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New exterior cladding, a moss garden and a multipurpose room are among the updates to a 1950s residence in the American Midwest revamped by design studio Haus.

The project, called Midcentury Renovation, is situated on a wooded property in Indianapolis encompassing just under an acre. The surrounding area is known for the presence of several exemplary midcentury modern dwellings built in the 1950s and 1960s.

The clients purchased the midcentury modern home – built in 1956 and designed by Bill Wright of the Indiana firm Vonnegut, Wright, and Porteous – in 2015, after leaving a note for the owner expressing an interest in buying the property if it became available.

“A few years later, the call and opportunity finally arose,” said Haus, a local architecture studio.

The three-bedroom home had remained unchanged over the decades with the exception of minor renovations in 1967 by the original owner, who lived there until 2013. The architects were charged with enlarging and renovating the low-slung dwelling shaded by mature trees.

“Having worked with this client on their previous mid-mod renovation project in 2011, we were excited about the prospect of working with them again on something more comprehensive,” said Haus.

The clients presented the team with a list of goals and priorities. The initial planning process included Haus, an interior designer and the owners, who together conceived various options for the 2,260-square-foot (210-square-metre) dwelling, which was in dire need of repairs.

The original redwood siding was damaged due to woodpeckers and insects, and the home’s flat roof required significant upgrades. The interior also called for an overhaul.

“This house needed everything,” said the architects. “The wooded site and location in the city was excellent, but the house was 60 years old with mostly original finishes and fixtures, including original cork floors, and excellent examples of custom wood built-ins that didn’t fit the new vision for refurbishment.”

Sitting atop a concrete foundation, the wood-framed home was re-clad in vertical-groove, poly-ash siding with a smooth finish. Strips of cedar with an ebony stain were used for the entrance area and a dog run.

The team installed a new membrane roof that channels stormwater to “rain chains” on the side of the home. Existing roof overhangs were retained and refurbished.

Haus revamped the main entrance, adding an “inside-out entry wall” that frames the entry sequence and a garden. The same-style wall fronts the bedroom wing, helping provide privacy and security while still allowing natural light to pass through large windows.

Inside, the team made a series of modifications. The entrance features slate tile flooring and a wooden wall that mimics the exterior cladding.

A new flexible area – dubbed the “everything room” – was added just off the foyer and serves as a mudroom, dog area, laundry room and a crafting workspace. In total, the team added 340 square feet (32 square metres) of space to the residence.

The open-plan living room features an original brick fireplace with a cantilevered concrete hearth. The room is fitted wood flooring, white walls and an eclectic mix of decor. Similarly, the kitchen and bedrooms feature a range of motifs and materials.

“A mix of period and more modern furnishings pair nicely with the interior finishes, lighting and fixtures to achieve a re-imagined interior respectful of the home’s roots and reflective of the owners’ aesthetic and lifestyle,” the team said.

Throughout the residence, floor-to-ceiling glass provides unobstructed views of the verdant lawn and surrounding woods. A screened porch with a black stove serves as a sheltered area for relaxing and feeling connected to the outdoors.

The team also modified the landscape around the dwelling. Trees and underbrush were strategically cleared to allow more natural light into the home, and modern hardscaping and vegetation, including a moss garden, help “articulate the indoor-outdoor connections”.

Indiana is an unlikely mecca for modernist architecture, but was spotlighted in a recent feature-length film set among the city of Columbus’ mid-century buildings. Also in the state, Fort Wayne boasts a set of gems by architects including Louis Kahn, Eero Saarinen, Michael Graves and more.

Photography is by HAUS Architecture For Modern Lifestyles

Project credits:

Architect: HAUS Architecture for Modern Lifestyles
Team: Christopher Short, principal; Derek Mills, project architect; Paul Reynolds, architect
Interior design: HAUS with Design Studio Vriesman (Tom Vriesman)
Renovation general contractor: Wrightworks (Christopher Wright)
Landscape architect design-build: A2 Design (Eric Anderson)

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SpaceX CEO, and Tesla founder, Elon Musk will send his own Tesla Roadster sports car to space today, aboard the maiden flight of the Falcon Heavy rocket.

Described by Musk as “the most powerful rocket in the world by a factor of two,” the Falcon Heavy will take off today, with launch time from the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida scheduled for 6.30pm.

Following in the tradition of strange payloads carried by SpaceX, including a wheel of cheese onboard the Dragon capsule, the Falcon heavy will carry the tech entrepreneur’s own Tesla Roadster sports car into space.

The car will be driven by a space-suited dummy dubbed by Musk as “Starman”, with the soundtrack of David Bowie’s “Life on Mars?” set to be playing during the launch.

“I love the thought of a car drifting apparently endlessly through space and perhaps being discovered by an alien race millions of years in the future,” Musk wrote in a Tweet.

If successful, the rocket will carry the Roadster over 250 million miles (400 million kilometres) from Earth at over seven miles per second.

The car will be equipped with three cameras that, according to Musk, will provide “epic views” of the assent.

“Whether the rocket succeeds or fails, it’s gonna be exciting. People are coming from all around the world to see what will either be a great rocket launch, or the best fireworks display they’ve ever seen,” Musk told CNN.

Designed to have more than twice the lifting capacity of the next closest operational vehicle, United Launch Alliance’s Delta IV Heavy, the Falcon Heavy has the ability to lift nearly 64 metric tonnes (141,000 lb) into orbit.

According to the company, this is a mass greater than a 737 jetliner loaded with passengers, crew, luggage and fuel. Only NASA’s Saturn V rocket, last flown in 1973, has delivered a heavier payload into orbit.

The aircraft has a triple-booster configuration, consisting of three of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rockets, all equipped with 27 Merlin engines that can generate more than five million pounds of combined thrust at take-off.

Following lift-off, both two side boosters are designed to detach from the central core and return to landing sites for reuse. The central booster will continue to travel, but is also designed to return to earth for reuse, with a landing planned on a drone ship located in the Atlantic Ocean.

According to the company, Falcon Heavy has been designed to carry humans into space and restore the possibility of flying missions with crew to the Moon or Mars – an intention that aligns with Musk’s plans to start colonising the planet in 2022.

The Falcon Heavy launch time is 6.30pm. The launch will be broadcast live on the SpaceX website.

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Rich colours, curved shapes and heavy fabrics all feature in the latest collection from Swedish furniture brand Fogia, which is launching at Stockholm Design Week.

A curved armchair by Luca Nichetto, a set of brown-hued ceramic dishes by Note Design Studio and a tan-leather seat by Stefan Borselius are among the 14 products in Fogia’s 2018 collection, which combines Scandinavian minimalism with 1970s forms and colours.

Other highlights include a set of geometric upholstered poufs, a side table and shelving unit with matching circular details, and a series of patterned rugs.

“We always strive to make furniture with international elegance,” said company CEO Marcus Huber. “We create high-quality furniture with a design that lasts for a long time – that’s our philosophy.”

Stockholm-based Note Design Studio has contributed three designs to the collection. As well as the pedestal-shaped Upp ceramics, the studio designed a glass pendant light that resembles stretched fabric in shape, and a huge oak table that pays tribute to Japanese joinery.

According to Note’s co-founder Cristiano Pigazzini, the table was originally designed as a meeting table for its own office.

“Our idea was to make something that you never throw away, that lasts forever,” he explained. “It’s a very simple construction, inspired by the Japanese way of pinning.”

Pigazzini also worked with the other designers that created pieces for the collection, to ensure they all shared a similar aesthetic.

Italian designer Luca Nichetto took inspiration from a bean when creating the curves of his Mame armchair. It features a rounded profile, black metal legs and plump upholstery.

“The idea was to make a very classic shape – a match between classic Scandinavian design and a classic French chair, with a high back,” said Nichetto.

Nichetto also designed the Print rugs, some of which are patterned with small squares that vary in tone and proportion, and some of which are adorned with ladder-like stripes.

Other chairs in the range include a lounge chair with wooden legs by Danish studio Norm Architects and a new version of Andreas Engesvik’s Bollo chair, which has become one of the most recognisable items in Fogia’s repertoire.

Swiss design duo Diiis created both the small Hawu shelving unit and the Gito side table. The table features a circular inset, which functions as a coaster, while the shelves feature semi-circular bookends.

The collection is completed by three designs from Stockholm-based designers: a new larger version of the modular Retreat sofa – designed by Monica Förster back in 2015 – the flower-inspired Poppy poufs by Nina Jobs, and the double-layer glass Big Sur table by Simon Klenell and Kristoffer Sundin.

The collection was unveiled at the Haymarket hotel as part of Stockholm Design Week 2018, which continues until 11 February. It is also on show at the Stockholm Furniture and Light Fair, which opened today.

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The post Fogia launches furniture collection that pays homage to the 1970s appeared first on Dezeen.

While browsing the Unclutterer Forums this afternoon I saw a post left by reader Marta Bergen:

I find de-cluttering overwhelming – depressing, exhausting, paralyzing. So I tried a different method – I will give myself ONE week to do ONE thing. A few weeks ago it was cleaning and decluttering the bathroom. I would spend ten minutes clearing out a drawer full of unused makeup, and the next day half an hour scrubbing the shower, but it worked!! It was the only thing on my to-do list aside from the bare-bones basics, like cook dinner & feed the dogs.

I can relate to Marta here. Uncluttering can be “depressing, exhausting and paralyzing,” especially if you’ve got a lot of other things to do, maintenance seems endless or you simply don’t know where to begin. I’ve been there myself and I suspect may other readers have, too.

Marta’s solution is a good one: focus on one activity and do not let not doing the other activities elicit any guilt. It is a fine example of breaking a project down into smaller steps. You can’t “unclutter the house” on Sunday, but you probably can clean out a drawer or clear off a shelf. Reward the victories and build momentum for more.

But there is no simple solution to feeling overwhelmed when it comes to cleaning and tidying. It’s an issue we’ve addressed over the years. In 2012, Erin listed eight steps to help you regain control of your life, including:

1. Start saying “no.” At least for the short term, you need to say “no” to as many new responsibilities as possible.
2. Get it out of your head. The next thing you need to do is get everything out of your mind and onto a sheet of paper.
3. Prioritize your list. Sort your list into four groups:
   1. Must get done for risk of losing job/life/significant income
   2. Would be nice to get done and I would enjoy doing the task
   3. Would be nice to get done but I don’t really want to do it
   4. Doesn’t need to get done right now/ever and I don’t really want to do it.

Occasionally it’s easy to pinpoint the source of the overwhelming feelings. You might inherit clutter, or be dealing with children’s toys, which seem to be in all places at all times. The one that gets to me — and apparently troubles Marta as well — is an overwhelming to do list.

I love making lists. It’s typically a calming exercise that helps me feel on top of what needs to be done. That is, until the list grows to a frightening size. That’s when it’s time to employ some strategy.

As Erin wrote previously:

1. Maintain perspective
2. Don’t lose sight of the details
3. Embrace some of the stress.
4. Take breaks.
5. Manage expectations.
6. Don’t extend the stress.
7. Celebrate.

It’s easy to feel overwhelmed when it comes to uncluttering. With a little preparation and planning, you can get back on track.

Post written by David Caolo