Living Well in Westchester

Concreteworks is a design studio specializing in the craft of concrete. They’ve developed a lightweight concrete-based composite that allows them to fabricate countertops, bath tubs, sinks, tile, furniture and pretty much anything else they can dream up.

Living Well Link of the Week: Concreteworks Studio

This is a re-post from a year ago. Happy Independence Day.

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On this Independence Day weekend, please take time to remember those who have fought (and continue to fight) for our freedom.

July 4th is so much more than a day of hot dogs and fireworks.

Two hundred and thirty one years ago, fifty-six very brave and courageous men signed the Declaration of Independence. In doing so, they risked everything, including their own lives and the safety of their families.

Independence. Freedom. It was an almost impossible thing to accomplish, but they did it simply because it was the right thing to do.

When I see my mom sitting in an Adirondack chair holding my son in her arms, both watching the sun set over the St. Lawrence River, I thank God that there were people willing to do the right thing so many generations ago.

The 4th of July is only a date. Independence and freedom are the reasons we celebrate.

Happy Independence Day.

Last week, one of our custom kitchens was in the running to be selected for an HGTV promo. Susan Serra, The Kitchen Designer, announced on her blog that the Home and Garden TV network was in search of a suburban kitchen in the NYC area. We’re located in the NYC area and we’ve designed several suburban kitchens, so I pursued the lead. After some back and forth with the spot’s producer, HGTV and the promo’s sponsor selected another kitchen. Oh well… I think I would rather hold out for a feature anyway!

I just wish they had the opportunity to meet our client. Marissa Hardie is the chef for whom we designed the kitchen. She is a great person, a talented chef and has a perfect personality for TV. I have no doubt that Food Network will be knocking on her door someday.

Coming down from such a close call with our 15 minutes (or 60 seconds) of fame, today I had the great opportunity to be interviewed by Howard Greenstein. He is is a Social Media Strategist and Evangelist, and President of the Harbrooke Group, which specializes in helping companies communicate with their customers using the latest Web technologies. We discussed how blogging and the Internet has helped in the success of Fivecat Studio. He used our conversation as the basis of the first post at his new blog for Inc.com, the official website of Inc. magazine.

We have a full roster of great projects, a talented team of happy architects (we had performance reviews this week) and the best clients in Westchester. Now it’s time to let the rest of the world know what we do and how we do it. Exposure like this will certainly help with that goal.

A sincere “Thank You” to Susan for the lead and to Howard for the opportunity.

It was a good week.

Summer has officially started here at Fivecat Crossing (that’s what we call our little cottage in the woods).

The boys are out of school and into the pool. Mom and Dad are off to the river and and Annmarie and I are trying to get comfortable with the new routines of the season. Camp, swim lessons, tennis and lots and lots of work. Life is good. We just need to get used to it.

We’re not scheduled for a vacation at the river until late August, so I’ll just have to keep dreaming about the warm breezes, cool water and amazing sunsets until we get there. Ian Coristine’s photography makes me feel like I am already there. I love the river. My long time readers already know; it’s one of my favorite places.

Is there one place in the world that makes you feel at total peace? No worries? No responsibilities? The way you felt when you ran through the lawn sprinkler as a kid? A place where you can actually feel the stress melt away and your shoulders release from that 24 hour muscle tension that you don’t even know you have until you get there?  A place that makes you smile just thinking about it?

Where is your favorite place?

From Sonos.com:

Sonos is the first wireless, multi-room digital music system that lets you play all your favorite music all over your house—and control it all from the palm of your hand. With a wireless Sonos® Controller in hand, you can find and play millions of songs—from select online music and radio services, your personal digital music collection, or all of the above.

And, with Sonos ZonePlayers™ in the rooms of your choice, you can play the same song in different rooms, or different songs in different rooms. To start listening, just grab the full-color Controller and simply pick a room, pick a song and hit play.

Cool Stuff: Sonos

The Maine Deck Bracket provides a nice solution for hanging a wood deck. This structural T6 aluminum bracket allows for a nice strong connection with minimal penetration. An air space between the deck and the house is created, which will keep the structural wood free of insects and water.

From DeckBracket.com:

Maine Deck Brackets are rugged aluminum extrusions, specifically designed for proper attachment of stairs, decks, signs, porches, or any other appendage to buildings or other structural uses. Maine Deck Brackets  allow attachments without creating openings for water, debris, or insects to enter. Our system design is so unique, it’s protected by two patents!

For more installation photos, click here.

Thanks John.

Coffers are a nice way to break-up a large ceiling. This Fivecat Studio project has 10+ foot ceilings and this room is about 30′X30′. It’s a very big space. It will be used daily as a family room, but will also be a great place for entertaining friends and business associates.

In order to reduce the scale of the room and add some texture to the ceiling, we designed a coffered ceiling with stained mahogany beams and painted drywall coffer panels.

The town requires us to provide a fire sprinkler system for this project and since the beams are not structural, they make a convenient place to hide the CPVC piping. Located at beam intersections, the sprinkler heads will almost be invisible once the flush covers are installed.

Check out the craftsmanship on that mitered joint. Its nice to see a finish carpenter with passion and pride in his work.

Tip: Click the images for high-resolution.

My friend Peter is a branding consultant. He’s been contracted by several large corporations (names we all know and love). He is developing a structure in which they promote their many brands to us consumers and design professionals. Occasionally, he’ll stop by the studio to pick our brains.

What makes us specify one product over another?

Well, after we contrast and compare all our options and create a shortlist of the products we like most, we look for CAD files and PDF product specs.

My message to manufacturers… make your products simple to spec. Give us CAD files. Give us cut sheets to share with our clients and give us a simple specification that we can email or print for the contractor. Don’t hide it at the back end of the site. Make it easy to find and make it easy to use.

If our short list includes two products and one gives us CAD file and the other doesn’t. Which do you think we are specifying?

Want a few examples of companies doing it right? Check out Kohler and Subzero/Wolf.

Ever since my days in architecture school (its been a few years now), Centerbrook has always been one of my favorite firms. They design few homes these days, but I still love what they do. Their whimsical design style and attention to detail is always inspiring.

And they were green, way before it was cool to be green.

Centerbrook uses its own office as a laboratory for sustainable design. Hydro power and solar power generate approximately 30% of its annual electrical needs, a green roof covers a portion of its office, and the building itself was recycled from a nineteenth-century mill building.

Favorite Firm: Centerbrook Architects

Last week, Annmarie and I joined the whole Fivecat crew for the 6th Annual Castles of New Castle house tour organized by the New Castle Historic Society. It’s always a great show, but this year was even better.

In addition to several local historic homes, we enjoyed a walk through a 1960’s glass house inspired by Philip Johnson’s iconic glass house in New Canaan. White and black with glass walls from floor to ceiling, it was pure modern minimalism. Very cool.

As great as the glass house was, it did not compare to the Reisley House. Designed by Frank Lloyd Wright in in the early 1950’s, this Unsonian house was truly inspiring. Every view, every detail, every space was intentional. From the turned up roof on the carport welcoming you home, the small scale entry, the tall ceilings of the living room, the 6 foot high fireplace (with NO soot on the ceilings), to the visual and physical connection to the outdoors, it was just amazing.

How about a modern yankee gutter system hidden in the roof with no down spouts (see photo above - yes, they’re yankee gutters)? We all spent several minutes trying to figure out where Wright hid the drain pipes.

Last April, the New York Times published a great article about the Reisley House.

Look for a guided tour of Usonia in October. Mr. Reisley personally guides a tour of the famed Frank Lloyd Wright community each autumn.

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Photo by Suzanne DeChillo/The New York Times (no photos on the tour)