Emergency Offbeat Post!!! – it was an emergency post for a reason, a good one, this structure rocked. It still does.

How to Use Spam to Build an Offbeat House – I think Alessandro Ludovico creates genius work. Due to the utter lack of comments and views this post got, no one apparently agrees with me. I don’t care. It’s still one of my fave Sept posts.

Current Obsession: The Camouflage House – my obsession is still strong; I love this house.

50 Soul Warming Ways to Inspire the Next Generation of Offbeat Architects – I really liked this post, and better yet, so did my son Cedar. He still asks to see it.

Post from: Blisstree

The Best of Offbeat Homes: September 2007

By the way I seemed way more obsessed with the Camouflage House than anyone else which proves my point. Offbeat is subjective.

I’ve been considering this question because the first architects I wanted to use for the new weekly feature is SALA Architects. They aren’t completely wacky so I almost changed my mind. I didn’t however and here’s why. I think SALA is offbeat in a way that still appeals to a broad base. As in offbeat livable. Most of us like to see homes like the Toilet House but come on; is it livable? Would you build a house like it? Likely not.

This is where I’m coming from with SALA. This is a company that builds homes unlike what most of us see in our surrounding neighborhoods — thus offbeat and yet you could see yourself living there. That might be the best kind of offbeat home. Livable, doable, not so odd that three people in the universe might actually move in.

On to this week’s featured architect:

SALA Architects are based in Minnesota; in Minneapolis, Excelsior, and Stillwater. Stillwater, by the way, is a town you have to visit if you happen to be in Minnesota (it’s slick).

SALA builds some really amazing structures and they can work with a green slant if a home buyer wishes. The best thing about SALA is what I mentioned above; SALA architects, for the most part, do not build average homes as in you stop and take another look but their homes aren’t so unaverage that you’d shun them as unlivable. A nice mix.

The Freeman House in River Falls, Wisconsin by Wayne Branum is striking.

This is one of my favorite SALA homes. I love when simplicity can draw you in like this and the home doesn’t overpower the landscape. Also, this home was built on a restricted budget so see… anyone can build beautiful. It is in River Falls which is where my in-laws live so I could never live in this specific home but I’d live in it elsewhere.

Now you really need to go see the last picture of The Freeman House home at the SALA website. The floor in this home is beautiful. However, and here is my SALA complaint; they have one of those wonky architect sites where you can’t bookmark specific pages. That’s a bummer because it makes it hard for me to make it easy for you to visit.

Still, their website is worth visiting. If you like to see the plans for this home visit the SALA Architects website, click on designers, click on Wayne Branum, and it’s the 4th house on his list.

See, now I always wonder why so many amazing architects have poorly designed websites. If I wanted to bookmark home ideas as a buyer I couldn’t do it — it’s not user friendly. However, this isn’t a web design 101 blog so I’ll leave it at that. In spite of the website I really do adore SALA so we’ll take a look at a couple more homes from them this week.

Until then I’m wondering about my original question — what does Offbeat mean to you. Do you only think homes underwater deserve the title? Is an all lavender home with red polka dots offbeat of merely the result of too much beer? Is beauty offbeat? Is small beyond belief or ugly offbeat?

I’m curious what the readers of Offbeat Homes think so let me know. Consider it some market research — just a dabble.

Post from: Blisstree

Featured Architect of the Week: SALA Architects

Here’s the deal. I’m moving and a little off centered, tired, and frustrated and I want to look at beautiful things to cheer me up so I’m posting the house. It’s not obscenely offbeat but obsession can be quirky so here goes…

Back in May AIA Wisconsin recognized some architects and their projects. Many won honors but this one house was my absolute favorite. The house has won other awards as well — AIA is just where I noticed it first. The Camouflage House is in Green Lake, Wisconsin (a beautiful area in itself) and I think that the design really honors the area; it doesn’t overpower the land and trees surrounding it.

I LOVE how the colors play off woodland colors.

I need a house with windows and a view like this. Everything about this house is peaceful. The lines, hue, the smoothness, everything. Did I mention I’m obsessed.

Here’s what completely won me over though. Look at this house in the evening.

Ok, you know when you’re on a long road trip and you drive at night to save time. And maybe you feel like you’re in the middle of nowhere and then… all of a sudden you catch a glimpse of twinkling lights breaking the night sky. You can see in the windows slightly and the home is so settled and lit from within that you wish you could stop driving and move in.

I hope that’s not just me. And yes, I’ve been on far too many road trips but this is how this house feels when you see it. Like you could stay if you stopped — welcoming but still secluded. I guess I’ve got a thing about how a house looks in the dusk or evening. Johnsen and Schmaling actually pull off this home at night deal quite nicely with another home they designed, the Lake House a home you really should see.

There are numerous other slides of the Camouflage house at the Johnsen Schmaling Architects website. While you’re there I’d absolutely hit the Lake House and maybe the Ferrous House too.

These young (they look young) architects are not just fluff either. There is an article about Johnsen Schmaling Architects at Architecture Information from Architectural Record where you can grab a taste of some of their views on transforming urban design. I can’t wait to see what’s next from these two.

Wow. You know, that was smart. I do feel way more relaxed now that I’ve posted this.

How about you? Would you love to live in a home that looks beautiful at night — does that play into your thinking about structures?

Post from: Blisstree

Current Obsession: The Camouflage House