Tom Dixon is a fairly household name in the design world, but I honestly haven't paid much attention to his work. That is until a couple weeks ago when a local Salt Lake modern lighting store Light Spot had an open house to show off their latest Tom Dixon lighting. I was quite impressed, and pleasantly surprised to find most of it was much more affordable than I thought it was. To sweeten the deal, I just noticed that Light Spot is having a 20% off sale on all Tom Dixon lighting. Locals go check it out.

Light Spot

Tom Dixon

Julius Shulman is a sort of legend when it comes to mid century modern photography. The breadth of his work over his 30+ year career is astounding, so I guess I shouldn't be too surprised to find out that he even photographed a building a few short block away from my loft. The Prudential Federal Savings and Loan building was designed 1 of 4 buildings in Utah designed by William L. Pereira. It was photographed by Shulman in 1964 a year and a half after construction was finished.

To learn more about the building, as well as it's imminent demolition, visit the fabulously thorough saltlakearchitecture.blogspot.com.

I'm a big fan of Pecha Kucha and I'm so glad that SLC has finally gotten it going. This Friday in Salt Lake is Pecha Kucha vol. 4 and it's going to be a doozy. It is going to be at The State Room and music will be provided by the fabulous Jessie Walker. We're off to a good start already, but that's just the beginning. Amongst the lineup of fantastic speakers are my friends at Imbue, and my friend Scott Hinton.

We recently featured the work of Imbue with our post on 948 Mcclelland, and we covered Scott's work that he did with H Space a few years ago. Also of note is Hank Louis founder of Design Build Bluff who I'm very interested to hear speak. There are lots of other great speakers as well and it should be a fantastic program. TIckets can be purchased from The State Room here for $7. Doors open at 8. 21+ only venue. See you there.

PKN SLC website

Check here to see if there is a Pecha Kucha night in your town.

I went to a great slow food event last night called SLC Bites. Now today for some reason I'm feeling a little food obsessed. So I figured I'd share some links for my favorite food group. Chocolate. Besides, Valentines day is just around the corner, and what better way to show your affection for that special someone than some chocolate. Of course if that special someone is a designophile, not just any box of chocolates will do. May I suggest a box of chocolates from Valerie Confections in LA. The Commune Chocolates were a collaboration between Valerie Confections and Commune Design the brainchild behind the Ace Hotel in Palm Springs and The Standard in New York. A box of 49 pieces will only set you back $49, and I guarantee it will be much more enjoyable than some cliched roses.

Commune Chocolates from Valerie Confections

More chocolate coated ideas after the jump.

Continuing in the chocolate theme is Richart chocolates which promise to be equally beautiful and delicious. They are almost so beautiful I wouldn't want to eat them. Almost.

Richart Chocolate (photo via)

Speaking of eating good chocolate, I've got to give some much deserved attention to the best chocolate I've ever eaten. Amano. They have won multiple international awards for their chocolate bars, and I was absolutely floored to learn that they are made right here in Utah. Do yourself a favor and pick up a bar or two to taste.

Amano Artisan Chocolate

Last and certainly not least is another plug for a local business. Here in Salt Lake City we have a great market and deli called Tony Caputo's. Rumor on the block is that they will be having a special Valentines Day tasting of Artisan du Chocolat a London based chocolate maker. Umm. Yes please.

Artisan du Chocolat chocolates

I've been following Owen Mortensen's work for years now. He's from my same small town in northern Utah and has been showing his work locally for years. I was recently pleasantly surprised to see Design Public started carrying his pieces. Owen started out with the same pressed leaf arrangements that you see everywhere, but his artists eye quickly took him beyond that. Through varying color, pattern, and even shape Owen turns beautiful glimpses of nature into brilliant modern art.

Owen Mortensen

Wall art available at Design Public

It's exciting to see great modern homes continue to be built in Salt Lake City. I first walked through 948 McClelland last fall and immediately fell in love with it. This single level 2,750 foot home was designed by my friends at Imbue Design, a local architectural firm and built by Domain general contracting. Imbue is doing some fantastic work in the valley and the McClelland home is proof of that.

It has some wonderful spaces including a spacious living room kitchen area that is flooded with light by large windows on three sides and an interior atrium on the fourth. While the price isn't what I would consider "affordable" the home is certainly gorgeous. It was recently completed, and is for sale for $745,000. If you live in SLC a drive by gawking is a must. If you buy it, invite me over for dinner please.

More pics after the jump.

Full virtual tour available here.

MLS Listing here.

Backyard

Master Bath

Kitchen

I may be geeking out on design in NY but that doesn't mean my heart isn't still in SLC, and I'm in love with this house. It is literally kitty corner from my old home up in Olympus Cove and I remember swooning over it for many a day. I have never seen the inside, but pictures don't do the exterior justice. Besides having a great design, great lot (can you say stream?) it has a great price too. The $299,000 price tag reflect the fact that it may need a little work, but I would take an original 50's interior over a 80's remodel any day. More pics and some details after the jump, or see it on utahrealestate.com.

Affordable MCM in Olympus Cove

Untouched Mid-Century Modern-style home, where form follows function. Designed by the creator of Dale Boots ski boots and built from Inland Steel, concrete, and green quartzite rocks with petrified lichen quarried from the Park Valley quarry in Northern Utah. The design is two boxes that come together at 19 degrees on a pie-shaped lot. There is the original old growth wood panel mahogany wall inside, and each window was designed to have views of the surrounding area and/or for passive solar heat. The owner lovingly built this himself, and welded each piece of steel roofing to the I-beams in the roof and floor over a period of six months of construction in 1958, and added a steel shed hidden in the back yard. (He originally worked for Inland Steel). An additional solarium was added to the kitchen to jut diners out into the private back yard. The basement walks out and could potentially have a mother in law apartment. There is 6” of Styrofoam insulation between the roof decking and the tar and gravel roof for extra comfort. The downstairs vents are covered with rounded pegboard There's a terrazzo hearth on the main floor and a fireplace down Olympus Creek runs through the back yard scrub oak for two months in the Summer. This home is a treasure of this style of construction, lovingly built and ready for the right buyer to restore it and modernize it. Sold in as-is condition, but livable now!

Square Feet On Each Floor
Floor 1: 1556 sq. ft.
Basement: 1140 sq. ft.
Total: 2696 sq. ft.

Lot Size In Acres
Acres: 0.23

Summer shot from Google maps.

My new place at Patrick Lofts is in desperate need of some art work, but unfortunately funds are low. I have a couple ideas in the works, but one novel new option that caught my eye was Turning Art. You can think of Turning Art as a netflix account for art. For as little as $10 a month you get a framed print shipped to your door, and you can switch it out for another print every couple of months. If you pay $20 you can have new art whenever you want. To make things even better, every dollar you spend earns you credit towards an original work of art. Convinced yet? I just may be.

Turning Art

If you are in Salt Lake City this weekend this is going to be a art sale you don't want to miss. Mondo Fine Art is having a studio sale for 6 of their artists this Saturday starting at 12:00. The sale will be held downtown at the Westgate Lofts in their penthouse suites. In addition to having amazing art in a fantastic building Mondo is rounding things out with some great music as well including Theta Naught and Joshua Payne Orchestra among others.

I'm hoping to pick up a piece by Angie Renfro (shown above) for my loft. Fingers crossed.

Mondo Fine Art

More info on the Transitions modern art sale.

Got a spare 1.2 million? Love modern and live in SLC? If you can answer both of these questions with a yes please contact me ASAP. For the rest of you, just come along for some wonderful eye candy.

This gorgeous 4,000 square foot modern home sits just above Salt Lake City on a 5 acre lot up Emigration Canyon. With a ICF construction, radiant heat, rainwater collection and a passive solar design this place is just as green as it is modern.

I haven't had a chance for a walk through yet, but from the pictures it looks like it has some great spaces and some absolutely amazing views.

For more info and pictures check out the 5860slc blog.

I have been doing an admittedly horrible job keeping up with the local projects I have committed to follow. Luckily the builders are way more on the ball than I am. I have had a couple chances to drop by my favorite of the three projects lately and snapped these pictures a couple weeks ago. I'm always amazed at how much a space is transformed once the drywall goes up, and House 2 is shaping up to have some wonderful spaces. Since I snapped this picture everything has been painted, and the cabinetry and finish woodwork are starting to go in. I promise to have some more updates soon on this one.

More pictures after the jump.

The very top picture is of the kitchen/living room. This one is of the same space, only looking towards the front of the house instead of the back.

This is the master bedroom with two huge sliders looking out to a nice outdoor space.

Even the kids room has a nice slider.

This is the studio that sits separately behind the home. The raised area will be a guest bedroom and the space below it can be accessed from outside and serves as a storage shed.

Well, I love this print! Local Utah girl Annily Green has a shop full of fun prints on canvas, as well as pillows and clutches. Each graphic print is printed on natural canvas and then backed with paper for sturdiness. My favorite is the "I Love This Town" print, but check them all out here.

Fabric Prints by Annily Green: $15

I made mention a while ago that with the sale of my house I have moved into a loft in downtown Salt Lake. While I would ultimately like to either build a new modern home or renovate a MCM home, I figured this was a perfect time to try out downtown living. The Patrick Lofts are located at 163 W 200 S in the old Patrick Dry goods building originally built in 1914. The lofts were completed in 2008 and feature 40 individual units, all of which are two bedroom and one bathroom. Units are right around 800 square feet. South facing units feature a great glass garage door that can be opened up to access a small balcony.

All the units have a lovely 13' high ceiling as you can see in the photo of the model unit above. The layout is compact with the private areas such as bedrooms and bathrooms being located in the back, and an open kitchen/living room in the front. They have a surprising amount of storage in them too, which is one thing I was worried about. I didn't have any problems getting all my stuff into the new place.
Lofts are currently for sale starting in the low 200's, or if you are like me and are not quite sure if you want to commit there is a lease option as well. Lease pricing seems extremely reasonable. I am paying $975 a month and that includes all my HOA's and water and sewer.
If you are interested in seeing a unit and getting more information about leasing or purchasing you can contact Gary Howard at 801-706-5866. He's a great guy and is very helpful. Plus I'd love to have a couple more cool neighbors.

More photo's of the Patrick Lofts on Flickr.

A couple shots of my flat at the Patrick Lofts from a little get together I had last week.

And more shot's after the jump.

Glass garage door on south facing units.

Great view of downtown. One thing I really love about the Patrick Lofts is how close they are to everything. They are literally 2 blocks from any downtown location from Gateway to Temple Square.

The building was converted to have a wonderful open air interior atrium.

I know modern bungalow is a bit of an oxymoron, but believe me, this house pulls it off. From the street it's a total sleeper that looks like many other homes in the area, albeit with better landscaping. Inside, while not extravagant, is full of tasteful details everywhere you look. White walls meet up with warm fir floors with no base or case to ruin the look. A simple tasteful kitchen with black granite countertops. Modern Fan co fans in most of the rooms. There is even an nice built in bed with storage and a built in desk. The whole home comes in at just under 1,000 square feet, and best of all it's only priced at $188,000 and it's in a great area. This has got to be the best deal on the market right now. Buyers, make sure you do a walkthrough so you can really appreciate the home.

Modern Bungalow for sale

Grassrootsmodern is proud to once again be a sponsor of another fantastic Salt Lake Modern event. This time we are not doing just one house tour, but an entire neighborhood. TheWestshire neighborhood is an incredibly unique neighborhood that contains over 150 homes all designed by MCM architect Ron Molen. If you have never been out there before you absolutely need to go, and if you have been out there before, this is your chance to tour 4 of the best houses out there.

Check out the Salt Lake Modern facebook page for details. See you out there, make sure you say Hi!

I'm both happy and sad to say that my home in Olympus Cove is sold. I'm happy because after just three short weeks I had a full price offer by someone who truly appreciates the architecture and will pick up where I left off. Sad because it really was a great house in a wonderful neighborhood.

The good news is that between the divorce, selling the house etc I have an opportunity to start a new chapter of life. While things are so up in the air, I figured it would make more sense to rent for a while instead of buy. I've always wanted to live down town, so I'm elated to report that I spent last week moving into the Patrick Lofts which are located in the heart of downtown Salt Lake City. Look for lots more details about the Patrick Lofts as soon as I get a few more boxes unpacked.

I've been eagerly waiting for the Strie Architecture designed House 2 to get windows, and this last week the day finally came. All the windows and sliding glass doors were manufactured by Kolbe, and are aluminum clad exteriors and VG Fir interiors. They look absolutely fantastic, especially the HUGE double sliding door off of the mater bedroom. With all the plumbing and electrical in place they should be starting on the drywall next week and it will really start to take shape.

More pictures after the jump.

Master Bedroom

View from the studio behind the house

I found these photos of some Jack Merlot Design yards while I was browsing modern landscape posts over at Plastolux, and it got me thinking. Are there any landscape architects or landscapers that specialize in "modern" landscapes in Utah? It's funny, I know great local architects, contractors, furniture and cabinetry builders etc but I have never come across anyone who does modern landscapes.

If you have any leads for modern landscape architects in Utah please share in the comments!

I just wanted to give a belated congratulations for Sparano + Mooney for their brilliant home that was recently featured in Dwell magazine. They deserve all the recognition and praise coming their way as does Benchmark Modern who did a fantastic job as general contractor. It's exciting to see Utah get a little recognition for some of the great projects we have going.

Make sure you check out the full slideshow on Dwell and read the article "The New Pioneers".

It's been a great adventure, but after three and a half years I'm forced to sell my Mid Century Modern home in Olympus Cove. I've absolutely loved living here, the neighborhood is absolutely phenomenal and the home has so much potential. The good news is; #1. Someone is going to get an amazing deal on this house. #2. I'm sure I'll get myself into another affordable modern adventure to blog about.

The details:

• 4206 Fortuna Way SLC
• Asking Price $290,000
• Built in 1955
• .18 Acre Lot
• 1980 Sq Feet
• 4 Bedrooms
• 2 Bathrooms
• 2 Car Garage
• Amazing Kitchen
• Amazing views

Since I bought the home 3 years ago, I completely refinished all the hardwood floors upstairs, and repainted everything bright white. I had a brand new electrical service to the house installed, and two new electrical panels inside. All new can lights were installed in the living room and kitchen. Speaking of kitchens, I completely gutted the kitchen, installed all new electrical and plumbing, new subfloor and white rubber floor tiles. New white Ikea ABSTRAKT cabinetry with black Trespa countertops and a zero radius stainless steel sink . New Gaggenau induction cooktop, integrated Bosch dishwasher and Siemens Avant Garde hood. There is also the double viking ovens I scored off of Craigslist and the GE Monogram refrigerator. Ohh, and the fantastic Bocci 22 electrical outlets all over the kitchen as well. Downstairs my son's room was completely redone. I framed out all the walls and added additional insulation, brand new drywall with a floating detail to eliminate baseboards. A fantastic mural of "Where the Wild Things Are" that took my good friend Tony almost 60 hours to complete (video here). The room got all new can lighting with a couple spots on a dimmer for the mural, new Flor carpet tiles, and a new solid core door with SOSS hinges and a nice reveal instead of door molding. I removed the ugly exterior siding, and took it back to it's old glory of grey Atlas bricks. To keep it cool in the summer and warm in the winter a brand new hight efficiency furnace was added, as well as new central AC after I decided the Modern Fan Co. fans weren't going to cut it. To keep all that heat and cold in I had 8" of extra insulation blown into the attic. Needless to say, a lot has been done to the home. I have easily put $20,000 of upgrades into and if I wasn't getting divorced I would easily stay here for another 20 years. My loss your gain. It's priced to move quick, but I need a full price offer, so tell your friends and neighbors and lets get this thing gone.

If you are interested in seeing the home because you are interested in possibly buying, get a hold of my amazing Realtor Geoff Tice 801-971-1311.

If you just want to look at it and shoot the breeze with me, leave a comment below and I'll get back to you. ( I love visitors! )

If you only like looking at pretty pictures on the internet, check out 4206Fortuna for some pictures I snapped of it last week, or Obeo for a virtual tour, or the official MLS listing.

Thanks everyone!