Archive for category General Design

I’m sure I’m not the only fan of Ferris Bueller around these parts and like me the first time you watched it you were probably very jealous of Ferris’ best friend Cameron Frye’s amazing house out in the woods! OK so he didn’t like his home life and his parents ignored him but I could definitely put up with that to live in that house (and occasionally steal my dads Ferrari…)

The house used in the film is in Highland Park, Illinois and is now up for sale at a reported $2.3 million (Realtor .com says it is now just $1.65 million). It is a steel and glass building which is cantilevered over a ravine, the ravine that the Ferrari ended up in after smashing through one of the huge glass panes!

The house was designed by A. James Speyer and David Haid, who are both quite notable 20th century architects and with the house being featured in the film it is definitely one of the most famous modern built houses.

If you are seriously thinking of buying the house and you have a very helpful bank who would be willing to lend you a ridiculous amount for a mortgage then you will need some actual details on the place. It is a 4 bedroom house with 4 bathrooms, it has 9 rooms overall on one level with a 6 car heated garage. The size of the house is 5300 sq ft and it has between 1 and 2 acres of land with it as well.

Sounds pretty good right? I know I’m going to be looking to switch accounts and send all my hard earned into an American bank that will loan me the rest… The pound is still loads more than the dollar right? Oh, no it isn’t, shame.

Pics via [Cool Hunting]

The beautiful city of Amsterdam is the capital and largest city of the Netherlands. Amsterdam means dam in the river Amstel and first settled in the late 12th century as a small fishing village but later became the countries most important port during the Dutch Golden Age, now the city is the financial and cultural capital and is home to 7 of the worlds top 500 countries including Philips and ING. In July 2010 the canals we added to the UNESCO World Heritage List.

The amazing canals, known as the Grachtengordel, are the centre piece of the city. In the early 17th century a plan was set out to create the canals for help with residential development and to help flood defence and water management. Sadly over the years several of the canals have become filled in and are now streets or open squares, but the survivors are still one of the main tourist attractions and reasons that people go on short Amsterdam breaks.

Obviously the canals are just one of the tourist attractions and the coffee shops that sell legal marijuana do attract quite a few people to the city. It would be silly to ignore that or say it didn’t.

The oldest building in Amsterdam is the Oude Kerk (Old Church) which was consecrated in 1306 and is one of only a few buildings in the city that are an example of Gothic architecture. Most of the city is in a Renaissance style thanks to architect Hendrick de Keyser principles and the Westertoren is the tallest church tower in Amsterdam and its style looks over the city.

It is definitely a city worth visiting and the styles and culture you will experience when you arrive are quite stunning when you think about just how modern and large the city has become. Flights to Amsterdam will take you within an easy 20 minute train ride of the city centre and from their it is best to join their cycling culture and explore the city on bike.

Because of the popularity of the very stylish TV show ‘Mad Men‘ Christina Hendricks has been thrust into public spotlight and has instantly become adored by everyone and her curvy features have given hope to all the women out there in plus sized clothing. With a more traditional hour glass shape compared to the modern standard of waifishly thin boyish looks like models such as Kate Moss, she has created a huge fanbase, some there for her role as Joan Holloway and some who have become a fan of her personal style on the red carpet.

The red haired actress was always going to become a bit of a fashion icon mainly because of Mad Men, a show set in the 50′s and 60′s in the super trendy heart of an advertising agency, where the men still drink and smoke by the bucket load and the women are either secretary’s or housewives. It is ultra stylish and everyone on the show looks absolutely perfect in their period perfect tailored suits and dresses.

The whole show has caused a resurgence in 50′s elegance with followers of the programme raving to anyone and everyone about just had cool it all is.

Christina Hendricks has been around for a while and doesn’t seem to be having any kind of backlash yet, could this be the very rarest of all icons – the mutually loved one?!