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Artful Collaboration
by admin on Oct.25, 2011, under Uncategorized
I have some pretty amazing friends, I must say. Several months ago I mentioned Ivan Spaller and Priscilla Glover in this blog when talking about their “Marlin House”. They are both artists in many ways and I finally had the opportunity to work with them in staging their latest masterpiece, “Barcelona Modern”. A long rectangular house with cut outs at the entrances and large steel-clad round windows, this is a home like you have never seen before and likely will never see again. Most of their houses are like this, as Spaller/Glover don’t like to repeat themselves and are only limited by their imaginations, which appear to actually have no limits. Every house is a stunner and an audible gasp is usually heard when entering their homes. The Marlin house was just a simple farm house before they got ahold of it and moved to Bouldin Creek, where they added hand-cut, custom gingerbread, marble floors (in the kitchen and baths), custom ballisters and trim throughout and a third story steel and glass gable in the master bedroom that has a breathtaking view of downtown.
Marlin House
The Bouldin Castle was their next project where they converted a 100 year old stacked stone church and continued the theme to roughly triple the size into this monumental structure, now already an icon of the Bouldin Creek neighborhood. They added a basement, large turret with spiral staircase that leads to the master suite and reading loft atop the tower, carriage house and expanded kitchen with coffered ceiling constructed on an inverted arc, by the way.
Bouldin Castle
Master bath in Bouldin Castle
Custom sink in guest bath
Barcelona Modern is no exception to their impressive portfolio. When they approached me about helping them stage it, I just brought them to the warehouse and let them pick the pieces they thought would fit their vision. I compared it to giving Picasso a palette with only colors I would chose: blasphemy! With lots of collaboration between us as well as feedback from their realtor Kenny Hilbig with Gottesman Residential, we came up with a winning combination in luxurious modern furnishings and artwork that reflects not only the quiet, minimal spirit needed to allow the house to shine, but also floral and nature photography from Stacy Kirk and Chris Carson. Andrew Anderson, Rebecca Bennett and Cheryl Finfrock also graciously supplied their amazing artwork to the project.
Other details in this home that stand out are the white oak floors laid in a chevron pattern, dramatic light fixtures throughout, perfectly round crystal door knobs and push button light fixtures that are a nod to the modernist trend in the 1920’s. My grandmother’s house had these same light switches so somehow they gave me a nostalgic feeling in this brand new construction. Spaller/Glover have a true appreciation for restoration and classical architecture so even though these three projects I have mentioned are essentially “new”, there is definitely a sense of history in each one.
Barcelona Modern exterior
Barcelona Modern living/dining areas
Barcelona Modern master bedroom
The market is hot!
by admin on Mar.22, 2011, under Around Austin, Uncategorized
We were able to rent out our little house on Krebs Lane (also on the market) for SXSW to some great folks from California and also prepped a gorgeous condo (Summit Oaks - stay tuned for photos!) for Bryan Cady with DEN Property Group for the market as well as SXSW to offset the costs for the owner.
Late February brought my first job with Cady at the Barton Place Condos. Beautiful condos in a super-secure building in an even more amazing location on Barton Springs right in the middle of the restaurant row of Uncle Billy’s, Chuy’s, Austin Java and Shady Grove. Walk to everywhere! See the virtual tour here!
Soon after the Barton Place Condo was complete I was finally able to work with a friend (through our music connections) Justine Smith with Moxie Realty Group. She has a great listing (also in 78704) that I was able to transition many pieces of the amazing art from Vireo Cove directly into. This was a fun project as the owners were very pro-art and decided to have the main living room set up as a formal type setting (art heavy) and then create a second living space upstairs in the loft for the TV/Family area. Thanks again to Sharon Kyle-Kuhn, Rebecca Bennett and Andrew Anderson for their generosity in allowing me to use their work. Here are some photos of these living spaces:
Peacock Loft
Finally (for this post anyway), the best news of all! We staged our third home for Stephen Ferguson and his amazing crew (we staged Whiteway and Intervail for him: both on the website) and 3 DAYS LATER they received a contract! This is incredibly fast, even for us! I was privileged to be a part of this project from the the early part of the planning stages, as Stephen asked a few quick layout questions from me before his stellar team jumped in and made it all happen: beautifully and in record time! See this beautiful project here: 3000 Skylark Drive
I have a few more projects in the works in this busy season - stay tuned for more exciting updates!
Stacy Kirk Photography
by admin on Jan.11, 2011, under Uncategorized
I am proud to announce the launch of my new website, www.StacyKirkPhotography.com
Stacy passed away in 2005 but I am honored to represent her photography on behalf of her family. After months of discussions and planning, her website is now up and features 37 carefully selected works but more will follow over the next few months. All are open edition, archival inkjet on canvas (giclee’) and are available in 3 sizes, based on a 24″ frame, a 36″ frame and a 48″ frame. Prints will be created by her printer, Fidelis Art Prints in Vancouver, BC, shipped to me where I will have them stretched on a frame locally and they can be delivered to you or picked up in my studio at Bay6 in East Austin.
I think you will find these works amazingly beautiful and unique. Stacy worked with a friend who was able to create a specially built digital camera that was able to get detail and resolution that was up to her exacting standards.
She also used one the highest resolution scanners available to achieve incredible effects that almost simulate x-rays. I think you will be amazed at the beauty in these works!
I have included a few in some of my staged homes and they always make a big impact. They have to be seen to be believed!Thank you so much for having a look!
Summer is here!
by admin on Jun.29, 2009, under Uncategorized
–And the market is picking up. I have had 7 jobs this month and 3 more houses to fill in the next 2 weeks. ‘Tis the season indeed. I just completed the installation for the Austin Cool House Tour. Linda Biderman with Wilson Goldrick Realtors referred me to Jeff McFadden & Lindsay Yeakley of Ultraverte (green builders), who did an amazing job of restoring a 1920’s bungalow to 5 star Green standards. It has all the charm of a 1920’s home with all the green benefits available today. Here is what Ultraverte said about the event:
Hot Day, Cool Houses!
The 2009 Cool House Tour proved to provide a cool relief to lots of people who braved 100+ temperatures to view eco-friendly homes rated by Austin Energy Green Building. Together the Texas Solar Energy Society and Austin Energy Green Building selected 12 homes to participate on 2009 tour help today from 10am-6pm. It seemed like there was a steady stream of 10-15 people in the house at a time for 8 hours…a wonderful success!
The tour allows the community to visit green homes throughout the Austin area to learn about eco-friendly products and innovative technologies that reduce energy consumption, save water, conserve materials, promote healthy indoor air quality, and encourage green living habits.
Ultraverte’s historic project was selected for the tour with the hope of educating the community about the restoration of a 1920s home into a 5 Star Green home. As the builders we were available to answer questions about the replica Energy Star windows, spray foam insulation, HVAC and ventilation system, original white oak hardwood floors, no-VOC paint, humidistat system, and sustainable landscaping.
The house provided additional highlights with the beautiful staging work by Blanton Design & Staging. Furniture from Austin’s own Jaya and Wildflower provided character and ambiance. Unique, original artwork from Rebecca Bennett, Gallery Soco, Austin
Art Garage, and Wendy Ford Mackey provided conversation pieces for the walls. Tour guests enjoyed learning about the reclaimed, eco-friendly, and local art and interior design!
Read more about Ultraverte and their terrific building standards:
Jaya supplied the gorgeous furniture for the home. I thought it worked visually, but when I learned that Jaya “proudly uses reclaimed or plantation grown teak and other hard woods, as well as rapid-growing,
sustainable materials in approximately 90% of our furniture; leaving the rainforest for future generations” I realized they were a slam dunk for this project.
Wildflower is a homebody’s fantasy shopping destination. Luxurious linens, organic mattresses and the most fabulous and unique accessories around. It’s one of those stores where you walk through and touch everything in your path. Cori Hedman graciously allowed me to borrow some of their most delicious accessories for the event, adding a level of quality I frequently cannot incorporate due to budgetary restrictions.
The art was also graciously donated for the day from Austin Art Garage
Gallery Soco
Rebecca Bennett
www.rebeccabennettartworks.com
and
Wendy Mackey
All have outstanding work - which is why I chose them!
It was such a pleasure to be part of this wonderful project. Thank you again to my vendors and of course to Linda, Jeff and Lindsay for entrusting me with this important task!
Hello and Welcome!
by admin on Dec.19, 2008, under Uncategorized
Hello and welcome to the Blanton Design Blog! I hope to be able to use this to educate myself, as well as others trying to sell their homes with ideas and observations about the real estate market as well as trends in design and art in Austin.
For a traditionally slow time of year, we haven’t been slow at all! We are hearing that there is a lot of activity in the market as there are so many deals to be had. The feds cut the rates again a couple of days ago to 5.19% and that is not just for new home owners, it’s for anyone buying one.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/18/AR2008121803532.html
Unfortunately it’s not for refinances but still good news for anyone who must move and sell their home in this weakened economy. The result of this cut is that those who will be seeking new loans will get an amazing rate, creating a mortgage that is more affordable without the insidious gamble of a variable rate, which got us all into this mess in the first place. This you already know.
However, I intend for this blog to tell you about things you do not know. I am active in the art as well as the real estate communities and am able to blend the two worlds into the business of staging homes for sale. I will be writing about unique properties I have visited, architects I have spoken to and artists I have met. I have a unique perspective on the real estate world because as a developer and artist myself, I understand the challenges in showcasing the home from the architect’s perspective, while maximizing the home’s appeal to a wide market. The staging shouldn’t overshadow the details of the home, it should enhance those details and create an atmosphere that people can really identify with how they could live there. I work as a team with the Realtor, architect and/or builder towards one common goal: sell that house.
I’ll have updates soon about some incredible projects going up in our neighborhood – stay tuned!
