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Beautiful buildings according to Alain de... Beautiful buildings according to Alain de...
Beautiful buildings according to Alain de... ofBeautiful buildings In his book The Architecture of Happiness (McClelland & Stewart, 2006), author Alain de Botton explores the connection between design and happiness. Are the two inextricably linked? Absolutely, according to Alain. "Beauty has a huge role to play in altering our mood," he says. "When we call a chair or a house beautiful, really what we're saying is that we like the way of life it's suggesting to us. It has an attitude we're attracted to." Agree or disagree, his insights are piercing and thought-provoking. So, according to Alain, what structures embody beauty? When asked to name his favourite buildings, here's what he had to say:Senate House, Bloomsbury, LondonThis elegant Portland Stone building was completed by the architect Charles Holden in the 1930s. Holden designed a lot of Underground stations around London, including White City and Arnos Grove. There are hints of art deco in all his buildings, but essentially Holden was a modern architect who had a feeling for the classical tradition and wanted to update it for his own age. Senate House is very austere, and could be faulted for being cold, but I love its serenity. It was built to last for centuries and the attention to detail is amazing - if you look at the handrails, they are pieces of art in themselves. As a library for the University of London, it's a very idealistic building, it's got a very high idea of what scholarship should be about. You really feel it's been designed with the noblest conception of learning in mind. Having used the library for many years, I know what it's like to be weighed down by the boredom and tedium of reading. This building provides anyone who works in it with a little uplift and joy.Laban Dance Centre, Deptford, LondonThis is one of the two buildings in the UK designed by the fabulous Swiss duo Herzog and de Meuron (the other is the Tate Modern). The pair started off as cool modernists but recently they've abandoned the austerity of modernism and are taking a more playful route. Laban, a dance conservatoire in southeast London, is an example of the new interest in ornamentation and prettiness. It's a remarkably delicate looking building. The walls are made of translucent glass and are lined with coloured lights, so that it's like looking at a box of sweets through a frosted glass jar. Day or night, the light washes out from the building on to the surrounding grey landscape. Architects like Herzog and de Meuron seem to be rediscovering the idea that buildings should be playful and beautiful, as well as functional and efficient. More beautiful buildings Dirty House, Shoreditch, LondonThis is a residential building in east London designed by the young British architect, David Adjaye. It's made of painted black brick and looks tough and urban. However, on the very top of the building, there sits a very elegant rooftop gallery made of glass. The contrast between glass and black brick is seductive, it suggests that we could all balance the masculine and feminine sides of ourselves. The building shows how you can build in very run-down inner city areas and make something good not by denying where you are, but precisely by acknowledging and celebrating it. The building could be called brutally beautiful. We've got one word, beauty, in our vocabulary to talk about architecture, but really, this covers a whole range of different kinds of attraction. Maybe there should be a subcategory of beauty called ‘industrial beauty' to capture what's special about this building.Queen's Building, Emmanuel College, CambridgeThis is a very fine building designed by the British architect Michael Hopkins and was completed in the mid 1990s. It's an elegant curved stone structure, which sits in its location with ease and grace - it both manages to catch the eye and blends into the historic surroundings of Cambridge. There are often a lot of tussles between supporters of modern architecture and classical enthusiasts - think of the endless debate between those who are pro and against Prince Charles's traditional views - but this building is one that seems to satisfy both camps. It looks classical without falling into any cliched visions of the past, while still retaining a lot of features found in old-fashioned buildings, like symmetry and regularity. A big question in architecture is: can we build today in a way that both satisfies the emotional needs to which old styles cater and yet acknowledges contemporary realities? Can we build in a way that reminds us of the comfort of tradition and yet doesn't turn its back entirely on the world we actually inhabit? Can we learn to translate the best of the past successfully into the language of the present? The lesson of this building is ‘yes'.Maggie's Centre, DundeeMaggie's centers are a series of day-care centers sited in the grounds of hospitals in the UK, built for people diagnosed with cancer. The idea behind them is that where you are can so seriously effect how you feel that you might be able better to fight cancer if you have the opportunity to spend time in a beautiful building. The Dundee Maggie's Center was designed by the Californian architect, Frank Gehry, who also designed the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao. The building has a comfortingly domestic feeling, it's a house rather than an institution, and invites its users to curl up with a book on one of its many window ledges, and take in a sublime view over the water. It's always ambitious to claim that architecture can change your life. This building is ample proof that it can.- Credit
- Natalie Bahadur
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The Architecture of Happiness: Author... The Architecture of Happiness: Author...
The Architecture of Happiness: Author... ofThe Architecture of Happiness If you've ever pondered the aesthetics of your own home or pored over paint chips and fabric swatches, you're likely to appreciate the premise of author Alain de Botton's latest masterpiece. The Architecture of Happiness (McClelland & Stewart, 2006) explores the relationship between our surroundings and our mood. Can living in a beautiful building really make us somewhat more content in our lives? Alain shares his thoughts here with us: 1 First, how would you define the architecture of happiness?My book is called The Architecture of Happiness because of a great phrase I found in the work of the French 19th century writer Stendhal. He writes: ‘When we see a place and call it beautiful, really what we mean is that we can imagine being happy there'. This sums up for me very accurately what is distinctive about beauty: it gives us a sense that a good life can unfold in its vicinity.2 How has architecture changed over the past century? Architects are learning to rediscover beauty. For much of the 20th century, architects were obsessed by engineering. They thought of buildings as ‘machines for living'. Previous to that, architects had felt that their task was to make things pretty: and hence they went in for decoration and patterning. But 20th century buildings suddenly became very plain, very austere, very functional – and many people started to hate architecture and architects. Now, at last, architects are remembering to decorate and beautify their buildings – at least some of them are… 3 How do beautiful structures, beautiful furnishings, stimulate our senses and bring us happiness? Beauty has a huge role to play in altering our mood. When we call a chair or a house beautiful, really what we're saying is that we like the way of life it's suggesting to us. It has an attitude we're attracted to: if it was magically turned into a person, we'd like who it was. It would be convenient if we could remain in much the same mood wherever we happened to be, in a cheap motel or a palace (think of how much money we'd save on redecorating our houses), but unfortunately we're highly vulnerable to the coded messages that emanate from our surroundings. This helps to explain our passionate feelings towards matters of architecture and home decoration: these things help to decide who we are.Of course, architecture can't, on its own, always make us contented people. Witness the dissatisfactions that can unfold even in idyllic surroundings. One might say that architecture suggests a mood to us, which we may be too internally troubled to be able to take up. Its effectiveness could be compared to the weather: a fine day can substantially change our state of mind – and people may be willing to make great sacrifices to be nearer a sunny climate. Then again, under the weight of sufficient problems (romantic or professional confusions, for example), no amount of blue sky, and not even the greatest building, will be able to make us smile. Hence the difficulty of trying to raise architecture into a political priority: it has none of the unambiguous advantages of clean drinking water or a safe food supply. And yet it remains vital. Attitudes towards beauty 4 Is beauty truly in the eye of the beholder? Or are some things just plain ugly, no matter how you look at them?Two attitudes towards beauty have taken hold in polite society. Firstly, it's said that the reasons why people have the tastes they do is essentially mysterious. It is as much beyond analysis why they should love a particular shape of sofa as why they should favour a particular kind of vegetable. Taste is described as a quasi-physiological phenomenon, beyond the realm of reason and discussion. Secondly, it's claimed that there is no such thing as good or bad taste. We may be able to determine more or less what a good law or car or education is, but when it comes to taste, the matter is a subjective one. Indeed, to try to define good taste could simply be an extreme example of snobbery and elitism.However convincing these two arguments, I politely disagree with both of them. For a start, there is much we can say about why something might strike one as in good taste. Any object of design – be it a chair, or a sofa or a spoon – gives off an impression of the values it embodies and support, so that the interiors and buildings we admire are ultimately those which, in a variety of ways, extol values we think worthwhile. Our sense of beauty and our understanding of the nature of a good life are intertwined. We can conclude from this that we are drawn to call something beautiful whenever we detect that it contains in a concentrated form those qualities in which we personally, or our societies more generally, are deficient. You'll call a nearly empty blank canvas beautiful when your own life is messy and your city chaotic. We call ‘good taste' a style which can move us away from what we fear and towards what we crave: a style which carries the correct dosage of our missing virtues. 5 What are some favourite items in your own home?I am especially attached to my door handles. They were designed by the philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein, in a house he did for his sister in Vienna. A modern German company now sells them: http://www.fsbusa.com/levers/11476 How can someone, the average person reading your book, apply your principles at home to create an environment that brings pleasure and contentment?I'd love to leave my readers with a sense of how important design and architecture are.For example, it's far from trivial to spend a long time arguing over a sofa or a plate. That's because a particular sofa can suggest a whole way of life, an attitude to existence, and it's really the struggle over what's meaningful and worthwhile that lies at the heart of people's disagreements in the aisles of home shops. Of an angular steel-legged sofa by a modern Italian design company like B&B Italia, a man might say, ‘I love this sofa', but really, he is drawn to qualities of order, logic and rationality, which this piece suggests to him. Meanwhile, his wife may kick up a fuss precisely because she hates all the sofa-like sides of her husband – and would love to infuse their marriage with the virtues of calm, sweetness and romanticism that she detects in a contrasting 18th century style chaise longue. The fights that unfold in furniture stores are hence entirely logical: a lot is truly at stake. We shouldn't feel embarrassed about going off someone because of their taste in sofas, or on someone because of their taste in mugs.- Credit
- Natalie Bahadur
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Home decor: Exterior painting dos and don'ts Home decor: Exterior painting dos and don'ts
Home decor: Exterior painting dos and don'ts ofPaint formulas, cutting corners and watching the weather Painting the outside of your house can yield "wow" results like nothing else. It can make a faded house look fresh again, and transform a mousey one into a showstopper. A good paint job can last from three to six years, and is well worth the effort. Here are some dos and don'ts for getting started.DO hire a pro (unless you're a truly obsessive DIYer)Painting a house involves hard physical labour. Besides prepping it properly (see below), you'll be climbing ladders, getting spattered with paint, and working all day in warm weather. Unless you're willing to put that kind of sweat equity into your home without cutting corners, you're better off hiring a pro. DON'T cut corners on the prep workA professional looking paint job takes diligent preparation. Protect flowerbeds, bushes, decks, and paved areas with drop cloths. Scrape off blistered or cracking paint, sand the exterior surface so primer or paint can adhere properly. Wash the surfaces to remove dust. Whew! Now you're ready to apply primer, which is essential for even coverage on bare wood, repainting over bright or dark colours, or applying latex over existing oil paint.DO use the right paint formulaLatex is a smart choice because it resists UV-fading better than alkyd, and is less likely to crack or peel. An added benefit is that water-based latex dries faster than oil-based alkyd, and clean up's a lot easier – just soap and water (versus solvent, in the case of alkyd). DO check the weather report. Avoid painting on rainy, overly windy or humid days, as these can detrimentally affect the finish. For best results, paint on days with temperatures in the 10-to-30-degree Celsius range. Don't paint in direct sun.DON'T scrimp Choose "premium" paints, not paints marked "economy," "contractor" or "value" grade. And don't buy just one vat of paint to take advantage of the volume discount. Select a semi-gloss for most of the exterior (unless you're painting siding, in which case lower-lustre eggshell is better), and easier-to-clean high-gloss for trim, doors and shutters. You'll need a special porch and floor paint for the porch and any wooden front steps. The right tools, the right colour and the right attitude DO ensure you've got the right tools and equipmentA good-quality synthetic brush is essential for latex, and you'll use it on trim, shutters and other areas needing "cutting in" pre-roller. Use the right width roller for your wall, as well as the right thickness and density of nap on the roller insert; check the packaging or ask a paint store clerk about what's best for your exterior surface. Don't rent or buy a sprayer unless you're a seasoned paint pro; they can be hard to handle. Make sure to have plenty of absorbent rags, a hat and or eye protection, drop cloths, and a step- or extension ladder in the right height. (See the website of soon-to-be-open-in-Canada DIY superchain Lowes for info on finding the right ladder for your needs, lowes.com )DON'T go Technicolor on a sleepy suburban streetFar be it for us to tell you what colour to paint your home's exterior. But if you live on a quiet street where the houses follow much the same overarching aesthetic and palette, your neighbours probably won't appreciate a wildly coloured exterior palette.DO exercise creativity with the front door (and shutters and porch gable)That said, feel free to express your passion for colour on smaller sections of your home, where they're likely to make a stylin' impact. (TREND TIP: A high-gloss red door channels both "hot" and "classic" at the same time and gives any home designer caché. Purple-inflected lavender is another bold colour that can be used in small doses to great effect, especially if you match it with a yummy raspberry-red door.)DON'T get lazyOnce you're painting, work in small areas but use long, even strokes to avoid a patchy paint job. Move your ladder frequently instead of over-reaching, which, besides being dangerous, also can result in a streaky finish.DO maintain the lookSeasonal washing will keep your paint looking its best. DON'T polluteDispose of old paint per your municipal waste disposal instructions.- Credit
- Yuki Hayashi
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Create curb appeal Create curb appeal
Create curb appeal ofColour and entryways A house with curb appeal stands out from the rest. We notice it because it provides us with simple aesthetic pleasure every time we pass by. Most homes have their own unique blend of charms. Even two identical homes can achieve very different looks with a combination of pleasing exterior elements. Here are some welcoming ideas that you can use to enhance your home and create curb appeal. ColourColour is a powerful tool when used correctly. A facade with a beautiful colour combination is extremely pleasing. • When choosing exterior paint, look to your landscape for inspiration. Also keep in mind that the colour of your trim should complement the colour of your roof.• Bright sun will often make strong colours appear bolder and vibrant ones seem brighter. For a toned-down look, try historical paint colours with grey undertones.• Save brights for outdoor accessories or small areas. A colourful market umbrella, porch chair, painted bird feeder or striped retractable awning are attractive ways to spruce up the front of your house.EntranceTreat yourself and your guests to a welcoming entrance area. Even a small area can offer a charming greeting. • Paint your front door with a strong colour so that it stands out from the rest of the house. Embellish the door further with a knocker, polished-metal kickplate and an inviting, homey touch like a wreath, bunch of pussy willows or basket of flowers.• A new railing will add panache to an old porch, as will attractive wicker or teak furniture and accessories like flower-filled planters.• Make a small entryway more inviting with a pair of urns, planter boxes or ivy-covered trellis panels flanking the entrance, or display a hurricane lamp on a table next to the door. Facade, lighting and landscaping FacadeWhen making any structural changes, always remain true to the architectural integrity of your home. Don't try to make a country cottage look stately or a tall, handsome Georgian look cute. • Use unique architectural details to enhance your home. A round stained-glass window, weather vane on a turret, portico painted in a rich colour or window boxes all offer lovely ways to bring interest to a home's exterior. • When painting shutters, select a rich complementary shade that doesn't overpower the rest of your house's colour scheme. LightingEven simple outdoor lighting will bring your home to life at night. To create drama, install lighting along a walkway, between shrubbery or in trees. • Mount a pair of beautiful coach lanterns on either side of French doors to give your home an elegant and stately appearance.• Design indoor lighting to convey warmth and interest when viewed from outside. For instance, a light in a small round attic window lends character to a home's exterior. LandscapingArchitectural landscaping is a very effective way to add colour, beauty, vitality and personality.• Define a walkway by embedding stepping stones into the grass or gravel. • A brick path surrounded by an overgrown all-white garden looks simple and elegant.• A rose- or clematis-covered arbour or pergola makes a lasting impression.• Fences are another option for creating individual style. Try a white picket fence for a cottage look, wrought iron for stately elegance and tall wood slats for privacy.- Credit
- Karen Cole Banack
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Choosing exterior paint colours Choosing exterior paint colours
Choosing exterior paint colours ofChoosing exterior paint colours Your house is your public face; if you make a mistake when you paint the outside, the whole neighbourhood will know. Also, in terms of labour and cost, repainting the exterior is a far more involved proposition than doing an interior room. Fortunately, finding the perfect exterior colour scheme really just means doing a little extra homework first. There are some rules of thumb and a number of new resources to get you started. Many designers offer colour consultations at a reasonable fee or even specialize in this art; check the Yellow Pages or provincial interior design associations, or ask at a paint store. And both Para Paints and General Paint have created software that allows you to scan in a photo of your home and "paint" it any colour the company offers. If you don't want to buy the actual software, some General Paint stores offer their service for a fee.Whether you choose to consult professionals or rely on your own eye, colour designer Janice Lindsay says there's a big difference between interiors and exteriors: in a word, it's context. "It's not necessarily what you might like -- it's what goes with your neighbours' houses," she says. Dos and don'tsDo test colours on bristol board. Outside light changes during the day and seasonally, and can dramatically affect a colour's appearance. Do consider neighbouring houses; your home is part of the overall streetscape. Don't use white as trim on a house with unpainted brick; it's outdated and artificial looking. Rich neutrals that complement the tone of the wall material enhance its natural beauty. Do paint trim white on a house whose exterior is a neutral or rich colour -- it's a crisp, fresh look. Don't paint vinyl siding a much darker colour than its original shade -- one or two shades darker is fine, but not more. Unlike metals and wood, which can accept any colour with the proper surface preparation and primer, the increased heat absorption of dark colours can cause vinyl to buckle or warp, ruining an expensive paint job. Don't paint your house yourself unless you're experienced; a professional job is worth the investment.- Credit
- Martha Uniacke Breen
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Outdoor holiday decor Outdoor holiday decor
Outdoor holiday decor ofFront doors Creating a fabulous outdoor display isn't necessarily difficult. Whether you prefer a simple, elegant look or an all-out celebration in lights, here's how to design a scheme that has all the magic of the season.THE FRONT DOORFor most homes, the front door is the natural focal point of a scheme. Use a combination of these ideas to give it holiday cheer.WreathsChoose a minimum diameter of 24 inches. Fatten up a cedar or pine wreath with materials from the garden, like wisteria vines, magnolia leaves, pinecones and berry sprigs. Alternatives to standard greenery include grapevines and boxwood. Add colour with outdoor wire-reinforced ribbon. For a dressier look, try spray-painting embellishments in gold, copper or silver. Or consider more unusual materials: Michael Renaud of Horticultural Design in Toronto suggests a wreath of juniper boughs and lichen moss for a stunning grey, blue and green combo. To hang a wreath on a metal door use magnetic clips from florist, garden and hardware stores, which won't mar the surface (for glass doors, use a two-sided version). On wood doors, opt for a picture hook, or try a “cradle,” a long hook that hangs from the top of the door. GarlandsBeef up artificial or evergreen garlands of pine or cedar with additional greenery, or add natural embellishments such as pinecones, berries, or dried or artificial fruit. How to hang: Snap the garland at the corners for a crisp turn. Screw small eye hooks into the wood frame and use floral wire to tie the garland down. On brick, use masonry nails to anchor the wire. LightingBattery-operated lights won't interfere with the operation of the door. UrnsGreenery-filled urns can last a long time. AlternativesHang a lush bouquet or wicker basket of dried flowers or grasses on the door.Display an evergreen bough over a door like an eyebrow; attach pinecones, berries and silver balls along the length. Windows and landscaping WINDOWSWreathsIf you have a Georgian-style facade (a central door flanked by windows), go for the Victorian tradition of wreaths on the door and every window. To hang: Shawn Gibson of Teatro Verde in Toronto advises hanging the wreath with fishing line from an anchor point, like a magnetic hook or a nail in the window frame (not in the sash, which can weaken it). To secure the wreath, hammer a second nail six inches to one side of the first nail, and run wire from the second nail to the side of the wreath.LightingLighted windows look cosy. For a party, pillar candles on a wide window ledge add a festive look (keep away from curtains). For safety, put tea lights or votives in glasses, as Toronto-based interior designer Carol McFarlane does, or use hurricane lamps or lanterns. Window boxesFill boxes with evergreen boughs, or as floral designer Frank Rea of Forget Me Not in Oakville, Ont., suggests, “plant” the boxes with closely spaced greenery, live ivy or hardy bulbs. Cover the soil with chicken wire to keep animals out; in milder climes, bulbs may sprout, especially if they've been forced.LANDSCAPINGHighlighting shrubsInstead of putting lights on your shrubs, small white spotlights tucked underneath provide a warm glow; opt for red, amber, copper or green, instead of white, for a festive look. Uplights also look dramatic under deciduous trees. The backyardThis area is for family, and, says Carol McFarlane, nothing's cosier than a glance out the back window at a tree aglow with lights. Interior decorator Marjorie Paradine suggests decorating an evergreen (cut or planted) for the birds. Hang suet and peanut butter balls, popcorn and cranberry garlands, and seed bells. Other architectural featuresDress other prominent features in seasonal finery, too. Hang a wreath on a front gate or a garage door. Swag garlands along a fence, a porch banister, on the three faces of a bay window, or wrapped barber-pole style around columns. Add bows, if you like.- Credit
- Martha Uniacke Breen
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The holiday issue
In this issue
Happy holidays!
Gift guide: We shopped till we dropped to find the best gifts for all the home lovers on your list; Going green: Make your home look freshly festive with do-it-yourself projects featuring lush greenery like moss, silver sage, myrtle and ferns; Decor... more -
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