A Perfect Library

Loved this library, designed by Sills Huniford Associates.

The ladder, the desk, the balloon curtains, the glass fronted bookshelves... they are just perfection.

via Things that Inspire.

Alchemist's Chamber at the Baltimore Symphony Decorator's Showhouse

My friend Kara sent me this link from Pigtown Design -- it looks like steampunk has made another showhouse fundraiser -- this on in Baltimore. (By my count that's 3 -- San Francisco and Philadephia.)

This one is by McLain Wiesand, a custom furniture builder and restorer.

Cranked-up Comfort -- can you get any more mainstream than this?

My in-laws pointed me to the article "Cranked-up comfort" in the Houston Chronicle this weekend:

We’ll take our wood unvarnished, finished only by time and years of hard use. We’ll take our metal unpolished, its strength trumping shine. Giant gears of metal or wood become wall art or table tops. Factory carts roll into family rooms as coffee tables.

The look wears many names — industrial chic, rough luxe, Belgian modern — for the rugged materials that pair with refined natural materials such as linen and leather on comfy, inviting sofas and chairs.

It's about mass retailers and designers adopting what we call steampunk:

Sarah Kammlah of Fredericksburg, a designer with the Carol Hicks Bolton collection for E.J. Victor (www.ejvictor.com), calls her twist on the look “steam punk.” “It’s like you took Matrix and Age of Innocence and mashed them together.” Her recipe for a post-industrial look: mix one part Victorian, one part industrial and a twist of punk.


(If you call it that, you must be reading this blog, right? So dish, Sarah Kammlah, and send us some pictures!)

Cecelie Starin at the San Francisco Decorator Showcase

Cecelie Starin's PR person contacted me after one too many people called Starin's room in the San Francisco Decorator Showcase "steampunk."


The San Francisco Showcase house room is a bit too much on the "exotic" -- it's OK if it has a lot of safari or natural history style, but that zebra rug and all the horns are a bit much for me -- but it has some very redeeming qualities.

Like this chandelier:

Or this bookshelf:
Did you catch the Gothic touch in the choice of books?

I decided her style was more "traditional, with steampunkesque accessories." I looked through the rest of Starin's portfolio and found some other examples that I liked.

Muted, with map.

The color scheme is set by the globes, picked up by the books and the chair.

I love her use of maps and globes (I'm a bit globe-obsessed right now...). I think these rooms are a great example of how many rooms can be steampunk'd with the addition of some great art and knick knacks -- although I do think it helps to start with a more traditional or old fashioned style.

Maynard's

Welcome to Maynard's, a restaurant in an old train depot in Tucson, Arizona.


I asked designer Rory McCarthy to share the idea behind the space:

The idea was to create a timeless mood, refer to the historic use of the building and the freight trains rolling by just out the windows. Try to avoid clichés but not shoot for achingly hip, as we were unclear who the customers might be. But go for substance. Which of course, Steampunk celebrates. Here, as at the Edison in LA, the location demanded acknowledging the Industrial Revolution.



The big design concept was to juxtapose the highly decorative ceiling ( homasote panels silkscreened to look like overscaled, encaustic tiles, the kind that might have been used on the original floor back at the turn of the 2othC.), against the machine shop surfaces and palette below.


The bar foot rail is an actual 1800's train track...

The bar is *to die for* -- I love all the rivets. And the lines -- the curves bring just a touch of art deco to the design, and the fact that it's on feet takes a bit of the "monolithic piece of iron" feel out of it, while still harking to the old iron horses that used to steam through.


What are the wall dividers by the tables made of?
Both the screen divider and bar face, panels, rivets, etc., are painted, composite wood products……

You can see more images at Rory's website. Many thanks to Rory for designing such a fun place, and for sharing it with us!

Erin Martin Design

Jaime introduced me to the delightful work of Erin Martin Design. Here's the most steampunk of her designs.

I love the quirkiness of using wall mounted reading lamps to light a sink.

I think these images are some for a radio-crystallography -- but maybe one of you know better?

Nice juxtaposition of industrial lighting with traditional handwriting.

I *love* the door on this bathroom.

Dark. Moody. Train.

Would love to know who made this coffeetable with an octopus on it.

Antique Astronomy Chart...

with an even older celestial tool in front of it...

Monique Keegan is Incredible...

Remember this house? (How could you forget? I'm using it as inspiration for half my renovation!) The owner and designer behind it was Monique Keegan. She's awesome. And she blogs. And has a retail store and design business in Granville, Ohio. And here's just a bit more of her work.


Psychological abstract card catalog, in black? With a naturalist collection on top? I'll take one, please!

Nice mix of vintage and modern here... The mirror is a lovely piece.

Antique oil cans on display...

The Cranial Nerves... something about using "nerves" at a vacation home seems appropriate to me.

Thanks, Brian!

Designer Lillian August

I ran across designer Lillian August in a post about the Hampton Designer Showhouse's pool house at Habitually Chic. Most of this showhouse didn't appeal to me, but the poolhouse had a number of naturalist touches, and I thought the designer would be worth another look.

These two pictures are from the designer's (online?) magazine.

A nicely done cabinet of wonders, with aged/antiqued wood frames.

It's been a while since I've seen the really big clock, but I like it here.

I think that's the best of the bunch, but you can poke around the website and see what else you can find.

Gearhead Desk

via Gizmodo, a $21,000 desk by Dale Mathis with gears that actually move. Really. Go watch the video.

Intaglio by White Webb

White Webb, the designers behind the last post, also have a fascinating line of furnishings called Intaglio.


These highly graphic furnishings are silk-screened using hyper-enlarged antique engravings, which convey both a sense of classicism and wit.

White Webb

Ah, Habitually Chic, one of both my and Tangelia's favorites. My heart went pitter-patter at the sight of this feature of designers White & Webb. I'm not sure I've ever seen such classic, masculine rooms.

It just looks like a clock -- above this bar is actually a mirror within a clock frame.

Coffered ceiling, paisley, and a grand piano. Sigh.

Navison Audio's reaction to the "brave new world of Ones & Zeros"

Cornelius left a comment pointing to Navison Audio, who manufactures audio equipment that I can only assume sounds as good as it looks (which is pretty good indeed!)



They make amplifiers, preamplifiers, and a CD player. I'm not going to say much, other than 'vacuum tube circuit design', but let Navison's website speak for them.

Culminating from our journey into vacuum tube circuit design Navison engineers set out to design a digital source component that simply got things right. Digital technology has certainly changed the world in many positive ways but music lovers have always been concerned that those magical moments caught in the recording process may get lost in this brave new world of Ones & Zeros.



By combining leading edge digital technology with Navison’s unique approach to vacuum tube circuit design this player gets to the heart of those special moments when everything in the performance and
recording process goes right. The Reference 228 captures the whole of the music performance allowing the listener to hear more then just nuance and really get the true message the artist intended.

Of course we made sure the Reference 228 looks as good as it sounds. Using our signature Barian Kingwood, gold plating and textured black finish this player is the same visual tour de force Navison preamps and amplifiers have become known for.