine. The rough 1939 concrete, however, left a little comfort to be desired. So… folding ‘Stoop Seats’.
Tomato Carts
Our tomato crop was a perennial struggle in the part shade of our farm, so we supercharged the solar gain with concrete and black plastic (okay only for tomatoes).
Hose Guides
Someone may, or may not, have been accused of dragging a garden hose across young, delicate plants. Hose guides added for safety.
Crow Puzzle
Our crow neighbors, Maurice and Charlie (they’re French), succumbed to ennui with the monotony of simple peanut snacks. Birds of their intellect enjoy a challenge. Puzzle solved in four days.
'Eames' Critters
Hot Take: the Eames had taste. The duo curated a wonderfully rich collection of artifacts that brought a welcomed warmth to modernism. Famous among those artifacts were the Bird & Whale.
Hot Take #2: Disciplined study is a creatively liberating pursuit.
What is this... a house for Bugs?!
Zig Zag Chair
Gerrit Thomas Rietveld in 1934.
All Rietveld chairs are deceptive to my eye. Their forms are so immediate and legible that they appear straightforward and easily constructed. However, as the adage of modernism goes, the fewer moves you make the more they matter. The Steltman Chair and Red Blue Chair primarily rely upon precisely straight, flat, square and consistently sized material for their formal success. But it is the Zig Zag chair that continues to unravel the further you investigate: all four planes are off 90° to each other (including two very shallow and unforgiving miters), three of them taper in width (creating tricky transitions in the corners and support wedges), the dovetailed back and seat meet at 98° (because why not?) and it is nearly impossible to securely hold for machining and assembly. But is it comfortable? Sort of.
Red Blue Chair
Rigid rules and seating surface but elegant proportions and reclining angle (more comfortable than the Steltman Chair, at least). Conceived by Gerrit Rietveld in 1918!
Monitor Stands
~6 months into working from home, the stack of magazines below the monitor was replaced with a proper stand.
Pin Board
Crosscut Sled... Sled
Behold the mighty crosscut sled: safe, precise… bulky, tippy and generally awkward to store. Some sleds need sleds. Sleds all the way down.
Are Your Grasses Floppy?
Ours were. This is not necessarily bad. In fact, it can be quite charismatic or downright magical in low angle sunlight and a fluttering breeze. But 3’ of flop over a 3’ wide path was not terribly functional. A low and lean cable rail has reclaimed sufficient circulation space.
The Farm
Some plants need boundaries. Some farmers need ergonomics. Raised planter in steel and cedar for both.
A Yard for a House
A yard for a home. Outdoor activities and storage. Homes also need stairs as a healthier alternative to the provided elevator.
Crib Climbing
When climbing out of the crib becomes an issue, it is best to embrace the evolution to a ‘big girl’ bed and build one at a safer distance to the ground. It is also a noble use of leftover credenza plywood and paint. In related news, the incidence rate of waking up in the middle of the night to find a toddler staring at you has greatly increased. Terrifying.
Plywood Is Underrated
Or at least misunderstood. Pandemic living at home brought our storage deficiencies into a sharp and daily focus. Lacking both inspiration and time, we opted for the high on function but low on frills plywood box to corral wandering toys and winter wear. Wall mounted elements secured with the equally underrated (or often overlooked) French cleat.
Dear Subaru
Your roof racks are clever but insufficient. Lacking the rigidity to haul an order of steel or a hearty wood slab and with poorly located tie-downs that are obscured by sheet goods, they need to be replaced or, at least, supplemented.
In Your Own Backyard
Our adventures in shop improvement continue with the rebuilding of a planter outside the Chop Shop. Simple steel panels make for space saving construction in the narrow passage. Cedar trim at the top only slightly mitigates the parent fright factor of watching a toddler run past the sharp edges.
Steltman Chair
Furniture only an architect could love: fundamental geometry and striking construction logic but wondrously uncomfortable to sit in.
The Steltman Chair from 1963, designed by Gerrit Thomas Rietveld as a mirrored pair for a jewelry store in The Hague.
Ash.
