Hollywood Inspiration

It's summer, school is out, and it's far too hot to go outside when the sun's out.  So I've been catching up on roughly a decade of missed television shows.  These things happen when you're a terminal student.

Right now I'm loving Fringe, especially the great shots of Dr. Bishop's lab and, in later episodes his and Peter's very craftsman style house.  Such great eye candy.  And the actual situations, characters, and plots aren't bad either!

The WB has been very nice in putting blocks of episodes up on their website.  Right now they're showing the first ten or so episodes and will soon rotate those out and put up the next ten.  And so on.  Enjoy!  And make sure to watch the second season musical episode "Brown Betty" where the steampunk craftsman style really gets to go a little crazy.

The lab

Peter and Walter investigating - look at that window in the background.  Gorgeous.  And the wall sconces, and the wood ...

Unfortunately I can't find a picture of the Bishops' house but it alone is worth watching the show for.  Gorgeous craftsman details all over.  And, again, the show is good too, so it makes for an enjoyable way to burn some time during these lazy summer days.

Craftsman Inspiration

For your viewing pleasure, The Gamble House

The Gamble House in Pasadena, California, was designed and built for David and Mary Gamble in 1908 by Charles and Henry Green.  It's a National Historic Landmark, an excellent example of the California Craftsman design, and a gorgeous place to spend an afternoon.  Enjoy!

(all photos curtesy of their site)

The dining room window.  While not quite the same, you can incorporate the same idea into a room using stained plexiglass/regular glass, framing, and lighting.  A fantastic way to incorporate mood lighting.  Hm, must look into how to do this ...

The guest bedroom.  Look how simple it all is without looking plain or undecorated.  A slight tint of color to the walls, perfectly placed light fixtures, a single vase, and that gorgeous wood trim and window frame to make a calm, fulfilling room.

My weakness for beautiful craftsman style lights continues.

Instructions on installing craftsman style wood trim

A project for all woodworkers out there - craftsman style trim for your walls and lintles.  I'm rather lacking in the tools and tablesaws frankly scare me (I have two woodworking uncles that are now down a few digits thanks to those things) but for those having the tools and lacking the fear, this is a great way to give your house that extra touch.

For the rest of us - well, I was going to say that Home Depot and Lowe's can help but, judging from their websites, I'm not sure they can - all the mouldings and millwork they show are so fiddly and curvy and so not craftsman style.  Annoying.  I wouldn't be the least bit surprised, however, if they have a larger stock than their website shows.  To make up for it, at least a little, check out Lowe's Moulding Visualizer little interactive program.  Like the websites the moulding is all contemporary or country and anything but craftsman but it at least lets you see the amazing impact moulding can have on a room.  I love a light colored wall with dark stained trim.  So chic!

Inspiration - Craftsman Kitchen Remodel

Interesting article about a remodeled kitchen done craftsman style.  Nothing steampunk but it has pretty pictures.

Site to Inspire

While looking for ideas on decorating the Craftsman style way I tripped upon craftman style - a great collection of period pictures and descriptions of the style broken down by the various rooms.  Most of the pictures are black and white sketches but a few show some great color choices.

This is my favorite - I love the mix of lavender and golden yellow.  And is that a trilobite above the door?  Can't you just imagine this living room belonging to an airship pilot?  Perhaps that little mural on the top back wall is the company's logo and the shelves below it hold a globe, some gauges, and little soveniers picked up on her travels.