Name: Lauren and Eric Wendlandt, architects/designers with Framework Design
Location: Westside neighborhood of Kansas City, Missouri
Size: approx. 6,500 square feet of commercial, residential and workshop space (two offices, two residences, and a woodworking/furniture shop)
Years lived in: officially 5 months - started in 2007, built from 2008-9.
Even though Lauren and Eric just completed Vivienda Moderna a few months ago, the home has an old soul. The building is located on the corner lot of an old mansion (whose foundations were unearthed during construction), is partially clad in wood siding from disassembled Kansas barns, and incorporates other salvaged material from around the region...
That use of the old gives the building a grounding - a Framework - on which to experiment and showcase the couple's design and construction. Most of the finish work was completed themselves, and on a budget. The horizontal wood cladding on the exterior (and interior at the entry) was salvaged from barns taken apart by Lauren and Eric with the help of family and friends. The horizontal wood finish that recurs throughout the interior of the home is actually made of salvaged oak flooring gutted from area remodels. Some of it would have otherwise ended up being thrown away, but with their trusty pickup truck, this couple rescued materials from all over town and gave them new life.
Lauren and Eric's home - one portion of the multi-use Vivienda Moderna - functions as a showcase for the design work that the couple's adjacent office, Framework Design, provides. Being able to show and tell is helpful, since the house is full of innovative sustainable systems and custom details. This is one active building that's brimming with live, work, display, and invention. You might remember Eric and Lauren's Reborn Bungalow or the exterior of Vivienda Moderna as featured in this summer's My Great Outdoors.
Apartment Therapy Survey:
Our style: Classically modernist, with a little eclecticism, mixed with sustainability [reclaimed materials]
Inspiration: Sustainable, inside/outside connections, old ideals with new modernistic appeal.
Favorite Element: The windows and feeling like we're in the trees!
Biggest Challenge: Timeline! We're sure we could have hired those much more knowledgeable and much faster at what we tried to accomplish ourseleves. Sometimes, like with drywall, we figured it was much better to pay the professionals in the end.
What Friends Say: Can you come out to play yet now that you're "done"?
Biggest Embarrassment: Lauren: Stepping through the top stair where there used to be a tread even though I knew it was missing.
Eric: Lauren stepping through the top stair where there used to be a tread even though she knew it was missing.
Proudest DIY: Even though she never got to move in, knowing Lauren's grandma loved everything about her apartment.
Biggest Indulgence: We can't really think of one. Everything has been so useful!
Resources of Note:
Carpet tiles: FLOR
Kitchen cabinets: IKEA
Light fixtures: LightingUniverse.com, ylighting.com
Paint: Sherwin Williams Harmony-green paint line
Furnishings: metroretrofurniture.com, ruksliving.com, Nebraska Furniture Mart, custom self-built, antique stores, overstock.com
Appliances: Home Depot, Sears
Audio Visual: Century Group A/V Consultants
Plumbing fixtures: Costco, Lowe’s, Home Depot, Tile & Stone Warehouse, overstock.com
Tile: Habitat Restore, American Olean, Hakatai Tile
Stone: U.S. Stone
Barn siding: Craigslist ads from Paola and Bonner Springs, KS
Concrete countertops: self-built using Quikcrete countertop mix
Residential elevator for universal design- Freedom Green from Nationwide Lifts - Leavenworth, KS
Landscaping supplies - Family Tree Nursery
Electrical supply/rough wiring - Anderson Electrical
Metal siding - Cornell sheet metal and roofing
Misc metal work - contract furnishings
Insulation- spray in Icynene, Hayes
Guard/handrails- KeeKlamp
Cable railing - Feeney Architectural
Recycled/green materials - 1500 underground cistern for collecting rainwater - Roth/Fralo, above ground rain barrels, drought tolerant plantings, reclaimed 100 year old barn siding, salvaged oak flooring (curbside rescue from landfill), radiant flooring by Zurn and Wirsbo, salvaged rigid insulation fromthe roof of the old Mission Mall in KS reused as insulation between floors and for bathroom walls, salvaged old office and barn doors, tankless water heaters from Rinnai, pre run for solar water heaters and photovoltaics, salvaged and chopped all non treated wood scraps for erosion control mulch, tile collected from habitat restore, high efficiency windows, thermal trombe stone wall, natural ventilation and thermal chimney through operable skylights, Versico cool roof, plans for eventual roof garden, dual and low flush toilets, low flow shower heads, energy star appliances, recycling space - our goal is to always have 1/2 as much trash as recycling, composting.
Thanks, Lauren and Eric!
Images: Regina Yunghans, with Framework Designs and Nicole Renee where noted
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LOL ladymantle,
The stairs do look a little intimidating but I'm sure they are quite sturdy although after a few shots of Petron, you might want to just sleep on the couch.
Love the house! The mix of materials is fantastic.
Love the house. Especially love the use of natural material in the house.
*swoon*
gorgeous home... I love the stairs and the kitchen.
Both sadly made me realize I can't live as modern as I would want. The stairs are simply not feasible for families with children for obvious reasons. My favorite feature of the kitchen (windows as a backsplash) forces all appliances to be in the pantry, which would be too much of an inconvenience for a mom who cooks up a storm daily.
Sad :-( I wish my lifestyle could match that lovely decor.
I grew up with a loft bedroom that was only accessible via ladder. I was able to climb up and down from the time I was 4. I bet kids can adapt pretty well to the stairs. They look wide and not very steep.
I love the use of the door with the window in the kitchen and the large window pane/window frames (?) in the work space...my only question is how do they hang those items?
The stairs don't seem particularly treacherous to me. Ya descend on the left, if you need the stability of a 'rail'.
Purty house.
Pretty incredible.
Love the slatted wood throughout and the stone. The combination of the two is beautiful.
The pantry door at the end of the cabinetry is a nice touch.
Like the fun punchy colors in the bathroom, bedroom etc.
Lots of great things here. The stairs of course.
Oh yeah! The wine rack! I remember that.
I predict that as the inhabitants age, a rail will be added to the stairway. Imagine, in the end, one of those chair-escalators installed! The house, otherwise, is marvelous. Clean and modern. I suggest judicious use of a few antiques.
I love every thing about this entire house and outdoor space. Way to go!
this may be the perfect house! i. love. it.
my favourite part was the tiny spiral staircase bookshelf!!!
beautiful! Do you have the specs for the office FLOR tiles? and the dog is adorable too--poodle or terrier mix?
hi,
love the house. where did you get the unique book rack ? i would love to have one just like it !
thx.. jfc
A tour de force...
@ykyea - The dog (Exxon) is a bichon frise. He's one of their 3.
All the people talking about the stairs, if Lauren can survive them, anyone can. She's got the nickname Grace for a reason (hint: its called irony)...
Place looks awesome, you two. As always I'm quite jealous.
Thank you all for the many very nice comments and to Regina and Apartment Therapy for the nice article and great photos. In response to some of the questions...
Troops79 is right - If Lauren can handle the stairs, they should be no match for anyone.
There is however, a small, residential elevator to meet Universal Design standards to service the 4 different functions and to provide long term access for building residents. Our (3) dogs scamper up and down the constantly. They seem to have a natural center of gravity, but the handrail seems pretty sufficient for those of us without that gift.
JFC - the spiral bookcase was Lauren's grandmother's. She was a librarian and that was an old book display.
ykyea - The FLOR tiles are Fedora in Chartreuse, Taupe and Oatmeal
Michelle - If you were asking about the grey coverlet with the black circles, it was on sale at Target!
Usbek de Perse - You're absolutely right and we couldn't agree more. We have a few pieces (including the massive butcher block in the kitchen) that weren't in the photos, but are slowly adding to those as the right pieces come up.
sanchezperrier - We hung the various doors from the floor framing with chains and very long eye hooks
modernonlongisland - you'd be surprised. Lauren cooks a lot and is not exactly the neatest chef in the world. The major appliances can stay in the pantry, but there is countertop space and lots of outlets in there. There are outlets on the underneath side of the upper cabinets above the kitchen windows as well as underneath the bar top, so we can plug in appliances all the way down the counters and have lots of room for more messes!
Thanks again!
-framework design
Sorry guys--"architects designers" who ignore basic safety
features of home building really don't deserve kudos for going green.
Oh yeah--and who was the building inspector who off on these?? Hmmmm....
I love your coat rack! Where is it from? I'm wondering if I can diy something similar...hmmmm
What a fabulous home! Everything is perfect! I'm so happy to get to see the inside after being teased with the exterior pics earlier this year. It's beautiful and modern, but looks completely comfortable and livable. Congratulations on a great job. (Now I am going to go home and rearrange my FLOR tiles....)
To rebeldress_
we got the coat rack, which was surprisingly reasonably priced, several years ago at DWR. It's one of the few pieces that have stayed with us through the years. It's always a conversation piece!
I love your bed. It's exactly what I have in mind for my glass-and-concrete style condo. Would you mind telling me where you got it from? Also, is that large beige sofa the Antonio Sofa Grande from Alphaville Design? Your house is fabulous!
To DesignBeast_
The bed is actually one that we designed and built for a showroom in Kansas City. It is the floor model that we ended up keeping as we needed some furnishings. If you'd like more information, you can look at additional pictures at http://www.frameworkdesign.net/seatsleep.html. Please feel free to email us at info@frameworkdesign.net.
The beige sofa is an Antonio Sofa that we ordered from Ruks Living out of Saint Louis.
The exterior of the house is GORGEOUS!
Love it! Great job. Thanks for sharing!
LOVE!!
Patrick Bateman post 80's :D