A New kind of party dress.  By the looks of this picture, doesn’t look too original:

but that goes to this:

to this:

From the designer Dana Karwis’s website:

Party Dress functions as a pavilion worn exclusively by five women that seamlessly injects architecture into fashion by using the body as space. The dress begins as a shared, bustled garment that gradually unfolds to create a temporary, inhabitable structure. Each seam, each dress, and each body are interconnected by a single, amorphous surface of flowing material.

It’s pretty cool, but I just think of the five women.  Wouldn’t it be cumbersome to stand there all night?

I love starting the week out on a good note.  Two good things: we’re FINALLY starting construction on a high-end kitchen remodel today!!!  Kitchens are the center of the home, so I never want a client to be out from their kitchen longer than necessary.  We’ve spent months getting bids, picking out granite, flooring…everything. Now construction will be one smooth process.  I’m also excited to start a new project for a new client.  I love going over to people’s houses, meeting their families, and work with them on making their house a home.  My mind is always going a hundred miles a minute on the drive home.

Birdcage wall?  Any takers?  I think it’s pretty fun…

Today my blog has become quite international.  I don’t know if I should appologize or not. Apartment Therapy has some pretty cooky things, but this is pretty amazing.  Yep, that’s right; a cantilevered pool on top of a house.  Found in Madrid, Spain.  If you have more patience than me and care to watch the video, it’s here.  Otherwise enjoy these fascinating phots from Archinet.

It’s been a rough day.  I need some happy homes to brighten up my day.  Enjoy.

I’m in love with this pool. The tile work is amazing, the arches and columns are spectacular.  And I love the simplicity of the layout.   New York designer Todd Black created this Oasis for Veronica Webb’s Flordia Keys home.  Personally, I think the interiors are a little much, but I could spend all day on the outdoor chaises reading a good book.

HaHa! AreaWare has done it again.  Quirky, Clever still life bowl.

Unlike most professional athletes homes that are adorned with gody interiors and tacky trophy displays, this athlete’s home is built with some serious class. An article in the July issue of Architectural Digest has an article on Lance Armstrong’s Austin home. Built with timeless architecture, modern updates, and contemporary furniture, this home is beautiful.

Things I love: the landscaping is amazing.

I love this shot. Since the weather in Austin is nice most of the year, making use of the outdoor space is great. This doesn’t even feel like a patio, I love the thought of drapery and chandeliers for outdoor spaces.

Although the kitchen is pretty masculine, I like the industrial touch with the light pendants. I also like the way the family photos are displayed above the mil work.

I like the way he displays his Tour de France jerseys. Seven years in a row. Wow.

I’m a big fan of soft contemporary design: design with clean lines and simplicity that still is warm. This room epitomizes soft contemporary.

I can’t wait to visit Dubai someday.

Clingstone, an unusual mansion on an island in Rhode Island’s Narragansett Bay, has survived stormy weathers and high seas for 103 years.  It looks kinda creepy and seems like the perfect set for a scary movie or horror film.  But I find it fascinating that it hasn’t been destroyed and that it’s still being lived in.  It’s a beautiful home by day, but i’m not gonna lie…i’d be freaked out to stay there at night.  Here’s the New York Times article and also their Slideshow.

Cool building.

link

Student dorms at Utrecht University in Utrecht, Netherlands. By Architectenbureau Marles Rohmer

I’m excited for a new church outfit I got today from anthropologie.

And I’m debating if I should get this necklace

An innovative idea proposes to capture the energy expended at the gym and use it to transport people around the rivers of New York City. The River Gym concept is a human-powered floating gym that will provide the user with the one experience that no other gym can provide: floating your workout around Manhattan. Designed by architect Mitchell Joachim and personal trainer Douglas Joachim, this project could bring inspiration to both the morning commute and workout.

The design won the third place in New York Magazine’s 2005 Create a Gym competition, and it is certainly easy to see the appeal of one of these. Obviously, while the design proposal was specific for New York, pretty much any city with access to a river could be filled with these gyms.

Check out this elegant-looking hotel by Argentinian designer Alexander Lotersztain.  It’s called the Limes Hotel and it opened up just a few weeks ago in Brisbane, Australia.

A cool roof-top hang-out spot and cinema.

“I decided to view the hotel in its absolute entirety – considering the intended look and feel, and paying heavy attention to the interiors, furniture, surfaces and finishes, as well as extending my design influence to Limes’ music and drinks list. I went on to give the Limes a “face” by tangibly branding the hotel through its facade – an extension of the Limes logo on a gross scale. By leaving no facet of the hotel to chance, one feels what I can only describe as the “spirit” of Limes when in its presence. A strong feeling within the doors of Limes and a residual impact realised on returning home.”

Some interesting architecture that caught my eye today.

Reversible Destiny House by Arakawa and Gins

Japanese architects 16A completed TOO49, a housing complex containing two-bed flats and studios, earlier this year.

The Museion in Bolzano, Italy, is a new museum of modern and contemporary art designed by Berlin-based architects Krüger Schuberth Vandreike

Montreal's Habitat 67.

Dubai Opera House

A cliff-top house near Santiago in Chile by architect Mathias Klotz.

Just short of a Drive-in.  Beats the heck out of the dungeon basement media room.

The owner of the home is architect Hagy Belzberg, a Harvard graduate (1991) who interned in Frank Gehry’s office.  This home was designed by the entire team of his Santa Monica-based, 13-member Belzberg Architects that the now 43-year-old Hagy Belzberg founded in 1997.

Check out a few more pics of this 5,800-square-foot Skyline residence that overlooks Hollywood and downtown LA.

I was searching through architect websites and came across this amazing firm. Some their work is absolutely gorgeous. Never mind the fact that they have beautiful locations and backdrops… you can’t go wrong with Maui. Here’s one of Kollin/alotmare homes.

MSN did an article on the World’ Wildest Architecture. Some of these architects think of the craziest things…

Torre Galatea Figueras, Spain Salvador Dali Theater Museum in Figueras, Spain

Do I really need to label this? Sydney Opera House Sydney, Australia Designed by Danish architect Jorn Utzon with a roof in the shape of a ship at full sail.

Longaberger Co. Newark, Ohio This giant basket is home to employees of Longaberger Co., a maker of handcrafted baskets, pottery and ceramics.

Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, Spain Architect Frank Gehry designed the Guggenheim Museum, located in the port city of Bilbao, to resemble a ship. The project was competed in 1997 for $100 million and features Gehry’s signature curvy, free-form sculptural style. Movie lovers might recognize the building from its cameo appearance in the opening sequence of the 1999 James Bond film, “The World Is Not Enough.”

Frederick R. Weisman Art Museum Minneapolis, Minnesota I blogged about this earlier. Architect is Frank Gehry.

Casa Batllo Barcelona, Spain Architect Antoni Gaudi to remodel this 1877 home in Barcelona, Spain. Completed in 1904, the house has a façade covered in colorful mosaics, with balconies that resemble skulls and first-floor columns that look like human bones.

Residential Car-House Salzburg, Austria German architect Markus Voglreiter spent about 1 million euros to build it in 2004. It is a whopping 300 square meters. Constructed of wood and inspired by the VW Beetle, the “Residential Car-House” is thermal-insulated, has an open floor plan and comes equipped with technology to make it energy-efficient.

Ideal Palace of Ferdinand Cheval Hauterives, France Design by French mail carrier, Ferdinand Cheval, in 1879. He was inspired by the shape of a stone he tripped over one day. It took him 33 years to complete...what a project!

Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum Nashville, Tenn. Built at a cost of $37 million, the museum opened in 2001.