​I've had no shortage of huge life changing events in my life in the last 6 months, almost all of which I've neglected to share online. First, and most important, I'm getting married (yay!) in June. Second, I'm moving to Austin (what!!) in July. I'm hoping I'll get around to sharing the backstory about everything eventually and how absolutely elated I am with the way my life is going. For now, just know I'm happy and living the life I've always wanted. 

Thrown in with all these life events came the announcement that our lease in the house my girlfriend and I were renting was up, and our landlord wasn't letting us renew. That left us essentially homeless for the last 2 1/2 months we'd be in SLC. Luckily we were able to get a very short term lease in Patrick Lofts, where I was living before I moved in with my girlfriend. I suppose it's fitting that the place we met is the place we'll be in when we leave SLC. 

After a flurry of moving and giving things away we did manage to get settled into the new place. Above is a teaser shot of our fancy new (1964) Milo Baughman sofa we picked up for $600, and some of our art. The 13' ceiling and huge curved wall are perfect for wall hanging art.* ​

Locals, join me and my little family and friends this Saturday for a fantastic DJ Dance Party. ​

A kids DJ Dance party that is, complete with craft projects inside an awesome renovated airstream, hot dogs for the kids, and BYOB for the parents. Seriously, can you think of a better way to spend time with the family on a Saturday evening? ​

If you have kids in SLC and you don't know about The Creative Capsule, you are missing out. Really.​

​Get you tickets to Saturday's event here. I've already got mine. See you there!

I'm absolutely humbled (and elated) to have gotten a mention in City Weekly as part of their 2013 "Best Of". It seems somehow amongst all the amazing talent in Salt Lake City they decided that I was deserving of the "Best Eye for Design" award.

 It really means a lot to me, now more than ever, because of all the really great design that is happening in Salt Lake right now. I feel like the amount of talent here has skyrocketed in the last 5 years or so. In fact, I'd like to take this opportunity ​to share with everyone some of my local favorites in the design world (in no particular order). All these people are not only huge design influences, but also really, really great people and some of my dearest friends. Support them.

• Jaren @ Modern Union
• Jesse @ New City Movement
• Ron @ The Green Ant
• Cody (and the crew) @ City Home Collective
• ​Seth @ Sparano Mooney
• Missy (and Lliam) @ Misc.​ Boutique
• ​Mark @ Sausage Space
• Scott @ Modern Architectural Systems​
• Gary @ Meld Design
• Tony @ The Tonus
• ​Rich @ Cosmic Pictures

Yeah, they are a pretty impressive group, and that's just a few of my "design" friends that have websites I can link to. Don't even get me started on "foodie" friends, or all the other "kick ass" friends. There seriously isn't enough room to include everyone in this town that is dear to me. ​Hugs SLC. 

One of my favorite places to get coffee in Salt Lake City is Nobrow Coffee and Tea. Not only is Joe the owner a total coffee nerd, he happens to be a design nerd too. So when I heard that they were moving to a new location designed by Atlas Architects I was quite excited. When I found out my friend Jaren from Modern Union was doing the interior cabinetry and woodworking I was even more excited. 

This Wednesday was their first official day open (even though the Visual Supply Co crew dropped by earlier during Alt) so I decided to meet Jaren there for a pour over and check it out. 

The space is quite a bit smaller than their old location, which surprised me. Personally I think it's a good thing, although I know some people enjoyed being able to find a nice private corner in the old space. There is a really great little courtyard in front that will make a fantastic outdoor space in the summer. In fact, I'm going to go out on a limb and say if you are looking to sit out side in the summertime and have a cup of coffee, you won't be able to find a better spot.

While I was there we ran into Jason Foster of Atlas Architects. No real surprise considering their office is going in next door. Speaking of Atlas, they've done a really nice job with some of the subtle details of the building. The most obvious thing is the material pallet. The building is made of a cinder block with a smooth sawn face that has some nice flecks of color in it. 

It's a great look, but combined with the concrete floors and bright white Corian countertops it can be very hard and cold. To balance this there is a good amount of reclaimed wood in the space. The wood is some reclaimed beams that used to be in Trolley Square, a local trolley station turned mall. It's beautiful, warm, and really brings the space together.

To add even more interest to the space there is a beautiful (and rumor has it very heavy) section of an upright piano that is bolted to a wood face in a small nook at the end of the room. That combined with some nice industrial style pendants round out the simple, yet fantastic interior.

Nobrow Coffee & Tea - 179 W 900 S SLC, UT

Atlas Architects

Modern Union

I mentioned in my last post that my life is full of changes lately. One of the harder choices I've made was to leave a business I have been part of for the last two years. I started Modern Union with my friend Jaren a couple years ago and together we set out to make a name for ourselves building gorgeous modern kitchens and custom furniture in Salt Lake City. Truth be told, the vast majority of the actual work was done by Jaren, as I was still working a full time job on the side. 

This sycamore slab table is the latest work to come out of the Modern Union studio, and one of the first things done without me being involved at all. It's a bitter sweet moment for me. My gut reaction is to be disappointed that I didn't have anything to do with it. It's so gorgeous I want to pretend that I'm somehow associated with it. Mostly though I'm just glad to see Jaren getting great commissions and still making absolutely flawless works of art. 

Jaren is doing the exact work I'm wanting to promote on Grassrootsmodern. He's just one guy in a small shop. He's incredibly talented, and he's making amazing things. This particular table has some great heritage too. The 5 foot by 7 foot slab comes from a Sycamore tree that used to be at Westminster, a local college here in Salt Lake. I know from experience that it takes hours and hours of hard work to get the top perfectly smooth and flat. One large butterfly joint in the middle of the table not only provides a beautiful contrast it actually adds structural rigidity to and old crack in the middle of the slab. 

I wish I could do more to support great local artisans like this. If you want to help support Modern Union, like their Facebook page, tell your friends about them, or even better, contact them and see what amazing thing they can build for you. Jaren has lots more slabs just waiting to be transformed

Modern Union

Modern Union on Facebook

Modern Union on Etsy

I've said it before, and I'll say it again. One of the absolutely most rewarding things about starting this little blog has been the opportunities it has given me to meet some truly amazing people and do some truly amazing things. Point in case. I wrote an article in this months Dwell magazine about my good friend and amazing shop owner Ron Green of The Green Ant. Dwell magazine used to do a regular feature every month about a "Nice Modernist". If it wasn't for a whole bunch of nice modernists, I would never have gotten this great opportunity.

Looking back, it's interesting to see the chain of events that lead up to this opportunity. It started a year ago when Corian was nice enough to fly me back to Chicago to see a new collaboration that they were doing with DIRTT. I wrote about it here. 

Amanda Dameron image via Inhabitat

While I was in Chicago I had the opportunity to meet the now Editor in Chief of Dwell magazine Amanda Dameron. At the time I knew she worked for Dwell but had no idea she was next in line for the top editorial position. I met her after a few beers, and I'm pretty sure my first words to her were something along the lines of "You work for Dwell? I've got a bone to pick with you." Over the next few hours she was nice enough to let me rant about how I thought that Dwell was unfairly pushing prefab as an affordable modern housing solution, how Dwell has turned its back on the Fruit Bowl Manifesto, and how they screwed over their online community when they axed their original forums. The nice thing about stepping out from behind your computer and having real conversations with real people is that it makes it much easier to see both sides of the issue.

By the end of the night she had me convinced that Allison Arieff (former Editor in Chief of Dwell) pushing prefab was no different than John Entenza pushing case study houses, and that Dwell was just as focused on the little guy today as it ever was. One thing in particular that she said really stuck in my head. She referred to Dwell as "scrappy". It's easy to think of Dwell as a giant powerhouse and poke fun of it, but the reality is it really is made up of a small group of passionate employees. Sure they aren't perfect, but they try. 

Later that year when Dwell was in Salt Lake City for Sundance I had the opportunity of showing the lovely Aaron Brit and Alex Polier around town. I took them to some of my favorite local places like The Green Ant, Beckett and Robb, Eva's, the new Natural History Museum of Utah and even the wacky Gilgal sculpture garden (shown above). I assume that they were suitably impressed by The Green Ant that they contacted me in the spring of 2012 and asked me to do an interview with Ron. 

The rest is as they say, history. 

If you have been living under a rock, prepare yourself. I'm about to blow your mind. Salt Lake City now has a West Elm! It is kind of cool seeing Salt Lake City starting to act like a real city. It is sort of like being proud of your kid sister when she finally makes it into high school and doesn't act like a total dork. 

West Elm is not dorky at all, in fact it is pretty amazing. I had the chance to hang out with the kind folks from West Elm over the last couple of days and talk to them about what they are doing different, and I have to say I'm quite impressed. The number one thing is their focus on local. Something arguably hard for a nation wide chain to do. In SLC they have teamed up with Craft Lake City who has curated a group of four local Etsy shops that will have their products featured in the City Creek West Elm store. They have a solid lineup to start things off and will be featuring the following…

Stacey Foster (Fletcher & Fox)

http://www.etsy.com/shop/FletcherandFox

Lisa Steadman Photography

http://www.etsy.com/shop/diemdesign

Say hello Shop

http://www.etsy.com/shop/sayhelloshop

Sycamore Press

http://www.etsy.com/shop/sycamorestreetpress

Here are a few shots I took from their open house party they had last night…

Smilebooth was amazing… 

The amazing Elizabeth of Fleur de Sel fame.

Looking for full sized photos? Check my Flickr page.

Tomorrow morning at 10:00 AM is SL Modern's fall tour. It will be held at Snowbird ski resort, and will include a tour of Utah's only modernist resorts with one of the original architect/planner Ray Kingston. For those of you in Salt Lake this is a once in a lifetime chance to get all the details about what went into this amazing resort. 

Not in Utah? No problem. Check out the docomomo website to find a modern tour near you. 

Buy tickets and get more information about the Snowbird event on SLModern.org

You can also get more great information about Snowbird's modern architecture here.

Photo's via SLModern.org

I know I'm getting lazy posting lately. I'm super busy working on some new things including some updates to the site, and getting licensed to sell (modern) homes in Utah. Hopefully my posting frequency will pick back up soon, in the meantime enjoy this video of Arne Jacobsen.

A few weeks ago I went to the Park City Arts Festival. For some reason arts festivals always sound exciting and interesting but inevitably end up having the exact same things I saw the year before.  Really, how many different booths do we need for wooden cutting boards made out of different types of wood?

The one shinning star that did stand out was Robert Siegel's ceramics. Sure they weren't totally original, we've seen similar designs from Pigeon Toe ceramics and others, but amongst all the other booths it was a beautiful thing to see. Make sure you check out his Kauai collection shown above as well as his standard line. 

All of his prices are very reasonable for a hand made product.

Robert Siegel Ceramics

It's been over a years since I first wrote about the potential demolition of the Prudential Federal Savings and Loan building in Salt Lake City. Since then the issue has mostly been out of the public light, but thankfully in the last few weeks there has been some discussion around the issue. Today the Salt Lake Tribune ran an article discussing the potential loss of the this great piece of Mid Century Modern architecture. It's interesting to see that almost all of the comments are in favor of saving the building. 

If you would like to know more about the building, I'd urge you to read the short article about it on SaltLakeArchitecture.blogspot.com

Want to get involved. It's easy, start by sending Mayor Ralph Becker a message to let him know what you think.

*Top 3 images via saltlakearchitecture.blogspot.com

Photo by Julius Shulman from Art in Architecture - by Louis G. Redstone, FAIA

Artist: Tom Van Sant, "Birds in Flight," 100 birds with wingspread of 4 feet, attached to three bronze-encased stainless-steel rods, each 120 feet high (electrode posited - bronze process developed from the aircraft industry); theme symbolic of seagulls which saved Morman crops by eating locusts, 1964

It's been a while since I have found some life changing technology. I recently upgraded to OSX Mountain Lion and ended up migrating back to a few core Apple applications (Mail, Safari). In the process I've been on the hunt for an elegant looking RSS reader so I can keep track of the few blogs I follow on a regular basis. I wanted something web based that would sync across multiple devices, and did I mention I wanted it to look good? Luckily I stumbled upon Feedly. The web based app is available on Chrome, Safari and Firefox (as well as most smartphones), and looks amazing on all of them. It works by syncing up with your Google reader account and presenting all the blogs you follow in a beautiful layout. I'm only a few days into using it but so far I'm absolutely in love. It has a robust set of shortcuts and different configurations to make it fit your needs. 

Check out Feedly now.

Get your reading list jumpstarted by importing my list of sites below to google reader by downloading this file (right click save). Update your google reader account then sync with Feedly. Instructions here for google, and here for Feedly.

So what blogs do I follow? 

Here is where I have to make a confession. For being a modern interior design blogger I'm absolutely horrible at following fellow bloggers. Part of it is that I don't want to be that guy that just re-blogs awesome things that I find on other sites, and part of it is that I'm just lazy. That being said, I would encourage everyone to check out the following blogs if you don't already. 

Plastolux

Designsponge

Design Milk

Better Living Through Design

Remodelista

Swiss Miss

I feel like that little group has been and will continue to be the core of good design blogs out there. I may have missed one or two (did I mention I'm lazy?), if I did, let me know in the comments. 

Now on to what I follow daily. It's a good mix (for me anyway) of design, fashion, and other visually interesting sites. In no particular order…

Build Blog

Build is a Seattle based architectural firm that specializes in Modern and Mid Century modern design. What I really like about the Build Blog is that it reminds me of the good old days of "modernism" online. When I first started blogging 7 years ago Dwell had some amazing forums full of architects and designers that were willing to share all of their trade secrets to further the cause of modernism. Unfortunately the forums were axed, and that helping community disappeared. Build is the last breath of those old days. On their blog the share their philosophy of "everything it needs to be and nothing more" and how that translates to everything from cabinetry to gutter details. Their posts on baseboard details and modern door jambs are a must read for anyone interested in modern interiors. 

The Sartorialist

Hopefully you know about the Sartorialist already. It's a fashion website. More accurately it's a blog by photographer Scott Schuman who has an amazing eye for street fashion. I think his photography is beautiful, and I love seeing the world through his eyes. He goes to lots of great places and always manages to catch great shot's of beautiful people dressed interestingly. One caveat.  Don't bother reading the comments. 

Anchor Division

Another fashion blog. Technically mens fashion and lifestyle blog. Jamison Aweau does a great job curating the site, and he has great access to all sorts of interesting people and places. 

Emmas Designblogg

More Scandinavian design than you can shake a stick at. I've been fairly obsessed with minimalist yet natural Scandinavian design for a while now, and Emmas blog fulfills all my cravings. 

The Shiny Squirrel 

OK, I'm going to be absolutely honest here. I have absolutely no idea what the Shiny Squirrel is all about. All I know is that it is chock full of pretty pictures I like looking at. Nothing wrong with that right?

New City Movement

New City Movement is a local blog by my dear friend Jesse Walker. He is an accomplished graphic designer and DJ and has been a stalwart member of SLC's in crowd for years. It's great to see my little city through his eyes, and stay up to date with what is cool. 

City Home Collective

Speaking of locals, there are some new kids in town in SLC and they have been ripping it up. City Home Collective is a Realtor/Creative design group based in Salt Lake City. They do a lot more than just sell homes though, the sell lifestyles. They are constantly seeking out what's cool in Salt Lake and actually make me pretty damn proud to be living in this town. 

Sallad

This is a top secret blog for locals only. Dallas is semi local (Ogden technically) and has an incredible eye for finding "stuff". He sells it all locally for crazy cheap prices, and if you see it on his blog first, you get half off. Seriously. I'm greedy. Don't tell anyone about this site.

You Are The River

My buddy Gale turned me on to this site about a year ago. It's what he calls "soul modern" which I think is an amazing way of describing the aesthetic. It's full of wonderfully minimalistic interiors that actually feel warm and inviting. Almost an american version of scandinavian design.

A Continuous Lean

Yet another mens lifestyle/fashion blog. I particularly like the way editor Michael Williams dissects fashion and what he likes about the things he shares. For someone like me just dipping his toe in fashion it's nice to get a full breakdown on things. It helps me bridge the gap between "I really like that look" and "I really like that look because of X and Y".

Makr blog

I've been following Jason Gregory since he first started his leather goods company Makr. Since then he has grown into a thriving business of "carry goods" and he is even cracking into product design and interior design. What the secret to his success? He has an amazing eye, and he's able to convert that vision into real world goods. His blog is a combination of updates from the shop, sneak peaks of up coming products, and loads of amazing photography. I would be lying if I said I didn't absolutely love his ongoing collection of tasteful female nudes. (speaking of which have I ever mentioned I have a tumblr page?) Let that stand as your NSFW warning. 

The Brick House

The Brick House has been around for 4 years, which is a long time in blog years. Morgan doesn't post often, but when she does it's really quality stuff. Her house is fantastica and full of money saving DIY projects. Her writing style is matter of fact and unapologetic. Oh, and she has a soft spot for brutalism. Is that an oxymoron somehow?

Like her style and need a fix more often? Follow her on Tumblr.

Hello Define

Personal blog of Jessica Define, Hello Define covers a wide swath from Americana to Type Fonts. Like all of the above blogs she has an amazing eye, and makes me feel like a cooler person for having read her blog. 

Uncrate

Guys like stuff. At least I like stuff. Uncrate has rad stuff. According to their banner it's a "Digital magazine for guys who love stuff, five awesome new things are posted every day". I'd say I sincerely want about 30% of what they post, which is pretty good in my eyes.

So, that's my short list. Now tell me what I'm missing. SHARE IN THE COMMENTS PEOPLE!

I've mentioned before my infatuation with bags, but did I admit I love shoes too? A year ago I bought these great Allen Edmonds that I absolutely adore. The natural coloring on them is what won me over. Well last week I decided it was time to retire my Nau messenger bag and get something a little smaller to carry to work everyday. I've been wanting a good quality leather satchel for years, so I took it as a sign from the gods that I had just gotten a 30% off code at Bonobos and they had the BillyKirk School boy satchel in stock. The hefty price tag and a bad review almost discouraged me from pulling the trigger, but ultimately I decided it was just too irresistible. I've only had the bag for about a week now, but I'm absolutely ecstatic about it. The quality seems superb, the leather is beautiful and soft, and it happens to match my shoes almost perfectly. I snapped the above instagram picture in the elevator the other day when I first noticed it. 

Billy Kirk School Boy Satchel $365

On the other end of the financial spectrum, right before I went to New York last week I picked up this little duffel made by a local company Springbar. They usually make heavy duty waterproof canvas tents, and this Basic Duffel is made out of the same waterproof canvas. Basic is a great word to describe it too. It's pretty much a no frills duffel, it doesn't even have a shoulder strap. The canvas is amazing though. It's a great blue/green/gray color, totally waterproof, and strong as hell. Oh, and the $17 price tag is pretty sweet too. 

Basic canvas duffel $17

So yesterday I had a chance to get back up to the Canyons to take some better pictures of the suite. The picture above is probably my favorite of the bunch. It's always great when you get to put two Eames Lounge chairs in a space. The Cush rug from BluDot is pretty great too.

Doing the design in the suite I had two big challenges. First to make it not look like just another Park City rustic hotel room. This was actually pretty hard to do. Above are two pictures that show what the space looked like when we started. The top one is from the exact same view as the first Eames Lounge picture. Which do you like better?

To start we did a lot of taking things out. All of the furniture was removed from the room as were the cushions on the built in benches. Curtains were taken down, doors were removed etc. We even took down some light fixtures. Stripping everything out made the space so much better. There was still a lot of rustic feeling in the form of knotty pine woodwork that I could get rid of, but I had a plan for that. Now I just had to fill the space up with something that looked good. That brings us to the second problem.

Everything I put in the room had to be eco conscious. Everything. Ebay has a little primer for buying green that became my mantra.

#1 Buy Pre Owned - The greenest product is the one that already exists. 

#2 Resource Saving - Do more with less.

#3 Sustainable - Materials Matter

Luckily I had some good guidance in this area from Zem of Ecofabulous. I generally think of myself as an eco aware guy but it's absolutely amazing how much more she knew about everything green. It was very educational for sure.  

So without delay, here is the rest of the suite, and what went into it.

Entering into the suite there was a big ugly closet that greeted everyone. I took care of it by covering it with a large white board and some Urbio containers full of succulents. Not only did Urbio just win best accessory at Dwell on Design, it's also made of recycled plastic (#3). To top it off Beau, one of the designers, is an incredibly nice guy.

Also in the front entryway was a little niche that needed to be filled up. I used a Way Basics shelf here (and in several other places in the suite) because it's super affordable and made of 99% recycled material (#3). I filled it up with items I found at local thrift stores (#1).

Around the corner there is a short hall that looks into the kitchenette which is just off the main room. It's not the best looking kitchen so I gave it a little shield with a GORGEOUS rosewood Eames screen (#1) and a flower arrangement.

The main room is dominated by two vintage Eames Lounge chairs (#1) a small tulip style side table (#1) sitting on a wool Cush rug by BluDot (#3).

The wood benches needed some sort of padding on them because we removed the horrible looking pads there were on them. I covered two of them with 1" thick felt  (#3) held in place with a rug pad. The felt is actually made of wool and recycled synthetic content (like recycled bottles). Pillows are fantastically eco friendly and come from Inhabit (#3). 

The other two benches were covered with wool Flokati rugs (#3) held in place by a rug pad. Lots more pillows from Inhabit (#3) too.

Also in the main room were two Way Basics shelves side by side that I filled up with vintage pieces (#1) and succulents. 

My favorite part of the shelf unit is a fantastic pair of white wooden clogs (#1) lit from above by the  Pablo Clamp Lamp (#2)(#3).

Speaking of lamps, I didn't get a good photo of it, but the Moooi Miyake table lamp (#2)(#3) is pretty fantastic as well although I do wish it put out a bit more light.

Perhaps my favorite piece in the room were the 6 Coventry Stools by Studio Dunn (#3). The are a nice little bit of eye candy for the room and they provide flexible seating or a convenient place to set a drink. Also a huge thank you goes out to the guys from Studio Dunn who built these 6 stools and shipped them to Utah with just a week or two of heads up. 

The last seating area is the dining table built in bench. Unfortunately I couldn't remove those cushions, but I was surprised that they didn't look as horrible as I thought they would. In front of the bench is a vintage Brown Saltman coffee table by John Keal (#1) lit from above by a Claudo pendant by Cerno (#2). The wall behind the bench was covered with raw Wall Tiles by Inabit (#3).

There were two good outdoor patios that I filled up with vintage Bertoia chairs (#1) a vintage teak bar cart (#1) Emeco 111 Navy chairs (#3) and Tom Dixon Offcut stool (#3).

Last but certainly not least was the green fashion room. I designed three literal Pinterest pin boards for attendees to use. The idea is they pick out outfits from the clothes in the room, pin them to the board, and share them on Pinterest. The person with the outfit that gets the most pins wins and iPad. You should be able to see all the outfits by looking for the ebaygreenstyled hashtag on Pinterest. 

Also in the room is the reclaimed clothes rack I designed. A few people have asked for more info on it, and I'll give a better DIY on how to make your own next week. 

Today in Park City hordes of social media mavens are gathering at the Canyons resort for the 2012 Evo Conference. I hadn't even heard of the conference until this year, and while it's not really my scene (lots of mommy bloggers) I am super excited to be involved. The Ebay Green Team (bet you never heard of them either) asked me to help do the interior decoration of a suite they have at the conference. It's been an absolute blast to source furniture from some of my favorite companies (Moooi, Tom Dixon, Emeco, Studio Dunn, Pablo, Blu Dot) and to bring in some epic MCM pieces from some of my favorite local stores The Green Ant and Now and Again. Some of my favorite vintage pieces include 2 Eames Lounge chairs, a rosewood Eames screen (1 of 500 ever made) Bertoia chairs, a teak bar cart and more. I even had a chance to make a reclaimed clothes rack (above) out of a piece of wood used during the construction of the Brooklyn bridge. I'm hoping to get up there and take some more pictures of the rest of the suite tonight or tomorrow night. Stay tuned for more. 

Ebay Green Team

Evo Conference

A few days ago I was at an open house for a local MCM Furniture store called The Green Ant. They've been around for years, but just recently expanded the store (congrats Ron!) and now have an entire half dedicated to more high end design. Sitting in the middle of the space was this Reale table from Zanotta. I loved the look of it, but I was a little confused as to why it was in the space, as it looked to be a new design and not truly mid century. You can imagine my surprise to find out that it was really designed in 1946 by Carlo Mollino. It's a pleasant feeling to continue to be surprised at just how timeless good design can be.

Reale Table 

Carlo Mollino

The Green Ant

More pics from Zanotta's website

As I type this post, I'm riding shotgun in a  truck on my way down to southern Utah to a Buddhist Retreat. No, I'm not having another dramatic change of faith, I'm actually going to install cabinetry. The retreat was designed by a local firm Imbue design that continues to impress me with both the quality and caliper of work they are doing. The rendering above doesn't do justice to just how cool this project is. The exterior is dominated by gabion walls and the interior wrapped in Ipe. In fact even the cabinets I'm installing with Modern Union are made of Ipe. I'm excited to be working with such great architects and clients on this job. 

I'm about 4 hours away from the job site right now. Check out the Modern Union Facebook page for pictures and updates. 

Modern Union

Imbue Design

Also, while you are at it, make sure you read the write up that City Home Collective did on the Buddhist retreat a few weeks ago.

For those that have been reading my blog for a long time, you may recognize the name Mark Haslam.  He was they one that did a lot of hand holding and hard work for me when I built my addition behind my house in Sugarhood.  Back then he was working for Benchmark Modern, and together they went on to do a lot of great modern projects, including a few I was able to do some work on.  The House 2 project I featured last year was my first big job with my new side company Modern Union.

Not only is Mark one of the nicest guys I know, in my opinion he is also one of the best general contractors in SLC to build a modern home.  I get a lot of people who ask me who they should use, and I always point them towards Mark. 

So what does this have to do with Sausage? Oddly enough, that happens to be the name of Marks new construction company.  Mark has decided to branch off from Benchmark and do his own thing. I expect great things coming from him in the near future, so do yourself a favor and bookmark Sausagespace.com now. You'll thank me later.

Sausage : Modern home construction in Salt Lake City

My friend is selling his amazing Mid Century Modern home. It's a few block away from my old place in olympus cove, and I remember walking by it many times in complete envy.  If you area sucker for a good butterfly roof (which I totally am) this is one of the rare good ones in Salt Lake City.  To sweeten the deal even more, the home is amazing original looking inside. It has some of the best built in partitions I have seen ever.  Check out the photos below (courtesy of City Home Collective) and check out all the details on the MLS

4130 S Diana Way $399,000

From the MLS listing...

Amazing Oly Cove Mid-Century Modern with Fantastic Mt., Lake and Valley Views. This 1954 Parade of Homes was purchased from Original Owner. Very clean Unique 50's features like Butterfly Roof Design, Big Open Living Rm & Open Air Dining. Architectural features like Floor to Ceiling Glass, Mahogany Walls, & Exposed Brick make this home very eclectic and desired for original 50's modern design. Some updates done keeping the style intact! Grt Walkout Basemnt w/ Wetbar. Could be easy Mother in Law conversion.

Interior Features Include Bar: Wet Dishwasher, Built-In Disposal Gas Log Kitchen: Second Kitchen: Updated Mother-in-Law Apt. Range/Oven: Built-In Floor Coverings: Carpet; Hardwood; Tile Window Coverings: Draperies; Part Air Conditioning: Central Air; Electric Heating: Forced Air; Gas: Central Basement: (95% finished) Full; Walkout Exterior Features Include Exterior: Basement Entrance; Deck; Covered; Entry (Foyer); Outdoor Lighting; Patio: Covered; Sliding Glass Doors; Storm Doors; Storm Windows; Walkout Lot: Corner Lot; Fenced: Full; Secluded Yard; Sprinkler: Auto-Full; Terrain: Grad Slope; View: Lake; View: Mountain; View: Valley; Private Landscape: Fruit Trees; Landscaping: Full; Mature Trees; Vegetable Garden Roof: Tar/Gravel Exterior: Brick; Cedar/Redwood Patio/Deck: 1 Patio 1 Deck Garage/Parking: Parking: Covered; Parking: Uncovered Garage Capacity: 0

Inclusions Microwave Range Refrigerator Water Softener: Own Window Coverings Other Features Include Amenities: Cable Tv Available; Electric Dryer Hookup; Workshop Utilities: Gas: Connected; Power: Connected; Sewer: Connected; Sewer: Public; Water: Connected Water: Culinary Zoning Information Zoning: RES Property Tour Tour

Rooms Include

• 4 Total Bedrooms
• Floor 1: 3
• Basement: 1
• 3 Total Bathrooms
• Floor 1: 1 Full
• Floor 1: 1 Half
• Basement: 1 Three Qrts
• Other Rooms:
• Floor 1: 1 Family Rm(s); 1 Kitchen(s); 1 Bar(s); 1 Formal Dining Rm(s);
• Basement: 1 Family Rm(s); 1 Kitchen(s); 1 Laundry Rm(s);

Square Feet On Each Floor

• Floor 1: 1426 sq. ft.
• Basement: 1378 sq. ft.
• Total: 2804 sq. ft.

Local Schools

• School District: Granite
• Elementary School: Oakridge
• Jr High: Churchill
• Sr High: Skyline
• Priv High: Judge Memorial
• Other High: 

Lot Size In Acres

• Acres: 0.22

An old friend of mine sent me this link for a story that our local TV station recently did. It features a passive house designed by local architect and Assistant Professor at the University of Utah Jorg Rugemer.  I think it's important for a couple reason. First it's great to see modern architecture featured in local mainstream media. Second it shows the growing movement for passive house designed homes in Utah. Lastly, it's amazing to see that you can get good design and energy efficiency all for only slightly more than current construction costs. What's not to like?