apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Wow. The light in that place is amazing. What a lovely home. I can almost see my house through their living room windows!

This is a lovely place. But aren't we seeing variations on this same theme over and over: Flor, Nelson, Expedit, etc. I'm not picking on you Dave. Love your place, love your cat. I guess I'm just asking if I'm the only one feeling a little jaded wondering if we are going anywhere in Design? Are we in a perpetual pseudo MCM loop? Has uniformity and predictability become the new chic. Or is the new generation's luxe upbringing left it devoid of creativity.

I agree with the above - It's very nice, but awfully predictable...

I'd like to know where he got that set of bookcases. Very nice.

I agree, quiltmaster.

No matter how intriguing MCM is in a relative vacuum, people will begin to move on to avoid predictability and boredom.

I'm just worried about the investments we've made in MCM. We can't all financially afford to move on if we've purchased these MCM pieces. What should we do?

"I'd like to know where he got that set of bookcases. Very nice."

IKEA Expedit - Same as in every third home here...

I understand the MCM fatigue and would encourage people interested in seeing modern and contemporary furniture presented in an interesting and more diverse way to check out design mags from Europe. Having lived in Europe for years, I've noticed that the Europeans are far more adventurous and creative in the way they put things together --- adding antiques to modern for example, or buying contemporary furniture being designed right NOW instead of relying on the accepted modern classics. I wish we Americans were able to mix it up a little bit more.

I think Americans do indeed mix it up — they just happen to mix it up with American contemporary, which is not as mature as Europe's new stuff, as Pam alludes.

Also, those who are feel over-saturated by MCM may be saying more about the blogs they frequent and magazines they read than the styles popular in real American homes. Even here in design savvy San Francisco I rarely see a room full of great, minimal classics like those in Dave's place. If it's antique, it's usually overdesigned, googie, or not modernist at all. There is still a lot to learn from the best design of the '50s and '60s.

Forget the house, I love the cat!

j/k Its a fabulous house!

There's sometihg especially ironic about the photo with the cat -- the pic seems to have been posted backwards -- note the book "Typography" behind the cat.

Mid-C Frank, it's not backward, might just be the album, everything else in the shot is flipped the right way.

I love the house and I agree with everyone about what has become generic design/furniture.

The architect could of easily designed built in cabinets and bookcases which would of been more mid century sensibility and always looks like its apart of the architecture.

However, in all fairness America is still such a new market place for modern simple affordable design and furniture. We do not have as many choices as Europeans do. Most of these designs come form Europe and access to good design is an everyday part of life.

Our choices are still the usual suspects for the masses Ikea, West Elm, Cb2 and on the higher end DWR and these stores have not been around for very long. Ikea had its first store in 1985 in Pennsylvania but that was it. Only in 2000 was the store in the Bay Area opened. These store show the average person how to put it together. Now with internet and blogs its very easy for the average Joe (yeeks sorry) to put his or her house together. The outcome is that it al starts to look the same kind of like the cookie cutter of American Towns and Cities-Starbucks, Barns and Noble, Java Juice and a Verizon type of of store at every corner or a corner near by.

Where is it in "Europe" that everyone has been and seen such a more highly advanced design aesthetic than we have in the US? As someone who has lived and traveled extensively in Europe, I must say that I've never been particularly impressed with the average homes\spaces that I've visited\lived in\stayed in while there.

Maybe you all are staying in pricey designer boutique hotels or something(?), but I can tell you from (my) experience that the vast majority of Europeans I’ve known live in pretty much the same non-designer, budget\Ikea decorated places as the average American. Ikea is European, after all, and seems to "set the stage" for much of what I've seen in Europe when it comes to "modern" design.

I would go as far as saying that I've always preferred good American design to good European design (oh the horror!)

I love Twig, and I'm definitely not a cat person!

I second Novabass: I lived in Paris for several years and most of the Parisian homes I visited were filled with Ikea furniture bc it was tailored to small apartment living and was affordable. ditto for Dutch, British, Spanish and Irish friends' homes. I think there are people doing interesting things with their homes on both sides of the pond.

Oh gosh, that cat actually really scared me! The chandelier is wonderful, it looks like a paper lantern.

There IS more out there than just MCM. There is a tendency to contribute negative comments when homes decorated in other styles are shown on AT. I doubt those offering these photos feel very encouraged, therefore MCM is featured a lot.

I try to comment when I see something I like, hoping to keep encouraging diversity here at my favorite design site.

Great looking lantern. While i was online searching for cool light fixtures in San Francisco Bay area i came across this website, they have some exquisite Moorish style light fixtures:

http://www.sainttropezboutique.us/products/lighting.aspx


Sandra,