Monthly Archives: March 2012

Tree Stumps Bring the Forest In

I love trees. Trees to climb, trees to nap under, trees in the home. Yes, in the home. My husband has been routinely embarrassed by my carrying home logs and large twigs found on city walks in our neighborhood. Happily for me, trees in the house seem to be a current, if quirky trend. I’ve been enjoying seeing them pop up all over the place in the blogosphere and in stores like West Elm (I would never spend $199 on a stump!). Though I wouldn’t generally say that I’m a trend follower in fashion and decor, I’m genuinely pleased when our paths converge on a good idea. Back in November, I delighted in seeing this home tour on Design Sponge‘s Sneak Peek home tours:

Amanda Happé is a talented artist and senior designer at Bruce Mau Design living in Brockton Village, Toronto. Her spare space is full of stumps from important trees in her life that were eventually cut down, imbuing her home with the importance of her roots and honoring the idea of place in the heart and memory.

See the full tour here.

I’ll be sharing a fantastic DIY stump table soon, be sure to check back for instructions to make one of your own!

The Portland Collection 2012

Impossibly fresh vintage-inspired wooly beauty; The Portland Collection combines two wonderful things, Pendleton Woolen Mills‘ extensive heritage archives and the creative, romantic minds of some of Portland’s most talented designers (Nathaniel Crissman, Rachel Turk, and John Blasioli), to create a very hip, timeless line of sophisticated cozy clothing.

Each piece is a contemporary statement of carefully curated color, texture, and pattern that promises to endure. The Portland Collection debuted in 2011 with a fall line of clothing inspired by the Pendleton Heritage archive of design motifs and clothing styles, each item woven in Pendleton’s historic Northwest Mills and stitched in the USA. I have always loved Pendleton, and own several vintage pieces–no cabinologist’s wardrobe can do without! Last fall, I purchased the TPC 2011 poncho, an absolutely stunning, impeccably crafted garment that feels like wearing a blanket. Perfect for those cold Chicago days (and yes, I’d wear it cusp-of-winter fishing as depicted by Anthropologie below)

After such a warm reception, the new TPC Fall 2012 Lookbook doesn’t disappoint, either with a selectively restrained colorway, fabulous abstract blocked pattern geometries, and, of course, cozy silhouettes.  The blocked patterns are a nod to the limitations of historic weaving technologies used at the turn of the 20th century, which could not accommodate diagonal lines. Despite this historical technological shortcoming, the visual effect is decidedly modern, deconstructed, and fresh. Below are a few of my most coveted pieces. I haven’t yet whittled my favorites down to which indispensable  item I’ll be investing in this fall…but I’m sure to be wearing something from this stunning collection!

Not to mention the newly introduced beautiful TPC accessories and items for the home!

Find the collection this fall in a store near you here.

All images from The Portland Collection.

Punch Brothers

The Punch Brothers are a band that plays bluegrass instruments; their sound, however, has a chamber ensemble affinity and their music pushes the historical boundaries of their instruments; new grass with a Stop-and-Listen then Repeat kind of effect. Alec Wilkinson in the New Yorker recently described the Brothers as a “postmodern, punk-inflected, Bach-Stravinsky-Coltrane-influenced string band.” And the sound of their new album Who’s Feeling Young Now? is indeed a refreshed, experimental sound–turn up the stereo and contemplate a listening experience that unfolds like a meditation or prayer tempered with an existentialist sentiment.

We’re pretty big fans of Bluegrass and Americana in our house, listening to the old and the contemporary and seeking out live performances and festivals whenever possible. New Grass often means improvised in a jam-band kind of a way, and I really appreciate the more jazz-improv sound that comes out of this band as a more thought provoking experimental alternative.

Here’s a couple examples of their earlier songs that have a more traditional bluegrass feel:

Who’s Feeling Young Now? was released last month to considerable critical acclaim. The album has an overall conceptual cohesiveness as well as a unity of sound within the songs without dampening the virtuosity of each musician and really showcases how the individual band members have come together to create a unique sound-philosophy. Every time I listen to it, I like it a bit more. There’s something decidedly less bluegrass about it, but also somehow more wild, atonal, meditative, loose. In other words, it approaches that cabin-state-of-mind I’m looking for.

Further exemplifying their versatility and virtuosity, they delve into the classical–pushing the limits of their Bill Monroe-style “Original Bluegrass Band” (mandolin, fiddle, upright bass, banjo, and guitar). There’s a reason why they’ve been getting so much attention of late.

DIY Cabin in the Woods?

Is it terribly irresponsible of my husband and I to be hatching a plan to buy and build a cabin before we have a house or a 401K? Maybe. Probably Yes. However, we do believe that we will be metropolitan center dwellers for many years to come, which, our career paths not laid with golden bricks, will necessarily involve remaining apartment-renters for a long while yet. Before you judge us as irresponsible dreamers, you should probably know that as long as what you want from a cabin is truly a rustic natural getaway, this can be had for remarkably less than you might guess. My personal tastes do run a bit high; I would love to find a squared-log frontier cabin circa 1790 (see the mountain listing near Bald Knob for just $1.1M), but there are some really beautiful modern (and green) designs out there that get the rustic-union-with-the-land thing just right. I really like the modern lines and extreme simplicity of this structure. It works beautifully in the forest setting amidst the tall trees.

via Sunset magazine

This Oregon couple managed to buy and build this cabin for $57,000 including a small wilderness parcel of land.  This little abode, the Signal Shed, is off the grid with views of Wallowa Lake six hours northeast of Portland. Mariah Morrow and Ryan Lingard designed the building to be a simple one-room outpost nearby Forest Service trails and surrounded by wilderness; perfect to hike and bike in summer and snowshoe or cross-country ski in winter.  The cabin features an 8-foot tall barn door that slides open onto a porch, creating additional living space. The structure cost them just $10,000! Mind you, Ryan happens to have a background in architecture. I do love to swing a hammer and use a table saw, but this project might require some schooling (and a posse of handy & constructive friends and family)…

They sell plans for the cabin for $1000 or a prefab version for $18,000. See the plans at Signal-Shed.

Here’s how they did it:

color images by Thomas J. Story for Sunset

So, if we follow this couple’s lead, we’ll be driving the dirt county roads out to our cabin from our rental apartment in the city before too long! Little DIY Cabin, here we come!

The Promise of Adventure: Decorating with Maps

Whether or not you own a cabin, lodge, or cottage, every cabinologist ought to have a collection of maps of their local or favorite terrains and trails. Finding your way using a map is such a powerful feeling; I love to pour over contour maps and identify landmarks, ridges, rivers, trails and knobs. Maps are such beautiful scientific instruments.

Maps are also wonderfully warm and worldly when displayed on walls. It’s like hanging the promise of adventure. And however humble your budget or your space, the US Department of the Interior can hook you up with amazing topographic 7.5 minute maps for $8 each, searchable by state and location; they have vintage and contemporary maps available. The online store needs a bit of help, but getting your hands on these great maps is worth the inefficiencies. Even better, you can pick up the 20 x 28″ Birch Ribba frame from Ikea for $19, which fits the map almost perfectly (you’ll need to trim 1.5 inches). The maps are all downloadable at printer’s quality, above is just a small part of a map of Valle Crucis, NC, one of my favorite places in my favorite state.

I thought I’d look up some examples of decor using maps, and here are a few of my favorites:

via apartment therapy

via inspire bohemia

via high street market / ampersand vintage modern

see an incredible collection of cartographic rooms at inspire bohemia

Happy trails!

Cabin Style: L.L. Bean Signature

I received the spring L.L. Bean Signature catalog in the mail a couple of weeks ago, and fell head over heels for their cotton madras dress ($79, free shipping and L.L. Bean’s no questions lifetime guarantee). Signature is a relatively new label that features vintage- and L.L. Bean archive-inspired designs that embrace an outdoor leisure lifestyle. Generally, I have always loved the men’s line (I have bought many things for my husband here) but have found the women’s line less appealing/more difficult to wear–until now!

A fantastic colorway in a comfortable, cute and somewhat sporty style, wearing it would without a doubt get you in the cabin-state-of-mind no matter where you are. This dress is at the top of my list for this season, and I’ve put together a couple sets featuring some other L.L. Bean items to transition it from early spring (its currently snowing in Chicago) to summer at the cabin.

1. commuter trench, LL Bean; 2. l’autre chose moccasins in brown, Yoox; 3. navy modal wool rib tights, TopShop; 4. vintage metal field watch, L.L. Bean Signature; 5. selima sophia sunglasses in bronzed beige, J.Crew; 6. niagara falls beaded belt, Knus

7. linen/modal cardigan in coastal dune, L.L. Bean Signature; 8. wide braided belt, J.Crew; 9. keaton sunglasses, Rag & Bone; 10. twist wooden bangle, Cocoheishe.com; natural wood bangle in cedar, thewoodlot.etsy.com; 12. thin braid hurache in green, urban outfitters; 13. canvas/leather hobo bag, L.L. Bean Signature