MATERIALS
Woven vinyl. Chilewich, well known for its placemats and runners, has a great product called Plynyl that can be used for wall-to-wall carpeting, carpet tiles and upholstery. Although it's marketed as a commercial-grade product, Plynyl would make for great low-maintenance headboards or kitchen banquette upholstery.
In many ways rammed earth and concrete are similar; they approach a similar hardness, but one is created by compaction while the other is cured. Yet both are built up from the bottom up (excluding sprayed-on concrete) and therefore exhibit a layering that can be pronounced to greater or lesser degrees. This garage in Portola Valley, California, really accentuates the horizontal layering.
The secret's in the joint. The fiber cement panels can be butted to each other or can be installed with a reveal between each panel. The James Hardie company has developed a simple installation system when a reveal is desired. While this reveal creates a distinct shadow line that is perfect for a contemporary design, the joints between panels can be treated in several ways.
Fiber cement board in its current form was developed in the 1980s by the James Hardie corporation as a replacement for asbestos cement board. A combination of sand, cement and cellulose, it can be produced in panels, as lap siding and as trim pieces. Because it's durable (many manufacturers warranty the product for 50 years and the finish for 15), low maintenance, available in many sizes and textures, and easily painted any color, fiber cement is an ideal siding choice. Architects and designers have taken to this material's adaptability. Not only is fiber cement available as a horizontal lap siding for traditional-style homes, but it also comes in panels that mimic stucco for Prairie and Craftsman-style homes, shingle panels for Arts and Crafts-style homes and smooth panels for more contemporary designs. Although the longest-lasting finishes are factory applied, the material can be painted onsite just like wood siding. This makes for easy touch-ups and repairs as well as the ability to change color. Below are ways to use fiber cement board on home exteriors in a variety of styles. Color it modern and bold. Available in large, smooth panels, fiber cement board is ideal for the e...
Nice pulls. Berenson Metro Pull - $6.38 » It's the little things that count: These pulls are classic and sleek, and have the heft of high quality.
But walk around a little bit and the building's name starts to become apparent. The house is perched on a hillside, from which it cantilevers more than half of its length. The living room is situated at the far end, and a glass floor reminds guests just what is happening. The project balances the conventional (gable form) and the daring (cantilever), two opposites of sorts that are treated with the metal skin on all sides.
Looking for a new kitchen sink? Consider granite composite. This compact-construction material brings cutting-edge style to a kitchen — and thanks to the high density of granite particles, it offers superior resistance to scratches, chips and heat. Some are calling it the most durable composite sink material on the market, though it's not care-free. Is it for you? See how it looks in kitchens and get some pros, cons and maintenance tips.
Sustainability: Plastic laminate veneers get a green thumbs-up for the modest amount of resources consumed during manufacturing (though they're roughly a quarter petroleum-based resins). Manufacturers like Formica and Wilsonart have boosted the sustainability of their products with the use of FSC-certified wood. And several manufacturers can boast of GreenGuard certification, which indicates that their products contribute to improved indoor air quality.
5270 Geo White Countertop With Ogee IdealEdge » Advantages: Low cost and a myriad of choices are the boon here. Laminates come in a staggering array of colors, patterns and finishes: from eggplant to amber, maple to marble and high gloss to grained. Disadvantages: Keep your cutting boards handy, as knives can wreak havoc on the melamine finish. And trivets should be used with hot pans, as the lamination is heat resistant to just 150 degrees.
Special considerations: Because laminates are so thin, edge details require forethought to avoid that telltale brown line at the counter's edge. Options include: * Profiled edge: Laminates have advanced to now have beveled, ogee and bullnose edge profiles, which vary by manufacturer. * Edge band: These thick and dense veneers are adhered to the cabinet edge and are made for abuse. Choose ABS plastic edge bands over PVC whenever possible, as ABS is recyclable and chlorine free. * Metal edge: Go retro with this detail that harks back to the 1950s; a metal edge is fastened to the edge of the counter. Neatniks might think twice about this crumb-catching detail. * Exposed plywood: As shown in this photo, some modern designs showcase the thin laminate veneer and adhere it to premium plywood, leaving the thin veneer edge and plies exposed.
The basics: Plastic laminate countertops consist of a wafer-thin finish adhered to a plywood or particleboard substrate. That thin finish is a high-pressure laminate (HPL); it's made of three layers of material bonded together by high heat and pressure: a clear melamine top for protection, a decorative layer and a backing made of phenolic resin-coated kraft paper. Well-known laminate manufacturers include Formica, Wilsonart and Nevamar. Costs: $8 to $20 per square foot, including installation.
I'm a fan of creative uses of brick in modern designs, so I really like the way the texture of this freestanding wall — part of a three-house project by Richard Wintersole Architect — is created through the orientation and placement of bricks. The narrow openings that align with the heads of people sitting on the wood benches are a nice touch.
Stuart juxtaposed the real and the representation of nature and the outdoors in the home, most clearly seen in the contrast between the birch tree wallpaper (previous image) and this birch tree screen, which conceals storage cabinets. "We had a guy running around the woods in Minnesota, looking for the straightest birch trees he could find. I love the knots against the birch — it's such a great contrast against the strong verticals so you can feel the realness of the wood," says Stuart.
Stratum Countertop » Maintenance: This surface is easy to clean with a damp cloth, though skip the soap and wipe up any moisture to ensure that your slab and finish look great for a long time. Richlite is the one manufacturer here whose products don't require sealing. The other three all recommend a food-grade finish of either wax or mineral oil. Special considerations: These products will develop a seasoned patina over time, especially in areas of high use.
Sustainability: These countertops get a top grade for being composed primarily of postconsumer recycled paper, and the manufacturers back that up with nonpetroleum-based resins. Both Richlite and PaperStone get extra credit for using Forest Stewardship Council–approved paper, and Richlite moves to the head of the class with a GreenGuard certification that demonstrates its products' benefits to indoor air quality.
Cascade Countertop, Ranier » Advantages: The dense, durable, nonporous construction makes recycled paper surfaces stain resistant and easy to maintain. And because this material is a lighter weight than natural stone, slabs can accommodate longer spans without additional support. Richlite's Stratum and Cascade lines turn the composition into a design feature with fun striped edges, as shown here. Disadvantages: The material is heat resistant only to 350 degrees, so — as with many kitchen surfaces — it's best to keep trivets nearby. The color palettes tend toward medium to dark hues, though Kliptech (the maker of RecycleTop) has solved that in its similar recycled paper and bamboo product, EcoTop, which comes in lighter colors, including Snow White.
The basics: Recycled paper countertops are composed of postconsumer wastepaper, nonpetroleum-based resins and pigments. This mix is heated and compressed into a dense, monolithic slab with a feel that's often compared to a warm, soft stone — like soapstone. The primary manufacturers, PaperStone, Richlite, ShetkaStone and Kliptech, all offer several colors, though the material typically is available only in medium to dark hues, all in a smart-looking matte finish. Cost: $40 to $80 per square foot installed.
Damman created this partition shelving unit by stacking two Ikea Expedit units (one that's 2 by 4 feet and one that's 4 by 4 feet) on top of each other. He glued an MDF sheet on the front and treated the surface with rust paint. "First you paint on a layer of iron particles, and then you treat it with acid so it becomes rusty," he explains. The inside of each modular shelf has been finished with adhesive plastic sheets, which he found via d-c-fix, for vibrant color.
Finne mentions the influence of local corporations as well, in particular that of the highly sophisticated aerospace industry — that is, Boeing. He notes "the use of sophisticated CNC machines [and] highly sophisticated water jet, milling and machining shops" in residential design, particularly for the details.
"We are seeing an increase in the use of high-quality, low-maintenance and environmentally friendly Trespa panels for exterior cladding and decorative facades," says Patti Blevins of RGN Construction. "We use a rain screen system with the panels, which provides the perfect combination of style and function for our Seattle weather."
Gray cement board panels cover part of this house in New York's Catskill Mountains designed by Resolution: 4 Architecture. The grid of fasteners breaks down the scale of the panels. The gray-blue finish is a nice contrast with the wood.
Here is a utilitarian building in Sonoma, California, that is covered in vertical metal siding. A mesh grid located a few feet in front of the metal surface is an armature for climbing plants, softening the whole building.
More rust. This project by WA Design uses thin sheets of weathering steel punctuated by exposed fasteners. When using any metal skin, it's important to think about how it is fastened — exposed, concealed, matching, contrasting, gridded, irregular and so on. The grid of screws here is obviously intentional.
Astute and regular readers probably know I'm a big fan of rust. Cor-Ten steel can be found in plates but also corrugated pieces, like on this residence in Dallas. I'll admit the appearance and texture is not for everybody, but the juxtaposition with the cactus in this photo — quite appropriate, actually — makes the rust pretty appealing.
Wood, fiber cement, stucco, stone, brick, metal and more can be used as an exterior siding material. Which makes the most sense for your home? Would it be vinyl lap siding, which is very cost effective but can buckle; or wood lap siding, which is costly and needs refinishing every few years; or a fiber cement material that is low maintenance but not the least costly? And each material evokes something different aesthetically. For example, a Cape Cod home looks better in horizontal wood siding than stucco, while a home Southwestern-style home is certainly better in stucco than horizontal wood siding.
Wood is also a great material to use selectively. It can be a suitable contrast with other exterior materials, particularly when the colors are dark and light. This wood cladding is shaped to frame the large window and dark surface below.
Recycled glass tile floors. Recycled glass tile, with its jewellike qualities and bevy of color options, makes greening your bath a breeze. Nearly all of Oceanside Glasstile's products contain recycled content, ranging from 30 to 97 percent of the tile's composition. This bath employs Oceanside's Tessera series in Spruce, which is 95 percent recycled glass.
ModRocks Recycled Glass Pebbles.
The interior surface is made of Monotread, a durable and sustainable material used on floors, walls and ceilings. Milled from oriented strand board, Monotread is produced from underutilized and inexpensive wood species. Structural insulated panels (SIPs) make up the walls of this home office. "SIPs have fantastic hurricane ratings and are easy to build with," says Speciale, adding that the panels allow the space to stay temperate in extreme weather conditions. A wall-mounted monitor, a low window and the floating plank desk and hard drive give the space an expansive feel.
Here's a closer look at the charred wood before a rosewood oil finish is applied to the surface, bringing out the reddish-brown color. The wood in the studio was milled by hand to Williams' specifications.
A new treatment that eliminates flat edges and brown seams, dubbed IdealEdge, duplicates the bullnose and ogee edges usually found in costlier options.
Laminate counters have come a long way. Witness Formica’s 180fx Collection. With exotic granite and quartzite patterns in either a softly polished or a high-gloss finish, ease of maintenance and affordability are only part of the attraction.
Similar to granite in durability, easily resisting household stains and wearing like iron, this product requires practically no maintenance. No sealing or waxing is necessary and the color options are endless. Pigmented epoxy resin forms the base and multiple aggregates are added to produce a product as unique as your kitchen.
Ever wonder what happens to all that glass you painstakingly recycle? Glass Recycled, for one, converts recycled glass and porcelain bound for the landfill into elegant, sustainable and ecological hard surfaces for the kitchen and bathroom.
This handsome and powerful cladding has gained global appeal, with the treatment being applied to a wide variety of wood. While any species can be charred, the resulting appearance will vary. A softwood, like the Japanese sugi (cypress), has prominent growth rings that result in a highly textured surface, whereas charring hardwood leads to an evenly blackened surface.
Finally the charred wood is washed and dried. It can be left without a finish, or an oil can be applied to bring out the gray, sliver, black or brown tones.
The scorched wood is then doused with water and brushed to remove the charcoal dust, revealing a slightly silver sheen.
The Process First the wood is burned either with a torch or by more traditional methods.
High design and Far East tradition intersect with the dark, dramatic Japanese siding produced by a process called shou-sugi-ban. Translated as "the burning of Japanese cypress (sugi)," shou-sugi-ban is gaining popularity outside of Japan, as the process renders wood nearly maintenance free and makes it resistant to fire, rot and pests. Siding created by this method also has an expected life span of more than 80 years, thanks to a protective layer created by carbon released during burning.
These wild light fixtures look like they're made of piles of folded ribbon, but Northern Irish designer Rachel O'Neill accomplishes this look with yards and yards of Velcro. The Velcro is hand dyed, carefully folded and placed around an aluminum frame to create these bold bursts of light.
Students from the Pratt Institute worked with Carnegie's new Xorel woven textiles to design an intricate, hand-folded structure. The piece is made entirely out of squares of Xorel, folded in the same pattern to create a three-dimensional geometric shape. Each piece is shaded blue in the center, just barely visible from the inside.
Love these surfaces
Houzz called this 'exuberant'. I'll say.
WALLS ARE STAINED MARINE PLYWOOD
Love this wall. It looks like flooring.
Mmmm. Bamboo walls. Gorgeous.
JUST like my garden. I was cool before cool was cool.
cool-looking, but who wants to clean this in a kitchen?
Another view of the dining room, with this gorgeous treatment, 4 x 4 blocks of different heist applied to the wall and ceiling.
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