Design

Charles and Ray Eames’ iconic Lounge Chair, one of the most ubiquitous and replicated mid century designs, is coming back with a twist. To celebrate the 60th anniversary of the design, Vitra will release the armchair — along with its equally famous ottoman sidekick — in a new black twill fabric instead of the traditional black leather. This version will be available for just three months, from this November through January 2017. Vitra’s hope with this upholstery update is to create a cosy softness and inviting warmth — via Curbed

A new Frank Lloyd Wright home has come on the market, this time in Glen Ridge, New Jersey. Wright designed the Stuart Richardson House in 1941 for an actuary and his wife following his concept of Usonian architecture. Constructed ten years later under his guidance (and meticulously restored to purists’s standards in 2006), the 167 square-metre three-bedroom features a unique hexagonal floor plan that leaves all but two of the residence’s angles measuring either 60 or 120 degrees. In fact, large, deep red hexagon-shaped tiles make up all the floors in the home.

The brick house also boasts extensive cypress panelling and woodwork, most noticeably on the ceilings, where boards meet at chevron-like angles, drawing the eye toward various points of the house. Triangle skylights and patterned clerestory windows puncture the flat roof line, while floor-to-ceiling windows throughout usher the outdoors in. A pool and original built-in furniture and storage round out this unique property. Located at 63 Chestnut Hill Place, it’s asking $995,000 — via Curbed

This futuristic house in Scottsdale, Arizona is certainly out there, calling to mind, perhaps, the Googie-inspired world of The Jetsons, or the slick, slimy interiors of the Alien movie franchise. Designed by famous local architect Bing Hu in 1998, the six-bedroom, 929 square-metre (launch) pad incorporates an unrestrained combination of textures, materials, and colour in a way that manages to create a cohesive, if eccentric, look. In short, it’s an exuberant home.

From the cinder-block-like exterior trimmed in weathered steel, to gleaming black floor tiles, corrugated metal ceiling panels, dark wooden built-ins, all the way to the mottle-painted walls, each surface is endowed with a little extra. Even the stainless steel kitchen appliances wanted in on the action—their patinas are scribbled and scratched. Still, artwork and bold furniture are able to stand out, despite the cacophony of visuals defining the house.

But it becomes clear that the property is merely trying to keep up with the incredible mountain and desert landscape surrounding it. In fact, the entire dining and kitchen area open up to establish a seamless indoor-outdoor connection with a vast fireplaced veranda, while floor-to-ceiling windows in the living room and large windows throughout the residence frame natural vistas. Located 11452 E Salero Drive, it’s asking $3,488,000 — via Curbed

It’s time for another Arts and Crafts-era gem from Pasadena, California. This time, the hot new item on the market is an 1917 residence blending the quaint appeal of an English Cotswold cottage with the detailed, creative expression of Craftsman homes. Designed and built by brothers Arthur and Alfred Heineman for a wealthy widow, Lydia C Edmands, the six-bedroom house was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1998.

From the rolled-roof edges to the arched storybook front door to the interior’s beautiful wood paneling, staircase, and large Batchelder fireplace, the 587-square-metre home dazzles with architectural details — via Curbed

Sitting on 2.3 acres on Shelter Island, an scenic escape east of Long Island, this restored 1972 home was built in the shape of a nautilus shell and makes the most of it with custom interior furnishings. The 135-square-metre home was originally designed for a fashion designer, but in recent years, has been under the careful stewardship of a New York City-based artist.

Inside, beautiful wood ceilings with exposed beams soar over a curved sunken living room with built-in seating, as well as a curved kitchen with custom double-sided cabinets and concrete counters. All of these main living areas, including the elevated dining area, have views out to the verdant lawns and saltwater gunite pool outside. The property also overlooks a pond replete with wildlife — via Curbed

Dating back to 1886, this picturesque shingled compound on the southeastern tip of Rhode Island once had a working windmill, which would be the octagonal turret you see on the main house. Designed by Providence architects, Stone, Carpenter, and Wilson, the five-bedroom main house impressively wraps regular living spaces right around the turret, separated only by a series of exposed beams and columns.

On the market for the first time since it was built, the Windmill House is all about flowing spaces that offer idyllic ocean views. This is especially true for the ground floor living and dining areas and the atmospheric bedroom at the top of the tower with 180-degree vistas out to the Atlantic Ocean. Throughout the home, you’ll also find a number of Bas-relief sculptures and inscriptions by Rhode Island-born American artist Sydney Burleigh, who was a close friend of the family — via Curbed

Meriton Rising originally uploaded by Red Wolf

Let’s be real: The whole point of having a few million dollars to spare is to wield them at critical times like this, when a dreamy Scottish island covering 307.6 hectares goes on sale for a reasonable £1.95 million. Besides an incredible cost-per-square-foot figure, you get a bunch of restored stone houses ready for permanent or holiday stays, broadband internet, self-sustaining electricity and freshwater treatment systems, and, of course, breathtaking Summer Isles views — via Curbed

Designer Scott Jarvie together with DELUPO, recently exhibited the Safe Cabinet during 2016 London Design Festival. The cabinet took hundreds of assembly hours and was created using 28 CNC cut aluminium moving parts, 164 hand cut wood joints, and 247 stainless steel mechanical fastening elements — via CONTEMPORIST

It’s an iconic building and soon you will be able to live in the 1930s Wallis, Gilbert and Partners-designed art deco Hoover Building in Perivale, west London. The building is Grade II listed and an art deco icon, despite essentially being a factory building.

IDM Properties plans to salvage and reuse as many original Art Deco features as possible throughout the building in order to retain the full glory of this stunning architectural treasure. That’s a huge plus and to be expected of a building with listed status — via WowHaus

This Matti Suuronen-designed Futuro House in France is for sale via an estate agent and pitched as a holiday home, but without a location as such. Presumably you will need to get it shipped to a piece of land yourself. That might not be as hard as you initially think, as the prefabricated Futuro is completely removable. It consists of 16 sections, each bolting together to create the eight-metre (diameter) space age, almost alien-like structure. So not exactly a small job in terms of work or cost, but perhaps a little less than expected.

This one also has the original Futuro sleeper chairs still in place, which is a huge bonus. Beyond that, it is a space just waiting for a use or an upgrade for the 21st century. If you want it, you will need to offer something in the region of €130,000 — via WowHaus

A Red Panda cub appears to give its twin an earful as they make their media debut last week at the Rosamond Gifford Zoo. The cubs were born on 27 June, but they’ve still got a lot of growing to do before they enter their exhibit habitat to meet zoo guests.The cubs, one male and one female, are named Ravi, which means king, and Amiya, translated as delight. Second-time mother Tabei has been caring for the cubs in an off-exhibit nest box since their birth — via ZooBorns

The Vintage Electric Scrambler is not designed to replace your Harley-Davidson Road King. It’s designed for short commutes, scooting over to a friend’s house on a sunny evening, or zooming down a twisty fire road.

The heart of the bike is a 702 watt-hour lithium battery, housed in a tough casing sand cast just up the road in San Jose, CA. It takes around two hours to recharge, at an estimated cost of 18 cents.

Boosted by a regenerative braking system, you get a range of 56km in the regular Street Mode, which has a top speed of 32 kph. That might seem slow—heck, it is slow—but it means that the Scrambler can be ridden on public roads in the USA and EU without a license.

At the flick of a switch, you can enter Race Mode, which engages a 3,000 watt rear hub motor and takes you up to 64 kph. But that’s only for when you’re on private property — via Bike EXIF

Kawasaki Suspension originally uploaded by Red Wolf

Orange Mustang originally uploaded by Red Wolf

One of Frank Lloyd Wright’s final designs has just gone on the market in Virginia Beach. Known as the Cooke House, the 3,000-square-foot home was the result of a letter written by Maude and Andrew Cooke in 1951 that began thusly: Dear Mr. Wright, Will you please help us get the beautiful house we have dreamed of for so long?

Over a period of several years, the couple and Wright corresponded by letter, with an initial rendering appearing in 1953 and the final plans delivered in 1957. Construction didn’t begin until 1959, just two weeks before Wright’s death. The Cookes and their children moved in in October of 1960, their nearly-decade long dream finally becoming a reality, and lived there for the next 23 years.

When Daniel and Jane Duhl purchased the home in 1983, they immediately began a significant restoration project, for which they received an award from the American Institute of Architects (AIA). The four-bedroom is now considered a green, passive solar home and features two central air conditioning systems and a swim spa. It’s on the market for $2,750,000 — via Curbed

Rare opportunity in northern New Jersey: The oldest and largest of four Frank Lloyd Wright designs in the Garden State has come on the open market for the first time in decades. Sitting on seven acres of secluded woodlands, the 1940 James B Christie House embodies Wright’s Usonian concept, which called for simple, single-story dwellings that embrace natural materials and a strong visual connection to the outdoors.

The expansive horizontal structure, built from cypress wood, brick, and glass, features an L-shape plan common to Wright’s Usonian houses. Here, the living and dining areas sit perpendicular to a wing of bedrooms, and the kitchen takes up the intersecting corner. Glass walls, clerestory windows, and original built-in seating, tables, and chairs can be found throughout the home.

Already quite large at the original 2,000 square feet—here’s Wright’s Tarantino Studio to add a master bedroom suite that had been part of the original plans but was not constructed initially. The sunken space includes a bright sitting area—complete with its own huge brick fireplace and built-ins—that separates the bedroom from the bath. Now it’s on the market seeking $2,200,000, with a new heating system and roof in place — via Curbed