Private Retreat in Big Sur, CA
| September 29, 2012 | Posted by naturally modern under All Posts, Architecture, Beach Houses, Events, Houses We Love, Naturally Modern, Outdoor Design, Travel, Vacation Homes, Wedding |
Big Sur is one of the most amazing places on the planet as far as we’re concerned. Aside from the spectacular, natural coastline, there is something very modern about this little slice of heaven. Its natural beauty is timeless and, yet, ever changing with the dynamic coastline and free wildlife. Eagles and condors in flight, ocean waves crashing, sun rising and setting…serenity defined. And, without cell phone reception, you’re forced to enjoy it. :)
One of the most exquisite private estates in Big Sur is known as Anderson Canyon. A long time celebrity favorite for weddings and retreats (it is rumored Natalie Portman and Anne Hathaway held their weddings here), it can be reserved for private rental, whether for a fabulous vacation or for a private event. Imagine yourself staying a week, or hosting an unforgettable soiree, at this amazing, natural, modern, coastal retreat.
(All images via AndersonCanyon.com)
Home Sweet Sauna – The Best Modern Saunas
| September 18, 2012 | Posted by naturally modern under All Posts, Architecture, Home Spa, Interior Design, Naturally Modern |
Few things are more relaxing than being enveloped in the heat of a sauna. Whether you’re sweating it out after a work-out or just relaxing your body and mind, partaking in sauna time is good for you. The only problem is if your sauna design doesn’t give you the same peace of mind as the sauna itself. To us design minded folks, it matters. Here are some beautiful, modern saunas to inspire you when you go to design the sauna for your own home.
Ocean Inspired Succulent Gardens for Your Beach House
| September 15, 2012 | Posted by naturally modern under All Posts, Beach Houses, Color Palettes, Outdoor Design |
We love succulent gardens! While pretty much any combination of succulents in a gardens will likely look amazing because of their natural beauty and easy relationships to one another, there are some great how-to articles out there to help you go from good to breathtaking… Sunset magazine, which we adore, published an article on one of our favorite things – how to plant a succulent garden inspired by the ocean! Click on the link below to read the whole story.
“Succulents are … as jewel-toned as shells, sculptural as seastars, or fluttery as sea anemones. … The plantings create a spot-on connection between land and sea, as though they simply arose from the waves complete, like Venus on the half-shell, to their perch atop [a] bluff. [Succulents] thrive on little water and stay low enough to frame [a] coastal view without blocking it.” ( via Sea-Creature Succulents – Sunset.com.)
Is White The New Stainless?
| September 7, 2012 | Posted by naturally modern under All Posts, Color Palettes, Decor, Interior Design |
Whirlpool Corp., the worlds largest home-appliance maker, recently introduced its “Ice Collection” of appliances, including glossy white. “White is the new stainless,” a Whirlpool news release says. (via Is this the end of a 25-year run for stainless steel? – Yahoo!. Photos above: 1-Dreamhome-design bloogspot; 2-Yahoo.com.)
We don’t know if white will unseat stainless when it comes to appliances, but white definitely feels fresh in design right now. Light, clean, modern and fresh. We dedicated one of our Pinterest Boards to the hue – check out our board “In the White” and let us know your favorites. Here are a couple of our favorites:
Outdoor Furniture as Functional Art
| September 5, 2012 | Posted by naturally modern under All Posts, Decor, Furniture, Interior Design, Naturally Modern, Outdoor Design |
GardenDesign.com published a great review of outdoor furniture from the Milan Furniture Fair. We particularly like the press given to the idea of outdoor furniture as both functional and artistic. Why should the modern indoor-outdoor lifestyle be anything but beautiful and practical? We also like the trend in outdoor furniture becoming more richly upholstered – when you spend so much time “living” outside, why shouldn’t your outdoor furniture be on par with your indoor furniture? Our favorite here is the Ligne Roset Serpentine chair (pictured above). Can we say gorgeous enough?
One of life’s most fundamental acts, sitting, took on new meaning at the fair, especially with trends in outdoor furniture design. We saw many richly upholstered pieces for outdoor use—some with practical applications, others with elements of fantasy and whimsy. B&B Italia paired its retro line of Husk Outdoor recycled (and recyclable) plastic chairs with plush but decidedly eccentric waterproof cushions, a look that would work well poolside. Ligne Roset debuted its own equally arresting quilted and tufted Serpentine chairs by Eleonore Nalet.
Cabanas and tents seem to be ceding their traditional roles and evolving instead into true outdoor rooms, the most alluring example being Patricia Urquiola’s Cottage for Kettal—an inviting, pitched-roof structure with echoes of vernacular Polynesian architecture. (via All Dressed Up: Outdoor Furniture | Garden Design.)
Want your outdoor area to feel more like a true outdoor room? Here are a few tips from us at Naturally Modern:
- Furnish your outdoor space with high-quality, beautiful pieces consistent with those that furnish your interior spaces.
- Use textures including richly upholstered outdoor pieces, pillows, blankets, umbrellas, etc.
- Landscape, landscape, landscape – whether minimalistic in design or not, make the landscaping in your outdoor area like the artwork displayed in your home.
- Do not underestimate the power of outdoor lighting – whether small ambient lighting dotting a pathway, or embedded in a fence… to full-on outdoor lamps and overhead lighting. We especially like lighting on dimmers to create just a “glow” when you don’t need the full light spectrum. Candles can also not be underestimated – tea lights can be your friend.
Good luck with your design. We’d love to hear your tips for luxury, modern outdoor living!
PS: If you like the look and design of the Ligne Roset Serpentine shown at the top of this post, you might also like the new richly textured and upholstered pieces from Kenneth Cobonpue called “Rapunzel” – see below:
Houses We Love: Frank Lloyd Wright’s Millard House (La Miniatura)
| September 1, 2012 | Posted by naturally modern under All Posts, Architecture, Houses We Love |
Frank Lloyd Wright’s Millard House (La Miniatura)
( Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times )
By Sean Mitchell
Frank Lloyd Wright’s alluring Alice Millard house, also known as La Miniatura, rises like a Mayan temple from a tree-canopied hillside on Rosemont Avenue in Pasadena. The 1923 Millard house may be less known to the general public than Wright’s other three “textile-block” homes in the region — Ennis, Freeman and Storer — but some architectural historians regard Millard as the finest. So does Eric Lloyd Wright, the architect’s grandson and a longtime Southern California architect who explained the leading reason for critics’ enthusiasm: “The way he set the house in that glen,” he said. Frank Lloyd Wright called for the house to rise above a ravine between two eucalyptus trees, which are still there, forming a cathedral more than 100 feet high over a lily pond.
The Alice Millard house was Frank Lloyd Wright’s first “textile-block” house, the term for the architect’s way of stacking decorative concrete blocks that were knitted together like fabric. In the three textile-block houses that followed Millard’s, Wright used steel threads of rebar, which, before the invention of epoxy coating, rusted and degraded the concrete. The lack of rebar in the Millard house has been a blessing, as the blocks have fared better since construction in 1923.
via Landmark houses: Frank Lloyd Wright’s Millard House (La Miniatura) – latimes.com.
Cliffside Ocean View Dining
| August 28, 2012 | Posted by naturally modern under All Posts, Restaurants |
Stunning views, good food, best of times…. Check out some of our favorite spots for amazing cliffside ocean-front dining.
Capella Ixtapa Resort – Mexico. (Photo: Capellahotels.com.)
Nepenthe – Big Sur, California. (Photo: Traveldesignery.com.)
Frank Gehry Designed Hong Kong Apartment Sells for $61 Million
| August 28, 2012 | Posted by naturally modern under All Posts, Architecture, Notable Real Estate Sales |
Frank Gehry designed luxury apartment in Hong-Kong has sold for $61 million dollars, as reported by MSN today. Wow, wow, and wow.
A luxurious 6,200-square-foot Hong Kong apartment has sold for $61 million, making it Asia’s most expensive apartment, and the second-most expensive unit in the world. The unit takes up an entire floor in its building.(via Hong Kong apartment 61 million Popular Pages – MSN Popular Searches )
Sebastopol, California – One of California’s Best Towns
| August 24, 2012 | Posted by naturally modern under Natural Healing, Travel |
Outside Magazine has named Sebastopol one of California’s best towns. The article did a great job of describing this natural, but modern, town, highlighting that it is home to “….half a dozen yoga studios, two massage schools, several home-based meditation groups, an Ayurvedic healing center, a Buddhist zendo, a spa offering Japanese enzyme baths, two ‘equine experiential learning institutes,’ and a clinic that treats cancer patients with not only conventional Western protocols but also Chinese medicine, acupuncture, osteopathy, and jin shin jyutsu.”
“Sebastopol is a hotbed of green/eco/health-conscious lifestyles and businesses,” says David Klein—and as editor of Living Nutrition magazine, which espouses a raw-food diet, he would know. Not too surprisingly, greens dominate town hall, and organics prevail at Andys Produce Market and the Sunday-morning farmers market. Even an alliance of vegan jocks, OrganicAthlete, is headquartered in town. Local businesses doing well by doing good include Traditional Medicinals herbal teas and Gourmet Mushrooms Inc. suppliers to chefs and nutraceutical labs. If a career in the healing arts isnt your bag, you can always become a cellar rat: More than 100 Sonoma County wineries are a short commute away.REALITY CHECK: Recent transplants from Marin County have helped inflate the median home price past $650,000. But with lots of under-the-radar options—granny units, barns, the occasional yurt—locals arent packing their bags. (via Best Outside Towns: Sebastopol, California | Adventure Travel Guide | OutsideOnline.com.)
Sebastopol has some very cool, natural, modern homes as well. Check out this amazing modern house in Sebastopol by San Francisco based architect Turnbull Griffin Haesloop.
Kenneth Cobonpue’s Cabaret
| August 5, 2012 | Posted by naturally modern under All Posts, Furniture |
Kenneth Cobonpue never disappoints. The furniture is always modern and innovative, yet made with natural materials. It is the perfect combination of natural and modern when it comes to furnishings. We love that KB makes and indoor and an outdoor version of just about every piece in the collection. Same design, but the outdoor versions are made with slightly different materials to withstand the elements. You honestly wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between the indoor and the outdoor unless you were familiar and looked very closely. The Cabaret pieces are absolutely beautiful.
Learn more about Kenneth Cobonpue’s furniture here: Kenneth Cobonpue.
