‘Design’ Category

Sparing New Materials, Brooklyn Alley Bowls Strike With Adult Play-pin

Thursday, July 9, 2009 3:26PM - By

brooklyn bowl1 Sparing New Materials, Brooklyn Alley Bowls Strike With Adult Play pin

A bowling shrine unlikely to attract the staggering, distended bellies and Bud Light Lime-infused sweaty sheen sopped off hobby leaguers at the alleys that populate most of this country, New York’s newly renovated Brooklyn Bowl is also part restaurant, bar and venue and looks like a ball.

Inhabiting the 23,000 square-foot former warehouse home of Hecla Iron Works, the alley was painstakingly retrofitted to house 16 pristine lanes and a 600-capacity performance space. Touted as the world’s first bowling alley built for L.E.E.D certification, Brooklyn Bowl is wind-powered and uses LED lights, reclaimed cork flooring, recycled truck tire stage flooring and re-purposed wood and glass throughout. Sixteen flat-screen TVs are spread throughout the alley, along with nine projectors and eight HD Cineflex screens and a state-of-the art stage lighting and sound system. The best part: Brooklyn Bowl’s “no bottle” or can policy, which means the bar stocks beers worth pouring into a glass. [via brooklynbowl, pics by Adam Macchia]

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Big Green Egg: For Serious Charcoal Grilling

Thursday, July 9, 2009 12:30PM - By

big green egg Big Green Egg: For Serious Charcoal Grilling

Big Green Egg Grill – If you’re strictly a burgers and dogs kind of griller, move along. Everyone else, meet the Big Green Egg. It’s eponymous shape makes it ideal for grilling foul, as the 18-inch model supports up to a 20-pound turkey. For smaller stuff, there’s a tactical advantage: The ceramic shell allows the Big Green Egg to reach temperatures of 600 degrees, but it can also keep a low heat of 200 degrees for smoking briskets and ribs. And because the shell manages heat so efficiently, the egg uses less charcoal than a more conventional grill. Who knows, maybe the savings will reimburse the $700 price tag over time. You’d have to do a lot of grilling, but why wouldn’t you? [via About]

Award-winning, Spacious $2.8 Million Manhattan Triplex

Tuesday, July 7, 2009 1:00PM - By

west 89th nyc9 Award winning, Spacious $2.8 Million Manhattan Triplex

With its 11-foot ceilings, trio of balconies and west Manhattan address, the penthouse triplex at 105 W. 89th Street is a spacious, functional oasis at the cluttered city center. Architects at Marble Fairbanks combined two townhouses for the $2.8 million condo, which was built for the founder of a large health-care company. The owner tasked the architects to create a home that could also serve both work functions and social events and be easily converted to accommodate out-of-town business guests. The three-story, 2,450 square-foot condo has a 600 square-foot rooftop terrace, four bedrooms, a large atrium skylight, a pair of wood burning fireplaces, electronic window shades and a home theater and has won awards from the AIA and has been featured in several design publications. [realtor]

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$35 Million Hamptons Retreat Built By Architectural Icon

Friday, July 3, 2009 12:00PM - By

johnsonhampt $35 Million Hamptons Retreat Built By Architectural Icon

With more than three acres of prime, oceanfront real estate, this 5,000 square-foot Hamptons home was built by architectural icon Philip Johnson and was built in 1946 amid the dunes of Sagaponack. The eight-bed/seven-bath home was built atop wooden piers and has a glass-enclosed living room with expansive ocean views. The $35 million home has 363 feet of covetable Hamptons shoreline, accessed via a long wooden boardwalk and located a good distance from any public beaches. Outside the home, a “freeform” swimming pool, tennis court and chipping/putting green and a basketball court. [via luxist]

$38 Million Tennessee Titan Has 135 Acres, Its Own Lake

Thursday, July 2, 2009 1:00PM - By

moran franklin home1 $38 Million Tennessee Titan Has 135 Acres, Its Own Lake

Flanked by Tennessee’s Harpeth River and a 135-acre equestrian estate, the Franklin home at 1301 Moran is a charming and massive empire for the most epic southern spenders. The $38 Million home has six bedrooms and eight bathrooms spread throughout 18,600 square feet. Built in 1997, the waterfront home sits aside a stocked 10-acre lake and has a boat house so scenic, it could be mistaken for a “Dawson’s Creek” filming location. Also on the property: A swimming pool, 20-car garage, gymnasium with indoor basketball court, a two-bedroom log cabin that overlooks the river and a horse stable and barn with its own two-bedroom apartment… you know, in case Millie the Mare has company. [via realtor]

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Once Sammy Hagar’s, Malibu Beach Digs A $10.9 Million Ticket

Wednesday, July 1, 2009 1:00PM - By

malibu beach house1 Once Sammy Hagars, Malibu Beach Digs A $10.9 Million Ticket

A rustic getaway with a staircase that descends onto the Pacific sand, this California beach house has uninterrupted ocean views and a historic quirkiness reminiscent of older Malibu. Once owned by Sammy Hagar, the “Red Rocker” of Van Halen and overrated (and overpriced) tequila fame, the six-bedroom, 5,000 square-foot home is surrounded by trees and Nantucket-style gardens. The $10.9 million estate has polished teak floors, hand-carved structural beams and four “artistic” fireplaces. Outside, guests can relax on a bluff-edge sundeck or take in the views of Point Dume and the Santa Barbara Islands from the hot tub. [via luxist]

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‘Apes’ Estate: Estella Warren’s $1.95 Million Home For Sale

Tuesday, June 23, 2009 2:00PM - By

estella warren estate1 Apes Estate: Estella Warrens $1.95 Million Home For Sale

Model-turned-“Planet of the Apes” remake actress Estella Warren recently put her Beverly Hills home on the market for a price so reasonable, celebrity real estate blogs have started questioning her urgency. Built in 1959, the “Regency style,” single-story home is small by Hollywood standards — only 2,250 square-feet — and at $1.95 million, doesn’t come with many of the glitzy trappings of other area estates. Though you won’t find a plush media room or giant eat-in kitchen, the home does have quaintness many Beverly Hills homes lack, like French doors, colored glass in the bathroom and charming cabinetry and tile work. The home has been freshened up with white paint, neutral furniture and colorful accents. Fun fact: Warren’s home is just down the street from where the Polanski/Tate home once stood (it was demolished in 1994, thankfully after Trent Reznor and Marilyn Manson recorded albums there) at 10050 Cielo Drive, the address that marked the scene for the Manson Family murders. [via luxist]

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Frank Lloyd Wright’s Ennis House, Seen in Blade Runner, On Sale Now

Monday, June 22, 2009 12:00PM - By

ennishouse4 Frank Lloyd Wrights Ennis House, Seen in Blade Runner, On Sale Now

Frank Lloyd Wright Ennis House for Sale – Fixer upper types looking for a potentially huge payoff should consider Frank Lloyd Wright’s Ennis House, which still looks great from the outside considering its dilapidated condition. Wright used pre-cast concrete blocks to build the home in Los Feliz, Calif., giving it the feel of a Mayan temple. The Ennis House took earthquake damage in 1994 and deterioration from heavy rains 2004 and 2005. Locals also aren’t too keen on the place, yet its appearance in the 1982 film Blade Runner made it a favorite spot for tourists until it closed to the public in 2007. Stabilization efforts are partially completed, but the money is gone and there’s more work to be done. For $15 million, plus millions more in repairs, this masterwork is yours, but it’s twice as expensive as anything on our previous list of for-sale Wright homes. [via The Guardian]

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Week In Design: Best of DesignCrave for Monday, June 22nd

Monday, June 22, 2009 11:15AM - By

Azadi Week In Design: Best of DesignCrave for Monday, June 22nd

DesignCrave takes a  closer look at the history of Iran’s captivating Azadi Tower and its significance in the recent political protests. They also supplement last week’s mini-Chicago with paper models of New York City’s iconic buildings and structures.  Take a ride aboard the most geometrical bike that you’ve ever seen before lying down in a unique house set amidst the trees. You’ll also find a braille-based mobile phone, user-defined doorbell “ringtones” and an artistic take on the classic Plymouth Road Runner muscle car.